Healthcare & TechnologyThe Importance of a Healthcare Product Tech Stack

Healthcare is communication. For delivery of the highest standards, its technological elements should be structured in ways that allow all participants to understand and operate them. Choosing the right technology stack can impact everything down the line. Planning a technology stack ahead requires you to know the available versus necessary resources, infrastructure, hardware, and other project requirements.  

Taking the time to ask and to answer all the right questions before HealthTech product development begins not only saves on costs and time but can make all the difference to the lives your product will eventually reach. Below, we consider a few key aspects that must guide your decision process when choosing the best healthcare product tech stack for your project. 

What is a Tech Stack?  

This concept refers to the set of tools used to implement an IT project. In broad terms, it consists of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, various development tools and programming approaches. The components of a tech stack are highly interdependent, therefore the quality of their synthesis predetermines the quality and competitiveness of your finished product, as well as its functionality, further development and scalability, and maintenance. 

A simplified overview would present a tech stack as follows: 

• The Frontend tech stack includes everything that end-users may see on their app screens, from the content in the browser/on the display to content styling and any interactive features of the HealthTech application.  
• The Back-end tech stack is not visible to the end user but provides essential data and is rather the architecture and infrastructure of all processes. Back-end technologies include: the operating system; web servers; programming languages and the frameworks constructed on top of them; databases, cloud infrastructures and services; and more.

Have a Good Understanding of Your Project and Your Resources 

There are a few key aspects to consider from the start, such as scalability down the line. Healthtech products more than likely need to be used by a large number of people when made available, and that number would increase over time. Integrating frameworks and databases that allow you to scale well during the planning phase itself ensures minimal to no scaling issues as the user base grows in the future. It is never too early to consider maintenance issues, as this process should be effortless, even when scaling the product down the line.  

The project type and size determine the complexity of the tech stack required — depending on scope and novelty, complexity tends to grow with the size of a project, as will the tech stack employed to make it all happen. Understanding your project allows you to choose the best structure for development.  

The existing expertise of your team, as well as additional attainable talent, are also key factors when considering the most appropriate choice of tech stack. How many developers does it take to complete an application in a given time using a specific tech stack? Can you leverage the existing talent in your team, or would it require bringing in additional experts for certain elements? 

Research Your Options Thoroughly 

Given the understandably high exigence that is intrinsic to the healthcare technology industry, it is all the more important to choose your tech stack wisely, and no questions are unimportant in the process. What is the purpose your product is meant to accomplish, or what problem is it supposed to solve? What are the user interface and user experience requirements? Can the product be developed within your financial, time, and personnel budgets? Which tech stack allows you to deliver the highly secure technology that healthcare requires? When built right, tech can save time, money, and help deliver experience all around.  

Primarily, it is the functional and quality requirements you need to build into your product that guide the choice of some or other technologies for development. In order to make the best-informed choices, you need to have proper technical and architectural experience and knowledge. Is your team experienced and aware of all possible peculiarities and differences of each tech stack option, to ensure the most competent selection of technologies? Bringing in additional experts can save on development time and increase the overall knowledge and expertise of your team in the process. 

Out with the Old, In with the New? 

While it is understandably tempting in the way of progress — and certainly necessary — to try and test new tools at every opportunity, it is important to not choose a new technology simply for the sake of new technology. Firstly, it means more development time, as your team will need to learn its peculiarities thoroughly, and that will take considerable time before effectively moving forward in the process. If that is not an issue, incorporating new tech is certainly worth considering.  

At the same time, do not prioritize older tech options simply to cut on time and eliminate the need for hiring new specialists. Older options might be outdated and ineffective in the face of modern scalability needs and security standards. Whether new or old, opt for the technologies with which you can work confidently and that comply with your project goals and requirements.

Software solutions to streamline your healthcare business  

Digitalization future-proofs your healthcare business and sets it up for long-term success. SMEDIX can help you find the most fitting solutions for your stability and growth. Reach out to our team – we’re eager to create a better future for healthcare together.