Healthcare App Design Best Practices by Gapsy Team

Technology is moving forward. More and more areas of our lives are becoming digital. This also deals with healthcare.

It’s all about making services more comfortable, faster, and better. Nowadays, you can use your smartphone to queue online at the health center or stay in touch with your doctor. But there are far more possibilities. In recent years, the number of healthcare apps has grown considerably. Forced quarantine measures have influenced this due to the world situation. In addition to already existing apps about healthy eating, running, and exercises for different muscle groups, there are also apps directly related to Covid-19. For example, the ones track contacts, oversee symptoms and quarantine compliance.

Despite the different focuses of the apps, they all have one thing in common. They must be well designed, with a user-friendly interface and perfect UX/UI design. In addition, healthcare apps are designed for different age groups. That’s why they should be universal both for young and old alike.

This article will discuss the main types of mobile health apps, their purpose, and techniques to make the perfect healthcare app. Let’s start!

To go over mobile healthcare apps design, first, let’s understand the main types of apps.

Fitness apps

This type of app is built on attracting users to an active lifestyle. These include apps for steps and calories tracking and apps that provide various exercises to train certain muscles at home. The last type has become especially popular over the previous year due to the total quarantine.

Apps for people with chronic illnesses

Such applications are used to record a patient’s vital signs and symptoms. In addition, it makes it possible to visit the clinic less frequently.

Apps to help control your medications

A useful app for different age groups. What medicine to take, in what dose, and when to take it.

The app of the patient’s personal medical information

An app that allows you to store all necessary documents and confidential medical information on your smartphone.

EMR apps (electronic medical records)

Reference applications with medical information.

Online consultation apps

They were created for remote doctor-patient consultation.

Women’s health apps

These kind of apps help keep track of women’s health and give advice in certain situations.

Take a look at the app design services provided by Gapsy studio and contact us.

Design a healthcare app isn’t an easy task. Therefore, it’s necessary to constantly make sure that the app works correctly before the final launch. We’ll look at the main challenges that mobile healthcare apps can face below.

Confidentiality and security of patient personal data

Personal information leakage is a familiar problem for all app developers that contain personal user data.

This is especially true for healthcare apps. They collect a lot of patients’ personal information. Starting from name and age, some of these apps require access to data and device features. For this reason, special attention should be paid to security because there is an excellent risk that personal information will be used without consent.

According to statistics, in September 2020, there were 95 data breach cases.

And 9,710,520 medical records were lost. That’s a 348.07% increase from August 2020.

HIPAA standards and regulations

According to these statements, health app developers must follow the prescribed rules. That means they can’t be creative in developing these kinds of apps but only act within HIPAA policy. This makes the process of healthcare app design much more difficult.

Cloud storage

Nowadays, cloud storage is one of the most pronounced challenges in creating healthcare apps. Firstly, because of the security issue. There is an excellent threat of leakage of personal information from the cloud because it isn’t possible to provide proper protection for such a large amount of data.

IoT and AI design

New trends appear in the world of technology every year. App’s essential function is IoT (Internet of Things) and AI (artificial intelligence). IoT allows applications that are connected to the Internet to exchange data. An example is a smart home.

Healthcare apps need these features to run smoothly. Process data in real-time. Artificial intelligence is necessary to collect and analyze data from the device. A healthcare app equipped with these features can easily offer patients individualized daily routines and keep track of other necessary aspects.

Read also about UI Kit in design and why you need that in our blog.

A successful application is equally beneficial to both its creators and future users. This is why every step in the development process is worth paying attention to. Especially when it comes to healthcare apps. Its data security and clarity of actions must be perfect. So now we’ll try to understand the main stages of healthcare mobile app design and discuss the things that should definitely be taken into account.

Target audience research

Target audience research is the first thing you need to start with when you want to launch a product on the market. It would help if you kept in mind that healthcare apps are created for a certain range of people. So their interest in the app should come first. Before starting development, the following questions will be relevant:

• Who is your target audience?
• What do they need?
• What kind of app can solve their problems?

You also need to understand, will your app be used directly by doctors or by patients?

The healthcare app content and interface will directly depend on this.

When you are clear on the above questions, you can move directly to design.

Easy navigation

Straightforward navigation ensures that the user won’t leave the application in the first minutes. User-friendly navigation means quick loading and easy actions.

An interesting fact! Exist “three clicks” rule. It’s based on the fact that the user in no more than three clicks should reach the goal and find the desired information.

Quality interface

A well-designed interface plays an important role in healthcare app design. Whereas the product is aimed at different age groups, it must be accessible and understandable. Let’s break down the essential aspects that will make your app’s interface more comfortable.

Color palette

As a rule, color makes an immediate impression. Depending on it, the user has either a positive or negative attitude towards the object. Therefore, when designing an app’s interface, it’s necessary to be careful with the selection of color schemes.

You can read more about how to choose color for UI in our blog.

Especially when it refers to a healthcare app, you have to be especially careful there. The range of colors suitable for medical applications is minimal. Bright and eye-catching colors are usually not used. This is due to their impact on the emotions and well-being of the patient. Colors that are too bright can cause aggression and emotional arousal.

According to research, calm colors, such as green, blue and white, are most appropriate to the topic of health.

Typeface style

Properly chosen font in combination with the appropriate color scheme will positively impact the user’s perception. When choosing a font, also consider the target audience for which the app is created. Don’t make the spacing between the letters too big. The size of the font should be comfortably readable: not too big and not too small.

It’s also better not to use too stylized fonts, it complicates the perception of the text. It’s better to opt for the classic version. Don’t forget about the alignment of the text. It’s best to align the text on the left edge.

Adaptive icons and images

Adaptive icons are also used to improve the user’s perception of information. Important: adaptive icons must be accompanied by text, not to mislead the user.

The use of high-quality illustrations designing healthcare mobile apps help to create a positive mood and improve visual perception.

App functionality

Functionality is the goal of creating your app. When you have decided on your target audience and the app’s direction, you can define the main functions. Don’t make a mush out of an app. Focus on one thing at a time.

If it’s an app that helps users monitor their medications, notifications will be its main function. If the patient uses the app to communicate with the doctor, view treatment progress, or track symptoms, those will be the main functions.

After the main function of the app is selected, it should be displayed on the Home screen. This is because it serves as the place for essential things.

Availability

Availability in the healthcare app design is essential. Such apps can be used by people with various disabilities: hearing or vision problems, the elderly, or people with psychological disabilities. Therefore, when developing such an application, it’s worth taking this into account. It’s a difficult task to adapt to all groups of people, but it’s worth it for the app’s successful launch.

Let’s summarize. There are many different kinds of healthcare apps. Each of them has a specific function and task. Some of them are used by people with specific characteristics. So the key to a good healthcare app is functionality, user-friendly interface, and accessibility. When creating such an app, you need to be very attentive to details and stick to a clear goal.

If you are interested in designing a healthcare app or need expert advice, contact us and our designers from Gapsy will go with you from creating a high-quality UI/UX to website design that will envy all competitors. Check out the finished projects on Behance and Dribbble. And also take a look at the services we provide.