Healthcare Industry: Market Research Reports, Statistics and Analysis

Key Market Segments

• The global telemedicine market is expected to record close to 20% yearly growth between 2010 and 2015, according to research from RNCOS. The sector facilitates interactive healthcare through telecommunication and technology. Market expansion is driven by the need to cut costs within the medical sector, ease of penetration and wider availability of equitable healthcare. Increasingly common conditions, such as diabetes, are also fueling telemedicine market growth. The sector benefits from rising private and state sponsorship.

• The global mhealthcare and home monitoring market continues to expand, largely due to patient ease and comfort, cost cutting in the healthcare sector, and technological developments. Berg Insight estimates the number of home monitoring systems with integrated communication capabilities will record 18% yearly growth between 2010 and 2016 to reach almost 5 million connections worldwide. The number of devices with integrated cellular connectivity is forecast to grow at a yearly rate of almost 35% in the five-year period ending 2016 to reach almost 2.5 million. mHealth refers to data services, applications and communications related to mobile health. In addition, mHealthcare and home monitoring are widely used to monitor chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiac arrhythmia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic diseases and hypertension. According to Berg Insight, over 200 million individuals in the US and the EU suffer from one or more diseases for which home monitoring is a suitable option.

• Technological developments within the healthcare sector help to keep costs down and elaborate more suitable methods to monitor and treat medical conditions. The potential for wireless technologies remains vast, as it is relatively new to the market. There were more than two million individuals using home monitoring devices with integrated connectivity at the end of 2011.

• The global regenerative medicine market exceeded $7 billion in 2010, according to RNCOS. This relatively new sector encompasses many disciplines including stem-cell biology, bioengineering, nano-science and tissue engineering. Factors fuelling market growth include higher incidence of degenerative diseases, aging population and technological innovation.

Market Outlook

The global healthcare system is increasingly overburdened, with rising numbers of people suffering from chronic diseases and lifestyle-related conditions. Expenditure continues to grow due to an expanding, and aging, global population. BCC Research points to the role played by universal healthcare coverage in boosting healthcare system efficiency. As budgets tighten and costs rise, technological development is becoming increasingly important, with health practitioners likely to continue making greater use of communications and information technology to treat their patients.

Leading Industry Associations

• American Healthcare Association www.ahcancal.org
• Canadian Healthcare Association www.cha.ca
• National Association for Healthcare Quality www.nahq.org
• European Hospital and Healthcare Federation www.hope.be
• Federation of Healthcare Science www.fedhcs.net
• The Health Industry Council www.healthindustrycouncil.org
• Health Care Industry Council http://leraweb.org