Recent surveys conducted of venture capitalists and providers indicate both groups see 2011 as a big year for healthcare information technology.
Citing a DowJones VentureSource survey, InformationWeek recently reported venture capital investment in healthcare information technology increased 19 percent from 2009 to 2010, up from $387.5 million to $460 million.
This upward trend in investing is likely to continue this year, as the results of a 2011 Venture View predictions survey, conducted by the National Venture Capital Association and Dow Jones VentureSource, reveal 77 percent of venture capitalists expect investment in healthcare IT to increase this year, according to a Dow Jones press release.
Marion K. Jenkins, PhD, FHIMSS, founder and CEO of QSE Technologies, says, "We definitely see room for investment in HIT areas. The ARRA/HITECH act, passed in Feb. 2009, promises significant financial incentives for both physicians and hospitals who adopt HIT systems and demonstrate Meaningful Use. But since that time, adoption has been slow, with many providers and facilities taking a wait-and-see approach. And since the adoption rate was low to begin with, and the start of money flow won't happen until late 2011 and into 2012, much of the demand for HIT software, devices and services is still in the future."
On the provider side, survey data released last month by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology show four-fifths of U.S. hospitals and 41 percent of office-based physicians currently intend to take advantage of federal incentive payments for adoption and meaningful use of certified electronic health records technology.
Healthcare providers that register for incentive payments attest that they have meaningfully used certified electronic health records for three months.
Hospital chains are also viewing the boom in healthcare IT as an investment opportunity. According to a news release from The Heritage Group and a report from The Tennessean, affiliates of Community Health Systems, Iowa Health System, LifePoint Hospitals, Trinity Health in Novi, Mich., and Vanguard Health Systems, together representing more than 400 hospitals throughout the United States, have invested in a new venture fund focused on investments in businesses that improve the delivery of healthcare services, with healthcare information technology as one of the targeted sectors.
Learn more about QSE Technologies at www.qsetech.com.
Read more from Marion Jenkins about IT:
- Laptops, Portable Media Represent Leading Cause of HIPAA Data Breaches
- Your Software Vendor: A 'Backdoor' Into Your Surgery Center's IT Systems?
- WikiLeaks Episode Underscores Risk of Portable Media in Surgery Centers