Turning your clinical pathway into a mobile app

It has been reported that health and wellbeing applications are estimated to make up approximately 40% of new smartphone apps currently being developed. Health and medical related apps have the potential to be adapted and used by healthcare professionals, helping to revolutionise the sector and reflect the digital age we live in.

There has also been a lot of discussion around providing HCPs with greater access to clinical pathways and care maps so that they can easily check medical guidelines on the go to help ensure that they are implementing a specific task in-line with best practice.

So, does it make sense for healthcare organisations to create handy mobile apps that HCPs can quickly and easily access on their smartphone so that they can check to make sure that they’re following the correct procedure?

Here are 5 key areas for you to consider that will help you to make an informed decision.

1. Does the pathway already exist already?
Because clinical pathways exist to promote efficient patient care based on evidence based practice they are more often than not available in a paper format but trying to track them down can be difficult. If the pathway already exists in paper based format then it’s more than likely that the pathway can be re-produced to work as an app, providing that there is a clear process that can be followed.

2. Can the pathway be used in its current format or does it need modifying?
Generally clinical pathways refer to medical guidelines. However a single pathway may refer to guidelines on several topics in a well specified context, for example both paediatric and adult pathways for a single indication, so it’s important to imagine the user and the point at which they may need to engage with the pathway. If the pathway is overly complex covering a number of topics, can it be reproduced in a number of different flavours making it easier for the end user to access the correct pathway more quickly?

3. Additional help information and any other relevant reference points.
Using the devices functionality a user will be guided through the process by answering relevant questions about the patient and their symptoms. In some cases the answer may not be entirely clear but developing the pathway as an app allows you to include additional information in the form of text, images and video to help clarify points and questions. In addition to this if there are other reference points that are relevant to the pathway, links can be built into these to help provide further explanation.

4. Test the app with local teams to check its effectiveness, sign off and launch the app and tell everyone about it.
As with any new tool, it’s important that you test it thoroughly before launching it for use by the whole of the department/organisation. Testing should involve making sure that each end-user can fully complete each specific task on the app that you set them. If they are unable to do so then you will be able to identify whether the app has a technical glitch or if the user journey is not clear and thus making it confusing for the end-user to complete the task. It’s also important to make sure that if the app is designed for use on multiple devices and operating systems, i.e. iPhone, Android, iPad, Blackberry, Microsoft etc, then make sure that you have users in your testing group that will be trialling the app on each of the devices and platforms that you will want the app to work on.

5. Track usage and improve the app where necessary
Even when the app is ‘live’ and in use it’s still important to capture data on its usage and give end-users the opportunity to submit feedback to highlight any glitches or possible areas for improvement. Your end-users can provide you with some useful insights into additional features and functionality that could help make the app even more useful and this can help to encourage more people to download it.

10 Tips for Launching a Health App

The buzz surrounding health apps is quickly becoming a deafening roar and that first comer window of opportunity is closing fast. While there is no doubt that health apps are the way of the future, as an avalanche of them become available, here are ten tips to help make your mHealth strategy and mobile app a success.

1. Originality – Present your app as offering something original that actually makes a useful contribution. Or if your app is in a category that already exists present your app in a unique new and attention getting way.

2. Strategy – Nothing is likely to be much of a success without the right amount of planning. Plan your strategy in a systematic way. Look at the app from the customer’s point of view. If you were they, would you buy it? Check that you are within compliance requirements and whether or not your app needs to be registered as a class 1 device.

3. Website – First A great website is half the battle of marketing your app. Make sure that yours is professional looking and up and running, without glitches, before you launch. Tell people how your mHealth app will benefit them and make your website a great marketing tool. Also don’t forget to optimise it for relevant key phrases so that people can find it on search engines like Google.

4. Social Media – Your mHealth app will stand the best chance if it is fully supported by social media. Twitter is an excellent platform that will supply you with endless attention free of charge. However with a 140-character limit make sure you choose your words wisely! Other social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook are also key networks that will give you a channel to get people talking about your app. Also don’t forget the much smaller, niche social networks that also exist within your sector, sometimes you will find that these can be more effective in terms of engaging and interacting with your target audience.

5. Sales Pitch – Make sure that you have honed your sales pitch to the best that it can be before you do anything else. Your sales pitch needs to convince people to take the next step. Creating app promo videos are often a great way to show people the key features and benefits of your app.

6. Blogs – are very popular and setting up a good one can be a great step towards your having a successful mHealth app. They are very much joined at the hip with social media and if you can get Tech sites or other relevant sites to feature you, then that will also be an invaluable l marketing tool. Also reach out to other influential bloggers and ask if they’d be interested in writing a post about it.

7. The Friendly Approach – Make your tweets, posts and blogs casual, and not too formal, but still professional. People respond better to a more friendly approach.

8. Tease! – Start the hype early and keep the customer guessing as you build up to the launch. Make the eventual reveal an event that people want to know about.

9. Media Hype – Creating a buzz or media hype around your mHealth app will certainly help it launch. Offer free downloadable press releases of your app with high-resolution images for potential users. Ask reputable, category specific blogs to feature any promos.

10. The Big Launch – All the hype and the work you have done towards launching your mHealth app will be wasted if your launch ends up as something of a damp squib. Ensuring that you have maximum app store visibility is key so you amy also want to consider an app store optimisation (ASO) campaign. Make sure that you send out newsletters and press invitations – do everything you can to make the launch go with a bang.

If you are considering developing a health or medical app then check out our resources section or use our directory to find a suitable medical and health app developer.