mHealth Apps Growth to Reach $1.3 Billion

We understand how important mobile applications are to the healthcare field and predicted its rapid growth late last year. However, we were still surprised to learn that according to a report released by research2guidance, the market is expected to grow to $1.3 billion in 2012. This figure is a substantial increase over the numbers for 2011, which came out to $718 million.

With the number of mobile health application users predicted to reach 247 million in 2012, this method of using technology is here to stay. Since it is gaining in popularity, mobile health creates an opportunity for advertisers to reach specific target markets. Drug companies and others involved in the medical field will be able to get their messages directly in front of people who are interested in buying their products.

In some cases, revenues from mobile health applications will come from direct transactions. In other situations, money will be generated from providing patients with sensors that allow them to track information at home and forward it to their physician so that a specific medical condition can be monitored.

While some members of the public will resist mobile health applications, people who already own smartphones are probably more likely to embrace it. With smartphones becoming almost a necessary accessory for a certain segment of the population, I can see that people in this demographic will look at mobile health apps as just another type of application available to them.