How Much Does it Cost to Develop a Hospital Management System?

Before the digital age, hospitals struggled with mountains of paperwork and inefficient processes. Everyone around, whether patients, overworked staff, or doctors sometimes find the process frustrating and messy.

Lost records, appointment mix-ups, and frustrated patients were all too common. This outdated system created a healthcare experience far from ideal.

Even, it led to a system on the verge of collapse. Thankfully, things are changing. The tech revolution is taking place in hospitals. Today we have tech solutions like a hospital management system that manages various hospital operations, including room allocation, report generation, scheduling appointments, etc.

Specifically, during the COVID-19 outbreak, such digital products were a boon. 

So, being a healthcare entrepreneur or someone looking to develop a hospital management system (HMS), you are investing in the right thing. 

In fact, the market for HMS is on the rise.

Hospital Management System Software Market size was valued at USD 28.4 Billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 57.1 Billion by 2030. 

Now, a big question that you may have is- how much will it cost to develop a hospital management system? 

Don’t get lost- we are here to help. We have given a quick overview of the hospital management system development cost in this blog. So, carefully go through them to have a better understanding of the budget to develop hospital management software.

Hospital Management System Development Costs Breakdown

This is a crucial aspect for anyone considering building HMS software.  However, pinpointing the exact cost can be tricky. Unlike buying a bike, HMS development has a multitude of factors involved that influence the final price of it.

So, let’s talk about those factors one by one –

Factors Affecting HMS Development Cost

Several factors like features and functionality of the system, technology used, etc are a few of the things that influence the total cost of building a hospital management system. Here’s a breakdown of the key ones:

1. Features and Functionality

First off, the more features your HMS has to offer, the more complex and expensive it becomes to develop. 

The complexity demands extra effort and extra time which means extra money.

However, adding core functionalities like appointment scheduling, patient records management, and billing will be optimal. But if think of incorporating advanced features like telemedicine or AI-powered diagnostics into your HMS, then that will cost you more.

2. Development Approach

In-house development, outsourcing to a healthcare software development company, or using a low-code platform are some common approaches used to develop hospital management software. And, all of these options will have different price tags.

If you are picking to develop the software with a low-code platform, it will cost a minimal cost.  However, hiring an in-house development team can be a bit expensive. 

Moreover, Outsourcing can be cost-effective but requires careful vendor selection. 

3. Technology Stack

The next biggest factor that impacts hospital management system cost – selection of the programming languages, frameworks, and databases used for developing it.

It is obvious, you are going for hi-tech, and the billing will be high. Specifically, AI, Blockchain, AR/VR, and Generative AI integration add extra bucks. So, be careful while picking a tech stack for your HMS. It is good to take the help of a tech consultant in such a scenario. Their expertise helps guide this process. 

Moving on, some common tech stacks that are commonly used to develop hospital management software are-

Front-End Development:

• Programming Languages: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (React, Angular, Vue.js are popular frameworks)
• UI/UX Design Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD

Back-End Development:

• Programming Languages: Java, Python, PHP, C# (These are popular choices, but others can be used)
• Web Frameworks: Spring (Java), Django (Python), Laravel (PHP), ASP.NET (C#)
• Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle (Relational databases are common, NoSQL options may be used for specific needs)

Other Technologies:

• Cloud Platforms: AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (For hosting and scalability)
• Mobile App Development: If a mobile app is part of the HMS, React Native, Flutter, Swift, Kotlin, etc are commonly used by a custom mobile app development company.

4. Security and Compliance

Healthcare data is highly sensitive, and ensuring HIPAA compliance is paramount. Implementing robust security measures adds to the development cost.

5. Scalability and Integration

If your HMS needs to be scalable to accommodate future growth or integrate with existing hospital systems, these aspects will factor into the development budget.

These are a few factors that impact hospital management system software costs. There are many more, but these are the most vital ones.

Besides this, you know what different phases or you can say it as a stage have different costs. Yes, after discussing with experienced developers, we got an understanding that different stages have separate contributions to HMS development costs:

Take for example – the research phase

No doubt, the research phase forms the backbone of every HMS. Here service provider have to spend their time in order to define the target market, outline functionalities, and a detailed plan. This planning even affects the cost.

For a basic HMS with a well-defined target market, the research and planning stage may take about 20-30 hours and will cost between $800 – $1200.

On the other hand, a comprehensive HMS that addresses multiple requirements may take 70-120 hours and cost $2800-$4800. Likewise, the various types offer different costs. Here we have listed down the average costing a particular HMS project cost during various phases.

Stage	Cost Range
Research & Planning	$800 – $4800
Design	$1000 – $12,000
Development	$6400 – $60,000
Testing & QA	$5,000 – $8,000
Deployment & Integration	$3,000 – $7,000
Maintenance & Updates (Annual)	$5,000 – $10,000
Training & Support	$5,000 – $10,000
Miscellaneous Costs	$5,000 – $10,000

Cost Estimation for a Hospital Management System

These are the reasons why it is impossible to tell the exact cost when developing a hospital management system.  However, roughly, the cost to develop hospital management software is-

• Basic HMS: $50,000 – $100,000
• Mid-range HMS: $100,000 – $500,000
• Complex HMS: $500,000+

However, do not forget that development costs are not the only cost that needs to be considered. 

There are always new updates that need to be made, new bugs to be fixed, and new functions that need to be incorporated into the system.

Endnote!

Please bear in mind that these are simply estimated ranges so people can get an idea about the amounts involved. The best way to come up with your estimation of the total development cost of the HMS is to talk with developers. They are in a position to advise you on your particular circumstances and as such, give you a better estimate of the actual cost taking into account the factors mentioned above.

Therefore, involving a team of professionals for healthcare software development services not only provides valuable suggestions but also allows you to overcome so many challenges to develop an HMS that provides your patients with the desired efficiency.