3 Strong Benefits of Custom Healthcare Software Development

Besides having a brand-oriented visual design, healthcare custom software development provides excellent benefits that make it worthwhile.

This article discusses three of these benefits:

• Integration of solutions that support business growth.
• Improved security measures to protect user data.
• Quick adaptation to emerging technologies and regulations.

Grow your healthcare business with a scalable, efficient, and user-centric platform. Read more about the advantages below. Let’s go!

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1. Integration of Solutions That Support Business Growth

Healthcare providers who want to utilize technologies and innovations to build engagement, get leads, and retain patients have many options. These include software as a service (SaaS) and off-the-shelf solutions. Both are attractive because they are:

• Available anytime, anywhere, especially those that sync to the cloud. 
• Highly versatile, allowing users to customize the features that they need or want.
• Easily scalable since plans may be upgraded when necessary.
• Easy to let go of because users are not bound by lock-in periods and contracts.

Despite these noteworthy features, off-the-shelf and SaaS solutions pale compared to custom software’s ability to support business growth. This is because you can quickly integrate features that add more value to your platform. 

Consider this Digital Authority Partners (DAP) case study. Athenahealth owns a mobile application called Epocrates. It is the world’s most popular program for doctors, with over two million active users. 

Recent data, though, revealed declining usage and revenues. To understand the situation, the developers performed a thorough data audit. They measured several metrics to discover the root causes and the best solutions. 

Even better, the team complemented the physician mobile app with advanced analytics. It collects data that its users sort and interpret. This way, they are now able to make smarter decisions. 

Changes such as this helped increase Athenahealth’s revenue by 140% and app engagement by 40%.

2. Improved Security Measures to Protect User Data

In 2017, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) had to shut down several health facilities, suspend elective procedures, and transfer patients to other hospitals. A ransomware attack prevented healthcare providers from accessing vital documents, including electronic medical records. 

The root cause of the cyber breach was not any of the organization’s protocols. It was its legacy system. Its computers still use Windows XP, which Microsoft stopped supporting in 2014. The impact was so widespread that Bill Gates' company had to release a special patch to fix it. 

Today, software developers are more responsible and security conscious. They perform tests, release patches, remove bugs, and correct flaws. Some even hire ethical hackers to assess their security levels. 

As a user, though, the support and maintenance that you expect largely depends on the actions of these creators, as in the case of Microsoft and the NHS. If that is not enough of a problem, their vulnerabilities also extend to your healthcare business.

Even if you are not at fault, you are still at risk of penalties and fines for non-compliance with federal and industry regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Patients can take you to court through class-action lawsuits, potentially damaging your brand and reputation.

Healthcare custom software development does not create an impenetrable application. Instead, it introduces various security trends, making your platform more difficult to break. It also installs safeguards to help you detect risks and breaches before they become severe. These include:

• Adopting strong password policies, including complexity requirements and regular password updates.
• Assigning different access levels and permissions to users based on their roles.
• Encrypting sensitive data stored on servers or databases.
• Implementing transport layer security (TLS) or secure sockets layer (SSL) protocols.
• Keeping the app’s underlying frameworks up to date with the latest security patches.
• Regularly updating the operating system, libraries, and third-party dependencies to address vulnerabilities.
• Vetting third-party APIs and vendors.
• Maintaining detailed logs of user activities, system events, and security-related incidents.

3. Quick Adaptation to Emerging Technologies

Mobile healthcare remains a fast-growing industry. Telemedicine, for instance, could achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.13% by 2032. By the end of the forecast period, its revenues could reach almost $900 billion. 

Other trends include: 

• Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve diagnosis accuracy and personalize treatments.
• Blockchain to help secure patient data and streamline workflows, including recordkeeping.
• Internet of Things (IoT) that links systems and devices to promote better patient monitoring and medication management.
• Wearable devices to collect patient health data and monitor vital signs in real time.
• Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) simulate medical procedures and provide more reliable training for healthcare professionals.
• Digital-based therapeutics to manage various medical conditions.
• Medical chatbots quickly offer answers to common health questions and triage patients. quickly
• Big data analytics to identify trends, forecast disease outbreaks, and refine marketing plans.

Because the future of healthcare involves technologies, you need a platform that has the capacity to handle growing traffic, unique technical requirements and infrastructure, and changes in consumer preferences and behavior. 

Bespoke healthcare software development is the way to go. A good example is the Blue Cross and Blue Shield case study. One of Illinois' largest health insurance firms, it has over 6 million members under different managed-care plans. 

The sheer figure means that the company collects big data (with customers’ permission). They analyze it to get a more accurate picture of client needs. The problem is they do not have the means to effectively report and interpret information. 

To solve the problem, Digital Authority Partners (DAP) created a prototype of the performance dashboard. The team also designed a more efficient workflow that enhances report quality and speed. The information now remains relevant and helpful in the decision-making process of the stakeholders. 

Summing Up

Healthcare remains a purpose-driven yet lucrative industry. However, you only reap its tangible and intangible benefits when you grow. This includes building a medical platform for employees, patients, and other stakeholders. 

While you have the option of using off-the-shelf and SaaS solutions for a faster time to market, healthcare custom software development offers significant advantages that support business growth. These include security, integration of user-centric features, and quick adaptation of emerging technologies and trends.

Digital Authority Partners (DAP) helps you build an original mobile or web application tailored to your goals, brand, and market. Contact us today to learn how we do it.