Health IT Market in Growth Mode

The healthcare IT applications market continues to grow, according to a new Research and Markets report, which projects that by 2017 the global market will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 7.0 percent .

Analysts say the market, valued at $40.4 billion in 2012, will swell to $56.7 billion by 2017 due primarily to the rising demand for clinical data technology and administrative solutions.

Drivers of growth include: a growing demand for interoperable systems; financial incentives from the U.S. government; rise in aging population; burgeoning medical tourism in Asia; and the high rate of return on investment using these systems.

Despite the U.S. garnering the lion's share of the healthcare IT applications market, the Asia-Pacific region is poised for the greatest growth, with lower cost medical treatments attracting patients who would normally pay higher prices in North America.