You might want to file this news under the heading “Silver Lining.” According to a new report by U.K.-based Juniper Research, the COVID-19 pandemic will be a major factor in the projected massive worldwide growth in digital therapeutics and wellness app users by 2025.
According to Juniper Research, 627 million people around the globe used digital therapeutics and wellness apps in 2020. Due to the pandemic-related, regulatory agencies have loosened the rules for digital therapeutic development. Juniper predicts this number will grow to more than 1.4 billion users in 2025. Pointing to digital therapeutics as a lifeline for people unable to leave their homes, the report also predicted 44 million people will use the technology to manage their healthcare by 2021.
Juniper reports that since the pandemic started, the U.S. Centers for Medicine and Medicaid Services (CMS) added to the telehealth services available to 40+ million Medicare beneficiaries. Health insurers and employer payers will also increase digital therapeutics acceptance, according to the report, which will drive the revenue from the technology from $5.8 billion in 2020 to more than $56 billion in 2025.
Mobile computers, video conferencing, and the Internet have enabled tens of millions of people to work and engage in remote learning from home. The pandemic’s influence on telehealth acceptance and growth, in turn, boosts the technology’s role in future health service delivery.
