The explosion of digital health usage is attracting a new class of entrepreneurs dedicated to solving large-scale problems to improve the delivery of healthcare in the industry. With money pouring into digital health startups, venture capitalists are still chomping at the bit, seeing a win-win situation with great profits and help for the public sector in discovering the cause and prevention of many illnesses. New developments and startups are still arriving on the scene with no evidence of a let up in the immediate future.
Rock Health issued a report highlighting Business Models in Digital Health where they found that consumers are eager to spend $14 billion dollars on digital health technology products. Digital health accelerators such as Rock Health, Blueprint Health, NY Digital Health, and others devoted to providing seed capital, mentorship, and partnerships.
There are to date more than 2000 health apps that can be downloaded and used on smart devices from computers, iPads and iPhones.
Remote patient monitoring and telehealth has made each personal home, the new hospital to address the problem of an increasing population of seniors, overcrowded emergency rooms and spiraling healthcare costs.
The remote patient monitoring market is expected to double by 2016 to $20.9 billion. Expect to see the adoption of wireless patient-monitoring devices, such as blood pressure monitors and glucose meters, to transmit patient data between different locations using wireless networks increase which will interface with the electronic health record systems located in the cloud, hospitals and physical offices.
Various new models of care will evolve along with an increase in patient- centered Medical Homes, ACOs, to interact with patients in ways that augment quality, slash costs, and enhance the overall healthcare experience.
Where do you see Healthcare IT over the next year? What are some of our key challenges?
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