We all know about mHealth apps by now. However, most developers show apprehension when asked about designing a mHealth app. More, not many app entrepreneurs want to embark out into this lucrative app niche too. Ever wondered why? Well, it is because of the apprehension that the mHealth app would not be as great as it should be. Well, with current technology it is time to shed away the inhibitions and rise to glory.
For an application developer, creation of such apps can be a very good option due to a number of reasons:
- Surging Market: mHealth is a comparatively new method of medical practice. Though it is prevalent in the industrialized nations, but it is still coming up as a market in the developing nations. Thus, the scope of such apps is going to be very high in the future. Specially, in countries where the rate of disease spread is high, such applications can prove to be gold dust. Identification and diagnosis of the fatal and acute diseases such as diabetes and also the curing of simple chronic diseases like cold can be done via the smart phones through these apps. This is no less than a breakthrough in the medical history.
- Minimal Cost: Where visiting a doctor can prove to be a costly affair, mHealth apps can be much cheaper or for that matter, free of cost. The app entrepreneur of such an app should focus not only on how to identify the disease but also about curing it. Apps such as “WellDoc” provide the facility of tracking the patient’s condition through a smart phone and wireless glucose monitors. The information it receives is transmitted into a clinical recommendation and is also sent to a qualified doctor for a review. This way, the patient gets a complete prescription intimating him about his problem and giving a proper solution to it as well, and not to forget, within an affordable price.
- The Subheads: For an app entrepreneur’s point of view, the best part is that there are various categories under the mHealth apps recommended by the United Nations, in collaboration to the Vodafone Foundation. The seven subheads of this are: Education and Awareness, Helpline, Diagnostic Treatment and Support, Communication and Training for healthcare workers, Disease and Epidemic Outbreak Tracking, Remote Monitoring and finally, Remote Data Collection. An app developer can create his application under any one of the above subheads, meaning that he has a lot of options up his sleeve. Also, the users have a wider range to look for, when they are trying to find a solution to a particular symptom.
The mHealth way can thus, prove to be a quick and cheap method of facing any pathological problem. It can help a great deal in those cases where immediate attention to the patient is required. From the entrepreneurs’ point of view, the medical applications are being liked by a majority of Android and iOS users already. A golden future can be rightly expected for their developers.
