IDG launches Health Industry research & advisory service.

IDC (Framingham, MA), a unit of International Data Group (Boston, MA), has launched Health Industry Insights (HII; Framingham, MA), a new independent research and advisory practice focused on providing health industry executives and senior managers with research, business cases, benchmarking and best practices on the use of information technology. The new services are designed to assist healthcare professionals improve the coordination and delivery of consumer information and patient care while streamlining the supporting operations.

The service practice offers analysis, multi-client studies, customized research and marketing services for health organizations. It includes; coverage of entire health industry value chain, including the provider and payor segments; new technologies; business processes such as consumer education and pre-care decision-making, point-of-care delivery, post-care patient surveillance and consumer account management; market intelligence on emerging industry developments such as extra-organizational clinical and administration information exchange, pay-for-performance programs, products support and personalized medicine; best practice and business case studies, research, and five-year global health industry IT forecasts.

IDC president/ceo Kirk Campbell noted that HII "is the fifth company IDC has created that addresses the unique research needs of business executives in specific industries."