EMRs Pave the Way for “Big Data”

Electronic medical records (EMR) is the crucial component needed to make “Big Data” in healthcare a reality, a factor that is predicted to drive system sales. These are the latest findings of Kalorama Information (New York, NY, USA), an independent medical market research firm.

Big Data is a blanket term for the enormous datasets produced by manufacturers, healthcare providers, regulatory bodies, scientists, and others. Many stakeholders in the market for EMRs believe that big data has the potential to improve operations and produce faster, more informed decisions. According to industry participants, data storage requirements for the healthcare sector are doubling every 18 months, and the capacity to accommodate it is lagging behind. But the issue of big data is just one of several primary issues and trends driving growth in the EMR industry.

Other factors include new marketing strategies, new regulations, and increased usage, which will continue to fuel growth in the future. Growth is also coming from additional patient enrollments as well as technology advancements, particularly in imaging. These technological advancements are causing storage requirements to become more of an issue as more health data is gathered by EMRs. Fortunately, the availability of the cloud is another storage option garnering serious attention.

The EMR market in the United States is competitive, with over 400 providers; however, increasing mergers and acquisitions in the industry will result in the reduction in the number of competitors. But there is still ample opportunity for other companies and new entrants, since a single system offers that offers complete interoperability is still lacking. Conversely, and toward that end, the EMR vendors Allscripts (Chicago, IL, USA), athenahealth, Cerner, CPSI, Greenway, and McKesson (San Francisco, CA, USA) have formed the CommonWell Health Alliance (Atlanta, GA, USA).

The CommonWell Health Alliance is an independent, not-for-profit trade organization open to all health information technology (HIT) suppliers devoted to the simple vision that health data should be available to individuals and providers regardless of where care occurs. The belief is that it is absolutely critical for interoperability to be built into HIT systems, while protecting health data and other personally identifiable data associated or shared with healthcare providers.

While the global market for EMR was valued at USD 23.2 billion in 2013, and despite continued investment in this realm, Kalorama Information predicts that 100% EMR adoption could still be more than a decade away.

Related Links:
Kalorama Information
Allscripts 
McKesson