As India moves toward becoming a global leader, its commitment to better healthcare for its citizens has become a top priority. Apart from investing in traditional healthcare necessities like hospitals and better infrastructure, policy makers have also chosen remote healthcare monitoring as way to help make India disease free and bring quality healthcare to all of its citizens.
Remote health delivery, also known as remote patient monitoring, is a system that focuses on providing healthcare facilities outside of the conventional settings of a hospital or clinic. It makes use of information and communication technology (ICT) along with medical science to address the challenges faced by the healthcare system in India. With the help of remote health delivery, healthcare facilities can easily be made available in remote areas. A shortage of manpower and lack of proper infrastructure in hospitals makes telemedicine or remote health delivery systems the most viable option and the best way to circumvent these issues.
With more than 68% of the Indian population residing in the rural areas, the market for remote healthcare delivery is poised to experience significant growth in the coming years. According to analysts at Technavio, the remote healthcare delivery market, which was valued at $502 million in 2015, will record a CAGR of 20% by 2020.
Major Drivers of the Remote Health Delivery Market in India
#1. Growth of elderly population
Advancement in medical science has resulted in increased life expectancy across the globe, which in turn has resulted in the growth of the elderly population. According to a report released by HelpAge India, by the year 2021, the population of older citizens in India will reach approximately 143 million. Two-thirds of this population live in villages with minimal access to basic health care facilities. This is where remote health delivery comes in. With remote patient monitoring devices, it is easier to keep track of patients’ health and advise them on what medicines to take and other aspects of general wellness. This system eliminates the need to travel all the way to a hospital by bringing medical aid right to the doorsteps of elderly patients.
#2. Lack of doctors and hospital beds
A shortage of qualified doctors and allied healthcare workers is a major issue facing the Indian healthcare system. Around 75% of physicians work in urban areas, making the availability of proper healthcare even less for those who reside in semi-urban and rural areas. As per data released in 2012 by the National Initiative for Allied Health Sciences, the required workforce is 1.82 million for rehabilitation workers, 2.04 million for dental assistance technologists, 858,000 for surgery anesthesia-related professionals and 893,000 for miscellaneous health workers.
Even if patients make it to a hospital, there is a good chance that they won’t get a bed, even in the general ward. According to World Health Statistics, India has one of the lowest ratios of hospital beds per 1,000 people (0.9 beds per 1,000 people). This is far below the global average of 2.9 beds.
These figures clearly show the imbalance in the distribution of health workers, technologies and infrastructure throughout the country. Therefore, remote health delivery systems have proven to be critical, as they allow medical staff to be virtually present, even in remote areas.
#3. Need for reduction in travel cost and time
As the concept of remote medicine works on the principle of virtual assistance, both the patient as well as the medical staff are not required to travel. Also, in cases of patients who suffer from chronic diseases or need post-operative care, remote patient monitoring reduces the cost of re-admission for follow-up care as well as for care management. In short, remote health delivery systems can easily address the problems related to infrastructure and the shortage of medical staff in rural areas.
There are a number of small and mid-sized vendors in India who are competing not only to get remote monitoring healthcare to every single part of the country; but are also striving to improve the pricing, quality, and availability of these services. Top vendors include Apollo Hospitals, Aravind Eye Care, Philips Healthcare, Aerotel Medical Systems and Narayana Health.
View the 2016-2020 Remote Health Delivery Market in India Report
