By 2018, sales of networked medical devices will jump to 14 million units, up from 3.5 million units in 2013. Revenue from those devices will climb to $2.5 billion, up from $830 million in 2013 according to a report from Parks Associates. That represents a 34% compound annual growth between 2013 and 2018.

What are these networked devices? Parks Associates categorizes them into eight kinds - weight scale, blood pressure monitor, glucometer, insulin pump, diagnostic ECG, pulse oximeter, sleep apnea test device, and home INR (international normalized ratio) test device.

“"The addressable market for networked medical devices includes 68 million Americans with hypertension and 26 million with diabetes," said Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates, in a news release "Consumers are also demanding more autonomy in managing their care, which will drive the market in 2014 to improve patients' self-care experience. Network connectivity will enable new business models built on health software and services instead of hardware and consumable sales."

The Affordable Care Act is one of the driving factors behind the growing demand for networked devices as is a growing aging population.

Consider this: Over a third of U.S. broadband households own a digital weight scale, and 12% own a glucometer.

“With networking technology integrating into devices that capture patient vital signs and help diagnose health conditions, health professionals are able to extend the point of care to locations more convenient to patients, most notably the household," Wang said. "Networked medical devices enable patient-centered care and drive care cost away from the most expensive premises."

From the article, "Sales of Networked Medical Devices Will Climb to 14 million units in 2018" by Arundhati Parmar.  

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