European PACS Market Forecast to Triple in 2010

The 2003 growth rate of the overall PACS market in Europe is estimated at 22%, with revenues forecast to surge from U.S.$468.9 in 2003 to $1,476.5 million in 2010, according to a recent market review by the international consulting firm of Frost & Sullivan (London, UK).

Government intervention is key to the expansion of PACS in Europe. Health departments of governments across Europe need to pass legislation allowing for a smooth transition to complete digitization. PACS vendors need to propose viable solutions with local administrative bodies on long-term projects. Opening up healthcare to such partnerships will ultimately benefit the customer. Many hospitals in geographic proximity, requiring shared services, are linking up for a community PACS, improving connectivity and lowering costs. Partnering with such groups will help market players obtain substantial contracts and will lead to greater diffusion of PACS technologies.

"The long-term objective of such partnerships is to allow greater penetration of PACS technologies under the severe economic conditions,” said Frost & Sullivan analyst Siddharth Saha. "Once benefits are realized, the individual hospitals will be in a position to upgrade to high-end systems.”

The current market is gaining impetus not only from government support but also from healthcare providers who are looking to PACS to fulfill their increasing need for efficient management of voluminous imaging data. To capitalize on these trends, PACS vendors will have to offer scalable and flexible solutions to suit different workflows and budgets. Brisk market growth is also likely to be driven by decreasing costs of PACS acquisition and use. Once implemented, PACS is expected to validate itself by efficient and economical performance. Efforts toward standardization are expected to promote market expansion. The challenge today remains the integration of emerging modalities with PACS, especially if the equipment is more than five years old.




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