Mirroring last year's predictions, the global M3 panel predicts that virtual healthcare and remote consultations will have the greatest impact on healthcare in 2023, with 20% of respondents globally choosing this option. Despite no longer being subject to lockdowns and stay-at-home rules, the medical community continues to embrace virtual and remote healthcare solutions to reduce costs and limit strain on healthcare providers.
According to a recent publication from Meticulous Research, the global telehealth market is expected to experience strong growth, with a projected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21.6% in 2022 and a projected total market size of $539.73 billion by 2029. This growth is expected to be driven by a number of factors, including the impending shortfall of healthcare professionals predicted by the World Health Organization (WHO) by 2030. This deficit is estimated to reach up to 15 million, meaning that the demand for both telehealth and Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to deliver care remotely is expected to rise significantly. Furthermore, the increasing prevalence of chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, along with the growing need for cost-effective healthcare solutions, is also likely to contribute to the growth of the telehealth market.
The widespread adoption of telehealth and AI solutions is further boosted by the increasing popularity of mobile health (mHealth) applications, which are used to monitor vital signs and provide remote consultations. In addition, the development of blockchain technology is also projected to play an important role in the virtual healthcare sector, by providing secure patient data management and a platform for electronic health records (EHR). As the virtual healthcare industry continues to expand, it is likely to become an even more integral part of the healthcare system.
The global M3 panel predicted that virtual healthcare would have a significant impact in 2023, but this prediction was not unanimous across the US, Europe, and the Nordics with the predictions varying significantly across the different countries. According to the global M3 panel, 23% of respondents in the US expected virtual healthcare to have the greatest impact and named it their top predicted trend for 2023. Similarly, 18% in Europe also predicted virtual healthcare as one of their top trends for 2023. However, only 15% of the Nordic countries felt virtual healthcare would have the biggest impact, meaning it didn’t even make their top 3 trends for 2023.
The differences in these predictions may be attributed to a variety of factors, such as differences in healthcare infrastructure and access to technology. For example, the US has a much larger and more advanced healthcare system than the Nordic countries, meaning that virtual healthcare solutions are more widely available and more affordable. Additionally, the US also has a larger population than the Nordic countries, meaning that virtual healthcare is a more attractive option for a larger number of people.
In Europe, on the other hand, the healthcare system is more similar to the Nordic countries in terms of structure and services, but the population size is significantly larger. This could explain why virtual healthcare has been predicted to be more widely adopted and have a greater impact in Europe than in the Nordic countries. It is likely that the larger population size and the more diverse needs of the European countries would lead to a greater demand for virtual healthcare services. Furthermore, the availability and accessibility of virtual healthcare services would provide a more efficient and cost-effective way of providing healthcare services to a larger population.
The low prediction of virtual healthcare having an impact in 2023 in Nordic countries may be attributed to a variety of factors. For instance, the Nordic countries have smaller populations than the US and Europe, meaning that the demand for virtual healthcare services would be less than in larger countries. These predictions are further supported by a study published in the Nordic Journal of Health Economics in 2019, which found that the adoption of telemedicine and remote consultations was significantly higher in the US than in the Nordic countries. The study suggested that this could be attributed to a number of factors, such as differences in healthcare infrastructure, access to technology, population size, and the diverse needs of different countries. Furthermore, the study found that the Nordic countries had lower levels of acceptance of telemedicine due to their more centralized healthcare systems, which could explain why they had the lowest predicted impact of virtual healthcare in 2023.
Overall, it is clear that virtual healthcare will be one of the most important healthcare trends of 2023 and beyond, with a projected CAGR of 21.6% by 2029. Moreover, the predicted impact of virtual healthcare on the healthcare system in 2023 varies significantly between the US, Europe, and the Nordic countries. This could be attributed to a variety of factors, such as differences in healthcare infrastructure, access to technology, population size, and the diverse needs of different countries. As the industry continues to grow, it is likely that virtual healthcare will become an even more integral part of the healthcare system.
Download the full 2023 Global Healthcare Trends infographic.
