blockchain applications

8 applications of blockchain technology for businesses in 2022

by BlockchainBusinessInnovation and Tech

Blockchain is one of the most exciting (and, arguably, least understood) technologies on the scene in 2022. But its buzz for blockchain more than makes up for the questions business owners have around it — and now, organizations everywhere want to stake their claim with their own innovative solution. 

If you know you want to invest in blockchain development, but you don’t know how (or why!) to go about it, then this post is for you. 

We’ll be covering eight applications of blockchain technology for business so that your organization can put it to work in a meaningful way. 

8 inspiring applications of blockchain technology to consider in your business

1. Smart contracts

First on our list of blockchain development solutions is smart contracts. Smart contracts are essentially automated contracts written in code rather than on paper. 

Say an enterprise agrees to buy a product from your business for $100,000. Rather than making this deal over the telephone, Zoom, or through a bunch of emails and signatures, you can create a simple smart contract instead. This contract is a bit of code in the blockchain that will automatically approve the purchase of the product when the enterprise sends over the money. It executes the contract for your business.

Why is this use of blockchain technology exciting for business?

Of course, this is just one use case for a smart contract. The same technology can be used to hire new employees, secure clients, merge and acquire, and a plethora of other activities. Because it’s automated, there’s less room for error and less oversight required.

By using smart contracts, businesses can benefit from increased transparency, faster negotiations, and automated transactions. There’s no need for external parties to execute or secure the contract since the contract itself handles this. This allows involved parties to be more confident in the success and management of the contract.

2. Decentralized apps

Next are decentralized products, namely apps. Sometimes called “dApps”, a decentralized app works just like a standard app you use every day on your phone or computer. However, unlike these other apps, there is no one managing your data, account, or orders on the other end. 

Instead, the blockchain is handling all of this. It’s storing and updating user accounts and processing transactions (financial as well as general interactions) for the users. 

Typically, you would need an intermediary to do all of this. That intermediary is usually the developer, who has to maintain a database after launching an app. Since decentralized blockchain solutions are self-sustaining, there’s no longer a need for the intermediary party. This keeps things simple, secure, and private for the individual.

Why is this use of blockchain technology exciting for business?

For smaller developers and businesses, or for those who have developed more apps than they can manage, a decentralized solution presents a long-term management option. You don’t need to be as involved in the day-to-day responsibilities of taking care of your app. At most, you just need a customer support team.

Additionally, privacy-centric companies (which is quickly becoming all companies in 2022) can advertise decentralized solutions as a privacy-first mechanism. It decreases the involvement the developer has in the users’ data and gives the user more control over their data and how it’s used.

3. Increased transparency and traceability

Increasing transparency and traceability is a more broad application of blockchain technology for business, but it’s still worth mentioning. As the amount of data companies are taking in, transforming, and outputting increases exponentially, these are two features that are becoming more and more important. 

On the transparency front, blockchain development can be used to provide everyone with a clear view of how data is used within your company. They can either view just their data or everyone’s, depending on how transparent you want to be. They can see how this data is accessed, modified, and implemented throughout your systems. 

Similarly, all of these features of blockchain can be used to improve traceability. You can cut down on fraud, track it down when it happens, and avoid lost or corrupt data.

Why is this use of blockchain technology exciting for business?

As mentioned before, privacy-first policies are becoming critical to your public perception. Individuals are becoming more educated and concerned with how their data is collected and used. 

In a way, it’s fitting that this rise in awareness is coinciding with the rise in blockchain’s popularity. Blockchain is the perfect tool for removing the blackbox nature of your business’s data policies and practices, boosting consumer trust, and improving your internal data procedures.

4. Employee compensation

Employee compensation is a very pragmatic use case for blockchain technology. It leverages something blockchain is already good at (processing financial transactions) and applies it to a real-world need for businesses. 

And of course, just because the blockchain is primarily used to process cryptocurrency transactions, that doesn’t mean you’ll need to start paying your employees in Bitcoin. With “smart” blockchains like Ethereum, you can create your own apps on the blockchain that process any kind of transactions you like. 

This can provide you with a faster, more transparent, and more flexible way to pay your employees every period. 

Why is this use of blockchain technology exciting for business?

While putting your employees on a blockchain payroll might seem redundant (“But… I already have a payroll system in place…?”) it offers a few unique benefits.

First, it allows you to pay employees in cryptocurrency if that’s something they’re interested in. It can also make it easier to pay customers in a fiat currency of their choosing (Stellar is particularly good at this).

And second, with contractors, freelancers, and remote workers becoming more commonplace, a blockchain payroll can standardize and secure the way these workers are paid. This gives everyone more confidence in your payroll system while keeping things simple, too.

5. Securing digital identities

For the most part, the way we keep up with our identification is pretty outdated. Whether we’re talking about hospital records, government IDs, or just the badge you wear to work, there’s a lot of room for improvement with our IDs.

Fortunately, blockchain development can help here, too. Businesses can store digital identities in the blockchain and access them from there across a variety of services and products. This is opposed to the more traditional solution of a database, which can become cluttered, slow, costly to maintain, and difficult to keep in sync.

Not to mention that, eventually, the blockchain can be used to make our digital identities universal. You’ll have just one account that connects your information to any platform, business, or service you sign up for.

Why is this use of blockchain technology exciting for business?

The largest benefit of applying blockchain to digital identities is convenience. It serves to make things as simple as possible, both for the user and for you, the business. 

And in more security-driven applications like healthcare and finance (or anything where an account is used for more than accessing digital goods and services), the blockchain creates a more transparent, traceable, and secure solution.

6. More trustworthy voting processes

Thanks to the Greeks, we’ve all (mostly) agreed that voting is pretty great. The problem is, we haven’t really updated the way we vote since the time of the Greeks. Much of our voting is still conducted on pen and paper, and even when it is digitized, concerns of fraud and error are high.

This is as true of government voting as it is for voting within a business context, whether that be a board of directors coming to a conclusion or a workers-based decision.

Blockchain can help you modernize voting in a way that is fast, convenient, and most importantly, trustworthy. You can ensure that every vote is authentic, immutable, and incontrovertible.

Why is this use of blockchain technology exciting for business?

Ensuring that a voting process is legitimate is critical no matter the context. However, this can sometimes come into conflict with our more modern need to have voting also be convenient and easily accessible.

Blockchain can bridge this gap for your workplace. It can give a voice to various stakeholders throughout your company via a channel that they can trust and access at their convenience.

7. Transportation and logistics

The transportation and logistics sector is becoming increasingly automated and digitized. This has the benefit of making it more cost-effective, sustainable, efficient, and safe for workers.

It also comes with the drawback of data vulnerability. The more communication that occurs between vehicles and management systems, the more chance there is for vital data to be corrupted or stolen.

By implementing blockchain technology, businesses can mitigate these drawbacks. They can secure the data that’s being moved, prevent it from being altered without oversight, and generally create a safer digitization process for their transportation and logistics departments.

Why is this use of blockchain technology exciting for business?

The benefits of blockchain development within logistics go beyond keeping data safe. It can also be used to improve freight tracking, which grows increasingly important to consumers and businesses alike.

8. Give users control of their data

We’ve mentioned it a few times throughout this post in other points, though it’s potent enough to garner its own position on this list: blockchain development has the power to give individuals control over their data. 

Currently, when you use an app or digital service, you take for granted that the business owns your data. Purchasing digital media, adding your sign-in information, and keeping a digital record of your usage — each of these things is left to the developer/business behind the software. 

With blockchain, you can put data back in the hands of the user. Not only can they get a better view of what data is being stored on them and how it’s being used, but you can also give them options and features tied to manipulating that data. Since no one needs to manage a blockchain, you can introduce anonymity into your service more easily.

Why is this use of blockchain technology exciting for business?

The data of individuals is becoming a hot-button issue around the world. Users are more educated and aware of their digital footprints than ever before, and increasingly they’re asking for control over this data.

Blockchain development can put users back in control without minimizing or removing the abilities of the developer. It’s a win-win solution and one that could become a new default in the future.

How does the blockchain app development process work?

The blockchain development process is not too unlike that of traditional software development. It involves building the back-end, then the front-end, designing the UI, deploying it on various platforms, and finally testing it for quality assurance.

This can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months and, due to the complexity of blockchain technology, is best left to experienced developers. Of course, businesses don’t have to build a blockchain solution from scratch. They can lean on existing solutions like Ethereum and Stellar, which already have frameworks in place.

How much does it cost to build a blockchain app?

Generally, it will cost anywhere between $20,000 and $200,00 to develop an original blockchain system. This includes the cost of hiring developers or outsourcing to a development agency.

If businesses instead choose to create blockchain apps on existing systems, like Ethereum, then the cost can be much lower as this is far simpler to do.

Can you build your own blockchain?

Of course! Nothing is preventing any business from creating its own blockchain aside from expertise. Generally speaking, there’s no reason to create a blockchain if an ideal solution already exists. This is kind of like developing a programming language when all you need is an app.

That said, building your own blockchain can be valuable if there isn’t an ideal solution available. For instance, Ethereum, which is perhaps the most popular blockchain for app development, can be slow to run due to its popularity. Others have environmental concerns, are bloated, too broad or narrow in usage, or can be otherwise less than ideal. In these cases, it can make sense to create a new blockchain from scratch for your business.

Blockchain development isn't out of reach

Developing blockchain technology for business use cases isn’t a pipe dream anymore. 

Businesses of all shapes, sizes, and sectors can start putting this technology to work today to achieve any of the applications in this article and beyond.

To discuss opportunities for blockchain development within your business and how you can get started, reach out and let our blockchain development engineers at RebelDot support you as close consultants in developing and launching your digital product idea. 

.NET development companies

.NET Development companies – 5 trusted product agencies in Europe

by BusinessInnovation and Tech

.NET is an open-source and cross-platform introduced by Microsoft in the 1990s. Developers can create different applications that run on Linux, Windows, and macOS. It has a wide range of tools, libraries, and programming languages. You can develop .NET apps using programming languages such as C#, Visual Basic, or F#.

.NET Framework is one of the implementations of .Net that supports desktop apps, services, and much more on Windows. Without sufficient funds for licenses and platforms, .NET is an excellent place to launch your startup.

Besides, more than 17 million websites have been developed using ASP.NET and more than 10 million unique domains. Other estimates put the number of live websites using ASP.NET at more than 41 million.

Therefore, ASP.NET is ideal for a startup because it provides a wide range of benefits when developing commercial applications ranging from simple websites to complex web applications.

The advantages of using .NET, particularly for startups.

1. Interoperability– Interoperability refers to the ability of various computerized systems or products to connect and communicate with each other, even if entirely different manufacturers developed them in totally unrelated industries. The systems can exchange information between databases and applications.

Following Microsoft’s release of two editions of Windows 10 Internet of Things (IoT), it has significantly improved the platform’s efficiency, allowing business owners to grow their businesses. As a result, .NET has become the best platform for startups wishing to use the technology.

2. Scalability – The ASP.NET framework is robust for any commercial application. All organizations ranging from small-scale to large enterprises have utilized the framework for technical strategies. It is highly scalable, making it easy to meet the requirements of a rapidly expanding organization. As a result, your business application evolves and grows as the startup grows.

3. High Security – ASP.NET comes with top security features making it one of the most secure platforms in the market. The shopping cart for eCommerce solutions would not have survived if there were gaps. .NET is essential in identifying and covering any of those gaps.

What to Look for in .NET Development Company?

If you need a company to develop a project for you, here is what you should look for:

  1. Professionalism- These are often known as soft skills. They should respond to questions promptly and be available to explain their end-to-end development processes. The company should be ready to listen carefully to your needs and understand what you aim to accomplish with your project.
  2. Credibility – You have to do extensive work to determine potential vendors. Your search should include reviews from past clients, their duration in business, and their online presence. Do they have an authoritative blog?
  3. Skillset – The company you choose should have the necessary technical skills to accomplish your project. You can inquire about the samples of projects with similar scope, size, and functionality. If possible, the samples should be from the same industry.
  4. Value – Cost is typically one of the main factors to consider. However, don’t make a decision solely on the pricing. Focus on the value you’ll get.
  5. Support – The company you choose should provide support after the project development, especially if you have a complex application.  

The Cost of Building .NET Application

Building a .NET development application is much cheaper than a website development because it takes a short time to build. However, the time and cost to develop a .NET application can increase significantly depending on the organization’s requirements.  

Typically, the following factors will determine the cost:

  • Features
  • Functionality
  • Deadlines

On average, a simple application with essential functions can cost between $2.000 and $5.000. However, a complex .NET application such as an eCommerce could be as high as $10.000 or even more.

Five .NET Application Companies

1. RebelDot

Location: Romania, Denmark, UAE

Hourly Rate: $50 – $100/hr

Employees over 150

RebelDot is a digital product company, helping brands around the world accelerate their process towards digitalization and innovation. With over a decade of experience in building products for over 50 companies in multiple industries, RebelDot comes with proven experience in building web and mobile apps from the idea phase to a thriving digital product.

Since 2012, our team has designed and built digital products that bring people together, products that redefine the way we do work and play, products that revolutionize the way cities work and products that power global change.

Alongside React Native, Flutter and Blockchain Development, .NET has gradually became our field of expertise, as more than half of our clients request that we use .NET frameworks to implement various features, from basic CRUD operations, to security and cloud third party integrations.

Being a highly performant, modern and trusted platform, it provides a multitude of libraries and tools, which we take advantage of to facilitate the development and support of applications.

As proof of its focus on delivering the highest quality services to customers worldwide, RebelDot holds the following accreditations: 

  • ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management Systems
  • ISO 27001:2018 – Information Security Management Systems
  • Microsoft Gold Application Development
  • Microsoft Gold Cloud Platform
  • Microsoft Gold Application Integration

2. Iflexion

Location: The United Kingdom and the US

Hourly Rate: $25-$49/hr

Employees over 850

Inflexion is one of the most experienced .NET development companies. It has provided software solutions to businesses and organizations across multiple industries for over two decades. Since 1999, the company has helped thousands of companies optimize their processes by developing custom software solutions using .NET frameworks. With their experienced team, Iflexion offers software development services to customers in different countries worldwide despite their geographical location, operation domain, and organization specifics.

Iflexion provides IT services to all types and sizes of organizations, including startups and large corporations. They also have expertise in custom software development, mobile apps, and enterprise web. They offer services on all aspects of software development. They handle straightforward and complex software development, integration, and support projects.

You can choose Iflexion for your next .NET project because of their experience offering their customers trending technologies such as Blockchain, Augmented and virtual reality, and Artificial intelligence.

3. ITGeeks

Location: The United Kingdom and the US.

Hourly Rate: $100 -$149/hr

Employees 50 – 249

ITGeeks is one of the leading .NET development companies in the United Kingdom and the US, working over numerous platforms. In the UK, they sell their services in eCommerce platforms such as Shopify for business owners to embed their businesses globally.

Popularly known as the “Shopify experts,” ITGeeks offer specialized services such as website design, web hosting, marketing, and analytics. They’ve served over ten thousand clients worldwide and still counting.

Throughout the over seven years they’ve served in the software development industry, ITGeeks have completed over 5000 projects, designed over 2600 online stores on Spotify, and offered over 300 successful store migrations on Shopify, hence the title “Shopify experts.”

You can choose ITGeeks if you’re in the eCommerce industry because of their skillset. Their top additional services include:

  • Shopify store setup
  • Shopify customization
  • Speed optimization
  • Store migration
  • SEO
  • Store redesign

4. Instinctools GmbH

Location: Germany

Hourly Rate: $40/hr

Employees 250 – 499

Instinctools has offered software development and consultation services for digital transformation in Germany and Central and Eastern Europe for over two decades. The IT company helps clients optimize their businesses with a primary focus on reducing development costs while improving speed to market using a transparent engagement model (IT staff augmentation, Offshore development center, and dedicated teams)

Instinctools is among the most experienced .NET development companies, and their services include:

  • UX and design
  • Business analysis
  • DevOps
  • Quality assurance and automated testing
  • Project management
  • Support services

If you want a company with solid experience in a wide range of industries, Instinctools should be the company for your next project. Instinctools has won numerous prestigious industry awards.

5. Selleo

Location: Poland

Hourly Rate: $45/hr

Employees 50 – 99

For more than ten years, Selleo has offered professional software development services to clients from Europe, Australia, Canada, and the US, designing and developing numerous applications across a wide array of business domains, industries, and technologies.

Different projects have a wide range of features and require specialized staff with industry expertise and specialized skills to handle your new project. Selleo has a team of full-stack developers to handle your project needs while ensuring an increase in your overall business productivity.

If you want a company with a small team for your .NET development project, you can approach Selleo. Besides, they offer a wide range of mobile and web application development and provide cloud-based business process management tools and custom SaaS development services, among many others. And with their small, versatile workforce, they can deliver all kinds of technologically challenging software solutions.

Sello developers boast expertise in .NET development projects, and they also specialize in the following areas:

  • Digital dashboards
  • Custom SaaS and cloud-based business process management tools
  • AdTech and marketing platforms
  • Processing solutions
  • Data analytics
  • LMS and e-learning solutions

Conclusion

.NET is one of the most productive development platforms and is suitable for startups. It enables developers to build high-quality applications much faster. Besides, it comes with a wide range of standard APIs, libraries, support different programming languages, and other powerful tools the Visual Studio family provides.   

It supports applications running on Android, iOS, Enterprises server, Windows server, Linux, and microservices running in the cloud, among many others.

🚀Ready to start working on your next .NET project? Get in touch and let’s explore your product idea together!

MVP Development companies

MVP Development Companies to launch your next digital product idea

by BusinessMinimum Viable Product articles

When it comes to running a tech startup, the leaders and teams within often have incredible ideas that could result in major success. However, having an idea is not enough– that idea must translate into a product that works for the businesses and that users actually want. This product would be considered the minimum viable product, or MVP.

Startup founders looking to release their digital product idea into the market must do so in the form of a minimum viable product. Most of them rely on their tech partners to take care of this important aspect, but since it can be a bit tricky, it is always a good idea to ensure that you outsource your MVP development to a company that can really help you get the ball rolling.

In this guide, we’ll break down what tech startup leaders need to know about when looking for an MVP development company, as well as a few agencies worth looking into.

What is an MVP in Tech?

A minimal viable product (MVP) is a development strategy that involves creating a new product or website with only enough functionality to satisfy early users. Only after incorporating feedback from the product’s early consumers is the final, comprehensive set of features planned and built. An MVP comes to help you validate your idea early in the process of product development. In the case of Agile Development, it should help your product team validate and iterate your product based on input. MVPs include things like product demos, crowdfunding initiatives, and landing sites. In other circumstances, the MVP might be a patchwork of current technologies to demonstrate viability before becoming a new tool or program. Having an MVP, as well as a minimum viable product strategy for startups is vital. A minimal viable product has three basic characteristics:
  • It is valuable enough that people are willing to use or purchase it at first.
  • It exhibits enough long-term value to keep early adopters.
  • It creates a feedback loop that may be used to influence future growth.
An MVP’s development team will be concerned with the feature prioritization of a digital product, looking to not waste time on anything above the basic minimum, instead assessing the customers’ needs and preferences as they use the product and building every other feature over time. Such MVP development companies or teams can also be outsourced. This tutorial will deconstruct several significant MVP players worth considering as a tech startup.

Why should you consider MVP Development for your startup?

There are so many reasons why you should consider an MVP development firm, or MVP development in general, as a tech startup leader. The benefits of MVP development include the following:

  • A minimum viable product will help your team focus more on core functionalities rather than concepts.
  • Your strategy development approach will benefit from a minimum viable product.
  • It’s difficult to devise a strategy. It will be simplified with a minimum viable product, ensuring your startup’s long-term success.
  • It’s easier to clarify your vision or idea via MVP development.
  • Research won’t provide you a long-term growth strategy without client input.
  • Your plan will be hampered if you sacrifice the Minimum Viable Solution in favor of a feature-rich product.
  • You can gain a better understanding of your customer, client, and market needs.

What should you look for in an MVP Development Company?

Not all MVP development firms are equally lucrative. There are a few things to consider when looking into firms to hire. Consider these factors when searching for your MVP development team of choice:

  • Top-notch reviews, testimonials, and ratings of the company online. An MVP development company with an excellent reputation is worth considering.
  • A lean website that showcases the firm’s talent.
  • Proof of experience working with startups in a similar market as your startup. For example, if your startup is involved in healthcare app development, your MVP firm of choice should also have a history working in this niche.
  • A willingness to sign a non-disclosure agreement on behalf of your startup to keep your project safe.

What are the approximate costs of MVP Development?

MVP development costs can vary quite a bit. Let’s consider MVP costs in the context of tech. Despite the fact that it is sometimes referred to as an “initial version” of a product, outsourced MVP prices are comparable to that of a standard mobile app.

On average, they cost between $17,000 and $55,000. When it comes to MVP development expenses, each company or expert will offer you a different estimate. The estimates will change even if you describe your project in the same way.

This occurs because the cost of MVP software and development is determined by a number of variables. The scope of design and development, tech stacks required, the type or size of team required, and hourly pay rates are the most critical considerations.

8 MVP Development Companies worth watching

1. RebelDot

Location: Romania
Team size: Over 150 employees
Date established: 2018
Key clients: Grundfos, BP, Lautec,

For the past decade, at RebelDot we’ve been interacting with an impressive number of entrepreneurs looking to bring innovation to their sector. We’ve met established businesses looking to grow through digital transformation, enthusiast startup founders at the beginning of their career investing all their time and money into building a digital product, as well as serial entrepreneurs already accustomed to the startup scene, trying to make their way through the competitive world of technology startups.

We’ve launched a series of successful MVP’s for founders looking to develop telemedicine apps, fintech, power and gas apps, daily progress reporting apps, livestreaming apps and even blockchain, launching a sustainable NFT marketplace which we’re yet to discuss about.

The clients that chose to collaborate with us on MVP development do it to achieve faster time-to-market and allocate budget wisely into creating a product that users enjoy using. This happened due to working iteratively based on the constant feedback acquired from the marked which helped us articulate a visually-appealing product that met the needs of both users and businesses.

By default, most of the web and mobile applications that we develop integrate the MVP development stage within the development process, as this is something that our designers, engineers and product strategists strongly recommend. Still, as an agile partner we can always adapt to our clients specific requirements and only develop an MVP or sometimes skip this stage and jump straight to the 1.0 version of your digital product.

2. Intelivita

Location: India
Team size: 11-50 employees
Date established: 2014
Key clients: AwayBack, FormAssist

Intelivita is a software development firm that specializes in creating effective MVPs for companies. It works with a variety of technologies, including machine learning, augmented reality/virtual reality, and blockchain. Intelivita can produce a variety of software for you, including mobile apps, mobile games, web apps, and more. If you’re looking for an MVP development team that can offer additional bells and whistles, this is the company to look into.

3. Classic Informatics

Location: India
Team size: Over 150 employees
Date established: 2002
Key clients: Condexo, MarketMeter

For startups and companies, Classic Informatics provides unique software development and scalable digital solutions. The firm also provides digital commerce solutions for the creation of online storefronts. It also provides content management systems, inbound marketing solutions, and MVP development. To offer high-quality products, the firm uses a variety of technologies and platforms. eCommerce tech startups could benefit from working with this firm.

4. Northell

Location: Ukraine
Team size: Over 30 employees
Date established: 2019
Key clients: Finxflo, SecureFlag

Northell is a small firm with a small staff of highly qualified employees. They create, grow, and sustain both b2b and b2c businesses. They specialize in creating MVP products that help businesses expand faster. Product design and web development are their primary areas of competence. Northell’s product development strategy focuses on producing scalable products that meet corporate needs. They keep track of the product’s dynamics and watch its progress to guarantee that it is constantly delivering beneficial outcomes. The firm is also ranked in the top 20 on Clutch and the top four on Manifest, indicating that they’ve had positive outcomes. Despite its small size and youth compared to more established MVP companies on this list, Northell has proven to be a successful MVP firm worth considering.

5. FATbit Technologies

Location: India
Team size: 51-200 employees
Date established: 2004
Key clients: Gearflow, Superlivery

FATbit Technologies is an MVP development firm that helps budding entrepreneurs validate their internet business concepts. FATbit, with its rapid development methodology, is a trusted partner for businesses looking to enter the eCommerce market. It has developed eCommerce MVPs for a variety of areas, including real estate, ridesharing, food delivery, education, and so on. If you’re looking for a trusted, tried, and true MVP firm, this is the one.

6. Digiteum

Location: Belarus
Team size: Over 50 employees
Date established: 2010
Key clients: DXRX, Printique

Digiteum is a company that creates MVPs. It provides web, mobile, and Internet of Things (IoT) development services. They also include AI and chatbots into their software solutions. They use a diverse set of technologies in their initiatives. The firm guarantees on-time project completion by starting early and responding quickly to any adjustments that may be necessary. Clients from all around the world use the services of the organization.

7. Confianz

Location: United States
Team size: Over 50 employees
Date established: 2008
Key clients: Element Designs, WhooCan

Confianz provides SMBs with cost-effective and scalable products. It provides clients with end-to-end comprehensive solutions. The company creates Android and iOS mobile apps, as well as provides web development and ERP solutions to businesses. Confianz has a global clientele of more than 50 nations.

8. UIG Studio

Location: Poland
Team size: 11-50 employees
Date established: 2013
Key clients: Audiobook, Printbox

UIG Studio is an MVP development firm based in the United States that champions and develops software solutions for a variety of organizations. Along with MVP, the UIG Studio team is also skilled in prototyping. Mobile app development, web development, and GIS software creation are some of the other services it offers.

🚀Ready to start working on your own MVP? Get in touch and let’s explore your product idea together!

Victoria React Native intern rebeldot

Rebel Tech Stories: Landing an internship at RebelDot.

by BusinessInnovation and TechPeople

We are still looking for driven and talented students to apply for our 9 week .NET/React paid internship. That’s why we figured we’d talk to Victoria, one of our very last interns who we met this summer and who became, in the meantime, an integral part of our development teams, working on a global project, with some of the latest tech.

In this article Victoria is going to talk to us about her experience as an intern at RebelDot, discussing in detail the journey she went through to land a permanent role as part of our team and work with us on developing digital products, technology solutions to current, real problems.

How did you decide to apply for an internship?  

I’ve started applying for internships ever since my second year because I wanted to already apply most, if not all the theoretical aspects which uni has taught me. I wanted to see how things are functioning, outside university, out there in the real life.   

And so I started applying in my second year, without any success, only to carry on with my efforts in my 3rd year of studies. 

I took on this quest and started looking for different opportunities and collectives until I found one that I genuinely liked. And who liked me too.  

That’s how I got into RebelDot. 😊    

Did you know from before the kind of company you wanted to work in? 

To be honest, I was super confused, I didn’t really know what to expect.. I have never worked before, until this last summer and I didn’t know how life was going to be outside university, not just work-life.. 

I didn’t have any specific expectations or super vivid scenarios. I just knew I wanted to resonate with the vibe of the company and to simply get along with the people in there. 

Do you remember what the internship application process was like at RebelDot? 

The very first interview I’ve had was with Oana, one of our People and Culture specialists. I remember that it was a very casual conversation, the kind of talk that makes you feel you had known that person since way back. 

I got to have a glimpse into how the culture was like at RebelDot, hear more about the project that we were going to work on and.. Make a new friend, actually. 

After that I had the technical interview with Andrei one of RebelDot’s team leads, who made me feel super comfortable, even though it was a rather techy interview to which I didn’t know some of the answers.. 

He managed to not make me feel frustrated for not knowing, but instead directed the whole conversation in such way so that I could figure out the answers myself. 

Which was quite motivating and comforting. Especially as a first impression. 

What was your first impression of RebelDot? 

My interview with Oana was the first interaction that I had with RebelDot, so to speak.  

I guess I made a more objective opinion after the interview with Andrei. By then, I’ve had the chance to have talked to 2 people already who validated my impression – the fact that there is a chill vibe in this company, the kind of ambiance that makes me feel comfortable and relaxed. 

I got the sense that people are motivated to build amazing technology, but more than that, to care for each other and build meaningful relationships. I liked it. I felt like I belong to this culture. 

What made you choose RebelDot? 

Leaving aside the reasons I’ve previously mentioned, another one would be the opportunity to work with React Native. That’s something that I wanted very much and that was not possible in other companies as an intern, for some reason. 

Do you remember how you found out about the internship at RebelDot? 

I have heard of RebelDot before through my colleagues who have already applied for some of the internship opportunities. Most of them told me that the technical test was fairly difficult and that they only got negative answers.  

I guess this is something that intrigued me. I took it as a challenge, knowing that RebelDot, as open as it is, wasn’t really a place for everyone. 

In terms of technical details, were there other reasons why you accepted the offer from RebelDot? 

I knew we were going to work on a real project. We were told that there was a training that we had to go through, which got me super excited because, although I really wanted to work with React Native, until that moment I have never had the chance to.  

Having studied mostly Java in university I figured maybe it was the time I’d learn something new, especially if I was offered a training opportunity. After I saw the RebelDot opening for the React Native Internship I told myself “that’s gotta be a sign”. 

Do you remember your first week of internship at RebelDot?  

Definitely. The first week was super fun and I was fortunate to already have some “friends” in the group that I was part of. Oana and Andrei.  

Besides them I got to meet the entire team, 17 interns, divided into 3 teams.  

The first day was when we all got to know each other. We were this weird mix of people from different backgrounds and universities.  

It was amazing to see how involved the senior rebels were in this project and this new collective.  

Considering that they were Senior Developers or Delivery Managers, the kind of people that you’d think are super busy, it was genuinely surprising to see how dedicated they were to make us feel welcomed and comfortable and excited for what was going to follow.  

Right from the start, after me and my colleagues have been allocated to the project, we benefited from close support from Andrei (Team Lead), Oana (People and Culture specialist), Iulia (People and Culture Business Partner and Tom (Head of Product Design). 

They talked us through the entire product development lifecycle, which helped us get a broad perspective on what we were going to work on, as well as create a sense of informality between each other which obviously made our communication super efficient, transparent and friendly.  

I could say that we were privileged to have this opportunity, but is not really a privilege because this is the way every internship unfolds at RebelDot. Which is pretty cool. 

How would you summarize a day as an intern at RebelDot?  

Team-work. 

The most important thing I learned as an intern was team-work. In university, most of what you do as a student is then passed through different tools such as anti-plagiarism, so that your work would never be similar to what your colleagues would do. While it does make sense to some extent, I found it rather absurd and upsetting.  

On the flipside, throughout my internship I had my own tasks, but also the freedom to work on the very tasks together with my colleague/s so that we’d be more efficient, but also learn from each other.  

We’d spend hours in huddles and slack calls, talking and doing what is also referred to as “peer programming”.  

You know what.. I’ve seen that “this meeting could’ve been an email” meme so many times, but it was just interesting to see how, in our case, the interns, the moments which brought the most value professionally, but mainly personally, were those never-ending meetings. 

I mean.. that’s what crystalized our team.. constant communication helped us develop chemistry, a collaboration that resulted in quality code and an environment where you just liked being a part of. 

How did having a mentor help you as an intern?  

First of all, Andrei shared with us his own experience and journey. He knew how things were supposed to play out. At the beginning of each sprint, he would give us the direction, that true north, the way in which we had to manage ourselves and each other, the way we had to provide feedback and the way we had to use GitHub in order to make our work easier and more efficient, developing an objective perspective on our output.  

I very much enjoyed the fact that this learning process never stopped at the work per-se. Often, there were random moments throughout the day when, if Andrei would feel like he had something insightful to tell us, he would just say it on the spot. I sensed that he was driven by an honest wish to help us develop as engineers, but mostly as people.  

What skills should a student have to apply for an internship opportunity? 

Technically, I’d say a solid knowledge of basic programming concepts such databases, OOP and algorithmics. 

Besides, I’d recommend students to try experimenting their hard skills on a personal project so that they’d learn the basic concepts I was mentioning before by actually practicing them.  

And, obviously, a strong drive to learn and be open to new technologies.  

In terms of soft skills and personal qualities, what really helped me was simply being open-minded and nice to the people around me. 

What does being a rebel mean to you?  

Not necessarily thinking outside the box, but just thinking differently about things. Having the courage to stand out by being yourself and by engaging with people. 

Do you feel like RebelDot is a place where you can be the rebel you just described?  

Yes, I think it is something that happens on a daily basis. I mean we were never constrained to do things in a particular rigid way. We are encouraged to figure things by ourselves, using our own reasoning so that, in case we mess things up, our mentors would help us get back on track by perfecting our reasoning and not by blindly following some else’s way of thinking. 

rebeldot internship .net

Become a part of our team!

If this sounds like the kind of team you’d want to be a part of, go apply for our latest .NET/React Internship and give it shot at becoming our next rebel colleague.

Medical Apps for doctors

Medical apps for doctors in 2022

by BusinessInnovation and Tech

Healthcare app development and high-speed internet connectivity have allowed doctors to access more information than ever before. Medical apps for doctors serve as tools that help organize patient information and assist in the examination process. Unlike health apps for patients, medical apps for doctors improve physician efficiency and productivity, reducing the cost of healthcare and increasing access to medical care for everyone.

What are the different types of apps in healthcare?

Medical apps for doctors include various digital healthcare apps that cater to multiple segments within the industry. These categories for medical apps for doctors include:

1. Clinical and diagnostic apps

Medical apps for doctors in clinical settings are used to record patient information, keep checklists of examinations and help with communication. Medical institutions often use this category of healthcare apps because doctors can update them quickly, allowing them to keep up with new research and developments within the healthcare industry.

2. Healthy living apps

Healthy living apps for doctors take care of the preventative healthcare side, thus allowing them to treat patients before they get sick. These easy-to-use medical apps help make healthy living a more accessible concept by providing people with relevant information and assistance in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

3. Remote monitoring apps

Medical apps for doctors in this category monitor patients outside regular visits. It’s common for people with chronic diseases, such as diabetes or heart problems, to have these types of medical apps to help them stay on top of their health at all times.

4. Productivity apps

Productivity apps for doctors are essentially tools that help save time and increase productivity at the same time. These medical apps are efficient in streamlining patient information, organizing appointments, and making it easier for people to consult with their physicians. 

5. Telemedicine apps

Telemedicine apps provide clinical services to patients remotely, eliminating the need to visit a doctor physically. Patients with non-infectious diseases, acute pain issues, chronic condition management, simple medical tests, and screenings can use telemedicine apps for virtual visits. 

Telemedicine apps allow people to communicate instantly with their doctors, thus saving time and increasing efficiency. These medical apps reduce the need for follow-up visits by enabling patients to consult their doctor about various conditions in real-time. 

6. Telehealth apps

Telehealth apps differ from telemedicine ones because they provide both clinical and non-clinical services. Most health care providers, including physicians, nurses, and nurse practitioners, use telehealth apps. 

Telehealth apps provide many non-clinical services like clinical decision support, insurance verification, e-prescribing, medical data exchange services, patient appointment scheduling, and many others. 

7. EHR platforms

Electronic health record platforms focus on the total health management of a patient. EHR apps include clinical decision support systems which help professionals make informed choices about treatments for their patients.

These apps also provide non-clinical services, including administrative functions like labor and patient scheduling, billing, coding, networking, chart management, and customer relations. EHR platforms give access to information to all the people related to patient care, including physicians, nurses, staff, and patients as well.

8. EMR platforms

EMR platforms provide all the clinical data of a patient to the physician. These mobile apps allow users to scan and take pictures of patients’ charts, check lab results, and make diagnoses.

The app gives doctors insights into patient compliance and treatment plans, as well as information about their laboratory tests and referrals. Tracking a patient’s medical history, reviewing test results, and prescribing medication become simple with these apps.

What are the benefits of developing medical apps for doctors?

Medical apps serve a variety of purposes for medical professionals. Here are some benefits that doctors can get from having these apps on their mobile devices:

Increased productivity

Medical apps for doctors increase physicians’ productivity by providing them with access to information while they are on the go or in a time crunch. In addition, these mobile apps free up time for doctors by providing details about patient treatment plans and lab results.

More accuracy

Medical apps for doctors improve treatment accuracy by providing access to patient information even in hard-to-reach locations. EMR platforms help physicians coordinate patient care with different specialists, reducing miscommunication and giving patients reliable diagnoses. Doctors and medical professionals can also reduce medical and prescription errors with these mobile apps. 

Lower costs of care

Medical apps for doctors reduce the cost of care with their remote and telemedicine services. Telemedicine apps facilitate virtual visits, which reduces the time doctors spend traveling to hospitals or clinics. This results in a lower cost of care while increasing the availability of physicians.

Increased efficiency

Medical apps for doctors increase the efficiency of medical professionals by providing them with access to patient information and treatment plans. EMR apps reduce miscommunication, streamline treatment protocols, and reduce mistakes in healthcare management.

Greater convenience

Mobile apps have made the lives of doctors much easier by providing them with access to information, resources, and documents from anywhere at any time. Physicians locate the information they need for their patients and take notes on these mobile platforms. Thanks to these apps, doctors can easily keep all patient data in one place.

Examples of medical apps for doctors in 2022

As the demand for medical information continues to increase, so does the need for mobile apps that help physicians provide quality care to their patients. Mobile devices are revolutionizing the healthcare industry by giving doctors access to crucial information about their patients. Here are five apps that should be on every medical professional’s radar in 2022:

Interocloud

Interocloud is an Electronic Health Record platform built to digitalize healthcare institutions. We built InteroCloud as a system to keep track of medical registries, appointments history, and all relevant patient’s history and information.

More specifically, as an intuitive Electronic Health Record (EHR) based on the Cloud, which can be accessed online without the need to install any directory. Being an easily customizable software, InteroCloud can fit various medical institutions such as optical medical clinics, private dentistry practices, medical aesthetics practices, private hospitals and many more.

Medscape

Medscape is an app for doctors who want to stay updated with the latest medical news on their mobile devices. With this application, physicians can access relevant medical newspapers and journals, clinical studies on drugs and supplements, and peer-reviewed research papers.

The app offers a variety of features, including drug interactions, disease management guides, education materials, lab test results, dosage calculator, and clinical decision support tools. You can download this app from the Apple’s app store or Google Play Store for free, but you’ve to register.

Epocrates

Epocrates is a reference tool for medical practitioners that allows you to connect with other doctors by using their unique text messaging service. Through athenaText, you can discuss test results, treatment plans, or referral services with other professionals. 

Epocrates is available in the Apple’s app store and Google Play Store for free. To use it, register with a username and password. You can upgrade to Epocrates Plus for $174.99 per year to get access to the full range of features. 

Doximity

Doximity is a social networking app for doctors that allows you to share and discuss information with other physicians. You can use this app to exchange HIPAA-compliant information and faxes with other practitioners. Along with this, you can connect with your peers, find jobs, compare salaries, and continue your education.

Doximity is available on the Apple’s app store and Google Play Store for free, so you can download it on your mobile phone and get access to the features straight away.

DynaMed

DynaMed provides users with the most comprehensive information on diseases, medications, prevention strategies, and diagnoses. You can search through its extensive library of medical articles to find the relevant information you need for your patients.

If you’re a physician, you can buy a subscription to DynaMed app for $399 per year, and if you’re a student, you can get it for $99 per annum.

Lexicomp

Lexicomp is another medical application for health care providers that allows you to access drug information and treatment protocols on the go. This app features information related to infectious diseases, toxicology, and oral diseases. Lexicomp provides real-time access to drug information, including dosing guidelines, clinical evidence, and product labeling. 

This app is free to download from the Apple’s app store and Google Play Store. However, you need to subscribe to one of their plans to use the service. 

The future of medical apps for doctors

The future of medicine is on the mobile platform, even though doctors are still adapting to this change. The coming years will see more physicians using digital healthcare apps for improved interactions with patients and other medical professionals.

As technology continues to improve rapidly, expect these apps to offer more features that make it easier for you to conduct your daily operations.

Well, if you are looking for a reliable telemedicine app development company to bring your idea to life through the latest tech and a user-centric design, then don’t hesitate to reach out.

You might want to read our latest case-studies where we present how we developed a telemedicine app, as well as a white-label platform used to digitalize healthcare institutions.

React Native 2022 rebeldot

Will React Native die in 2022?

by Innovation and TechTrends

Cross-platform app development: what it is and why do we need it.

If we were to pick 10 random people from around the world, we would stumble upon unique mindsets, interesting personalities, and various likes and dislikes.

However, the one thing that these people will have in common is that each of them will probably own a smartphone filled with tens of apps and a stable internet connection.

Therefore, any business will benefit from a professionally-looking, cost-effective mobile app that can run on both Android and iOS.

This is where cross-platform app development comes in handy: it has been gaining solid ground on the native approaches, and it has been empowering a single team to develop an app that will satisfy all the users.

In addition, it takes advantage of faster and more intuitive UI development and reusable business logic.

There are multiple choices for developing a cost-effective mobile app that can run on both Android and iOS, each of them coming along with certain advantages and disadvantages. We are here to look into React Native and why it is a solid choice for a business that wants to develop a mobile app in 2022, but we will also explore the alternatives and what they bring to the table.

Why has cross-platform app development become so popular?

Before diving into any details about either cross-platform framework, we first need to understand why this approach has been gaining so much attention, stealing the spotlight from native technologies.

Native app development refers to creating an app that will run only on the target OS. Therefore, if your app should be downloadable both in Google Play Store and Apple AppStore, you would need to hire two separate teams, each of them working on an app.

While a native approach has its advantages, more points of view should be taken into account by anyone who wishes to expand into the mobile markets.

The most obvious (and the most painful one) is referring, of course, to the costs of such a setup. Two teams would work simultaneously on the same product (compared to a single cross-platform team that would develop an app that will run on all the platforms). Two teams are more expensive than a single one.

In addition, there might also appear inconsistencies between the platforms. Users want to see consistency, and they do not want to feel limited by their platform when they are going to use an app.

What is React Native?

React Native is an open-source JavaScript framework that enables your React developers to use their knowledge for writing beautiful and performant cross-platform mobile apps, all of this promptly.

It was developed by Facebook and released in 2015. It uses the same working principles as React: a component-based structure, hot reloading, and a large ecosystem of developer tools.

It is backed by the entire JavaScript community, thus taking advantage of many developers who share their knowledge and solutions to ease development for others.

In the following paragraphs, we are going to look into some of the advantages (along with the disadvantages) of choosing React Native for developing a mobile app.

It is backed by a powerful community and it can greatly reduce the costs and the time needed for the development.

In addition, when starting with a monorepo approach, developers are going to think of the architecture in such a way that the code that would be common between a web application and a mobile app is going to be shared between the projects. Therefore, we are reducing the need of rewriting all that logic (networking calls, state management, models).

What are the alternatives to React Native in 2022?

Of course, we should point out that there are other cross-platform solutions that one could go for instead of React Native. Asking “which one is the best” is not going to lead to a definitive answer, since picking the suitable technology for developing a product comes with a lot to take into consideration.

A business will need to take into account the budget, the allocated timeframe, the complexity of the app, as well as the users that they are trying to reach, and what is important to those users.

Flutter is probably the most popular cross-platform technology that represents a solid contestant for React Native.

However, we are going to look into why it might not be completely ready for some scenarios, and why in those scenarios picking a more mature technology is going to bring the most advantages to the business and the users.

Other than Flutter, Xamarin is also worth mentioning, having been developed by Microsoft and featuring flexibility and scalability. However, it is not suitable for UI-heavy applications, and it lacks a strong and numerous community.

NativeScript is another technology from the JavaScript family, but its biggest downside consists of the risk of using buggy plugins, and of course, the community that is not closely as large as React Native’s.

Is Flutter going to kill React Native?

Short answer: no, Flutter will not kill React Native in 2022.

One technology does not simply make another one disappear, as React Native has been the strongest choice for the past few years. Flutter has indeed become more and more of a buzzword in the tech community, but a technology that is written using JavaScript will not go away so easily.

Looking at the big picture, each cross-platform technology will more or less bring the same advantages to the table: lower development costs, faster pace of development, consistent user interface, and easier code maintainability).

Therefore, we need to look further when assessing which technology is suitable for a startup or a big business.

Flutter has been developed by Google, it is newer than React Native (therefore it is still further away from the level of maturity that is needed in a production-ready app) and the code is written using Dart (a language that is developed by Google and not even close to JavaScript’s popularity at the moment).

One of the most important aspects that should be considered when it comes to Flutter is how much support the development team will find online. One of the drawbacks of a smaller community – as well as a less used programming language – consists of the scarcer results when Googling a problem that is blocking the development.

Developers are more likely to adopt something familiar to them. It is easier to find new additions to the team in the form of JavaScript developers who haven’t worked with React Native – but know the programming language perfectly – as well as web developers who know React but haven’t worked with React Native yet.

Such a transition is performed easily and it reduces the costs and the overhead that is involved when bringing less experienced people into a team. Learning React Native in 2022 is easy and the online resources are abundant for anyone interested.

Is React Native dying?

React Native is not going to go away any time soon. JavaScript has been around since 1995 and it gives no signs of retiring any time soon – it was the most popular programming language on Stack Overflow’s yearly survey for the past few years.

Therefore, since it benefits from strong backup from a numerous and dedicated community, the developers will easily find solutions for any problems, open-source packages that can be integrated into applications (thus leading to a better development pace), as well as the possibility of re-using the same business-logic codebase for developing a web application using React (using the monorepo approach).

Flutter is the biggest competitor of React Native, many being afraid that it will kill React Native in 2022. These concerns have their root in the recent popularity gain that Flutter has seen in the latest period.

Since I am not here to say that one technology is better or worse than another, I will stick to facts and present in an objective way the reasons why React Native still has much more maturity to offer, in addition to a helpful community and a countless number of open source packages.

Flutter’s advantages are pretty much the same as React Native’s: faster development time, beautiful UI design, and easy debugging.

On the other hand, Flutter apps might suffer from the fact that the size of the result is bigger, thus being more consuming for the memory and battery of a smartphone.

In addition, it is still immature, thus not being a safe choice.

Is React Native still performant in 2022?

Before discussing the performance of this framework and whether or not an app will be able to deal with 2022’s expectations of a smooth and modern feeling, we need to understand how the user interface is being rendered and how it differs from other cross-platform technologies.

How does React Native work?

Behind the scenes, React Native creates an iOS app and an Android one. When running such an app on a mobile device, there will be two threads that will take care of the business logic and one that will render the user interface: the JavaScript thread and the UI thread.

The first one will tell the second one what, where, and when each component needs to be rendered.

One of the greatest advantages of React Native’s UI system is that the UI is rendered using native views – whereas other technologies (such as Cordova) would generate the HTML for the UI and render it inside of a WebView.

It might not seem problematic, but something would always feel ‘off’ for someone who’d use an app that is developed using the second approach.

Under React Native’s hood, the user taps on a button, this action is understood by the main thread and passed as a message to the JavaScript thread. Here, the logic is handled, then the UI changes accordingly.

This bridged communication is the greatest concern of those critiquing React Native’s performance.

However, we won’t have any performance issues in normal usage scenarios — the bridge handles the communication pretty quickly.

Try this: how many times can you tap your screen in one second? Probably not enough to cause performance issues, that is for sure.

React Native can develop smooth and fast apps that can run at 60 FPS.

One scenario where performance might suffer involves a lack of attention from the developer.

React Native’s UI can be viewed as a tree-like hierarchy.

Let’s say that this website is the top-most component. Its leaves will consist of the header and the body of the website. The leaves of the header are the logo of the company, the website pages’ titles, and so on.

If the state of the root (top-most) component were to modify, every single leaf down to the last one would re-render. Even in this scenario, the naked eye will not notice anything, since these re-renders happen too quickly to be noticed. However, such mistakes are not advisable, nor are they endorsed by RebelDot.

Is React Native being used by any tech giants?

We can safely say that a React Native app will be performant. It will run smoothly and beautifully, and performance will not be a problem for most business requirements.

The popular crypto exchange platform Coinbase has decided to rewrite its app using React Native. Taking into account how important performance and maintainability are for a business that operates on the blockchain – and whose revenue is $1.8 billion for the first quarter of 2022 – we can safely say that React Native’s performance will satisfy everybody.

Wix is another household name when asking yourself what other big names are using React Native. This has led to many online React Native open-source packages that ease the lives of developers, as Wix engineers have decided to help the community with their solutions for some difficult (but common) scenarios (such as displaying and customizing a calendar in your app).

Other tech giants such as Facebook, Instagram, Skype, Pinterest, Uber Eats, Oculus, Shopify, Discord, Tesla (and the list continues) have decided that React Native is the fit choice for their requirements.

Therefore, worrying about performance when such billion-dollar businesses have decided that this framework is satisfying their needs might not be needed.

The fact that such companies have placed a bet on moving further with React Native in 2022 is a statement of its stability, fast development pace, platform consistency, as well as lower costs.

This is a technology that has been consistently growing and maturing over the past years and it benefits both the developers and the project managers.

Conclusion.

We have looked into the current state of cross-platform app development and navigated through some reasons why React Native will still be a solid choice.

Its community and its code reusability possibilities are not to be looked over by a business that aims to reduce costs while not compromising quality.

React Native is performant and easy to learn, its UI system is flexible, robust, and easy to use – and it generates modern and professionally-looking mobile apps.

While we are not pretending that it does not have its disadvantages, we are still strongly convinced that its advantages and what it has to offer will satisfy a startup and a business that is set out to create powerful and quality products.

That being said, due to its intuitive architecture, live reloading, and fast development times, as well as good performance and code reusability between platforms (iOS, Android, web), we can safely say that React Native is the best choice for cross-platform app development in 2022.

Healthcare app development 2022

Healthcare App Development in 2022 [The Ultimate Guide]

by Innovation and TechTrends

There was a time when we wouldn’t think twice about going to the doctor or hospital for just about anything.  

All that changed rather dramatically in early 2020, when COVID19 turned the world upside down.  

In some parts of the world, healthcare reemerged as an online service, with most people starting to avoid going to the hospital or the emergency rooms, scared of catching the virus.  

On the one hand, this ignited a series of social and health impacts, but it also created an unpreceded demand for healthcare apps.  

The reasoning was quite straightforward: everyone has a smartphone these days. So, when you can’t see the doctor in person, you might as well get expert advice from the comfort of your home with just a few taps.

And so, the healthcare app development movement started to take shape.  

However, like anything else, more doesn’t always mean better. So, let’s take a deep dive into healthcare app development, what it is, the dos and don’ts of it, and what you need to know about working with developers. 

  1. What Is Healthcare App Development?
  2. Why Do People Use Healthcare Apps?
  3. Healthcare Market Outlook
  4. What Types of Healthcare Apps Are Out There?
  5. Integrating telehealth with EHR technology – healthcare apps for patients with healthcare apps for practices
  6. What Are the Benefits of Healthcare Apps Development?
  7. What Are the Costs of Developing a Healthcare App?
  8. What Are the Challenges of Developing a Healthcare App?
  9. What are the regulations? HIPAA & FDA & HITECH etc.
  10. How to Develop a Healthcare Mobile App?
  11. What is The Future of Healthcare app development?
  12. How to Choose a Custom Healthcare Software Development Company?

What Is Healthcare App Development?

Healthcare app development refers to the process of designing digital products for mobile devices that support users in requesting and receiving vetted medical advice for their health conditions in real-time.

Alternatively, these apps, which are also built for web interfaces, can aid doctors’ day-to-day workflow by helping them track their patients’ health, schedule appointments, and manage staff.

So, when you say healthcare app development, you’re talking about developing software for one or more platforms, which will be used to provide a healthcare service.

Why Do People Use Healthcare Apps?

People use healthcare apps for various reasons.

Some might use them because they live far from a hospital or doctor’s office and it’s easier than traveling.

Others prefer the convenience of healthcare apps to in-person visits, and some might have serious conditions that require frequent updates, so an app makes it easier to get the care they need.

Like most digital apps, healthcare apps are marketed for their convenience and ease of use. All you need is a phone and an internet connection to talk to a healthcare professional.

Healthcare apps have been invaluable during the pandemic as early diagnosis tools for people who presented suspicious symptoms.

Doctors and nurses have been able to assess reported symptoms in time and properly advise patients to undertake the right further steps in order to prevent aggravating symptoms of the virus.

This created a safer environment for patients and staff at healthcare facilities by identifying potential virus carriers in advance and restricting contact between them.

Healthcare app Market Outlook

Much of the available healthcare app research out there is specific to the U.S. market, but since the U.S. is also one of the largest markets in the developed world, that could function as a solid point of reference. 

According to a new report on digital health trends, published by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, there are now more than 350.000 healthcare apps available to consumers. 

Although most of them are still geared towards general wellness and fitness, it looks like apps focused on managing specific diseases or health are growing exponentially, covering no less than 47% of the apps available, compared to only 28% in 2015. 

Important to mention that along with this growing maturity of digital health products in mainstream medicine also comes robust evidence of their impact on both patients and healthcare institutions.

Looking at the big picture, the digital health industry has raised record-breaking investments in 2021, having reached $7.1B only during Q1, which is far more than the $2.9B reported in 2020’s Q1. 

That’s due to increased investor interest in digital healthcare platforms that revolve around on-demand models, extensive primary care, behavioral health, fitness, and prevention. 

Other key stats on mobile health in the U.S.:

  • 85% of American adults own at least one smartphone 
  • There are already over 350,000 healthcare apps in various app stores 
  • Nearly four million Americans used a healthcare app in 2020 – that’s nearly 30% of the adult population of the United States 
  • Most smartphone users use their smartphones for some kind of health-related activity – whether that’s searching for health information, tracking fitness, or something else 
  • 90% of doctors use smart devices at work, and over 60% of U.S. hospitals have their own healthcare apps 

What Types of Healthcare Apps Are Out There?

A better question would be what kind of healthcare apps aren’t out there. 😅

With the proliferation of web and mobile digital products we’ve seen over the past few years, there are healthcare apps for nearly everything now, including: 

  • Primary care health advice
  • Apps to track pregnancy and fertility 
  • Apps for people who have diabetes 
  • Mental health apps 
  • Developmental apps for children with disabilities or who are on the autism spectrum 
  • Apps for monitoring your heart rate 
  • Calorie counters and fitness apps 
  • Smartwatch apps to monitor your vitals while exercising 
  • Meditation apps 
  • Apps for quitting smoking and other addiction apps 
  • Sleep cycle monitoring and relaxation apps 
  • Personal emergency apps for people who have serious conditions 

The list of potential healthcare apps is almost endless, and we’ve barely begun to scratch the surface. 

As technology evolves and web and mobile development innovates, we will see more health tech and telemedicine apps.

Integrating telehealth with EHR technology - healthcare apps for patients with healthcare apps for practices

Telehealth has seen steep adoption rates amongst both patients and medical practices.   

But first, let’s clear out the confusion and address the difference between telemedicine and telehealth.

Telehealth refers to the broad electronic and digitally performed activities to access healthcare service at-a-distance. 

It includes a wide range of technologies to provide care remotely. It is different from telemedicine in that it encompasses a broader scope of remote healthcare services.

That means that telemedicine only refers to very specific activities within the remote healthcare realm, such as online appointments, remote monitoring, symptoms checking, asking medical questions, or receiving prescriptions. 

While patients can benefit from using such apps in the numerous ways mentioned above, clinicians can also enjoy these digital products’ positive outcomes. 

Healthcare software that integrates Electronic Health Record (EHR) functions can support medical institutions in treating people remotely using secure tools. It also helps doctors streamline the complete care process, automating time-costly bureaucratic tasks to enhance the delivery of patient care.

As you probably have already guessed, telehealth apps that facilitate quick access to doctors work in perfect harmony with EHR technology to create a positive mass impact.

Or at least it should. 

Consider this:

In the U.S., more than 95% of hospitals are using certified EHR platforms to simplify data collection, increase focus on the delivery of medical services, decrease overhead costs and reduce mortality to those who suffer from chronic diseases. 

Developing telehealth apps that can integrate an EHR system would only aid the performance of these medical systems and overall workflows, eventually replicating the authenticity of the good ol’ face-to-face patient interactions. 

Nevertheless, merging telehealth with EHR systems would also help patients better understand their diagnoses. Following a virtual consultation, the patients will now be able to see a summary of their visit and the rest of their medical history, which will provide context for any new information. 

What Are the Benefits of Healthcare Apps Development?

If you have a healthcare business, you might be wondering if it’s worth developing the app you’ve been thinking about. After all, healthcare app development is outside of your wheelhouse.

The answer is almost always yes. Here are a couple of reasons why: 

  • There is an evergrowing need to make healthcare more accessible globally
  • both patients and medical institutions learned that telehealth is significantly more cost-efficient, which is why the demand is constantly growing on both parts
  • medical practices are willing to invest in platforms that enhance efficacy of healthcare and support doctors in making more precise, custom decisions for each patient
  • people are becoming more self-aware, increasingly committing to preventative healthcare – which is going to be an appealing niche to investors since much of the healthcare platforms so far almost solely focused on the treatment of existing medical conditions

If you can build an app that lets your patients access your services faster, easier, and remotely, your business will definitely benefit from this decision.  

What Are the Costs of Developing a Healthcare App?

Web and app development costs vary depending on the type of software or app you want to develop, how much custom coding is required, how complex the interface is, and how long it takes to develop the application from napkin sketches to fully functional product.

Costs can be anything from a few thousand dollars upwards, and depending on the number of features you may want to add, those prices can go up throughout the project.

If you have an idea for an app, it’s always best to speak to several app developers and get quotes for their services. This will give you a good idea of what you should budget for the project.

What Are the Challenges of Developing a Healthcare App?

Web and mobile app development is a complex process. It takes a fairly long time to build a quality application, and there’s a lot of testing, reviewing, and revising that happens before it’s ready to launch.

Aside from ensuring that the app complies with specific regulations, depending on the geographical market you’re targeting, the development process is very similar to any other industry, with the end-user as a focal point.

You have to carry out extensive research and run discovery workshops to nail the value proposition and target market the needs and challenges you want to address.

The product design aspect should consider the most recent healthcare app design trends and articulate a smooth & minimal user experience.

For this experience to be flawless, another important factor is prioritizing the main features that the digital product should revolve around, so that it would overwhelm the user.

All these aspects should be validated as part of an initial MVP meant to collect valuable feedback from the market and support you and your technology partner in creating a streamlined product design and a pleasant user experience that delivers value to all parties involved.

What are the regulations? HIPAA, FDA, HITECH etc

HIPAA & FDA & HITECH regulations govern how health information is stored, accessed, and shared.

Patient information is extremely personal and must be subject to the strictest protections.

Basically, any app or software used in the healthcare industry, where patient information may be accessible, needs to comply with the highest possible security standards.

Not complying with this kind of legislation is an offense and can land you in very deep legal hot water.

How to Develop a Healthcare Mobile App?

The good news is that you don’t need to write a single line of code to develop a healthcare app. 

There are healthcare app developers out there who can take your idea and turn it into reality. Here’s how: 

  1. First, you will have a concept – what do you want the app to do, and for whom? 
  2. Next, your web and mobile app developer will gather information and analyze various technologies 
  3. When they’ve decided on the right technology for the job, they’ll design the application 
  4. Next, your developer will create an MVP – a Minimum Viable Product 
  5. You will enter a phase of beta testing, where bugs will be identified, and the UX will be adjusted 
  6. The app will go to final development 
  7. Another round of quality assurance and testing will find and fix any remaining bugs 
  8. Your app will be released 
  9. You will enter the maintenance and update phase 

Good app developers will walk you through the process and probably offer to stay on retainer during the maintenance phase when the app is live and on sale. 

They’ll also be able to quote you when you want to add more features or something you want to change.  

 

What is The Future of Healthcare app development?

As technology has evolved, so has health tech. Several technologies making waves in the tech world are fantastic for the proliferation of healthcare digital products.

Blockchain, the unbreakable encryption that secures cryptocurrencies, is already being used to secure health information.

Artificial intelligence is being built into diagnostic and other tools, allowing doctors to find potential diagnoses at the speed of machine calculation, which is much faster than anything any human can do. Besides, it lowers human errors within the healthcare process.

Virtual reality allows surgeons and specialists to perform surgeries and examinations from thousands of miles away, and the internet of things is already monitoring our health in real-time.

The future of tech is bright, and medical technology is one of the big winners!

How to Choose a Custom Healthcare Software Development Company?

Now that you know what health tech is and how the process of developing a healthcare app usually progresses, you might be wondering how you can get started.

The best advice is to look for the right partner first, and, to do so, there are several things you will need to consider.

First, their skills, certifications, and people.

You want to collaborate with a team where everyone involved has solid credentials and previous experience working with the latest technologies and, ideally, with clients from the same industry as your business.

Yesterday’s tech won’t create a cutting-edge health app.

Next, ask for references and about their track record. Healthcare software development is a specialist field, so you should look for a company with specific experience in this type of development.

Once you’ve shortlisted people with the right skills and experience, ask about an approximate timeline for developing your idea, and start comparing offers.

Of course, price is never the first consideration, but it is a factor, so find out what value you will be getting for your investment.

Choosing the right developer is almost as important as having a brilliant idea.

Take your time with this step, ask lots of questions, and don’t gamble the success of your idea on a team that you didn’t find chemistry with yet.

Cliche or not, trusting your gut feeling at this stage of the process should be an important decision-making factor.

Well, if you are looking for a reliable healthcare app development company to bring your idea to life through the latest tech and a user-centric design, then don’t hesitate to reach out. 🚀

You might want to read our latest case studies where we present how we developed a telemedicine app, as well as a management software provider for healthcare facilities.

React Native telemedicine

How to create an onboarding process for a healthcare app?

by BusinessInnovation and Tech

In this article, I am going to talk you through how I used a React hook, namely useReducer, to create a smooth onboarding process for a healthcare app that I and my team at RebelDot have developed recently.

  1. Why is the onboarding process crucial in developing a healthcare app?
  2. How did the decision tree idea emerge?
  3. What is a decision tree and why developing one?
  4. How to create a decision tree using React Native?
  5. What is useReducer and how to use it?
  6. A small way to digitalize healthcare.

Why is the onboarding process crucial in developing a healthcare app?

Working on this healthcare project, I stumbled upon a challenge, trying to implement a complex feature within a relatively brief period of time.

To give you some context, the idea for this feature arisen in the very last stages of the development process, which is why finding a fast, yet effective solution was crucial to the project.

This feature was a decision tree needed for the user onboarding process, an essential machine learning-like feature to any healthcare app or healthcare digital product developed nowadays.

It was imperative that the doctors knew relevant details about their patients so they can create an accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Thus, we had to create a dynamic onboarding process, intuitive and not repetitive, focusing only on a limited number of important questions, such as questions about any chronic diseases or allergies that the patient might suffer from, as well as details about its family medical history.

How did the decision tree idea emerge?

The first and perhaps most basic solution that we thought of was limiting the questionnaire to a simple form (.text input) where the questions are screened one after another and the user has to complete the answer to all those questions.

Now, in terms of implementing this type of approach, it is fair to say it would have been an easy process and most of all, a time-convenient one.

But.

Not so user-friendly and efficient.

Patients would have had to waste time answering an entire list of questions, even questions that might not be according to their circumstance while doctors would waste their time too, going through all those answers.

Instead, we decided to build something user-intuitive and easy to complete.

A decision tree.

What is a decision tree and why developing one?

This meant that the onboarding process and respectively the introductory questionnaire addressed to the users would now be based only on relevant questions, also having a series of predefined answers as well as the option to add custom ones.

If you have ever worked with SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics, you probably know what I am talking about – adding a questionnaire/survey logic so that subjects would skip unnecessary questions.

To give a more technical explanation, a decision tree is a decision support tool that uses a tree-like model of decisions and their possible consequences. It is one way to display an algorithm that only contains conditional control statements.

For example, should the user provide a positive answer to a yes/no question, the following question might be based on that particular answer. In the case where the answer was negative, then, according to the established flow, the questionnaire will move on to the next question, without addressing the one specifically designated for those who answered the following positive.

In simpler terms, though, think of it as a dynamic questionnaire that alters its questions in real-time depending on the answers you provide.

How to create a decision tree using React Native?

I started with a simple ‘useState‘, but seeing that I need to add a lot of data to that state (and starting to look like a list of objects), I realised that my simple state can’t handle that amount of changes, so I started looking for an alternative that would save the entire team time and allow us to launch the product on the initially established deadline.

This is how I began working with ‘useReducer’, an alternative solution to ‘useState’, a react hook which helps managing complex state.

I read about all the react hooks, but the truth is that there are a lot of them which are rarely used, like ‘useMemo‘, ‘useCallback‘, or our ‘useReducer. Working with Redux before helped me understand the way ‘useReducer’ works.

In the beginning, my ‘useReducer’ state was pretty simple, but developing the algorithm and discovering every corner case, I ended up with a complex and strong component that allows me to deliver the onboarding process.

So I had a complex state and useReducer which handles complex states. This was the perfect fit that helped me to deliver a feature that appeared so hard to implement.

What is useReducer and how to use it?

Let’s start with some general information about what is useReducer and why it can be used.

useReducer is an alternative useState, the big differences are that useState is used for managing simple states (like strings, booleans, etc.) while useReducer is perfect for complex ones (state objects with multiple sub-values).

For those of you who are familiar with reducers, can easily understand how React’s useReducer hook works.

This is how you can use it, we have the state and the dispatch method attached to that state (as I said above, if you worked with reducers, you should know what dispatch is)

const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, initialState);

reducer is a function responsible for handling all the actions that are dispatched, hence modifying the new state.

initialState is, well.. the initial value of the state.

telemedicine app useReducer

In our case, the initial state is a list of questions with important sub-values such as question category, question text, answers (a list of objects), a prop which says if the questions accept multiple answers (boolean), a prop which says if the questions will be asked (a boolean) and other.

useReducer development telemedicine

Answer objects contain the answer text, the effect that that answer will have and the list of question indexes that will be affected by that answer.

In reducer I have defined the next actions: adding an answer, removing an answer, affecting a question and refreshing all the answers.

useReducer React

So how this work? When a user selects a predefined answer, the ADD_ANSWER action is dispatched (the answer will be saved) and the APPLY_EFFECT is dispatched to every question from the list of questions that is affected by that answer.

The last action will set if the questions will be displayed to the user or not.

A small way to digitalize healthcare.

Relying on this solution, this sort of machine-learning-like algorithm, allowed automatization of processes, eliminating the manual tasks and smoothening extraction of data directly from electronic records.

Besides, it created the possibility for doctors to predict trends in the patient conditions and their behaviors by discovering connections and relations from seemingly unrelated information, patterns that could then be used by to determine diagnoses, prognoses and treatments for patients in healthcare organizations.

On a more personal note, although I was a little scared when this task was assigned to me, I am now grateful for this, as the overall experience taught me that sometimes the solution is hidden in plain sight and that time pressure will have you uncover those solutions when you expect it the least.

Well, if you are looking for a reliable healthcare app development company to bring your idea to life through the latest tech and a user-centric design, then don’t hesitate to reach out. 🚀

You might want to read our latest case studies where we present how we developed a telemedicine app, as well as a management software provider for healthcare facilities.

Oana Mihail Senior Product Designer RebelDot

What is a discovery workshop and how to facilitate it

by BusinessInnovation and Tech

What is a discovery workshop?

Whether you are building a product and you are a startup founder, a big company owner or you’re approaching a project as an agency, you might hear “We gotta do a discovery workshop” from the product designer.

Discovery workshops are in my opinion the stepping stones that lead to a better understanding of the product, and they focus on collaboration between teams to help collect information required to begin a project. When you find yourself passionate about a specific idea, it’s easy to get lost in the details – discovery workshops shift the focus to looking at the project in its entirety and ensure all questions about business objectives, user experience, creative and technicalities are covered.

With this article, I hope to shed some light on this topic and explain the process I go through with our clients.

discovery workshop rebeldot

Why is a discovery workshop important for your project?

  1. No matter how great the idea is, a product can lose its value if not enough thought is given to it in the initial phase of development. You must answer in advance all the necessary questions that may arise from both parties during the app development lifecycle. Doing that in the beginning phase of a discovery workshop provides clarity and saves a lot of time to both parties.
  2. Through a workshop, complex projects can be easily simplified resulting in a structured roadmap and clear requirements that align with your goals.
  3. It helps the product team to arrive at a common ground even though they may have varying opinions. It also ensures that the project is completed in the given deadline or in some cases even earlier, as the core functionalities are always prioritized.
  4. Helps identify potential challenges that may arise later and unravel discrepancies, by highlighting project areas that lack clarity.
importance of a discovery workshop

Why you need a discovery workshop before working on your product?

In general, a discovery workshop usually lasts from 2 to 4 days depending on the scope of the project. Doing so, by the end of it you should have a structured roadmap to accomplish set milestones and goals.

It typically occurs at the beginning of a project or at the beginning of significant key substages of a project when there is a need to:

  • Understand existing research and gather existing knowledge
  • Understand stakeholder expectations
  • Build a common understanding of the overall project direction, key milestones, and vision for the entire team
  • Minimize the risk of building the wrong thing
  • Understand who the customers are and how the product will improve their lives
  • Define what sets the product apart in the market
  • Define what success looks like

But there are also situations in which conditions within the team make additional workshops necessary.

For example unaligned stakeholders. They can pull the team’s focus in different directions and away from the original purpose or problem being solved. During workshops, all stakeholders need to be active, vocal, and open-minded in order to make good forward progress. If a participant can’t or won’t make a decision about something, that can derail the entire process. Make sure key stakeholders are ready and willing to contribute.
It doesn’t really matter if the project is big or small, a discovery workshop is the most logical first step.

Small business owners tend to cut out discovery time and skip the workshop, but I observed that even with standard or minimum functionality, with a discovery workshop, you can unravel new frontiers and efficiently build a product.

For large and complex products, a discovery workshop is a necessity. It helps in defining and assessing the scope of work for every phase and streamlining the entire project at once. Through a discovery workshop, we dive deep, turn challenges into opportunities and explore new avenues to tackle a problem. It is an essential aspect of an agile development process. 

Sometimes when a client considers a project to be complex and outlines a big scope of work, a discovery workshop helps us identify which functionalities represent the core of the product for the initial phase. This reduces the scope and cuts costs for the client. In other cases, we unravel too many complexities as opposed to what was predicted which gradually increases the scope of the project.

What can be the output of a discovery workshop?

Focus on objectives and not only on deliverables.

A discovery workshop plays an important role in transforming an idea into a usable product. All the planning, scoping, and streamlining are done in the very beginning to witness tangible results.

Some of the desired and expected outputs from a discovery workshop are:

  • Aligned product vision and purpose inside the whole team
  • Setting clear, realistic goals for the product
  • Define the target audience, user personas, flows, and scenarios,
  • Sketch the User Journey mapping
  • Aligned vision over the project roadmap and priorities

Who can participate?

What I think it’s the best thing to do is to include representatives from every specialty like Founders, UX/ product designers, developers, and QA teams; In this way, everyone has a chance to weigh in from different perspectives and everyone feels more engaged with the business and product as a result.

Planning the Discovery Workshop.

1. Define a goal and output for the workshop.

Be clear about what you want to achieve, and what the tangible artifacts produced during the session will be.

2. Decide on workshop participants.

The power of design workshops comes from a varied perspective, so like I said, make sure you invite a wide range of roles.

3. Gather needed materials

The environment can be informal and creative if you are holding the workshop in the office (face-to-face) and plan on using tools such as markers and blank paper for sketching, post-its, and water and/or snacks for longer sessions. When we work remotely with our clients we rely on Miro.

4. Plan your agenda

If you are the facilitator of the workshop make sure to have an agenda in place. Plan for a structured sequence of rapid timed sketching cycles, presentation, critique, and choose a prioritization method such as dot voting.

Here is an example of how my agenda looks like:

It not only aligns the project team, stakeholders and clients but also provides the opportunity to mutually explore the scope of an idea and steer the project in the right direction.

agenda for a discovery workshop
  1. Introductions (Workshop intro, attendee intro) – 15 min
  2. Design process overview (Walkthrough the design process steps, milestone and desirable outcome for each) – 15 min
  3. Stakeholder interview (About the Client, Business Goals & Objectives)- 45 min
  4. Assumption mapping (Mapping how desirable, viable and feasible is the product)- 45 min
  5. Coffee break- 15 min
  6. Who are our users – 45 min
  7. What are your users goals (Get everyone to know the users better) – 30 min
  8. Personas – 45 min
  9. Lunch – 60 min
  10. Brain dump exercise (Great way to generate a lot of ideas)- 60 min
  11. Voting – 15 min
  12. Discuss the results – 15 min
  13. Coffee break – 15 min
  14. User journey mapping (Will help generate feature ideas)- 90 min
  15. Coffee break- 15 min
  16. Present journey – 30 min
  17. Final review – 60 min
  18. Coffee break- 15 min
  19. Feature prioritization – 90 min
  20. Coffee break – 15 min
  21. Define MVP – 90 min
discovery workshop for digital product

Even if a discovery workshop may seem like an added expense on the project’s budget, it is completely worth it. Having a discovery workshop at the beginning of the product will minimize the risk of building the wrong thing, will help everyone involved to understand who the users are and how the product will improve their lives and it will lead to defining clear, realistic goals for the product. Once you got through this stage, you can then move on to building an MVP and test the assumptions and insights gathered in this initial stage of the process. 

DRD telemedicine mobile app

Telemedicine apps to keep an eye on in 2021

by Innovation and TechTrends

There’s a new category of apps booming right now.

Actually, it has been here for a while now, but the context of the pandemic has triggered the emergence of even more of this kind of apps.

Yes, I am talking about dating telemedicine apps.

It looks like the amount of people relying on telemedicine solutions have gone through the roof. In fact, it has been reported that the pandemic boosted technology adoption, with the demand for such telemedicine apps increasing by over 65%.

To get even deeper into data, the global telemedicine market is expected to grow 37.7% annually until 2025, when it is estimated to exceed $191 billion in market value.

So..

How are telemedicine apps transforming healthcare?

Telemedicine apps allow you to speak with a health care provider using an app on your phone. Some may also work with your computer. Services may be on-demand, which means you see a different provider each time you use the app. Other services allow you to see the same provider for multiple visits.

What is also cool about telemedicine apps is that they also have a specialty, a specific niche to serve. Some focus on mental health care, others focus on reproductive care and others may focus on urgent care.

The apps may charge per visit, and most have relatively modest fees.

What seemed to be the norm some time ago, now became an ultimate alternative. More and more people prefer receiving expert medical consultations and prescriptions from the comfort of their home and even more institutions are recognizing these new needs and commit to adapt to them.

Healthcare processes are being transformed globally to these new tendencies with institutions managing to solve even more recurrent problems like providing fast healthcare access to remote areas and ensuring that there is a sufficient number of doctors who can cover certain territories and essentially decrease the number of diseases.

Basically, no matter where you are, now you can reach a doctor in no time so that you won’t have to google your symptoms and pretty much fear that your days are numbered. 😅

Keeping this in mind, I figured I’d highlight the most popular telemedicine apps of 2021, the game-changers, if you would, which you should keep an eye on.

  1. Teladoc
  2. DRD
  3. Recomedica
  4. MDlive
  5. Amwell
  6. Doctor on Demand
  7. Plushcare
  8. LiveHealth
  9. Talkspace
  10. Lemonaid

Teladoc

Teladoc telemedicine app

The company offers fast and reliable access to its doctors via phone calls or video conferencing, either on the web or through the mobile app.

You get access to services like general care, pediatrics, preventative medicine or mental health. Teladoc’s on-demand service provides a high level of convenience and versatility, allowing users to connect with a doctor whenever the need arises. Typically, doctors connect with a patient within a 20 minutes time-frame since the initial request.

Physicians are available 24/7 and service is offered in over 30 languages. I must mention that according to the company’s data, nearly 90% of its clients have their medical issues addressed in a single call, which eliminates the need for further appointments and follow-ups for most users.

The cost of a Teladoc visit depends on the specific type of care that you are going for, as well as the insurance you got. A General Medical visit can be as low as $0 per visit with insurance, but prices vary outside your benefits plan or insurance coverage. The same General Medical visit would cost $75.

Visit Teladoc’s website for more information.

DRD

DRD telemedicine mobile app

DRD is a web and mobile app that brings together the functions of a doctor search platform and a telemedicine service to Austrian users. This idea came to life in 2017 when the two founders realized the importance of simplifying access to doctors and the need for support in choosing the right doctor for the course of treatment.

The platform functions as the first point of contact for patients with medical questions and offers the chance to get immediate assistance via video consultations with registered specialists.

As a start-up with a young, dynamic team, drd doctors online focused on offering the following functions as part of an iOS, Android and web app for users:

  • Chance to have a telemedical consultation with a general practitioner via an encrypted video consultation
  • Simple, secure and user-friendly patient file for all medical documents on your smartphone
  • Search function for all specialists registered in Austria.

Simple access to a family doctor via your smartphone – No waiting times, direct referral to a specialist and a laboratory and instant prescription on your smartphone.

All general practitioners on DRD doctors online have been recommended by medical professionals and continually undergo training in order to provide top-quality and highly targeted medical advice.

In terms of price, you got two options to chose from. One fit for trying out the platform, for a fixed price of 49.99 euros, and another one, subscription-based, for 9.99 euros per month.

Visit DRD’s site for more information.

Recomedica

Recomedica Telehealth app

Recomedica is a MedTech startup, a mobile app launched in November 2019 that bridges medical service providers worldwide and patients, offering users immediate access to online medical consultations, in order to streamline the diagnostics and treatment processes.

With more than 350 specialized medical professionals under the same umbrella and growing, Recomedica provides medical advice and recommendations to users posting an average of 300 requests daily.

Since 2019, Recomedica has been offering online medical guidance and access to healthcare services to more than 35,000 unique users who have already made over 80,000 medical requests within the web platform.

Besides common features amongst other telemedicine platforms like generating a full Medical Profile for both yourself and your family members, real-time chat with doctors from different specialties, management of medical cases and files, or medical requests, the platform also features a machine-learning-like algorithm as part of the onboarding process.

This is specifically important as it allows automatization of processes, eliminating the manual tasks and smoothening extraction of data directly from electronic records. It also creates the possibility for doctors to predict trends in the patient conditions and their behaviors by discovering connections and relations from seemingly unrelated information, patterns that could then be used by to determine diagnoses, prognoses and treatments for patients in healthcare organizations.

There are 3 different types of subscriptions that you can make and, depending on the one you chose to go with, the price varies between 5 to 20 euros per month. 

Visit Recomedica’s site for more information.

MDlive

MDlive telemedicine

MDLive helps patients to get in touch with psychiatrists or dermatologist doctors, counselors for discussion via a mobile application. Each doctor that works for MDlive is board-certified in their area of expertise, and the staff overall specializes in treating a wide variety of medical conditions. The overall experience of each of the physicians offering consultations is 15 years, making the MDlive’s staff a highly experienced team.

The doctors have 24/7 availability and you can reach them either through a phone call or a video chat. Specifically, their area of expertise relies on diagnosing skin conditions, allergies and plenty of other acute conditions. Nevertheless, the popularity of this platform also has to do with its mental health services and respectively the therapists who are available for counseling and support sessions on-demand.

Depending on the insurance, the cost per medical visit can be between $0 to $82. However, on their website you will find that part of the medical services that you can access, there is also a behavioral health and dermatology category including slightly pricier sessions.

Visit MDlive’s site for more information.

Amwell

Amwell telehealth app

Designed specifically to be a fast, reliable, and smarter way for patients to interact with doctors, Amwell is focused on convenience and service. Most of the virtual doctor’s visits are less than 10 minutes and don’t require an appointment. Amwell’s focus is on providing an accurate diagnosis and recommending the proper treatment in an expedient manner.

Amwell physicians can even write prescriptions or suggest homeopathic treatments for conditions like sinus infections, rashes, or acne. Interactions take place over the phone, video chat, or using the service’s app.

The cost is $79 per visit, and even less with most major insurance plans.

Visit Amwell’s site for more information.

Doctor On Demand

Doctor On Demand telehealth

Available over the web, phone, or smartphone app, the healthcare professionals at DoD provide assistance and advice for urgent care, chronic conditions, and preventative medicine.

The company keeps certified therapists on staff to assist patients with mental and behavioral health issues, while its doctors handle advice on how to treat everything from the cold and flu to asthma and diabetes.

One of the best aspects of this service is that patients can mark doctors as a favorite in order to connect with them again in the future when available.

The app is free with premium services and consultations varying per session basis.

Visit Doctor on Demand’s site for more information.

Plush Care

PlushCare telemedicine platform

Plush Care puts a large team of experienced physicians right at your fingertips thanks to its app. Using a smartphone, patients are able to make an appointment, speak directly with a doctor, and get a quick and simple diagnosis. The service also calls in prescriptions to a local pharmacy of choice and provides the ability for a follow-up after the initial consultation.

PlushCare treats urgent issues like the cold and flu or UTIs and STDs. It also provides support for ongoing conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disorders, and depression. And the platform has a huge mental health care component via licensed therapists or primary care physicians. PlushCare even has options for prescription renewals, too, including birth control.

PlushCare has two membership plans: the monthly membership costs $14.99 per month, and the annual membership which costs $99 per year. You also get a 30-day free trial for both plans. Besides, there’s a $99 copay per visit. However, those of you that benefit from an insurance will have to pay a significantly lower fee, about $25 to see a doctor.

Visit Plush Care’s site for more information.

LiveHealth

LiveHealth healthcare app

Whether you need help dealing with common issues like pink eye, fever, or tooth pain, or you’re looking for more in-depth assistance with allergies or the flu, LiveHealth Online covers it all. The service allows members to connect with doctors 24/7 using their laptops or smartphones in order to get fast and reliable medical attention and prescriptions filled.

LiveHealth also connects users with psychologists and psychiatrists to get them the mental health support they need, too. One of the distinguishing features to this service is that it allows members to choose the specific doctor that they want to interact with.

The costs vary depending on the type of insurance you hold. In the case you don’t benefit from one, a visit would cost $59.

Visit LiveHealth Online’s site for more information.

Talkspace

Talkspace mental health app

Talkspace is a telehealth service that specializes in mental healthcare, offering features such as: chat, video and voice calls, user-friendly therapists’ search, AI-based assessments, billing and ePrescriptions. It is a highly rated online therapy platform, offering the patient the option to select from a list of recommended licensed therapists.

Users can engage in therapy sessions via video conferencing and messaging, for delicate matters ranging from family conflicts to substance abuse, bipolar, anger management, OCD etc. Talkspace offers 24/7 access and flexible plans to meet individual needs.

With the likes of Demi Lovato or Michael Phelps being strong advocates of the platform, since 2012, the application has reached over one million users. The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for Talkspace as the number of visitors drastically increased, in fact doubled since mid-March 2020.

The average cost starts from $260 a month

Visit Talkspace’s site for more information.

Lemonaid

Lemonaid app

Lemonaid is an app, an online doctor’s office, as they like to position themselves, widely used in the United States which features medical professionals licensed in all 50 states.

Its mission is to provide all Americans access to primary healthcare services and help patients get evaluated and treated for conditions like urinary tract infections (UTIs), cold sores, flu, acute sinusitis, acne, as well as treatment to quit smoking, get tested and treated for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), high cholesterol, diabetes and many more.

The thorough onboarding process is a key selling point of this platform. Specifically, patients receive a sort of questionnaire to fill out and based on the reviews these questionnaires get from the expert doctors of Lemonaid, each patient is given personalized medicine shipped with free delivery directly to the user’s door or the nearest pharmacy.

The costs vary based on the nature of consultation starting $10+ for lab tests, and $25 and more for telehealth appointments.

Visit Lemonaid’s site for more information.

Well, if you are looking for a reliable telemedicine app development company to bring your idea to life through the latest tech and a user-centric design, then don’t hesitate to reach out.

You might want to read our latest case-studies where we present how we developed a telemedicine app, as well as a white-label platform used to digitalize healthcare institutions.