A similar version of this Health Alert appeared at Forbes.

If it hasn’t happened to you already, it will soon: Your doctor, employer, health insurer, friend, or colleague will recommend you try a new smartphone app to keep you healthy. Apps are just one example of the fast growing area of “digital health,” which refers to applying the digital technology that has changed so much of our lives to the health care industry.

Two recent reports show how important digital health is becoming, and how fast. StartUp Health, a New York-based accelerator, and Rock Health, a San Francisco-based accelerator and seed fund, have independently reported that funding for new digital health ventures in the United States doubled in 2014.

Looking only at investments worth at least $2 million, Rock Health estimates that $4.1 billion of new capital was invested in digital health, up from less than $1 billion in 2011.

StartUp Health, which also captures smaller deals, estimates that $6.5 billion in new capital was invested in digital health in 2014, up from $1.2 billion in 2010.

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