Global Spread of Digital Healthcare Will Be Gradual.

The healthcare sector, until recently, has been much slower than other industries to introduce digital technology. Unlike shopping and banking, medicine is still largely conducted in hospitals and doctors surgeries with unquestioning patients seeking treatment and advice. However, due to three recent developments this trend may be about to change. The falling costs of sensors that can monitor bodily signals, the widespread use of smartphones and `tablets` which act as communication hubs and the development of big data analytics, are set to transform how people interact with themselves and the health system in general. The development of a wide range of health apps (100,000 are now available for smartphones) and wearable devices are also likely to accelerate this trend in the future.