By Telecom
Lead Team: Mobile healthcare and medical App downloads will reach 44 million in
2012, rising to 142 Million in 2016, according to the Juniper Research.

 

The healthcare
peripherals market is growing and increasing smartphone processing power will
result in the number of patients monitored by mobile networks to rise to 3
million by 2016.

 

Developing
markets will continue to benefit from SMS-based education program and stand to
benefit in medium term from app-based healthcare services such as mobile
ultrasound that are now being developed.

The findings
revealed that remote patient monitoring, using the smartphone as a hub, will
also lower the cost of mHealth services by reducing the need for costly
tailored devices.

“Remote
patient monitoring will step in to reduce the cost burden of unhealthy
lifestyles and aging populations,” said report author Anthony Cox.

The
new Juniper report found that the monitoring of cardiac outpatients
is currently leading the field, as insurance reimbursement in the US market
plays a key role.

While remote
patient monitoring is already showing both positive medical outcomes and cost
savings over outpatient care, more trials would still benefit mHealth in order
to further convince the medical establishment of its benefits, said Juniper
Research.

The research
report said that clarification from the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
on which mHealth apps will require FDA approval is still required but is
expected to add further impetus to the market.

A few months
back, Juniper Research said that the combination of the smartphone and the app stores
created a vibrant market for mHealth apps.

Apps already
cover a wide range of mHealth use cases, varying from medical calculators to
monitoring software. However, in time, hardware peripherals attached to the
smartphone will greatly extend the capabilities of these apps, according
to Juniper Research.