Telehealth App Development: features, benefits & costs

Key takeaways

• • Telehealth app development is a sound investment as the market is growing fast. According to Grand View Research, the telemedicine market size can reach $141.19 billion in 2024 and is expected to be worth $380.33 billion by 2030.
  • Telemedicine app development is beneficial both for doctors and their patients. Because it saves time and encourages people to get professional medical help instead of delaying going to the doctor.
  • There are several ways of monetization for telemedicine apps. For example, taking a fee for subscription, advertisement, or offering a paid app to customers.
  • It’s easy to develop a telemedicine app with the help of professionals. For example, we successfully built an online service that connects patients and therapists.

How do telehealth apps work

A telehealth app is a digital platform that facilitates remote healthcare services. It’s like a virtual doctor’s office where you can ask questions about your health, get diagnosed if you’re sick, and find out what you need to do to get better.

The overall principle of telemedicine app work is simple:

1. A patient registers in the app. The patient downloads the telehealth app and registers by providing their personal details. The app may also prompt the users to input relevant patient data.

2. The patient chooses a doctor or submits a request for consultation. After registration, the patient can review doctors’ profiles and read other patients’ reviews. Alternatively, if the patient is unsure which doctor to choose, they can submit a consultation request.

3. The consultation is scheduled. The app displays the doctor’s availability and allows patients to book an online appointment slot.

4. The patient and the doctor connect with each other. At the appointed time, the app sends notifications to both the patient and the doctor, reminding them of the upcoming consultation. The doctors and patients usually connect through the app’s video call, voice call, or an in-app chat.

5. The patient describes their symptoms, the doctor looks through the patient’s medical history. The specialist has access to the patient’s comprehensive medical history stored within the app’s secure database. The doctor takes notes within the app.

6. After the consultation, the doctor sends a medical report to the patient. This report might include prescription details, lifestyle recommendations, and potential follow-up instructions.

Telemedicine apps market overview

According to a Grand View Research report, the telemedicine market size can reach $141.19 billion by the end of 2024. And it is expected to be worth $380.33 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 17.96%. The use of telemedicine is also growing. In the US, for example, 116 million users expressed a preference for virtual consultations in 2024.

Predictably, millennials like time-saving virtual care. According to Sagapixel, 74% of millennials in the US prefer telehealth visits to in-person doctor exams.

Why telemedicine is getting popular

Well, now that we made it obvious that the virtual healthcare industry is worth investing in, here comes the next question. Why is it skyrocketing in popularity? Because telemedicine apps respond to the challenges of today.

Benefits for doctors

Easy access to a patient history. Medical professionals have full access to any health records and remote patient monitoring through an app for doctors. No need to search through archives — everything is conveniently stored in patient profiles.

Continuous monitoring. Even without hospitalization, a patient can be checked in on by doctors remotely. For example, a patient can send their health information like blood pressure or temperature to a doctor for patient monitoring.

Flexible work hours. Doctors can consult patients from anywhere, allowing them to balance work and personal lives more effectively. Therefore, it’s also beneficial for patients who will receive higher-quality patient care.

Less hassle with paperwork. By using a telemedicine app, healthcare specialists can make their administrative tasks easier. They schedule appointments, manage medical records, and handle billing more smoothly through the app than in a usual healthcare organization.

Benefits for patients

Get help faster. No need to wait for the appointment: a doctor is as easy to access as a person’s smartphone. This is especially important in urgent situations.

No need to go to the hospital. This is important for elderly or disabled people: it’s hard for them to even access their local doctors for monitoring. With remote services, they can talk to doctors from home using the patient dashboard.

Access to high-level doctors. There are rare diseases, and patients cannot easily find a doctor to treat them, especially in small towns or rural areas. With a telemedicine app, everyone can access the best doctors without moving to cities or even taking a day off to reach the state hospital.

Affordable healthcare. Telemedicine can be money-saving. As there are no costs like office rent or transport expenses, specialists can lower the price for their consultation so more people can afford it.

Telemedicine app features

All the benefits mentioned above work because of some cool features included in a telemedicine app. Let’s talk about them in detail.

Secure video calling

Secure video calling is important in the app. It lets patients and doctors talk face-to-face in real time. This feature keeps private patient information safe by sending health data securely over encrypted connections, so nobody else can see it. 

In-app chat

This feature allows you to send messages within the app. It’s good for things that aren’t really urgent, like asking follow-up questions, giving updates, or talking about non-emergency stuff. It’s an extra way to communicate in addition to video calls.

Backend database

The backend database is the central repository that securely stores user data, medical history, appointment schedules, and other essential information. This database supports seamless access to patient records and facilitates appointment management.

Appointment scheduling

This feature allows patients to select available time slots for consultations with healthcare professionals. With an intuitive interface, it helps things go smoothly and makes it easier for patients to use the app.

Group chats and calls

In addition to one-on-one communication, the app supports group chats and calls. In this way, multiple users can join discussions. This is useful for family consultations, or collaborative discussions when several specialists need to talk to each other.

Integration with EHR (Electronic Health Records)

The telemedicine applications work together with the patient’s medical records, which have all the healthcare information. This helps doctors understand the complete patient’s history, so they can figure out what’s wrong and decide on the best treatments for their patients.

The integration of your telehealth application with EHR facilitates early detection of chronic conditions and helps create personalized therapy plans. It also allows for automated data entry and robust data analytics, which reduces administrative overhead and improves data quality.

VR for telepsychiatry

Sounds a bit weird, but virtual reality (VR) technology as one of the telehealth app features holds significant promise in the field of telepsychiatry. VR allows for immersive telepsychiatry sessions, fostering a sense of presence and enhancing mindfulness. Hence, both patients and mental health professionals can engage in therapy sessions that feel more like face-to-face interactions.

There are various effective VR use cases in psychiatry. For example, VR can be used to create simulated environments that help patients confront and manage their fears or anxieties in a controlled setting. Also, VR can be utilized to educate patients about mental health conditions, treatment methods, and coping strategies. Lastly, virtual reality can assist healthcare providers in delivering cognitive behavioral therapy by providing tools to manage stress and address negative thought patterns.

E-prescriptions

E-prescriptions streamline the prescription process. Doctors can digitally send prescriptions to pharmacies, reducing paperwork and enabling patients to conveniently pick up their medications.

A feature like e-prescribing in your telehealth application will allow doctors to efficiently manage prescriptions. It eliminates the need to do it by hand and enhances the overall workflow. Additionally, the integration of e-prescriptions into the telemedicine platform aligns with the modernization of healthcare practices.

Mobile payments

You can make telehealth services more convenient if you integrate mobile payment options. This allows patients to securely pay healthcare providers for services within the mobile telehealth app. For example, you can pay for appointments in a safe and fast way. 

Payment solutions not only simplify payments for patients but also offer detailed sales data tracking and analysis for healthcare practices, contributing to better financial management.

Integration with peripheral IoT devices

A telehealth mobile app connects with wearable devices like fitness trackers or monitoring tools. This integration provides real-time health data to doctors, aiding in remote patient monitoring and diagnostics.

Imagine, that in just two clicks, your mobile telehealth app can scan all the data from your smartwatch and send it to your doctor as part of the daily status report. Sounds convenient, doesn’t it? This could be your killer feature.

Built-in chatbot

A built-in chatbot offers instant responses to common healthcare queries. It helps users find quick information and offers guidance, reducing the need for immediate human intervention.

If you want to create an innovative telemedicine platform, you may add an AI-powered chatbot. This feature will automate tasks like appointment scheduling, medication reminders, and answering common medical queries. A mobile telehealth app that offers round-the-clock assistance can ensure high patient satisfaction.

Module for medical assistants

During telehealth software development, think about including a module for assistants, as this allows healthcare professionals to collaborate effectively. Like in a real clinic, assistants can give a helping hand with managing appointments and organizing patient data.

Keep in mind that telemedicine app development cost depends on features that you include. If you are ready to make it more advanced and sophisticated, consult with experts to determine the budget you’ll need. For telemedicine app development services, you can always contact Purrweb 😉

Future of telemedicine apps

There are several technologies with great potential to use in the telehealth industry: augmented reality, gadget integration, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. Maybe you’ll find such an interesting telemedicine app development solution in this list that you’ll bring it to life.

Augmented reality (AR)

Using AR, a doctor can demonstrate how to wear gadgets or how to do exercises for a patient. It is convenient for patients and efficient for treatment. For specialists, the main advantages are that AR helps to visualize the patient’s anatomy, overlay medical images, and guide procedures.

That’s an idea to take note of for healthcare startups. There are some successful mobile telehealth apps, but you always can stand out by adding some brand-new features and increasing visibility.

According to IT Craft research, 40% to 60% of patients want broader access to virtual care, and the regulatory environment is evolving in response. However, the adoption of AR in telemedicine also faces limitations like technical challenges related to internet connectivity and hardware quality. Therefore, startups should carefully choose and analyze their target audience, in order to not waste their time and resources, on features that they can’t license.

Gadget integration

Wearable devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers can seamlessly integrate with telemedicine apps. These devices collect data like heart rate and activity levels and generate detailed reports. This feature not only streamlines self-monitoring, but also helps make the app a useful tool, even outside the online appointments.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

AI can help patients and doctors with diagnoses and treatment recommendations. By connecting to healthcare devices and analyzing records, AI can provide insights for both real-time monitoring and disease prevention. Machine learning can further refine these systems, offering personalized preventive measures based on patient history.

As a part of telemedicine app development services, Purrweb’s team can integrate AI into your app. We have already developed an AI app Lytic Health for primary diagnosis. Learn more about its features and design.

Blockchain

Another key modern technology is blockchain. It can be quite useful when developing a telemedicine app, as it enhances the security, transparency, and interoperability of patient data. Firstly, blockchain’s decentralized network makes it challenging for unauthorized access or manipulation of data, which means that only a patient and a doctor can edit it. Secondly, medical data stored on a blockchain is easily accessible by authorized parties, which makes coordination and collaboration much easier.

Experts state that the global average cost of a data breach in telehealth in 2024 was about $10M, making data security a top concern for telehealth providers. Given this, blockchain features that ensure security could be of paramount importance.

In addition, the use of smart contracts in blockchain can help automate billing processes, reducing costs and optimizing transactions for telemedicine services. Payments will be clear and secure, which users will always appreciate. Furthermore, there will be more payment options for those who prefer cryptocurrencies or do not have access to banking services.

Monetization strategies for telehealth apps

Telemedicine apps create profit for their owners like any other apps. There are four strategies to monetize a telehealth app:

Subscription

Subscription plans give users access to a range of premium benefits. Customers pay a regular fee and enjoy features such as priority appointment booking, extended consultation times, access to specialized doctors, or additional health resources. Subscriptions ensure a steady revenue stream for the app and make people want to stay in the “club” because they get better services for their health by paying a reasonable fee.

Advertisement

The app can advertise health-related products, services, or even general ads that cater to the user base. However, it’s crucial to strike a balance between the ad content and user experience, to prevent bothering users too much. The money from the ads can help the app, and users can still use the core features of the app without any problems.

Paid app

This approach attracts users who prefer a straightforward payment model without ongoing costs. However, the app needs to be really good to make the payment worth it. Also, it’s important that the app keeps getting better and meets users’ expectations after they’ve paid.

Each monetization strategy has its own pros and cons. Subscriptions provide a continuous income flow and increase patient engagement. Advertisements offer revenue without direct user payments, and paid apps can provide immediate revenue from downloads. The chosen strategy should match the app’s target audience, unique selling points, types of telemedicine, and long-term goals. Additionally, find a balance between user preferences and your profit to run a successful telehealth app.

The best tech stack for telehealth app development

After going through different options, we opted for JavaScript frameworks in our work. The choice proved to be a good one, as we successfully developed 550+ projects using this tech stack. 

You can view the tech stack we use, in the table below.

Back-end	Node.js, JavaScript	Provides developers with a scalable and efficient backend architecture.
Front-end	React Native, React.js, Electron.js	React Native cut costs by around 30% on your cross-platform (iOS + Android) mobile app development costs. React.js and Electron.js make web and desktop app development fast and efficient.
Infrastructure	AWS, Heroku	Provides a scalable infrastructure for hosting the app and offers a range of features such as automatic scaling and continuous integration.
Database	PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis	Combining different databases helps to store data and ensure maximum protection.
Real-time messaging	WEBRTC	Useful for implementing real-time communication features such as chats and audio calls.

How to create a telemedicine app step-by-step

There are several possible options for how to develop a telemedicine app. You can either hire developers or outsource the telemedicine app development to the agency. While the first option has the advantage of permanent control for the team, the second option will cost you less.

You will need to take just 5 steps to make a custom telemedicine app.

Step 1. Market research

Before starting a telemedicine app development process, do your research to learn how other apps built their business model and what kind of features they have. Pay special attention to inconveniences and illogical transitions in order to create a perfect telemedicine app.

To make the most out of your market research, you need to:

Define your target audience needs. Before you begin the development process, determine what problem your software will address. To achieve this, you need to understand your target audience and their needs. This can be done through surveys, focus groups, or interviews with potential customers.

Research your competitors. Compare your idea to a competitor’s product. Study their strong and weak points, view ratings and reviews. It’ll be easier to identify your areas for improvement and come up with unique features. This way, you’ll differentiate your product from competitors and stand out more.

Analyze market trends. To stay competitive, your telemedicine app needs to have up-to-date features. Research what technologies and features are popular in telehealth software development now, to implement them in your app. 

Step 2. Finding a developer agency

At this stage, you decide whether you want to build the app in-house or outsource it to a development agency. 

In-house development requires more resources than outsourcing. So, if you know the market well enough and can organize development processes, you can create a telehealth app with your own in-house team.

If you don’t have a team of professional developers, you may choose a development company to build your telemedicine app. Hiring an external organization implies lower costs and more flexibility. Your company can focus more on business operations, while an outsourced team works on development. Start your search by checking out companies’ portfolio: an agency should have relevant cases and be able to produce GDPR and HIPAA compliant apps. Pay attention to clients’ references and reviews as a clear indicator of the company’s approach to relations with customers.

Step 3. Building an MVP

Start with an MVP, to save your money for further development. MVP (minimum viable product) is an advanced prototype of your future telehealth app with basic features. Creation of MVP helps you to test the app with early users and minimize the telemedicine app development cost. You’ll be able to gather the early feedback from users and fix possible issues.

The agency you’ve chosen will help you with planning, tech stack and all important details.

Step 4. Release

This is a stage when the red tape is cut and your telehealth app is uploaded to a marketplace. The development agency ensures the app works properly and doesn’t have any bugs. The team will take responsibility for the tech side of things, and you should focus your attention on your users and their first impression of the app.

You also need to think about how you will be marketing the app. It’s necessary to make sure as many people as possible find out about your app. To do that, consider some of these strategies:

• • Online presence. To create online recognition, choose several social media platforms. There you can promote the product and engage with users.
  • Paid advertising. Depending on your target audience, choose appropriate platforms and buy adverts for your telehealth app. This may include social media advertising, search engine marketing, or other digital channels.
  • App Store Optimization. To improve search ranking, write an engaging description for your app and implement relevant keywords. 

Step 5. Maintenance

After an app release starts a huge phase of maintenance and development. The more users join a telehealth app, the more feedback you will get and, therefore, get the opportunity to improve your app. Do not neglect to ask the development team for additional corrections: they know your app better than anybody and will help you with further functionality and design improvement.

How much does it cost to develop a telehealth application

We prepared a rough guideline on time and money needed for mobile app development. There are four key stages:

Project Estimation

You and your development agency will discuss the app idea and estimate the telemedicine app development cost and approximate time you need. This stage is normally free of charge.

UI/UX design

Design includes not just visual representation, but also key functions of your app. In this stage, we plan everything you want to see in your future telehealth app from sign-in to medical reports. 

⏰ 167 hours 

💰 $8 325

Development

This is the most time-consuming stage. The team develops the architecture, the interface on both the client and server sides.

⏰ 1105 hours

💰 $49 725

Here is what you get for the time and money:

Feature	Time for development, hours	Cost of development, $
Sign-in	48	$2,160
Search engine	90	$4,050
Payment system	40	$1,800
Chat	120	$5,400
Video calls	140	$6,300
Notifications	20	$900
Rating and feedback mechanisms	40	$1,800
Electronic health records	50	$2,250
Medical conclusion	30	$1,350

Telemedicine app examples

Here we’ve gathered 2 telemedicine app examples. We’ve outlined the pros and cons of each.

Gyant

This app provides a telemedicine platform to conduct services to patients remotely. Gyant’s philosophy is to empower people to improve medical help and outsource the technical side. It is a B2B service for clinics: doctors can use the mobile telemedicine app both for consultations and monitoring. Yet, sometimes misunderstandings happens, and healthcare providers insist on patients going to urgent care and refuse to prescribe medication. This disappoints some customers who believe it’s an unnecessary precaution.

CirrusMD

CirrusMD helps to create remote on-demand consultations for companies’ employees as a voluntary insurance. The app specializes in healthcare services to patients from retail companies in which employees cannot leave their workplace for a sick leave to visit a doctor. The drawback is that some users have problems with their accounts when they happen to be deactivated without reason.

How we developed an online psychotherapy service

Once upon a time we developed a service to find psychotherapists in the UK. Our clients wanted to combine their extensive expertise in psychology and marketing to create an easy-to-use therapy telemedicine app. We started with working on the design for their future app and ended up developing the whole mobile app and a web service.

The challenge

The UK market was crowded with similar apps, so we had to stand out. That’s why we added telemedicine solutions as calendars, notes, chat, and video calls. The client wanted to build those custom features from scratch. We also developed a highly adaptive screen. Now the proportions are appropriate even if you open the app on an 11-inch laptop screen. Besides, there’s window management. That’s really convenient if you want to use other app features during the video call. For example, make notes during your session.

Tech stack-wise we used all the reliable frameworks and instruments: 

• • Next.js for web frontend — we needed this for search engine indexing,
  • Nest.js + GraphQL for the backend,
  • PostgreSQL for data storage,
  • React Native for the mobile app.

How did we handle such a project? We put together a team of developers and designers, a QA specialist, and a project manager. Then we divided the telehealth app development process into 14 sprints. So that the process was transparent and manageable.

Still, there was a fly in the ointment

Because we had different approaches with a client. We do like clients who are deeply involved in the project and take part in it and this is one of those cases. Our client was tracking the telemedicine app development and actively taking part in our group chat. But sometimes such micromanagement led to conflicts. Fortunately, after discussions we set boundaries and reached an agreement that satisfied everyone.

What did we get?

Now the telemedicine platform is available, and it connects doctors and patients who want to improve their mental health. In 2022 our client was promoting the app and their business partner (who’s a psychologist) conducted 69 sessions during this time. Now we have vast experience in telemedicine, so our team is ready to develop more fantastic telemedicine software.

Pitfalls of a telemedicine app development and how to avoid them

However, there are several issues you can face in a telemedicine app development.

Compliance to regulations

While being a non-government mobile application, a telehealth app is still a part of healthcare and is subject to regulatory compliance, such as insurance accountability, prescribing, and healthcare regulations for a particular country.

For example, in the telehealth app development of an online psychiatry, you need to comply with prescription regulations. Psychiatric drugs are usually regulated by the government and must be prescribed by a doctor with a special license.

Solution: Before starting software development, learn about the regulations and requirements for healthcare services in the target countries. Get help from legal experts to make sure your telemedicine software follows the rules about insurance, prescriptions, and online medical services. Make sure only authorized doctors can give prescriptions through your app to follow the rules.

App security

The second issue is the security of an app. Since a telemedicine app contains a lot of sensitive data about a person’s health, it must comply with the highest standards of data security in order to get users’ trust. When you develop a telehealth app, you can rely on international regulatory norms like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) as it is the IT industry’s highest standards for data security.

Solution: Encrypt sensitive user data, both when it’s sent and stored. Be sure to update and fix bugs in your telemedicine software regularly. Check the app’s security by thorough testing to find weak spots and fix them. Tell users how you’re keeping their health data safe so they know they can see their health information is protected.

Video quality

In some cases, for example in skincare, a doctor must conduct a visual examination of a patient. That is where technologies sometimes fail: if an internet connection isn’t stable or video quality is lower than HD, a doctor can have poor vision which affects the quality of healthcare.

Solution: Offer guidelines for users to ensure stable internet connections during medical consultations. Provide troubleshooting tips for common connectivity issues. Implement a feature that checks the user’s connection quality before starting a video consultation and offers recommendations for improving it.

Lack of manual examination

The last is the limitations for examinations. Using online healthcare services, a doctor cannot conduct a manual examination and have to ask a patient to do the some parts of the examination for themselves. That is also a risk of quality decrease because a patient can translate the results incorrectly.

Solution: Clearly communicate the limitations of online consultations to users. Think about offering both online and in-person visits for cases when they need a hands-on test from a doctor. This way, they can get the right care.

Create your telemedicine app with Purrweb

In conclusion, telemedicine app development is an excellent idea. More and more people prefer to simplify their lives using online services. Catch the wave and develop your own app with Purrweb. With a user-friendly interface and unique features, your telehealth solution will become a must-have app.

Contact us as soon as you’re ready to make online healthcare great again.