Middle East PACS market to grow 63%
July 26, 2011
by
Brendon Nafziger, DOTmed News Associate Editor
The Middle East market for radiology imaging and information software will grow by more than 63 percent, as close to 700 hundred more hospitals are expected to adopt picture archiving and communications systems and radiology information systems, according to a new market survey.
InMedica, a division of British market research firm MS Research, said Thursday the desire of regional governments and patients for better standards of care will drive more software vendors to "look east."
According to its report, "The Middle East Market for PACS, RIS and CVIS - 2011 Edition," in 2010, 984 hospitals in the region had a PACS or RIS system. By 2014, as many as 1,680 could adopt the technology, InMedica said. As a result, the market, estimated at $86.1 million in 2009, could swell to $140.6 million by 2014.
"Kuwait and Israel were amongst the earliest adopters of digitized radiology departments and have fully developed markets for PACS and RIS," Theo Ahadome, a market analyst with InMedica, said in a statement. "However, in recent years, Saudi Arabia has also shown great progression in the development of modern health care systems."
In 2009, PACS installations in Saudi Arabia accounted for about one-third of the region's total, Ahadome said.
To put it in perspective: a Kalorama Information report, released in February, predicted the U.S. PACS market could be worth $1.46 billion in 2011.