Healthcare information system vendors focus on developing business with new clients

Mar 29 2005

The healthcare industry in Europe is fragmented with several vendors controlling different niche segments. Early technology vendors that implemented legacy systems still have a hold on pockets of provider groups both in the primary, secondary and acute care segments, simply because the end users do not have the resources for expensive upgrades.

According to Frost & Sullivan, established relationships are therefore valued and entrants including multinational vendors, modality majors and technology powerhouses find it extremely difficult to penetrate new markets. Some vendors have tried the acquisitions route to gain control over potential customer groups.

Once customers start replacing legacy systems, provided their budgets permit it, there is likely to be a major initiative to integrate new modules with existing systems. Companies with proven integrated information technology (IT) solutions are expected to thrive in the European healthcare markets.

Companies with proven integrated IT solutions for the healthcare market are likely to take the lead in the European markets. The trend towards integrated healthcare delivery in markets such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Scandinavia is also fuelling the need to install scalable systems.

“The German healthcare authorities have initiated a programme to integrate healthcare from the patients’ perspective by linking up all segments of care delivery including the primary, secondary and acute care segments,” says Industry Manager Siddharth Saha from Frost & Sullivan. “While this is not entirely new, as the United Kingdom has traditionally used such a system, it means tremendous opportunity for system vendors that can deliver such enabling modules.”

Since the German primary healthcare market is highly fragmented, many vendors are likely to work on integration projects for the greater common good.

In France, healthcare authorities have implemented integrated solutions to link primary care centres, hospitals and patients through sophisticated, smart technologies including microchip-based cards. These systems are meant to deliver highly integrated solutions involving both clinical systems and next-generation business information devices.

The USD 3.13 billion HIS market grew at an estimated 9.7 per cent in 2003. This growth rate has primarily been achieved due to the active implementation of the hospital clinical information systems in the major markets across Europe such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Scandinavia.

Initiatives such as the National Health Service’s (NHS) National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT) in the United Kingdom and the e-Health initiative propagated by the European Commission are expected to have a positive effect on the growth rate of the European HIS market.

“Although these initiatives do not directly mandate HIS modules, the associated IT upgrades required could force stakeholders to bring systems to a common platform to support the integration,” notes Mr. Saha. The hospital clinical systems segment is expected to exhibit a higher growth rate and the European HIS market is estimated to be worth USD 6.34 billion in 2010.

Almost 75 per cent of healthcare provision in the major markets across Europe is controlled by the public sector. The run-down condition of provider institutions in some countries has resulted in a lot of money being spent on facelift.

The bureaucratic and time-consuming procedures involved in calling for tenders as well as evaluating and finalising deals have not helped the industry sales cycle much. HIS vendors need to convince healthcare authorities about the urgent need to stay on top of the technology developments, in case the gap becomes too wide to close.

http://healthcare.frost.com