Asia Pacific Healthcare Market Outlook for 2020 and Beyond

Everywhere you look, the Asian Pacific (APAC) healthcare market is showing steady growth with no signs of stopping. The Economic Times projects that the Asian healthcare market will grow by almost $200 billion between 2016 and 2020, to a total value of $2,660 billion. In 2019 alone, growth in the Asian healthcare market is projected to be 7.2% due to major increases in hospitals, home care and medical tourism.

One big factor fueling all of this growth, of course, is a rising elderly population. In Southeast Asia alone, the rate of those over the age of 65 is projected to triple between 2016 and 2050. Other factors that are contributing to the growth of the healthcare market in Asia are ever-advancing technologies that are changing the face of hospitals and medical devices. Technology is also leading to advances elsewhere, such as electronic medical records, telemedicine and more.

This, of course, has spurred an explosion in medical device sales throughout the Asia-Pacific region, but that’s far from the only growth sector. In this article, we’ll focus on the many areas in which the Asia Pacific health market is growing aside from medical devices.

#1) Hospitals, Hospitals, Hospitals

One surefire sign that the growth in the Asia Pacific healthcare market is real and long-lasting is this one: Existing hospitals are continuing to grow and expand, and new hospitals are still being built at a rapid rate. Of course, growth of this nature is occurring everywhere, but one great barometer for Asia is the largest market of all, China. Between 2010 and 2016, total hospitals in China increased by 7,666 to total 28,584. In addition, revenue in Chinese hospitals increased by 163% between 2010 and 2016 to a total of $430 billion.

#2) Electronic Medical Records

Electronic medical records are gradually gaining widespread adoption around the world, and the APAC market is certainly no exception to this rule. Overall, the electronic medical records market in the Asia Pacific region is forecast to grow at a rate of 8.8% between 2018 and 2023 (from $12 billion to $18.3 billion). Specifically, the Asia Pacific region is projected to outpace that global growth trend and be the fastest-growing region in the world in terms of electronic medical records.

#3) Telemedicine

Telemedicine, which puts the latest technologies to work to provide medical advice and care to people in rural or remote areas, is on the rise all over the world. We’ve already documented its growth in Latin America. Global Market Insights projects that the telemedicine market will grow 19.2% worldwide (or $38.3 billion) in Asia Pacific to reach a total value of $130.5 billion by 2025. In India and China, that projected growth rate for the telemedicine market is even higher at 22.4% and 23%, respectively.

#4) Digital Imaging Systems

Speaking of technology, China has two medical imaging solutions that are on the rise, as well. One is known as the China Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA), and the second one is the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). Between them, they are expected to grow and expand at a 14.2% rate between 2018 and 2023.

#5) Medical Tourism

Another big area of medical growth in many regions of the world is medical tourism, or the idea of traveling to another area of the world to receive medical care that is too expensive or simply not available at home. Not surprisingly, the Asia Pacific region is a major market for medical tourism. Globally, medical tourism is expected to grow from $53 billion in 2017 to $143 billion in 2025, or an annual growth rate of 12.9%. And the Asia Pacific region is expected to contribute to this total with 8.1% annual growth in medical tourism between 2017 and 2025. This is largely due to inexpensive treatments and less stringent rules about cosmetic procedures in Asia Pacific nations.

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