Did you know that the history of healthcare software started far back in the 1960s? While we commonly think of modern-day technology when we imagine healthcare software, the roots of this industry reach much deeper than that. From the earliest Electronic Health Record software to today’s advanced AI-supported diagnostic tools, the evolution of healthcare tech has been a journey that has changed millions of lives worldwide. What is more, it still continues – new, more advanced software is constantly being designed and developed, bringing solutions to problems that seemed insoluble just a decade or two ago.
If you are curious about healthcare software, its use cases and benefits, we encourage you to keep reading. Whether you are a software developer interested in a new field, or just someone looking to learn more about systems like EHRs and EMRs, you will surely find valuable information here.
What is Healthcare Software?
Just as the name suggests, healthcare software consists of systems and apps created for use in the healthcare industry. Also known as medical software, these technologies have been improving the way healthcare providers across the world operate. From managing patient data and creating medicine databases, to telehealth and hospital billing systems – there are hundreds of different healthcare-related apps and systems to choose from.
It is worth knowing that the healthcare software field is one of the most regulated in the tech industry due to the sensitive nature of information processes and the impact it can have on people’s lives. There is no room for error, especially in the case of diagnostic aids and treatment planning applications, as one wrong calculation or a bug could negatively impact a patient’s health and a healthcare provider’s reputation. That is why any reputable custom healthcare software development company will prioritize security, testing, and compliance above quick fixes and easy profit.
Types of Healthcare Software
As with any kind of industry, healthcare is a vast field that comprises of multiple sectors responsible for a variety of tasks. Each of these sectors makes use of different tools, and there are new inventions and advancements being introduced constantly in most of them. Let’s take a look at the most popular healthcare software types and its use cases.
Electronic Health Records Systems
A typical EHR system allows medical facilities to store, edit, and manage patient data, as well as share it with other organizations. The centralized, structured nature of these systems helps to streamline work in hospitals and clinics, also reducing the chance of human error that could potentially slow down not only the internal facility processes, but also the patient’s treatment. Electronic Health Record systems could be compared to the old-school paper-based archives storing all the medical data of a provider’s patients, but with largely improved efficiency and accuracy.
Medical Diagnosis Software
No medical professional depends on machine learning algorithms or AI, but for the past few years, software meant to assist medical diagnosis has been gaining popularity among doctors and researchers. These tools can help go through dozens of illnesses presenting with similar symptoms, and calculate the probability of each one based on the medical history that was fed into the system. Medical diagnosis software has large potential in helping to diagnose less known and rare conditions.
Telemedicine Apps
We have seen the giant growth in the popularity of telehealth apps during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people did not want to leave their homes, but still needed access to medical care and advice. They allowed patients to contact their primary physicians and nurses, request prescriptions, and even take part in virtual appointments for basic diagnostics. While remote healthcare is not always a viable replacement for traditional clinic visits, it has brought access to medical assistance to people previously excluded from it, like those living in rural or underserved areas.
Medical Imaging Software
This kind of software has been in the game for a long time, primarily being used with medical scanning devices, such as computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. They play a crucial role in diagnosing many illnesses that could otherwise go unnoticed, as the human eye would not be able to detect changes in tissue or organs. Among the key features of those apps are image enhancement, the ability to zoom in and out, measure distances and angles, and even render 3D reconstructions of the scanned organ.
Benefits of Healthcare Software
It is not difficult to list the benefits that healthcare-focused software brings to society. In fact, the list would be so long, that it would require a separate article, so we will stick to the commonly cited ones.
- Less human error: the less human involvement in tasks like data entry, the fewer mistakes are likely to occur.
- Improved patient care: thousands of people from underserved and remote areas can access medical advice and help through online healthcare apps.
- Quicker diagnosis: Using machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyze huge amounts of data makes the process of diagnosing patients faster, as opposed to traditional methods that rely solely on human actions.
- Comfort and convenience: Requesting an electronic prescription or a referral is much easier now, and patients do not need to leave their homes to get what they need.
- Easier finance management: Many management systems for hospitals and clinics include billing and bookkeeping features that allow the facilities to track and manage their budget more efficiently.
- Better scalability: With the wide range of medical software available on the market, professionals can easily scale their practice up or down as needed without having to invest in physical space or additional staff.
Of course, there are also benefits related to keeping track of medical inventory, vaccination schedules, healthcare automation, statistics, and much more. Depending on the specific app or system, the advantages will be different, but most are extremely beneficial for the healthcare industry.
Healthcare Software Development Costs
Surely, it depends.Most of the healthcare software costs range from $30,000 to $300,000.
Now, it’s even possible to build the simplest apps yourself with low- or no-code platforms, which make low costs possible. The easiest types of apps and software to build are health trackers, appointment scheduling apps, and medication reminders. But of course, considering how easy it is to make one, the market is flooded with competition. So if you still target such apps, you will have to spend a lot on marketing and PR to differentiate your brand.
More complicated solutions include EMRs, pharmacy management solutions, patient portal, and AI-powered software that helps care providers do their work more efficiently, like AI imaging tools, patient risk prediction systems, virtual assistents, drug discivery software, etc. This type of software is more expensive and in this case it’s more difficult for healthcare facilities to opt for a ready-made solution with a subscription. Usually, needs of such clients require a far more customized approach and bigger budget.
Large entities do usually have IT departments that can help them in developing tools that meet their needs. However, it is common when such departments lack a specific expertise or need more people working on a project to get it done faster. So it is rather common to outsource mobile app development when working on such complicated projects, as outsourcing agencies can bring in any talent you need quickly while also taking the administrative burden off your shoulders.
Healthcare Software Saving Lives
It would not be a big stretch to say that healthcare software is saving human lives every day. All around the world, various kinds of software are used to help people get better treatment, save money on their medications, find their diagnoses faster, and even predict possible future illnesses.
Healthcare has changed massively with the development of health-related software, and with the rate at which it is advancing, the potential for improving the overall human health is immense. We are on our way to completely revolutionizing health and wellness through technology, and it is going to benefit us all.
