Coronavirus Pandemic: Doctor appointment apps see a surge in patient enquiries

Impact of COVID’19

With Coronavirus taking its toll across the world, people are petrified about their state of health. A major outbreak of this COVID’19 has seen a surge in patient enquiries and doctor appointments. The symptoms of COVID include fever, cough, cold, sore throat, and body ache. As these symptoms are synonymous with that of a normal viral fever, people are in a dilemma.

The problems in differentiating whether the disease is just a bacterial or a viral disease or the COVID has caused troubling waves across the minds of the people. Online medical consultation platforms like Practo have seen a sudden increase in the number of enquiries by about 30%.

With the aid of WHO as well as the Ministry of Health, these apps filter out high-risk profile people based on their travel history. With confirmed cases over 4000 in the US, the fears instilled in the minds of the people have greatly influenced the surge in these medical consultations.

Medical consultation apps have recently launched their new healthcare plan, thereby increasing their revenue into manifolds. Moreover, the comfort of booking appointments online, online consultations, and prescriptions have led to the increased usage of these consultation apps. People needn’t wait over longer queues or call over a clinic for appointments. They can simply tap their smartphones and consultations are made in no time. Doctors needn’t travel across different hospitals, adding to the advantage rendered by these consultation apps. These platforms have tie-ups with major doctors specialized in various fields, and this serves as a significant reason for attracting customers towards these platforms.

What does it take to develop a doctor appointment app like Practo?

People are finding it difficult to stand in line for a doctor’s appointment. Patients lose their patience to meet their concerned doctors. With advancements in technology, smartphones come into play, even in the health sector to solve these problems. People can now consult a doctor in a specialised field as and when needed. The advent of online medical consultation platforms has led to hassle-free consultations. Rapid and assurable consultations have made consultation platforms more demanding. The market is ready to be explored with new and creative ideas that can add to the improved functioning of these platforms.

If you are looking to develop a doctor appointment app like Practo, here are some of the essential features to be known.

Development Process

The development process usually includes the following steps,

Style of the Software

One of the initial stages in development is to identify the style or design of the software that best suits your specifications. A user-friendly style usually attracts more personnel towards the app.

Features of the app

Perfect planning of the features of the app and their specifications can greatly aid in achieving a greater audience towards the app. Certain specific features differentiating your app from the other can be of great use.

Promotion

Promoting your app across different social platforms as well as providing offers and discounts can help the platform move towards a larger audience.

Essential features of the App

Some of the essential features that a user expects out of a platform are,

Online appointment booking

The user will find it easy if appointments with a particular doctor can be made on his/her mobile phone.

Online consultation

The user nowadays demands online consultation. Audio and video chat service enable the users to consult with his/her doctor across the internet.

Online prescriptions and Payment gateway

The user finds it easy if prescriptions directed by the doctor can be made available online. The user also expects a multi-payment gateway which accepts digital wallets, credit, and debit cards.

Location of Doctors

The user may be greatly benefited if he/she is notified about the doctors available in his/her locality. A real-time tracking option can guide the user towards the location as well.

Search and Filters

The user must have the option of selecting doctors on demand and requirement and filter them based on their experience, rating, specialization, etc.

Rating

The user may share his/her experience with the doctor as well as feedback regarding the app. The user may rate the app experience on a scale of 1-5.

What leads to the improved popularity of Practo clone apps?

These online consultation platforms have revolutionized the healthcare unit to a greater extent. It has been proved advantageous not only to the users but also to the doctors as they can schedule their appointments with ease. It is a win-win situation where users get the best treatment and doctors finding it beneficial as it is time-efficient. So, developing such an app through ready-made app solution like Practo clone app will help improve doctors to treat more patients.

User Benefits

Transparency in services

The user is completely aware of the details and specialization of the doctor, making the process more transparent.

Ease of Use

The patients need to wait in a long queue. He/she may schedule an appointment well in advance and may even consult the doctor through the app itself.

Preferences

With the help of these online platforms, the users can prefer a specific doctor of his/her choice. In the case of the hospital, the patient is destined only to meet the doctor visiting the hospital.

Doctor Benefits

24*7 Access to patients

The doctors can have complete 24*7 access with the patients. This bridges the gap of insecurity between patients and doctors. Moreover, the trustworthiness of users towards these online platforms will also increase.

Remote workplace

The doctors find it easy as they can attend patients even from remote areas. Moreover, even if the doctor is unavailable due to specific reasons, he/she can e-visit patients via these online platforms.

To Conclude

Doctor appointment apps may be the future of healthcare industry. In the situation of pandemic COVID ’19, it is the necessary tool for healthcare professionals to treat and consult more number of patients. If you are looking to create your doctor appointment app, Appdupe helps you in providing complete white-labeled apps for your need.

Author

Marketing is my soul mate and writing is my side kick. Using my writing skills to share the knowledge of app development and upcoming technologies.