There is a lot of expansion in the field of mobile apps. Almost every service has an application designed for it; the Healthcare industry is no exception. As per healthcare research reports, medical software has refined the conventional way of communication between doctors and patients. Being one of the busiest industries, the medical mobile app market is expected to hit 11 billion dollars by 2025.
Today, in this article, we are going to discuss WebMD, one of the most popular healthcare applications in the market. It details the feature-set of the software along with the factors contributing in estimating the cost to develop such an application.
About WebMD
WebMD is a medical news application that provides health information on the internet. The software provides in-depth reference material about various health subjects with the help of award-winning journalism, certified physicians, expert community, and dedicated content creators. The app is dedicated towards helping people in finding medical information and all the services they need. The creators hold expertise in-
- Health news for public
- Medical Imagery, animation, and graphics
- Live Web Events
- User Experience
- Up-to-date medical reference content
Type of Healthcare Applications
Medical apps are not just confined to providing health information. Basically, healthcare solutions are divided into two categories: Patient and Doctor applications. These solutions give access to medical records, pill prescriptions, diagnosis, and much more. They assist in health monitoring, doctor appointments, and other patient-related activities.
Matellio, one of the finest healthcare mobile app development company helps in creating apps catering to your requirements-
- Chronic conditions Manager (Blood Pressure, Cancer, Diabetes)
- Diagnosis apps (with the purpose of prevention)
- General health test, fitness, wellness apps, cardio apps (healthy lifestyle app)
- Women health apps (menstruation, pregnancy)
- Medical Record Tracker
- Doctor on-demand solutions
- Health Information apps (like WebMD)
- Nursing apps (scheduling, tracking, and record manager)
- Weight loss apps, diet apps (trackers, exercises, etc.)
- Mental health software (for depression, disorders, stress reliever)
- Sleep apps (relaxing music, sleep tracker)
Features of an Application Like WebMD
WebMD software is a provider of Health-related information. The application serves doctors, consumers, health care service providers, entrepreneurs through the web, and mobile platforms. To make an app like WebMd which has 92 million-plus visitors, one must integrate the following features in their application-
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Symptom Checker
Select your symptoms and learn about the potential issues your body might be facing. It also provides possible treatment and care options.
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Medication Reminder
With medication reminders never miss your dose. This feature push notification whenever it’s time to pop a pill. Daily prescription schedules, pill images, along with the information of dosage, eases the life of customers.
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Medical News Provider
The app provides the latest information in the form of articles, videos, slideshows concentrating on various health topics. This feature is to enlighten the general public about different medical issues, better lifestyle, and much more.
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Doctor Directory
Find the closest physician, dentist, or some other healthcare specialist using your current location. The solution also has a doctor filter option based on state, city, or zip code.
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Pharmacy Partner
An app like WebMD has to be partnered with major pharmacy chains for obtaining qualitative drugs at low prices. The app also offers alternative options and is 100% free to use. There is no registration required for availing this solution.
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Drug Interaction Checker
The application helps in identifying potentially harmful drug combinations by allowing the input of two or more prescription medicines in question.
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Medical Conditions
Apps like WebMD should provide medical information about the conditions that are relevant to users. It should provide them with causes, symptoms, and related treatment.
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Pregnancy Information
The pregnancy checker provides information about various stages of pregnancy, and the lifestyles women should opt in the gestation period.
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Customization Options
Save your medical conditions, doctor appointments, pharmacies, health articles, drugs, reference, and much more with the saving options.
Alternative of WebMD in the Market
1. Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is one of the most cited competitors of WebMD. The solution has a real hospital based in Minnesota, and with major campuses in Florida and Arizona. The app helps in finding doctors in the Mayo Clinic outlet and even booking appointments. It also possesses a symptom checker like that of WebMD and is also funded by advertisements, grants, and sponsorships. Mayo Clinic is a non-profit organization that specializes in the care and medical research.
2. Drugs.com
Don’t go to the title! The software is not for purchasing any sort of drugs or whatsoever. It is an information providing site that talks about pharmaceutical treatments, dosage guidelines, side effects, drug alternatives, and much more. Like WebMD, Drugs.com also has tools like a symptom checker, drug interaction checker, pill identifier, and much more. Some of the data provided on this site are by Harvard University and Mayo Clinic.
3. Health line
The next name that comes to the healthcare information providing websites is of Healthline. The application, much like WebMD, is funded by corporate sponsorship and advertisements. The focus of this program is on creating interactive health content like educational animations and videos that suit the choice of the customer. Also, there are several tools like that of WebMD, which helps in monitoring users’ Health like doctor directory, symptom checker, drug comparer, pill identifier, and others.
4. Medline Plus
Medline Plus, a project by the National Institutes of Health in the United States and National Library of Medicine, is a coveted name in healthcare providing websites. In addition to the general health information like symptoms, medical conditions, pharma treatments, the site focuses on delivering interactive content. It includes how to perform medical tests videos, tutorials for checking various health conditions, quizzes, games, references, and other such resources to expand the knowledge horizon of readers. Medline Plus also dedicates a series of videos for enlightening the older people about health subjects.
5. Everyday Health
Everyday Health is a website that brings health information and medical advice from trusted sources. The words come from the likes of music mogul and a patient of diabetes- Randy Jackson, fitness trainer Jillian Michaels, and CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Along with providing general information on usual medical situations, and their treatments, the website also offers healthy living and healthy eating tips. The application has an integrated toolkit of meal planning, symptom checking, drug finding, calorie counting, recipe preparation, and other such healthy eating functionalities.
Factors Determining the Cost to Develop an App Like WebMD
So far, we have learned all the features and functionalities to be integrated into a healthcare application like WebMD. Now, it’s time to discuss the factors that contribute to determining the cost to develop medical information providing apps.
The Development of Healthcare Application has-
- Business Analysis (Requirements Gathering)
- UI/UX design
- Backend development
- Quality Assurance
- Launch and Maintenance
The Areas which Need Extra Attention are –
- An easy to use and interactive UX
- Navigating Interface
- Platform of the app- Android, iOS
- Exciting Feature-set
- Smooth Installation process
- Scalability of application
- Easy data synchronization
- Data Security techniques
- Some add-on technology
All the pointers, as mentioned above, play a significant role in calculating the cost to develop an app like WebMD.
Final Word
Healthcare is a domain with unending needs. This sector is continually evolving with the advancements of technology and the needs of the population. This digs the depth of a healthcare application like WebMD. Features, cost factors, competitors, and whatnot. If you wish to develop the best medical news application or any other healthcare solution, Matellio is at your door. We are a team of experts, holding proficiency in mobile and web solution development using cutting edge technologies. Develop an app like WebMD and experience the heights of success.
