More than 200 million mHealth applications are in use today, and that number is expected to increase threefold by 2012, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.
The 44-page report, "Health Check: Key Players in Mobile Healthcare," written by analyst Denise Culver, provides an overview of the emerging mHealth market, focusing on various conventional, hybrid and new technologies that are creating new business models.
"Healthcare solutions that are delivered via mobile technology are creating a new frontier of innovation that is driving down costs, increasing access, and improving quality of care," said Culver.
"And even as mHealth connects, informs, and protects patients and caregivers in powerful ways, it also opens up many opportunities for mobile network operators like AT&T, BT, Orange, and Telefonica; original equipment manufacturers including Apple, RIM, and Ericsson; hardware and software vendors, such as Cisco, Oracle, Microsoft, and Google; and a new breed of device and application providers that specialize solely on mHealth, including CardioNet, Epocrates, and NowPos," she adds.
Seventy percent of people worldwide are interested in having access to at least one mHealth application, and they're willing to pay for it, according to the report.
