mHealth apps downloads to reach 142 million in 2016

The number of global downloads of mHealth applications is expected to more than triple to 142 million by 2016, according to a new study published by Juniper Research.

Source: GSMA

The research company added that the number of mobile healthcare and medical app downloads will reach 44 million as soon as 2012. It added that the combination of smartphones and app stores has created a vibrant mHealth market.

Juniper added that there is a need for US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) clarification on which apps require approval as such a move will add further impetus to the market. This is particularly important as the US is seen as the leading market in remote patient monitoring.

"Acceptance of new healthcare practices like remote patient monitoring will come directly from consumers becoming engaged in mHealth through the smartphone," said Anthony Cox, who wrote the report.

The authors noted that future mobile hardware peripherals will greatly extend apps capabilities. They added that application peripherals hardware designed to work with mHealth apps will allow smartphones to become an important portable accessory to the healthcare establishment for both diagnosis and relaying medical data to healthcare staff.

In a separate report, published last week, ABI Research predicted that the sports and health mobile apps market will grow to over $400 million in 2016 from $120 million in 2010.

ABI Research's report, "Mobile Devices and mHealth", estimated that growth will be spurred by the ability of mobile handsets to easily connect to wearable devices that in turn can deliver new functionality, accuracy, and appeal to sports and fitness applications. 

"As applications increasingly become part of a bundle that ships with wearable devices, revenues from mobile applications will lag behind the growth in app downloads," said Jonathan Collins, principal analyst at ABI. "Mobile application downloads will actually grow at nearly twice the rate of revenues between 2010 and 2016, with more than a billion downloads annually by 2016."

Two-thirds of healthcare providers plan to increase mHealth expenditures in 2012

Two-thirds of healthcare providers in the U.S. plan to implement or improve their use of mobile technologies in the next 12 months, according to a new survey conducted by CompTIA.

Source: CompTIA

The report indicated that more than 50 percent of healthcare professionals already use smartphones for their work. 38% of physicians with a smartphone are using medical-related apps on a daily basis and half of them are expected to do so over the next 12 months. At the same time, 25% of healthcare providers are already using tablets and another 21% expect to do so in the coming year.

"While laptop and notebook PCs are commonplace in the medical community, the next wave of mobile adoption is well underway as providers turn to tablets, smartphones and applications to increase productivity and improve patient care," the authors noted.

The report shows that almost one-third of providers use smartphones or tablets to access Electronic Medical Records or Electronic Health Records systems, with 20% expecting to start engaging in this mobile usage within the next year.

While mobile health (mHealth) is on the rise the use of telemedicine solutions remains low, with just 14% of healthcare professionals actively following news and trends in telemedicine and 37% expressing little interest in the topic.

Healthcare providers see the greatest benefits of telemedicine in the areas of continuing medical education (61%), specialist referral services (44%) and patient consultations (37%).

The U.S. helathcare sector employs over 17 million workers. The total healthcare spending will total over $2.7 trillion in 2011, making it the single largest componenet of the U.S. GDP.

GSMA: Asia Pacific mHealth market to rise by 70% to $7 billion by 2017

The Asia Pacific mobile health (mHealth) market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 70 percent to $7 billion in 2017, the GSMA and accounting firm PwC said in a joint report.  

In a report, entitled ‘Mobile Health – Enabling Healthcare’, the two bodies said that mobile health services that represent the largest opportunity across the region are monitoring services (55% market share in 2017) and diagnostic services (24%). 

Source: GSMA & Decisive Media. Photographer: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert

The report indicates that the Chinese mHealth market will be the world's largest in 2017. This will be driven by growth in monitoring and diagnosis that will facilitate the delivery of effective healthcare to a widely spread population who have poor health access.

This trend creates a market opportunity of some $2.4 billion in China, well ahead of other large markets such as Japan ($1.3 billion) and India ($540 million). 

"The figures are in line with our expectations," said Ofer Atzmon, Vice President for Business Development and Marketing at Aerotel Medical Systems. "We have identified Asia and the Pacific in general, and China in particular, as strategic markets and have expended our activities there accordingly".    

Monitoring represents the biggest opportunity in Japan (63% market share) due to the large number of elderly, while diagnostics represents the biggest opportunity (67%) in India as most Indians live in rural areas. 

“Mobile health is a prime example of how mobile operators can leverage existing platforms and technology to provide innovative services to connect people throughout Asia Pacific,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. 

“Asia Pacific’s predicted growth in connected devices, through an array of applications, means that the region is on the threshold of radically transforming the lives of its consumers, professionally and personally. To make the Connected Life ubiquitous, it’s vital that the mobile industry works with key adjacent industries in the region, including healthcare,” added O’Hara. 

Aerotel to showcase a personal GPS location mHealth device at Medica 2011

Aerotel Medical Systems will present a variety of remote monitoring and mobile health (mHealth) solutions at Medica 2011 in Dusseldorf, Germany on November 16-19, 2011 at Hall 9, Stand C01.

Aerotel intends to present its innovative GeoSkeeper, a personal wireless GPS location and tracking device, at Medica, which is the world largest medical trade fair.

GeoSkeeper offers a new level of safety beyond existing PERS (Personal Emergency Response System) and traditional social alarm systems. The GeoSkeeper is expected to soon receive the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Certification, paving the way for further strengthening of Aerotel's position in the lucrative US market.

In a newly designed booth in Medica, Aerotel will also showcase the Connect-CELL telehealth homecare hub, which was recently awarded by Connected World Magazine the prestigious gold Value Chain Award in the home health category. The Connect-CELL hub is part of Aerotel's e-CliniQ system, which is one of the most cost-effective home telehealth solutions available today with proven clinical and economical benefits.

“Since Medica 2010, we've expended our presence in Asia, the Pacific and Eastern Europe,” said David Rubin, Aerotel Medical Systems President and CEO. “Medica 2011 will provide us with an excellent opportunity to present our cutting edge solutions to those who are not familiar with them yet.”

With more than 4,560 exhibitors and 116,000 square meters of floor space, Medica 2011 is considered as the leading event for in the medical industry. Two thirds of the exhibitors this year are from outside Germany and more than 60 countries will be represented at the fair.