SPOTLIGHT: EMR market to reach $5.4B by 2015

The North American market for EMR systems will grow to $5.4 billion annually by 2015, according to a forecast from Global Industry Analysts. By contrast, European spending on EMRs will reach just $1.4 billion by 2015, GIA reports. Curiously, the report does not mention the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is pumping about $25 billion into the U.S. health IT industry over the next eight years in the form of Medicare and Medicaid bonus payments to providers for EMR usage. Instead, San Jose, Calif.-based GIA cites greater provider realization that EMRs improve efficiency and patient satisfaction by facilitating better communication between clinical staff. FierceHealthIT