Nobody’s perfect, but your healthcare app can be. 

Before we begin, let us just bust a myth for you. 

QA automation does not reduce the need for manual testing/testers. You still need them to carry out tests and analyze the results. 

Healthcare app automated QA testing simply reduces unnecessary human efforts with predefined workflows, saving lots of time and money especially if you are a startup in the healthcare industry.

What is Automated QA Testing? Why Does Your Healthcare App Need It?

Quality Assurance is a part of the application/software development life cycle (ADLC)/(SDLC).

Using automated testing tools to run tests on your healthcare application being developed and report on results is healthcare app QA automation.

But, why exactly does your healthcare app need automated QA?

Even though the application belongs to a niche market and is not meant for generic usage, it needs a significant focus on software quality in the healthcare business.

The reason behind it is the growing user demand, high R&D expenses, as well as, rigorous laws

Traditionally, in healthcare app development the testing process and coding were treated separately, but with automated QA it is easier to solve problems as you go along.

Benefits of QA automation for your healthcare app: 

• It saves time by eliminating the need to write extensive test scripts manually.

• Without the need for manual input, the tests can run for as long as you want, giving you thorough quality checks. 

• The reports created are detailed and provide the software tester with information such as scripts performed, planned, bugs identified and repaired, and so on.

• Because GUI testing is time-consuming and consists of repetitive tasks for the application tester, automated testing is ideal for user environment simulation.

• Automated QA increases the ROI by keeping costs low and making project delivery faster.

Case study: How did we test the telemedicine app 5X faster?

QA Tests that are Automated for Efficient Delivery in your Healthcare App

As one of the best QA engineers in the Canadian healthcare industry, we suggest you prioritize the tests that will run often during the app development process.

Thus, freeing up the team to do some more advanced stuff as the most basic tests are now automated.

Types of QA tests you should automate for your healthcare app: 

• Unit tests

As unit testing is detailed enough to pinpoint an issue, it aids in bug detection. 

Debugging is also straightforward since just the most recent modifications must be corrected when a test fails. 

Defects are generally corrected as soon as they are discovered as it involves testing individual units of the application. 

They are one of the simplest QA tests to automate since they are frequently developed by the same programmers that built the code for the unit.

• Regression test

Regression tests are used to ensure that a recent modification to the program or code did not have a detrimental effect on the app's current functionalities.

It essentially implies re-running functional and non-functional tests as a final check before releasing the product. 

• Smoke tests

Also known as built verification testing, it is used to check the stability of the built application.

This further assessment is used by developers to fix the problems then and there to ensure applications functions work correctly and can be automated.

The automation in smoke testing can save developers time and help them focus on more important tasks in healthcare app development rather than rectifying errors again and again. 

• Integration tests

Integration tests examine several components at the same time to determine how the application functions as a whole or how it interacts with hardware. 

As an example, you have a medicine delivery healthcare app. It would check whether your medicine delivery app sends a confirmation message or email to the customer when they make a purchase. 

• Performance tests

It is used to check the stability, speed, and reliability of your app under a specific workload- like the app being used by multiple people at the same time. 

If your healthcare app is used in a hospital environment, you wouldn't want the application to hang and stop caregivers from doing their work because that delay might cost someone’s life. 

With automation testing, a single software tool will execute the laborious task, saving lots of time and money that you would’ve spent on manpower.

• Data-driven tests

Healthcare apps work with data that is made up of specific patient details such as names, phone numbers, and birth dates.

The time-consuming procedure of filling each piece of data frequently results in smaller data sets or mistakes during test execution.

By adding data-driven automated testing into your application, you can speed up the generation of test data, build bigger data sets, and apply these data sets to multiple test runs.

A List of QA Testing Tools that Our QA Testers Recommend for Your Healthcare App Automated QA Testing

With the abundant number of tools available in the market, you should know which tool is best for your healthcare app QA testing. 

Since we have been catering to only healthcare-specific IT solutions, our team of QA experts has listed some tools that you can use or we can assist you in using for testing. 

Proprietary QA testing tools: 

• Selenium:

This is the most popular QA automation tool, providing a single interface that lets you write test scripts in various programming languages like Ruby, Java, NodeJS, PHP, Perl, Python, and C#.

It supports automated testing of web applications across different platforms and browsers.

• Load Runner:

This tool is used for load and performance testing of healthcare apps.

It helps you identify performance bottlenecks and analyze the behavior of your app under heavy load.

• JIRA:

It is a widely used tool to track bugs, check management functions (non-medical features), track issues, and overall project deliverables.

You can even use it to monitor project progress and collaborate with your team.

• HPE Unified Functional Testing:

This tool is used for functional testing of healthcare web and mobile apps.

• SoapUI Pro:

This commercial version of SoapUI is widely used as an API testing tool.

It includes load and compliance testing, making it a comprehensive solution for testing REST and SOAP APIs.

Open source QA testing tools:

• SoapUI:

This tool is widely used as an API testing tool for REST and SOAP APIs that follow HL7 FHIR standards.

It supports automated testing of APIs and includes features such as load testing and compliance testing.

• Appium:

This tool is used for automated testing of native healthcare web/mobile apps.

It supports testing of both Android and iOS apps and includes features such as mobile gestures and device emulation.

• JMeter:

This tool is used for load and performance testing of web applications.

• Android monitor:

Healthcare data sets are huge.

This utility of Android Studio checks the memory utilization of healthcare apps on Android platforms.

• Instruments:

This tool is used to check the memory utilization of healthcare apps on iOS platforms.

• TestNG:

This testing framework is used for unit, functional, and integration testing of Java applications.

It supports the testing of web and mobile applications.

• Robot Framework:

This testing framework is used for acceptance testing and acceptance test-driven development (ATDD).

It supports the testing of different types of applications, including web, mobile, and desktop.

Our other useful resources:

How to build an app like GoodRx?

How to develop a healthcare search engine like Clinia?

Get Rewards of QA Automation With Us on Your Healthcare App/Software 

Based in Ontario with 8+ years of experience in healthcare app design, development, and QA; we have worked with numerous startups, businesses, organizations, and individuals hailing from the healthcare industry. 

If you want to make sure that your healthcare app is bug-free and delivers the best user experience to your customers, we would be happy to help you develop your healthcare app with the aid of our expert team of QA engineers.

Also, do not forget to take a look at our recent study on Healthcare QA for further understanding and learning.