Decentralisation of Spanish Regions to Spur Investment in Healthcare IT Infrastructure17 January 2006
The transfer of healthcare competencies from the state to the 17 autonomous regions in Spain is enabling regional authorities to make independent decisions regarding the modernisation of healthcare IT. Even as this boosts the uptake of IT applications in healthcare management, the concept of paperless hospitals with their promise of enhanced workflows, will support the implementation of IT systems by upcoming hospitals.
"With over 90.0 per cent of the hospitals in Spain possessing legacy systems, which are difficult to integrate with new IT solutions, a complete revamp of IT solutions is anticipated", says Siddharth Saha, Programme Manager - Healthcare IT at Frost & Sullivan (http://healthcare.frost.com )."Additionally, regions such as Valencia are considering the implementation of e-scheduling and e-prescribing to improve waiting list management and this is expected to boost the uptake of IT systems. "
Effective healthcare IT applications will also help reduce transcriptions costs, improve the utilisation of radiology and laboratory services and minimise adverse drug events. Accordingly, ongoing efforts to control healthcare delivery costs are set to drive both state and regional governments to support the expanded use of IT applications in the healthcare industry.
The acquisition of IT systems will further be driven by the implementation of the law on 'cohesion and quality of the national health system', which has resulted in regional authorities seeking to implement systems that facilitate seamless data flow with increased efficiency.
"There are indications that the new government might increase the healthcare expenditure, which currently remains lower than the average healthcare expenditure of the top 15 European countries", notes Mr. Saha. "This might lead to further investment in modernisation projects by the regional authorities, thereby providing greater scope for the growth of the healthcare IT markets in Spain."
The need to develop primary healthcare has spurred regions such as Andalucia, Murcia and Extremadura to invest in projects to connect the primary and the secondary health centres. Encouraged by these trends, other regions are also likely to invest in similar IT-based projects, thereby leading to a rise in revenues.
While initial market growth is likely to be influenced by local governments' initiatives to integrate hospital and primary care facilities, the rising demand for state-of-the-art clinical systems will promote market growth over the long term. Market revenues are expected to grow from US$220.0 million in 2004 to US$332.0 million by 2008. In particular, strong growth is forecast for market segments such as electronic medical records (EMR), picture archiving communications (PACS) and radiology information systems (RIS).
Despite many regional authorities acknowledging the importance of IT solutions, the lack of initiative by some regions will adversely affect the market. The absence of a definite budgetary allocation also poses a challenge to market growth. Moreover, the existing lengthy process, which requires public hospitals to invite European tenders for investments above a certain level, will make it more favourable to target the private sector.
Presently, there is a clear need to implement healthcare IT standards, which will stimulate competition and enable compatibility among medical applications and systems. Also, standardised products are easily replaceable, thereby, proving to be less risky than proprietary IT solutions.
The Spanish healthcare IT markets offer good business opportunities to vendors who possess experience in the successful implementation of systems in the public sector. In regional terms, Cataluna, Andalucia and Madrid offer good growth potential.
Competitive success will depend on the ability to form strategic alliances with local IT solutions providers. In this highly fragmented market, it will also become essential for IT vendors to maintain an efficient sales channel and build relationships with decision-making personnel in different hospitals in order to increase awareness of their services. Providing high levels of service and assuring reliability will also prove to be beneficial.
If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end-users, and other industry participants an overview of the latest analysis of the Analysis of the Spanish Healthcare IT Markets (B710-48), then send an e-mail to Radhika Menon Theodore, Corporate Communications, at rmtheodore@frost.com with the following information: your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you via e-mail.
Analysis of the Spanish Healthcare IT Markets
(B710-48)
Background
Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community, by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics.
Keywords: spain, spanish healthcare, spanish healthcare solutions, spanish healthcare IT, healthcare IT, primary health centres, secondary health centres, electronic medical records, EMR, picture archiving communications system, PACS, radiology information system, RIS, order management system, appointment management system, patient administrative system, PAS, legacy system, primary care health records system, Cataluna, Andalucia, Madrid
Database of Key Industry Participants: Accenture, Bahia Software, EDS Espana SA, El Corte Engles, GE Healthcare, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Indra Siestemas, Novasoft Sanidad (iSoft), Picis, Philips Medical Solutions, Sadiel, SAP, Savac Medical Application Support, Siemens Medical Solutions, Steria, Transtools, Tibco, T Systems, Trak Healthcare Systems
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Source: prnewswire
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