Digital healthcare market

Digital healthcare is the use of technologies such as telemedicine, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled medical devices, and blockchain electronic health records to offer better healthcare service to patients.

The global digital healthcare market is estimated to be valued at US$ 3,963.3 million in 2021 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 13.7% over the forecast period (2021-2028).

Recent Developments:

Companies are collaborating for expanding digital healthcare which can be attributed to the market growth. For instance, in December 2020, EMEA Edison Accelerator, a new start-up accelerator programme was launched in EMEA. The programme was launch in collaboration with GE Healthcare and Wayra UK, a pioneer of corporate innovation. The accelerator programme focused on applying artificial intelligence (AI) to several verticals of healthcare sector such as operational AI in oncology, medical imaging and for improving patient experience.

In addition, governments in several region are focusing on launching initiatives for promoting and implementing AI in healthcare sector which is further driving the market growth. For instance, in August 2021, the Government of India planned to launch a special incentives scheme for supporting start-ups in areas of telemedicine, digital health, and artificial intelligence (AI). Moreover, the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) has funded over US$ 280 million for around 1,500 healthcare startups, enterprises, and small businesses.

Furthermore, the emergence of new players in digital healthcare will further boost the growth of digital healthcare market over the forecast period. For instance, in April 2021, K Health, Anthem and Blackstone Growth launched a joint venture that will harness artificial intelligence tools for bringing new digital health offerings to the consumers.

North America held dominant position in the global digital healthcare market in 2020, accounting for 53.0% share in terms of volume, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific, respectively. The increasing collaboration between companies situated in North America is contributing to the growth of digital healthcare market in the region. For instance, in July 2021, Cognizant collaborated with Philips for the development of end-to-end digital health solutions to enable life sciences companies and healthcare organizations in improving patient care and accelerate clinical trials.

Figure 1. Global Digital Healthcare Market Value (US$ Mn), by Region, 2020

Global Digital Healthcare Market: Drivers

Adoption of digital printing processes is expected to propel growth of the global digital healthcare market over the forecast period. For instance, in September 2019, Waldorf Technik, a subsidiary of the Hahn Group, demonstrated a newly developed automation system that allows molders of disposable syringes to print directly on cylinders using the system’s digital printing processes, at K Trade Fair 2019.

Moreover, adoption of deep-learning is also expected to aid in growth of the market. For instance, in December 2018, iCAD, Inc. announced U.S. FDA clearance for its deep-learning, cancer detection software solution for digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), ProFound AI.

Global Digital Healthcare Market: Opportunities

The rapid adoption of digital health services across the world will create new opportunities for the market growth. For instance, based on March 2021 published report by ISG Provider Lens, concluded that the U.S. healthcare industry had rapid adoption of digital services for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, hence accelerating the adoption of digital healthcare solutions.

Market Trends

Government initiatives to digitalize healthcare are boosting growth of the global digital healthcare market. For instance, in March 2020, the Russia’s Federation Council and Parliament drafted a bill to digitalize healthcare to boost medical care, especially during the coronavirus outbreak.

Moreover, increasing penetration of internet is also expected to aid in growth of the market. For instance, according to China government-backed Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute and reported by China Internet Watch, internet penetration in China reached 61.2 percent in the first half of 2019, with 854 million internet users at the end of June 2019.

The market is witnessing use of digital solution for composing disease registries. For instance, in December 2019, ESO, a data and software company, acquired Digital Innovation, Inc., a service software solutions provider. The company also partnered with DICORP for development in trauma registry.

Figure 2. Global Digital Healthcare Market Share, By Component, 2020

Key Takeaways:

• Among component, software is expected to hold dominant position in the market and accounted for 52.9% share in the global digital healthcare market in 2020. The segment is expected to reach US$ 3,643.5 million in 2028.
• The launch of new products is expected to drive the market growth of software over the forecast period. For instance, in September 2020, KareXpert, launched a SaaS-based commercial model with Cloud Gateway for the medical equipment such as radiology devices and IoT devices connectivity to the platform directly.

Global Digital Healthcare Market: Restraints

Concerns regarding security and privacy of data are expected to hinder growth of the market. For instance, SonicWall, an internet security company, recorded a 275% year-on-year increase in encrypted threats and a 229% rise in ransomware attacks in 2018.

Moreover, lack of transparency in data usage from healthcare facilities is also expected to limit the market growth.

Global Digital Healthcare Market: Competitive Landscape

Major players operating in the global digital healthcare market include, IBM Corporation, CGI Group Inc., Accenture PLC, Deloitte LLP, AT&T Inc., PWC LLP, GE Healthcare Limited, and Syntel Inc.

Global Digital Healthcare Market: Key Developments

Major players in the market are focused on supporting the life sciences industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, in June 2020, ConvergeHEALTH by Deloitte announced to waive all licensing fees for MyPath for Clinical for current COVID-19 related clinical trials and any current clinical trial impacted by COVID-19 in order to support the life sciences industry facing challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major players in the market are also focused on launching new products to expand their product portfolio. For instance, in April 2020, GE Healthcare launched Mural Virtual Care Solution, a remote patient data monitoring technology to help clinicians support most critical covid-19 patients across the health system.

Major players in the market are focused on adopting collaboration and partnership strategies to enhance their market share. For instance, in September 2019, Accenture collaborated with Bayer to implement the Accenture INTIENT Clinical platform to help simplify and speed its drug development processes.