The global healthcare IT market is projected to reach $66 billion by 2020, driven by streamlining clinical workflow processes, according to a new report from market researcher Global Industry Analysts (GIA).
In the report, “Healthcare IT: A Global Strategic Business Report,” GIA says that projection is driven by strong emphasis on improving profitability of healthcare institutions, increasing demand for quality healthcare services, and growing acceptance of mHealth and eHealth practices.
Backed by numerous benefits, increasing number of healthcare facilities are adopting healthcare IT solutions and systems. Growing complexity of healthcare operations, government initiatives to promote IT in hospitals, the shift towards a paperless environment, and the proliferation of smart devices are spurring demand for healthcare IT systems, the report found.
The need to transform legacy systems into advanced information systems by integrating clinical, business, and technical assets to achieve profitability and offer quality healthcare services is encouraging hospitals to invest in healthcare IT. Sharper focus on developing healthcare infrastructure, growing acceptance of mHealth and eHealth, and intensifying competition in the healthcare sector also represent key factors driving growth in the market, according to the report.
Evolving industry standards, new product launches, and compliance with regulatory specifications are factors driving growth in the U.S., which represents the largest healthcare IT market worldwide. Mandatory use of electronic health records (EHR) and federal incentives for meaningful use of electronic records are encouraging the adoption of EHR software. Clinical information technology systems such as computerized physician order entry systems (CPOE), EHRs, personal health records (PHRs), and picture archive and communication systems (PACS), are recording strong growth, driven by their ability to reduce medical errors. And according to a recent MarketsandMarkets report, the global health information exchange (HIE) market is projected to reach $878 million by 2018.
Systems providing decision support and complete automation capabilities such as telemedicine, remote patient monitoring, intelligent networks, clinical data repository, and automatic alert systems are also finding acceptance owing to the continuous rise in number of patients with chronic ailments. Healthcare organizations are laying special emphasis on using data storage management systems to maintain secure patient records for timely access. To ensure better treatment and therapies, mobile computing is being employed to ensure instantaneous sharing of electronic patient records and other medical information, according to the GIA report.
