Mobile Healthcare Industry Steadily Growing, though Still in Early Stages
By Deborah Hirsch, TMCnet Contributor
Mobile healthcare has increased exponentially, according to a recent report by Global Information (News - Alert), which announced that the smartphone application market for mobile healthcare “increased by a factor of 7 to reach $718 million in 2011.”
But the research firm also cautioned that the mHealth market “is still in an embryonic state.” However, no one can argue that the market potential is not enormous (with an overall worldwide healthcare market size of $ 6 trillion, as estimated by the World Health Organization).
Two issues have driven the growth, according to GII. First is the increase in smartphone users. But as important, or even more, the number of mHealth applications has doubled, reports the company’s research2guidance's new Mobile Health Market Report 2011-2016.
Apps range from helping diabetics control their disease, to ways to monitor wellness and chronic conditions, to providing health information in Kenya.
GII attributes the “advent of the ‘app economy’ to this new and exciting way to interactively communicate with doctors, patients, and the marketplace itself. The company notes that “this ‘Smartphone Applications Market Phenomena’” has proliferated in many industries and healthcare is just one of the many now climbing on the bandwagon, thanks to all the new apps to help keep people healthy.
GII notes that mHealth can play a great role in improving both healthcare delivery and the dissemination of medical information and is increasing so much in importance for both doctors and patients because it can be used anywhere you go to communicate with others.
Interestingly, a recent report from Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) reports that, “in 2015 the market for mobile health applications will be about $100 million bigger than the market for remote patient monitoring,” according to a story by Chris Gullo.
Gullo reports that Frost estimates that mobile health apps will soar to $392 million in 2015, while remote patient monitoring will only hit $294.9 million.
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Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM (News
- Alert) in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by Juliana Kenny
