Introduction:
Digitization in healthcare is transforming the traditional system into a cost-effective and efficient care delivery system. The focus is shifting towards patients and their engagement. Hospitals adopting electronic health records or healthcare automation solutions prove that the system is focusing on patients’ needs and demands. In digitization, healthcare mobile apps are pretty popular these days, and hospital mobile apps are easy to use and help patients connect with practitioners faster than the traditional system.
Moreover, hospital mobile apps offer several other benefits that boost their care efficacy and patient engagement systems. Besides quality care, aspects like medical records management or electronic data exchange also impact the patient experience. And hospital mobile apps are capable of managing these aspects too. Healthcare mobile apps have different types catering to additional care and administrative tasks. Here are some of the common hospital mobile apps for patient engagement.
Best Types of Hospital Mobile Apps for Patient Engagement
There are several healthcare mobile apps, including pregnancy, wellness, hospital administration, and more. However, here we have picked out the five most commonly used ones. And these have a significant impact on patient experience too.
1. Urgent Care Apps
The emergency care system is the essential requirement of integrated healthcare management. Mobile apps in healthcare address this need by developing urgent care apps. Some developers even integrate this section into their existing mobile apps. A health emergency can come up anytime. But with urgent care mobile health apps, patients can easily reach out during emergencies. And, of course, this boosts patient engagement too.
2. General Hospital Apps
Healthcare mobile solutions can also provide general hospital information. Patients are becoming more specific about the services and quality. Better reviews and services attract patients or boost their experience. So, general hospital apps are a great way to reach out to potential patients about hospitals’ services.
3. Physician Referral Apps
Patients’ search for a good physician is an uphill task. However, custom mhealth app development vendors suggest hospitals with physician referral apps. This app is like a directory that lists all doctors and their information. So, a patient looking for a specialist need not waste time finding; just this app and the user can pick the suitable doctor.
4. Outpatient Apps
For any practice management, outpatient care services need special attention. It impacts the patient engagement of the hospital. Many hospital app development teams have outpatient apps to help patients get the best quality of care. Moreover, cancer patients or critically ill patients benefit from this outpatient app the most. It even helps their doctors or practitioners keep track of their health must better.
5. Tracking Apps
Taking care of patients is no easy task. But it can be made easier with mobile health apps. Hospital mobile apps can help patients with medication and appointment reminders. This type of app will benefit patients and hospitals too. Patients will get better care, and hospitals will be satisfied and healthy.
Trending Modules in Hospital Mobile Apps to Enhance Patient Engagement
Hospital mobile apps, all different types, benefit both entities, and however, it depends a lot on the app’s features. Whatever be the app, there are a few common features that directly impact patient engagement.
1. EMR/EHR integration
Mobile healthcare app must have access to EMR/EHR. It’s one of the most desired features in mobile health app development. Most integrated healthcare solutions providers offer this feature to boost patient engagement. It’s because patients today are interested in having control of their health records. It also helps hospitals with population health management. Moreover, healthcare providers are skeptical about including this feature. But it’s worth having this feature. The mobile healthcare app will boost patient engagement in hospitals with good privacy. It even improves healthcare interoperability in hospitals.
2. Timely Feedback and SMS Notifications
Another must-have feature in mobile healthcare apps is providing patients with timely feedback. SMS notifications help patients to remain updated and informed about their ongoing treatments, upcoming appointments, and more. And when patients get complete information, they are satisfied. This is an excellent boost to hospitals’ patient engagement.
3. Doctor’s Profiles
Including doctors’ profiles on the hospital mobile apps is a great feature to boost patient engagement. Doctors’ credentials, specializations, and other professional information are what patients look for before making an appointment. So, offering this information on the app will make the search easier for patients. Healthcare providers can utilize healthcare analytics solutions to help patients find a suitable doctor.
4. Appointments
Earlier scheduling appointments were time-consuming and mostly over calls. With mobile healthcare solutions, this task of appointment scheduling has become easier. Patients can directly go to appointment sections in the mobile app to select a suitable doctor and book an appointment. This also directly impacts patient experience, as their job is made easier.
5. Video/text consultations
Along with appointment scheduling, video and text consultations also add as must-have features of mobile medical apps. Telehealth is quite popular these days, and patients also prefer it. So, the medical app development team in hospitals or mhealth providers must include this feature to boost the client hospitals’ patient engagement.
Benefits of Hospital Mobile Apps for Boosting Patient Engagement
As mentioned earlier, hospitals’ mobile apps offer multiple benefits to hospitals and patients. Some of these benefits of hospital mobile apps are-
1. Provides Transparency
One of the major benefits of the hospital mobile app is transparency between providers and patients. With features like access to EMR/EHR, patients get more clarity about their health information. And hospitals also receive timely information about patient health through the integration of wearables. Through the wearables, doctors get vitals and make decisions. So, a hospital mobile app is a connecting bridge between patients and hospitals. Besides using medical informatics, hospitals can improve information transparency.
2. Eliminates Emotional Gap
The relationship between the patient and provider isn’t just about care delivery. Empathy and emotional intelligence help the patient-doctor relationship. It allows patients connect with their care providers well and share their fears and other stress. So, a hospital mobile app is capable of doing this. Patients and doctors can connect via video or audio chat for consultations. Moreover, patients can also refer to the app to get help from hospitals anytime; chatbot-like features are also included. So, when patients and providers can connect emotionally, patients’ engagement goes high.
3. Patients take control of health
Another benefit of mobile healthcare applications is that patients are also decision-makers. When patients get access to their health information and easy health access, hospitals’ patient engagement is boosted. Patients can make decisions keeping in mind their financial and other constraints. Even hospitals are also benefited from this.
Conclusion
Hospital mobile apps are undoubtedly the best way of healthcare digitization. Patients and hospitals are benefited in multiple ways. And patients’ experience of the specific hospital also improves. However, healthcare providers must plan and budget if they are interested in mobile app development. Opting for a customized app is a wise choice. So, mhealth solution providers offering hospital mobile app development services must use cloud computing in healthcare for the app. Cloud solutions for the app will ensure better data management. Hospitals must include features that cater to patients’ needs and demands better. And also offer privacy and security. So, ensuring HIPAA compliance is a must too. Above all, a hospital mobile app with HIPAA compliance and all patient-centric features will boost patient engagement and enhance their care efficacy.
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About Author
Written by Riken Shah linkedin
Riken's work motto is to help healthcare providers use technological advancements to make healthcare easily accessible to all stakeholders, from providers to patients. Under his leadership and guidance, OSP Labs has successfully developed over 600 customized software solutions for 200+ healthcare clients across continents.