Frost & Sullivan

Double digit growth rates will propel APAC to form 28% of US$2 trillion global healthcare market in 2018

SINGAPORE, Jan. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The healthcare industry in Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at 11.1% in 2018, representing one of the fastest growing regions in the world, as the global healthcare economy averages a 4.8% annual growth rate. The positive growth is fuelled by increasing adoption of technology, innovative healthcare access programmes and delivery of care outside traditional hospital settings. Frost & Sullivan projects the Asia Pacific healthcare market to grow to US$517 billion in 2018.

Frost & Sullivan presented the Asia-Pacific Healthcare Outlook, 2018 at the Conrad Centennial Hotel, Singapore on 11^th Jan. The event was attended by close to 100 senior management and C-suite executives, marking the start of an exciting year ahead for the industry.

Even though the given political concerns and rising pressures to decrease healthcare costs, this industry will register globally a stable growth rate of 4.82% during this year. Key trends such as X-as-a-Service model will create new revenue streams driving future sustainability for the healthcare industry and Cloud will emerge as a core platform since all stakeholders need to expand storage flexibility. Finally, the ongoing digital transformation and the smart city concept will push the need for hospitals to become 'Smart Hospitals', with the Asia-Pacific countries driving this revolution.

For the Asia-Pacific region, healthcare challenges of access and affordability of new technology demand complex and innovative solutions from all industry stakeholders. The room generated interesting conversations around regulatory transitions, new business models, emerging technology platforms, evolving role of consumers and growth opportunities for industry participants including pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical technology manufacturers, digital health vendors and healthcare service providers. A key theme was the increasing industry focus on healthcare outcomes vs cost and patient-centric treatment pathways.

"The role of healthcare consumers is changing dramatically in Asia-Pacific. Digital technology enables access to information and care; hence consumers are able to choose where, how, and by whom they would like to be treated. This is changing every business model in the region", noted Rhenu Bhuller, Partner, Frost & Sullivan.

Karthik Rajan, Head of Consulting for the Frost & Sullivan Transformational Health practice presented the top predictions for the industry in 2018. The following is a round-up of the top 5 growth influencers.