Apps have made their way into healthcare too, aiming to make life easier for people, through early disease detection, studying medical conditions and so on. As a result, the number of health care software is slowly increasing, especially with the foray of apps. Medical researchers and doctors are piloting pioneering projects. For example, a recent app has been developed in order to study gastro-oesophageal reflux in children.
The following tips have been passed on by some experts. If you are an app developer looking to start your own project, then make sure you go through the following essentials:
Take expert help
Whatever health-related app that you are piloting, make sure that you collaborate with a person with an expert opinion on the matter. For example, if you are looking at an app related to kidney problems, then get a nephrologist who can work with you. This will save you both time and money. Most app developers use online groups and paid app testing services for the beta testing stages. If you are working with a specialist, then they can work using their list of patients.
Your app can be beta tested by the doctor through a certified clinical trial. Their patients are after all, your target users. If all goes well, then the doctor could endorse your app to their patients, colleagues and so on. This will be valuable networking.
Associate the app with a research project
As we all know, the nature of health care research is very long and detailed, usually spanning years of painstaking work. If your app can be embedded within a research project, then it becomes more sustainable, because the research project will have years of development and associated data with it. It will also have a sizeable focus group of research participants as well. Thus the testing extent of the app will increase considerably.
Also, remember that if your health care app is associated with an established project, then you will be able to build valuable contacts and potential partnerships through networking.
Do fieldwork
A mistake that healthcare app developers commonly make is that they don’t do their groundwork adequately. The best way to collect data, and to analyse the utility of your potential project, get down to the related clinics. Become a part of the clinician’s world and look at the ground realities there. Interact with the patients, spend time in the labs, ask questions and so on.
Ensure data security at all costs
If it’s a medical app, remember that data security is crucial. It can make or break any project that you are working on. If your app involves accessing patient data, then you have to work tirelessly to ensure that the information is secure at all costs. This is the key to gaining ethical approval.
Make sure that you are not bypassing any data protection laws. NHS laws are very stringent. Remember that if you are able to offer data security, then it becomes a major USP for you.
Get published
Getting reported or published in a medical journal like Medline is like a designer getting his work featured in Vogue. It is the key to visibility and consequently, success. It can lead to ethical approval which is the secret doorway to funding paradise. That is why they say that you either publish or perish.
Getting published in an academic journal also amps your credibility and enthusiasm to understand the ins and outs of the healthcare system that you aim to work in.
