The healthcare IT market is expected to be worth $280.25 billion, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 15.9% from 2016 to 2021, according to a report from Reportlinker.
A growing need to manage regulatory compliance through healthcare IT solutions, government support for healthcare IT solutions, a rising demand to curtail escalating healthcare costs, and a high return on investment for healthcare information technology solutions are some factors driving market growth.
However, factors such as high cost of deployment, reluctance among medical professionals to adopt advanced healthcare IT tools, and shortage of skilled IT professionals in the healthcare industry are restraining the growth of the market. Increasing consolidation in healthcare and the availability of mobile platforms and cloud computing for healthcare IT solutions are expected to provide significant growth opportunities for the global healthcare IT market.
In 2015, North America commanded the largest share of the global healthcare IT market, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East, and Africa. Developed geographies like North America and Europe are likely to grow at a lower CAGR while the Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.
Growth in this regional segment is largely driven increasing government initiatives for eHealth, rising medical tourism, and growing demand for quality healthcare. In addition to this, factors such as increasing per capita income in emerging countries such as China and India are also driving the growth of the healthcare IT market.
In 2015, the clinical solutions accounted for the largest share of the global healthcare IT providers market. Growth in this market is driven by the increasing demand for improved patient safety and patient care, stringent regulations regarding healthcare providers, and the increasing need of integrated healthcare systems.
The growing need among healthcare providers and payors to ensure regulatory compliance and the need to manage huge flow of patient data are some of the key factors driving the growth in the healthcare IT outsourcing market. The growth of the healthcare IT outsourcing services market is driven by the growing focus of healthcare providers and payors on minimizing operational costs of healthcare delivery and maximizing profit margins.
The services segment accounted for the largest share of the healthcare IT market in 2015. According to the report, the demand for services is expected to increase in the coming years due to the introduction of complex software, and integration and interoperability of software, which require extensive training and regular upgrading.
Meanwhile, factors such as the increasing number of patients, hospitals, ambulatory care centers, and different healthcare delivery setups worldwide are driving the growth of this end-user segment.
