Communications and Technology Industry Research

The global healthcare IT market is expected to almost double in the next four years, according to marketsandmarkets.com.

And, according to ihealthbeat.com, it will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24 per cent from 2012 to 2014.

MarketsandMarkets, which follows trends in the health IT marketplace, said in a press release posted at its Web site that the healthcare IT marketplace will grow from $99.6 billion in 2010 to $162.2 billion in 2015, at a CAGR of 10.2 percent from 2010 to 2015.

While MarketsandMarkets attributes the growth in the U.S. to support from the government in the form of stimulus packages, ihealthbeat.com attributes the growth to three factors:

• Consolidation of companies
• Strong merger and acquisition activity
• New, innovative technologies and products

Marketsandmarkets points out that growth in the global markets depends upon government initiatives, and that the marketplace offers huge rewards for “domain- specific players.”  The research firm also says that “healthcare IT providers generate more than 60 percent of their revenue through license updating and the remaining through new client acquisitions,” and that it is attracting the interest of many non-healthcare segment players.

Healthcare reform is also playing a big part in the explosion of the healthcare IT market. Says marketsandmarkets.com, “The healthcare IT market is witnessing many developments with the introduction of healthcare reforms in developed nations.”

Billing, medical imaging and diagnostic information have all become more streamlined through IT implementation, marketsandmarkets notes, adding that the market, however, “still offers more scope for development, especially with increasing government incentives in the sector.”

None of this could happen, marketsandmarkets feels, without the interoperability platforms that are being developed around the world to enable data exchange across hospital networks and diagnostic centers.

In the emerging markets, according to marketsandmarkets.com, the increasing popularity of medical tourism, demand for better quality healthcare delivery by growing aging populations and increases in chronic disease patient populations is what is driving the increased adoption of IT solutions. The research firm says this market is expected to grow from $5.3 billion in 2010 to $10.9 billion in 2015, at an estimated CAGR of 15.3 percent from 2010 to 2015.

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Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM (News - Alert) in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.