Budget difficulties could see Australia lagging behind a forecast digital revolution in healthcare for the Asia-Pacific region, according to analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.

It notes that the Australian government has been actively promoting electronic exchange of health information as part of the National E-Health Strategy.

However, while the market is fast progressing towards sophisticated electronic medical record (EMR) solutions, healthcare providers find it difficult to obtain budget approvals. 

According to the analyst firm, EMR penetration in 2012 was estimated at 66.1 percent for both hospital and ambulatory systems segments combined. 

Currently Australia's  healthcare expenditure is approaching 10 per cent of GDP but Frost & Sullivan predicts it could hit 15 per cent within the next few years.

 Dougan (Frost & Sullivan) explained,  “This makes efficient, affordable and timely delivery of quality healthcare services a high priority for all governments. IT offers a strategic way of achieving this, particularly with the NBN [National Broadband Network] beginning to provide the necessary high-speed infrastructure.  As the network expands its reach, technologies such as cloud services, Big Data analytics and advanced visualisation tools have the potential to revolutionise the health sector.”

The $A476 million dollar federal government project to introduce a Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) for all Australians is suffering from challenges  around  interoperability  and  the  lack of technical skills among medical professionals hinder market development.

"Robust EMR or EHR  equipment  are  expensive,  curbing  investments  from APAC healthcare providers who are already reeling under the pressures of declining margins. Their   inability   to   extend   their   operational  budgets  to  include sophisticated solutions restricts revenue inflow",  said  Frost  &  Sullivan  Healthcare Research Analyst Natasha Gulati

“Government   initiatives   to   establish   standards,   regulations   and infrastructure  further encourage healthcare providers to adopt EMR and EHR technology.  Medical  professionals  hope  to  improve operational efficiency;medical  resource  utilisation; patient data access in rural areas and aged care programs through EMR systems.”

However,  challenges  around  interoperability  and  the  lack of technical skills among medical professionals hinder market development. Robust EMR or EHR  equipment is  expensive,  curbing  investments  from APAC healthcare providers who are already reeling under the pressures of declining margins. 

Their   inability   to   extend   their   operational  budgets  to  include sophisticated solutions restricts revenue inflow.

Governments  looking  to  fund  the  implementation of these solutions must balance  their  grants  between  new investments as well as maintenance and upgrades.  In  addition  to  funding,  governments  are  collaborating with software  and  infrastructure  companies  to  build  EHR networks in public hospitals.

“Healthcare  groups and solution vendors are investing in training programs to  build  a  skilled  medical  workforce  that  can leverage sophisticated technologies,” noted Gulati. “Several universities have developed curricula on  health  IT management, health informatics and public health information management to facilitate superior healthcare delivery.”

The Australian healthcare IT market was estimated at $A783 million in 2012 and is expected to reach $A1.4 billion by 2018 with a CAGR of 10.3% in 2013-201. At the same time, healthcare expenditure in Australia reached $134 billion in 2012 and is increasing at six per cent, or twice the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP), annually

Mark Dougan, Managing Director, Frost & Sullivan said, "efficient, affordable and timely delivery of quality healthcare services a high priority for all governments.  IT offers a strategic way of achieving this, particularly with the NBN [National Broadband Network] beginning to provide the necessary high-speed infrastructure.  As the network expands its reach, technologies such as cloud services, Big Data analytics and advanced visualisation tools have the potential to revolutionise the health sector.”