Report: Global health IT market to hit $56.7 billion by 2017
The global health IT market is estimated to jump 7 percent to hit $56.7 billion by 2017 from $40.4 billion in 2012. Demand for clinical information technology, administrative solutions and services is fueling this growth, according to a global market research and consulting company MarketsandMarkets report released on May 10.
The report estimates that the United States and Canada will command the highest share of the health IT market due to strong government support in terms of investment and incentives, higher demand of integrated IT systems to achieve a return on investment and growing patient consumerism. However, in terms of growth, the Asia-Pacific market would be the steepest as health organizations move to digitization for better patient safety and care and a more streamlined workflow, according to the report.
The health IT market would especially grow in developing countries like India, Singapore and Thailand, and in the process drive medical tourism for patients seeking comparable care at lower costs.
“For instance, a hip replacement that costs $43,000 in the United States could cost $12,000 in Singapore and just $9,000 in India, which encourages patients to choose India as a medical destination,” according to a summary of the report. This trend will spark increased demand for health IT solutions to streamline workflow and manage patient information.
Factors inhibiting growth, as identified in the report, include:
- fragmented nature of the health IT market;
- high initial cost of health IT solutions;
- high maintenance cost of health IT system; and
- inconsistent regulatory environments across the globe.
The research report categorizes the health IT market by delivery mode, components and application, and this is further broken down into segments and sub-segments. The report also identifies key players in the market.