Global healthcare IT market projected to hit $66 billion by 2020

The global healthcare IT market projected to hit $66 billion by 2020, driven by efforts to streamline critical workflow processes, according to a new report from Global Industry Analysts.

In an announcement, GIA says that number is driven by strong emphasis on improving profitability of healthcare institutions, increasing demand for quality healthcare services and growing acceptance of mHealth and e-Health practices.

"Backed by numerous benefits, increasing number of healthcare facilities are adopting healthcare IT solutions and systems," the announcement states. "Growing complexity of healthcare operations, government initiatives to promote IT in hospitals, shift toward paperless environment and proliferation of smart devices are spurring demand for healthcare IT systems."

The U.S. has the largest healthcare IT market worldwide, according to the report, and Asia-Pacific is slated to grow the fastest, due to increased government spending on healthcare services and infrastructure.  

Strong growth is recorded for computerized physician order entry systems, electronic health records, personal health records and picture archive and communication systems (PACS), because of their abilities to reduce errors.

Also increasing growth of the market? Systems providing decision support, data storage management, mobile computing and medical tourism.

Some top names covered in the report include Allscripts, athenahealth,  CareFusion, Cerner, Epic, GE Healthcare, McKesson, Omnicell and more. Financial growth projections are included for Canada, Europe, Japan and Latin America as well.

Specifically within the HIT market, the global healthcare information exchange (HIE) market is expected to grow to $878 million by 2018 from $558 million in 2013, according to a report published last month by Dallas-based research firm MarketsandMarkets.

That report looks at the HIE technology market by set-up type, vendor type, implementation model and applications.

In August, it was reported that remote patient telemonitoring is the biggest driver of the global telemedicine market, according to a report from Research and Markets. The analysis predicts that the global telemedicine market will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 18.9 percent from 2012 to 2016, primarily due to an increase remote patient telemonitoring and strategic partnerships among vendors.

To learn more:
- read the announcement
- see the report (requires purchase)