The global market for natural language processing (NLP) is projected to reach $2.67 billion by 2020, according to a MarketsandMarkets report.

NLP technologies--the three types are rule-based, statistical and hybrid--analyze information from unstructured clinical data for reporting and analytics.

Overall, the NLP market is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 19.2 percent, from $1.1 billion in 2015 to $2.67 billion by 2022.

North America likely will have the largest NLP market when accounting for spending on and adoption of NLP technologies in the healthcare and life sciences industries, according to the report. Such industries have higher adoption rates for rule-based NLP technologies than any other type, but statistical NLP technologies are expected to grow at a higher rate.

The growth in NLP technology adoption will be driven by an increase in internet use for healthcare purposes; an increase in the use of connected devices; and significant growth in clinical data.

Opportunities for NLP in healthcare include an increasing need for personalized medicine; a need to raise awareness about diseases; and investment in the healthcare industry.

Potential barriers to NLP adoption, according to the report, include a lack of collaborative adoption and a lack of acceptance among some customer segments.