European healthcare to spend $2.1 billion on e-records
Electronic patient records are the first thing Western European healthcare providers will be spending their IT budgets on in the next four to five years, according to market researcher IDC.
Healthcare organisations are looking for a secure and comprehensive way to view and manage patients’ clinical data—and to do so they’ll need to invest in IT systems.
The need is so great that spending on e-records will reach $2.1 billion in 2008, almost double the $1.1 billion figure for 2004, according to a new IDC report.
IDC says software—databases, document management systems, security, and vertical-specific applications—will see the
greatest demand and will drive the IT spending in healthcare.
To date the UK has led the way on e-records with the NHS’ IT programme. Growth in this area will next be seen in Germany and France, according to the report.
Massimiliano Claps, senior research analyst at IDC and author of the report, said in a statement that vendors looking to peddle e-records systems must learn from the lessons of the NHS and be sure to address the specific needs—technical, business, and regulatory—of the countries they are targeting.
The study, Western Europe Healthcare Sector, 2004-2008, Electronic Patient Records IT Spending, is available from the IDC Web site.
—Sylvia Carr
“Digital records management represents a significant practice change for external and internal staff.”
Warren Armitage, Uniting Healthcare
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