Research firm Transparency Market Research predicts the global mobile health market will be worth $10.2 billion by 2018, a significant increase from the $1.3 billion that it was worth in 2012.

Unsurprisingly, the firm says remote monitoring is the most important service in the mobile health market, representing as much as 63 percent of total revenue in 2012.

Again, it is no surprise when the research says the market will be driven by factors such as growing adoption of smartphones and the increasing prevalence of patients with chronic diseases.

The two services which are in second and third places in the global mhealth market are diagnostic services and healthcare systems strengthening.

Monitoring services will make a greater contribution in those countries with higher income levels.

In terms of who gains most from mobile health in commercial terms, the research firm says 50 per cent of market share will be taken by mobile operators followed by device vendors, content developers and healthcare providers.

Unsurprisingly, North America wins the largest share of the market followed by Europe and the Asia Pacific. In the latter region, deployments are mainly focused on increasing the efficiency of healthcare workers. In addition, India is emerging as a particularly innovative market with a varied range of service launches.

But the US and Canada have the highest expenditure per capita on mhealth, due to the growth in chronic diseases as well as high disposable income.