Connected Health Market Poised To Explode

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

A recent report from ACT | The App Association predicts growth in the connected health market will cause it to grow to more than $117 billion by 2020.

According to experts at ACT | The App Association, the market for connected health is ready for big growth in the coming years, topping out at $117 billion by 2020. They note much of this growth is due to a greater emphasis likely to be placed on chronic condition management, personal fitness and wellness, and remote patient monitoring.

“Over the next few years, there will be a transition to much more focused products in this space,” ACT Executive Director Morgan Reed told FierceMobileHealthcare in an interview. The study also found 86 percent of clinicians believe mobile apps will be central to patient health in that time frame.

“For chronic care management, devices that interact with an electronic healthcare record will be everything,” Reed says. “Dealing with chronic conditions is all about longitudinal data, not just data from the 15 minutes the doctor sees the patient in the exam room.”

iHealth Beat notes the report found that, when it comes to top app companies:

• 82 percent are located outside of Silicon Valley
• 82 percent are small companies
• 74 percent are based in the U.S.
• 68 percent have vacant positions

This high demand for new connected health technology means demand for software developers and engineers is also growing.

“For care providers who have moved away from fee-for-service payment models, mission specific wearable products — such as devices and apps to help manage diabetes or wearables that help patient’s complete physical therapy for a knee replacement — will be critical,” Reed says.