Originally Published MX November/December 2004

MARKET ANALYSIS

The market for devices designed for nonprofessional caregivers is growing, whether medtech companies are ready or not.

John Collins and Marlene Devine

Healthcare delivery in the residential setting is a logical consequence of today's "perfect storm" confluence of a healthcare system in crisis, an aging demographic, and an emerging obesity epidemic. These factors are chief among those creating a vast and growing market opportunity—home healthcare—in which disruptive technologies and unorthodox business models are likely to thrive and produce tomorrow's medtech megacompanies.

Home is not the hospital. But it increasingly is the site of medical diagnosis and treatment. Medical technology will undoubtedly innovate to meet the challenges of this trend. The question is how medtech companies will learn what innovations are needed.

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