Health, wealth and …. general happiness if you have both

COVID-19 has fast tracked the adoption of healthcare and virtual care technology.

This means pretty soon, we’ll see the long-term benefits of virtual care for patients and carers, including alleviation of the burden on undermanned or under resourced health providers, reduced patient costs and better, more efficient patient care.

In 2021, not only are we likely to see further adaptation, but full implementation of digital health practices including adoption of virtual care, a continuing shift to home-based care; further acceptance of artificial intelligence / machine learning tools and applications; a shift to value-based care; and primary care reinvention.

We have already seen governments adopt virtual health technologies.

Last year, as COVID-19 began its rapid spread, the UK launched a coronavirus chatbot to relieve the pressure on the National Health Service (NHS) and reduce in-person contact.

More than 90% of Australian Public Hospitals are using data from My Health Records, with 5.2 million more clinical documents uploaded by hospitals, pathologists or radiologists increasing the total clinical documents to more than 70 million.

In the US, there has been a deep re-imagining of how healthcare and patient care is delivered.

Global Market Insights estimates the global digital health market as a US$106B industry in 2019, with the research firm expecting a 28.5% CAGR to US$639B in 2026. The report outlines several growth drivers, including the rising adoption of smart devices, improving healthcare IT infrastructure, favourable government regulations and initiatives, and rising demand for remote patient monitoring services.

In a nutshell, telehealth practices have been turbocharged by the pandemic, which means there are plenty of ground floor opportunities for investors in this space and we have three to watch ...

3 ASX stocks health to watch

Oneview Health (ASX: ONE)

It seems the story really is catching on.

You may remember last week, we wrote about ONE.

Just a quick recap: ONE is a health tech company that provides hospital patients a “virtual care and digital control centre” at their bedside to deliver the best possible patient experience during their stay. Its software platform is sold as a yearly license fee per hospital bed. Its control centre, is currently used in 9,259 hospital beds around the world, including three of the top 20 hospitals in the USA and is growing.

Last week, the company finished the week on a high.

Starting Friday at 11.5 cents and finishing at 16.5 cents, a whopping 106.25% gain.

ONE was at it again this week, up over 70% on Friday.

Certainly ONE is one to watch.

Read: 10 Reasons we Invested in ASX:ONE - Our 2021 Tech Pick of the Year

Advanced Human Imaging (ASX: AHI)

You may know AHI better as MyFiziq (ASX: MYQ).

The company recently changed its name to better reflect its overall service offering within the health tech space.

The smart healthcare products market size is estimated at $44.65 billion in 2020 and will reach about $85.37 billion by the end of 2030.

With a NASDAQ listing imminent, AHI is looking to tap into a large slice of this pie.

• Its mobile app 3D body imaging tech can be used across several sectors and industries:
• Health - MYQ’s body imaging can be integrated into telehealth - a booming sector after COVID.
• Insurance - Insurance companies can use MYQ body imaging to monitor health for insurance premium pricing.
• Fitness - COVID caused a huge shift to online fitness. MYQ’s app can be integrated into fitness apps to let users track their body changes. MYQ already has deals with fitness apps by Conor Macgregor, Floyd Mayweather, Biomorphik, Evolt and Bearn.
• Weight management - A systematic review of multiple randomized controlled studies among overweight adults showed that greater engagement in self-monitoring using digital health tools was associated with significant weight loss - another tick for MYQ.
• Online shopping for clothes - 42% of consumers said they plan to shop even more online once the pandemic ends than they do now. The number of e-commerce packages returned in 2020 rose 70% from 2019. One of the top reasons is improper fit. Integrating MYQ can help big retailers reduce returns.

AHI was another that finished the week in the green, finishing at $2.00 from $1.96.

You can find out more about AHI here.

Bod Australia (ASX: BDA)

BDA is a cannabis company with a difference.

This medicinal cannabis stock has an exclusive global partnership with H&H Group, a multi-billion dollar Hong Kong listed company, that owns a number of powerful consumer brands in the health and wellness space.

BDA’s partner H&H Group primarily sells vitamins and supplements, and owns the iconic Australian brand Swisse.

BDA has signed an exclusive global partnership with H&H Group, with nine hemp seed products under the Swisse brand being sold in over 2,000 outlets across the globe.

Products are sold in Australia under the Swisse partnership and can be found in retailers such as Chemist Warehouse, Coles and Priceline pharmacies.

In fact, BDA has the largest market share (57%) in the Australian addressable market for full plant, high CBD content products.

BDA has ...

• growing revenue base,
• An impressive Founder/CEO, who has a large shareholding,
• A deep pocketed global distribution partner, and;
• a modest market cap.

This week, BDA entered into a collaboration agreement with the UK’s leading independent scientific body on drugs, Drug Science UK, which has the potential to unlock a large market opportunity for BDA in the treatment of long-term symptoms of COVID-19.

Common symptoms include sleep disturbances, chronic pain, anxiety and fatigue – all symptoms that may be treatable with cannabis based medicinal products.

BDA had a solid week, starting at 47 cents and finishing at 52 cents.

For a broader overview read Wise Owl’s comprehensive report: BDA is a Medicinal Cannabis Stock with Growing Global Revenues

The best and worst performing sectors this week

Once again, the All-Ordinaries Index is displaying no real signs of any real direction in 2021, with the market up less than 1 per cent for the year. Healthcare is the best performer up just under 2 per cent while Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary are not far behind with both up over 1 per cent. The worst performing sectors include Materials down over 2 per cent while Consumer Staples and Energy are both just in the red for the week.

The best performers in the ASX/S&P top 100 stocks include Link Administration up over 8 per cent followed by Ansell and Charter Hall, both of which are up over 6 per cent. The worst performers include Suncorp and RIO, as both are down over 5 per cent followed by several stocks that are down over 4 per cent including BHP, Stockland, Fortescue and Bank of Queensland.

What's next for the Australian share market?

According to Wealth Within’s Dale Gillham, “While the All-Ordinaries Index has been flat during the first quarter of 2021 there are two indices that have been doing very well: the Emerging Companies Index up 25 per cent and the MidCap50 index up 14 per cent. When you see these sectors moving strongly, it is a sign that retail investors are speculating in ever increasing numbers, which is typically a sign that the end of a bull-run or bubble is close. While I don’t expect our market to crash, this is a strong sign that the All Ordinaries Index is due to pullback.

“Until the market confirms it is moving up, I will continue to assume that there is a higher probability of it falling into a low. As mentioned last week, the market will break out of this current sideways pattern very soon, and I believe the move will be down. Therefore, we need to be prepared for it to fall into mid-April and for the market to trade down to below 6,500 points. As I have stated previously, now is not the time to be entering the market, as investors would be better off waiting for the next confirmed run up.”