Graph of the week: the 2019 telemedicine market
We predict the size of next year’s tele-primary care market this week in an interactive map based on HBI data and research. 2019 will be an important year, bringing a new reimbursement scheme in France, and a relaxation of legislation in Germany and Russia. Notwithstanding that, Sweden and Switzerland look set to remain Europe’s largest markets as established providers KRY and Medgate continuously provide a greater percentage of primary care.
Click on the graph to interact. Market size is shown in €m.
Through discussions with operators, we’ve found that there are six main buyers of telemedicine services: (1) customers in OOP expenditure, (2) banks, home insurers or other service providers who include telemedicine as a value-added service, (3) employers and occupational health providers, (4) private health care operators, (5) private health insurers, including supplementary insurance, (6) the public payor, where the state or statutory insurers directly reimburse the costs of telemedicine.
The state only finances telemedicine in a select few countries; this is where we expect the market to remain the biggest. B2G is the main business model of telemedicine operators in Switzerland and Sweden, where telehealth penetration in 2018 reached 7% and 4% respectively – the highest penetration levels in Europe. We also see opportunity in countries with high levels of PMI or supplementary insurance (like France and Spain) as the insurance companies see telehealth as a means to deliver healthcare.
We see the OOP market remaining relatively small, especially where patients can easily access traditional primary care free at the point of delivery. What is interesting is that some telehealth companies are experimenting with alternatives ways to deliver telemedicine to people who don’t have PMI or a willing public payor – and that is through value-added service. DocDoc has teamed up with Russia’s largest bank, for example, and other providers have said they are experimenting with offering telemedicine through home- or motor-based insurance packages.
Sources: Our discussions with telemedicine operators, insurers, analysts, and publicly available financial statements.
We would welcome your thoughts on this story. Email your views to Rachel Lewis or call 0207 183 3779.
