Ambulatory EHR Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Ambulatory EHR Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The ambulatory EHR market is expected to register a CAGR of 7.13% during the forecast period.

Globally, the healthcare system's main challenges were limiting the transmission of the COVID-19 virus among people, providing the best care to infected patients, and decreasing the number of possible deaths. A profound impact on the EHR market was observed as well. Electronic health record systems have been designed for tracking and billing patients to provide optimal care, which is the need of the hour due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. Furthermore, COVID-19 cases are showing up in hundreds and thousands, and the capability of the existing software to track such outbreaks is still a question.

For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Ridge Medical Group in Georgia implemented telehealth EHR because most patients were elderly and considered at a high-risk COVID-19 of the infection.

In addition, in June 2020, Athenahealth launched AthenaTelehealth, which is integrated into the vendor's EHR system and termed as AthenaOne. Moreover, between mid-February to late April 2020, the Athenahealth EHR network experienced a 3,400% increase in daily telehealth visits.

The factors propelling the growth of the ambulatory EHR market include the rising adoption of EHR solutions in developed markets, increasing the need for fluid movement of healthcare information and technological advancements, and government initiatives to maintain and enhance patient health record portals.

In the past decade, it was observed that paper-based records were being phased out at a rapid pace, with digitization and virtualization creating multiple growth opportunities for the better management of patient records across the chain of hospitals and research centers in healthcare.

For instance, on March 10, 2021, the European Commission adopted a recommendation on a European electronic health record exchange format to unlock the flow of health data across borders. This policy helps European citizens securely access and exchange their health data wherever they are in Europe. Additionally, in Germany, the Appointment Service and Supply Act (TSVG), adopted on March 14, 2019, is funded by the German statutory health insurance funds to provide policyholders with electronic health records from January 1, 2021, onward. This indicates that the country will have a better electronic health record (EHR) implementation in the coming years.

Thus, factors such as growing adoption by multiple healthcare centers across the developed markets and increasing investments made by governments to maintain and enhance patient health record portals are expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period. However, inconsistent EHR adoption across emerging markets and regulatory barriers are expected to impede market growth in the near future.

Key Market TrendsCloud-based Solutions Sub-segment is expected to grow the fastest over the Forecast Period

Some of the factors driving the cloud-based solutions segment are cost-effective services and the advantages of user-friendly software models. Patient information is stored and managed using these cloud-based electronic health records, making them more secure. They also allow physicians and medical practitioners to control access to sensitive information.

In April 2020, Allscripts introduced a package of COVID-19 solutions for hospitals. The Allscripts Hospital Management Package provides a series of COVID-19 workflows that address disease-specific needs within SunriseTM EHR, ParagoN HER, and Allscripts Care Director.

Cloud-based solutions are comparatively newer approaches used mainly by organizations that lack the internal infrastructure to support themselves. The installation cost for these systems is lower, and these software eradicate the need for in-house maintenance, which is likely to be the prime factor driving their increasing demand.

The cloud-based model makes the software extremely flexible regarding scalability (pay-as-you-go storage utilization). It simplifies and consolidates storage resources to reduce costs and enhance workflow by eliminating departmental silos of clinical information. The cloud infrastructure also guarantees true disaster recovery and business continuity solutions to support the quality of patient care. Hence, cloud-based EHRs are expected to register good growth in the market.

The market leaders are involved in product launches, collaborations, expansions, and acquisitions to sustain the competition. For instance, in August 2020, Allscripts announced that it will serve as a subcontractor to the prime contractor, MicroHealth, LLC, a health information technology firm, as they work to migrate the U.S. Department of State’s medical health units to a cloud-based solution for its global electronic health records.

Moreover, MicroHealth will implement Allscripts TouchWorks EHR and FollowMyHealth as the integrated mobile personal health record. Moreover, TouchWorks EHR is a powerful, scalable, and flexible platform designed by clinical and industry experts for large ambulatory practices. Thus, all the above factors are expected to contribute to the good growth of this segment over the forecast period.

North America Dominates the Market and is Expected to do the Same over the Forecast Period

The North American market is driven by robust growth of healthcare infrastructure and greater government initiatives toward electronic health records.

The ongoing pandemic is putting healthcare systems under strain in North America and forcing ambulatory centers and other medical facilities to scramble to make sure data can be shared effectively. The ‘digital front door’ is really the key to how providers should be responding to the COVID-19 situation in terms of access, triage, and even treatment. In 2020, Oracle built a National Electronic Health Records (EHR) Database plus a suite of Public Health Management Applications to help US public health agencies and healthcare providers collect and analyze data related to COVID-19.

In the United States, the healthcare industry is one of the most data-intensive sectors. The industry is deeply invested in applying innovative solutions to enhance the development of advanced healthcare and support improvements in patient care. ​Moreover, the US federal government and other public stakeholders are opening their vast stores of healthcare knowledge, including data and information on patients covered under public insurance programs. Thus, the demand for improvement of healthcare will boost up the overall market.

Additionally, according to the Canada Health Infoway, in 2018, 93% of physicians who used an electronic medical record said EMRs allow them to provide improved patient care. Furthermore, the government of Mexico is in the process of implementing and expanding EHRs in order to provide standardized health information on patients that is available, accessible, safe, and effective.

Several companies are starting various strategies like collaborations, new product launches, and mergers and acquisitions in order to maintain and increase their market shares. For instance, in October 2019, in the United States, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions entered into an agreement with Northwell Health to jointly develop a next-generation, AI-powered electronic health record. Thus, considering above mentioned factors, the market is expected to witness considerable growth in North America over the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

The ambulatory EHR market is fragmented, competitive, and consists of several major players. Most of the companies present in the market are efficient on the technological front, but require significant support to enhance their services and expand their businesses. Thus, mergers and acquisitions offer significant opportunities to gain the attention of a large number of providers and hospitals across developed regions. In the coming years few other players are expected to enter into the market. Some of the current market players include Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., eMDs, Inc., Athenahealth Inc., Cerner Corporation, eClinicalWorks, and others.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

Companies Mentioned

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc.
eMDs, Inc.
Athenahealth Inc.
Cerner Corporation
eClinicalWorks
Epic Systems Corporation
Greenway Health, LLC
Medhost
Medical Information Technology Inc.
Nextgen Healthcare Information Systems LLC
Amazing Charts, LLC
NetSmart Technologies
CureMD
Mckesson Corporation
CoverMyMeds LLC

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