Urgent care apps are smartphone applications intended to serve patients seeking urgent care by connecting them to a relevant specialist and facilitating further courses of action such as diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring. Treatment can be offered remotely via text/audio/video calls or help can be arranged to usher the patient to the nearest hospital.
There are a variety of urgent care apps offering functionalities such as teleconsultation, medication adherence, communication among care teams and patients, clinical messaging, and rehabilitation to recovering patients. There has been a paradigm shift in user perception toward virtual urgent care, as opposed to the traditional method of visiting emergency rooms at hospitals. The global urgent care apps market is anticipated to grow owing to increased demand for urgent and convenient access to urgent medical care.
Urgent Care Apps Market report highlights that the market was valued at $973.6 million in 2020 and is expected to reach $10,150.5 million by the end of 2030. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 26.32% during the forecast period from 2021 to 2030.
Urgent Care Apps Market Drivers
The factors driving growth include increasing demand for urgent and convenient access to care, escalating demand for cost-effective and user-friendly technology, widespread adoption of smartphones, growing focus on patient-centered healthcare, and the increasing importance of personalized patient care.
The growing importance of patient engagement beyond diagnosis is another factor driving the adoption of post-hospital apps such as those offering medication adherence, rehabilitation to recovering patients, and establishing a secure and streamlined communication channel between the patient and their care team.
Additionally, COVID-19 has positively impacted the growth of the urgent care apps market. During the pandemic, there has been a paradigm shift in consumer preference from at-clinic patient care to virtual care. Adoption of telehealth has been positive in case of both healthcare providers as well as patients.
Urgent Care Apps Market Opportunities
The rise in technological advancements and evolving cellular communications holds immense growth potential for the global urgent care apps market. The rising global smartphone penetration rate and its utility in healthcare are also expected to boost the growth of the market.
Additionally, technological advancements such as AI-powered chatbots are expected to revolutionize the urgent care apps market by offering patients personalized care. Symptom tracker apps with AI-powered chatbots are capable of asking ‘smart’ questions to understand the patient history and offer users personalized diagnosis and treatment plans based on it.
Impact of COVID-19 on the Urgent Care Apps Market
The COVID-19 pandemic has a substantial impact on emergency medical care. A sharp decline was witnessed in visits to the emergency department (ED) across the U.S. This was attributed to the public’s concern about the high viral load in the ED and the subsequent risk of contracting COVID-19. However, while public apprehensions reduced visits to the ED, the emergency medical services (EMS) dispatchers and crew have received a significantly greater number of emergency cases during the pandemic.
Apprehensions regarding visits to the ED and the increasing importance of the role of EMS personnel is one of the major drivers for urgent care apps that reduce response times by improving communication between the EMS and clinical staff at the hospitals. Additionally, there has also been an increase in demand for consultation apps that connect a patient to a physician remotely to facilitate diagnosis and treatment.
Market Segmentation
Care Apps Market (by Product Type)
The global urgent care apps market has been segmented on the basis of indication into three segments, namely, post-hospital apps, in-hospital communication and collaboration apps, and pre-hospital emergency care and triaging apps. The post-hospital apps segment has further been segmented into medication adherence apps, rehabilitation apps, and care provider communication and collaboration apps.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of pre-hospital apps such as those offering teleconsultation and streamlining communication between emergency medical service (EMS) providers and hospitals. Additionally, the adoption of post-hospital apps is attributed to the emerging concept of patient engagement across the care continuum in healthcare.
Urgent Care Apps Market (by Indication)
The global urgent care apps market has been segmented on the basis of indication into four segments, namely, stroke, trauma, cardiac conditions, and others. Seizures and epilepsy are two of the most common neurological conditions requiring urgent care. Additionally, diseases requiring urgent intervention include cold, flu, allergies, and COVID-19, among others. Furthermore, apps offering a database of information regarding first aid and lifesaving techniques have also been considered under this segment.
The increasing prevalence of stroke and cardiac conditions as well as significant incidences of accidents leading to trauma are factors promoting the use of urgent care apps. Additionally, the pandemic has led to a growth of the others segment, with patients seeking virtual urgent care related to COVID-19 symptoms.
Urgent Care Apps Market (by Region)
The different regions covered under the global urgent care apps market include North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.
North America and Europe are two of the largest markets for urgent care apps while developing countries are expected to register strong growth in the adoption of urgent care apps in the near future.
Key Market Players and Competition Synopsis
Some of the key players operating in the market include Allm, Inc., Asahi Kasei Group, Carbon Health, Cerner Corporation, Cigna Corporation, CVS Health Corporation, General Devices, GetWellNetwork, Inc., Hospify Limited, Imprivata, Johnson & Johnson, Medisafe Limited, Pulsara, Siilo Holdings BV, Spok Holdings, Inc., Teladoc Health, Inc., TigerConnect, Inc., Twiage LLC, and Vocera Communications, Inc.
In the past few years, the global urgent care apps market has witnessed several strategic and technological developments undertaken by the different market players to attain their respective market shares in this emerging domain. Some of the strategies covered in this segment are funding activities, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), partnerships, alliances, and business expansion, regulatory and legal activities, and new offerings. The preferred strategy for companies has been partnerships followed by funding activities.
How This Report Can Add Value :
Assuming that the reader is a developer of urgent care apps, they will be able to do the following:
- Understand their position as compared to some of the key players in the market
- Stay updated with novel technology integration, features, and the latest developments in the market
- Understand the impact of COVID-19 on the adoption of urgent care apps and the entry barriers as a result of it
- Gain insights into which regions to target globally based on factors such as smartphone adoption, cellular connectivity, and demand for urgent and convenient access to care
- To gain insights into end-user perception with respect to the adoption of urgent care apps
- Identify some of the key players in the market and understand their valuable contribution
Key Questions Answered in the Global Urgent Care Apps Market Report
- How has COVID-19 impacted the adoption of urgent care apps?
- What are the key regulations governing the urgent care apps market in key regions?
- What technological developments are projected to have the maximum influence on the global urgent care apps market?
- Who are the leading players holding significant dominance in the global urgent care apps market currently?
- What are the drivers and restraints for the global urgent care apps market?
- Which region has the highest growth rate in the global urgent care apps market?
- Who are the emerging companies in the global urgent care apps market?