How We Optimized a Healthcare Startup App for Speed and Cost Efficiency

Helfie operates in the digital healthcare space, striving to make preventative healthcare accessible to all 8 billion+ people worldwide. Their platform allows users to engage in proactive health management through AI-driven diagnostics and mobile solutions.

Problem Statement

Helfie faced significant operational and technical challenges with the initial version of its digital healthcare platform and mobile app. The system’s architecture made it costly to modify, difficult to scale, and slow to update, hindering the company's ability to deliver new features efficiently.

Key Challenges

1. High Infrastructure Costs & Scalability Issues:

   • The backend platform ran on a large Kubernetes cluster that lacked the ability to scale down, leading to excessive operational expenses.

   • The system relied on a sizable database, adding to the infrastructure costs and maintenance overhead.

2. Slow Release Cycles & Business Impact:

   • The inability to quickly implement changes and push updates hindered innovation and market responsiveness.

   • Delays in feature deployment and bug fixes frustrated customers, leading to increased churn.

   • Competitors with faster release cycles had a competitive advantage in the healthcare technology space.

3. Inefficient Mobile Development Approach:

   • The mobile app had separate native applications for iOS and Android, requiring parallel development efforts for every update.

   • This structure made it slow and costly to roll out new features and bug fixes across both platforms.

4. Regulatory & Compliance Risks:

   • Operating in the healthcare industry, Helfie needed to maintain strict compliance with data privacy and security regulations.

   • Inefficiencies in development led to mounting technical debt and operational slowdowns, increasing the risk of non-compliance.

Previous Attempts to Solve the Problem

Helfie sought a technology partner to help them address these issues, but previous attempts were unsuccessful due to high costs of proposed solutions and inability of past partners to deliver a scalable and efficient architecture.

Project Goals & Objectives

To overcome these challenges, Helfie aimed to:

• Improve feature delivery speed across all mobile devices.

• Reduce operational costs by optimizing backend infrastructure.

• Enhance scalability to accommodate future growth.

• Ensure compliance with healthcare data security regulations.

Scope & Technical Requirements

The new solution needed to:

• Integrate new AI models into the mobile application seamlessly.

• Use a serverless architecture (Function as a Service) for backend scalability.

• Adopt Flutter for mobile app development to support both iOS and Android with a single codebase.

By addressing these issues, Helfie sought to streamline development, cut costs, and improve user experience, ensuring they could keep up with industry demands and maintain a competitive edge.

Solution & Implementation

To address Helfie’s scalability, cost, and efficiency challenges, the development team implemented a modernized tech stack and optimized processes that enabled faster feature releases, reduced infrastructure costs, and improved overall system performance.

Technology Stack & Architecture

To improve scalability, cost-effectiveness, and development speed, the following technologies were selected:

• Backend: Python, Google Cloud Functions and AWS API Gateway (serverless architecture)

• Database: MongoDB

• APIs: RESTful API for efficient communication

• Mobile Development: Flutter (cross-platform framework for iOS & Android)

• Infrastructure: Google Cloud and AWS for secure and scalable backend operations

This serverless, cloud-based architecture allowed Helfie to reduce operational costs significantly while ensuring rapid scaling based on real-time demand.

Key Challenges and Solutions

1. Backend Optimization & Database Refactoring

   • Challenge: The existing backend had scalability and performance limitations due to its dependence on Kubernetes and a large database.

   • Solution: Migrated to Google Cloud Functions (serverless architecture), reducing infrastructure overhead and enabling cost-effective, auto-scaling capabilities.

2. Mobile App Development Overhaul

   • Challenge: Maintaining separate native iOS and Android apps was slowing down development and increasing costs.

   • Solution: Adopted Flutter, a single codebase solution that allowed the team to deploy simultaneous updates on both platforms, cutting development time in half.

3. API Redesign for Better Performance

   • Challenge: The GraphQL API needed a performance overhaul to support seamless AI model integration and faster data retrieval.

   • Solution: Redesigned the API, optimizing response times and improving the app’s ability to handle real-time AI-powered healthcare diagnostics.

Timeline & Milestones

To overcome these challenges, Helfie aimed to:

• Total Project Duration: 6 months

• Key Deliverables:

  • Fully functional Flutter-based mobile app (iOS & Android)

  • AI model integration for enhanced healthcare diagnostics

  • Optimized backend APIs running on Google Cloud Functions

Despite the complexity of refactoring the existing system, the project was delivered on schedule, with no major delays encountered.

The Impacts

The implementation of a scalable, cost-effective, and efficient development framework significantly improved Helfie’s release speed, user experience, and operational costs. By transitioning to serverless architecture and a unified mobile development approach, the company achieved faster time-to-market, reduced expenses, and higher user satisfaction.

Measurable Outcomes

1.  Accelerated Feature Delivery:

   • Prior to the transformation, deploying new features and bug fixes was slow and costly.

   • After optimizing the backend architecture and mobile development process, new features were released every 1-2 weeks, which was times faster compared to the previous long development cycles.

2. Enhanced User Experience (UX) & Reduced Churn:

   • Frequent updates ensured faster bug fixes and UI enhancements, resulting in a smoother user experience.

   • Shorter feedback loops allowed real-time improvements, directly addressing user concerns and preventing churn.

   • With a more responsive platform, Helfie strengthened its competitive position in the digital healthcare market.

3. Substantial Cost Savings & Improved Scalability:

   • Moving from Kubernetes to a serverless, pay-as-you-go model eliminated unnecessary infrastructure costs.

   • With Google Cloud Functions, the system dynamically scaled based on demand, optimizing both performance and cost-efficiency.

   • Helfie achieved significant reductions in operational expenses, allowing resources to be reallocated to innovation and growth.

   • Faster access to patient records

   • Reduced duplication of data entry

   • Automated compliance reporting, saving administrative time

Exceeding Client Expectations

Helfie not only met but exceeded its initial goals:

• Speed & efficiency: Faster development cycles ensured a continuous flow of innovations.

• Cost reduction: The shift to serverless computing significantly lowered infrastructure expenses.

• Business growth: With improved user satisfaction and retention, Helfie positioned itself for sustainable scaling.

By overcoming the technical and operational barriers that previously limited agility, Helfie successfully transformed its digital healthcare platform, ensuring long-term scalability, cost-effectiveness, and a superior user experience. 

Client Feedback