What Are the Essential Features to Develop a Telemedicine App?

According to Statista, the global telemedicine market is expected to reach $460 billion by 2030. And this is not surprising. Covid-19 and the evolution of technologies have created an increased demand for telemedicine services and software solutions. And if you decide to follow the trends and create your own telemedicine application, you should know which features are essential for this type of product.

So, a telemedicine application is an app designed to connect doctors and patients for providing/receiving remote medical services. Therefore, while developing such an app, you need to make sure it is user-friendly and functional for both parties.

Features of the telemedicine application for patients

Patients download telemedicine apps to find a specialist and receive prompt medical advice. Therefore, your application should give users the ability to do this as quickly and easily as possible. Therefore, the main features of the telemedicine application for patients include the following:

Sign up

Sign up process for users should be simple. Remember, no one likes to fill out a lot of fields. Also, don't forget about security features such as two-factor authentication and limits on the number of login attempts and password reset requests.

Personal profile

The patient's personal profile stores sensitive user data such as electronic health records (EHR). Therefore, security comes first here. Make sure that all data is securely protected and won’t fall into the hands of third parties. Also, don’t forget that you need to comply with HIPAA or other regulations of the region in which you intend to operate.

Search and filters

Built-in filters make it easy for patients to choose physicians. Allow users to sort doctor profiles by specialization, rating, proximity, doctor's rate, and more.

Video conferencing and text messaging

The main function of any telemedicine app is to provide high-quality communication between patients and doctors. A good quality video and audio connection are often needed to make a diagnosis. This way physicians will be able to examine patients better and prescribe the correct treatment. However, some issues don’t require instant real-time communication, therefore, along with video conferencing, it is worth implementing the text messaging feature.

Book appointment

Users should be able to see a doctor's free time slots and book an appointment. Also, if a patient can cancel or change the appointment time, it will simplify the workflow for both patients and doctors.

Payment

Users of your telemedicine app should have multiple payment options, including health insurance coverage. When choosing payment systems for integration, take into account their security, reliability, commissions, and speed of transactions.

Notifications

There is a fine line between creating notifications that help users and those that annoy them. Consider what alerts your patients will benefit from. For example, app feature updates, reminders of an appointment, and the like.

Review and ratings

A review is a great way to get feedback. Allow patients to evaluate the quality of the services provided to them. Based on reviews, the system can create ratings of medical specialists to simplify the choice of a doctor for new users.

Features of the telemedicine application for doctors

Just like patients, physicians prefer simple and efficient applications. In addition, it will be a great plus if the app functionality for doctors will help them not only interact with patients but also manage their work schedule. Therefore, the main features of a telemedicine application for doctors should include the following:

• Sign up and personal profile with information about education, specialization, experience, certificates of a specialist, etc.
• Scheduling to help physicians easily manage their workload.
• Video conferencing and text chat to receive and initiate communication with patients.
• EHR verification to request access to a patient's medical history.
• Medical prescription for the digital posting of medical prescriptions.
• Analytical dashboard to help doctors effectively analyze their activities.
• View feedback.

These are the essential features to develop a telemedicine app. However, the telemedicine app development process consists not only of the selection of features but also of the choice of technologies with the help of which they can be best implemented. Therefore, I advise you to always consult with developers who have experience in creating telemedicine applications. They will be able to help you choose the best functionality and technology to ensure a great user experience and performance.