Virtual Hospital Software Development

Advancing technology has made its presence known in every industry. With the newest technologies making it easier for doctors to attend to their patients, the concept of a virtual hospital has gradually planted its root more than ever before.

However, the process of virtual hospitals goes beyond just telemedicine.

But what is a virtual hospital, and how can it help a hospital treat its patients?

To help you out, this blog will include everything about virtual hospitals so you can decide whether to invest in one.

What is Virtual Hospital Software?

The virtual hospital software model is a technology that helps consulting practitioners and patients connect.

A virtual hospital leverages the Internet of Things (IoT) to access data, telehealth for audiovisual communication, AI for disease pattern identification, etc. Moreover, virtual hospital software can reduce care costs while improving outcomes for high-risk patients.

Read : IoT Trends in 2023

Several specialists are available in the virtual hospital, provided with various technological tools and screens. The virtual hospital intends to bring patients and healthcare workers worldwide together to treat diseases effectively.

In short, a virtual hospital refers to a full-scale hospital with no physical presence. While patients cannot go under surgery in such a facility, they can still gain access to other services like online consultations, telemedicine, etc. to avoid traveling and waiting in line.

Read: Top 10 Digital Healthcare Technology Trends

Typically a virtual hospital can be classified into three types: General Hospital, Tele Paramedic Hospital, and Chronic Condition Management Hospital.

Where general virtual hospitals deal with booking an e-visit with a doctor, tele paramedic virtual hospitals deal with the call-center environment to resolve complex clinical issues, and chronic condition management virtual hospitals deal with remote management of cancer, diabetes, chronic kidney diseases, etc.

Benefits of Virtual Hospital Software Development

With the basic knowledge of what a virtual hospital is, let’s dive into its benefits:

• Providing a connection between patients and doctors regardless of the distance is one of the significant benefits of using virtual hospitals.

• With virtual hospitals, the need for urgent hospitalization to conduct examinations and provide treatment has been minimized through telemedicine technology, saving time and money.

• Virtual hospitals can reduce the workload of doctors and patients while minimizing waiting time for patients.

• Apart from consulting practitioners-to-patient communication, a virtual hospital also allows consulting practitioners-to-consulting practitioners collaboration to share patient data.

• Minimizing the spread of contagious diseases is another benefit of using a virtual hospital.

Virtual Hospital Software Development Architecture

A virtual hospital needs to work seamlessly without outages or bottlenecks. So here is the list of the key elements that are used to comprise a thriving virtual hospital architecture are:

• An app for consulting practitioners to offer online examinations and consultations as well as access and evaluate patient’s test results, medical images, and vitals to suggest further treatments,

• An app for patients to schedule e-visits, consult doctors/nurses, track their health state, request medical refills, and view treatment plans.

• A server for video streaming for real-time audiovisual communication between virtual hospitals and patients.

• A data analysis tool to track patients’ health over time to make well-informed treatment decisions.

• Set of healthcare IoT tools to transmit EMR or EHR data securely to consulting practitioners.

• A cloud data storage and processing module to store consultation recordings, PHIs, and other important patient information.

• And finally, an admin panel to manage virtual hospital software user access, list of patients, availability of doctors, treatment recordings, etc.

Key Functionalities of Virtual Hospital Software Development

Although you might have got an idea of functionalities to be included in the virtual hospital software, we have curated a list of major features and functionalities to consider.

Read: Healthcare App Development Services

Patient and Consulting Practitioner Registration

• The first feature to include in any application is the registration panel. The virtual hospital software should require minimal details for registration or provide one-tap secure login through authenticated apps like Google, Twitter, or Facebook.

Dashboard

• Once the registration is completed, patients should be able to go to their dashboard to upload medical records, insurance verification information, health problems, allergies, visit history, etc., allowing specialist doctors to make an immediate treatment plan based on the available up-to-date data.

Doctors’ Catalog

• The catalog of a doctor can be a huge time-saver for both patients and professionals as it improves the accuracy of the appointment timeline. Also, similar to the patient’s dashboard, a doctor’s catalog should include their qualifications, area of specialization, experience, availability, etc.

Appointment Management

• Another essential functionality that a hospital can implement in the virtual hospital app is appointment management. This feature comes with calendar integration and sends reminders to both patients and consulting practitioners for their upcoming appointments.

Virtual Communication Tool

• Implementation of audio/message/video communication tools in the virtual hospital software allows regular check-ups with the patients, on-demand consultations, emergency calls to an ambulance, and more.

Treatment Coordinator

• This functionality can help consulting practitioners monitor patients’ health state, medication intake, test schedules, etc. to plan or edit their medical plans and medication prescriptions.

Data Analytics

• A dashboard with real-time data analysis and AI in the virtual hospital software can help detect patients' disease patterns, recommend treatment plans, analyze expenses, and also send a notification to doctors/nurses in case of emergencies.

Health Data Management

• A virtual hospital software should allow patients to update or edit personal information, log medication intake and new symptoms, and also provide access to medication plans or reports.

Data Security

• Multi-factor authentication, role-based access, end-to-end encryption, secured storage, and HIPAA/HITECH/MOHAP compliance are some of the data security features a virtual hospital software must have.

Billing Management

• Access to benefits, secured online bill payments, viewing insurance plan coverage, bills of tests, appointments, medication, etc. should be easily managed through the software.

ePrescription

• It is another essential feature of the virtual hospital. ePrescription makes it easier for doctors to prescribe, and patients to purchase them from online pharmacies, making healthcare services faster.

Payment Gateway

• The software should have multiple payment methods, automate invoices, help in creating staff payslips, keep track of payments, provide payment security, and have easy plus safe payment processing at low rates.

Factors to Consider for a Successful Virtual Hospital Software Development

Now that we are familiar with what benefits and key functionalities of virtual hospital software, it is time to take a look at the factors that can make it successful.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

To provide easy access to the users, the virtual hospital software needs to be cross-platform compatible, i.e., it can be accessed through different devices including laptops, PCs, tablets, and smartphones.

Techniques for Engaging Patients

To motivate patients so that they follow the prescribed treatment consistently, the software should entail push notifications for upcoming appointments, medication intake, personalized material to understand the disease they are suffering from, etc.

Real-time Analytics Interactions

Keeping track of a patient manually can be troublesome. Hence, the virtual hospital software should integrate real-time analytics to automate patient monitoring while minimizing the load of professionals.

Virtual Hospital Software Development Cost

A basic virtual hospital software development can cost around $35,000 to $60,000 based on the complexity and features you want to add. On the other hand, custom virtual hospital software with higher complexity with a vast number of advanced features can cost somewhere between $100,000 to $300,000.

Some of the factors affecting the development cost of virtual hospital software are UI/UX design, feature list, app platform, wireframe, tech stack, and maintenance.

How can Decipher Zone Help in Virtual Hospital Software Development?

With the widespread advanced technologies in healthcare, expanding services through a virtual hospital can help streamline patients’ care. And if you too are a healthcare provider and want to expand medical services through virtual hospital software, we at Decipher Zone own a team of experienced professionals who can help you achieve just that.

All you need to do is get in touch with our experts and acquire a personalized quote according to your needs!