The global medical device connectivity (MDC) market was worth $3.5 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach $33.5 billion by 2019, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37.8 percent from 2013 to 2019, according to a report by Transparency Market Research.
The report, “Medical Device Connectivity Market (Wired hardware, Wireless hardware and Software)–Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2013–2019,” found among all the components that the wired hardware segment was the largest and accounted for 40 percent of the market share in 2012.
Among different end-use segments, hospitals held the largest market share in 2012. It is expected to maintain a leading position throughout the forecast period, owing to increasing awareness in emerging regions, while home health care is the second-largest end-use segment and is expected to show strong growth during the forecast period.
Geographically, North America was the largest market for MDC in 2012 due to increasing adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) across the region. North America was the largest MDC market and accounted for 62 percent in 2012, owing to increased need of efficient health care management and increasing adoption of EMR.
Meanwhile, growing penetration of EMR in countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom, among others, is driving the MDC market in Europe.
The report noted that while enforcement of government regulations regarding the necessity of EMR is expected to drive the market, connectivity and operational issues, cost barriers for small and midsize health-care units and security concerns are some of the factors inhibiting the growth of this market.
“The MDC market is driven by various factors including increased need for workflow automation, increased patient safety, saved nursing hours, increased productivity of health-care institutions, and minimizing the need for re-admissions,” the report noted. “Integration of data from important health-care devices into EMR helps to not only save time but also eliminates transcription errors and improves the overall patient safety and care.”
The report also predicted wireless connectivity technology would witness widespread adoption in MDC, owing to its compatibility, interoperability and cost effectiveness over wired technology.
Different wireless technologies such as WiFi, Web Map Tile Service (WMTS) and Bluetooth are being used in connecting medical devices at hospitals, homes and other health-care institutes.