2022 Healthcare App Trends
The global pandemic has fueled a surge in health-related app development, with an average of 250 healthcare apps released each day, ranging from sleep and fitness trackers to digital patient portals. At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the global market for these apps was valued at $40.05 billion; it’s now expected to more than double in size to $100 billion by 2023. As providers and patients continue to adapt to the “new normal”, we expect to see strong demand for custom healthcare apps in 2022, driven by three major trends: wider adoption of telehealth and virtual care, staffing and retention challenges, and demand for greater efficiencies through process automation and stakeholder collaboration.
Wider Adoption of Telehealth and Virtual Care Apps
Not surprisingly, the use of connected health technology platforms skyrocketed in 2020 as providers were forced to shift as much patient care as possible from in-person to virtual interactions. According to McKinsey & Company, 2021 statistics showed an average of 15% of U.S. patient interactions – across all specialties – utilized telehealth tools. Though initial adoption was forced on many providers in response to the pandemic, a favorable regulatory environment and strong patient demand for virtual options strongly indicate that telehealth platforms are here to stay. 74% of US consumers surveyed by McKinsey said they would use a telehealth service, and 76% said that access to medical treatment was more important to them than human interaction.
Patients aren’t the only ones warming to the virtual care model: as of April 2021, 84 percent of physicians were offering virtual visits and 57 percent said they would prefer to continue offering virtual care. An increasing number of practices are even moving to a “digital-first” approach, viewing telehealth as a viable strategy for ongoing, relationship-based care versus a tool to be used for transactional interactions or urgent care needs only.
When developing a telehealth platform, organizations should look to simplify the patient experience by integrating virtual care into patient portal features – everything from appointment scheduling and reminders to provider communications to prescription requests, billing, and follow-up surveys. Offering a variety of communications channels such as video, text, and chatbots through a single platform can also help streamline patient access.
Meeting the Challenges of Staffing and Retention with Employee-facing Apps
Nearly every industry continues to experience workforce challenges, but none more so than healthcare: a recent Medical Economics survey of physicians found staffing to be the number one challenge for medical practices going into 2022. Pandemic-driven burnout is leading to high turnover, and shifting patient volume is making staffing alignment even more complex. Increasingly, health system leaders are turning to technology to help address these workforce and productivity challenges, including recruitment, retention and employee engagement. Huron Consulting’s Embracing Healthcare’s Digital Transformation from December 2021 reports 50% of providers surveyed said they plan to invest in employee-facing apps in the next 12 months.
Platforms that streamline employee scheduling, time tracking, task management, and reporting
can help alleviate administrative burdens for both medical and office staff, improving
productivity and reducing burnout. Similarly, incorporating virtual care technologies into nursing
workflows allows for greater scheduling flexibility and remote work options. Practices that
invest in these technologies are likely to see significant improvements in retention and
engagement, as a recent McKinsey survey showed nurses “enthusiastic” responses to such
capabilities, and roughly two-thirds of frontline nurses said they were interested in providing
virtual care in the future.
Customized employee-facing apps allow healthcare organizations to offer employees the
combination of capabilities and features which address the organization’s specific needs in a
single platform. Compared to asking employees to use one app for scheduling and time-tracking,
another for real-time communication, and so on, custom platforms further streamline processes
and reduce headaches for already stressed staff. From a management perspective, custom designed
apps allow them to meet the most pressing issues of today’s healthcare environment
while remaining adaptable and scalable to meet future needs.
Driving Efficiency with Process Automation and Stakeholder Collaboration Apps
As healthcare organizations emerge from a second year of financial damage caused by the
pandemic, expect a pronounced emphasis on cost reduction through better process efficiencies as
management seeks to improve margins where possible amid the ongoing crisis. For physician
practices, pandemic-driven reductions in patient revenue and higher operating costs have
squeezed margins significantly. According to Kaufman Hall, U.S. hospitals lost an estimated $54
billion in net income in 2021, even with federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
(CARES) Act funding.
With these financial challenges ongoing in 2022, healthcare organizations are looking for
technological solutions to make processes more efficient and less costly. A whopping 79% of
health systems plan to automate scheduling and check-in with self-serve kiosks or apps,
dramatically reducing the staff time consumed by these routine tasks. Other patient
communications workflows are being targeted as well: 51% of healthcare IT executives stated
they planned to invest in systems for scheduling, reminders, recalls, referrals, and other patient
engagement activities. Expect to see more practices using technologies such as in-app chatbots to
serve patients seeking answers to commonly asked questions without direct engagement by
employees.
Beyond patient interactions, health systems are also looking to streamline clinical
communications by deploying technology to facilitate real-time access to patient information and
seamless collaboration among care teams. HIPAA-compliant portals will allow multiple
providers to access real-time patient data, improving quality of care and reducing the
administrative burden and error risk of manual data sharing.
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