7 Tips for Developing Health Apps

So, you want to develop an app which will be used to help people to be healthier? How do you go about it and what are the main things you need to be aware of? Is this just like developing any other kind of app, and do I need an app at all? Read this handy guide to learn about the seven things you need to understand.

Apps are Easy Right?

The common wisdom is that creating an app is easy. If kids can do it and make a fortune then it must be easy. And everyone wants an app at the moment, so it must be the right thing to do. Well, it’s not that simple. And if you want your app to be part of the healthcare universe there are some particular things you need to think about. Some apps are trivial and others are really sophisticated. Some are stand alone and others are interconnected. Some turn the phone into a medical device and others don’t. Let’s look at some of the main questions you need to answer in more detail.

1 - Who's It For

The first thing to get straight is who your intended users are and what they will use your app for. Will it be used by patients, doctors, administrators or some combination of the above? Don't just guess, go talk to some people who fit the profile of your potential users and ask them what they think of your idea.

2 - Make It Nice

We have high expectations of our apps. We expect them to look great, to be easy to use and to fit around our lives like a pair of kid gloves. The relationship we have with our mobile phones is unique. Studies suggest we look at them over 100 times a day and we hold them close to us. They become almost an extension of ourselves. People will not tolerate anything which threatens this relationship, so your app better look good.

People sometimes think this step isn't important with medical apps. After all, if it’s good for you surely people will use it whether it looks good or not? Actually this is incorrect. People don’t just do what their doctors tell them to do. Digital ‘medication’ need to be just as well designed as any other kind of digital experience.

The design of user experience (UX) is a specialised skill. If it’s done well your app will sing but if it’s done badly you’ll never get the adoption you hoped for.

3 - Iterate and Accelerate

Writing good software is really, really hard. It’s not that actually writing the software is so hard, but rather writing the right software is almost impossible to do. The only way to solve this problem is to iterate. Build - Test - Learn - Repeat.

With apps, the people who actually use the app are not easy to talk to. You may not know who they are, and they may have no interest in talking to you the developer. They just want to use a tool which solves a problem for them. They don’t care about your scenarios and user stories. Instead you have to measure what they do and work out what’s wrong with your app based on their behaviour.

This is an area where the lean startup methodology meets clinical practice. Pharma and Med Tech companies are used to spending large amounts of time and money conducting one-shot, carefully controlled trials of their products. With apps you need to test at scale as quickly as possible in order to find out what’s wrong with your product so you can fix it.

4 - Get Evidence

This is the Health Apps version of Catch 22. Healthcare Practitioners wont use your app unless there’s evidence that it improves outcomes or cuts costs, but you can’t get that evidence until you can get large numbers of people to use your app, and the only way to do that is to get Practitioners to offer people your app.

There’s no easy solution to this problem. Pilot studies are a necessary part of the process but you should always look at ways you can build up user numbers and iterate rapidly to get to an optimum and self-sustaining solution as quickly as possible.

5 - Am I a Medical Device?

When you develop a Medical App it’s important to understand whether you are creating a medical device or not. In Europe, if your app is involved in diagnosis, prevention, monitoring or alleviation of disease you will need to get it CE marked. This is a complex subject. The UK government has provided helpful advice on this subject and there are many experts who can provide help.

Deciding your app is a medical device isn’t’ all bad news. Although it does mean additional expense to obtain CE marking it is also a barrier for entry for others.

6 - That Data's Private

Health data is sensitive and needs to be handled with care. Data privacy is covered by legislation and it’s important to understand what the law says in the jurisdictions where you will be distributing your app. In Europe the data protection directive provides a framework which will cover all European states. In the US the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) covers health data but there is also state legislation to be aware of, especially if you think your app isn’t covered by HIPAA.

Remember; privacy isn’t just about preventing personal data from being stolen. It’s also about avoiding accidental disclosure, properly authenticating users and ensuring the integrity of the data (ie that it doesn’t get changed without the users intent).

7 - Is It Worth It?

By now you might be thinking that your Health App is just too much trouble. Well, that all depends on whether it will make a return on its investment. By that I don’t necessarily mean a financial return. Health Apps can provide significant benefit to patients, their families, carers and healthcare professionals. You may think that your app is going to make you a fortune, but equally you may feel that the benefit to society justifies the effort involved.

Whatever your motivations you need to understand how your app will make money. Even if your intentions are purely altruistic, Health Apps have ongoing costs associated with them. You may justify an initial outlay to build an app but in order to have real benefit you need to plan a longer term strategy. Somehow your app should generate revenue which you can either take as profit or reinvest in your product. An app that makes no money, and has no way of ever making money is unlikely to have any real impact on the health of the planet.

Greg Smart is the CEO of 500 More who develop mobile apps for Health and Wellbeing. If you'd like to know more, click here and we'll be happy to contact you.

An expanded version of this article originally appeared on the 500 More blog.