REPORT SCOPE
INTRODUCTION
STUDY BACKGROUND
Since BCC prepared its last report on health care information systems in 2006, the market environment has shifted dramatically. After years of incremental steps toward a national health care IT infrastructure, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the economic stimulus bill approved by Congress and signed into law in 2009-02-15, provides more than $19 billion for health care IT spending, including more than $17 billion to promote the wider adoption of electronic health records (EHR).
The Obama administration has made it clear that this $17 billion is only a down payment on the total cost of a national EHR system, which is generally estimated at $100 billion or more. The administration’s health care reform plan relies heavily on potential savings and efficiencies that would be generated by modernization of the nation’s health care IT infrastructure. As the President said in his March 24, 2009 press conference:
[W]e’ve got the most inefficient healthcare system imaginable. We’re still using paper. We’re still filing things in triplicate. Nurses can’t read the prescriptions that doctors have written out. Why wouldn’t we want to put that on an electronic medical record that will reduce error rates, reduce our long-term cost of healthcare…?
EHR is one of several clinical health care IT technologies that have the potential to increase the availability and quality of health care while contributing to lower costs. In addition to the potential benefits in terms of the quality and cost of U.S. healthcare, this is obviously a significant opportunity for suppliers of health care IT and related technologies. U.S. health care providers presently spend approximately $40 billion per year on all types of IT technologies.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of this study is to provide an understanding of the U.S. market for selected clinical health care IT technologies in the context of dramatic changes in the structure of the U.S. health care sector. Specific objectives include:
- Identifying the segments of the clinical health care IT with the greatest growth potential
- Analyzing key market drivers and constraints
- Estimating the size of each market segment through 2014
- Providing other information on relevant laws and regulations, standards, potential funding sources, and other information that will be useful to health care IT suppliers seeking a share of this market
INTENDED AUDIENCE
The report is intended especially for health care IT suppliers, as well as government agencies, health care policy analysts and others seeking to understand the cost and preconditions for the success of health care IT modernization initiatives. Although the report is structured around specific technologies, it is largely non-technical in nature. It is therefore less concerned with theory and jargon than with effectiveness, the amount the market is likely to purchase, and the going price.
As such, the report’s main audience is executive management and marketing and financial analysts. It is not written specifically for scientists and technologists, although its findings concern the market for their work, including the availability of government and corporate research funding for different technologies and applications.
SCOPE OF REPORT
This report is an analytical business tool whose primary purpose is to describe and analyze the dynamics of the U.S. market for health care technology. It is particularly focused on clinical IT systems that facilitate or provide input into the care process, as opposed to administrative and financial systems. It covers only software applications, as well as dedicated hardware and online services used to run them.
The study scope includes these major elements:
- Executive summary
- Definitions
- Clinical health care IT applications
- Benefits and barriers to implementation
- Market environment (e.g., legal and regulatory standards, economic conditions, consumer attitudes)
- Current (i.e., 2007 to 2008) and projected markets for health care IT technologies and products through 2014
- Industry structure
METHODOLOGY
The findings and conclusions of this report are based on information gathered from developers, providers, integrators, and users of health care IT technologies in the public and private sectors. Interview data were combined with information gathered through an extensive review of secondary sources (e.g., trade publications, trade associations, company literature, online databases) to produce the baseline market estimates contained in this report.
The base year for analysis and projection is 2008, and market projections were developed for the period of 2009 to 2014. These projections are based on a consensus among the primary contacts combined with BCC’s understanding of the key market drivers and their impact from a historical and analytical perspective. The analytical methodologies used to generate the market estimates are described in detail in the Detailed Market Projections section.
All dollar projections presented in this report are in 2008 constant dollars.
AUTHOR’S CREDENTIALS
Andrew McWilliams is a partner with 43rd Parallel LLC, a Boston-based international technology and marketing consulting firm. He is also the author of several other BCC Research studies of the health care and related industries, including Microelectronic Medical Implants: Products, Technologies and Opportunities (HLC016C),Medical Robotics and Computer-Assisted Surgery (HLC036B), Trends in the Noninvasive and Minimally Invasive Medical Device Market (HLC051D), Patient Monitoring (HLC038B), and The Home Medical Equipment Market (HLC054A).
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DISCLAIMER
The information developed in this report is intended to be as reliable as possible at the time of publication and of a professional nature. This information does not constitute managerial, legal, or accounting advice; nor should it serve as a corporate policy guide, laboratory manual, or an endorsement of any product, as much of the information is speculative in nature. The author assumes no responsibility for any loss or damage that might result from reliance on the reported information or its use.
