Report: Mobile medical apps market hit $150M in 2011
The market for healthcare-related software apps for use in mobile devices has grown and will continue to grow quickly, according to market researcher Kalorama Information, which reported that the market for mobile medical apps was worth about $150 million in 2011.
Smartphone applications can be developed for numerous types of processes including education, health management, data management, health information and other workflow processes. The conversion of major healthcare organizations to EMR systems and the breadth of medical apps available are driving purchases, according to the New York City-based company. “Not only is the medical community using smartphones and their applications for basic work, but it’s reporting the use of smartphones to perform some of the work that would have previously been done on a desktop or laptop computer.”
While the overall mobile app market is expected to continue to display strong double-digit growth through 2016, the medical app market also will continue to grow—at a faster rate. Although they make up just 1 to 2 percent of the entire market for mobile apps, Kalorama found that healthcare apps will grow 25 percent annually over the next five years, compared with 2 percent growth estimated for the standard apps market.
Part of the revenue growth is being driven by prices rather than volume, according to the report, titled “Market for Mobile Medical Apps.”
The authors concluded that despite the higher price tag for most medical apps (averaging $15 per app), “the number of downloads is lower than other categories—keeping medical apps high growth-wise but on the lower end of total dollars earned in comparison to other app areas.”
Smartphone applications can be developed for numerous types of processes including education, health management, data management, health information and other workflow processes. The conversion of major healthcare organizations to EMR systems and the breadth of medical apps available are driving purchases, according to the New York City-based company. “Not only is the medical community using smartphones and their applications for basic work, but it’s reporting the use of smartphones to perform some of the work that would have previously been done on a desktop or laptop computer.”
While the overall mobile app market is expected to continue to display strong double-digit growth through 2016, the medical app market also will continue to grow—at a faster rate. Although they make up just 1 to 2 percent of the entire market for mobile apps, Kalorama found that healthcare apps will grow 25 percent annually over the next five years, compared with 2 percent growth estimated for the standard apps market.
Part of the revenue growth is being driven by prices rather than volume, according to the report, titled “Market for Mobile Medical Apps.”
The authors concluded that despite the higher price tag for most medical apps (averaging $15 per app), “the number of downloads is lower than other categories—keeping medical apps high growth-wise but on the lower end of total dollars earned in comparison to other app areas.”