Report: Huge Growth Potential for Financial Modeling Applications in Hospitals

Financial modeling, bed management, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) have the highest potential for growth in terms of IT applications supporting the business of a hospital, says a new report from HIMSS Analytics.

The analytics arm of the Chicago-based Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) looked at 26 specific operational applications being used in hospitals and determined the potential sales growth or decline of each. The research organization used information its database as well as the Dorenfest Integrated Healthcare Delivery System+ (IHDS+) Database to profile the IT application categories. Of the 26 applications, bed management, ERP, and financial modeling had the highest growth potential. 

“The first-time sales outlook for these three operational applications is grounded in the industry’s ongoing efforts to create a cost-efficient and clinically effective environment,” Lorren Pettit, vice president of market research for HIMSS Analytics, said in a statement. “The fact that the three applications represent varied aspects of a hospital’s operations suggests providers are looking for efficiencies in a multiplicity of ways.”

The report broke the categories into these categories:

·         Business Intelligence

·         Financial Decision Support

·         General Financials

·         Human Resources

·         Revenue Cycle Management

·         Supply Chain Management

It determined which applications were saturated (75 percent of U.S. hospitals), which were mature (60 percent of U.S. hospitals), and which were maturing (less than 50 percent of U.S. hospitals). Naturally, bed management, ERP, and financial modeling were in the latter category. Those three applications are projected to have an acceleration or one percent or more in their growth trajectory. Financial modeling is projected to have the highest growth opportunity of them all at 12.2 percent. Patient scheduling has the lowest growth potential at negative 5.5 percent, according to HIMSS Analytics. 

There are similar opportunities for financial data warehousing, contract management, ADT/registration, and medical necessity checking content applications. However, only the ERP, bed management, and financial modeling application markets have yet to mature. According to HIMSS Analytics, this low market penetration suggests that opportunities for vendors in this area are very positive.