The Telehealth Development Process: From Idea to Implementation

The healthcare industry is slowly moving towards a digital transformation. To give you an idea, around 80% of people have accessed care via telemedicine software at least once in their lives. Furthermore, with almost 96% patient satisfaction rate, healthcare providers are actively seeking telehealth development to bring ease in care delivery and also start their digital transformation process.

While the telehealth software development process is tricky, healthcare providers are still opting for it for the win-win situation it is trying to create for both patients and providers. For instance, a paper published in ResearchGate suggested that 52.5% of people received better care with telehealth platforms and remote patient monitoring.

Taking virtual care to another level, the American Academy of Neurology suggested that only 5% of telehealth appointments needed an in-person appointment. This is proof that telemedicine software is something that goes beyond just technology. However, to achieve this success with telehealth platforms, a well-defined development process should be implemented from concept to launch.

But here you might ask, how to develop a telehealth app?

Well, in this blog, we will cover some of the key stages involved in developing custom telemedicine software that will help you in successful telehealth implementation.

Needs Assessment and Planning

The first step in the telehealth software development process is to assess the clinical needs and plan according to them. Here are some things to consider at the very first stage of telehealth development:

1. Defining Your Vision: By vision, what is meant is defining why you want to develop a telehealth platform. Clearly define your project goals, followed by the target patient groups to whom you are going to offer these services. Last but not least, know what functionalities of the telemedicine software you wish to include.

2. Understanding User Needs: Once you have understood your core target group, just offering them telehealth services is not enough. You need to give something more than just a virtual consultation. By identifying their pain points, they curate the development process accordingly. Input from healthcare providers, patients, and administrative staff can come in handy at this stage. This way, you can easily know the specific needs of your software and the features and functionalities that you need to include.

3. Competitive Analysis: Doing thorough competitive research can help you in knowing what offerings other healthcare practices are providing with telehealth software. This can help you develop an ideal telehealth solution where you can address the weaknesses of your competitors and play on your strengths. Along with that, you will also have a brief idea about creating a unique ecosystem of your healthcare practice.

Features Prioritization and Design

The features of your telehealth software define the functionality of your telehealth platform. That is why you need to prioritize the core features of your software and move ahead with the telehealth software development process accordingly.

1. Define Your Core Features: At this stage, consider your software as a product and try to make it a Minimum Viable Product. This way, you will have enough features to start your virtual healthcare delivery program. Some of the features that should be included in your telehealth software are video conferencing—since it is what telehealth loosely means—appointment scheduling, and secure messaging.

2. User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX): The next thing that is crucial for your software is its design and the experience you wish to give your patients and staff when they are using the software. An intuitive design and user-friendly nature can ensure an elevated experience, which leads to patient loyalty and satisfaction rate.

3. Workflow Integration and Data Security: Since healthcare delivery depends on a lot of other healthcare providers, you need to plan a smooth integration program with them, for instance, with EHR systems. Along with that, also implement robust security measures to ensure data safety and integrity of your healthcare practice is maintained.

Development and Testing

After the preparation for development is done, now it’s time to develop or code the telemedicine software and launch the telehealth platform. Here are some things you need to consider at the development stage of your telehealth solution:

1. Agile Development Methodology: There are various development methodologies that you can adopt for your telemedicine platform development. However, adopting the agile methodology can help you develop the software faster, and it gives you enough room and flexibility during the entire process to make improvements in the software based on the feedback.

2. Secure Coding Practices and Testing: When coding the software, it is best suggested to practice secure coding practices throughout the process. This is crucial because it removes all the unnecessary problems that might arrive in the near future, usually when the real data starts flowing in the software. Apart from just codes, you also need to rigorously test the codes at every stage to ensure that codes are secure and working as they are intended.

3. User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Once the telehealth platform is developed and tested, you need to test the software on the end-users and see if they are accepting the platform and are quite satisfied using it. This is important because it will help you identify usability issues and ensure that the software works the way it should.

Deployment and Launch

Once you’ve developed and tested your telemedicine platform, it is now time to deploy your telemedicine software and launch it for healthcare providers, patients, and staff members. Here are some things that you need to keep a keen eye on:

1. Software Deployment and Training: During the software deployment process, you need to deploy it on a secure platform and provide comprehensive training for users. This way, you can ensure that the software is safe to use and that the users get enough hands-on training to effectively use it, knowing all the features and functionality of the software inside out.

2. Marketing and User Adoption Strategy: After your telehealth solution is deployed, you need to market it so that patients know that you’re offering virtual care services. Some of the best ways are to utilize EHR systems and identify patients who can enroll in this program.

3. Ongoing Support and Maintenance: Last but not least, once the healthcare software is deployed, you need to provide ongoing technical support and maintenance services. This way, your telehealth solution’s performance will be ensured to be optimal.

Scalability and Future Enhancements

Technology is ever-evolving and changing with every passing day, and with the healthcare industry being one of the fastest-adopting industries of technology, you need to ensure that your software is capable of scalability and future enhancements and advancements in technology.

1. Scalable Architecture and Infrastructure: During the telehealth software development process, you need to build a scalable architecture for your telemedicine software. This is important because it can help you accommodate the future growth of the patients. Along with that, by building a scalable architecture, you ensure that whenever there are certain advancements in the technology, you can easily make the necessary changes to advance your virtual care platform.

2. Continuous Monitoring and Feedback: Last but not least, play the patience game and monitor your telehealth solution’s performance. Use user feedback analysis and plan for the future with respect to the insights you derive from the software performance.

Frequently Asked Questions