Automation in Healthcare Gains Ground, Facilities Eye Patient Scheduling Software Systems.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Patient scheduling systems are generating great interest among healthcare facilities in the United States as information technology continues to emerge as the best way to fulfill the need of the hour -- providing cutting edge, quality healthcare for patients.

"With the growing importance of IT in maximizing efficiency in healthcare, greater automation efforts to organize operations while ensuring accurate delivery are likely to be a top priority for this industry," observes Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Vivek Subramany.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.healthcare.frost.com), U.S. Patient Scheduling Systems Markets for Healthcare, reveals that this market generated revenue of $76.5 million in 2003. Total market revenue is expected to increase to $182.9 million in 2007.

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 U.S. Patient Scheduling Systems Markets for Healthcare -- then send an email to Danielle White -- Corporate Communications at [e-mail] with the following information: your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number, and email. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you via e-mail.

However, facilities are currently taking a cautious approach to the purchase of these systems due to growing expenditure and costs. On an average, U.S. hospitals allocate less than 5 percent of capital budgets to the purchase of IT applications. Even within these restricted budgets, priority is given to IT applications that directly enhance patient care such as electronic medical records (EMR) and computerized physician order entry (CPOE).

Limited demand, therefore, poses a strong challenge to vendors of automated scheduling solutions. Many vendors stand to gain better opportunities for market share by integrating solutions or collaborating with other technology and services vendors that serve the clinical community. These partnerships are expected to help grow customer bases by enabling greater penetration of the inpatient and outpatient services market.

Standalone vendors face the added challenge of penetrating facilities wherein the existing healthcare information systems (HIS) have scheduling components. Offered by many EMR and CPOE vendors, such enterprise IT suites are often used by multi-facility integrated delivery networks (IDNs).

Vendors have to identify a need for scheduling among these facilities and convince them of the superior functionality of their systems over the installed solution. This is not an easy task since facilities tend to remain loyal to their current vendors and look to them for further IT needs.

"In order to garner adoption within this market, standalone scheduling vendors could merge offerings with enterprise IT solution vendors that are deploying EMR or CPOE solutions," says Subramany. "Adopting the same format in their product portfolios is also likely to benefit clinicians by offering them focused scheduling applications within a value-added platform and through a single purchase."

At present, smaller facilities have not adopted scheduling solutions to the extent that some of the larger IDNs have. Many of these smaller groups continue to operate within scheduling books or legacy DOS-based computer platforms. Due to a lack of strong fluctuation in patient volumes within these practices, vendors often face minimal demand from them.

As long as currently deployed scheduling methods sufficiently meet their needs, these facilities are unlikely to invest in automated solutions. However, increasing competition from other providers and clinical groups is expected to eventually spur them to increase IT spend as they realize the need for enhanced patient initiatives.

U.S. Patient Scheduling Systems Markets for Healthcare, part of the Healthcare Information Technologies subscription, assesses the current and projected implementation of patient scheduling systems within the U.S. healthcare industry. Inpatient and outpatient perspectives of the market benefit vendors by helping them evaluate the available opportunities within each sector. The research also provides a detailed analysis of critical industry challenges and offers strategies to help overcome them and improve market penetration. Executive summaries and interviews are available to the press.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. Its advisory expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities for clients. While serving clientele ranging from virtually every Global 1000 to emerging companies, Frost & Sullivan's comprehensive industry coverage includes a global perspective of all vertical and horizontal industries. Its unique coverage combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit http://www.frost.com.

U.S. Patient Scheduling Systems Markets for Healthcare

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Keywords in this release: Automation, healthcare, patient scheduling software systems, healthcare facilities, United States, information technology, IT, electronic medical records, EMR, computerized physician order entry, CPOE, inpatient services, outpatient services, standalone vendors, healthcare information systems, HIS, scheduling components, integrated delivery networks, IDNs, research, information, market, trends, technology, service, forecast