Top Medical Software Development Companies

Everything you need to know about hiring a medical software development firm

The global medical software industry continues to grow yearly, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 14% (according to The Business Research Company). Current projections estimate that the market will continue to expand, reaching $101.8 billion by 2028.

What does this mean?

If you’re looking to develop your own medical software, you’ll have more choices than ever when it comes to finding a development partner. But with more choices, you’ll also need to know how to choose the best software development company for your medical application to compete in a growing industry.

In this buyer’s guide, we’ll cover:

• How to choose a medical software development company
• What to look for in a development partner
• The cost of developing healthcare software

Whether you’re building a telehealth platform, mobile health app, or custom EHR portal, we’ll show you how to find a development partner who can bring your vision to life while staying compliant and within your budget.

Market Drivers in the Medical Software Industry

As the general population becomes more digitally literate and comfortable with medical applications, managing one’s medical care online quickly becomes the industry standard. The demand for user-friendly and accessible healthcare software continues to grow.

These key factors lie behind the industry’s expansion and growth:

• Widespread Adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHRs)

  Healthcare providers consistently use EHRs now, improving patient data management. With the ease of coordinated care and real-time access to patient data, providers can make more informed decisions based on a patient’s individual history.

  EHRs also create an opportunity for medical software developers to create front-end (or patient-facing) solutions, like the patient portal MyChart by Epic Systems. These empower patients to access their own health data, a process that once required a significant amount of labor, paperwork, and time.

• Expansion of Telemedicine Platforms

  Initially fueled by the pandemic, the adoption of telemedicine has made healthcare more flexible and convenient for both providers and patients. Now a mainstay of virtual healthcare, patients have become more comfortable with telehealth solutions. This increases the demand for mobile-friendly, HIPAA-compliant, and integrated solutions from medical software developers.

• AI-Powered Solutions

  From simple chatbots to powerful diagnostic and analytics tools, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the medical field, and healthcare software developers are at the forefront of this transformation.

  AI solutions interface with all aspects of the medical field, from patient-facing schedulers and symptom checkers to clinical imaging analysis and even back-end automation in billing and transcription. The opportunities are plentiful for those who can design medical applications with the necessary security and compliance measures.

Current Trends in Medical Software Development

As digital health becomes the norm, these are the key drivers behind:

• Cloud-Based Platforms: These applications enhance scalability and remote access to care.
• Interoperability Standards: Standards like HL7 and FHIR allow for seamless data exchange and display.
• Mobile Health (mHealth) Apps: These include health tracking, appointment scheduling, telehealth visits, and more, empowering patients with modern self-service options to manage their health.

The healthcare software market is rapidly evolving, shaped by regulatory requirements, consumer behavior, and innovative technologies. These shifts are creating new opportunities and challenges for those seeking to build or integrate custom medical software.

How to Choose a Medical Software Development Company

Once you’ve validated your healthcare software idea, the next critical step is choosing a reliable development partner. This section provides a roadmap to help you make a strategic and informed decision.

1. Define Your Project’s Goals

Start by creating a detailed project brief that outlines the application’s purpose, features, and expected outcomes. Identify your target user (patient, healthcare provider, administrator, etc.), and define the key features related to usability, functionality, and regulatory needs.

Clarifying your vision upfront prevents misalignment later and ensures you choose a partner who can deliver on your specific needs.

2. Research on Techreviewer.co

Use Techreviewer to find software development companies ranked by verified reviews to streamline your search.

Use the filters feature to refine your search results by:

• Expertise in healthcare
• Industry focus and technologies used
• Geographic location
• Client testimonials and case studies

3. Evaluate Their Expertise

Review each company’s portfolio of healthcare projects and look for experience with relevant solutions, like EHR systems, telemedicine platforms, or medical imaging.

On Techreviewer, you can browse completed case studies for insights into how a company approached healthcare-specific challenges in the past.

4. Grade Their Communications

Evaluate how responsive and transparent a company is during the initial inquiry phase.

Shortlist companies with a collaborative project management style, regular status updates, and tools like Slack, Jira, or Trello for clear communication.

Choosing the right development partner involves more than just technical capabilities, it also includes communication, collaboration, and cultural alignment. Doing your homework at this stage sets the foundation for a successful project.

Key Criteria for Choosing the Right Healthcare Software Development Partner

Not all software development companies are created equal. The following key criteria will help you vet potential development partners to ensure they align with the demands of your healthcare project.

Experience

Prioritize companies with specific experience in the healthcare sector. You’ll need a development company that’s familiar with clinical workflows, patient portals, and hospital systems.

Ensure your new development partner understands the regulatory requirements for your medical application, such as HIPAA (U.S.), GDPR (EU), and FDA regulations.

Technical Proficiency

Medical software requires additional technical expertise to manage integrations and healthcare standards. Verify that your development team is skilled in:

• EHR/EMR integration
• Cloud computing services like AWS or Azure
• Interoperability standards: HL7, FHIR, DICOM
• AI/ML for diagnostics or automation

Security and Compliance

Confirm that your chosen software development company follows best practices in cybersecurity, such as data encryption, access control, and vulnerability testing. This is a priority in any medical software application, as you’ll be responsible for protecting user/patient data.

Medical software development companies should have an ISO/IEC 27001 certification. This is an internationally recognized certification that includes a formal audit and must be renewed every three years. It ensures that the developer uses best practices for managing sensitive data, such as patient data, and is proactive about cybersecurity risks.

Ask your potential development partner for certifications like ISO 27001 or for evidence of past compliance audits to ensure the protection of sensitive health data.

Reputation and Reviews

Portfolios and pitch decks are helpful when gauging the quality of a software developer, but client reviews can reveal a more complete picture.

Techreviewer.co makes it easy to assess a developer’s reputation with consolidated ratings from platforms like Clutch, GoodFirms, and other review platforms. When selecting the right developer for your medical software, pay close attention to client satisfaction, project outcomes, and post-launch support.

Project Management and Communication

Medical software requires a structured approach to project management to allow for the necessary collaboration between you and the developer. Software applications aren’t the type of product that can simply be ordered and delivered upon completion. There are bugs to work out with each feature, and continuous communication throughout the process is essential to ensure the highest quality product.

Evaluate each potential development company’s Agile or Scrum methodologies. Ensure that they offer dedicated project managers and provide regular status reports and sprint planning to keep your project on track, with open feedback channels.

Focusing on a balanced mix of industry knowledge, technical capability, reputation, and clear communication can help you find a healthcare development firm that best suits your application.

The Benefits of Hiring Software Developers Specializing in Healthcare

Choosing a development team with healthcare experience brings unique advantages that generic software developers often can’t provide.

Domain Expertise

Medical software developers understand healthcare-specific pain points. Things like data fragmentation, clinical workflows, and usability for doctors and patients are challenges best tackled by a team with industry experience.

The technical jargon is also a hurdle that might complicate a project with generic developers. The ability to speak the language of healthcare professionals is a huge advantage when developing medical software, and will ensure a smoother collaboration overall.

Compliance Assurance

As we’ve discussed, compliance and data security are extremely important in medical software. Healthcare-focused firms bring with them a built-in knowledge of compliance with regulations such as:

• HIPAA
• FDA (for medical devices with software – SaMD)
• GDPR

With industry experience, it’s likely that these developers already meet the required certifications and obtain regular audits. That can make all the difference in developing your medical software.

Data Security

A high level of cybersecurity awareness is vital to medical applications and medical device software development. The healthcare industry is often targeted by ransomware and phishing threats due to the vast amount of personal data it stores.

It requires the adoption of proactive monitoring tools, secure architecture, and audit trails – things that a medical software development company that specializes in healthcare would already have.

Planning for Scalability

A custom healthcare software development company knows that medical applications need to be built with scalability in mind. Whether to support future expansion to new clinics, user bases, or feature sets, the architecture of your healthcare application must accommodate your features now and in the future.

Medical software development companies with targeted expertise in healthcare can help build scalable solutions.

Cost Efficiency

You can reduce your risk of costly reworks or compliance failures when you work with a firm that specializes in custom medical software development.

This typically means faster timelines and fewer errors due to their industry-specific expertise.

The benefits of hiring specialized medical software development services go beyond technical execution. An experienced development partner can deliver secure, compliant, and scalable solutions that align with the realities of modern healthcare.

How Much Does Healthcare Software Development Cost?

Custom healthcare development costs vary widely based on the application’s complexity and compliance requirements. Understanding what drives the cost of development can help you plan your budget effectively.

Cost Range of Custom Development

• Simple Patient-Facing Apps: $30k–$80k
• Custom Telemedicine or EHR Platforms: $100K–$500k
• Enterprise Healthcare Ecosystems: $1m+

Types of Cost in Medical Software Development

• Discovery & UX Research: This is the initial research phase to define the scope and purpose of your custom application.
• UI/UX Design: This is the “face” of the application that the user or patient interacts with. It should be designed with usability and engagement in mind.
• Development & Integration: These are the core costs of building the software, including front-end, back-end, databases, and APIs, in addition to integrating with third-party systems like EHRs, labs, or billing platforms.
• Testing & QA (Quality Assurance): Manual and automated testing to ensure functionality, performance, and reliability.
• Compliance & Security: In addition to meeting the necessary healthcare regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, and FDT, custom medical applications need additional security features like data encryption, access control, and audit logs.
• Ongoing Support: Healthcare apps often require ongoing support for updates, proactive security measures, and additional optimizations. Be sure to account for subscription or retainer fees to help manage your custom healthcare application past your launch date.

What Impacts the Cost of Medical Software?

Custom healthcare software development involves a range of variables that directly affect the cost. From technical complexity to the location of your development team, these are some of the most common influential factors that impact the cost of custom medical software development.

Project Size and Scope

The overall scope and size of your custom medical application will significantly influence the cost of development. This includes the number of features, user types, platforms, and workflow complexity.

Technology Stack

Different technologies, programming languages, and frameworks have varying associated expenses. Some tools or platforms require paid licenses, which are billed on a subscription basis and add to your recurring expenses.

Other decisions in your technology stack can directly or indirectly affect development costs. For example, choosing a well-documented technology like React or Node.js increases the number of available developers for ongoing development and updates, making it more cost-effective since it’s easier to find developers for these technologies. Other specialized technologies may be more expensive due to a limited pool of expertise and available talent.

Integration Requirements

Custom healthcare applications rarely operate in isolation, so integrated features are necessary. Additional costs, such as custom API development, standards compliance, data mapping, and vendor coordination, all require more development time.

Geographic Location

The United States and Western European developers will entail higher hourly rates. For more cost-effective alternatives without sacrificing quality, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia offer quality development options.

The size and structure of the development team will also impact the cost. From solely dedicated developers to cross-functional hybrid teams, these variables all impact pricing.

Ready to find the right healthcare software development company?

With so many factors to consider, the process of selecting the right development partner can feel overwhelming. Fortunately, there’s a smarter, faster way to narrow your search.

At Techreviewer, we want to help you save time by choosing from a curated list of the top medical software development companies. You can easily filter developers by healthcare expertise and browse verified case studies and clienttestimonials to gain real insight into a company’s track record.

Use Techreviewer.co to connect with the best healthcare software development companies and move your idea from concept to solution with confidence.