Top 6 Medical Healthcare Apps for Patients

Every day, we come across numerous new medical apps for patients that claim to provide superior management of our physical and mental health compared to their counterparts.

Despite the availability of over 350,000 healthcare apps on platforms like the Apple Store and Google Play, the majority of these applications have garnered less than 10,000 downloads. Why is that?

The main reason is that many of these apps fail to effectively engage patients, primarily due to a lack of synchronization between their functionality and user experience and the expectations and requirements of users.

In this newsletter, we will explore the top medical apps for patients that genuinely deserve users' attention and storage space. These apps can serve as a source of inspiration if you are looking to develop your own software.

What is a Medical Healthcare App?

There are two main categories of apps in healthcare - healthcare apps for patients and wellness applications. While the first one aims to diagnose, track, and treat certain health conditions, the second one improves the overall health of a patient by addressing mental, physical, social, and even environmental elements connected to health.

Benefits of Medical Apps

There are endless opportunities for growth in eHealth. According to Fortune Business Insights, the healthcare app industry market is predicted to grow to $314 billion by 2028 from $38 billion in 2021. McKinsey states that 55% of questioned patients believe that they receive a higher quality of care through telehealth as compared to in-office visits. 

Consequently, more and more healthcare organizations are ready to invest in building their own healthcare mobile apps for patients, as they bring advantages for all parties engaged in the healthcare process.    

Main Criteria for Choosing Medical Apps

In order to thrive in the industry, healthcare providers need to recognize the challenges faced by users and adapt their strategies to ensure a seamless and highly satisfying user experience, particularly in relation to their health.

At my company inVerita, we have a big team of healthcare software developers, experienced in building various types of top healthcare apps for patients, including telemedicine applications, EHR & EMR software, hospital and clinic management software, and more. Therefore, we can highlight the following criteria that make the application successful:

• Easy to Use

The best healthcare apps for patients are smooth and simple. Using advanced technologies in healthcare mobile apps for patients is great but the basic features like scheduling an appointment and checking test results should be easily accessible. Make sure your applications look the same for iOS and Android users.

• Secure

Medical apps are very common targets of various cyber-attacks. Therefore, it is crucial for healthcare providers to implement comprehensive security measures to safeguard the sensitive data of patients. This includes ensuring compliance with regulatory standards, employing data encryption, being vigilant against common phishing techniques, enabling multi-factor authentication, and consistently investing in cybersecurity training for employees.

• Integrated with EHR/EMR

The increasing popularity of EHR and EMR systems has prompted numerous healthcare organizations to integrate their apps with these systems for seamless internal data exchange. This integration enables patients and practitioners to have round-the-clock access to their blood test results, prescriptions, and diagnoses, and allows them to view new information as soon as it becomes available.

• Easy Communication with Practitioners

Healthcare solutions enable healthcare professionals to establish secure connections with their patients without the need for in-person visits. Instead of traveling to the hospital and back, they can interact with patients face-to-face in real-time using mobile, desktop, or web apps. This not only saves time but also ensures a convenient and efficient healthcare experience for both parties involved.

Top Medical Apps for Patients

Here are the best healthcare apps for patients that provide robust services, cater to unique purposes, and allow their users to communicate in multiple ways.

#Doctor On Demand - 24-Hour Online Urgent Care           

Doctor on Demand is a telehealth application that offers 24-hour online urgent care. The application provides access to board-certified online doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists and other medical experts who can consult on various medical conditions, including preventative health, mental health, chronic, and skin care. 

The cost of consultations starts at $79 for a 15-minute visit, although the actual price may vary based on the individual's insurance coverage. In some cases, the consultation may even be available free of charge, depending on the insurance plan in place.

Main Features of Doctor on Demand Include:

• Video conferencing with doctors;

• Booking an appointment;

• Dealing with emergencies;

• Doctor review;

• Payment gateway;

• Reminders and discounts;

• Ordering prescribed medication;

• Access to EHR systems;

• Scanning and sharing documents.

# Medisafe - A Medication Tracker Application           

Medisafe is one of the top-rated medication reminder apps among pharmacists and physicians. It offers a visually appealing and user-friendly interface that ensures you never miss a dose of your medication. 

The app sends daily reminders, helping you stay on track with your pill regimen. In case you do miss a dose, Medisafe promptly alerts you, and you can even choose to notify your family or caregivers for additional reminders. This personalized medication management technology also provides alerts for potential drug interactions and sends prescription refill reminders to ensure you have an uninterrupted supply of medication.

Other Features of Medisafe Include:

• Notifying a family member, a friend, or a caregiver if you forget to take your medication;

• A progress report that can be sent to your doctor;

• Adding a touch of fun, Medisafe offers the Medtones feature, which allows you to customize the voice of your medication reminders with different movie characters.

# Clue - Period, Ovulation, and PMS           

Clue is a highly-rated app for tracking periods and ovulation. It's easy to use, backed by science, and designed by scientists with women's health in mind. You can track over 30 cycle-related symptoms and even customize it for your own needs. The app doesn’t track exclusively periods, it tracks and analyzes a variety of symptoms and data points, including weight, digestion, medication, emotions, mental, exercise, and more.

The Clue app works on Android phones with Android 5 and newer versions, and for iPhones, it's compatible with iOS 13 or later.

The main Features of Clue Include:

• Notifications about upcoming and missed periods, ovulation, intake of birth control pills, tracking basal body temperature;

• Sharing your cycle and ovulation data;

• Pregnancy mode’s topical tracking categories and weekly updates; 

• Recurring symptom analysis;

• Access to articles and resources;

• Monthly emails with cycle updates and summaries.

# MyChart - A Comprehensive Tool for Health Management           

MyChart, powered by Epic, is one of the most popular healthcare apps, used by more than 160 million patients worldwide. The application serves as a comprehensive tool for patients to actively manage their health. With this app, patients can effortlessly track their health metrics, securely communicate with their clinicians and healthcare teams, conveniently review their test results, and gain access to a multitude of other essential features. 

As the patient-facing side of Epic's electronic health record, the MyChart app provides a seamless experience for individuals to take charge of their healthcare journey. Whether it's scheduling appointments, requesting prescription refills, or receiving personalized health education resources, MyChart empowers patients with the necessary tools to stay informed, engaged, and in control of their well-being.

Main Features of MyChart Include:

• Friends and family access;

• Sharing your records;

• Requesting and downloading a copy of your medical record;

• A summary of your current health issues, medications, allergies, immunizations, and preventive care;

• Prescription renewals;

• Requesting a referral to see a specialist.

# Glucose Buddy - Diabetes Tracker           

Glucose Buddy is among the most popular apps for managing your blood sugar, carbs and A1C tests. It is a powerful tool that offers a wide range of functions that allow it to be a top-ranked diabetes app in the App Store for over 10 years now. 

This app allows users to easily log their blood glucose, meals, and medication as a single entry. It is capable of tracking users’ blood sugar, insulin, weight, blood pressure, and even A1C trends, which can be exported as a PDF or CSV reports that you can take to your healthcare provider. Another useful feature is that this app easily integrates with Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring system, but it is not the last feature that attracts thousands of users. 

Other Features of Glucose Buddy Include:

• Meal IQ helps you make better food choices and explains the impact your food has on your blood sugar level.

• Automatic tracking of your cardio activities.

• Advanced graphs that demonstrate trends in your glucose and medicine intake. 

# Bearable - Symptom and Mood Tracker           

Bearable is a tracking application that allows you to log your moods, physical activity, emotional symptoms, and much more to see how these factors affect your overall well-being. Users can fully customize the app by adjusting the list of factors based on their needs from weather and food to social media use. 

Users can also create their own health experiments by choosing any treatments or habits that they want to change or improve. In the free version of Bearable, users will be able to access weekly reports displaying their average mood, symptoms, sleep, and energy scores from the preceding week.

Other Features of Bearable Include:

• Connecting with fitness trackers like Google Fit and Apple Watch to import your health measurements;

• Reminders to take medication or log an activity;

• Sharing the data with a doctor or friends.

# Teladoc - A Telemedicine App           

Teladoc is a prominent player in the telehealth industry that offers a comprehensive range of telehealth services, encompassing primary and pediatric care, dermatology, nutrition, sexual health, and mental health services. The platform exclusively features healthcare and mental health providers who hold board certification or licensure, ensuring the highest standards of care.

The Main Features of Teladoc Include:

• Appointment scheduling;

• E-prescribing;

• Conferencing;

• File sharing;

• Medical billing;

• Medical records management.

Summary

The healthcare market is rapidly growing. And it’s high time to take your niche with a useful and user-friendly product. Need a partner to bring your idea to life? Just drop us a line for a free consultation. 

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