EHRs Will Save $78 Billion Globally
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
A recent study posits EHRs will become integral to future digital healthcare initiatives.
A Juniper Research report predicts EHRs will be responsible for saving the global healthcare industry over $78 billion between 2014 and 2019, becoming an integral part of future digital healthcare initiatives, according to a press release. The report – Digital Health, Remote Monitoring & EHR Cost Savings 2014-2019 – is the fifth annual study designed to provide definitive insights into the market and comprehensive five-year projections.
The latest study argues EHRs are crucial as the supporting infrastructure for a wide range of digital healthcare and mHealth projects. New ACO initiatives, such as value-based payments, are resulting in a reconfiguration of how healthcare needs should be addressed, supporting the evolution of digital healthcare.
According to the report, the medical profession will increasingly rely on EHRs to support disparate elements of digital health. Anthony Cox, the author of the report, explained, “Advanced EHRs will provide the ‘glue’ to bring together the devices, stakeholders, and medical records in the future connected healthcare environment.” He further noted healthcare workers have become significantly more engaged in digital healthcare in the last 18 months.
However, the report cautioned, the lack of randomized controlled mHealth trials and the diverse nature of the global healthcare industry are undercutting the positive developments. Consequently, digital healthcare approaches often require buy-in from a large number of stakeholders, and have to be tailored for each geographical region.
Despite the challenges, two key factors are anticipated to bolster the digital healthcare sector. First, the role of digital healthcare is being embraced by regulatory authorities, who are beginning to impose more flexible regulatory obligations on digital healthcare companies. Second, user interfaces such as Apple’s HealthKit are popularizing the principle of technologically advanced healthcare.
The report includes 28 pages of forecasts and provides detailed breakdowns for smartphone app-enabled healthcare hardware devices, service revenues for remote patient monitoring, and EHR cost-savings.