Electronic Health Reporter

The market for electronic health and health records (EHRs) is set to experience rapid growth over the coming years, with EMR peer group value estimated to climb from approximately $10.6 billion in 2012 to $17 billion by 2017, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.8 percent, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The company’s new report estimates that McKesson had the largest healthcare information technology software and services revenue in 2012, with $3,300 million, placing it as the EHR market leader. McKesson is followed by Cerner and Allscripts, which achieved revenues of $2,666 million and $1,477 million, respectively.

According to GlobalData, this rapid EHR market growth is because of incentives offered under the American Relief and Recovery Act of 2009, which delivers opportunities for providers to transform unstructured, paper-based data into electronic digitized information that can be shared across the entire care industry.

Adam Dion, GlobalData’s analyst covering industry dynamics, says: “Physicians are selecting and implementing EHRs that meet federal requirements for meaningful use, and which also fit their practices and provide opportunities to enhance productivity, capture profits, and improve clinical outcomes.”

In addition to providing platforms for sharing patient information, GlobalData states that EHR vendors are offering revenue cycle management (RCM) solutions to physician practices to bridge the gap between clinical and financial information.

Dion says: “One of the many RCM solutions is GE Healthcare’s Centricity Business, which supports traditional reimbursement models for greater profitability and efficiency by standardizing all clinical and administrative staff onto the same financial platform.

“With the ever-changing world of healthcare regulations and reimbursement schedules, hospitals and health systems need solutions with the flexibility to handle diverse billing needs,” Dion concludes.