FEED-BACK.COM E-ZINE

September / October 2008
Volume 11 Issue 5

Telemedicine Markets

Earlier this year, a blog presentation suggested that the size of the U.S. telemedicine market has not yet been accurately estimated. The estimating problem is not new, and industry participants continue to address it. Officials from the American Telemedicine Association (ATA; Washington DC) have held conferences to discuss the market and compiled an extensive list of resources for its members. The following presentation reviews recently published revenue estimates and also describes some of the barriers to accurately evaluating the U.S. telemedicine market.

Introduction

Telemedicine uses sophisticated hardware, software, and telecommunications technologies to enable "visits" between health care professionals and their patients over long or short distances. Two-way audio and video interactions support various applications, ranging from consultations and diagnosis to education and secure medical data transmission.

Many of the earliest telemedicine networks were established in the 1990s by health systems that applied for and received federal grants. Examples of some well-established U.S. telemedicine service providers in operation since the early-to-mid 1990s include:

The Competitive Landscape

A long-time equipment manufacturer is AMD Telemedicine, which has served the industry for fifteen years by providing "connected" medical devices, peripherals, and software. Two other well-established companies are currently listed as corporate ATA members:

Another ATA member, V-Brick, provides live online video solutions to support various applications, one of which is telemedicine.

The Market

According to a report published by Frost & Sullivan in mid-2008, the European telemedicine market generated $118 million in 2007 and is forecast to double in size by 2014.  Sophisticated technologies are widely available, and lower equipment costs are likely to support wider implementation of telemedicine systems. 

An analysis published by Pike & Fischer in July 2008 estimates that the market for telemedicine devices and services will generate $1.8 billion by 2013.  Mobile services are expected to drive a large portion of the market, with ongoing development of broadband networks, data compression technologies, and smartphones by companies such as AT& T, Nextel, Sprint, and Verizon.

[1} Eastern Montana Telemedicine Network
[2] Partners Center for Connected Health (formerly Partners Telemedicine)
[3] University of Texas Medical Branch
[4] Cardiocom
[5] SHL Telemedicine LTD

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