How much does it cost to develop Personal Health Record (PHR) software?

The global market for personal health record (PHR) software was valued at approximately USD 8.21 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 15.55 billion by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of approximately 8.30% between 2023 and 2030.

The study analyzes the global PHR software market’s growth opportunities and threats over the forecast period. This article will investigate how much it costs to develop personal health record software.

I. Definition of Personal Health Record

A personal health record, or PHR, is an electronic application that allows patients to maintain and manage their health information (and that of others for whom they have authorization) in a private, secure, and confidential environment.

In general, PHR needs to include anything that assists doctors and patients manage their health:

- Names and phone numbers of doctors

- Allergies, including drug allergies

- Medication dosages included

- List and dates of diseases and operations

- Chronic health concerns, such us high blood pressure

- Living will or advance directives

- Family background

- Immunization history

The software can also contribute information regarding the patient’s health and disease prevention efforts, such as:

- Blood pressure readings at home

- Physical activity and dietary habits

- Health goals, such as quitting smoking or losing weight

Due to the availability of numerous mobile applications and information platforms, IT in healthcare has also been promoted as a means to give patients greater control over their health.

II. Personal Health Record Software statistics: Overview

Paper records may not be as secure as their digital counterparts in this digital age, and PHR software enables patients to better manage their health information. Demand for such healthcare software development has been on the rise for some time, and it seems set to continue doing so as patients become more aware of their own medical health.

- According to our research analyst, the global market for PHR software is projected to expand at a CAGR of approximately 8.30% between 2023 and 2030.

- In 2022, the global market for PHR software was valued at approximately USD 8.21 billion, and it is anticipated to surpass USD 15.55 billion by 2030.

- The market for electronic health records is expected to expand rapidly as individuals seek greater privacy and security for their medical data.

III. Types of Personal Health Record software

There are 4 distinct PHR categories, distinguished by their architectures: provider-tethered, payer-tethered, third-party, and interoperable PHRs.

- Provider-tethered PHRs are linked to the internal record system of a healthcare organization.

- Payer-tethered systems are bound to a specific payer’s system.

- Using third-party PHRs to aggregate data from different, unconnected sources.

- Interoperable PHRs are a “future type” of record that is “populated with data from all regional data sources through standards-based automated data exchange.” These connections would produce a record that is more comprehensive than any single repository (e.g., electronic health records, payer claims databases).

IV. Cost of PHR development

According to the Center for Information Technology Leadership (CITL), a PHR system consists of two primary components: infrastructure and applications that utilize infrastructure.

The PHR infrastructure consists of components and capabilities that permit patients to compile and share their health information. Personal health record applications are functions within a PHR system that enable patients to manage their own health and the health of others (dependents) through education and monitoring, as well as facilitate the exchange of health-related information with others. Both infrastructure and applications of the PHR system incorporate privacy and security functionality.

These components form the foundation of a PHR function taxonomy and can cost between $300,000 and $800,000, depending on the features and complexity of your PHR system as well as your doctor and patient app.

1. Infrastructure-Function Cost

IT infrastructure is a collection of components that serve as the basis for an IT service; typically physical components (computer and networking hardware and facilities), but also various software and network components required to operate and administer IT environments.

As indicated above, the infrastructure of PHR enables patient and external parties (such as physicians, patients' relatives, etc.) to view patients' health information by pulling and aggregating data from multiple data sources such as payer, provider, pharmacists, as well as information inserted by the patient and health monitoring devices.

Infrastructure functions include the sharing of test information, the creation of comprehensive medication listings, secure messaging (secure Internet email), and the support of private and secure access to PHR data and applications.

Personal health record software includes data centers, client user authentication and authorization, Internet connectivity, user interfaces, user support, record matching services, and data storage among its infrastructure components.

1.1. Data Center

A data center is the physical location that houses the Personal Health Record Software's servers, network infrastructure, associated hardware, and all other application infrastructure.

1.2. Client User Authentication

The authentication and authorization of client users includes login security and access controls.

1.3. Internet Connectivity

Internet connectivity is necessary for the PHR system to facilitate data exchange with healthcare stakeholders and web-based user access.

1.4. User Interfaces

User interfaces are the displays a user encounters when logging in and navigating a website.

1.5. User Support

User support depends on the scale of the PHR. User support consists of a help desk and ongoing training for PHR users. The cost of user support is based on an estimate of the number of user support contacts per user of a legacy PHR system.

1.6. Record Matching Services

Personal Health Record Softwares combine disparate sources (combining provider data from multiple EMRs, payers, laboratories, and imaging centers), necessitating the need for record matching services.

Moreover, any PHR will need interfaces to external applications in order to retrieve patient data located in disparate ancillary systems:

- For provider-tethered and payer-tethered PHRs, these interfaces are minimal, estimated to cost only 20% of the total cost of constructing an interface from scratch, because they have electronic access to their own data.

- Many interfaces are required for third-party PHRs because they cannot access clinical or administrative data without interfacing with a provider or payer system. Consequently, the interface expense of third-party PHRs is extremely significant.

- Because all data and transactions are standardized between PHRs and other healthcare stakeholders (e.g., lab, pharmacy, payer, etc.), only one data interface is required for interoperable PHRs.

1.7. Data Storage

Personal Health Record data repository is the principal data storage for PHR systems. The PHR data repository contains all user-entered data, messaging data, and references to all primary data sources. In addition, interoperable and third-party PHRs require additional storage space for clinical and administrative data. This repository is necessary because neither type of PHR is presumed to have access to healthcare data, in contrast to provider-tethered and payer-tethered PHRs, which already have data warehouses. 

To assure constant access to the data, the data storage consists of the actual data rather than pointers.

Ultimately, the infrastructure price is the aggregate of these tunes. Therefore, comprehending these components would allow you to more accurately estimate the cost of the infrastructure.

2. Application-Function Cost

A PHR application is any function within a PHR system that enables patients to learn about, monitor, and manage their own and others' health and to engage in two-way data exchange transactions with others regarding their health and well-being.

PHR applications for any aspect of healthcare or wellness are feasible and can support clinical and administrative functions. PHR systems may include, for instance, a health maintenance function and an insurance verification function.

3. Detailed Cost Table

Following the breakdown of PHR's development cost components, we estimate the total cost by architecture as follows:

3.1. Application Costs

We estimated that the average software development cost for a prototypical PHR application or service was $450,000 based on our methodology. This was based on an approximated average cost of $150,000 for design, development, construction, and testing. This estimate was then multiplied by 300 percent to account for management and support expenses, as well as the cost of developing core data.

3.2. Infrastructure Costs

For our cost model, we devised one-time acquisition and ongoing annual costs for all PHR-architecture-based infrastructure components. Italicize the cost drivers that are most important. These determined cost components are orders of magnitude more expensive than other cost components. To determine the costs per user across architectures, we divided the total cost by the one million users per architecture. We then estimated the acquisition and annual cost per user for each architecture.

Developing a PHR software appears to be expensive due to its complexity. However, this also results in increased returns.

Are you currently seeking a collaborator to assist you in developing your own Personal Health Record Software? Feel free to reach out to us. At Adamo Software - a premier software development company, we have a highly skilled and knowledgeable team to assist you at every stage.