A new study from market research firm Kalorama Information finds that with a five year compound annual growth rate projected at 33 percent, the market for wireless technologies in healthcare in the U.S. is expected to soar to more than $7 billion in 2010.

In 2005, the market for wireless technologies in healthcare in the U.S. was valued at $1.8 billion.

Technologies such as Zigbee, RFID and WWAN are expected to grow exponentially, as the need for real-time access to data for streamlining healthcare decision making processes increases. Zigbee alone is showing a CAGR of 75 percent over a five year period.

According to the report Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) and Bluetooth will continue to be the most widely sought after technologies. However both these technologies will lose market share to the aforementioned three sectors, which are swiftly gaining a foothold in the healthcare arena. WLAN is currently the dominant technology with a 36 percent market share.

Wireless technologies have moved from simple conjecture to reality due to successful implementations of wireless technologies in numerous healthcare applications. Formal healthcare facilities, physician offices and diagnostic laboratories are finding the idea of going wireless as a godsend. Several benefits are expected from the technology including improved patient care, cost savings, remote patient monitoring, and greater regulatory compliance.

“The enormous impact on healthcare—not only in the U.S but in the global market as well—is already happening,” said Steven Heffner, publisher of Kalorama Information in a press release.

He continued: “This is a key opportunity not only from a healthcare perspective, but also from the technology provider aspect where both the current market leaders and new entrants into the field have a green light for substantial growth.”

The report Wireless Opportunities in Healthcare is on the advent of both the technologies being used and their applications in the global healthcare milieu. The report includes in-depth company profiles, trends that will push market expansion, and cost factor analyses for the planning and implementation of wireless IT in a variety of healthcare settings.

Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent market research for medical markets.

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Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering call centers, CRM and information technology. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.