It’s a good time to be in healthcare IT

I’ve been in the healthcare IT industry for a little over 10 years now and I’ve noticed that 2005 feels alot like 1999 in terms of healthcare IT mindshare, reporting, and investments. I think much of the reason for the resurgence in health IT these days is due to President Bush’s Spring 2004 call for the creation of electronic medical records (EMRs) for most American’s within 10 years.

I was a co-founder of a healthcare dotcom that started in ’98 and was sold back in 2001 (we ran out of money). Things looked bleak from 2001 through 2003 for healthcare IT but according to a Kalorama Information report entitled The U.S. Market for Clinical Information Systems we look pretty good for the next 10 years.

According to Kalorama:

Between 10% and 15% of hospitals in the U.S. already have some form of a simple clinical IT system, such as a CPOE (computerized physician order entry) record systems, according to The U.S. Market for Clinical Information Systems. However, this new report predicts that even if only 15% to 20% of hospitals move toward adopting complete, “interoperable� data management systems, a multi-billion dollar market opportunity for the IT industry would be created.

As we all know, the basic costs for a hospital to automate simple administrative and clinical data can range from a few million dollars to $50 million, depending on the size of the hospital and the deployment and integration strategy. If the Kalorama report is to be believed, the healthcare IT market could top $40 billion by the end of this decade. Not a bad industry to be in right now.