Increasing Aging World Population to Expand Digital Health Market

The global digital health market was valued at USD 85 billion in 2017 and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 23.8 percent from 2018–2026. The digital health is broad term that takes many different platforms under its umbrella such as telehealth, health information system (EHR/EMR) and more recent mHealth platforms and data analytics. Digital health platforms take into account the patient centric approach rather than healthcare provider centric approach. Most importantly this platform makes healthcare accessible and affordable with available healthcare labor force. With rising prevalence of chronic disease and need for their effective monitoring digital health platforms proves to be obliging medium. Global shortage of healthcare providers would major impetus for the growth of digital health market.

According to the World Health Organization factsheet in 2013, there would be shortage of 13 million healthcare professionals by 2025 from 7 million in 2013. Around 83 countries worldwide will be unable to maintain threshold of 23 skilled health professionals per 10,000 people. Digital health platform could provide solutions to such shortage by promoting telehealth platform that would allow remote diagnostic and monitoring facilities to patients. Digital health platforms could be beneficial for rural population where access to healthcare is limited especially in emerging countries such as India etc. Healthcare gaps in developing countries from Latin America and Asia-Pacific would provide positive prospects in digital health market. This is also due to fact that healthcare operations are still paper based with diminished efficiency. Therefore, these developing countries could directly leapfrog towards cloud based digital health platforms in the near future.

Other factors that would aid growth for the digital health market are aging population, new technologies in digital health, larger penetration of smartphones and increased government funding for health care services. Key players are also undertaking strategic acquisitions in order to expand their product offering and geographic presence in different regions across the globe. For instance, in August 2017, Allscripts announced to acquire McKesson Corporation’s hospital and health system IT business and Enterprise Information Solutions for USD 185 million in cash. GE Healthcare, in March 2017, acquired Monica Healthcare with which company obtained fetal monitor technology. This technology comprises blue tooth connected device that monitors both fetal and maternal heart rate and uterine activity. In May 2018, Allscripts acquired HealthGrid Holding Company. This acquisition would result into expansion of the Allscript’s FollowMyHealth platform which is the company’s patient engagement solution focused on connecting consumers with providers.

In January 2018, Allscripts announced to acquire Practice Fusion. Practice Fusion offers an affordable cloud-based Electronic Health Record (EHR) for small, independent physician practices. Through this acquisition Allscripts is expected to expand its big data insights and health analytics, data sharing technologies, and clinical trial solutions. Key players are engaged in the launching of new innovative digital health platform that would result into better in efficiency in healthcare operations. For instance, in March 2018, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions launched its new electronic health record (EHR) system named Avenel, at the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference at Las Vegas in the US. Avenel is a mobile first and cloud based platform that creates a community-wide shared patient record. It uses machine learning to reduce time for clinical documentation and is designed to work like an app instead of traditional software. – Coherent Market Insights