Building a Home Health Mobile App from Scratch for Abby Care

Abby Care is a home health provider for children with disabilities or special needs. Abby Care trains family caregivers for certification, develops personalized care plans for each child, and then compensates the caregivers through Medicaid for their services in caring for their child.

In 2024, they recognized the need for a mobile application to better serve their community and extend their reach through digital channels. With a clear vision but needing technical expertise, they turned to Echobind for end-to-end mobile app development.

The Need

Abby Care needed a mobile application, AbbyAid, built from the ground up to allow caregivers to complete daily charting for their child. The organization required a charting flow that included:

1. Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), Biometric authentication, Location tracking, Recording of start and end time of charting
2. Handle dynamic and complex routing depending on the care plan created for the caregiver, and whether the charting is being completed on time or late
3. Integration with Medplum

The project needed to move from concept to reality quickly, requiring both initial development expertise and a commitment to long-term partnership.

The Solution

The team chose React Native with Expo as the technology stack, providing several advantages:

• Cross-platform development: One codebase for both iOS and Android. This also allowed Abby Care’s web developers to contribute to the codebase.
• Rapid development: Expo's toolchain accelerated the development process and publishing to the App Store and Play Store.
• Future-proof architecture: Built-in support for over-the-air updates and easy maintenance

Technical Highlights:

• Built entirely from scratch using React Native + Expo
• Implemented a scalable architecture to support future growth
• Guided the Abby Care team through the App Store and Play Store internal testing processes to getting the app reviewed for publishing

The Outcome

The partnership resulted in:

• A fully functional mobile application from concept to production in two months available in the App Store and Play Store
• Establishment of an ongoing support relationship, demonstrating client satisfaction
• A scalable foundation that allows Abby Care to continue evolving their digital presence
• Seamless knowledge transfer to the Abby Care team to enable them to maintain the codebase going forward

The success of the initial build led to continued engagement, with Abby Care investing in additional development hours after the app had been in production for months to audit, upgrade to the latest Expo version, and expand the application's capabilities.

"We loved working with Echobind, and they left us in a great spot." -- Evaline Bai, Director of Engineering

Why Echobind?

Abby Care chose Echobind for several key reasons:

• Full-stack mobile expertise: Deep knowledge of React Native and Expo enabled rapid, high-quality development
• Healthcare expertise: Having prior experience allowed us to make critical recommendations, and move faster when implementing features like EVV and working with FHIR data standards.
• Collaborative approach: Regular communication and flexibility in scheduling showed commitment to client success
• Long-term partnership mindset: Rather than just building and walking away, Echobind reengaged with Abby Care months later to audit their recent changes and resolve some of their pain points in the codebase
• Professional project management: Clear communication channels and proactive updates kept stakeholders informed throughout the project

This project exemplifies how we take a mobile app from initial concept through development and into successful long-term support, providing clients with both technical excellence and reliable partnership.