In recent years, healthtech has emerged as a revolutionary industry that’s growing at an exponential rate. Sectors like telemedicine are among the fastest growing with revenue figures expected to go beyond $120 billion by 2025, as per a report by Frost and Sullivan.
Healthcare apps are a crucial part of healthtech with mobile applications leading the charge with the bulk of the market share. A Markets and Markets report says the mobile healthcare market will expand to more than $210 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 33.33%.
Source: Markets and Markets
How To Hire Health App Developers
Healthcare app companies are growing faster than ever before, as seen by the data above. These companies need a regular supply of resources to propel and sustain this growth for a considerable period. One of the main resource any company needs are human resources, and healthcare app companies are no different. These firms have a constant demand for highly skilled individuals to continue their business operations effectively.
Healthcare app developers are at the forefront of this tremendous growth as they are the backbone of the entire process. These service providers are unique and belong to an entirely new class of tech professionals who must be adept at computer skills but also have a strong understanding of medical concepts. However, such talented individuals are in short supply, and hiring a health app developer is a challenge for HR managers.
Thankfully, we have a refined approach when it comes to hiring developers that are the right fit for your company. Here is a tried and tested strategy to hire health app developers:
1. Technical Skills
In addition to having profound knowledge of healthcare interoperability, app developers must have other necessary technical competencies. Healthcare app development is a highly technology-intensive role like many others including, bioinformatics professionals, data scientists, data analysts, and java developers.
Healthcare app developers must have the technical know-how of creating cutting-edge mobile applications, both on Android and iOS. In addition, they must have the ability and strong understanding of API development skills.
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Native Android App Development
Native apps are the best option if you’re looking to develop an Android app and consequently, you’ll need a developer with a proven background in native Android app development. The hardware features unique to each device are best utilized by native apps. The technologies you utilize will be those that the Android operating system supports for the best user experience, performance, and security.
To create native Android applications, you can use Java or Kotlin as each provides a lot of room for customization and is loaded with features. You can build performant, scalable, and secure apps with their assistance.
We would recommend hiring a healthcare app developer who is well-versed in working with IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) like Android Studio. Additionally, you need developers who are familiar with the Material Design guidelines and testing tools like Espresso.
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iOS App Development
iOS devices are becoming more popular along with Android devices. Naturally, your priority should be to hire a health app developer with sound iOS app development skills, and here too, you should go for native apps. Like Android, native iOS apps provide the best user experience, performance, and security.
Search for programmers who are proficient in Swift or Objective-C, as these languages are optimal for native iOS development. Swift is currently more popular as it helps native iOS developers build safe, scalable, and effective apps while increasing productivity.
To create apps for Apple’s platforms, native iOS developers must be familiar with Xcode, a well-known IDE. Programmers that are well-versed in the Human Interface Guidelines are required to create the iOS app user interface. In addition, healthcare app developers must be familiar with testing tools like XCTest.
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API Development Skills
The majority of healthcare app development initiatives use APIs to authenticate a device and grant it access to the main patients’ repository. Therefore, healthcare app developers need to be well-versed in both NoSQL databases like Apache Cassandra and MongoDB as well as regularly used SQL databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.
REST (Representational State Transfer), which is the preferred development methodology, requires developers to have competence in designing RESTful APIs. The development team should have the skills necessary to construct efficient API endpoints and formulate extremely practical rules for API requests and API responses.
2. Soft Skills
Besides the technical skills mentioned above, a talented healthcare app developer should have a portfolio of soft skills. Here are the two most important soft skills for healthcare app developers:
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Revenue cycle workflows
The healthcare revenue cycle workflow includes all the steps from patient registration to benefit verification to care delivery, claim submission, and reimbursement that leads to payment for the services rendered. Additionally, communication is necessary with patients, insurance providers, and public payers like Medicare and Medicaid.
Developers of healthcare applications must explain to their customers how the revenue cycle workflow operates. Therefore, developers need to have deep knowledge of how the components of the revenue cycle workflow in a healthcare business operate.
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Interpersonal skills
An individual’s capacity to communicate and collaborate with others is known as their interpersonal skills. These abilities are regarded as essential for human resources and sales-related positions, but they are also crucial for technological positions like data scientists and healthcare app developers. Interpersonal skills are required because healthcare work in teams of various individuals and must successfully coordinate with them.
3. Knowledge of Regulations and Compliance
The final consideration while hiring health app developers is to make sure they comply with the regulations and guidelines instituted by the government. These regulations are put in place to ensure that healthcare solutions providers comply with the set standards to prioritize patient care and deliver the best results. Here are the well-known regulatory laws healthcare app developers should follow:
HIPAA
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a US federal legislation that mandates the development of national standards to prevent the disclosure of sensitive patient health information without the patient’s knowledge or consent.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
A regulation in EU law governing data protection and privacy in the European Union and the European Economic Area is known as the General Data Protection Regulation. It is a legal framework that establishes rules for the gathering and use of personal data from people living outside the European Union.
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is a federal legislation in Canada much similar to the laws mentioned above. This law protects the privacy rights of Canadians from firms that have access to their personal information.
By following the above-mentioned strategy and steps, you can have a smooth and streamlined recruitment process for healthcare app developers. To learn more about how to hire health app developers effectively and affordably, get in touch with BenchPoint, a healthtech recruitment firm.
We’ll work with you over time to develop workplaces that are employee-focused and results-driven, and we’ll be happy to help you with even the most fundamental issues.