Can Vendors Overcome Barriers to Electronic Medical Record Adoption in Physician Practices?

Although electronic medical record systems are becoming popular, analysis finds that physician reluctance remains.

Waltham, Massachusetts (PRWEB) July 17, 2007 -- Millennium Research Group (MRG) has conducted a detailed analysis of the physician practice information technology (IT) solutions market in its U.S. Markets for Physician Practice IT Solutions 2007 report. The analysis reveals that nearly 18% of physicians had an electronic medical record (EMR) system in 2006 and that number is expected to rise to over 30% by 2011.

Health information technology is becoming increasingly popular in physician practices because of the growing awareness of the benefits it offers. Government initiatives allowing hospitals to assist their affiliated physicians by donating an EMR system or subsidizing the cost of software, will also fuel demand for EMR systems through 2011. Nevertheless, most non-hospital-affiliated small practices, which represented nearly 70% of all office-based physicians in 2006, will find it difficult to bear the costs of a new purchase and justify the disruption that the implementation process will cause the practice.

"The success rates of EMRs vary -- many physicians lack the training required to efficiently utilize a sophisticated EMR system," says April Chan, Analyst at MRG. "A number of vendors are now introducing more streamlined and simplified versions of their EMR systems to increase physician usability and acceptance. The software as a service (SaaS) delivery model will be an attractive alternative for small- and medium-sized practices that do not have the resources needed to acquire and maintain a system."

U.S. Markets for Physician Practice IT Solutions 2007 report includes coverage of industry competitors, including Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, athenahealth, Bond Technologies, Cerner Corporation, Companion Technologies, DoctorsPartner, eClinicalWorks, e-MDs, Epic Systems Corporation, GE Healthcare, Greenway Medical Technologies, JMJ Technologies, McKesson, Medfusion, Medical Communication Systems, MediNotes Corporation, Misys Healthcare Systems, NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Nightingale Informatix, Practice Fusion, RemedyMD, Sage Software Healthcare, SOAPWare, and many others.

About Electronic Medical Record Systems
Electronic Medical Record Systems hold a patient's health status and medical history and can be transferred across health institutions.

About Millennium Research Group
Millennium Research Group (www.MRG.net), a Decision Resources, Inc. company (www.DecisionResources.com), is the global authority on medical technology market intelligence and a leading provider of strategic information to the health care sector. Focused solely on the medical device, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries, the company provides its clients with the benefits of its specialized industry expertise through published reports and customized consulting services.

All company, brand, or product names contained in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

###