Report: EMR market to hit $8.3B by 2016
Government intervention in the medical technology market through meaningful use incentive payments will drive strong growth in the EMR market in the next few years, according to healthcare market researcher Millennium Research Group (MRG).
After 2015, Medicare penalties for care delivery organizations that have not installed EMRs will continue to support demand. As a result, the EMR market will grow to over $8.3 billion by 2016, the Toronto-based MRG predicted.
Hospitals and eligible providers who do not meet meaningful use requirements by 2015 will face a penalty in the form of a one percent reduction in Medicare reimbursement per year to a maximum of five percent. The decreasing incentive and the increasing penalty will be strong drivers for earlier adoption of EMRs, according to MRG. In addition, many hospitals are choosing to replace existing systems rather than upgrade to meet meaningful use certification requirements.
As a result, the overall market will grow at an average rate of over 12 percent per year through 2016, the report, titled “Markets for Electronic Medical Records 2012,” found.
“These drivers have led a large number of new EMR vendors to enter the market,” said MRG Analyst Mickel Phung. “More than 750 companies offering some kind of EMR tool have entered in the span of two years. The long-term viability of these newer entrants is questionable. Customers want to make sure their systems meet complex and changing requirements. The best way to do that is to go with a larger company with long experience in the market. Most new purchasers rely on advice from a colleague who has extensive experience with a system in making a purchase decision, which will also favor companies with an established presence.”
Allscripts has the largest share of the ambulatory care EMR market, while Meditech has the largest installed base in the acute care EMR market, MRG concluded. Other EMR competitors include Epic Systems, Cerner, McKesson, Siemens Healthcare, GE Healthcare, eClinicalWorks, NextGen Healthcare and Sage.
After 2015, Medicare penalties for care delivery organizations that have not installed EMRs will continue to support demand. As a result, the EMR market will grow to over $8.3 billion by 2016, the Toronto-based MRG predicted.
Hospitals and eligible providers who do not meet meaningful use requirements by 2015 will face a penalty in the form of a one percent reduction in Medicare reimbursement per year to a maximum of five percent. The decreasing incentive and the increasing penalty will be strong drivers for earlier adoption of EMRs, according to MRG. In addition, many hospitals are choosing to replace existing systems rather than upgrade to meet meaningful use certification requirements.
As a result, the overall market will grow at an average rate of over 12 percent per year through 2016, the report, titled “Markets for Electronic Medical Records 2012,” found.
“These drivers have led a large number of new EMR vendors to enter the market,” said MRG Analyst Mickel Phung. “More than 750 companies offering some kind of EMR tool have entered in the span of two years. The long-term viability of these newer entrants is questionable. Customers want to make sure their systems meet complex and changing requirements. The best way to do that is to go with a larger company with long experience in the market. Most new purchasers rely on advice from a colleague who has extensive experience with a system in making a purchase decision, which will also favor companies with an established presence.”
Allscripts has the largest share of the ambulatory care EMR market, while Meditech has the largest installed base in the acute care EMR market, MRG concluded. Other EMR competitors include Epic Systems, Cerner, McKesson, Siemens Healthcare, GE Healthcare, eClinicalWorks, NextGen Healthcare and Sage.