The Rise of Digital Health and Wellness Software

Health is wealth! We all have actualized this proverb more than ever before in our lives, this year. During this unprecedented phase, the health and wellbeing of our family and loved ones became our utmost priority as the pandemic gave a jolt to our lives.

Healthcare industry wasn’t prepared for this at all – its capacity and capability were both tested. Along with the hard work done by healthcare professionals, digital healthcare solutions also played a key role in helping sail through challenging circumstances.

Digital health solutions existed before also but their true potential and power were unleashed only during these strenuous times, which strongly boosted the growth of the digital health industry.

Governments across the globe used digital health solutions to track and trace and manage the pandemic like Arogya Setu app in India.

The healthcare app development companies have revolutionized healthcare and these are some of the top trends driving the healthcare sector.

Demand for telemedicine and remote healthcare

Through telemedicine, doctors have become “on-demand” health providers as patients seek online healthcare owing to busy schedules and the risk of infection. Improved internet speeds have facilitated the instantaneous transmission of medical images and data, better video conference calls amplifying telehealth initiatives.

Digital health platforms like Practo, 1mg, Medlife, PharmaEasy, Netmeds have evolved their business models to cater to the changing needs of people.

The rise of general fitness and wellness apps

The focus is now on overall wellbeing – to “prevent” diseases rather than merely treating them. Digital health and wellness software has played a huge role in bringing this groundbreaking shift.

The boom truly began with FitBit and Apple Watch and only grew bigger since then! Wearable technology now does not just track your steps but can monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, and even ECG now with the latest Apple watch.

These new tech-fueled devices are gradually becoming an indispensable part of our lives, giving us more control and insight into health matters.

A typical day for many of us begins with tracking our morning run on NikeRun app and then later logging meals and activity on HealthifyMe.

The workout videos from cult.fit and the online fitness trainer have helped many of us stay fit even when gyms across the country were shut. Around 19M plus users have downloaded HealthifyMe!

There are interesting healthcare apps designed to curb the addiction of mobiles and gadgets too – Experiments With Google is one such attempt to help people establish a responsible “connect” with digital technology.

Corporates too have tied up with health tech companies for employee health and wellness like Publicis Groupe offered free subscriptions of HeadSpace to its 80,000 employees.

Advanced technologies deployed for healthcare

Artificial intelligence and Virtual Reality have made miracles happen in the healthcare sector – what once seemed a fiction is now a reality!

Do you know the healthcare AI-powered tools market is expected to exceed $34 billion by 2025?

AI has done wonders in precision medicine, medical imaging, drug discovery, and genomics, etc. It can cure several diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. AI tools are used by AstraZeneca and Alibaba for automated cancer diagnostics. Chatbots are used to develop algorithms that help oncologists offer deep insights on biopsy reads, breast cancer analysis, etc.

Virtual Reality technology used for distraction brings down pain levels in patients suffering from gastrointestinal, cardiac, neurological, and post-surgical pain. It is effective in treating everything from anxiety to post-traumatic stress disorder, and stroke.

In conclusion

The Digital Health industry is expected to grow at 28.5% CAGR by 2026! Yes, you heard it right!!

Angel investments in healthcare startups increased by 3X in the second quarter of 2020 to capitalize on rising customer interest. India’s largest healthcare delivery platform PharmEasy got a funding of $100 mn whereas the integrated health platform CureFit received a funding of $59 mn.

Approximately, 4,800 such healthtech startups are providing cutting-edge technologies in our fight against the pandemic. Tech giants like Microsoft have also collaborated with startup incubator Social Alpha to accelerate the growth of health startups.

Digital health is really the sector to watch out for with immense possibilities.

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