Mobile Health Market, Digital Healthcare Technology Expands
- The mobile health market is not slowing down anytime soon. As previously reported by mHealthIntelligence.com, major revolutionary technological advancements are causing the mobile health market to expand. Whether it’s smartwatches, remote monitoring tools, smartphones and tablets, or wearable devices, the sheer volume of technologies as well as applications within the industry shows that it’s expected to continue growing.
For example, physicians can actually view real-time patient data when the patients are located at home by connecting their tablets and smartphones to heart rate monitors or glucose tracking technologies.
The higher use of mHealth apps and mobile devices among consumers is also leading to a rise for the mobile health market. The results from a Grand View report shows that the mobile health market is actually predicted to expand at a CAGR of 47.6 percent from 2014 to 2020.
The digital healthcare sector is seeing a significant advancement as well, which is detailed in the latest report from management consulting company Accenture. In particular, there has been an ongoing rise in digital healthcare start-up funding.
“Pressures on the US healthcare system coupled with evolving consumer expectations have fueled the appetite for funding of digital healthcare startups and have ushered in a new era of industry innovation. A digital disruption in healthcare is being played out, as witnessed by the emergence of new business models and technology offerings,” the report stated. “Opportunities to ‘fix’ the US healthcare system will continue to accelerate start-up funding and the digital disruption. Accenture research estimates that digital health funding will double in the next three years, growing to $6.5 billion by 2017.”
Essentially, growth in the digital health field is expected to triple by 2018. The report forecasts that digital health will have a 30 percent annual growth rate from 2014 to 2018. There are five specific areas that are leading to more funding within the digital health space. These are: (1) medical care system waste, (2) the abundance of wearables and positioning of digital technology within physical objects, (3) innovative investment models, (4) revolutionary start-ups within the industry, and (5) societal encouragement.
With regard to the funding within the health IT industry, the majority is going toward improving infrastructure in order to push forward greater interoperability and health data analytics capabilities. It is estimated that $2.9 billion are being put toward strengthening the infrastructure of digital health technologies.
Patient engagement solutions are also seeing a rise in investment with $2.6 billion being put toward wearables and incentive programs meant to increase patient use of portals and other devices. Remote monitoring and diagnosis are also part of the overall growth of funding within the digital health field.
“In these rapidly changing times in healthcare, we will need agile technology to adapt and succeed,” President of the American Medical Association Dr. Robert M. Wah stated in a press release. “To harness these capabilities, physicians are leading new approaches for delivery and payment of medical services, and challenging regulatory barriers holding back the promise of information technology in health care.”
“When physicians, policymakers, vendors and technology innovators work together, the power of technology can enhance patient care, improve productivity and efficiency and slow the rise in health care costs.”