Modern healthcare is growing at a fast pace globally. Have you wondered how big it is? Well, the healthcare industry makes up more than 10% of the GDP in most developed countries, such as the US ($10.224 expenditure per capita), Switzerland ($8.009), and Germany ($5.728), respectively.
The pandemic forced healthcare and health tech providers to pay more attention to recent technology and reimagine how they operate. It's no longer a novelty for patients to receive medical services outside brick-and-mortar medical establishments, enhancing convenience and accessibility.
The challenge
However, many healthcare tools and platforms are outdated legacy systems incompatible with modern technologies. Add to the equation the downturn of 2022, mass layoffs, and the upcoming recession, and it's a no-brainer to realize that healthcare providers need a robust yet intuitive solution to keep up with the changing business environment and regulations.
Plus, it is commonly known that building custom applications with traditional coding is time-consuming, not flexible, and expensive. In this regard, the low-code approach in healthcare app development may be your best bet. Such builders make the whole custom software development process faster, cheaper, and more accessible to citizen developers and project teams alike.
Definitions
In this article, we’ll find out what benefits low-code platforms can bring to the table. Before we dive straight into details, let's make sure that everyone's on the same page regarding the glossary.
What is healthcare technology
Healthcare technology or “healthtech’’ refers to the use of technologies that improve the healthcare system with recent technology. From telehealth to robotic-assisted surgery, the world of healthtech has so much to offer to both patients and doctors.
What is low code
Low-code development is an approach to software creation that requires little coding skills. Instead, non-techies can create applications using pre-made components and graphical interfaces. Low-code/no-code platforms allow healthcare organizations to stay ahead of regulations and industry changes while adhering to high-security standards like HIPAA or GDPR. Such platforms help financial entities to respond to market changes faster with in-house development teams.
Why is low code popular among healthcare professionals
Now we’re on the same page regarding definitions. It’s high time to discuss what this buzz that low code generates in the media. Without further ado, let’s discuss the benefits of low-code platforms, shall we?
Speed
It’s all about speed and automation: healthcare organizations resort to low-code builders to speed up clinical testing processes and automate stages of documentation and analysis. Besides, you can build fast, customizable, and highly scalable apps to test clinical trial performance and manage documentation flows.
Optimization
Healthcare institutions also use low-code builders to revamp various administrative and supply chain processes. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), low code streamlines routine processes such as distributing hospital resources, managing supplies, or delivering drugs to providers and patients.
Reduced costs
Reduced costs is one of the most tangible benefits that low-code platforms offer. In fact, building solutions with low code is way more cost-effective than building solutions in-house or connecting multiple different systems to achieve an enterprise solution.
Less hustle with maintenance
Apps’ maintenance, bug fixes, and updates used to be really cumbersome and time-consuming processes. With low-code tools, it is possible to maintain applications and digital channels without compromising efficiency and productivity.
Scalability
The majority of low-code tools integrate with well-known cloud computing providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. These services allow healthcare organizations to manage resources wisely in accordance with uptime and costs.
More involvement from citizen developers
Low code erases boundaries for non-technical people, aka citizen developers. A citizen developer is none other than an employee who develops business applications without writing much code. In other words, physicians and nurses can take a bigger part in the design, development, and deployment of a healthcare solution tailored to solve a specific need.
Working prototypes
You can create a working prototype with low code to validate your idea and gather customer feedback. Talking to clients is the first step to uncovering precise user requirements before investing in a full-fledged solution.
Low code use cases in healthcare
Healthcare experts consider all these benefits as a crucial reason behind low code popularity. But what about actual business cases? Let's discover some of the healthcare-related projects done with low code.
The first one is FocusOn. Medtronic, one of the biggest global medical device companies, resorted to the popular low-code builder OutSystems to create a remote monitoring and triaging platform for cardiac conditions.
FocusOn analyzes data from patients’ implanted devices to find out and report any abnormal cardiac rhythms, device diagnostic issues, or any other heart-related concerns. Whether there’s an abnormality, the platform triggers an automated workflow that notifies the patient’s healthcare provider in an instant so they can proceed with treatment.
Why low code, though? FocusOn harnesses vast amounts of data collected from heart implants to provide doctors with quick insights into patients' status. Seams like projects of such complexity require a lot of time and effort, right? However, with OutSystems, the company could put version 2.0 of the application into production within six months.
Karel Nouwen, senior IT Director, Digital Business and Digital Health, at Medtronic commented: “We wanted a secure platform that would allow us to build the capabilities we needed quickly and easily—and that’s what OutSystems offers.”
The project’s outcome: 50% IT budget saving, 80% fewer data for healthcare professionals to review, and more than 450.000 sessions triaged.
Another business case is Kermit, an analytics application that delivers insights into the fragmented spending category of physician preference items.
Built with low code, the platform manages contracts and invoices, plus it also monitors supplier compliance. The entire process is clear at all stages: from unpacking the material during the treatment to sending suppliers invoices and various bills. The data-driven platform maps trends to optimize processes, provides buyers with information about fraud and prices and gives specialists information for treatment choices.
The project’s outcome: as of 2022, the platform runs in 23 hospitals, saving on average 30% of medical implant-related costs.
Another case is Saga Healthcare, one of the leading healthcare providers in the UK. Using a popular low-code builder Mendix, the company managed to develop an agile home-care scheduling system called SACHA that is flexible and able to respond quickly to customers´ needs and a changing regulatory environment.
“Our ability to quickly make changes and adopt new technologies with Mendix allows us to quickly grow the business across the UK. We use Mendix technology to offer our customers cutting-edge technology and improved service. It helps us be leaders in this regard,” says Matt Smith, Head of Information Technology at Saga Healthcare.
The project’s outcome: the Saga IT team was able to develop SACHA in just six months for less than £250.000.
Finally, here’s one of our own projects done with low code. Meet Nutrisense, a solution that optimizes your metabolism with data insights and personalized dietitian support. Our team has transferred their website and blog using Webflow, a popular no-code builder.
What to expect in 2023
Just like in many other business domains, the biggest industry trend is customer-centricity. In today’s digital world, a personalized healthcare experience is no longer something unusual, it’s rather a new industry standard. Proper low-code platforms provide an unprecedented level of flexibility so that healthcare organizations can quickly adapt to this new way healthcare is delivered and create solutions built around patients.
Low-code application platforms are synonymous with lightning-quick application development, especially when compared to traditional coding methods. With low code, healthcare organizations can develop secure and HIPAA-compliant applications internally and without spending much on IT talent and maintenance.
As of 2022, healthcare organizations use more and more technologies to develop complex systems and automate various business processes fast. Low code builders can help your healthcare organization significantly improve its services by facilitating scalable clinical testing, expediting application testing processes, establishing digital administrative systems and automated supply chain management, and developing user-friendly scheduling systems.
Industries and low code forecast
The new year is just around the corner, so it's time to analyze trends. We've covered two other business domains, e-commerce, and fintech. Take a look at these articles here:
- Ecommerce and low code: trends, business cases, tools, an what to expect in 2023
- Fintech and low code: trends, business cases, tools, and what to expect in 2023
Low-code Hall of Fame
Being curious low-code advocates, we love analyzing the market to review the most powerful low-code/no-code platforms. If you are interested to know all the pros and cons, discover our curated list of available builders:
Hire low-code fintech experts
Just like any other industry in the world, the domain of healthcare is increasingly adopting recent advances in technology. All in all, this advent of technology results in efficient, accurate, and productive patient care. The domain of healthcare is getting increasingly interconnected, and receiving proper healthcare services online is affordable for more and more people worldwide.
However, on the path of digitalization, you might need a reliable partner to get the maximum result out of your efforts. What about partnering with low code/no code development experts? With 8+ years of low-code development experience, our team helps companies deliver robust applications that cater to specific business needs. Our seasoned consultant team provides expert advice on low-code platforms for companies willing to innovate. We’ll help you define your very first steps so you can start implementing your low-code strategy from day one.
P.S. As you might have already guessed, we love making content about trends in low code (and Healthtech too). What about subscribing to our blog to get the latest insights and tips?
Retool Dashboards with HubSpot Integration
Our client needed a centralized tool to aggregate account and contact activity, improving visibility and decision-making for the sales team.
The solution
We built a Retool application integrated with HubSpot, QuickMail, and Clay.com. The app features dashboards for sorting, filtering, and detailed views of companies, contacts, and deals, along with real-time notifications and bidirectional data syncing.
The result
- MVP in 50 hours: Delivered a functional application in just 50 hours.
- Smarter decisions: Enabled data-driven insights for strategic planning.
- Streamlined operations: Reduced manual tasks with automation and real-time updates.
Lead Generation Tool to Reduce Manual Work
Our client, Afore Capital, a venture capital firm focused on pre-seed investments, aimed to automate their lead generation processes but struggled with existing out-of-the-box solutions. To tackle this challenge, they sought assistance from our team of Akveo Retool experts.
The scope of work
The client needed a tailored solution to log and track inbound deals effectively. They required an application that could facilitate the addition, viewing, and editing of company and founder information, ensuring data integrity and preventing duplicates. Additionally, Afore Capital aimed to integrate external tools like PhantomBuster and LinkedIn to streamline data collection.
The result
By developing a custom Retool application, we streamlined the lead generation process, significantly reducing manual data entry. The application enabled employees to manage inbound deals efficiently while automated workflows for email parsing, notifications, and dynamic reporting enhanced operational efficiency. This allowed Afore Capital's team to focus more on building relationships with potential founders rather than on administrative tasks.
Learn more about the case
Retool CMS Application for EdTech Startup
Our client, CutTime, a leading fine arts education management platform, needed a scalable CMS application to improve vendor product management and user experience.
The scope of work
We developed a Retool application that allows vendors to easily upload and manage product listings, handle inventory, and set shipping options. The challenge was to integrate the app with the client’s system, enabling smooth authentication and product management for program directors.
The result
Our solution streamlined product management, reducing manual work for vendors, and significantly improving operational efficiency.
Building Reconciliation Tool for e-commerce company
Our client was in need of streamlining and simplifying its monthly accounting reconciliation process – preferably automatically. But with a lack of time and low budget for a custom build, development of a comprehensive software wasn’t in the picture. After going through the case and customer’s needs, we decided to implement Retool. And that was the right choice.
The scope of work
Our team developed a custom reconciliation tool designed specifically for the needs of high-volume transaction environments. It automated the processes and provided a comprehensive dashboard for monitoring discrepancies and anomalies in real-time.
The implementation of Retool significantly reduced manual effort, as well as fostered a more efficient and time-saving reconciliation process.
Creating Retool Mobile App for a Wine Seller
A leading spirits and wine seller in Europe required the development of an internal mobile app for private client managers and administrators. The project was supposed to be done in 1,5 months. Considering urgency and the scope of work, our developers decided to use Retool for swift and effective development.
The scope of work
Our developers built a mobile application tailored to the needs of the company's sales force: with a comprehensive overview of client interactions, facilitated order processing, and enabled access to sales history and performance metrics. It was user-friendly, with real-time updates, seamlessly integrated with existing customer databases.
The result? Increase in productivity of the sales team and improved decision-making process. But most importantly, positive feedback from the customers themselves.
Developing PoC with Low Code for a Tour Operator
To efficiently gather, centralize, and manage data is a challenge for any tour operator. Our client was not an exception. The company was seeking to get an internal software that will source information from third-party APIs and automate the travel itinerary creation process. Preferably, cost- and user-friendly tool.
The scope of work
Our experts ensured the client that all the requirements could be covered by Retool. And just in 40 hours a new software was launched. The tool had a flexible and easy-to-use interface with user authentication and an access management system panel – all the company needed. At the end, Retool was considered the main tool to replace the existing system.
Testing New Generation of Lead Management Tool with Retool
Our client, a venture fund, had challenges with managing lead generation and client acquisition. As the company grew, it aimed to attract more clients and scale faster, as well as automate the processes to save time, improve efficiency and minimize human error. The idea was to craft an internal lead generation tool that will cover all the needs. We’ve agreed that Retool will be a perfect tool for this.
The scope of work
The project initially began as a proof of concept, but soon enough, with each new feature delivered, the company experienced increased engagement and value.
We developed a web tool that integrates seamlessly with Phantombuster for data extraction and LinkedIn for social outreach. Now, the company has a platform that elevates the efficiency of their lead generation activities and provides deep insights into potential client bases.
Building an Advanced Admin Portal for Streamlined Operations
Confronted with the need for more sophisticated internal tools, an owner of IP Licensing marketplace turned to Retool to utilize its administrative functions. The primary goal was to construct an advanced admin portal that could support complex, multi-layered processes efficiently.
The scope of work
Our client needed help with updating filters and tables for its internal platform. In just 30 hours we've been able to update and create about 6 pages. Following features were introduced: add complex filtering and search, delete records, styling application with custom CSS.
Together, we have increased performance on most heavy pages and fixed circular dependency issues.
Creating MVP Dashboard for Google Cloud Users
Facing the challenge of unoptimized cloud resource management, a technology firm working with Google Cloud users was looking for a solution to make its operations more efficient. The main idea of the project was to create an MVP for e-commerce shops to test some client hypotheses. Traditional cloud management tools fell short.
The scope of work
Determined to break through limitations, our team of developers turned Retool. We decided to craft an MVP Dashboard specifically for Google Cloud users. This wasn't just about bringing data into view; but about reshaping how teams interact with their cloud environment.
We designed a dashboard that turned complex cloud data into a clear, strategic asset thanks to comprehensive analytics, tailored metrics, and an intuitive interface, that Retool provides. As the results, an increase in operational efficiency, significant improvement in cost management and resource optimization.
Elevating CRM with Custom HubSpot Sales Dashboard
Our other client, a SaaS startup, that offers collaborative tools for design and engineering teams, was on a quest to supercharge their sales efforts. Traditional CRM systems were limited and not customizable enough. The company sought a solution that could tailor HubSpot to their workflow and analytics needs.
The scope of work
Charged with the task of going beyond standard CRM functions, our team turned to Retool. We wanted to redefine how sales teams interact with their CRM.
By integrating advanced analytics, custom metrics, and a user-friendly interface, our developers provided a solution that transformed data into a strategic asset.
In 40 hours, three informative dashboards were developed, containing the most sensitive data related to sales activities. These dashboards enable our customer to analyze sales and lead generation performance from a different perspective and establish the appropriate KPIs.
Building a PDF Editor with Low-Code
Our client, a leading digital credential IT startup, needed a lot of internal processes to be optimized. But the experience with low-code tools wasn’t sufficient. That’s why the company decided to hire professionals. And our team of developers joined the project.
The scope of work
The client has a program that designs and prints custom badges for customers. The badges need to be “mail-merged” with a person’s info and turned into a PDF to print. But what is the best way to do it?
Our developers decided to use Retool as a core tool. Using custom components and JavaScript, we developed a program that reduced employees' time for designing, putting the data, verifying, and printing PDF badges in one application.
As a result, the new approach significantly reduces the time required by the internal team to organize all the necessary staff for the conference, including badge creation.
