The digital health sector is poised for strong growth in the coming years. The global digital health market was valued at $122 billion as of 2017, according to Zion Research, and is expected to generate more than $420 billion in revenue by 2024, with a CAGR of about 19.35% from 2018 to 2024. Investments are up as well. Quarterly global VC-backed digital health deals and financing reached $3.5 billion in the second quarter of 2019, up from $2.8 billion in Q1.
It might sound like a buzzword, but the concept of digital health is not new—in fact, nearly 20 years ago an article appeared in The Journal of Ambulatory Care Management called “Digital Health Care—The convergence of health care and the Internet.” Still, the benefits and the future promise of digital health care have become increasing clear in the past decade.
What Is Digital Health?
In layman’s terms, digital health is simply the idea of using technology to help improve the health and wellness of individuals. Digital health technologies span a diverse range of products, from wearable devices and health information technology to personalized medicine. Telemedicine is increasingly important in helping health care organizations reduce costs. In addition, anyone with a smartphone has access to a dizzying range of consumer health apps for health information tracking, personalized exercise and diet regimens, health-focused Q&A platforms, and many other purposes.
These digital developments are giving us the tools to improve patient care by capturing and synthesizing large streams of data; creating a better, more holistic view of patient health; and offering patients greater autonomy and control over their health care decisions.
Rising Stars on the Digital Health Scene
Digital health companies are innovating in a variety of segments within the health care industry, from drug development to patient care.
For instance, the Trials.ai Smart Protocol solution offers a solution for a problem that patients might not even be aware of at first, though it has a significant impact on their health. Trials.ai aims to revolutionize the way clinical trials are designed by research teams. Numerous clinical trials fail each year, and many of them do so because of flaws in the research team’s protocol design. Trials.ai uses technology in order to mine large amounts of data from customers and the public domain, making it easier for researchers to obtain the information they need. The technology also guides the researchers as they design the trial’s protocol, aiming for speed and a successful trial.
Could We Improve Pain Management?
One of the most exciting technologies right now, not only in health care, but in several other industries, is virtual reality (VR). Though VR is often considered only in the context of gaming and entertainment, current research on VR suggests that it can be used as a legitimate and extremely effective method for managing acute and chronic health conditions.
Companies such as AppliedVR are pioneering the use of VR in hospitals as an effective treatment for a variety of patient groups: children, women in childbirth, people with acute and chronic pain, and patients with complex musculoskeletal and neurological conditions. VR can also be used to ease the symptoms of medical anxiety, helping patients feel more comfortable and less stressed during procedures and surgeries. Because of its unique ability to create a completely immersive and interactive environment, VR has been shown to improve patient outcomes. Essentially, VR can change the way the human brain perceives pain.
There is extensive research on AppliedVR’s technology, including several clinical trials: five published research clinical trials, seven that are completed, nine that are currently active, and 12 more currently in development. Clinically approved VR treatments are subject to the same rigorous research and development protocols that apply to traditional medical devices and pharmaceutical products, so patients can be confident of their safety.
What’s Coming Next?
With so many significant digital health developments on the horizon, it’s clear we are looking forward to a new age of healthcare: one where patients have greater control over their healthcare, physicians have access to more (and more accurate) information when making diagnoses, and advanced technologies are more available to a broader segment of patients.