Aspects to consider when developing mental health & wellness apps

Posted on April 13, 2023September 4, 2023 by Adina Humayoon

Living with a mental health disorder can be an uphill battle, and it only gets harder when people around you fail to understand the gravity of the situation and simply portray the disease as laziness or procrastination. In both developed and underdeveloped nations, mental health issues continue to be the leading cause of disability and death by suicide. Alarming statistics suggest that about 20% of adolescents live with a mental health disorder, highlighting the pressing need for effective treatment and support systems.

In this age of technological advancement, healthcare app development and mental health apps have emerged as a boom for individuals grappling with psychological issues. These apps offer a safe and anonymous platform for seeking help, without the need for in-person therapy. Moreover, with the convenience and accessibility of smartphones, mental health apps can be a valuable resource for individuals looking to improve their mental health and well-being.

However, while developing a mental health app, ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of users should be a top priority. Regulatory guidelines, such as GDPR and HIPAA compliance, should be strictly adhered to in software development. The availability of the app on different platforms, along with the features it offers, are also crucial aspects that developers need to consider.

The possibilities for the features that a mental health app can offer are endless, ranging from guided meditation to therapy sessions with licensed professionals. In order to make a positive impact on the mental health of users, developers must ensure that their apps are inclusive, user-friendly, and comprehensive in addressing a range of psychological illnesses.

In this article, we will delve deeper into the development processes of mental health apps and explore the essential elements that go into creating a successful and effective mental health app.

How to develop a mental health app?

The increasing use of mobile phones amounts to more than half of the audience on the web, hence the reason why businesses are steering towards creating mobile-friendly systems and apps for various mental health services. You’ll find some of the best mental health apps trending due to their accessible nature that allows patients and doctors to stay connected remotely, always keeping a check on their cases. And it further creates a sense of relief for users that a solution is available, just a click away.

But before we get into how these apps are created, and what makes them some of the best mental health apps, let us take a look at the most common types of mental health apps.

Types of Mental Health Apps

Mental disorder apps: These apps offer features like mood monitoring and psychotherapy to help individuals cope with mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

PTSD apps: These apps provide tools to manage anger and anxiety, including breathing exercises, music selection, and self-talk methods. Some apps allow integration with healthcare apps and emergency contacts for easy access to assistance.

Eating disorder apps: These apps include mental health tracking features in addition to diet tracking to help individuals with eating disorders manage their symptoms. They also provide goal-setting and meal recommendations.

Meditation and self-improvement apps: These apps focus on stress management, relaxation, mindfulness, effective breathing, and anxiety management to help users practice relaxation techniques and manage stress.

CBT-based apps: These apps use cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques to help users reframe negative thoughts, develop coping skills, and change harmful behaviors, especially among women. They often provide interactive tools and activities to guide users through the therapy process.

Understanding vital KPIs & target audience for mental health apps

Did you know, every 1 in 4 people may suffer from mental health issues at some point in their lives, and nearly 970 million are currently struggling with major mental issues and drug abuse? While the disease is very common, the symptoms and cases heavily vary from person to person, so mental health apps must be feasible in catering to all demographics. An integral part of a mental health app will focus closely on the following aspects:

Audience
Similar/common issues
Current mental state

In order to create a well-rounded and effective application, one must comply with the following KPIs, and abide by these holy grail elements while creating mental health apps

User needs and goals

One of the most crucial aspects to consider when developing a mental health application is the needs and goals of the target audience. Mental health issues vary from person to person, and the app should be tailored to meet the specific needs of the users. Conducting user research, user interviews, and surveys can help in understanding the user’s mental health needs and designing an application that is useful and engaging.

Mental health experts

It is important to consult with mental health experts when developing a mental health app. Mental health professionals, including psychologists and psychiatrists, can provide valuable insights into the latest trends in mental health, common mental health issues, and the most effective treatment approaches. This can help ensure the application’s content and features are accurate, effective, and relevant to the target audience.

Features and functionality

The features and functionality of the application should be developed keeping in mind the specific mental health issues it aims to address. For example, if the app focuses on anxiety, it may include guided meditations, breathing exercises, and cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques. It is essential to develop an app that is easy to navigate, engaging, and meets the user’s needs. Additionally, the app should be developed with the ability to personalize and adapt to the user’s progress and feedback.

Design and user experience

The design and user experience of the application should be intuitive and engaging. A user-friendly interface with easy-to-navigate features can encourage users to engage with the app regularly. The app’s design should be visually appealing, with clear and concise messaging that aligns with the app’s intended purpose. Design elements, such as typography, color, and imagery, should also be consistent with the app’s branding and messaging.

Accessible

The app should be accessible to all users, regardless of their ability, age, or ethnicity. This includes providing language options and ensuring the app is compatible with assistive technology such as screen readers. Moreover, the app should be optimized for different devices and screen sizes, ensuring a seamless user experience across multiple platforms.

Evidence-based

The application should be developed using evidence-based practices, including research and studies conducted by mental health professionals. Evidence-based practices ensure that the app’s interventions are effective and supported by scientific research. The app should also provide clear information on the source of its content and interventions and cite any relevant studies or research.

Regular updates

Regular updates can ensure that the app is up-to-date with the latest research and developments in mental health. This includes adding new features, updating content, and fixing bugs. Additionally, regular updates can help maintain the user’s engagement and interest in the app.

Ethical considerations

To ensure ethical standards in the mental health app development process, it is important to take into account factors such as the use of non-stigmatizing language and obtaining informed consent from users before collecting their personal information. These considerations should be integrated into the development process to ensure that the end product is ethical and respects the rights and privacy of users.

Privacy and security

Mental health information is highly sensitive and should be handled with the utmost care. The application should have robust privacy and security features to protect users’ personal and health-related information. It is important to comply with local data protection laws and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and HIPPA in the United States of America. Moreover, the app should provide clear information on how user data is collected, stored, and used.

Partnerships and collaborations

Developing partnerships with mental health organizations and professionals can help ensure that the application is relevant, effective, and based on the latest research. It can also help to increase the app’s credibility and reach.

In the end

Mental health and wellness app development is a niche that requires special attention to detail in order to succeed. And their success depends on how well their customer retention rate is, or how well it is in helping customers reach their goals. Developing a mental health and wellness app requires careful consideration of various aspects, including the type of application, target audience, features, privacy, and availability.

These apps can provide a safe and anonymous space for individuals to access treatment and support for their mental health disorders. The use of technology and mobile applications has significantly reduced the stigma surrounding mental health and increased access to care for individuals who may not have otherwise sought help.

Learning Management System for Healthcare: Essence and Key Benefits

Posted on April 4, 2023June 13, 2024 by Adina Humayoon

Did you know that the global e-learning market was valued at nearly $197 Billion in 2020, and the numbers are projected to soar to up to $840.11 billion by 2030. Out of this, the healthcare learning market itself reached USD 110.54 Billion in 2022, and the forecast for upcoming years is only projecting a brighter future. Of all these figures, Learning management systems (LMS) are still dominating the e-learning market as 84% of organizations use this system.

In a fast-paced and rapid industry like healthcare, engaging and organizing educational content and upkeeping skills traditionally is near impossible. In a high-functioning healthcare workplace, gathering all the employees and arranging crucial teaching sessions is not only stressful, but it will create a bottleneck of patients and workload within the organization and the hospital, resulting in disrupted patient care and an endless backlog.

What’s the best possible way to not only help your employees gain the knowledge and skill they require to perform their current job in the healthcare sector with ease but also keep a track of all of this information? A learning management system for healthcare. Before diving deeper into the technicalities, let’s take a look at what a healthcare learning management system is and how has benefited the industry itself throughout its inception.

Essence of LMS: What is a learning management system for healthcare?

A learning management system is a software solution developed for the healthcare sector, mainly hospitals, clinics, and other major medical facilities. It aims to provide an update on medical professionals with courses, education, and training to maintain their skill sets based on current trends, research, and discoveries. With rapid changes in healthcare and medicine, it is a necessity for e-learning for healthcare.

Keeping oneself updated with the right operating procedures, research papers, and discoveries bring about numerous benefits to not just the healthcare professional, but their patients and the people associated with them as well. LMS is simple and highly accessible, like a pocket educational system that teaches, helps you revise, and tests your knowledge based on what you have learned.

LMS is affiliated with all the top educational systems, making it legit, and is always working in compliance with all the top medical regulations like HIPPA, OSHA, ACTM, etc. Complying with the official rules set by them will

7 Vital Benefits of Healthcare LMS

1. Efficient Talent Management

Healthcare is a competitive field that requires employees and workers to always be equipped with the best and most recent knowledge, along with the right expertise to cater to their patients. Therefore, healthcare learning management systems not only help you add to your pool of talent but also keep in check their expertise, helping them stay ahead of the curve through various training programs.

A well-trained healthcare professional will not only boost the quality of patient cares within your system but also help promote a healthy culture amongst its peers, maintaining a good reputation throughout.

2. Updated Training Material

LMS companies always have the best and most recent learning materials available for their workers at all times. In a tech-driven era where everything changes at the bat of an eye, keeping up was never this easy with an agile learning management system. By frequently updating and deploying new courses on a healthcare LMS it lets geographically dispersed students get first-hand access to top-quality resources in a well-documented e-learning environment.

3. Reduced Training Cost

Remote learning and agile learning methods globally have resulted in reduced costs that yield way better results than traditional physical learning and education system. From saving costs of hiring trainers, to their accommodations and classroom rents, Healthcare LMS has evolved the way teaching and learning take place altogether.

4. Flexible Schedule Management

With learning materials readily available 24/7 on a remote device, who needs to take time out for classes separately from an already busy schedule? LMS allows workers to create their own study schedule, and take lessons and training bit-by-bit, chunk-by-chunk, helping them not only process and retain information in a relaxed environment.

5. Security and Confidentiality

To ensure doctor-patient confidentiality, an LMS is encrypted well enough to maintain the security and confidentiality it requires. It always abides by the state’s healthcare security and ethical laws like HIPPA, PIPEDA, IEC 62304, and GDPR. A good learning management system will always be secure with two-factor authentication and permission-based access to ensure the data stays in place.

6. Effective Monitoring

Organizations running on healthcare LMS rely on the progress and performance of each employee presented within the system. It helps them track their current trainings that are in progress, and the ones that they have scheduled for later. Administration can also include their own assessments to test out how well the training went, and how well they retained information.

7. Blended Learning Support

A well-made healthcare LMS supports different mediums and modules of work for workers to benefit from. Whether it be e-learning, offline, or web-based training, a blended learning system helps gain insights and experiences that simple e-learning cannot on its own.

Conclusion

Healthcare is a complex and extremely challenging field that requires its workers to stay up to date constantly with new technologies, reports, research, and patient-care techniques. And with their busy schedules, a reliable and well-constructed learning environment is the only way to achieve these business goals. A custom-made healthcare learning management system is the key that bridge the gap between a well-maintained healthcare system.

FAQs for Learning Management System for Healthcare

An LMS is an overall tool used by medical professionals that allows them to not only track but maintain their workload, medical certifications, and necessary data to help them grow their expertise and professional knowledge.

A learning management system that keeps doctors and medical professionals up to date with patient care, personal goals, and training, while tracking the growth of their fellow trainee staff.

It is essential for healthcare professionals to upskill their prior educational learning as it is not only a necessity, but is beneficial. The four common benefits are:

Refine skills for patient care
Stay up to date with recent research
Updated on practice
Address real-world challenges

Tracking skills and certifications is the key feature within an LMS that helps organizations stay up-to-date on their employees’ professional progress and their overall expertise.

Top HIPAA Misconceptions & Myths Debunked

Posted on April 4, 2023September 4, 2023 by Adina Humayoon

Healthcare and wellness application development is not a piece of cake, while we all may have our 2 cents on what we can include and exclude within the app, and what’s “trending”, there is compliance to follow. While regular app development has a strict rule book to follow, so does application development within the healthcare industry. And that cannot go by without the uber-strict HIPAA laws that are the epitome of debunking common HIPAA misconceptions that arise due to sheer negligence.

If you’re a newbie and wondering what HIPAA stands for its Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. A federal law in the United States that has set a national standard for patient data protection and privacy of their sensitive medical health information and records. It’s an essential factor within healthcare and medicine that helps regulate laws, ensure compliance within legal jurisdictions, and protect patients’ privacy and rights, while also maintaining & improving the quality of healthcare provided.

HIPAA is strictly an American federal law, but every region practices a similar route with its own laws and regulations. The European Union follows General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), while there are other globally known guidelines from International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27799 that focus on information security management in healthcare.

With that being said, it’s essential to be aware of all the rights patients have while getting any sort of medical treatment. In the era of fast information and the internet, it is common to come across various HIPAA misconceptions that can start a chain reaction of misguided information. And we’re precisely here to help you debunk all of the top myths that we’ve heard over the course of years.

Myth #1: HIPAA does not apply to all healthcare providers

FACT: HIPAA applies to any and all healthcare providers who transmit, store, or handle protected health information.

HIPAA doesn’t pick and choose any healthcare facility or provider for compliance, they apply to all healthcare entities and facilities. If your system in any way handles Protected Health Information (PHI), then you are bound to be subjected to HIPAA regulations. The PHI includes any patient’s name, address, social security number, etc.

If the healthcare system uses a third-party or cloud-based provider to store or transfer information, that too must be an active follower of HIPAA law. In case of a data breach within a non-HIPAA-compliant server, be prepared for the consequences that will follow in the form of lawsuits and litigations.

Myth #2: HIPAA privacy rules are strictly for electronic records

FACT: HIPAA covers all patient records, regardless of their nature.

Medical records and patient records are still records that can be accessed, stored, stolen, or breached, regardless of their nature. HIPAA indeed prohibits you from disclosing PHI in electronic communications, but the same rules and regulations are applied to paper-based records and files too.

Despite the difference in mediums, patient data is still patient data that can be transmitted, putting it at high risk of a breach if no privacy rules are applied. Your facility still has to adhere to HIPAA compliance and the privacy rules that come along with it. Also, who deals in paper-based health records now anyways?

Myth #3: HIPAA strictly prohibits email correspondence between doctors and patients

FACT: The HIPAA Privacy Rule allows providers to use many different means of communication, up to and including emails.

While HIPAA pays close attention to doctor-patient confidentiality, this doesn’t affect their mode of communication to be diverse. As long as high-grade encryption and security are practiced, especially while transferring medical reports and data, email is a safe mode of communication.

Emails are otherwise a more genuine and responsible way to transfer and track data, as well as the history of the patient. But it is necessary to safeguard your email credentials and the systems you log into.

Myth #4: Employers can get access to employee’s healthcare information

FACT: HIPAA prohibits healthcare providers from disclosing personal health information to employers without patients’ consent.

Employers are never allowed to access the healthcare information of their employees regardless of whether they are on the company’s health insurance or not. Healthcare providers are also not allowed to share any information based on an employee’s health until and unless explicit written permission is granted.

Meanwhile, any other mental health surveys conducted by HR do not come under any HIPAA laws or compliances as well.

Myth #5: Patients can sue their healthcare providers for violating HIPAA

FACT: Even in case of a violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, patients cannot sue healthcare providers.

One of the very common misconceptions about HIPAA is that it takes private patient-doctor lawsuits into action and consideration. While a patient can easily report or file a complaint against their healthcare provider, it never goes up in court straight away.

A healthcare provider’s lack of HIPAA compliance or privacy regulations that a patient reports are submitted for investigation first. If there are any reasonable grounds for conviction, the Secretary of Health and Human Services does so at their own discretion.

So, if next time a Karen tries to threaten your healthcare practice with a lawsuit, ensure that they won’t be able to do anything, apart from submitting a written complaint. The real court of HIPAA law is under the Secretary of Health and Human Services only, which will impose penalties and criminal sanctions if negligence is proven upon investigation.

Myth #6: A doctor cannot share medical records with another doctor

FACT: A doctor can send medical records to another doctor without your explicit consent.

It is normal for doctors within the same vicinity to share and discuss various cases of various patients, and get insights and possible new diagnoses and treatment plans. Hence, it is allowed for doctors to share the medical records of their patients for as long as it is in the patient’s best interest.

It is also stated within the privacy rules of HIPAA that for the purpose of treatment, payment, or other vital healthcare operations, information can be shared without the patient’s consent. With that being said, healthcare providers can also share information with family members who are listed by the patient, and for payment purposes as well.

Myth #7: It’s your right to have unrestricted access to your medical information

FACT: It’s a bit more complicated than that.

Since it’s your healthcare records, you have a right to access ALL the information listed within a hospital’s records, right? Wrong.

While you can request the information, you are not entitled to it, and hospitals can deny that request if it can harm your well-being. These cases are strictly linked to mental health or psychiatric patients and cases where the patient is at risk of harm if certain information regarding their health is disclosed.

Apart from that, you can obtain all the necessary reports and records easily by following the right steps to acquire them.

Myth #8: HIPAA prohibits calling out patients’ names

FACT: The Privacy Rule explicitly permits certain incidental disclosures that occur as a by-product of an otherwise permitted disclosure

One of the most common HIPAA misconceptions is that you are not allowed to mention or call out the name of the patient in the hospital. While discretion is still advised when catering to other patients, it is not against HIPAA laws or anything of the sort.

Safeguarding identity and treatment confidentiality is a must, especially in cases that involve mental health and fertility. While calling out a patient’s name is not an objectionable act, it is advised to keep the purpose of the visit and treatment private.

Final Thoughts

It’s always encouraged for everyone to do their research when it comes to understanding HIPAA laws, especially if you have a deeper link within the healthcare industry, as a healthcare provider, patient, or healthcare application developer. These HIPAA misconceptions are nothing that can’t be solved with a little Google search or basic common sense. While it is also important to be aware of the rights that the state provides every individual in healthcare.