European healthcare to spend $2.1bn on e-records

Electronic patient records are the first thing Western European healthcare providers will be spending their IT budgets on in the next four to five years, according to market researcher IDC.

Healthcare organisations are looking for a secure and comprehensive way to view and manage patients' clinical data - and to do so they'll need to invest in IT systems.

The need is so great that spending on e-records will reach $2.1bn in 2008, almost double the $1.1bn figure for 2004, according to a new IDC report.

IDC says software - databases, document management systems, security and vertical-specific applications - will see the greatest demand and will drive the IT spending in healthcare.

To date the UK has led the way on e-records with the NHS' IT programme. Growth in this area will next be seen in Germany and France, according to the report.

Massimiliano Claps, senior research analyst at IDC and author of the report, said in a statement that vendors looking to peddle e-records systems must learn from the lessons of the NHS and be sure to address the specific needs - technical, business and regulatory - of the countries they are targeting.

The study, Western Europe. Healthcare Sector, 2004-2008, Electronic Patient Records IT Spending, is available from the IDC website.