RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Buoyed by some $11 billion in funding across more than 200 deals last year, female technology (femtech) is poised to be a disruptor in global healthcare, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan.

The news comes on International Women’s Day.

Femtech is defined by F&S as “software, diagnostic products, and services that use technology to improve women’s health.”

F&S projects a market potential of $50 billion for femtech firms by 2025.”Women’s health is often side-lined as a

niche market; however, tides are changing and this can be attributed to the rise of the ‘she-economy’, where women are not only playing an increasingly influential role across the healthcare continuum, but also have higher purchasing power,” said Shruthi Parakkal, Frost & Sullivan’s Transformational Health Senior Research Analyst. “For instance, the economic contribution of women is expected to outpace the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of China and the United States by 2020.”

F&S says the total purchasing power of women will grow to $24 trillion by 2020, up from $18 trillion in 2014.

“Femtech is not limited to a product or a service, it is an end-to-end solution that can positively impact women’s health and wellbeing,” Parakkal added. “Femtech applications target reproductive, maternal and general women’s health and wellness, including mental health issues, elderly care, and chronic diseases and communicable diseases.”

F&S sees opportunities for femtech:

  • Which unmet needs and preferences can femtech applications fulfill in order to support women patients across the care continuum?
  • Which applications are essential to support HCPs [healthcare providers] everyday work with women patients?
  • What is current state of awareness for women patients and HCPs with regards to various femtech applications, their intensity of use and purpose.
  • What are the key drivers and motivating factors for patients and HCPs to use femtech applications? How will this evolve in the future?
  • What addressable gaps are there in the market that companies focusing on femtech can cater to? How is this different across regions / application areas?
  • What are current perceptions of patients and HCPs about the various femtech applications offered by/in association with healthcare providers?
  • What is the decision making process towards the selection of a femtech application/company?

Driving femtech opportunities are multiple factors, according to F&S:

  • 90% of women are primary healthcare decision makers for their family and key influencers for friends;
  • 80% of the household healthcare spending is done by women. Working-age females spend 29% more per capita on healthcare compared to males in the same age group;
  • 50% of global healthcare customers are women and they are the primary care givers for the elderly and children;
  • 66% of women internet users look online for healthcare information. Women are 75% more likely to use digital tools for healthcare than men;
  • 80% of healthcare professionals are women. Most are nurses, and <40% are in executive or managerial positions;
  • 4% of CEOs and 21% of Board Members at Fortune 500 Healthcare companies are women and this is expected to increase (according to #PressforProgress)

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