Mobile Healthcare: Markets and Trends for M-health Applications

The use of mobile communications to support health services is a growing global trend. M-health - as it is commonly referred to - promises cost-efficiencies and improved health outcomes with a dizzying array of services beyond the humble appointment reminder. The explosion of mobile broadband and the promise of high data speeds with LTE make high bandwidth applications for remote monitoring and diagnosis an exciting value proposition. The market potential is significant, but can only be realised once a myriad of questions surrounding market fragmentation, technology, regulation and value chain partnerships are resolved.

Philippa Hobbs, Business Research Executive, Informa Telecoms & Media

The rise in global healthcare expenditure, declining staff and hospital bed numbers, an aging population and growing incidence of chronic illness such as heart disease and diabetes is driving healthcare provision out of hospitals and into homes.

M-health - healthcare supported by mobile and wireless technologies - is no longer seen as a costly non-essential but an enabler of cost-effective care and better overall health outcomes. Public and private healthcare providers are beginning to implement mobile solutions in voice and data communications to improve service access and efficiency, and their demand for wireless monitoring solutions for ongoing care outside the hospital is driving M2M innovation in healthcare products by operators and vendors.