Frost & Sullivan: HIT Market in Southeast Asia Grows Rapidly with Improvements in Medical Care

Aug. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Over the last few decades, opportunities have been proliferating in the healthcare information technology (HIT) market in Southeast Asia. The market has been growing at a furious pace. Singapore is the market leader with a clear vision for a well-integrated electronic records system. Malaysia and Thailand, on the other hand, are adopting healthcare IT but at a less aggressive pace.

There is growing demand for improved healthcare services from the rising middle class that has high purchasing power. Moreover, the phenomenon of medical tourism is encouraging healthcare service providers to market themselves better to cater to this segment. Numerous private healthcare service providers in the three countries are using state-of-the-art facilities and treatments to lure medical tourists.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Healthcare Information Technology Market in Southeast Asia, finds that the Southeast Asian healthcare IT market was valued at US$103.8 million in 2009 and is expected to reach US$223.9 million in 2016.

“The high economic growth in these regions is fuelling growth in the market, and heavy emphasis is being placed on improving the infrastructure to allow better foreign direct investment,” says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Amritpall Singh. “All three nations are quickly ascending the steep learning curve that is part of IT development, through the continuous implementation of efficient and sustainable systems in their healthcare settings.”

Southeast Asian countries are quite receptive to new technological products, provided they will benefit the healthcare service provider or country as a whole and are cost effective. Lately, many IT companies are expanding aggressively in these countries.

Apart from treatment in Southeast Asia being competitively priced, there are a number of alternative therapies, which are not available in western countries, provided in this region. Moreover, an increase in affordable transportation and availability of tourism-friendly infrastructure in all three countries has caused a boom in medical tourism. Foreign patients are expecting medical records to be digitalized in these Asian countries.

The volume of healthcare data has been growing exponentially, and issues surrounding security have been gaining greater significance. Thus, there is a heightened need for the secure management and storage of historical and current medical data of patients through data-archiving techniques for future reference. Addressing this challenge is likely to affect cost-control measures at a hospital level.

Apart from this, the lack of central government funding for HIT has restricted its adoption in government healthcare facilities. The central governments of all three countries may consider HIT an expense rather than an investment. Singapore and Malaysia have shown considerable improvement in terms of HIT spending in the last few years, though not on a robust scale. Limited knowledge about applications of information technology in the healthcare-provider space also restrains the total market.

“In terms of the competitive landscape, there are few strong local competitors in the healthcare IT market,” says Singh. “However, vendors are doing well, as some healthcare service providers prefer local vendors.”

Foreign vendors have an edge, with strong product and healthcare industry expertise. Many of the local vendors have partnerships with foreign vendors, especially since local vendors lack experience with healthcare-related products. Governments in Southeast Asian countries are encouraging partnerships, to benefit from a spillover effect on technology and healthcare expertise.

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail to Donna Jeremiah, Corporate Communications, at djeremiah@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

Healthcare Information Technology Market in Southeast Asia is part of the Healthcare & Life Sciences IT Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the following markets: Healthcare Information Technology Market in Japan, Healthcare Information Technology Market in Australia, Healthcare Information Technology Market in South Korea and Overview of Total Southeast Asian RIS/PACS Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

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Healthcare Information Technology Market in Southeast Asia
P4A6

Contact:
Donna Jeremiah
Corporate Communications – Asia Pacific
P: +603 6204 5832
F: +603 6201 7402
E: djeremiah@frost.com

Carrie Low
Corporate Communications – Asia Pacific
P: +603 6204 5910
F: +603 6201 7402
E: carrie.low@frost.com

http://www.frost.com

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Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's research and consulting services empower clients to generate, evaluate, and implement effective growth strategies.