Industry Information and Statistics

Connectivity will unleash the power of health IT

From FierceHealthIT newsletter, November 2009

Electronic medical records and computerized physician order entry won’t help the nation meet the goals of the the federal stimulus legislation of patient-centered coordinated care, improved quality of care, reduced medical errors and less duplication. It will take connectivity between EMRs and other medical technologies, and it will require full, two-way interoperability, says a medication management executive.

Writing in Hospitals & Health Networks, Jeff Pelletier, vice president and platform development leader of medication management systems for Lake Forest, Ill.-based healthcare supplier Hospira, says, “If the healthcare community really wants to improve the quality of care and care coordination, and reduce medical errors and duplicative care, then all HIT tools must work together.” That includes the EMR, hospital information system, infusion pumps, bar-coded medication administration systems, vitals monitors and pharmacy systems.

“Interoperability delivers a holistic view of a patient’s medical history and medication administration, much like a car dashboard, and it is in this model of HIT where real benefits can be seen. If the layers of patient and protocol information aren’t interoperable, the technology may not decrease errors or improve outcomes and coordination of care,” Pelletier says. “Interoperability also improves patient safety by limiting the amount of manual information a clinician must enter into a computer or device.”

For more:
- read Pelletier’s commentary in Hospitals & Health Networks

Report: Healthcare Information Technology Systems Market to Reach $53.8 Billion by 2014

October 2009, MarketsandMarkets

According to a new report by MarketsandMarkets, a research and consulting firm, healthcare information technology systems market will be worth $53.8 billion by 2014.

The healthcare information technology report presents the size of global healthcare information technology market over the period 2009 to 2014. The report studies the healthcare IT market with emphasis on key trends of the market.

The report segments the global healthcare information technology market by components and geographic regions. It analyzes the key market drivers, restraints and opportunities of the global healthcare information technology market.

The healthcare information technology market is estimated to be $53.8 billion by 2014, growing at a CAGR of 16.1%. The market is expected to grow because of the tremendous demand for general applications, which includes electronic medical records, electronic health records, computerized physician order entry system and non clinical systems. It is expected that the market for general applications will grow at an overall CAGR of 13.0% from 2009 – 2014. The main driving element for the global healthcare information technology market is the changing government regulations and government initiatives to bring down the healthcare costs.

Report: Governments Boosting Healthcare I.T. Buying

August 2009

Health information technology investments by local and state governments will increase from $7.6 billion this year to $9.6 billion in 2014, according to a new report.

That’s a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% spurred by health care reform and I.T. provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the report states. The report comes from INPUT, a Reston, Va.-based market research firm for government agencies.

Healthcare Resources

eHealth SmartBrief
Government Health IT
Health Data Management
Healthcare Informatics
Healthcare IT News
Modern Healthcare
USA.gov (Healthcare)
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Government Resources

Center for Technology in Government
Federal Computer Week
Government Technology
Office of E-Government and IT