Doctor on Demand App Development: Process, Features and Cost

The healthcare industry is undergoing a significant digital transformation with the adoption of Telemedicine and doctor on demand apps. Making use of technologies in the healthcare sector has benefited people in many ways and doctor on demand app development is at the forefront. These apps are helping patients to connect with doctors remotely and allowing doctors to expand their reach globally. 

COVID-19 pandemic was the starting point for the usage of telemedicine as all the people were in lockdown. This significantly boosted the adoption of doctor-on-demand apps from 30% in pre-pandemic to 67% percentage after the pandemic. 

As per the research, the global online doctor consultation market which was valued at USD 4.89 billion in 2023, is expected to reach USD 39.40 billion by 2032. This stats shows the sharp rise of online doctor consultation apps. 

But how do you build such an app? 

If you're a doctor or healthcare practitioner planning to build your own Doctor on demand app then you are at the right place. This blog dives deep into the online doctor consultation app development process, features and cost. 

Doctor On Demand App Development

Doctor On Demand app development is a process that blends technology with healthcare, with a keen understanding of the patient's needs. It's not just about building an app that connects doctors and patients but the one that is going to be a savior of the people in tough times. 

Before diving deep into the mobile app development process, let's see how the app works. 

How Does the Doctor On Demand App Work?

Registration and Profile Setup

First the user downloads the app from the app store or play store. After the installation of the app the user proceeds with registration using mobile number or email and goes with profile setup. 

While setting up the profile, the user needs to enter all the information such as Name, Sex, Date of Birth, Location, and complete the registration. 

Log in to the App

Once the user has been registered on the app they can easily login anytime with the user credentials entered at the time of registration and fill all the information about their previous medical history. 

Select the Reason for Visit

Now the patients need to select the service they need based on their health issue. The common services include Primary Care, Mental Health, Diabetes, Hypertension, Weight Management, Wellness and much more. 

Connect with the Doctors

Based on your previous medical history and the service you selected, the doctor on demand app will show the list of doctors, therapists and specialists. Patients can select doctors from the list and can proceed with next steps.

Schedule an Appointment or See Doctor Now

Now the app provides patients with two options whether to see a doctor now or schedule an appointment with doctor for future timings and dates. If a patient proceeds with the see a doctor now option then they will be placed in the queue and gets connected with the next available doctor. 

If the patients choose to schedule an appointment then they will be redirected to the calendar page where they can choose their preferred date and time. 

Video Call or Phone Call Consultation

Once the patient connects with the doctor then they can choose to proceed with face to face video call consultation or through phone call. Now the patient can consult with the doctor fully and get medical help from the healthcare provider. 

Online Prescription

Now the doctor will provide the patient with an online prescription that the patient can download and get from the pharmacy nearby. Patients can also view their complete summary details provided by the healthcare practitioner for future records.

Payment

The patient can proceed with the payments online for the consultation through their preferred mode, such as PayPal, Stripe, Credit/Debit Card, etc

Main Features of Doctor On-Demand App Development

To get a perfect doctor-on-demand app in all aspects, you’ll need a comprehensive set of features to ensure a seamless, secure, and efficient experience for patients, healthcare providers, and admins. Let’s look at the main features of the doctor-on-demand app

Patient-Centric Features

Every on-demand app should solve the problem from the user’s point of view. In that concept, the doctor consultation app gives solutions for the patient. What are the ways to let’s see that.

Create User Profile and Management

Permit users to create their profile to upload their past and current diagnostic details, phone number, e-mail, and connect social media accounts. These are the things that should be communicated to the patient without any disturbance.

Search and Filter for Finding Doctors

Patients can use search and filters to find their needed doctor by category and rating. This will help to get experienced professionals for their diagnosis.

Doctor Appointment Scheduling

In this feature, patients can easily search for doctors who resemble their occurring health issues to schedule their plans with ease. Also, let’s get a real-time status update on what’s going on in the process.

Communication Tools

Integrated real-time HD video and audio calling capabilities to facilitate remote consultations, ensuring smooth doctor-patient interactions. Also, you can ask follow-up questions to the consenting doctor in real time or AI.

Prescription Management

Come into the doctor consultation app, and a medical specialist can prescribe the medication and dosage level only through the digital mode. So that patients can easily import/export the details safely and store their up-to-date prescriptions in the cloud or local storage.

Online Insurance Claim option

App users can easily access their insurance to get access to all features through the online doctor consultation apps.

Push Notifications and Reminders

Users can turn on the notification toggle to get personalized doctors’ upcoming appointments, prescription refills, and health tips depending upon their health issues.

Payment Protocols

Patients can easily make their payment for doctor consultations and access services using multiple payment options like debit/credit cards, digital payment wallets, and crypto wallet support.

Doctor-Centric Features

Health service providers also need some features and functionalities to manage their appointment schedules and provide their services flawlessly. Here, we listed out the features

Doctor Profile and Credentials

With this feature, doctors can easily showcase their specializations, qualifications, experience, ratings, reviews, and verified credentials that build trust with their patients and get more patients.

Manage Doctor Schedule

Tools for scheduling, conducting, and documenting patient consultations, including digital notes and medical records.

Online Prescribing

Leverage this feature: doctors can prescribe the medicine directly to the patient or online pharmacies. This will help patients easily find where to buy their medicines.

Telemedicine Tools

Utilizing this feature, doctors can integrate the app with diagnostic tools to avail patient monitoring 24/7 remotely.

Feedback and Rating System

Insist on gathering ratings and reviews while at consultation that helps to maintain high-quality service standards, goodwill, and covert more patients.

Earnings Dashboard

Provide a user-friendly dashboard for doctors to check their appointments and total earnings throughout the day, week, or month.

Administrative and Operational Features

Managing operations is crucial for platform operators. And for that, we’ll be prepared for the features

Analytics and User Management

An intuitive dashboard covers all platform operations like real-time tracking of appointments, user activity, managing doctor and patient profiles, providing insightful metrics for doctors and patients, revenue generation, and enabling data-driven decision-making.

Security and Compliance

Protecting users' and doctors' data under the regulations of laws like HIPAA and GDPR compliance that avail secure data encryption, user authentication, and regular security audits.

Third-Party Service Integrations

Integrate external healthcare services into your doctor's on-demand app to create a comprehensive healthcare ecosystem in one place, including pharmacy networks, lab services, and electronic health record (EHR) systems.

Customer Support

Deliver a validated approach for utilizing AI/ML in addressing user queries, FAQs, live chat, and ticketing systems to resolve their issues.

Billing and Invoicing

Automated billing systems that generate invoices, process payments, and manage insurance claims seamlessly without any need for human intervention.

Maintain Medical Records

Store end-to-end encryption protocols to manage mutually the patient’s and doctor’s details based on legal rights.

Benefits of Doctor Consultation App Development

Convenience for Patients 

Online doctor consultations provide a convenience of consulting with the doctors from anywhere, anytime. Doctors will be available 24/7 on all modes such as Video, Phone call or messaging. 

Quicker Access

Doctor on demand apps provide quicker access to consult with doctors as patients don't need to wait for a longer time as in hospitals. If a doctor is not available, then the patient will be assigned with another doctor of the same department without making them wait. 

Reduced Paperwork

Hospitals don't need to carry out and maintain tons of paperwork, as everything will be carried out online and stored in a secure database. Doctors can provide prescriptions online, and patients can easily download them from the app. 

Hospitals can share the consultation summary such as doctor's diagnosis, medical treatment plan, and any prescriptions online and store for future records. 

Cost-Effective Option

Online doctor consultations are considered to be the most cost effective option compared to in person visits as patients can save more on transportation and other expenses. 

Many telemedicine platforms are offering affordable and flexible payment options allowing users to get healthcare services at an affordable price compared to visiting hospitals in person.

Roadmap to Successful Doctor On Demand App Development

Doctor on demand apps are at the forefront of the telemedicine revolution. Here is the step by step guide on how to develop a doctor on demand app. 

Market Research and Defining Needs

First and foremost, thing before starting a new business is analyzing the market. So perform a thorough research before building your app. Identify who your target audience are and find out the pain points and needs of your target audience first. 

Then analyze the competitors who are already there providing the same services to your target audience. Analyze their strengths and weaknesses and come up with a complete plan of how you are going to be unique among your competitors and what value your app is going to offer to your target audience. 

Planning the Key Features 

Based on the competitor analysis and user needs, frame the features that will satisfy the requirements of your target audience when they enter your app. Don't simply add the features by looking at your competitors' platforms. 

Ask yourself whether this feature will benefit my users. If you come up with the answer yes then don't hesitate to add them in your list even though popular apps don't have those. Those features are the ones which are going to make your doctor on demand app unique.

Choosing the Best App Development Partner

If you don't have enough resources or don't have a dedicated team to build your app then partner with an app development company to do it. It is crucial to choose the right team, as 80% of startups fail because of not having the right talent. 

Finding someone who has successfully been there and done that several times before is the top most priority for you. So I highly recommend you to read our blog on how to choose the best mobile app development company that may help you find the ones who can help you attain success.

Technology Stack to Build Your App

Based on your needs, choose the right technologies and app development frameworks. If you are looking to build a native app for both Android and iOS, then choose Kotlin and Swift. If you are planning to develop a cross-platform app, then Flutter, React Native can be a good choice. 

HIPAA Compliance

Every healthcare app that is launched into the market must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as these apps handle sensitive medical data. Strong security protocols such as Encrypted messaging, Encrypted video calls, Secured connection must be implemented to protect patients information.

Doctor on demand apps that are HIPAA compliant will gain trust among the users as the information in the platform is secured. Doctor on demand apps must comply with various regulations based on the country they try to operate in. 

Doctor-on-demand apps that are operating in the United States must comply with standards from HIPAA, FDA, HHS and EPSC certification is required for the Doctor on demand apps in the European region. 

MVP Development

At first create a minimum viable product(MVP) before releasing the complete product to test the core functionalities. With MVP gather user feedback and based on those feedbacks proceed with full app development. 

Beta Testing

Once you have refined the app based on the feedback received from the users for MVP now proceed with the Beta testing. This is the final round of testing that must be carried out before releasing the app to all your audience. Once the app has been approved in Beta testing now you can proceed with app launch.

App Launch

Now proceed with the process to list your app on both the app store for iOS and Google play store for Android. Once the app has been approved on both stores you can proceed with the marketing strategy to attract users. 

How Much Does Doctor On Demand App Development Cost?

The cost to develop a doctor-on-demand app depends on various factors such as 

1. Scope of the App

2. Features and Functionalities Included

3. Tools and Technologies Used

4. Location and Expertise of the Development Team

5. Extensive Security Features

The cost of developing a doctor-on-demand app can range from $30,000 to $250,000 or higher. The app development cost may vary based on features, complexity of the app, and the development team’s expertise. 

A simple doctor on demand app development cost can range from $30,000 to $60,000 while a complex doctor on demand app development can cost between $75,000 to $150,000. 

Building a doctor-on-demand app requires extensive knowledge in technology and the healthcare sector. So partner with the best mobile app development company that provides the best healthcare solutions and helps you in the successful creation of your mobile app. 

Build a Successful Doctor On Demand App with Appticz

As an award winning mobile app development company, Appticz has a vast experience in developing top notch mobile applications to clients around the world. With an expert on demand app development team we have delivered various telemedicine and doctor on demand apps that have taken the center stage in the healthcare industry. 

Whether building an app from scratch or with the help of white label solutions our app developers are good at both. If you are interested in building a Doctor on demand app then contact our experts and start your project today.