In a recently released study, titled, “Wireless Healthcare: Analysis & Forecasts,” international research firm
Parks Associates predicts that the U.S. market for wireless home-based healthcare applications and services will grow at a five-year cumulative annual growth rate of over 180 percent. This will turn the Wireless Healthcare sector into a $4.4 billion industry in 2013, states the research firm.
Today, healthcare providers are able to deliver services to patients in new and innovative ways with developments in wireless technology and an expanding market for mobile medical devices. This new field has opened up a plethora of opportunities for technology vendors, communications companies and next generation healthcare providers.
According to the Parks Associates (
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Alert) report, the push for healthcare reform from the Obama Administration will push the adoption of wireless technologies in healthcare. The Federal Government recognizes that technology can improve healthcare efficiency and has reserved considerable funding to encourage the same, claims the report.
“Wireless is an important crossover point for the healthcare sector and high-tech industry," said Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates. “Device and service connectivity is the model for future home care applications, and mobile networks will link a growing number of monitoring products to healthcare providers.”
According to the report, mobile carriers will leverage their network resources to target vertical markets like healthcare. This will be achieved through both wholesale and retail partnerships, states the report. According to the report, wireless technologies can benefit home care in areas such as chronic care management, medical diagnostic device monitoring, wellness and fitness applications, and medication management.
Recently, the company
estimated that the number of subscribers worldwide to telco/IPTV (
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Alert) services will reach 40 million by year-end 2009. The company also reported that the number of telco/IPTV households worldwide grew by nearly 80 percent in 2008 to cross 20 million. The growth rate will exceed 50 percent in 2009, states the company. The report, titled “IPTV and the Digital Home,” states that this is due partly to aggressive service provider deployments.
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Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Raju’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Jessica Kostek