Bed management, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and financial modeling health IT apps are poised for accelerated growth among hospitals, according to a new report from the HIMSS Analytics. The report, Essentials of the U.S. Hospital IT Market, Spring 2014 Edition evaluates the health IT applications most used by hospitals across the United States.
Using data from the HIMSS Analytics® Database, the report profiled 26 operational applications being used in hospitals across the U.S. and conducted a matrix analysis of their market penetration (saturated, mature to maturing) against their projected sale volumes (decelerating, marginal to accelerating). Bed management, ERP and financial modeling technologies were observed as notable opportunities for health IT vendors, having both a maturing market penetration status and an accelerated projected sales volume.
Following closely behind the three applications slated for the highest growth opportunities, the report found that the sales outlook is also positive for two additional applications in the financial decision support category: contract management and financial data warehousing/mining. Medical necessity checking content applications, which belong to the revenue cycle management category, also fall within the same ranking – mature in terms of market penetration with an accelerating projected sales growth. The relatively low market penetration for all of these applications suggests that opportunities for vendors in this area are very positive.
The 26 applications observed, most of which can be characterized as standard business tools, are divided into the following six categories:
- Business Intelligence
- Financial Decision Support
- General Financials
- Human Resources
- Revenue Cycle Management
- Supply Chain Management
The report also covered the popularity of each application in the marketplace at more than 5,000 U.S. hospitals tracked by HIMSS Analytics. The popularity assessment for each application is determined by its frequency of installation.
“The first-time sales outlook for these three operational applications is grounded in the industry’s ongoing efforts to create a cost-efficient and clinically effective environment,” said Lorren Pettit, Vice President of Market Research for HIMSS Analytics. “The fact that the three applications represent varied aspects of a hospital’s operations suggests providers are looking for efficiencies in a multiplicity of ways.”
