Digital health is reaching a confluence moment between technology and traditional health business models. The proliferation of internet access, primarily through mobile phones, has created the ability to reach a greater population. Simple conveniences like email and text messaging have given way to remote consultations, AI-driven portals, and a much greater focus on the positive impact of digital technology. Advances range from personal healthcare wallets protected by blockchain to remote monitoring and at-home care, AI-driven diagnosis, and improvements in both predicting and structuring data for analysis. Beyond the clinic, these advancements are having a profound impact on general health outcomes in rural spaces and lesser-developed countries, where simple access to information, repeated contact through mobile phones, and broader systemic advancement in platforms help manage the voluminous administration of patients and patient care.
The global digital health market reached $347.45 billion in 2025 and is estimated at $405.99 billion in 2026, a 16.85% increase. The category remains broad, but the direction is clear: digital health is now a high-growth healthcare technology market built around access, continuity, and system integration.
In developed health systems, the same shift is visible in the infrastructure underneath care. Certified EHR adoption reached 96% of U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals and 78% of office-based physicians by 2021, while OECD online digital health service availability reached 82% in 2024. Digital health is now defined less by individual apps than by infrastructure that extends care beyond formal encounters.
Key takeaway: Digital health is becoming the infrastructure layer that helps health systems reach, monitor, and manage patients beyond the clinic.
| Name | 2025 | 2026 (est)* | % Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global digital health market | $347.45B | $405.99B | 16.85% | Mordor Intelligence |
| Global digital health market, alternate estimate | $347.4B | $428.7B | 23.4% | Grand View Research |
| Certified EHR adoption, U.S. hospitals | 96% latest baseline | n/a | n/a | ONC / HealthIT |
| Certified EHR adoption, U.S. office-based physicians | 78% latest baseline | n/a | n/a | ONC / HealthIT |
| OECD online digital health service availability | 82% latest baseline | n/a | n/a | OECD |
* Estimate
New Trends
E-health is moving from basic access tools toward patient-facing AI and continuous care. Digital portals increasingly help patients understand health information before a formal encounter and decide when professional care is needed.
Patient-facing AI is becoming a measurable consumer behavior. U.S. adults using AI chatbots for health questions reached 32%, double the prior-year level of 16%. On the institutional side, U.S. hospital use of predictive AI integrated with EHRs reached 71% in 2024, up from 66% in 2023.
Digital therapeutics and prescription apps are also moving into reimbursement systems. More than 300 U.S. billing codes now support digital health and digital care, including 117 codes specific to software-based technologies.
Key takeaway: E-health is shifting from digital access toward AI-supported navigation, predictive health data, and reimbursable software-mediated care.
| Name | 2025 | 2026 (est)* | % Growth | Source Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults using AI chatbots for health questions | 16% | 32% | 100.0% | Rock Health |
| U.S. hospitals using predictive AI in EHRs | 66% latest baseline | 71% latest baseline | +5 pp | ONC / ASTP |
| Global AI in healthcare market | $40.14B | $53.61B | 33.6% | Mordor Intelligence |
| Digital health billing codes | 300+ | 300+ | 0.0% | IQVIA |
| Software-specific digital health billing codes | 117 | 117 | 0.0% | IQVIA |
* Estimate
Milestones
Telehealth remains one of digital health’s clearest adoption milestones. OECD remote consultations averaged 0.5 per patient per year in 2019, rose to 1.3 in 2021, and stabilized at 1.0 in 2023, above the pre-pandemic baseline.
The U.S. pattern shows the same normalization. Adult telemedicine use declined from 37.0% in 2021 to 30.1% in 2022, while Medicare remote patient monitoring payments exceeded $500 million in 2024. Patient portal access and use reached 65% in 2024, reinforcing the shift from episodic care toward ongoing digital contact.
Key takeaway: Telehealth and remote monitoring have moved from emergency substitutes to established care channels.
| Name | 2025 | 2026 (est)* | % Growth | Source Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OECD remote consultations per patient | 1.0 latest baseline | n/a | n/a | OECD |
| U.S. adult telemedicine use | 30.1% latest baseline | n/a | n/a | CDC / NCHS |
| Medicare remote patient monitoring payments | $536M latest baseline | n/a | 31% latest YoY | HHS OIG |
| U.S. patient portal access and use | 65% latest baseline | n/a | n/a | ONC / HealthIT |
* Estimate
Outlook
Digital health is likely to grow through integration rather than app volume. The stronger market signal is clinically defined software that can be reimbursed, integrated into records, and supported by AI-enabled navigation. The market is estimated at $405.99 billion in 2026 and forecast to reach $884.43 billion by 2031.
Trust remains a constraint. In a 2026 patient survey, 75% of respondents reported using AI, but only 13% felt very comfortable with it. 51% said AI made them trust healthcare less, while more than 80% said trust would increase with clear accountability.
Cybersecurity and interoperability remain central because digital health produces limited value when care systems cannot exchange information securely and reliably.
Key takeaway: Digital health growth depends on trust, reimbursement, evidence, security, and integration into existing care systems.
| Name | 2025 | 2026 (est)* | % Growth | Source Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital health market forecast base | $347.45B | $405.99B | 16.85% | Mordor Intelligence |
| AI in healthcare market | $40.14B | $53.61B | 33.6% | Mordor Intelligence |
| Digital health billing codes | 300+ | 300+ | 0.0% | IQVIA |
| Software-specific digital health billing codes | 117 | 117 | 0.0% | IQVIA |
| Respondents saying AI lowers healthcare trust | n/a | 51% | n/a | CHAI |
* Estimate
Supplemental Data
Ecological Impact
Digital health’s environmental profile is mixed and unevenly measured. Remote consultations can reduce travel and facility-related friction, while the infrastructure behind digital care increases dependence on energy-intensive computing and hardware systems.
As e-health expands, its impact will depend on whether health systems can reduce unnecessary movement while managing the energy and material demands of connected care.
Key takeaway: Digital health may reduce some travel-related friction, but its environmental effect depends on the infrastructure burden behind connected care.
Global Specifics
The global digital health market reached $347.45 billion in 2025 and is estimated at $405.99 billion in 2026. Forecasts place the market at $884.43 billion by 2031, implying a 16.85% CAGR from 2026 to 2031.
AI is becoming one of the strongest growth engines inside e-health. The global AI in healthcare market is estimated at $40.14 billion in 2025 and $53.61 billion in 2026, with a forecast path toward $251.36 billion by 2031. AI is growing faster than the broader digital health market, even as trust and governance remain constraints.
Digital reimbursement is becoming a more important part of the global e-health story because software adoption depends on payment pathways. More than 300 U.S. billing codes support digital health and digital care, including 117 codes specific to software-based technologies. That reimbursement structure gives software-based care a clearer route into clinical use.
Digital access remains the global boundary condition. Nearly 6.0 billion people were online in 2025, while 2.2 billion remained offline. Mobile access expands digital health’s reachable population, but offline populations remain outside many digital care systems.
Key takeaway: Global digital health is growing quickly, but its reach still depends on connectivity, reimbursement, trust, and clinical integration.
Regional Specifics
The United States remains the strongest evidence base for digital health infrastructure. Certified EHR adoption reached 96% among non-federal acute care hospitals and 78% among office-based physicians, while predictive AI use inside hospital EHRs reached 71% in 2024.
Europe provides the cleanest regional growth comparison. Its digital health market is estimated at $96.68 billion in 2025 and $113.94 billion in 2026, implying 17.85% growth. The United Kingdom is estimated at $15.46 billion in 2025 and $18.40 billion in 2026, a 19.0% increase.
OECD countries show broad digital service maturity. Online digital health service availability reached 82% in 2024, while remote consultations remained above the pre-pandemic baseline.
Key takeaway: The United States leads in official infrastructure metrics, while Europe provides a strong regional growth signal for 2026.
Keywords: digital health, e-health, telehealth, remote patient monitoring, healthcare AI