SOURCE:Â Kalorama Information
The growing number of healthcare professionals utilizing mobile phone medical applications or “apps” in everyday business activities is contributing to rapid growth in this nascent market segment. Although much smaller than other popular mobile app segments, mobile medical apps are slowly gaining market share as revenues are expected to more than double in 2010 over 2009, according to healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information’s new report, “Worldwide Market for Mobile Medical Apps.”
The market for mobile medical apps was worth about $41 million in 2009, which translates to about 1.5% of the total mobile app market, and Kalorama estimates 2010 sales to come in at $84.1 million. Medical apps compete for market share with very large and popular app categories such as gaming, entertainment, social networking, and navigation. Despite the higher price tag for most medical apps (averaging $15 per app), the number of downloads fall short — keeping medical apps on the lower end of revenues in comparison to other categories.
However, the use of smartphones has been rapidly expanding in the healthcare industry, since they provide a range of programs, convenience and efficiency that can’t be achieved with traditional computers and pocket drug references. It was estimated that in 2004, around 25% of practicing physicians in the U.S. used a PDA or smartphone. This increased to approximately 35-40% in 2008. By 2010, more than 50% of physicians are using smartphones or PDAs on a regular basis for everyday treatment activity.
“Not only is the medical community using smartphones and their applications for basic tasks, but they report using them to complete some of the work that would have previously been done on a desktop or laptop computer,” says Melissa Elder, an analyst with Kalorama Information and author of the report. “With one of the main focuses in healthcare today centered on the reduction of costs, any tool that can help medical personnel become more efficient is a boon to the industry.”
Smartphone applications can be developed for numerous types of processes including education, health management, data management, health information, and other workflow processes. There are literally hundreds of thousands of apps available for smartphones users. For example, the Apple App Store offers more than 250,000 apps for its users. Within specific categories like health management, some smartphone providers offer up to 2,000 apps. These help monitor heart rates, manage diabetes, record exercise schedules, and link with larger computer systems for managing health records.
“The use of smartphones in professional healthcare is still taking shape, but some providers have seen the potential and are taking advantage of the technology,” says Elder.
