Virtual care programs and telemonitoring platforms are at the heart of the connected health industry. Allowing patients to stay on top of their health goals while remaining in contact with physicians and healthcare professionals, telehealth solutions provide solutions for patients looking for convenient, connected care.

New Parks Associates research finds that over a quarter of U.S. households have used some type of virtual care communication tool in the past 12 months. This figure is predicted to increase to 65% by 2018, with revenues for virtual care services like patient-doctor video consultations to increase as well.

In addition to these increases, Parks Associates estimates the number of consumers actively tracking their personal health and fitness online will grow to over 32 million individuals by 2016, and sales of connected health products in the United States will exceed $8 billion in revenue by 2018.

Harry Wang, Director of Research at Parks Associates, will be delivering the results of an empirical study on telehealth and telemonitoring in a complimentary webinar on February 13 at 2 p.m. EST. Hosted by GE Care Innovations, "Extending Care to Drive Behavior Change" will explore key strategies for healthcare professionals and providers who want to capitalize on this trend and begin implementing virtual care for their patients.

For more information on this research or the Care Innovations webinar, click here.