mHealth market growth powered by mobile monitoring services

By Judy Mottl, for FierceMobileHealthcare

Mobile monitoring services are a major factor spurring growth in the mHealth market, an industry that is expected to hit projected revenue of more than $49 billion within six years, according to a new Grand View Research report.

The monitoring services sector is cited as the "dominant and fastest growing" market segment, according to an announcement on the report. The mHealth market hit revenue of $1.2 billion in 2012, and Grand View predicts a growth rate of 49.7 percent between 2014 and 2020. North America dominated the global market, according to the report, accounting for 33.5 percent of total revenue in 2012.

Chronic disease management was the largest contributor to the monitoring services market. The market for post acute care services accounted for 19.5 percent of the overall monitoring services revenue in 2012.

The news comes as mobile device makers, mobile tech vendors and carriers roll out new products and services to meet increasing demand for mobile monitoring solutions as healthcare providers are seeking ways to costs while improving patient care.

For example, the number of organizations providing patients and consumers with mobile apps increased 13 percent in the last year, according to the newly released HIMSS Analytics mobile survey.

The Grand View report states mobile operators accounted for 48 percent of the overall mHeath market in 2012, with a majority of revenue originating from monitoring services such as independent aging solutions.

In late 2013 two carriers launched new mobile healthcare services. Verizon was given FDA approval for its Converged Health Management solution, which provides clinicians with access to up-to-date patient data from connected biometric devices. The service lets medical staff more efficiently monitor and manage patients on a remote location basis. Sprint, meanwhile, debuted a new gateway/hub product to support a series of at-home remote monitors for blood pressure, weight, glucose readings, mobility and other vitals. It collects data from the monitors wirelessly and funnels it to the Ideal Life's cloud-based database that is accessible to caregivers and physicians.

Yet, as the report notes, there are legitimate concerns among mobile healthcare technology users regarding data security and privacy of information.

"Quelling credible concerns among users, along with availability of regulatory support is crucial for driving profitability of industry stakeholders," the report's authors say.

For more information:
- read the market analysis report
- here's the accompanying announcement