By Tod Brubaker, Creative Director, KHJ Brand Activation
How to make sure your medical app has a long, healthy life
A while ago, I met a doctor pal of mine for a drink. After catching up on the usual things, I asked about a suspicious mole on my thigh. Much as I hated to bother him off hours—he’s not even my doctor—I really wanted him to check it out. We were sitting in a crowded bar so dropping my pants wasn’t exactly an option. And I know people bug him all the time to check out some bump, growth, blemish or (fill in the blank).
Still, as terrified as I am about skin cancer, I couldn’t resist asking him to look at my blotch. The result was predictable: my friend seemed mildly perturbed and suggested I go see a dermatologist.
A few months later, I was pretty amazed to learn about a smartphone app called Skin Scan. With a snap of your phone camera, you can analyze moles and monitor for any changes over time. It even connects you to a dermatologist for a professional opinion. What an incredibly useful tool! If only I had known about this earlier, I could have spared both my friend and myself a little embarrassment.
This is just one of a growing number of user-friendly medical apps out there. Suddenly, they’re everywhere—apps for monitoring chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes, improving cardio fitness and managing sleep disorders. And it turns out there are a bunch of apps for analyzing moles: Mole Detective™, Pocket Derm and SpotCheck to name a few. And those are just the ones targeted to patients. In a world where many apps are downloaded and soon forgotten, how can you stay in the minds—and hands—of your customers?
According to an article in USA Today, as many as 90% of apps wind up being deleted. It’s not enough anymore to create an app that’s merely an extension of your brand, a mobile version of your website, or a showcase for your product offering. It has to be useful, provide a service your customers really want and need.
Right now, some of the best medical apps are designed for physicians. Studies show that more than half of docs use a smartphone to look up prescription information, find diagnoses, learn about new treatments and educate patients. No wonder apps such as Medscape, Epocrates and MedWatcher: Drug Safety Reporting are so popular. But before you develop your own physician-targeted app, here are five must-haves that can help you be successful:
- Relevance—Talk to physicians, create an app you know they want
- Ease of use – Cool features are only cool if you don’t have to input a lot of data or work hard to understand them
- Usefulness—Physicians want an app that makes life easier, whether it’s running a practice or helping patients
- Speed—If your customers have to wait for information, they’ll drop you fast
- Interoperability—A successful app depends on how easily it integrates with other systems
Of course, the most important feature of any medical app is credibility. Can my smartphone really make an accurate diagnosis? After I used Skin Scan to analyze that mole of mine, I was informed it was “low risk.” But I still made an appointment to see a dermatologist.
This is the Brand and Beyond™ blog, a new resource for the medical device industry. Brand and Beyond™ is sponsored by KHJ, headquartered in Boston, MA. KHJ is a strategic brand activation firm that is passionate about helping people see and realize what’s possible for themselves and the world around them.
