Outsourcing of IT Requirements by Healthcare Organisations Promotes All-Round Benefits, Says Frost & Sullivan

LONDON -

As the modern enterprise seeks to focus ever more narrowly on its core activities, IT outsourcing services are increasingly being considered as a business strategy that provides access to ‘best in class’ processes and cost predictability. In healthcare, IT outsourcing has become increasingly common and provides organisations of all sizes with access to the kinds of IT systems and expertise that was once only the preserve of the elite. The changing demands and trends in healthcare are forcing healthcare organisations to acknowledge the increasing role that outsourcing can play in improving effectiveness, competitiveness, and IT expertise as well as in reducing business costs.

(Logo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO)

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (www.healthcareIT.frost.com), European Outsourcing Market for Healthcare IT, finds that the market earned revenues of US$710.0 million in 2008 and is estimated to reach US$1,097.1 million in 2015. The following segments are covered in the research: business process outsourcing, clinical application outsourcing and infrastructure outsourcing.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides a brief synopsis of the research and a table of contents, then send an e-mail to Katja Feick, Corporate Communications, at katja.feick@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, a brochure will be sent to you by e-mail.

“The healthcare IT outsourcing model represents a significant advance in the optimisation of healthcare services,” notes Frost & Sullivan Programme Leader Konstantinos Nikolopoulos. “It promotes better and efficient use of hospital resources and, with a wide range of advantages like low up-front capital investment and shorter implementation life-cycles, allows hospitals and healthcare agencies to focus exclusively on their core competencies of providing patient care.”

The service provider handles the complexities of hosting and managing various applications or technologies. Factors including spiralling healthcare costs, the increasing complexity of healthcare IT solutions and the difficulties of managing them are set to have a major impact on the European outsourcing market for healthcare IT.

One commonly cited reason for not outsourcing enterprise applications or infrastructure is the need for long-term contracts and the fear of commitment. This generally stems from a number of factors including negative coverage pertaining to loss of jobs, quality of work and the fear of ceding control, together with concerns about the security and location of the provided services.

“High-profile failures (for example, the prominent failures of several IT service providers to deliver on time for key government agencies) can foster the idea that ‘it is better to do it in-house’,” explains Nikolopoulos. “Although attitudes are changing towards working with service providers as the benefits associated with outsourced services become better understood, widespread acceptance is still far away.”

Hospitals are constantly trying to reduce prices in an attempt to buy the latest technology with their limited budgets. The costs of implementation will vary significantly depending on factors such as the organisation’s size, the complexity of its information systems, the degree to which its current processes are automated, and the integrity of its current infrastructure. Vendors can respond accordingly by offering competitive prices and flexible payment options.

“The ability of vendors to reduce costs for customers and subsequently make IT outsourcing solutions more attractive is one of the most important factors in this market,” says Nikolopoulos. “A ‘pay as you use’ service, for example, can result in many smaller hospitals jumping on board, thereby increasing the installed base of loyal customers and setting the base for larger business opportunities in the future.”

European Outsourcing Market for Healthcare IT is part of the Healthcare & Life Sciences IT Growth Partnership Services programme, which also includes research in the following markets: Competitive Benchmarking of Key Participants in the European Healthcare IT Industry, The Healthcare IT Professional Services Market in Europe and, Mobile Healthcare Technologies in Europe. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company’s Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO’s Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 35 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit www.frost.com.

European Outsourcing Market for Healthcare IT M366 Contact: Katja Feick Corporate Communications - Europe P: +49-(0)-69-7703343 E: katja.feick@frost.com

www.frost.com

Source: Frost & Sullivan

Katja Feick, Corporate Communications - Europe of Frost & Sullivan, +49-(0)-69-7703343, katja.feick at frost.com. Logo: https://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO