The adoption of mobile health (mHealth) connected devices, such as blood pressure monitors, pulse oximeters, blood glucose monitors, sleep apnea monitors, multiparameter monitors, and electrocardiogram (ECG) monitors, has surged over the years, on account of the rising prevalence of chronic disorders and easy mobility of these devices. Among the various products, the demand for blood glucose monitors is expected to escalate in the coming years, due to the increasing cases of diabetes. For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that nearly 629 million people will be affected by diabetes by 2045.
These mHealth devices offer benefits like real-time disease management, remote monitoring application, and low cost of care. Healthcare cost is soaring across nursing homes and hospitals, due to the high administrative cost, utilization of expensive drugs and technologies, and overpriced healthcare goods and services. To deal with escalating costs, the healthcare facilities are increasingly focusing on mHealth devices and services. This, in turn, helps the mHealth market to progress at 33.5% CAGR during 2018–2023, and the market is expected to reach $132.2 billion by 2023 from $23.0 billion in 2017.
Furthermore, application of mHealth devices and services has significantly increased, due to the rising penetration of tablets, smartphones, and other mobile platforms, especially in developing countries. Mobile users in these economies are rapidly switching to smartphones, due to the affordability of 3G and 4G spectrums and the increasing adoption of mobile applications. This has led to the high adoption of healthcare apps in these countries. Moreover, advancements in mobile technologies and apps have immense potential to transform mHealth technology.
Besides, the growing focus on patient-centric healthcare service has led to the widespread utilization of connected medical devices and integrated mobile applications. These products assist in home-based diagnostic solutions and patient personal care, as these systems have compound properties, from data capture to visualization. These allow healthcare professionals to diagnose patient through mHealth apps and provide a prescription, in case of any emergency. In addition to diagnostic and consulting services, mHealth technology also offers preventive, treatment, fitness and wellness, and remote monitoring services, which help in strengthening healthcare systems.
In recent years, North America has registered the highest adoption of mHealth connected devices, services, and apps. This can be ascribed to the escalating incidence of chronic and lifestyle-associated ailments, augmenting healthcare spending, growing elderly population, and improving accessibility to connected medical devices. The high populace of the elderly with chronic disorders fuels the demand for remote monitoring devices and several other patient-centric mobile applications. According to the United Nation Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the population of people aged 60 years or above in North America is estimated to reach 122.8 million by 2050.
Major players in the mHealth market, such as Medtronic plc, AirStrip Technologies Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Athenahealth Inc., OMRON Corporation, AgaMatrix Inc., Johnson & Johnson, AliveCor Inc., iHealth Labs Inc., and Cisco Systems Inc., are acquiring related enterprises and entering into partnerships for introducing novel digital health solutions. For example, in March 2018, Koninklijke Philips N.V. partnered with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to expand its connected health ecosystem. The partnership aspires to connect the ARTIK Smart IoT platform of Samsung with the HealthSuite digital platform of Philips.
Thus, the increasing penetration of internet devices and the rising incidence of chronic diseases among the older population will boost the adoption of mHealth devices and apps in the coming years.
