The number of gateways used in telehealth applications will increase to more than 1 million in 2014 and to about 3.6 million in 2018, according to a new report from InMedica, a division of IMS Research.
While InMedica does not define what a "gateway" is in its press release, Medical Connectivity Consulting's Tim Gee presented on wireless body area networks and gateways at the Medical Connectivity event in Boston last year: There are two types of gateways: A gateway device (mobile) or a fixed wireless hub gateway, also called a bridge. In the gateway device model, the patient wears the device, which may be a phone, smartphone, PDA or just a wireless-enabled device. The device may connect to a facility’s WiFi or WLAN network or to the carrier network. In the case of the bridge, the gateway is fixed, much like a WiFi access point in a facility. The patient’s wireless sensors transmit their data to various sensors as they roam around a facility.
InMedica's research seems to include only the latter includes both types of gateways: fixed hubs and mobile phones.
InMedica cites two key drivers for telehealth gateways' growth: Government and private payers recent moves to increase reimbursement for telehealth; and Government's efforts to reduce the legal and liability issues surrounding telehealth. There is now a "two to three year window for the current market barriers to be overcome, including demonstrating the benefits of telehealth on a large scale to health insurance companies," InMedica states in its press release.
Here's more from InMedica's release today:
The US market for telehealth is likely to get a boost by the changes to healthcare provision being sought in “American Recovery and Re-investment Act” (ARRA), proposed policies that included: “Universal Healthcare Reform” summarised as i) provision of quality, affordable & portable health coverage for all, ii) modernising the US healthcare systems to reduce costs & improve quality, and iii) promoting prevention & strengthening public health. It is likely that the ARRA’s focus on finding more efficient methods to deliver medical service without increasing costs and resources will further boost the use of telehealth. InMedica predicts telehealth will start to be used by healthcare providers on a wider scale from 2012 onwards. According to Neha Khandelwal, market research analyst at InMedica “This gives a two to three year window for the current market barriers to be overcome, including demonstrating the benefits of telehealth on a large scale to health insurance companies.”
