Kalorama: 7% market growth expected for healthcare handheld devices
Handheld device sales for healthcare use reached $8.2 billion globally in 2009 and are expected to increase 7 percent for the next five years as physicians and hospitals purchase new IT systems, according to a report from healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information.
“Stimulus incentives designed to spur hospitals and physicians to use EMR systems are among several factors that will drive growth of handheld devices in healthcare,” stated the report. “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 incentives are getting healthcare organizations to think about IT purchases, and they are helping to make the argument for better electronic data entry, something that we think will lead to increased sales for devices used to enter data.”
Other factors are driving the expansion of this market, Kalorama stated, including a growing and aging population, a shortage of qualified medical professionals, cost restraints and medical error reduction measures. The propensity of doctors and nurses to use the devices is also driving sales.
Patient monitoring devices account for the largest share of sales in the handheld market, largely due to the range of products available, the number of conditions requiring monitoring and increasing demand for essential monitoring products in portable sizes, such as ultrasound and ECG, the report found.
Administrative devices have exploded over the last five years with the growing use of PDAs, smartphones and tablet PCs taking hold in the healthcare industry. Advances in technology and the continued benefits provided by handheld devices are a significant factor in driving this market, according to Kalorama.
Competitors supplying new technologies to hospitals are mainly large, established healthcare companies, often working in conjunction with other IT companies on an entire system, the New York City-based Kalorama stated. Some of the top companies offering handhelds are Research in Motion, GE Healthcare, Global Media, Medtronic, Omron, Siemens Healthcare, Socket Mobile and Welch Allyn.
“Stimulus incentives designed to spur hospitals and physicians to use EMR systems are among several factors that will drive growth of handheld devices in healthcare,” stated the report. “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 incentives are getting healthcare organizations to think about IT purchases, and they are helping to make the argument for better electronic data entry, something that we think will lead to increased sales for devices used to enter data.”
Other factors are driving the expansion of this market, Kalorama stated, including a growing and aging population, a shortage of qualified medical professionals, cost restraints and medical error reduction measures. The propensity of doctors and nurses to use the devices is also driving sales.
Patient monitoring devices account for the largest share of sales in the handheld market, largely due to the range of products available, the number of conditions requiring monitoring and increasing demand for essential monitoring products in portable sizes, such as ultrasound and ECG, the report found.
Administrative devices have exploded over the last five years with the growing use of PDAs, smartphones and tablet PCs taking hold in the healthcare industry. Advances in technology and the continued benefits provided by handheld devices are a significant factor in driving this market, according to Kalorama.
Competitors supplying new technologies to hospitals are mainly large, established healthcare companies, often working in conjunction with other IT companies on an entire system, the New York City-based Kalorama stated. Some of the top companies offering handhelds are Research in Motion, GE Healthcare, Global Media, Medtronic, Omron, Siemens Healthcare, Socket Mobile and Welch Allyn.