The global healthcare IT market is projected to reach more than $280 billion by 2021, up from $134 billion in 2016, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 16 percent during the forecast period, according to a MarketsandMarkets research report.
The report noted that the majority of the demand for healthcare IT solutions is driven by the growing need to reduce healthcare costs while adhering to the regulatory requirements set by government organizations for ensuring safety, security, and confidentiality of patient information. Indeed, the growing adoption of health information exchanges (HIEs) and electronic health record (EHR) systems and improved quality of care and clinical outcomes are some of the other factors driving market growth.
In addition to the growing demand for information technology solutions from healthcare providers, the growing need for healthcare insurance providers to efficiently manage a comprehensive record of claims and reimbursements is also expected to contribute to the growth of the global healthcare IT market during the forecast years, the researchers stated.
More specifically, this report includes market analysis of various healthcare IT solutions available in the market comprising healthcare provider solutions, healthcare payer solutions, and healthcare IT outsourcing services. In 2015, the healthcare provider solutions segment accounted for the largest share of the global healthcare IT market. Growth in this segment is attributed to the increasing demand for improved patient safety and patient care, stringent regulations regarding healthcare provider solutions, and need for integrated healthcare systems, the researchers noted.
The healthcare provider solutions segment is further categorized into clinical solutions and non-clinical solutions. Covered on the clinical side are: EHRs, PACS and VNA, mHealth applications, CPOE solutions, e-prescribing solutions, and population health management solutions. On the non-clinical side, pharmacy information systems, supply chain management, revenue cycle management, and healthcare analytics are some of the major solutions covered.
What’s more, regarding the end user, the healthcare IT market is broadly segmented as healthcare providers and healthcare payers. The healthcare providers segment is further divided into hospitals; ambulatory care centers; home healthcare agencies, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities; diagnostic and imaging centers; and pharmacies. On the other hand, the healthcare payers segment is further divided into private payers and public payers. Hospitals form the largest end-user segment of the global healthcare IT market, owing to the huge demand for various healthcare IT solutions among hospitals in order to manage the increasing load of patient information generated in hospitals and growing need to improve the quality of healthcare while improving operational efficiencies within the organizations.
From a global standpoint, in 2015, North America accounted for the majority share of the global healthcare IT market followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. The large share of this region can be attributed to the stringent legislative and accreditation requirements regarding healthcare, the high adoption rate of healthcare IT technologies in order to curtail the soaring healthcare costs, regulatory requirements regarding patient safety, and the presence of a large number of IT companies in the region. Europe is the second-largest healthcare IT market, according to the report.
