Telehealth Sees Explosive Growth

Healthcare providers are taking telemedicine to new heights, with the market seeing growth of a whopping 237 percent within a five-year period, according to a new Kalorama report.

Officials say the telemedicine patient monitoring market grew from $4.2 billion in 2007 to more than $10 billion in 2012. According to the report, the market itself is considered small- to moderate in size but makes up for it with its notable number of competitors and "increasing awareness of effectiveness."

Unlike the market for hospital systems, the telemedicine market proves more competitive, with vendors fragmented and a fair number of privately held companies, officials say. Compatibility between devices and applications is of primary concern. AMD, Philips, Second Opinion Telemedicine, Bosch and LifeWatch are among the many vendors competing in this market.