Skip to main content

Healthcare Firms will Invest in New Software Apps

The digital health industry, as a concept, can be seen as the intersection of several industries -- the healthcare industry itself, the consumer electronics industry, the mobile industry and the broader IT industry, required for the establishment of EHRs (Electronic Health Records), for example.

Though the healthcare sector has been in existence for hundreds of years, it is often accused of being very slow to adapt to the apparent market needs and technology advances outside of the medical profession.

However forces acting upon it now, such as the increase in the proportion of the population who are of retirement age, are prompting a rethink as to how healthcare should be addressed. Many initiatives and concepts, such as accountable care, will need a modern digitized infrastructure to succeed.

Healthcare focused smartphone interfaces launched by Samsung and Apple will be instrumental in propelling the global healthcare accessory hardware market to $3 billion by 2019, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research.


The findings from their global study uncovered that greater visibility and availability of healthcare smartphone platforms will encourage independent device manufacturers to launch a wider array of increasingly sophisticated mHealth products. Such devices include blood pressure cuffs, oximeters for diabetes and sleep monitors for sleep apnoea.

However, they also observed that although Apple’s HealthKit and Samsung’s SAMI (Samsung Architecture for Multimodal Interactions) user interfaces will popularize consumer digital health, they could also impact the opportunity for bespoke remote patient monitoring devices.

"As health platforms support more ‘medical’ devices, rather than just today’s fitness trackers, they will usurp the territory occupied by chronic disease monitoring companies," said Anthony Cox, associate analyst at Juniper Research.

Juniper also notes that, driven by aging populations and increased chronic disease incidence in America, ObamaCare is bringing about a re-think in how healthcare needs should be addressed, with the medical profession increasingly considering the role of digital health.

This transformation will occur in several ways including:
  • Healthcare companies investing in major digital healthcare players such as Epocrates and AirStrip;
  • Advanced EHR (Electronic Health Records) becoming the ‘glue’ to create wider digital health ecosystems; and,
  • Regulatory authorities embracing the role of digital health and imposing less stringent regulatory obligations on digital health companies

Juniper also found that despite a more positive outlook for the digital health industry’s future, widespread, well-documented trials are still needed to galvanize the adoption of remote patient monitoring projects. Furthermore questions remain over how digital healthcare projects will be reimbursed.

Popular posts from this blog

Virtual Reality Market Set to Reach $100 Billion

Virtual Reality (VR) market growth is now finally coming to fruition. Thanks to current actions and market momentum, VR is approaching what can be considered critical mass. And, not a moment too soon. This growth momentum comes from new hardware and content releases, accelerating enterprise value recognition, and a significant metaverse wild card that could potentially lift adoption and usage. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, over 85 million VR Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) will be shipped in 2027 across consumer and enterprise segments, creating a $100 billion VR market that includes hardware, software, and services. Virtual Reality Market Development "Expectations have been high in VR for years, and even decades, without notable growth to show. That growth is finally coming over the next five years," said Eric Abbruzzese, research director at ABI Research . The barrier to entry is lower than ever, all while content performance and user experien

Human Resource Transformation Enabled by IT

Many senior executives are taking a proactive approach to digital business transformation in order to achieve their strategic goals. Delivering revenue growth and profitability is now imperative for every function, including Human Resources (HR). The top 3 priority HR technologies this year are skills management, learning experience platforms, and internal talent marketplaces, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. "With a tumultuous global economy, HR technology leaders face a balancing act in 2023," said Sam Grinter, director at Gartner . "Leaders must anticipate greater levels of accountability and demand for measurable outcomes to justify new technology investments." HR Transformation Market Development Forty-four percent of HR leaders report driving better business outcomes is their number one strategic priority for HR technology transformation over the next three years. Growth in headcount and skills (26 percent) and cost optimization (17 p

How Savvy Pioneers Lead the Future of Work

Hybrid and fully remote work are inevitable in the Global Networked Economy where high-performance talent demands flexibility from employers. To enable these progressive work models, organizations are investing in a wide range of technologies to support more agile types of employment.  According to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), leading organizations will spend nearly $1 billion on the Future of Work (FoW) in 2023 -- that's an increase of 18.8 percent over 2022. Future of Work Market Development "Work models continue to evolve, but 37 percent of decision-makers in a recent global survey note that Remote and Hybrid work models will be an embedded part of accepted work practices, supported by a continued shift to the cloud, increasingly instrumented and interconnected physical workplaces, and intelligent digital workspaces," said Holly Muscolino, group vice president at IDC . According to the IDC assessment, organizations must mak