Report: Global Telemedicine Market Poised for Significant Growth

The global market for telemedicine technologies, including hardware, software, and services, stood at $17.8 billion in 2014, and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18.4 percent through 2020, according to a new report from Research and Markets.

 The shortage of physicians in rural and remote areas provides opportunity for telemedicine to spread its reach to millions of patients and this widespread deployment of services will continue at a rapid pace in the future as well, the researchers concluded. In the latest research study, “Global Telemedicine Market Outlook 2020,” the report’s analysts have studied the complete telemedicine industry with focus on market segmentation, government initiatives and competitive landscape.

Telemedicine applications are surging due to the high prevalence of chronic diseases, rising smartphone users, consistent need for improved quality services and rising elderly population across countries which thereby urge telemedicine to deliver improved products with higher patient satisfaction. On the contrary, reimbursement challenges, uneven distribution of telecom network in remote areas, and high operating cost are major factors hindering its implementation, the report found.

Additionally, the report also provides a detailed study on the geographical distribution of telemedicine with the market sizes of North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific along with their future forecast. It also provides an insight into different telemedicine applications with their market share in 2014. Teledermatology and telegynecology grabbed the highest market share. What’s more, the report found that the telemedicine industry is dominated by vendors such as Mckesson, Philips Healthcare, GE Healthcare, and Cerner.