Baby boomers are expected to contribute to an expansion of the mobile health IT market, according to a report released Wednesday by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Enterprise Forum of the Northwest, NextGov reports.
Key Findings
According to report, market analysts predict that seniors will play a role in helping the mobile health IT market grow to $4.6 billion by 2014 and to $12 billion by 2020.
The report also notes that nearly 56% of baby boomers have expressed a “high willingness” to use home-based health monitoring devices. Some of the products that seniors expressed interest in include:
Health and fitness software;
Mobile health applications;
Personal emergency response services;
Remote monitoring tools; and
Telemedicine technology (Pulley, NextGov, 1/18).
Possible Challenges
According to the report’s authors, an expansion of the mobile health market might be unsustainable without a shift in health care payment structures.
The report notes most health insurance companies currently do not cover the costs of remote monitoring technologies and other mobile health tools (Versel, Mobihealthnews, 1/12).
