Investments have flowed into the digital health sector in the past 18 months as companies have rolled out new telehealth solutions and developed new solutions for a healthcare market grappling with restrictions related to COVID-19.
During Parks Associates 8th annual Connected Health Summit session, Driving Innovation: New Investments and the Future of Healthcare, Parks Associates was joined by healthcare innovators and investors representing Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), Samsung, Rock Health and more to discuss innovative business strategies, impact of new funding on the healthcare market, and implications for the near- and long-term future.
“While startups in the healthcare space have historically focused on business-to-business solutions, we’ve seen a notable increase in interest in direct-to-consumer models,” said Kristen Hanich, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates said during her research presentation. “COVID-19 has prompted consumers to start monitoring their health and taking proactive action to resolve issues in a way that we’ve never seen before.”
Hanich presented Parks Associates’ latest research at the session revealing 55% of US broadband households own at least one connected health device, such as a smart watch or pulse oximeter and that remote health consultations grew 56% between 2020 and 2021, with 64% of households using these solutions
This session following a presentation from Rock Health’s CEO Tom Cassels and executive Q&A from Amol Pangarkar, Director, Product Management, Samsung Electronics, held a captivating interactive panel with industry leaders
- Ijaz Arif, CEO and Chairman, VeeMed
- Greg Baker, Managing Partner, Bascom Ventures
- Scott McMillan, CEO, XCO
- Howard Rosen, Founder, LifeWIRE Corp
- Chuck Sabin, Senior Director, Market Development, Bluetooth SIG, Inc.
“With consumers more attuned to their health, and spending more time at home, we’ve seen a significant increase in the use of wearables and health monitoring devices for both personal use and telemedicine,” said panelist Chuck Sabin, Senior Director of Market Development, Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). “We expect shipments of Bluetooth-enabled devices in this category to exceed half a billion per year by 2025.”
“At VeeMed, we find that large healthcare systems want to be able to do everything through one platform, especially if you look at it from providers’ perspective,” VeeMed CEO and Chairman Ijaz Arif. “They want to be able to do inpatient, outpatient, clinics, urgent care, and home health through one app. “Its great to discuss the concepts driving these innovations, and specifically why RPMis the next level of telehealth, offering the same level of confidence patients would have if they were at a clinic, physician’s office, or in the hospital.”
According to data collected and shared by seed fund, Rock Health, investment dollars in digital health roughly doubled between 2019 and 2020 — and this doubling looks to be on track for 2021 as well. There has also been many mega-deals taking place, with several funding rounds breaking the half-billion-dollar mark.
“Even with the investment space so hot right now, companies and investors seek to answer key questions — questions around the role and potential of new advances in technology, the impact of the new Delta wave, and the impact of privacy and security regulations. “Integration of digital solutions in research, drug discovery, and patient care will be table stakes to stay on pace with others in the industry,” said visionary speaker Tom Cassels, President, Rock Health, during his presentation. “Opportunity exists to reimagine not just how we do what we do today but also what different things should we be doing in the future that provide a competitive edge.”
The executive event, sponsored by Alarm.com, Essence, and Everise, features virtual sessions throughout the year highlighting consumer data and industry insights examining connected solutions in the digital health markets.Click here to watch the Driving Innovation: New Investments and the Future of Healthcare session at your convenience.
To gain the latest insights on Health Data and Interoperability, join Parks Associates at its year-end connected health virtual sessies session on December 1 at 12:30 p.m. CT.
