Driving Healthcare Efficiency: A Complete Guide to Patient Portal Software Development
The future of healthcare is digital. In 2022 alone, the global patient portal market reached $2.9B, as the Grand View Research reports. By 2030, it’s projected to grow even higher — at a CAGR of 19.44%. This trend reflects how public and private healthcare organizations strive to digitize paper documentation and automate everyday business operations.
Indeed, the stakes in healthcare are high. Even minor errors can lead to incorrect diagnoses and worsen patients’ conditions. This is where patient portal software greatly minimizes errors, particularly those caused by human factors.
Below, read on how to create a patient portal. We’ll analyze the target audience’s needs, dive into the most successful examples of its implementation, and examine the nature of the target audience's requirements.
What is a patient portal system?
An online patient portal is a web or mobile solution (usually for Android and iOS platforms) that gives patients access to medical records, helps schedule appointments in a few clicks, and easily communicate with healthcare providers at any time.
By automating the interaction between the parties via the patient portal, organizations can improve the quality of care while making their services more accessible and convenient for patients.
In particular, modern patient portal requirements are:
- Fast and secure access to their medical data and records with guaranteed privacy protection.
- High-quality medical services without the need to wait in long queues.
- A clear understanding of the treatment plan and progress.
Healthcare organizations instead aim to:
- Reduce their administrative costs – in particular, for maintaining paper documentation.
- Maximize personnel efficiency without the risk of burnout.
- Increase patient satisfaction through transparent interaction and remote patient monitoring.
- Comply with the healthcare regulations.
- Reach a new level of income by reducing expenses and attracting new patients.
That is why the patient portal system is the one-stop solution that, if implemented correctly, covers all the above-mentioned needs. This is typically achieved through the following features:
- Access to medical records (including medical history and test results).
- Appointment booking (with the option to select the date, time, and doctor).
- Online consultations (for example, via video calls and chats with doctors).
- Repeat prescription orders (automatic issuance of electronic prescriptions and reminders for refills).
- Online bill payment.
- Personal data management (including patient contact information).
- Push notifications (reminders for upcoming visits, tests, vaccinations, etc.).
- Educational materials.
- Feedback tools (surveys for patient satisfaction and forms for submitting complaints, etc.).
Types of patient portals: Which fits your healthcare needs?
Generally, there are two global types of patient portals: integrated and standalone. The former is presented as a component of electronic health records (EMR/EHR) and is fully tied to the infrastructure of a healthcare facility. Integrated portals ensure uninterrupted data exchange between doctors and patients but, in the case of ready-made solutions, are limited by the functionality offered by the specific healthcare provider.
Standalone portals, however, come in two forms: SaaS and on-premise. The former are hosted in the cloud and are available by subscription, which is especially convenient for healthcare providers within small organizations. Their advantage is quick deployment and configuration. At the same time, their customization options are often limited.
As for the second category, these are software solutions installed on local servers of a specific healthcare organization. They provide comprehensive control over data but require significant infrastructure and support costs. They can also be difficult to scale and integrate with third-party solutions.
It is worth noting that every medical organization has its own regular processes and specific business tasks distributed among different departments. In particular:
- The reception desk keeps track of patient records.
- Laboratories collect, process, and store test results.
- The finance department is responsible for payments and insurance processes.
- Doctors and medical personnel work with medical records and appointments.
All the above processes can rarely be integrated into a single system, which makes it difficult to automate them using only one off-the-shelf patient portal. Moreover, medical institutions vary greatly in specialization (including clinics, dentistry, laboratories, hospitals, etc.), and ready-made products do not always meet their needs.
If we add to this the need to comply with regional security standards for patient data, it becomes clear that out-of-the-box solutions may not be viable. This is the main reason why healthcare organizations are increasingly resorting to custom healthcare portal development.
Patient portal requirements: Key features and functionalities
Now, let's check the main functionalities and features that should be integrated into a patient portal.
User authentication and access management system
This portal component uses OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect for secure login. It protects users' credentials and enables multi-factor authentication. Usually, developers provide multi-level access with restrictions based on user roles (including patients, doctors, administrators, etc.).
At the same time, when implementing role-based access, it is important to adhere to widely recognized patient data security policies, such as HIPAA and GDPR. Specifically, doctors and administrators should have full access to all patient data. In contrast, individual patients should only be able to view, edit, and delete their info.
Medical data storage
The storage is located on local or cloud servers using AES-256 and TLS 1.3 for data encryption. By the way, many cloud vendors have ready-made solutions for healthcare organizations that meet the standards of patient data privacy (including AWS HealthLake, Azure Healthcare, and others). It is also crucial to ensure that such storage is protected against data misuse and unauthorized access.
Integration with EHR systems
This integration is necessary for consolidating patient data. Thus, developers must adhere to FHIR and HL7 standards to ensure compatibility and data exchange. As for the integration itself, if we are not talking about legacy solutions, it is carried out through an API.
Finally, to ensure that the patient portal system complies with the requirements of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (particularly, the ONC's Cures Act), it is essential that the platform could get full access to the patient, with all the ability to edit and delete.
Appointment schedules, doctors’ cards, and telemedicine tools
The first two components involve creating a catalog with therapists’ information and a scheduling system where patients can book visits. This can be achieved through RESTful API to synchronize with hospital calendars. Also, integrating with trusted video communication platforms like Zoom Healthcare can facilitate direct communication between patients and doctors.
Automation of bill calculations and online payments
Online payments are processed through integrations with payment gateways like Stripe or PayPal. In general, they must support PCI DSS standards. As for the automated billing system, this is essentially a regular calculator that “pulls up” data on the cost of services selected by the patient and sums them up (minus insurance and benefits, if any).
Integration with wearable devices
This is necessary so that doctors can monitor the condition of patients in real time. To do this, developers use APIs to collect data from devices (for example, from Apple HealthKit or Google Fit, as well as more specialized IoT equipment). At the same time, they must also implement a mechanism for obtaining prior patient consent to collect personal data.
Messaging
It also makes sense to integrate a chat (with the ability to attach media files) for interaction with doctors, supporting end-to-end encryption (E2E) and using WebSockets protocols that provide real-time messaging.
User dashboards
The patient portal needs an interface for each user role. Basically, it should adapt the data and tools for doctors, admins, and patients. Among other things, it can also be enriched with advanced analytical tools. For example, Power BI or Tableau can be used to generate reports and visualize data (assessing attendance dynamics, treatment results, patient satisfaction, etc.).
How to develop a patient portal software: From concept to launch
When it comes to custom solutions, our telehealth website development services are provided in several subsequent stages. Let’s consider them in detail.
Ideation and requirements analysis
At this stage, our team consolidates the portal concept of custom healthcare portal development, according to your business goals, unique aspects of your internal business processes and IT infrastructure, the needs of the target audience, and an analysis of competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Based on this blueprint, we create documentation indicating functional and non-functional requirements.
Architecture design
From now on, our patient portal development team has everything ready to define the project's technological stack (for the frontend, backend, and database) and choose a specific architectural approach. We also approve the necessary third-party Integrations (including EHR, payment gateways, telemedicine solutions, etc.).
Finally, we select tools and protocols to ensure our portal has a proper security level, including data encryption, user authentication/authorization methods, diagrams of interaction between components, etc.
UI/UX design
This stage involves building interface prototypes and gradually transforming them into a full-fledged design after usability testing. At the same time, our patient portal app development experts always take into account the requirements for the accessibility of the user interface. Basically, they are most accurately outlined in the WCAG 2.1 and ADA guidelines.
Development
Now, we can start working on the frontend and backend of the patient portal. Once individual functional modules are ready, we conduct unit testing to prevent hard-to-fix bugs at later stages of the project. This stage also involves the implementation of security mechanisms and integration with third-party solutions.
Testing and quality control
When the code base is ready, our patient portal development experts conduct rigorous testing, including functional, load, security, usability, etc. This stage ensures that the solution meets the best specs and software quality standards in healthcare.
Deployment and launch
Before launching the portal, we prepare all the necessary infrastructure, build a CI/CD pipeline, and set up a monitoring system. If needed, we can train your staff on how to use the portal. After all the previous stages are checked — we usually start deployment.
Post-release support and updates
To better understand its further optimization, our patient portal development experts regularly check the portal’s logs and metrics, collecting feedback. In addition, as post-release bugs are discovered, we fix them and, if necessary, implement new features.
Understanding the needs of your patients
A patient portal and medical website design should fully adapt to the target audience's problems. That is why it is essential to define them in advance. Based on our experience, we would like to highlight the following ones:
- Long wait time when making an appointment.
Patients often encounter long wait times in phone and in-person queues. A patient portal can help. It lets users book online appointments 24/7 and choose a specialist. In addition, it sends SMS or push notifications to remind patients about upcoming visits. - Lack of full access to medical data.
Many patients are forced to visit clinics because healthcare organizations still document their test results manually. The patient portal gives access to electronic medical records, test results, and doctor recommendations, which can be easily downloaded or saved (for offline access). - Lack of understanding of the treatment plans.
Patients may find it difficult to track their treatments' progress, which may result in forgotten, delayed, or canceled visits and procedures. To prevent this, portals display the treatment plan and the current status of therapy. In addition, patients get notifications about upcoming procedures, calendars, and recommendations, which is very smart. - Difficulties in paying for medical services.
The need for patients to be physically present makes offline payments resource-intensive. Patient portals eliminate this headache with integrated payment systems, allowing users to view their payment history and current bills in just a few clicks. - Insufficient communication with the attending physician.
In-person appointments to explain test results and treatment plans can be time-consuming for both patients and healthcare providers. Patient portals streamline this process with online chat and video calling capabilities.
- Weak control over the treatment of chronic conditions.
Patients with chronic conditions often lack convenient tools for regular monitoring. Portals can address this with real-time health data visualization, medication reminders, and appointment scheduling, as well as integrating with wearable devices for continuous data collection. - Low involvement in the treatment process.
Since some patients find it difficult to understand how their actions affect treatment results, the patient portal development team can also add interactive tools to the portal to track patients' treatment progress or provide educational materials.
Gamification elements can enhance the effect.
Patient portal development challenges and solutions
In this section, we will analyze the most typical challenges of patient portal software development and the most effective ways to overcome them.
- Ensuring compliance with regulations.
Telemedicine hugely relies on strong data protection, first — to comply with laws like HIPAA and GDPR, and second — obviously, it is for patient trust. End-to-end encryption, role-based access control (RBAC), and multi-factor authentication are key practices, along with regular system audits and penetration testing to ensure security. - Integration with existing solutions in the organization's IT infrastructure.
Many healthcare providers still use older systems that don't easily connect with modern software. To solve this, developers can build 'middleware' — software that acts as a bridge — to automate data transfer between patient portals and other systems, ensuring everything works smoothly. - Ensuring high performance and scalability.
Many portals frequently freeze when user traffic exceeds the original design capacity. To solve this, developers can host the portal in a cloud environment that scales as users grow and use a microservice architecture to balance the workload across the portal's services. Additionally, they can optimize a database through indexing and caching. - Ensuring intuitiveness.
Since the target audience of patient portals is diverse (including the elderly, people with disabilities, and people with no technical literacy), there should be universal access to the full use of all portal functionality. To solve this, during the development of the patient portal software, the team should conduct user research and surveys to guide and optimize the software effectively. They should also adhere to the compliance of this software with the WCAG 2.1 guidelines.
- Accessibility on mobile OSes.
As patients increasingly manage their healthcare on digital devices, patient portals must offer a seamless mobile experience. Poor mobile optimization can lead to slow loading times and display issues. Developers can address this by building progressive web apps (PWAs) or cross-platform solutions, implementing offline access for key features, and optimizing content loading with techniques like lazy loading and data compression.
Patient portal software cost: What to expect
The cost of telemedicine app development depends on project complexity, the team involved in the patient portal software development process, geographic location, development timeline, and the scope of features. Let's examine each of the points that influenced the cost in detail:
1. Project complexity
- Basic consultation apps with user registration, appointment scheduling, video calls, and messaging: $30K — $100K.
- Advanced telehealth platforms with multi-user portals, integrated EHR, and health analytics: $100K — $300K+.
- Telemedicine platforms with IoT/AI integration: $250K — $500K.
2. Team composition
A typical team for creating a basic patient portal usually includes:
- 2-3 developers: Where 1-2 are front-end developers, and 1 back-end developer.
- The project manager: Tracks the project goals and wins.
- QA specialist: Tests the app to make sure it works correctly.
3. Development timeline
The time it takes for patient portal software development also affects costs. Most telemedicine apps take between 2 to 6 months to develop:
- Simple apps usually take about 2-3 months.
- More complex apps may take up to 6-12 months.
4. Geographic location
American tech experts can be expensive. For example, a front-end developer might earn over $100K annually, about $8K monthly. He might charge between $70K — $80K for a three-month project.
Hiring remote developers can save you money. For instance, Eastern European developers or other regions often charge between $2,500 and $3,500 monthly. You can easily hire a similar team for about $30K to $40K for the same project.
If you want to find out the patient portal software cost in your case, please fill out this contact form.
Improving patient outcomes with data management: A case by Darly Solutions
From theory to practice — let's examine our relevant Darly Solutions experience through a top case from our portfolio.
In particular, we were approached by a HealthTech company specializing in consolidating unstructured medical data for organizations in the healthcare sector. They needed a custom digital solution to monitor clinical data.
Faced with a tight deadline and the need for high precision, we meticulously planned and assigned all the UX/UI design, web development, QA, and project management tasks. We also reviewed the team's work schedule, as some members had to work overtime. Finally, we carefully chose the technology stack. We settled on Angular, HTML, CSS, Docker, ngRx, TailwindCSS, NGX Pagination, and JSON.
Finally, our efforts paid off. We launched the product on time and met all design, functionality, and quality standards. As a result, the client has a competitive product with all the chances to thrive in the innovative telemedicine sector.
Find out more about this case here.
The future of patient portal development
In general, the future of patient portal software development is closely connected with the fast development of modern technologies, such as:
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning.
These technologies will personalize the portal and related healthcare services. AI-powered chatbots, including ones with recognition of human voice commands, will assist with scheduling appointments and answering FAQs. In advance, machine learning can also analyze patient data and symptoms to provide preliminary diagnoses.
Blockchain.
The introduction of blockchain technologies in patient portals can be aimed at more secure storage of their medical records and ensuring access to them only to authorized users. In addition, with its help, each interaction with data (adding, editing, and deleting) will be recorded, increasing the system's transparency.
- Virtual and augmented reality.
These technologies can form the basis of next-generation telemedicine solutions. In particular, in the future, patients will be able to interact with doctors at a distance without reducing the quality of service. AR interfaces will also help inform patients about upcoming treatment plans. - Internet of Things and integration with wearable devices.
IoT solutions can provide end-to-end RPM in real-time (for example, portals will be able to collect and analyze data on the patient's pulse, blood pressure, oxygen level, and activity). Based on this data, doctors can receive instant notifications of critical changes regardless of patients' locations. - Big data and business intelligence.
Examples of patient portals use big data to identify trends, such as tracking the rise in the incidence of a particular virus or assessing the effectiveness of treatments. Also, end-to-end medical data analysis ensures timely prediction of exacerbation of chronic diseases. Finally, doctors and administrators of healthcare institutions will be able to monitor departments' workloads and optimize appointment scheduling. - Biometric identification.
Biometric mechanisms can give users access to the portal through fingerprint, face, or voice scanning, making the authorization process more secure and easier.
Conclusion
Now you know everything about patient portal development and can safely choose an off-the-shelf solution or search for a team to implement a custom one. If the second option is closer to you but you would not like to turn the search process into a real headache, you can contact us, and we will be happy to discuss the details of our future cooperation to implement your idea.
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