Research

2015 was a record year for industry consolidation, with M&A activity nearly doubling in volume -- there were 180 deals and $6 billion in disclosed activity.

Consumer purchase intent is highest for smartwatches, followed by fitness apps (30%), dedicated wearable activity trackers (27%) and smart apparel (27%).

2016 will be a year of firsts for healthcare consumers, organizations and new entrants as innovative tools and services enter the New Health Economy.

The two main applications are monitoring of patients with implantable cardiac rhythm management devices and monitoring of patients with sleep therapy devices.

Overall, 21 million wearable devices have been shipped in Q3, compared to 7.1 million units shipped in the same quarter last year.

Those relying on telehealth used it for diagnoses or treatment (55%), chronic disease management (26%), second opinion (20%) and follow-up (21%).

However, the vast majority of mHealth app publishers have not yet been able to generate significant revenues with their apps.

On contrary, employees in the healthcare industry say their employers allow using consumer messaging apps for communication with colleagues.

More than one-third of respondents said the apps were confusing to use and 30 percent said they did not like that the apps shared their data with friends.

The study has also found that 41% of respondents would not pay for a health app, while 20% would pay a maximum of $1.99, and 22% would pay $2.00 - $5.99.