The rising demand for virtual care has accelerated the growth of many healthcare startups.
One of the examples of conspicuous successes in the healthcare sector is Doctolib- A French healthcare startup that initially started as a Software as a Service platform for doctors and now slowly expanding its services for the other staff members, healthcare facilities, and patients.
The startup is now among the three most-used providers of online medical consultations in the world with 3,00,000 medical doctors and medical workers as its users.
Let’s explore more about the startup, how it works, the problem it solves, and its monetization strategy.
This will help you understand the ins and outs if you are planning to go for doctor appointment booking app development.
What is Doctolib? – A Brief History
Doctolib is an online appointment booking platform for healthcare professionals, staff, facilities, and patients.
It offers solutions such as consultation management for doctors, Doctor appointment booking, and services that enable hospital staff to work efficiently to cater growing healthcare needs.
The company was founded in December 2013 by Stanislas Niox-Chateau, Jessy Bernal, Ivan Schneider, and Steve Abou-Rjeily, with the participation of 50 partner practitioners.
During its early days, it gained support from the city of Paris, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, and the European Social Fund, through the Agoranov incubator.
In early 2014, Doctolib was deployed in the first clinic and in November 2014 the company raised 4 million Euros from the investors.
At the end of 2017, Doctolib extended its services with 39 establishments and 9,000 physicians. During this healthcare professionals found out 7.5% increase in the number of appointments after the installation of Doctolib.
In January 2019, Doctolib brought teleconsultation services for French doctors with the participation of 500 partner doctors.
At the end of 2019, it enabled 40,000 teleconsultations.
The year 2021, had proven to be the pivotal year for the company with the launch of new software developed for general practitioners.
In the same year, the platform reached its critical mass in France.
Currently, the company offers services across France, Italy, and Germany with more than 300,000 medical workers as paid subscribers.
The company has an estimated annual revenue of $209.5M.
How Does the Doctolib App Work for Patients?
If you are planning to opt-in for doctor appointment booking app development, you must know how the leading app Doctolib works.
Let’s find out how the Doctolib app for telemedicine appointments works for patients.
This will help you a lot if you are planning to build an appointment booking app like Doctolib.
The Doctolib app saves lots of patients’ time by managing medical schedules from anywhere at any time.
The app provides access to a wide range of healthcare professionals.
A user can go beyond the face-to-face appointment once the telemedicine appointment is fixed.
A user flow of the Doctolib app looks something like this:
- Log in to your user account
- Search for the type of doctor you need and select one to fix an appointment
- Choose the type of consultation you require
- Choose a date and time for consultation
- Confirm your appointment
From the above user flow, you will get an idea about the app and how it helps you to schedule appointments in just a few clicks.
Moreover, you can view your past appointments, and choose to resume an appointment.
Everything is well-structured and easy to use.
This is just one side of the coin, Doctolib provides software and tools for professionals to manage teleconsultation activities.
Tools and Software Services Provided by Doctolib for Healthcare Practitioners and Hospitals
One proven way to carry out successful doctor appointment booking app development is to meet needs of every single stakeholder in terms of features, performance and user experience.
Doctolib empowers medical patients, practitioners, staff, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities to improve patient care by providing the following software and tools.
Further, it provides solutions such as the Doctolib Team for improving the communication between the professional team and Doctolib Vaccination to manage consultation for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Overall, a successful doctor appointment booking app development and implementation is all about connecting the bridge between multiple healthcare entities with the use of the right technologies.
How Does Doctolib Make Money?
The Doctolib app is free for patients to download then how does it make money?
Doctolib makes money through fundraising and selling its software services to practitioners and hospitals, its subscription charges start at € 129 per month.
The company doesn’t monetize patient data.
The app is designed for the convenience of users.
Even elderly people can easily use it.
The company is now planning to become mission-driven and wants to grow its team from 2,300 employees to 3000 employees, with all employees going to become its shareholders.
Everyone will get at least €20,000 in stock grants.
Currently, the company is planning to invest €300 million to improve its current products and services and grow its platforms in France, Germany, and Italy.
Why Should You Build a Doctor Appointment Booking App like Doctolib?
There are several reasons why someone might want to build a doctor appointment booking app.
Some of the most common reasons include the following:
Top Features You Must Consider for Your Doctor Appointment Booking App Development
Here is the list of features that you must take into consideration if you are planning to go for doctor appointment booking app development.
How to Carry Out Successful Doctor Appointment Booking App Development?
To build a doctor appointment booking app, you will need to follow these steps:
Define the app’s goals and features:
Before you begin building the app, it’s important to have a clear understanding of what you want the app to do and what features it will include.
For example, will the app allow patients to schedule appointments with multiple healthcare providers, or only with a single provider?
Will the app include features like appointment reminders or the ability to send messages to healthcare providers?
Choose the right technology:
The next step is to choose the right technology for building the app.
This will likely involve selecting a programming language and a development framework that is well-suited to building the app’s features.
For example, if you want to build a cross-platform app that can be used on both iOS and Android, you might choose to use a technology like React Native.
Design the user interface:
Once you have chosen the technology for building the app, you will need to design the user interface (UI).
This involves creating wireframes and mockups that show what the app will look like and how it will function.
It’s important to focus on creating a user-friendly, intuitive UI that will make it easy for patients to use the app.
Implement the app’s features:
After designing the UI, you can begin implementing the app’s features.
This will involve writing the code for each feature and testing it to ensure that it works correctly.
It’s important to test the app thoroughly to ensure that it is stable and free of bugs.
Launch and maintain the app:
Once the app is built, you will need to launch it and make it available to users.
This will likely involve submitting the app to app stores, promoting it through marketing and advertising, and providing support and maintenance to ensure that the app continues to function properly.
Overall, building a doctor appointment booking app involves defining the app’s goals and features, choosing the right technology, designing the user interface, implementing the app’s features, and launching and maintaining the app.
Technologies used to build doctor appointment booking app
There are several technologies that can be used to build a doctor appointment booking app. Some of the most common technologies include the following:
Programming languages:
To build a doctor appointment booking app, you will need to use a programming language that is capable of building the app’s features and handling the app’s data. Some popular programming languages for building mobile apps include Java, Swift, and Kotlin for Android and iOS, respectively, as well as languages like JavaScript and TypeScript for building cross-platform apps.
Development frameworks:
In addition to a programming language, you will also need to use a development framework to help you build the app. Some popular frameworks for building mobile apps include React Native, Flutter, and Ionic, which can be used to build cross-platform apps that run on both Android and iOS.
Database technology:
To store and manage the app’s data, you will need to use a database technology. Some popular database technologies for mobile apps include SQLite, Realm, and Firebase, which are designed to be lightweight and efficient for use on mobile devices.
APIs:
If the doctor appointment booking app will need to communicate with other systems or services, you will need to use APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to facilitate this communication. For example, if the app will allow patients to schedule appointments with their healthcare providers, it will need to use an API to connect to the provider’s appointment scheduling system.
Overall, the technologies used to build a doctor appointment booking app will depend on the app’s specific features and requirements. Some common technologies include programming languages, development frameworks, database technology, and APIs.
How Can We Help You Build a Doctor Appointment Booking App like Doctolib?
Doctolib is Europe’s top appointment scheduling app trusted by 300,000 healthcare professionals, thousands of healthcare facilities, and millions of patients across France, Germany, and Italy.
If you have any plan to build such a powerful app, you can count on SyS Creations- A healthcare-focused IT company with a proven record of developing a wide range of healthcare applications.
We offer comprehensive solutions to make your healthcare system IT-enabled.
Our services include IT consultation, software development, mobile app development, healthcare IT support, startup product development, and healthcare collaboration tool development.
We believe in empowering healthcare organizations, and staff to deliver excellence with our expertise.
Connect with us to see how we fit into your unique requirements, goals, and technology vision.
