No End to Health IT Sales in 2012

The Mayan calendar didn't predict this: 2012 is expected to be a banner year for the U.S. hospital health IT market, according to a new report. Revenue for the year could reach $6.5 billion, a dramatic increase from the total of $973.2 million tallied just two years ago, according to the analysis by Frost & Sullivan.

Much of that money could be up for grabs, even though most hospitals already have electronic health record vendors, Frost & Sullivan notes in a news release that describes the report, "U.S. Hospital EHR Market, 2009-2016: Charting the Course for Dramatic Change." Much of the growth will be in advanced EHRs designed to meet federal criteria for meaningful use, the company says.

"While many hospitals have already picked their key clinical systems vendors, it does not necessarily mean they will stay with these vendors and it does not mean opportunities do not exist for other market participants," industry analyst Nancy Fabozzi says in the news release. "Vendor displacements will be a natural side effect of changes in provider ownership and management."

The report, published this week, looks into the volatility surrounding the U.S. hospital health IT market. Drivers of market turbulence, in addition to hospital consolidation, include uncertainty about the impact of health-care reform on vendors and dissatisfaction over pricing and usability.

"The majority of hospitals have little choice but to do their best to adopt EHRs, and do so rather quickly," Fabozzi says. "It is this reality that is driving dramatic growth in the market today."

The full report is available for purchase through Frost & Sullivan's website.