Despite some unpopularity in the environment of technical discussions, software for medicine took multi-billion dollar records a long time ago and is not going to slow down.
The medical software market is forecast to reach over $8 billion by 2023, doubling its value over the past 6 years.
Despite the fact that medical software has been used for a long time, its possibilities in the software market remain immense.
Providing healthcare software development services by Fireart for many years, we have amassed a large knowledge base and want to share it with you in this article. Read on for practical advice on how technology is used in healthcare.
What Is Healthcare Software?
Oftentimes, people do not see the difference between the terms “healthcare” and “medical software”. And although the difference here is minimal, it is still present.
In defining software related to medical devices, the FDA considers it in a broad sense, including practical methods.
Medical software can be used to monitor, analyze, and interpret a patient’s condition, and for a variety of other functions so that healthcare providers can deliver the best possible treatment.
For the medical industry, the software is developed for:
- modeling and medical education
- research and high-quality diagnostics
- database storage
- equipment planning.
In simple terms, healthcare is about caring for the patient and their experience, while medical software is about diagnosing and optimizing treatment.
Medical technology is helping to optimize and improve the quality of patient care, improve interactions between departments and hospitals and patients, and in many other areas, such as digitizing patient data by invoicing and payment, prescribing, scheduling appointments, and more.
How Software Is Used in Healthcare?
The largest and most famous IT corporations in the Big Four have long begun to use their experience in developing software for healthcare.
For example, in the period 2013-2017, the well-known parent company Google sold more than 186 patents in the field of healthcare. Together with Microsoft and Apple, they have sold over 313 patents.
Unsurprisingly, Google is leading the way in AI development. After all, the company uses its experience in the medical field, from diagnostics to insurance.
In turn, Apple has taken a slightly different niche – they develop mobile platforms for patients, which is not surprising.
The giant Amazon also keeps up with its peers in healthcare logistics. She also participates in partnerships for the development and delivery of medical software.
Make no mistake that there is no one on the market except the Big Four. This is not true. Smaller companies are thriving as well.
Examples of Healthcare Software
Companies that supply and develop technologies have some market shares. In the healthcare software market, as elsewhere, there is a fierce struggle between private companies specializing exclusively in healthcare solutions and new startups.
The top private companies in the healthcare software market today are:
- Epic Systems, which holds 28% of the market. They created a system of the same name, which has a wide range of functions, such as patient care and planning with registration and management systems for large hospitals.
- Cerner Corporation grabbed a whopping 26% of the market. They develop end-to-end healthcare solutions, from initial patient interactions to clinical decisions.
- Another top company is MEDITECH. It is firmly in third place with 16% of the market. The development helps to optimize the management of hospitals and related processes.
Turnkey Solutions versus Custom Healthcare Software Development
Developing custom software for medicine is very beneficial for many reasons.
Such tailor-made solutions can take into account all the costs and specifications of the client. This is scalability, big money savings in the long term and resistance to cybersecurity, and much more. In fact, the list of benefits is endless. It is the perfect choice if you are looking for a unique and highly complex application.
The only downsides to this type of application development are the long development time, a good investment, and a lot of effort on both your part and the contractors.
In terms of standard medical applications, these products meet the general market needs. They are not customizable for brands and features but require less capital investment.
It follows from this that the use of ready-made solutions is more suitable for healthcare. They are suitable for routine and similar operations such as planning, ordering medicines, enrolling patients, writing prescriptions, and more.
How to Pick a Good Healthcare Software Company?
When we talk about healthcare and medicine, we cannot make mistakes. After all, it is not just the dissatisfaction of the user’s needs that is at stake, the lives of patients are at stake and the profit will not be so important in the end.
When choosing a company that will develop healthcare software for you, it does not matter if it is a supplier or a developer, you need to carefully research the market. But what factors should be taken into account if the price issue is removed from the equation?
Item number one: portfolio. Pay close attention to the company’s experience. What have they already developed and for whom?
Point number two: feedback on their work. Carefully study how past and current customers respond to working with a particular company.
Point number three: Consider negative feedback as well as positive.
In addition to these key points, it is worth considering:
- What technologies and knowledge in the subject area does the company own? When choosing a development company, it is best to avoid companies that have limited technical experience if you are undecided about the future technology stack.
- How developed is communication in the company? It doesn’t matter if you are going to hire a local firm or go to an overseas company, their level of communication must be high enough so that you do not crash while working together.