Tele-Intensive Care Unit Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Component (Hardware, Software and Services), By Type of Management (Intensivist, Open, Co-managed, Open with Consultant, Other Types of Management), By End-user type (Hospitals, Ambulatory surgery centers, Specialty Care centers) and By Region(North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, LATAM) Forecasts, 2023-2031

Market Overview

The global Tele-Intensive Care Unit Market size was worth USD 3.18 billion in 2022. It is estimated to reach an predicted value of USD 12.40 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 16.3% during the forecast period (2022-2031). Factors such as increase in the volume of surgical procedures globally and increasing demand for remote patient monitoring, significantly drives the Tele-Intensive Care Unit Market demand by 2031.

The market for Tele-Intensive Care Unit is primarily driven by the continuous increase in the demand for remote monitoring, the increased volume of surgical procedures globally, and the rapidly growing geriatric population. In developing countries and emerging economies, there is an increasing burden of healthcare costs. Thus, to cut costs and improvise patient care, tele-intensive care units can be implemented. These platforms can offer several benefits, such as continuous real-time monitoring and remote access to patient data. As per the estimates from the United Nations' World Population Prospects for 2019, the proportion of persons over 65 in the world's population will rise from 9% in 2019 to more than 16% in 2050. Hospitalization of patients is anticipated to increase as the aging population causes an increase in health-related problems, particularly cardiovascular and neurological illnesses. The market for tele-intensive care units is expected to grow due to this hospitalization, which is likely to result in some type of surgery requiring intensive care.

Market Dynamics

Global Tele-Intensive Care Unit Market Drivers

Increase in the Volume of Surgical Procedures Globally

The number of surgical procedures is increasing due to the growing incidence of disorders requiring surgeries, e.g., cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, along with the increasing burn and trauma cases globally. In the United States, there were reportedly 1.8 million new cancer cases and 606,520 cancer deaths in 2020, according to the American Cancer Society's Cancer Facts and Figures report. Additionally, it was projected that in the United States in 2020, there would be around 89,500 new instances of cancer diagnosed and about 9,270 cancer-related deaths among adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 39. The increasing cancer incidence is expected to boost the demand for surgeries to remove the tumor, increasing the need for tele-intensive care units, reducing clinical decision time, and facilitating efficient healthcare delivery.

As per the National Institute Of Neurological Disorders and Strokes' (NINDS) factsheet in 2019, there are about 12,000 estimated spinal cord injuries (SCI) in the US every year. In addition, 249,000 and 363,000 people were living with SCI in the United States in 2019. Unintentional or accidental fatalities from injuries are expected to increase the number of surgeries and increase demand for tele-ICUs during the forecast period. Thus, the studied market is expected to receive a significant boost over the forecast period because of the abovementioned factors.

Increasing Demand for Remote Patient Monitoring

Remote patient monitoring care delivery benefits patient care providers and insurance payers in many ways. Patient benefits include improved health outcomes, quality of life, real-time support, extended care after discharge, prevention of emergencies, and reduced hospital stays. Care providers access patient data with increased frequency and accuracy. The insurance payers get better clarity on patient compliance practices and have more accountability from the patients and care providers.

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) and tele-ICU capabilities are defined as the use of electronic communication and information technologies to allow interaction between providers and patients in different locations, e.g., wound consultation by a physician at an offsite location using audiovisual equipment, monitoring blood pressure, etc. In the United States, the increasing hospital re-admission penalties set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are driving hospitals to adopt telehealth solutions to monitor patients with the help of remotes even after their discharge. These laws are set to save long-term costs within healthcare institutions.

Global Tele-Intensive Care Unit Market Restraint

High Cost of Treatment and Expensive Setup

One of the significant obstacles in the adoption of tele-intensive care units has been the technology adoption, implementation, and cost of the systems and equipment, which include the costs of construction, installation, and training for healthcare professionals. These enormous investments for setup have been a challenge for several hospitals and health systems that lack significant financial funds or borrowing capacity, especially with the annual operating costs of about USD 2 million, including staffing expenses, maintenance costs, licenses, and additional upgrades. Suppose the tele-ICU system is not fully compatible with the hardware or software systems of the existing physical ICU of the hospital. In that case, additional software, hardware, and infrastructure will likely be required, which may lead to additional hospital costs. Hence, the high price and expensive setup are expected to restrain the market's growth.

Global Tele-Intensive Care Unit Market Opportunities

Fast-growing population and the Lack of Infrastructure 

The fast-growing population and the lack of infrastructure to accommodate many patients have allowed the tele-ICU segment to grow rapidly. In some emergencies, health/medicine aid needs to be given on the spot, but the patient is at a distance or has been in an accident. In such situations, there is no time to take the patient to the hospital for treatment. In such cases, the tele-ICU segment shows immense growth opportunities over the coming years.

Regional Analysis

By region, the global tele-intensive care unit market share is divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa

North America Dominates the Global Market

North America dominated the global tele-intensive care unit market share and is estimated to register a CAGR of 17% during the forecast period. The US government is supporting the healthcare IT sector in the United States, which is the primary factor responsible for the growth of the tele-ICU market in the country. The increasing number of launches and collaborations also fuels market growth in the country. In June 2020, Advanced ICU Care, in partnership with The Regional Medical Center, launched tele-ICU services to ensure quality outcomes with consistent patient-centered care delivery. In 2019, Philips announced the successful results of its 15-year tele-critical partnership between Royal Philips and the Florida-based Health First. The partnership's output, Health First's VitalWatch e-ICU, has shown notable decreases in fatality rates and lengths of stay for the sickest patient group in the nation's healthcare system. The demand for mobile technologies and internet connectivity, rising adoption of home care by patients, and overall reduction in hospital visits are expected to propel market growth over the forecast period.

Europe is the second largest region. It is predicted to reach an expected value of USD 5030 million by 2031, registering a CAGR of 17.3%. The demand for healthcare services is increasing due to the growing population of the United Kingdom. The increasing cost of healthcare is one of the reasons to support the use and adoption of healthcare technologies, such as telehealth. Telemedicine was introduced in the country in 1991. Since then, telemedicine services have been widely adopted and utilized in the United Kingdom. With rising technological advancements in healthcare and the focus of the UK healthcare professionals being on the improvisation of the same, the tele-ICU market is growing. According to the Centre for Ageing Better report (2019), in the United Kingdom, the number of people above 65 was high. There were more than 11.9 million people aged 65 and over, with 3.2 million aged 80 and over and 1.6 million aged 85 and over. The number of people aged 65 years and above was expected to increase by more than 40% within 20 years. The rising geriatric population, which is highly susceptible to several chronic diseases requiring surgical interventions, helps to drive market growth.

Asia-Pacific is the third largest region. China is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. In China, the market is expected to grow exponentially following the announcement of favorable regulations by the government regarding policies to promote telemedicine services in the country. According to a 2020 study titled "Preparing Your Intensive Care Unit for the COVID-19 Pandemic: Practical Considerations and Strategies," China reported an increased incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (17-29% of the total number) and critical illness (23-32% of the total number) among hospitalized patients. As a result, it was discovered that the intensive care units (ICU) needed to be prepared for any pandemic response. This has impacted market expansion. The Qinghai Province registered 165,316 surgical procedures in 2018, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China. The surge in the number of intensive care surgeries may influence the tele-ICU market.

Along with online prescription sales, telemedicine services are being set up now in China. Companies like Alibaba and Cardinal Health have set up other commercial platforms. All these platforms have helped drive the growth of the overall market. China is aging much faster than other low- and middle-income countries. According to the World Population Ageing report, in China, the population above 65 years is expected to reach 365.6 million by 2050 from 164.48 million in 2019. The number of patients with chronic diseases has increased due to the aging population. During the projected period, the necessity to shorten hospital stays is anticipated to foster the expansion of the tele-ICU market.

Segmental Analysis

The global tele-intensive care unit market is segmented by component, type of management, and region. 

By component, the global tele-ICU market is segmented into hardware and software, and services. The hardware segment is further segmented as therapeutic devices, communication lines, computer systems, physiological monitors, display panels, video feeds, and other hardware. The hardware segment dominated the market and is estimated to register a CAGR of 16.9% during the forecast period. Within the hardware segment, therapeutic devices dominated the market and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 17.2% during the forecast period. Since telemedicine has seen great success rates with patients receiving critical care, its presence via therapeutic devices in ICUs seems inevitable. The use of therapeutic gadgets can help small and major hospital chains to deliver higher-quality healthcare, according to previous studies. Researchers have been studying the use of robotic devices in various heart and brain indications, including stroke therapy, for the past ten years. The decentralized tele-ICUs can benefit significantly from therapeutic gadgets. More cancer research facilities employ teletherapy with radiation therapy, which uses external beams to treat cancer. Their significance is aided by the therapeutic devices covered by tele-ICU, which can assist professionals and caregivers in providing better post-acute care, particularly for patients leaving ICUs. Thus, these factors mentioned above are expected to fuel Tele-Intensive Care Unit Market growth over the forecast period.

The software and services segment is the second largest. The tele-intensive care unit (ICU) software and services aid communication between clinicians and the team members of ICU in hospitals. The demand for this software is increasing because of the rising emergency patient flow in hospitals due to COVID-19 and the rising need for proper communication between clinicians and team members involved in ICU operations. The purpose of implementing tele-ICU software is to provide care to complex and critically ill patients and improvise timely intervention. The software tool provides a standardized communication format for medical content organizations to reduce errors in emergency cases. In addition, the software also includes the delivery of multiple messages to a single physician. This helps in improvising the time of intervention for tele-ICU intervention and evaluation requests. Thus, all the above factors are expected to contribute to this segment's good future growth. 

By type of management, the global tele-ICU market is segmented into intensivist, open, co-managed, open with the consultant, and other types of management. The open consultant segment dominated the market and is estimated to register a CAGR of 17.8% during the forecast period. The increasing remote coverage of the ICUs and the speedy adoption of telehealth facilities are expected to boost the open with consultant type of Tele-ICUs, across the world. Most research studies suggest that open consultant management is widely implemented in tele-ICUs. Therefore, the market is anticipated to have rapid expansion during the forecast period because of the advantages of this type of management and the growing acceptance of tele-ICU.

The intensivist segment is the second largest. The networks of computer systems and audio-visual communication connected the intensivists (i.e., the critical care doctors and nurses), intensive care units, and remote hospitals are referred to as tele-ICUs. In the intensivist type of management, the central commands can be controlled by the intensivist to communicate with the remote ICU personnel and get updated patient data, such as televised pictures and clinical data, for better monitoring. The benefit of this type of tele-ICU management is that the intensivist can provide direct care in the remote patient ICU through the doctors or nurses who need not be intensivists. Thus, the presence of tele-ICU limited number of intensivists can handle multiple remote ICU patients effectively. The intensivist type of management in tele-ICU is expected to exhibit a high growth rate, as intensivists who electronically aid and deliver real-time information to frontline clinicians have empowered busy hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing care for more patients.

Impact of covid-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in delays in regulatory approvals for life sciences products due to delay in regulatory communication and meetings. The work from home imposed by the governments has compelled the players to perform teleconferences, which are expected to delay timelines shared with the clients. The client protocol prohibits the transfer of work to the employees due to data security concerns, further hampering the market growth.

Recent Developments

• October 2022 - In response to increasing patient volume and strain on hospital capacity, effective Monday, Oct. 24, Inova is activating its internal Emergency Operations Plan. By declaring an emergency, we may better prioritize the safety of our patients and team members, take advantage of operational efficiency, and make decisions in a fluid setting that better meets the changing requirements of the neighborhood.
• October 2022 - Inova Health System is pleased to announce the purchase of approximately 35 acres of land adjacent to the north of Inova Fairfax Medical Campus.