Hospital Applications For Financial Decision Support, Revenue Cycle And Supply Chain Management Slated For Accelerated Growth

HIMSS Analytics’ Spring 2014 edition of the Essentials of US Hospital IT Market focuses on the sales opportunities for bed management, enterprise resource planning and financial modeling

Bed management, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and financial modeling applications are positioned for accelerated growth among hospitals, according to data from the HIMSS Analytics Essentials of the U.S. Hospital IT Market, Spring 2014 Edition. Recently Released, the Spring 2014 report evaluates the health IT applications most used by hospitals across the United States.

Using data from the HIMSS Analytics Database, the report profiled 26 operational applications being used in hospitals across the U.S. and conducted a matrix analysis of their market penetration (saturated, mature to maturing) against their projected sale volumes (decelerating, marginal to accelerating). Bed management, ERP and financial modeling technologies were observed as notable opportunities for health IT vendors, having both a maturing market penetration status and an accelerated projected sales volume.

“The first-time sales outlook for these three operational applications is grounded in the industry’s ongoing efforts to create a cost-efficient and clinically effective environment,” said Lorren Pettit, Vice President of Market Research for HIMSS Analytics. “The fact that the three applications represent varied aspects of a hospital’s operations suggests providers are looking for efficiencies in a multiplicity of ways.”

Following closely behind the three applications slated for the highest growth opportunities, the report found that the sales outlook is also positive for two additional applications in the financial decision support category: contract management and financial data warehousing/mining. Medical necessity checking content applications, which belong to the revenue cycle management category, also fall within the same ranking – mature in terms of market penetration with an accelerating projected sales growth. The relatively low market penetration for all of these applications suggests that opportunities for vendors in this area are very positive.

The 26 applications observed, most of which can be characterized as standard business tools, are divided into the following six categories

• Business Intelligence
• Financial Decision Support
• General Financials
• Human Resources
• Revenue Cycle Management
• Supply Chain Management

The report also covered the popularity of each application in the marketplace at more than 5,000 U.S. hospitals tracked by HIMSS Analytics. The popularity assessment for each application is determined by its frequency of installation.

About HIMSS Analytics
HIMSS Analytics collects, analyzes and distributes essential health IT data related to products, costs, metrics, trends and purchase decisions. It delivers quality data and analytical expertise to healthcare delivery organizations, IT companies, governmental entities, financial, pharmaceutical and consulting companies.

HIMSS Analytics is a part of HIMSS, a cause-based global enterprise that produces health IT thought leadership, education, events, market research and media services around the world. Founded in 1961, HIMSS encompasses more than 52,000 individuals, of which more than two-thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations across the globe, plus over 600 corporations and 250 not-for-profit partner organizations, that share the cause of transforming health and healthcare through the best use of IT. HIMSS, headquartered in Chicago, serves the global health IT community with additional offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.himssanalytics.org.