Summary
We can attribute the growth in the EMR market to convergence. The healthcare IT industry has made continuous technology improvements. The development and implementation of communication standards is maturing (i.e., HL7). The general public are comfortable with how their privacy can be secured. They are tired of filling out duplicate forms. The government has invested in the Nation's healthcare information infrastructure, setting a target for access to Electronic health records (EHR) and funding a US National Health Information Network (NHIN) pilot project. Healthcare providers are consolidating into Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs). The new administration favors significant improvement in healthcare. At this rate EMRs will move from theory to reality over the next few years. The biggest question remaining is whether the greatest success will come from top down (government program) or bottom up (general public/industry adoption).
Analysis
The list of firms to benefit from this trend is enormous. Specifically look to those in software, security, storage or infrastructure and those with existing market share. Notable among these are Cerner, CPSI, EPIC Systems, Ecipsys, IDX, McKesson Provider Technologies, MEDITECH, MicroSoft, Oracle, QuadraMed and Siemens Medical Solutions. Also expect to see those with specific experience and expertise profit from this growth such as Accenture, CSC and IBM.
