Medical Reference App

• Project: medical mobile and web applications
• Duration: 5 months
• Technologies: Objective-C, Java, MySQL, PostgreSQL, NodeJS, AngularJS
• Target audience: patients

Whatmed S.C. is a Family Medicine clinic in Orland Park, Illinois. With a full-featured medical reference app available on iOS, Android, and web-based devices, Whatmed offers its patients a variety of healthcare services.

• First of all, WhatMed app is a live catalog of medications. A patient can access information on over-the-counter and herbal medications for early symptoms of minor illnesses.
• The app provides access to Telemedicine services. A patient can schedule and join a paid consultation with a qualified physician via a virtual medical office or a live chat.
• Finally, a patient can get over-the-counter medications with delivery to home or office respectively.

Medical Assistant Platform

There are lots of challenges during illness and this can put patients in hot-spots. It’s sometimes hard to leave the home while ill even if there is an urgent need to see a licensed physician or go to a pharmacy both of which can be distant to the residence of a patient.

There is also the problem of deciding what medications to buy, all this becomes a dilemma, especially if the patients are elderly, disabled or have no one around to help them.

The WhatMed app gives medical assistance during brief or minor illness in such difficult situations. It solves problems like having the right medical guide, locating a pharmacy, getting an accurate consultation with a medic.

Above all, patients have an opportunity to purchase medications online and get the delivery to a specified address.

The essential features of the platform include:

• A live database detailing medications, dosage, side effects, etc.
• Search for OTC and herbals by name and components. There is also a search option for symptoms matching with alternative medications.
• Video consultation or one-on-one chat with licensed and experienced physicians.
• Auto-check for drug interaction, precautions, and overlapping effects.
• A location-based directory listing doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, healthcare organizations, etc.

The Client’s Request

Whatmed realized the urgency of refurbishing their medical reference app and redeveloping some of its main functionalities in order to complement user experience and improve customer engagement. At the same time, it was important to carry out the project under certain time and cost constraints.

It was decided to look for a new software development vendor in the Greater Chicago area, proximity was an important factor. The new technology partner had to have a solid experience in the healthcare industry and strong communication skills. After a careful selection process, Whatmed decided by choice to partner with Velvetech for this project.

Our client wanted a hitch-free mobile application that satisfies its purpose in terms of solution, gives rooms for user satisfaction and smooth business process. All this was stated as follows:

1. The client needed a dedicated team that would be able to schedule a fixed amount of labor hours to support and improve the app.

2. The overhaul, support, and maintenance of the server as well as fixing database issues such as slow performance and regular app crashes due to the DB structure.

3. Update and maintenance of the existing code in the iOS, Android, and web apps: code clean-up, removing comments and dormant functions.

4. Integrate intake forms into the application.

5. App localization for Spanish after final updates.

6. The client also needed a simple and compelling landing page to promote WhatMed apps and acquire new users.

What We Did and How

After a very detailed discovery session with lots of deliberations, Velvetech provided a work plan and designed mockups in anticipation to redevelop the already existing healthcare platform.

To this effect, Velvetech provided a dedicated team that planned the development and prioritization of the work. Velvetech employed the agile methodology while working on this task as it was deemed fit for the nature of the work.

The development process was comprised of two-weeks sprints. By the end of each sprint, we demonstrated to Whatmed the implemented changes, we also discussed the progress and following steps.

By and large, we did:

• Changed some of the existing codes.
• Fixed database and server issues.
• Introduced architecture improvements that will allow the easier support of the apps in the future.
• Added some new features.

Among the new features, we have improved the registration form and added the Forgot Password feature to all three apps. We also included WhatsApp as a potential communication channel “to invite friends” to use the app.

The mobile apps had a deployment target of iOS 8+ and Android 4.0.3+ not to restrict the app to only users of the recent versions. The app users can save medications to favorites and find the nearest pharmaceutical locations. Generally, the apps save the cost of visiting a hospital and take care of the fear of self-medication.

With a help of our marketing experts, we also designed and developed content for a demanded landing page. As a result, the client has a landing page built on WordPress and can easily update the content in-house.

Challenges

Just like any other project, there are always some hurdles. The project had a diverse technology stack, so our team was required to review the various technologies that were used for the project initially.

The apps operate live, so we had to treat each update with great caution and make sure the updates are backup compatible to avoid loss of information or any problems for users.

Outcome

The improved solution from Velvetech is a well-configured and refurbished medical system built by creating a cohesive yet friendly UX across iOS, Android, and web devices. It provides free access to a comprehensive information guide about over-the-counter and prescribed herbal medications for early symptoms of minor illnesses.

As a result, both mobile apps were successfully updated on the App Store and Google Play.

WhatMed platform is now bug-free and more stable, that in turn, led to an increase in customer satisfaction and user engagement. Lastly, the landing page for WhatMed guaranteed a stable growth of user registrations.

What Now

The project was successfully deployed and we received a lot of appreciation from Whatmed. Velvetech still provides the needed and adequate support, solving all technical issues.

We are working on new features such as the development of text and audiovisual functionality for video-based telemedicine, affiliate programs for marketing purposes and ambassadorship, app localization for Spanish, and others as the need may be.