Health IT Dominated By Minority Of Service Providers

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As hospitals, physician offices and other healthcare delivery organizations accelerate the adoption of health IT, a new study shows that a majority of IT solution providers are not currently doing business in the healthcare vertical, although many are trying to enter the market.

The new statistics are part of the Computing Technology Industry Association's (CompTIA's) 2nd Annual Healthcare IT Insights and Opportunities survey. Among the report's findings are that 56% of IT solution providers are not currently doing business in the healthcare vertical. Slightly more than half are evaluating entry, and 28% of this group indicated that they want to enter the market, but are unsure how to do it.

The health IT market is lucrative enough, especially among those that are currently in the market. The report's findings show that for the 44% of IT firms that generate at least a portion of their revenue from the healthcare vertical, on average, 55% of their revenue comes from their healthcare customers.

As medical facilities increasingly adopt electronic medical records (EMRs), mobile devices, tablet PCs, storage technology, and videoconferencing equipment, and as cloud computing gains traction, IT solution providers will find opportunities not only in installing technology, but also in managing and maintaining these systems.

"Healthcare providers rely on a range of core technology products to care for patients and manage their practice. Desktop and laptop PCs, printers, phone systems, and networking equipment are the norm at the vast majority of practices. Over the next 12 months, healthcare providers will engage in replacement purchases to refresh outdated equipment as well as make investments in new equipment to add additional capabilities," the report said.

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