Telecare Market

Market Overview

Remote healthcare services are briefly segmented into three categories namely telehealth, telemedicine, and telecare and the major common factor is in aspects of telecommunications and technology. However, the main factor of differentiation are the service applications, infrastructure, and technical standards.

Telecare, in general, refers to the devices namely detectors offering automatic and continuous remote monitoring for care needs in case of emergencies that impose a high risk of injury or death. Some of the major emergencies served by this technology are namely;

• Risk Falls
• People suffering from dementia
• Risk of night seizures
• Suffering from alzheimer (a state of memory loss)
• Risk of hypothermia

Market Dynamics

The global scenario of the population is now observed to be moving towards an era with more of a geriatric population than that of the young population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of geriatric population (aged 65 years and above) is projected to grow to an approx. of 1.5 billion by 2050. Additionally, this growth will be majorly witnessed by developing countries.

Upcoming of such a circumstance is accompanied by several questions such as will population ageing be accompanied by a longer period of good health? How will ageing change the trends in healthcare and associated costs? How will technology play its role to tackle the circumstances of emergencies? 

These questions have placed the geriatric population in focus eventually leading to the evolution and high adaption of technologies such as telecare and also playing a vital role in the development of care policies as they heavily contribute to the conditions of the possibility of living as an older person.

In addition to this, there are several technological trends that are uplifting the telecare market on international grounds. Some of these trends are briefly explained below:

• Increasing use of mobile health: With the significant growth of smartphones and wireless technologies mobile health is also observed of gaining a lucrative platform of growth. According to the World Economic Forum, more than five billion people are connected to mobile services and about them are smartphone users, thereby being a vital factor for the growth of mobile health adaption. Additionally, mobile health acts as a cheap medium for regulatory bodies, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions to spread awareness associated with health. Thus such a growing trend would help reach a huge population base and promote the adoption of telecare services.
• Devices are projected to grow user-friendly and more economic: As per the trend of growing geriatric population, the demand for smaller and portable healthcare devices that are user-friendly is projected to grow in the future for convenience. Additionally to promote the adaption of these services several regulatory bodies across the globe are observed of heavily investing in building the infrastructure and also funding.

Regional Analysis

Geographically, the telecare market is studied across regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA

As per our analysis, it is observed that Europe holds a considerable share in the telecare market when compared to other regions on account of the regulatory frameworks and policies that promote the adaption of such technologies and also the required infrastructure. additionally, European countries such as Germany, U.K, Poland, Italy, and Switzerland are actively acknowledging digital health practices thereby making them potential markets for telecare.

Let us consider Germany which has a sound medical infrastructure and also policies favoring healthcare services and equipment. For instance, the health insurance in this country which is a vital component of the healthcare structure brings in an array of opportunities for the telecare market to grow as it promotes adoption. The points mentioned below helps to understand Germany’s healthcare & insurance sector and also depicts its contribution to telecare market:

• Germany’s healthcare and social security scheme have a good reputation as compared to the world as it is based on a dual system—public and private
• Healthcare sector for resident and non-resident is bifurcated into private “Krankenversicherung” (private health insurance) and “Gesetzliche Krankenkasse” (public health/ statutory healthcare system
• Citizens are mandatory to have any health coverage whether private or public, and it is of primary importance to get a job in Germany. Mandatory health insurance covers about 84% of outpatient medicines. The employer would take the responsibility of registering its employee to the German Health Insurance Company and share the cost with the employee
• Both public or private insurance covers services and treatments such as dental checks, immunizations, prescriptions, and others as it helps to maintain average healthcare costs to a minimum in the country
• The salaried class of workers who have a monthly gross income less than EUR 5,063 must have public health insurance but not private insurance, which would further change if the pay scale rises
• Germany’s healthcare contribution cost accounts for about 15.6%, divided into worker’s pay and the employer. It may also include a small supplemental rate at an average of 0.9% solely paid by the employee and charged by the State Health Insurer. A person could pay up to EUR 4,538 per month
• The pharmaceutical policy has been framed in accordance to reconcile the objectives of encouraging free pricing at the market entry and ensuring efficient use of resources such as maximum reimbursements for clusters of equivalent products, measures to promote efficient prescriptions, and others
• Reimbursement pharmaceuticals basket is defined by the statutory exclusion of several product categories such as treatments for minor ailments, OTC (Over the counter) medicines, and lifestyle medicines
• Patients are in general required to contribute costs through a 10% coinsurance rate, with the minimum rate of EUR 5 and the maximum of EUR 10 per prescription.
• Long term care insurance also termed “Pflegeversicherung” covers the care of people suffering from illness or disability and are unable to live independently for a period of six months
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an approx. of 80% of beneficiaries are 65 years old and above. Recipients are categorized according to their level of dependency
• WHO reported that an approx. of 82 million people in Germany are recipients of long-term care insurance out of which 88% are public whereas 12% come under private category

Segmental Analysis

By Type 

• Landline PERS are immobile, which limits them to a room. Though landline PERS is conventional in terms of technological attributes, it offers several benefits over PERS such as being directly connected to a phone line that makes addressing issues easier. However, this could not be the case in terms of mobile PERS as it may have higher chances of facing network conjunctions.
• According to the E-communications household and telecom signal market survey of the European Commission, 57% of the population in Germany actively use 112 during an emergency. This could offer an opportunistic view towards landline PERS as it could be more efficient and quicker. The purpose of emergency call numbers and associated devices are utilized primarily on the levels of risks faced. Therefore, in case of an extreme emergency where the patient is not active enough to dial 112 would prefer landline PERS as one-click would call the emergency services instantly. This makes landline PERS user-friendly and highly preferable.
• Additionally, the government institutions that actively participate in providing efficient emergency services have enormous customer data stored that could be used by private providers to widen the scope of landline PERS. The Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) provides protected numbers to the emergency service centers that stores geographic data on the telecommunication network. This kind of information available to the providers of a telecommunication network and service operators make it possible to route the emergency calls to immediate emergency service centers.

By End-User  

• The demand for services for elderly residents, nursing homes & care centers, and telecare systems is rapidly increasing for assisted living solutions. Assisted living solutions involve telecare, homecare solutions, telehealth, and networked systems for nursing homes. Companies such as Legrand, Neat, Intervox, and Tynetec among others are engaged in offering solutions for assisted living. Such devices are integrated with the SOS button on the transmitter that is worn or installed. It immediately initiates an alert to the emergency service center, which then promptly sends help to the user. Several facilities specialize in the needs of its residents including people with Alzheimer or Dementia.
• Trips and falls can lead to critical injuries among older people, which is one of the major concerns. According to Intervox, one in three people aged over 65 faces accidental falls from everyday life. This further increases the demand for teleassistance to avoid the risks of trips & falls. Teleassistance benefits the seniors by alerting the users through an alert service that translates an easy to wear accessory with telecare devices to notify relatives or emergency call service center immediately.
• The remote assistance solutions are thereby developed and designed for superior reliability and ergonomics which facilitate wearable-as-a service. This kind of emergency alarm solution could offer immediate medical services to older adults in case of sudden fall or any physical traumas by triggering an alert with hands-free communication.