eRx projected to reach $888M by 2019
The global market for e-prescribing will continue to grow, reaching $887.8 million in 2019, according to a report from Persistence Market Research.
The market, valued at $250.2 million in 2013, is expected to grow at a 23.5 percent annual compound rate from 2013 to 2019. The report reflects similar findings on the increasing uptake of e-prescribing recently noted by Surescripts, with a network that handled more transactions in 2014 than American Express (6 billion) and PayPal (4.2 billion).
In 2014, 56 percent of physicians and 95 percent of pharmacies processed 1.2 billion electronic prescriptions on the Surescripts network, the country's largest e-prescribing network, officials reported. That number includes 67 percent of all new prescriptions.
Improved healthcare infrastructure has increased the demand for e-prescribing systems, and the report says implementation of EHRs with e-prescribing systems "holds immense potential for the growth of e-prescribing market. However, the high cost of an e-prescribing system and lack of patient privacy and security impede growth of the market. Lack of high-speed broadband facilities and IT professionals in rural areas are also some of the key restraints," the researchers wrote.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.