Outlook for telehealth market: Global warming

Revenue for the global telehealth market is expected to grow by 55 percent in 2013 as hospitals work to reduce readmissions and to cost-effectively manage the care of newly insured patients, according to a new report by the market analysis firm InMedica.

Revenue from telehealth devices grew only 5 percent between 2010 and 2011, and 18 percent between 2011 and 2012, even as remote patient monitoring grew, InMedica says in a news release.

The U.S. health-care market was somewhat paralyzed by uncertainty over reform in 2012, according to the report, “Telehealth – An Analysis of Demand Dynamics – 2012 Edition.” The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) identifies telehealth as one of 13 possible models for reducing hospital readmissions, the firm notes.

“For telehealth to succeed in reaching a wider audience, it needs to break out of being a niche market and become part of a comprehensive patient-care model,” said senior InMedica analyst Theo Ahadome. “This is even more important in the post-acute care market where health-care providers are more willing to pay for telehealth if it is part of a total post-acute care model.”

The analysis also found that many health-care providers have not yet found the right mix of tools and software applications to start using telehealth to monitor patients.

InMedica is the medical technology research division of UK-based IMS Research.