Market saturation to cause electronic health record market to decline

TORONTO — Market saturation will drive down the market for electronic medical records in the United States despite a spike last year resulting from government incentive funding, according to a new study.

The Millennium Research Group predicts that due to Medicare penalties for hospitals and physicians that fail to demonstrate meaningful use of electronic medical records by 2015, most adoption will occur by then. But market saturation means that purchases of new systems will likely decline.

"Most large facilities have already adopted these systems because they had the necessary capital and information technology resources to accommodate EMR implementation early on," MRG senior analyst Mickel Phung said. "as a result, most system purchases through 2022 will consist of replacement sales and purchases made by smaller facilities that previously could not afford the systems."

MRG suggested that companies making EMR systems target smaller facilities and physician practices or such niche segments as specialists, and web-based systems also presented further opportunities because they're a major driver for ambulatory systems.