Main features of a healthcare website

Dozens of industries have started or strengthened their technological transformation, adapting to the needs of the market and the needs of users, who are more diverse every day but always, always, oriented towards digital. The pandemic accelerated the digitalization of processes and procedures much more, being a fundamental part of the daily dynamics of millions of people in the world.

In fact, according to data from Statista, companies' spending on digital transformation exceeded 1.3 trillion dollars worldwide, which shows that businesses are betting more and more on digital innovation. With this, little by little companies have been experiencing improvement in the performance of their teams and an increase in productivity.

Websites in the health industry: what is its importance?

In the commercial industry, websites help to position brands, expose interesting products and get more potential customers. But if we talk about the health area, the function and objective of a website is much broader.

"Health information systems collect data from health and other relevant sectors, analyze them and ensure their quality, relevance and timeliness in general, turning the data into information for decision-making related to health", they explained in this regard in an article from the World Economic Forum.

Before starting any digital transformation or any technological implementation, it is essential to understand what the flow of processes in the health area is like and, in addition, that the entire health team sees the need for technological transformation. If they see the importance, then they will become much more involved, which facilitates the transformation and adoption of new technologies and health systems.

With the advancement of technology and emerging patient monitoring systems, digital health care services are at their best, they say in an analysis carried out by the firm Global Market Insights. This is because they are economically profitable, enhance decision-making and, in many cases, reduce the need to travel to a hospital.

“Many initiatives are being implemented to ensure that patients have access to digital health solutions,” they added in their report.

Essential characteristics that a health industry website must have

One of the primary challenges health website developers face is defining the name, logo, and color palette, as it is such a closed area that there can be many similarities between one business and another. For example, the health sector is characterized by using colors closely linked to white and blue.

Being a health website, it must also be a platform that guarantees accessibility to patients with any disability, so that it can be navigated by anyone and they can get what they need in the system.

But, in the first instance, it is recommended that health websites have the following characteristics:

• Keep the design simple and functional

Sometimes, we can see software designers and developers who, having many tools at hand, want to include them all in your project... completely distorting the objective of the health website that you want to create.

The ideal thing in a website of this type is that it be simple and functional, above all. The platform must be a very image of the health institution: sober, clean, balanced. With a harmonious white balance, strategically arranged images so they don't clutter the user, and direct navigation options so the user goes exactly to the service or menu option they need.

If the health website is overloaded, has many elements and uneven colors, or an exaggerated typography, the user will flee the site instead of continuing browsing.

• Good user experience

This point goes hand in hand with the previous one: for the design to be optimal, you must hire a UX/UI designer to help you build a good user experience. It is essential to encourage engagement and for the user to stay browsing for much longer, until they request your health services.

• Mobile Device Compatibility

Nowadays, it is not enough for a platform or web page to be navigable from a laptop or desktop. The number of smartphone users reached 6 billion in 2021 and this figure is expected to continue to grow steadily in the coming years. So make sure that the health website you want to create is optimized for mobile devices.

• Direct writing

A user who enters a health website comes looking for direct solutions to their problem and that is how the newsroom should be. Summarize, in a few words, the services offered by your institution, what problems it can solve, costs and schedules.

If the website has a Blog section, then also ensure that the writing of the articles is direct, so that the person stays reading until the end. Among the required sections of a website of this type, there is the “About us”, “Services”, “Blog” and “Contact” page. You can also include things like patient testimonials and statistics on the care you've provided.

• Patient Oriented Design

In hospitals, for example, there are usually committees and boards of directors that control each of the decisions that are made in the institution. It is very good in the case of medical decisions, but in the digital field, the voice of the patient must be paramount.

The design and structure of the health website should be created based on the user experience: listen to what they need, what they would like in a health website, what functionalities would be better to have. The creation of this platform must revolve around current and future patients.

• Includes communication channels

The traditional thing is that health websites include a WhatsApp number or an email address so that patients can communicate, but in many cases, these are not usually effective options since the response time can be very long.

Other more agile and interesting options today are the implementation of a live chat, chatbots, provision of social networks. By offering more communication channels, the user will have more possibilities to communicate effectively.

• Medical directory

One of the most common features of health websites is the medical directory. It is nothing more than including a section in the portal where it shows the medical directory of the health institution, so that patients can review the list of specialists, with the most important data of each one of them.

This can be decisive when contracting the services of the hospital or a particular doctor, since patients always seek referrals from the specialists or services they are about to contract.

• Patient Reviews

Having a space or section dedicated to patient reviews can be beneficial for the image and positioning of the health institution, since it generates trust in users about the services offered and the care provided by the health institution.

Do you need software developers with experience in the healthcare industry? At Rootstack, we have +10 years of experience supporting global companies in their digital transformation. Contact us!

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