The Growing Need for Custom Healthcare Software Development

As advanced technologies stretch into every corner of the business world, their impact is being acutely felt in a healthcare field that is rapidly changing but remains squarely focused on ensuring good patient experiences and improved health outcomes. 

AI and robotic process automation (RPA) are being embraced by the healthcare industry, making operations more efficient, improving the user experience, and supporting better patient monitoring and preventative care. IoT devices like sensors and monitors, along with telehealth, are changing how healthcare is delivered and patients communicate with their providers. 

The common thread through all this is data. Massive amounts of data are being generated – and it must be sifted through, analyzed, and acted upon, which is where custom healthcare software development enters the picture. 

Custom Healthcare Software Companies and the Data Deluge 

Data is coin of the realm in all business sectors now, healthcare included. The industry generates about 30 percent of all data worldwide, and that data drives faster and better-informed business and healthcare decisions, fueling change in an industry that is heavily regulated, compliance-sensitive, and in transition from a fee-for-service-based business model to one focused more on driving patient value. 

But not all healthcare leaders understand how to use that data correctly to make the right adjustments and solve problems, and while they understand technology is the key to improving patient care and giving them a competitive edge, leveraging it is a whole other skill many don’t have. 

In such a dynamic environment, off-the-shelf software falls short when it comes to addressing requirements specific to healthcare organizations. Custom healthcare software development fills this significant gap through tailor-made solutions … but what is it, exactly? 

Custom Software for the Unique Healthcare IT Environment 

The name describes what it is: designing applications that meet the specific medical or business needs of a healthcare organization, with the apps being created in-house or by a custom healthcare software development company. 

The software is tailor-made to address challenges such as helping an organization run more efficiently (using solutions like electronic health records and health information systems), safeguarding sensitive patient data (with security systems), and improving patient outcomes and experiences (via apps, remote patient monitoring, schedulers, etc.). 

The booming global medical software market is expected to expand from $42.1 billion in 2021 to $104.1 billion in 2030, and custom healthcare software development is a key part of the space. 

Custom Healthcare Software Development Companies Can Smooth the Path 

Like in most sectors, healthcare software development provokes interest and urgency owing to its promises of innovation, but the unique nature of the healthcare industry also presents barriers to successful technology deployment. Developers can overcome them, though it’s not easy. The software needs to comply with a host of compliance regulations, such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), ISO 13485, and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), and it must be able to communicate with other software systems that might use different protocols and standards. Securing the massive amount of sensitive data is a must to protect patient privacy, so security has to be part of the entire software development lifecycle.  

Solutions also must be flexible, covering a multitude of different use cases. This eliminates the need to do a total re-write of the app when an organization identifies a new challenge and allows it to add on to the solution at a lower cost. Software further needs to scale with the organization’s growing business and be easy to use for both healthcare professionals and patients.

Custom healthcare software development companies are well-equipped to meet all these demands, using agile development techniques and open-source tools that accelerate software delivery and reduce related costs. They work closely with the healthcare organization to ensure the software meets all the regulatory requirements and address security throughout the development lifecycle. 

How Custom Healthcare Software is Made 

The lifecycle for custom healthcare software development is a heady mix of code creation and customer interaction. In this process, the developer must: 

• Understand the needs of the healthcare organization and then define and outline the software architecture that best addresses the demands and needs of that organization. 

• Get feedback from the healthcare facility. Before jumping into the 1s and 0s, the planned solution must address the organization’s challenges. 

• Focus on the users’ needs in the design. The user interface and user experience – whether the users are patients, healthcare professionals, or administrators – is key. A custom app needs to be easy-to-use, intuitive, and streamlined. 

• Secure data. Healthcare organizations, with all the sensitive data they hold and the myriad connected devices they use, are attractive targets to cybercriminals. Strong encryption to protect patient data and privacy is a must.

• Ensure compatibility. The healthcare IT environment is complex and expansive. The custom software must fit easily into the mix and communicate with other systems. It can’t be an island unto itself. 

Done correctly, custom healthcare software development can be a boon to both patients and the organization. The healthcare facility gets applications tailored to their needs, complies with the ever-growing number of regulatory requirements, and streamlines processes so that doctors have less paperwork and can do what they enjoy most: tend to their patients. 

For patients, such software can mean a vastly improved experience. Appointment scheduling is faster and more convenient, doctor visits can often be done remotely and over any device, access to health records and medical exam results is simple, and treatment can be done over a distance.  

Outsourcing to a Custom Healthcare Software Development Company 

Organizations can do this development themselves, but that comes with its own challenges. In-house teams need to have skilled developers, the necessary equipment, and the space in place, an expensive venture. There are salaries, health insurance, and other expenses that come with employees, and fixed costs like taxes, rent, and software licenses. 

With custom healthcare software development companies, an organization can still have access to skilled talent from around the world, but at a much lower cost. Estimated costs for a six-month project can run as high as $388,000 if done in-house, and $200,000 if outsourced. 

Add In Healthcare IT Consulting 

In addition, if the facility chooses the right custom healthcare software development company, it can also come with robust healthcare IT consulting services. Along with offering software development capabilities, such companies can help healthcare organizations navigate the increasingly complex IT environment. They can address the myriad technological challenges that crop up almost daily and ease the adoption of new technologies like AI and automation – with a keen understanding of the unique challenges in healthcare. 

Finding a partner like Elxo that can do both custom healthcare software development and IT consulting checks off most of the boxes that a healthcare organization has for IT help. Learn more about what Elxo offers here.