NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - August 17, 2010) - Healthcare is a niche market with growth potential for Smartphones, according to healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information. The firm cites high rates of physician use of Smartphones and PDAs and available applications among many factors making healthcare ideal for Smartphone sales. In 2009, PDAs and Smartphones for healthcare applications were worth about $2.6 billion combined -- according to Kalorama's recently released report, "Handhelds in Healthcare: The World Market for PDAs, Tablet PCs, Handheld Monitors & Scanners."
Kalorama notes that the industry is no stranger to portability. Healthcare professionals have been key consumers of beeper and pager devices, and many portable patient record and reference book products have been aimed at physicians. While healthcare is just a fraction of total Smartphone and PDA sales, just about five percent of the total market, Kalorama predicts that healthcare is one of the growth areas -- particularly for Smartphones, because of their ability to combine communication with alerts, references and records.
"Healthcare is a mobile profession and lends itself to these devices," according to Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. "They provide a wide range of conveniences and workflow efficiencies which can't be achieved with traditional notepads and pocket drug references."
The firm notes that several wireless companies have tailored their product offerings to the needs of the healthcare industry and expects this to continue. Last year Socket Mobile, Inc. released the SoMo 650Rx hospital-grade PDA featuring an antimicrobial material that provides improved protection against the spread of bacteria and microbes. Motorola's MTC100 offers a host of features designed to enhance productivity and effectiveness -- equipped with multi-mode wireless connectivity, secured wide-area data bearer, and wireless LAN connection. In 2006, Beiks LLC released a talking English-Spanish translator for the BlackBerry platform (RIM) for emergency workers. This application is directed toward paramedics who often operate in environments with both English and Spanish speaking patients. The system was first released with 800 essential words and phrases, covering common questions, commands, people, places, conditions, drugs, medications, anatomy terms, and more.
Additionally, iPhone usage in healthcare is evidenced by the number of applications available for physicians. Various media outlets have reported over 1,700 medical apps existed as of last year, and that number has most likely grown since then.
"Handhelds in Healthcare: The World Market for PDAs, Tablet PCs, Handheld Monitors & Scanners" contains more information on Tablet PCs, Smartphones, PDAs, as well as handheld monitors and scanners, with forecasts for each of these segments. Profiles of competitors and trends in handheld technology in healthcare are also included. The report can be found at:
http://www.kaloramainformation.com/redirect.asp?progid=79476&productid=2....
About Kalorama Information
Kalorama Information supplies the latest in independent market research in the life sciences, as well as a full range of custom research services. We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics. Follow us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/KaloramaInfo) and LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2177845&trk=hb_side_g).
