Tap-To-Get-Well: Developing An Innovative Healthcare App

Introduction of the business idea

One of the most promising business ideas entails formation of an app that can help the clients know what is needed anytime they are sick. Mobile applications (“apps”) are computer applications designed to be executed on smartphones, tablets, personal digital assistants (“PDAs”) and other mobile devices. They are available through distribution platforms operated by companies that own mobile operating systems such as Android, iOS, BlackBerry OS, Windows Phone or Apple, among others. The app proposed in this paper will be called Tap-To-Get-Well. The idea behind Tap-To-Get-Well app is that all what the subscriber of the app need to do is to install the app in his or her smartphone and pay subscription fee. After doing so, the app will open and inside the app, there would be all health-related features.

The app will be designed such that every disease has its unique management framework. Once each and every disease has been included in the portal, the different hospitals will be added and their management strategies are included. For example, lets use cancer as an example. In most cases, when a person is diagnosed with cancer, he or she becomes confuse and even may forget what is needed. To help such individuals, the portal. The app will have an option where the subscriber can review the cost of treating any given disease in different hospitals. For example, in the first step, the subscriber will click the disease he or she is interested in learning more about its management. On doing so, a new page will open. The page will have columns with titles such as “Nearest Hospital” and “Cost”

The first benefit is that the app will ensure that millions of people, both health and sick can access the important health information. Access to health information is currently a very crucial requirement. Currently, the expansion of smartphones and 3G and 4G networks has boosted their use. There are already more than 900,000 apps available for Apple and more than 700,000 for Android. Of these, more than 97,000 are mobile health apps (mHealth), that is, apps related to the health and medicine sector (Nambisan, 2015). The latest estimates suggest that in 2018 about 3,400 million people will have a smartphone or tablet, of which 50% will use health applications. This clearly shows that the future of health would be found in app. That is why by coming up with Tap-To-Get-Well app, the possibility of helping millions of people is high.

Secondly, the app will enable patients determine the nearest hospitals and their cost of treating any particular disease. For example, if subscriber X, who lives in Texas is interested in knowing the nearest hospital in Texas that treats cancer, he or she will just open the app, click the button “Cancer” and the app will list all hospitals around Texas where cancer treatments are offered.

Thirdly, the app will offer other benefits such as improving the quality of service and avoiding medical errors through clinical algorithms, reducing costs, avoiding unnecessary medical consultations and improving access to health services.

Benefits generated by the idea of Tap-To-Get-Well app

Generally, Tap-To-Get-Well app has great potential, as it will provide citizens with the necessary means to manage their own health and stay healthier longer, improve the quality of health care and the comfort of patients and help health professionals In this way, the search for mobile health solutions can contribute to the development of modern, efficient and sustainable health systems, and it is also expected to reduce expensive hospital visits, help citizens to take charge of their own state of health and well-being and promotes a health focused on preventing instead of curing, it is also a great opportunity for the flourishing sector of applications and for entrepreneurs (Bank, 2012). 

The need for business model would be crucial as far as our business idea is concerned. At the beginning of the twentieth century the business model of a company, in general, was rather simple; A company manufactured a product or performed a service and charged for it (Berkowski, 2014). The evolution of society, uncertainty, speed of change, Internet, technological advances and the birth of new needs and therefore new opportunities, has forced companies to generate new innovative business models , as alternative ways to generate income (Key, 2012).

The proposed business idea will adopt Subscription business model. This business model is a classic business model, but taken to other market sectors is a completely new business model. The model is that the user pays a subscription and in return receives a value proposal that compensates the fee that he pays. The users will subscribe for the app before they can access its services.

One of the success factors of the proposed app is functions. A good and successful app should be able to fill market gaps. For example, it should be able to do certain tasks better. Consequently, when developing Tap-To-Get-Well app we must consider the things that we can do and those that do not from the app. We always have to use legal means, so we must be clear that what cannot be done offline or through traditional marketing campaigns, cannot be done from our app (In Khosrow-Pour & IGI Global, 2018).

Another success factor is promotion or advertising. The monetization of most free applications can come from different techniques, some more lucrative than others. It is always advisable to choose a system based on the utilities and types of mobile applications (West, 2014). However, as a general rule, the use of advertising to generate income is increasingly widespread. Although it is totally lawful for an app to include advertising, it must always appear identified as such to avoid possible problems (Silver, 2007).

Another success factor is the need to inform the user about the function and founders of the app. A large part of mobile applications can be considered as “information society services”, if only because of the publicity they contain (Patel, 2016). That is why it is necessary to comply with the obligations that the legislation implies for these services. The main obligation that is easiest to fulfill in this regard is to inform users of the aspects marked by the law, which can be done through texts of legal conditions, or in sections commonly referred to as “about” or “who we are. ” These sections provide the user with information about the creators and who is behind the mobile applications. It includes aspects such as the name and domain of the company, the registration data of the Mercantile Registry, NIF, adherence to codes of conduct, etc (Aulet, 2017).

Proposed business model

Cookie policies should also be considered. The need to accept cookies is as important in web pages as in mobile devices when downloading mobile applications (Feld & Wise, 2017). Depending on the size of the screen of the mobile devices, an informative warning should be made with the basic information about what the cookies are, the purpose of the cookies, who installs them and how to reject them.

Lastly, it would be crucial to choose good market to place the app. The big markets, be it for the operating system that is , are the ones that ultimately send and when marketing our mobile application. In general, they have strict conditions to allow apps to access the public and sell. Some aspects such as commissions that must be paid for the e-commerce from the app, or prohibited content, specific notices, technical conditions, for example, must be studied in detail to avoid problems once we finish developing mobile applications (Pareras, 2011).

The first feasibility element to consider is the strength of business idea. As described, the current business idea is intended to help the population know about the health services found in their locality and know the kind of hospitals that offer the services as well as the cost they charge for the services. This will reduce the need to travel from one hospital to another looking for a particular service. It will save cost, time and allow the users to plan well before visiting a given hospital (Hacker, Igoe, Gitten, Edelman & Cohen, 2012). Currently, most people uses app and smartphone to look for health solution needs. Coming up with the proposed app is therefore timely. Another feature that makes the app effective is that it will be easier for users to access. The users just need to download the app, read the user policies and then use it. This means that the app is non-invasive. Unlike other health apps, the proposed app is just to offer information. It does not deal with sensitive information such as blood pressure. It just offer information about existing services. Based on these, it is apparent that the proposed business idea is feasible in terms of strength.

The element to consider is industry related issues.  The feasibility of the proposed app as far as industry related issues are concerned is high. Tap-To-Get-Well app is effective and feasible because there are few competitors in the industry. Although there are thousands of health apps, few apps, if any, have the same features as Tap-To-Get-Well app.  The proposed app is in emergence stage of growth and its operation margin is high because once the app has been developed, maintenance costs are negligible. In the modern time, the app can be classified as “Must Have” because many people are turning to smartphones and apps as their vital health resource tools.

Another feasibility factor is target market and customer-related issues. The feasibility of proposed app as far as target market and customer related issues is concerned is high.  The app targets anyone who have smartphone. It is also possible to create barriers to entry. The purchasing power of customers is likely to be high because health is a basic need. In addition, it is easy to advertise the app and that the market is generally high. Concerning the founder. It is important to note that the feasibility of the founder is moderate.

The feasibility of the proposed app as far as the financial issues are concerned is high. Firstly, the initial capital is low. To create an app is not expensive because there are many editing software that can be used. Secondly, the time to break even would be less than one year. Thirdly, ability to fund the creation of the app is high.  

The overall potential of the proposed app is summarized in the table below.

References

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