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By Sam S, Adkins, Chief Research Officer
New research from Ambient Insight shows that the US demand for Mobile Medical Decision Support is growing by a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.3% and will reach $177 million by 2012.
"Point-of-care, clinical, and emergency medical decision support products designed for healthcare professionals continue to dominate the US Mobile Learning market. The three biggest challenges facing suppliers are developing new product lines to generate new revenue streams, dealing with a rapidly evolving competitive landscape, and targeting the right delivery platform. First-generation products focused almost exclusively on nurses and physicians using Palm devices. New competitors are entering the market to supply products to a much broader demographic. Also the buyer is increasingly upstream from the users and the supply chain is getting more complex," comments Sam S. Adkins, Chief Research Officer.
The data is published in a new Ambient Insight report called, "The US Market for Mobile Medical Decision Support Products: 2007-2012 Forecast and Analysis." Currently, there are four major types of Mobile Learning products in use in the healthcare sector: mobile continuing medical education (CME) and exam preparation, emergency medical decision support, clinical decision support, and medical and healthcare reference. This new report isolates the revenue opportunities and the buyers for mobile emergency medical decision support and clinical decision support products.
"We have been analyzing the US demand for Mobile Learning across all the buying segments for several years and mobile procedural aids, performance support, and decision support products are in strong demand in field-based professions. Suppliers serving the Healthcare industry continue to lead the way in the innovation of these kinds of products. Suppliers in the other field-based vertical segments are now following the lead set by these innovators," reports Adkins.
Mobile decision support software in the healthcare segment is different from conventional performance support software (EPSS). The primary difference is that products built for mobile users are designed to meet the needs of particular users performing role-based tasks in specific physical environments. Innovators are applying the principles of mobile information architecture to develop products that are not only role-aware and device-aware but are also location-based and context-aware.
This type of productivity tool is in strong demand in the Healthcare segment because healthcare professionals using the products can save anywhere from one to three hours a day, depending on their medical specialty. There is growing evidence that the use of the technology significantly reduces medical errors. The use of the technology in emergency medical situations literally saves lives. The return on investment (ROI) is quite tangible.
Another challenge faced by suppliers is targeting the right delivery platform. This report also includes data on the market share of mobile operating system vendors in this segment.
"One of the biggest trends we now see in this segment is the strong growth of Research In Motion (RIM) and Microsoft Windows Mobile platforms. Palm's loyal following in this segment is eroding and Symbian is struggling to gain a foothold. The competitive landscape is now more complicated with the availability of the Apple iPhone. It is the type of device that appeals to this demographic." adds Adkins.
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