With public attention in the United States focused on ways to reform the world’s most expensive healthcare system, a new study from ABI Research examines “wireless telehealth”: the use of sensors that monitor a person’s physical condition or surroundings and transmit that data back to remote medical practitioners using cellular connections. Some 15 million such systems are forecast to be in use – mainly in North America – by early in 2012.

“Wireless telehealth systems can reduce healthcare costs in a couple of ways,” says research practice director Sam Lucero. “First, for patients with chronic conditions, wireless telehealth’s ability to monitor and track their status allows many problems to be nipped in the bud before they require expensive hospitalization and treatment. Second, the traditional approach to home health care requires regular visits by nurses to check on patients’ condition. By providing that same information automatically, wireless telehealth systems can reduce those labor and travel costs.”

A secondary benefit is that more people will be able to remain in the safety and comfort of their own homes as they age, at the same time reducing the burden on medical and residential institutions.

In addition to the RPM (Remote Patient Management) described above, smaller subsets of the telehealth market include PERS (Personal Emergency Response System), AAL (Ambient Assisted Living), and the newest application, MPM (Mobile Personal Monitoring).

North America, with its ageing population and tech-oriented medical industry, is central to the telehealth market and is expected to remain so over the report’s forecast period which extends through 2014. However coverage for telehealth systems by private insurers and Medicare/Medicaid is patchy at best, which, says Lucero, is seen as a barrier to development of this market. “The industry believes reimbursement for telehealth systems should be more comprehensive and straightforward. Proposed legislation is generating optimism.”

ABI Research’s new study “Wireless Telehealth” assesses the market opportunity for embedded cellular connectivity in healthcare applications that use a telecommunications link to connect an individual with a remotely-located caregiver.

It is included in five ABI Research Services: The Mobile Consumer Research Service; the Home Networking Research Service; the M2M Research Service; the Short Range Wireless Research Service; and the Wireless Healthcare Research Service. 

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of emerging trends in global connectivity. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advise thousands of decision makers through research and advisory services in eight key practice areas. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.