Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

Health

Impact of the New Health Law on the Digital Health Industry

digital health newsThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Affordable Care Act") passed in the spring of 2010 and took effect near the end of September. Although there will be attempts to repeal some portions of the law, Parks Associates believes most of the provisions will stay unaffected and have a positive impact on the long-term prospects of the digital health industry. Of course, given the complexity of our health system, the interconnected relationships among various stakeholders, and the ripple effect of policy changes, these positive influences could come earlier or later than expected, depending on the start dates of certain provisions, whether they are fully funded, and their process of implementation.

First of all, the influx of newly insured people will aggravate the shortage of primary care and specialist doctors and drive the adoption of alternative care models like home health monitoring and online consultation.

Provisions such as prohibiting health insurers from rejecting patients due to preexisting conditions, keeping adult children on parents' insurance longer (till they turn 26), and mandating insurance coverage for most citizens after 2014 will drive more people to use primary care services. At the same time, the shortage of primary care doctors, and especially the shortage of specialists in rural areas, is not going to abate. The Association of American Medical Colleges predicts the nation may face a gap up to 150,000 physicians as med school enrollment in the family doctor practice continues to fall and more doctors hit the retirement age in the next 15 years. Technology solutions such as home health monitoring and online visits are reasonable alternatives to alleviate the doctor shortage problem.

More from Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein

July 06, 2023

Vantiva IoT and the Multifamily Market - New Podcast

Exploring the Future of IoT: The Connected Consumer Podcast Episode In today's digitally connecte...

Read More

December 28, 2010

Apple Removes WikiLeaks Program From App Store

Apple Inc., a California-based consumer electronics giant said it had removed a program from its...

Read More

December 26, 2010

Sony Starts Music Service in U.K., Ireland

Sony Corp. opened an online streaming-music service in the U.K. and Ireland and said it will roll...

Read More
Phone:
972-490-1113
Mailing Address:
Parks Associates 5080 Spectrum Drive, Suite 1000W Addison, TX 75001 USA
Expertise
Smart Home: Management and Safety Consumer Electronics Connected Health and Wellness Broadband Small-to-medium Business (SMB) Connected Health
Services
Research Services: Custom and Consulting Research Projects Streaming Video Tracker Security Tracker Smart Home Tracker
Events
CONNECTIONS™ CONNECTIONS™ Summit/CES Smart Energy Summit Connected Health Summit Future Of Video Smart Spaces Upcoming Industry Events
Resources
Press Releases Analyst Blog Parks in the News Connected Consumer Podcast 
About Us
Overview Team Contact Us
Store
View Your Cart

Follow Us to stay informed

© 2023-2024 Parks Associates. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy

Design & Developed By Agency Partner Interactive