DataHouse Asia. Tech Development

According to the World Health Organization, mobile health (also known as mHealth, Mobile Health or m-health) represents all “medical and health practices that rely on mobile devices.” This is one of our fields of expertise at DataHouse Asia. Let us give you some tips to build your mobile heath application successfully.

Before implementing a mobile health project, several rules will prevent you from failing, here are the most important:

1. Market Research, and Identify the problem to solve 

To create your health mobile app, you need to find a pertinent idea that addresses a need or solves an existing problem. Above all, study the mobile health market, who its competitors are, and clearly define its user profile (smartphone only or tablet, target, age, habits, etc.). If you think your idea is great, but there’s no one around to use your app, you’ll waste a lot of time and possibly money.

Understanding end-user requirements is a critical part of the healthcare sector. Also, find out what problems they have with the current solution and how you can make it better. 

 2. Identify the best technology

There are different ways to develop a health mobile application and the service providers you will consult to support you will tend to offer you the solution that they already master. However, according to your business needs, the business model envisaged, the urgency of the project and your budget in particular, you will have to give priority to one solution rather than another. To succeed in this part, you need to choose carefully your service provider. At DataHouse Asia, we always give you the best advices and consultancy with a detailed arguments and research about the suitable technology for your project. 
 

3. Choosing Functions to Include

It’s important to know what you’re going to put in your app, to work out its main features (the main ones and those to add later). Don’t drown yourself in too many options, the best applications are sometimes the simplest and those that show only one function.

4. Privacy and Security

If your application collects health data, you will need to be very careful with the privacy and security. When it comes to hosting, your database must be in the hands of one of the state-approved hosting providers, who has the valuable certificate (GDPR for European Union, Privacy Protection Act for the USA, etc.). This approach can be very costly for an emerging project, so there is an alternative: Using local phone storage (without database) where you can ensure the delivery of the service to the user while allowing him to consult his history. 

It’s essential to put the user at the heart of your device. The consent of individuals and the control of their data must be the backbone of your mobile health. You need to be as transparent as possible in your use of personal data. Personal information and security regulations may vary from country to country.

5. Testing in the real life

In addition to technical tests and QA, you will need to try your application in real life with your target audience. This process requires that you know your personas well, you need to define groups of homogeneous individuals who share the same problem or have the same needs (examples: health professionals from the same specialty, people who suffers from the same chronic disease, etc.). They may also have a specific age group or similar consumption and lifestyle habits, which makes it easier to segment them.

The idea will therefore be to formulate hypotheses on how each person will react to your application and to propose several alternatives in terms of navigation principle, design or even the content. It is recommended to hire at least 2 people per group (representativeness required) to prepare for your testing session.

Would you like to know more about how the services and digital solutions we offer could help build your mobile application?

Drop us a line via the DataHouse Asia contact form.