Telemedicine App Development
Planning, Sourcing and Costs
In software development since 1989, ScienceSoft uses 17-year expertise in healthcare IT to advise on and develop reliable telemedicine software.
Telemedicine App Development In Brief
The development of a telehealth app may take around 4-8 months including steps like requirements engineering, project planning, UX and UI design, MVP development and launch. The project requires a team of a project manager, a business analyst, a regulatory consultant, UI and UX designers, front-end and back-end developers, QA and DevOps engineers, and the development costs start from $150,000.
ScienceSoft helps both healthcare organizations and software product companies leverage telehealth technology and develops reliable telemedicine applications tailored to the patients’ needs.
Telehealth Solutions ScienceSoft Implements
ScienceSoft illustrates how telemedicine technology is used in specific fields of healthcare and outlines commonly requested features, integrations we recommend for the following solutions:
Telemedicine App Development Steps
Depending on a telemedicine application’s specific features and scale, the development plan steps and their duration may differ, some of them may overlap with each other.
Based on our 17 years of experience in healthcare IT, we present a generalized process ScienceSoft follows to deliver a telemedicine app.
Step 1. Telehealth app requirements engineering and software planning
Duration: from 4 weeks.
During the initial stage, ScienceSoft performs:
- For product companies: Telemedicine app market and competitors research, target customers identification, and a telehealth app idea productization.
- For healthcare organizations: Business needs specification and telehealth software requirements elicitation.
- Listing and prioritizing telemedicine software features (e.g., symptom-based doctor search, real-time video communication between doctors and patients), creating user scenarios for patients, doctors, admins; for telehealth products – splitting features into subscription plans.
- Gathering compliance requirements for applicable regulations (e.g., HIPAA, HITECH) and standards.
- High-level integrations design (e.g., with EHR, Health Information Exchange, Laboratory Information System), preliminary HIPAA-compliant software architecture design, tech stack selection, identification of needed software licenses.
- For telemedicine products: Customizations design – to define telehealth app capabilities allowing the customers to modify certain app modules.
- Preliminary budget planning.
The phase deliverables include:
- General telehealth software requirements specification.
- Telehealth app feature list.
- High-level telehealth app architecture design.
- Preliminary budget.
Step 2. Project planning
Duration: from 2 weeks.
At ScienceSoft, this stage includes:
- Project scope identification.
- Software development life cycle model planning (e.g., Agile methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, are effective for complex projects requiring team flexibility).
- Budget planning.
- Project schedule, iterations, milestones and KPI planning.
- Software development risk assessment and a risk mitigation plan design (covering such risks as delays in the development, third-party medical software integration issues, etc.).
- Assessment of the telehealth software usage risks (e.g., potential app misuse, risks to patients’ health) and mitigation plan design.
Step 3. UX and UI design
Duration: from 2 weeks.
- UX design – identifying main user scenarios (e.g., video appointment scheduling, prescription renewal) and visualizing the core functionality of a telehealth application (e.g., patient-doctor messaging, vitals’ tracking), mapping convenient user journeys (for patients, physicians, nurses, administrators).
- UI prototyping – to visualize how the telehealth app will look.
- UI design – to create attractive graphic interface elements.
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ScienceSoft’s tip: To develop the telehealth software faster, ScienceSoft often runs the UX and UI design stage simultaneously with the project planning stage. |
At ScienceSoft, the phase deliverables include:
- UX wireframes.
- User interface design document (all screens, assets, and source files).
Step 4. Telehealth application development and launch
Duration: starting from 2-6 months for the minimum viable product (MVP).
- Back-end and front-end development of the telehealth app – to create the server side of the application and APIs and transform UI design elements into a functioning user side.
- Testing – runs simultaneously with development to check a telehealth app’s functional requirements, identify and fix software defects, verify telehealth software security and HIPAA compliance, test usability and stability of the application.
- Revision of software usage risks – addressing the new risks, and actualization of the mitigation plan.
- Revision of telehealth software documentation – if the requirements changed during the app development.
- App certification according to relevant standards – e.g., 21 CFR 11 – for apps dealing with electronic prescriptions, IEC 82304-1:2016 – if the app presupposes integration with medical sensors or devices.
- Pilot roll-out – to present the fully developed app to the focus group (e.g., a group of doctors and patients in the healthcare organization), get their feedback, and improve the telehealth app accordingly.
- Telehealth app launch.
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ScienceSoft’s tip: When our customers' telehealth app needs early stakeholder or market validation, we usually start with MVP (minimum viable product) development. ScienceSoft develops core intended app functionality with simple UX and UI design, and then adjusts the telehealth app MVP (e.g., enhance user experience) and prioritizes developing secondary features based on stakeholder or user feedback. |
Development phase deliverables include:
- Developed and deployed telehealth application.
- Detailed architecture design.
- Application’s source code.
- Test documentation
- App setup guide, admin guide, support guide, user guide (for patients and for doctors).
Step 5. Telemedicine software maintenance and evolution
Duration: continuous.
ScienceSoft is ready to support its customers after the telehealth app launch, offering:
- Telehealth software and underlying infrastructure support and maintenance – to mitigate incidents, fix revealed defects and facilitate smooth work and evolution of the app.
- Telehealth software security audits – to regularly verify PHI security, test the application and its infrastructure for HIPAA compliance.
- Telemedicine software evolution – to roll out new features and improve software based on the analyzed feedback from clinical staff and patients.
Consider Professional Services for Telemedicine App Development
ScienceSoft has 17-year experience in developing software for healthcare and knows how to create a telemedicine application for safe and convenient care delivery.
Telemedicine app consulting services
- Analyze your needs and define telehealth app features.
- Select tech stack and design architecture.
- Suggest advanced techs (IoT, AI, ML, etc.).
- Guide on healthcare industry regulations (e.g., HIPAA, HITECH).
- Plan telehealth app development.
Telemedicine app development services
- Elicit telehealth software requirements and draw up a feature set.
- Design UX and UI.
- Develop and test telehealth app.
- Implement integrations with third-party software (e.g., EHR, CRM).
- Launch and support the app (if required).
Why ScienceSoft
- In healthcare IT since 2005.
- In software development since 1989.
- Hands-on experience with HIPAA, HITECH, ONC, NCPDP regulations.
- Working experience with healthcare standards (e.g., HL7, FHIR, ICD-10, CPT, XDS/XDS-I).
- Quality management system for medical device software proven by ISO 13485 certification.
- Microsoft Partner with 9 Gold Competencies and an authorized AWS Solution Provider.
Our Customers Say
We engaged ScienceSoft to build an Android app that complements our web-based platform for our patients. They advised and successfully lead the way from end to end through the technical challenges and considerations with development of the app. We have also engaged them to introduce a few enhancements to the app and would certainly consider ScienceSoft as a technology partner in further software development initiatives.
Justin Turner, CTO, Chiron Health
Project manager
Creates a telemedicine app project plan and supervises it, assigns tasks to the project team, monitors delivery timing and budget, mitigates risks (e.g., lack of resources or capabilities, delays), and ensures smooth communication within the team.
Business analyst
Elicits telemedicine software requirements, outlines features, tech limitations, defines necessary app integrations with other healthcare software (e.g., EMR, practice management software).
UX designer
Designs end-to-end user experiences and interactions with a telehealth app based on the UX research, creates wireframes and prototypes, tests telemedicine app usability.
UI designer
Designs an attractive visual interface of a telemedicine app.
Back-end developer
Builds the server side of a telehealth app.
Front-end developer
Creates the user side of a telehealth app.
Creates a test strategy, designs, executes, and maintains test cases according to it, reports telemedicine software defects.
Sets and maintains the telehealth application development infrastructure, automates software development and delivery, monitors telehealth application security, performance, availability, etc.
Regulatory consultant
Advises on the software architecture components, optimal technologies, development process, and project documentation management to ensure HIPAA and HITECH compliance.
According to HIPAA, if you opt for outsourcing any development activities, you should sign a Business Associate Agreement with a vendor having access to PHIs (protected health information) to ensure data security, solid encryption methods, security practices documentation, and emergency protocols.
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ScienceSoft’s tip: If you want to incorporate Software as a Medical Device features (e.g., heart-rate monitoring using a smartphone) into your telemedicine application, we recommend paying attention to FDA registration of your software and checking if your vendor works according to IEC 62304:2006/Amd 1:2015 and ISO 13485 standards. In its telehealth software development projects, ScienceSoft is ready to comply with the stated requirements. |
Benefits of Telehealth App Development Oursourcing with ScienceSoft
Optimized costs
ScienceSoft starts with a detailed requirements analysis to reduce risk of rework in the future. Then, we work according to an iterative approach, so we can deliver the MVP of your telehealth app and tune it based on the feedback.
Healthcare industry knowledge
Relying on its 17 years of experience in the healthcare domain, ScienceSoft’s healthcare IT team plans and implements telemedicine software with a focus on the customer’s strategic goals.
Security and compliance
Following HIPAA requirements, ScienceSoft signs a Business Associate Agreement with its Customers and ensures data security, solid encryption methods, security practices documentation, and emergency protocols.
In our telehealth app development projects, ScienceSoft's healthcare IT team usually chooses the following tools and technologies to ensure secure PHI storage, processing, analyzing, and sharing.
Clouds
Cloud databases, warehouses and storage
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AWS
Azure
Google Cloud Platform
Video
Streaming
Messaging and conferencing
Back end programming languages
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Front end programming languages
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Languages
JavaScript frameworks
Mobile
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Telehealth App Development: Success Stories by ScienceSoft
Telehealth Chiron Mobile App Development
ScienceSoft has developed a HIPAA-compliant Android telehealth application that allows patients to book and attend online appointments through secure video communication. The app integrates seamlessly with the Customer’s existing apps (EHR or EMR, RIS, LIS).
Telehealth Software Design and Development for Primary Care Practices
ScienceSoft designed and developed a functional telehealth and practice management solution MVP with the vital features. The solution consisted of a mobile telehealth app and a web portal for appointment scheduling and management.
Mobile Care Coordination App Development
ScienceSoft has developed an app that connects patients with their caregivers across organizations and specialties through audio and video chats.
Development of Remote Care Solution
ScienceSoft created a solution for remote patient care, which included a video and text communication app, a care team app, an app for health data aggregation from Bluetooth sensors, and a web dashboard for monitoring patients’ status.
Development of Mobile Communication Software for the Elderly and Caregivers
ScienceSoft has created a mobile communication system, which allows the elderly and their caregivers to connect through video chats across various locations, including home, hospitals, assisted living facilities, etc.
Telemedicine App Development Costs
Costs to build a telehealth application vary depending on the following factors:
- Type of a telemedicine application (web, mobile, desktop).
- For mobile telehealth apps: the number of supported platforms (iOS, Android).
- Number and complexity of features (e.g., adding remote patient monitoring functionality will highly influence the cost).
- Number of user roles (e.g., patients, doctors, administrators).
- Telehealth application performance requirements (e.g., an expected number of simultaneous appointments and sessions).
- Necessary data storage capacity.
- Number and complexity of integrations with relevant healthcare IT systems (e.g., EHR, practice management software, LIS).
- Telehealth software integration with remote patient monitoring devices.
- Scalability needs.
Here are sample costs for telehealth software development (excluding infrastructure costs):
Healthcare organization (with 1-50 doctors)
From $150,000
Healthcare product company
From $250,000
About ScienceSoft
ScienceSoft is a US-based international IT consulting and software development company. Our 33-year experience in software development and 17-year expertise in healthcare IT helps us create telemedicine applications aimed at providing reimbursable care remotely.