Eighty per cent of 18-34 year-olds would be willing to receive medical treatment in a high street store or pharmacy and 60 per cent would be willing to see a GP in a retail store, according to a study by PwC management consultants.

PwC’s 'Capture the Growth' study found that increasingly IT-savvy consumers are willing to have their care delivered in non-traditional settings, from non-traditional providers. It found that 38 per cent of people would be willing to receive advice from their GP through their smartphones and tablets. And 55 per cent would be willing to take a urine test in a retail store.

The analysis found that the UK spent an estimated £180bn in 2015 on healthcare, fitness and wellness, the majority of which was generated in the public sector. Expenditure is set to reach almost £209bn by 2020, but breakdowns show that the pendulum is starting to swing from the traditional sources of healthcare to ambitious new entrants.

Private healthcare spending was estimated to be worth more than £20bn in 2015 and is forecast to grow at more than 5 per cent a year, potentially reaching £27.8bn by 2020 – twice the rate of public healthcare spending growth. The majority of the forecast growth in this sector is due to healthcare apps and wearables which are expected to be worth £460m and £375m respectively by 2020 (vs £100m and £125m in 2015).

Alan Milburn, chair of the Health Industries Oversight Board at PwC, said: “UK healthcare is changing. The old relationship between patients and clinicians is giving way to a new one. More people are doing more - and investing more – to keep themselves healthy. The boundaries between healthcare, wellbeing and fitness are becoming blurred.

“People are more interested in their health and wellbeing than ever before and new technology is opening up new ways for consumers to access these services. This demand is creating new opportunities for new entrants, especially those in the retail, technology and financial services industries.”