Hospital IT Budgets Will Continue to Skew Toward Implementation of Electronic Medical Records (EHR), According to Millennium Research Group

February 15, 2011—Toronto—According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will continue to shift the focus of hospital healthcare IT budgets away from picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), radiology information systems (RIS), and cardiovascular information systems (CVIS), and toward Electronic Medical Records (EHR). This will result in a continued dip in sales and market size for PACS, RIS, and CVIS, one that will likely extend to 2013, when these systems are expected to become eligible for ARRA funds as well.

While hospitals are eligible for stimulus funds through demonstration of “meaningful use” of their EHR systems, PACS, RIS, and CVIS are currently ineligible for these funds.

“We expect intense competition between vendors for a share of a shrinking pie,” says Basim Mansour, Market Research Analyst at MRG. “Significant price discounting of systems as well as a shift in focus toward the less-penetrated small hospital segment is expected over the next few years. It is a very critical moment in time right now, where health care professionals and vendors need to voice their opinions and lobby to get PACS, RIS, and CVIS incorporated into Phase II and Phase III of the ARRA.”

In 2010, the US market for radiology and cardiology PACS, RIS, and CVIS was valued at approximately $1.8 billion.

MRG’s US Markets for PACS, RIS, and CVIS 2011 covers Radiology PACS, RIS, Cardiology PACS, CVIS, and Orthopedic PACS, examining current and future trends in contract sales, average selling prices, and market values over a seven-year period (2009–2015).