August 18, 2006—A report recently published by Insight Research (Boonton, NJ) entitled “Telecommunications, IT, and Healthcare: Wireless Networks, Digital Healthcare, and the Transformation of US Healthcare 2006-2011” projects that the health care telecommunications service market will grow at a rate of 5.4%, from $6.3 billion this year to $8.1 billion in 2011.

The report notes that proximity of patient and provider, as well as archaic administrative systems used to manage records and exchange information, are major factors contributing to the escalating costs of a $2 trillion system of hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance providers.

“Population trends and advances in clinical treatment technology are pushing the health care industry to look at new delivery systems,” said Insight Research president Robert Rosenberg. “Because the high costs inherent in the current system are related to the proximity of the patient and provider, exploiting broadband network services is a cost-effective way to reach patients where they live and pull costs out of the current health care system.”

Insight predicts that spending on wireless technology by hospitals and physicians will grow at more than twice the market rate. “The US government tries to influence health care technology, but the private sector will dictate the future of health care technology solutions,” the report notes.

The full report is available for purchase online.

—Cat Vasko