Vital signs of the times.
Juniper Research believes the combination of ever smarter mobile devices and sophisticated monitoring systems will transform the m-health space over the next four years.
Its report, first issued last November, estimates about 44m health apps will be downloaded in 2012, rising to 142m in 2016.
This will contribute to a coming revolution in healthcare, wherein patient monitoring by smartphone will outsource more care to the home and reduce costs.
"Remote patient monitoring will step in to reduce the cost burden of unhealthy lifestyles and aging populations," says report author Anthony Cox.
"But 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."
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Other key findings from the report include:
* US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) rulings on which mHealth apps will require FDA approval is still required but is expected to add further impetus to the market.
* Developing markets continue to benefit from SMS-based education programmes and stand to benefit in medium term from app-based healthcare services such as mobile ultrasound that are now being developed
* EHR (electronic health records) have yet to gain significant traction even in developed markets but in the long term will become an important component of mHealth offerings
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