An increasing number of active subscribers and growing coverage of mobile networks are  primarily driving the demand for smart and connected devices, which in turn is steering the growth of mobile healthcare (m-health) market. On top of that, the increase in incidence of lifestyle driven diseases, namely diabetes and obesity,  is enabling the mobile healthcare devices market growth. This is according to the Research and Markets’ report Global mHealth Market Report Forecasts Report, 2020.

In spite of technological advancement in medical devices and rise in per capita income, the higher cost of healthcare systems poses challenges such as affordability and complexity worldwide, the report states. In developed markets, due to the rise in chronic diseases, per capita expenditure on healthcare is increasing at a faster rate than increase in income level and inflation rate. Yet, there has been no corresponding increase in quality of healthcare services rendered in many countries, thus this can be treated as an opportunity for m-health. On the other hand, developing countries are still struggling to provide adequate healthcare solutions to their citizens.

Owing to those factors, the global m-health market is estimated to reach $58.8 billion by the end of 2020 at a compound annual growth rate of 32.3% between 2013 and 2020. The blood glucose meters market is projected to lead the mHealth devices market followed by cardiac monitoring devices during the forecast period (2013-2020). Increasing emphasis on preventive medication is expected to drive the mHealth service market. Monitoring services are expected to take away a major chunk of the market with most of the revenue coming from the developed regions.

Europe leads the regional market landscape of the global m-health market followed by Asia Pacific and North America. Furthermore, by 2020, Asia Pacific will take away the lead from North America, occupying more than 28.2% of the market. The players profiled in the report include: Philips Healthcare, Omron HealthCare Inc, Bayer Healthcare, LifeWatch, Cardionet Inc, Masimo Corporation, Sanofie, Boston Scientific, AT&T Inc, and Johnson & Johnson.