Apple And Samsung Leading Smartphone Health Integration

By Megan Williams, contributing writer

A report from hi-tech analyst house, Juniper Research, has named Apple and Samsung as leaders in the global healthcare accessory market — a segment that's projected to grow to $3 billion by 2019. It provides insights into device and app development, as well as market characteristics that will be of interest to any solutions provider looking to make smart business development decisions over the next few years.

The report, titled "Digital Health: Remote Monitoring, Smart Accessories & EHR Cost Savings 2014-2019" suggests that the dismal state of healthcare apps could actually be mediated through increased visibility and availability of smartphone platforms. It's assumed that increases in these areas will result in a wider array of more sophisticated mobile health products, including blood pressure cuffs, oximiters (for diabetic patients) and sleep monitors for those who suffer from sleep apnea. 

The 28-page report contains two chapters of information covering the four main areas of

• EHR (electronic health records)
• Analytics and Big Data
• Health Management and Healthcare Consumer Engagement
• Wearables, Biosensing, and Digital Medical Devices

It also includes 22 forecast tables covering breakdowns of the digital health market including,

• Smartphone Installed Base, World Population
• Smartphones using mHealth Accessories, App-Enabled mHealth Accessories Purchased, Average Retail Value per mHealth Hardware Accessory
• Number of Individuals in Need of Long-Term Healthcare, Proportion of Individuals Adopting Remote Patient Monitoring (Cardiac Outpatients and Chronic Disease Patients), Revenues from Cardiac Outpatient and Chronic Disease Monitoring
• Proportion of Individuals with an EHR, Gross & Net EHR Implementation Cost-Savings, Implementation & Ongoing Admin Costs

Threat To Customization

The report notes that despite the benefits of the two companies entering the sector, innovation might come with a price. Apple's HealthKit and Samsung's SAMI (Samsung Architecture for Multimodal Interactions) will undoubtedly popularize consumer digital health, but they also hold the possibility of discouraging bespoke remote patient monitoring devices. Author Anthony Cox notes that, "As health platforms support more ‘medical' devices, rather than just today's fitness trackers, they will usurp the territory occupied by chronic disease monitoring companies."

Opportunity From The ACA

The report also acknowledges the impact of the Affordable Care Act and its effects on how the medical profession engages with digital health in tackling patient needs. It sees the impact manifesting itself in multiple ways, including,

• Increased investment from healthcare companies in major digital players
• Advanced EHR becoming an integral part of health ecosystems
• A loosening of regulatory obligations on digital health companies as a result of authorities embracing the role of digital health the in the broader healthcare landscape.

The full report is available for purchase here.