Global Virtual Care Market Size

Virtual Care Market Analysis

The Global Virtual Care Market size is estimated at USD 12.84 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 40.92 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 26.10% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

The COVID-19 pandemic had a positive impact on the virtual care market. The pandemic has increased the adoption of virtual care assistance among people of all age groups. Initially, the concept of virtual care was restricted to certain age groups, such as youngsters. However, with the advent of COVID-19, the term "virtual care" gained significant prominence among all patients, irrespective of their age. For instance, as per the survey conducted by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in June 2020, during the COVID-19 crisis, 47% of Canadians used "virtual care" such as phone calls, emails, messages, or videos during the outbreak. Ninety-one percent indicated they were incredibly satisfied with their visit. The same source further stated that 34% of individuals who required advice during the pandemic contacted their doctor by phone. However, only 10% saw a doctor in person, 6% went to a walk-in clinic, and 5% went to an emergency department. Furthermore, according to Canada Health Infoway, about 4% of primary care visits in Canada were done remotely (by phone, video, text, or app) before the pandemic was declared. Therefore, such instances indicate the demand for virtual care solutions bolstered during the pandemic phase.

Furthermore, the mutual advantages offered by virtual care for both doctors and patients are one of the major factors driving the market's growth. Through virtual care, patients can undergo consultation from home. It also helps to bridge the gap between patient and doctor, as doctors can reach out to more patients virtually rather than through physical consultation. In addition, virtual care is much more inexpensive than physical consultation as no traveling costs or waiting time are involved. The rising adoption of virtual care has encouraged many key and small players to launch services related to virtual care. For instance, in November 2021, LifeMD launched its virtual care platform to enable affordable and accessible healthcare 24/7 to patients globally. Likewise, in April 2022, with a USD 300 million Series D investment led by growth equity company General Atlantic, Biofourmis, a pioneer in virtual care and digital medicine, achieved unicorn status. Biofourmis intends to expand its virtual care offerings with this financing. This involves providing individualized and predictive in-home care to an increasing number of acutely ill patients and expanding Biofourmis Care, its virtual specialist care service, to patients with complicated chronic diseases. Parallelly, Biofourmis intends to fund clinical trials to accelerate the development of digital medicines that collaborate with high-value medications to boost efficacy and build strategic relationships with firms in digital health and virtual-first care ecosystems. Such innovations are anticipated to drive the market over the forecast period.

Therefore, owing to the above-mentioned factors, the studied market is anticipated to witness considerable growth over the analysis period. However, hospital integration issues and the chances of data breaches leading to compromised privacy are likely to impede the market's growth.