Report: Computer Assisted Coding Applications Slated for Strong Growth

Computer-assisted coding applications are poised for increased growth among hospitals, according new data from HIMSS Analytics, the research arm of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

Leveraging data from the HIMSS Analytics database, the report profiles 25 support service applications and medical devices being used in hospitals across the nation in terms of their market penetration (saturated, mature to maturing) against their projected sales volumes (decelerating, marginal to accelerating). Computer-assisted coding was observed as having the highest growth potential. According to HIMSS officials, this is a significant finding for health IT vendors as this accelerated projected sales volume is occurring in a maturing market.

“In preparation for the shift to ICD-10, it is no surprise that the sales potential for coding solutions is high,” Lorren Pettit, vice president of market research for HIMSS Analytics, said in a statement. “The findings suggest that market opportunities are ripe for vendors with computer-assisted coding solutions.

The 25 applications that were observed were divided into the following categories:

• Ambulatory
• Clinical & Business Intelligence
• Document/Forms Management
• Health Information Exchange (HIE)
• Health Information Management (HIM)
• Home Health
• IS Infrastructure
• IS Security
• Medical Devices

Nearly half of the applications (11 of the 25) profiled can be characterized as standard business tools due to their relatively high market penetration level. Five applications— dictation with speech recognition, ambulatory electronic health record (EHR), disaster recovery system, single sign-on, and electronic forms management—were marked for a healthy growth trajectory over the next five years, while 15 applications reflected a growth trajectory of less than 10 percent during the same period.