Ravi-Gupta

Ravi-GuptaIndian healthcare industry saw numerous trends emerging in 2014 — be it EMR adoption, personal health apps or shiftsinthe health insurance markets following government intervention. While most of these trends are here to stay as well as accelerate, one can look forward to more such trends meeting the eye in 2015.

On account of rapid innovation in Medical technology (MedTech) in the last decade, medical equipment and devices have gone smaller and therefore, smarter. But things do not stop there: now there is an increasing demand for portable medical instruments, including acute ventilators, portable X-ray machines, portable anaesthesia workstations, point-of-care testing equipment and intra-oral scanners, among others. 2015 looks set to see easily portable, battery-powered medical equipment replacing the traditional ones.

Personal health applications were a big news in 2014 and it is expected that their adoption will accelerate in 2015. But the mobile hardware side of things are going to be the big news this year, rather than software-focused mHealth apps. From tricorder-like devices that can diagnose ailments with advanced sensors, to improvements on medical monitoring technology like the Fitbit, to cups that track exactly what you are drinking… MedTech will go the democratisation way in 2015.

Going a step further, 2015 also promises to bring less controversial innovations to the realm of additive manufacturing. Doctors will, possibly, be seen using 3D printers not only to create customised casts, prosthetics, braces and implants like knee replacements, but also to print off replicas of a patient’s internal organs to practise on before a surgery. Even as we are a little away from being able to fully reconstruct 3D print organs, we can expect some exciting progress on that front over the next 12 months.

Until now, the western world has dominated MedTech market, of late, there has been a power shift in the sector, as the Asian market, specifically India, reaching the boom. The CAGR is expected to hit 20 percent by 2020. This will be aided by the fact that 100 percent FDI has been allowed in the medical device sector. Another factor pushing the industry is the rising income level of the Indian middle class: there are hundreds of millions of new patients now seeking healthcare services, creating a significant demand for high-tech devices, such as stents, pacemakers, defibrillators, insulin pumps, etc.

The year ahead is destined to see European and North American MedTech OEMs trying to consolidate and escalate their presence in the Indian healthcare market. The trends emerging this year will have significant implications for the domestic market. No matter who gains or loses, at the end of the day, it’s the people who will benefit from the developments.

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