The year 2014 goes down in history as a breakout year for digital healthcare, according to a recent report from StartUp Health, whose stated mission is to help 1,000 health startups reimagine and transform healthcare over the next 10 years.

StartUp Health's calculations show that some $6.5 billion was invested in digital health in 2014, a 125 percent increase over the $2.9 billion invested in 2013.

"Signs of a maturing market continue as investors place larger bets on fewer companies," according to the report, which lists the market's top deals and investors.


StartUp Health executives also reveal the five trends they will be watching closely in 2015:

Healthcare reform continues to spur innovation: As incentive structures change and new penalties come into effect in 2015, providers and payors look to entrepreneurs to create effective solutions. The unmet need is evidenced as big data and analytics ($1.5 billion); population health ($1.1 billion); and healthcare system navigation ($975 million) net the largest amounts of private funding in 2014.
Acceleration of chronic disease & aging population leads to increased consumerism: Rising costs continue to be the second largest catalyst for innovation in healthcare. Patients are not only encouraged, but enabled through mobile technology, to manage their health through preventive measures. Consumer health companies raised $880M in 2014.
Clinical decision support & personalized medicine gain traction: With the advent of the $1,000 genome, truly personalized medicine is in our reach. Genomic companies raised $632 million and diagnostics $962 million this year. This data, coupled with $624 million that went into clinical research companies will revolutionize the way that diseases are treated.
Convergence of technology in clinical settings: Mobile and wireless technology has permeated not only our daily lives, but those of professionals in clinical settings. Practice management tools allowing physicians to focus on treatment, rather than admin tasks, raised $783 million, while those focusing on improving workflows raised $681 million. Payor-related toolkits raised $699 million.
Innovation globalization: More than 7,500 startups around the world are developing new solutions in digital health, based on data from the StartUp Health Network. Even within the U.S., areas outside of the Bay Area, New York and Boston are seeing an uptick in the number of companies obtaining funding.