InMedica: By 2013, the global combined unit shipments of home-use digital blood-glucose meters, blood pressure monitors, weight scales, pulse oximeters and peak flow meters used in telehealth applications will grow to more than 1.6 million. Shipment of health hubs will also hit 400,000, bringing the total shipments of telehealth devices to about 2 million by 2013.

InMedica notes that the current use of telehealth at home has been for chronic disease management, particularly, COPD, CHF, hypertension and diabetes. Telehealth has not yet evolved into a mainstream application, according to the research firm. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs still has the single largest deployment of telehealth services with some 30,000 subscribers, InMedica reported. In Europe, however, the most telehealth activity comes from projects in the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.

In 2009, nearly 50,000 blood-pressure monitors were used in telehealth applications, but shipments of these devices will hit 500,000 by 2013.

While InMedica did not disclose the number of blood glucose monitors used in telehealth projects in 2009, it forecast the number of shipped devices will grow to around 300,000 in 2013.

InMedica believes that consumer-led telehealth services could prove to be what drives telehealth services forward in the long run, however professional and consumer telehealth will develop in partnership with each other, according to the report.

For more, read this InMedica press release