INTRODUCTION
STUDY BACKGROUND
The market environment for healthcare information systems has shifted dramatically in recent years. After years of incremental steps toward a national healthcare information technology (IT) infrastructure, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the economic stimulus bill approved by Congress and signed into law in February 2009, provides more than $19 billion for healthcare 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.
Modernization of the nation’s healthcare IT infrastructure is a cornerstone of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the national healthcare system that was enacted into law in 2010. The PPACA does not include any specific measures to encourage the adoption of EHR beyond those already contained in the ARRA, but EHR is one of several clinical healthcare IT technologies that have the potential to increase the availability and quality of healthcare 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 healthcare IT and related technologies. U.S. healthcare providers presently spend approximately $40 billion per year on all types of IT technologies.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
This report is an update of an earlier report published by BCC in 2009 whose goal is to provide an understanding of the U.S. market for selected clinical healthcare IT technologies in the context of the ongoing dramatic changes in the structure of the U.S. healthcare sector. Specific objectives include:
INTENDED AUDIENCE
The report is intended especially for healthcare IT suppliers, as well as government agencies, healthcare policy analysts, and others seeking to understand the cost and preconditions for the success of healthcare 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 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 healthcare 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 format includes these major elements:
METHODOLOGY
Both primary and secondary research methodologies were used in preparing this study. The findings and conclusions of this report are based on information gathered from developers, providers, integrators, and users of healthcare 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 2010, and market projections were developed for the period of 2011 to 2016. 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 chapters six through twelve.
All dollar projections presented in this report are in 2010 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 healthcare and related industries, including
BCC ONLINE SERVICES
BCC offers an online information retrieval service. BCC’s home page, located at www.bccresearch.com, enables readers to:
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 authors assume no responsibility for any loss or damage that might result from reliance on the reported information or its use.
