The latest publication from the Germany-based market intelligence firm, titled “North America Digital Health Market and Trends 2023“, provides an overview of emerging trends and developments within the digital health market in North America. The report highlights the various digital health technologies that are generating interest among patients and medical professionals in the region, as well as the key benefits and challenges faced by stakeholders in adopting these technologies.
Emerging trends, such as the use of AI in healthcare, wearables, and health & fitness apps, are set to disrupt the digital health market in North America, especially in the USA
Consumers worldwide are gradually shifting towards using digital channels to purchase products and access services, ranging from healthcare to banking. Amidst this growing popularity of virtual channels, innovative trends are bringing about a change in the traditional healthcare industry. Advanced digital health solutions, such as telehealth, remote patient monitoring, fitness apps, and disease management apps, among others, are gaining pace worldwide. The digital health market is forecasted to grow at a double-digit CAGR, with a market value surpassing EUR 900 billion by 2032, as revealed by the new yStats.com publication. Furthermore, the popularity of digital health solutions has attracted a significant amount of investment, with digital health in North America accounting for a total venture capital funding of close to EUR 12 billion as of H1 2022. In the U.S., various stakeholders within the healthcare system are also shifting towards using advanced technologies and digital health solutions, with nearly half of the surveyed physicians stating that digital health solutions provided some or definite advantages for their patients as of 2022. Like in other parts of the world, health & fitness apps, as well as wearables, have become popular in the U.S. Nearly one-third of adults used health apps multiple times a day in January 2023, mainly for exercise, fitness, heart rate monitoring, followed by recording sleep and weight during the same period. However, the frequency of using wearables was higher compared to health apps, with more than one-third of adults using them multiple times a day as of January 2023. Furthermore, nearly half of wearable owners also showed willingness to share their health data recorded in the wearable device with healthcare providers as well as grocers to receive customized food recommendations as of 2022.
The digital health market continues to grow despite experiencing several challenges in the adoption process
The shift of consumers towards online channels for accessing healthcare has given rise to the growth of digital health solutions. Changing consumer expectations have led to the emergence of several trends, such as telehealth, health apps, and connected health tools, among others. In the U.S., for instance, the demand for advanced healthcare solutions, such as online therapy sessions, sleep monitors, and blood pressure monitors, has increased. More than two-thirds of consumers indicated that they plan to use more than one digital health app in the future, as of 2022, according to the new yStats.com report. More than one-third of surveyed physicians in the U.S. indicated that in-person communication is more effective than virtual communication, while close to one-third of physicians found that clinical considerations are more effective in person instead of online, as of March 2022. Furthermore, more than half of healthcare providers in the U.S. claimed to use telehealth because it is easy to reach out to patients and allows flexibility in operations. However, tech issues and difficulty in examining patients were the top challenges that more than half of the surveyed physicians faced while using telehealth, as of May 2022. Budget and return on investment, along with workforce shortages, were some other barriers that healthcare organizations faced when trying to achieve the ideal digital health state, as of February 2023.
