Easier Financing Policies in the PACS Market a Consequence of High Price Sensitivity in East Europe

The East European picture archiving and communication system (PACS) market lags behind its western counterpart in pace and size. Although it is growing, most of the trends seen in the market are reminiscent of the trends in Western Europe 10 to 15 years ago, according to a market report.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (Mountain View, CA, USA), an international growth consultancy company, revealed that the market earned revenues of USD 18 million in 2010 and estimates this to reach USD 36.4 million in 2017.

Up to now, governments have allocated only a small portion of the gross domestic product (GDP) to healthcare. They still adopt the conventional approach, wherein a single modality fulfills the fundamental extent of imaging and reporting needs.

“However, the market is likely to get a move on with most regional governments mandating healthcare service providers to maintain archives for at least 30 years,” said Frost & Sullivan research analyst Rohan Panda. “This will give a much needed boost to the market--if not for the high-end segment, definitely for the low-end PACS segment.”

End users are also beginning to realize the benefits of information technology (IT) in the healthcare sector and are demanding more solutions, as the database of images can be used for referrals across different hospitals and countries.

As East Europe is a highly price-sensitive market, the high costs of integrated PACS solutions are a key adoption barrier. Unfortunately, the concept of leasing is still new to this market. Therefore, participants need to develop simpler financing and payment policies. Financing services such as easy loan payments and funding by private sectors or major vendors are expected to improve product uptake.

“Uncomplicated payback systems offer both the vendor and the client a chance to maintain long-term relationships with each other,” noted Mr. Panda. “Vendors can further customize their offerings based on local demand and trends such as incorporating the local dialect into the user interface and providing flexible hardware or software options at the time of replacement or upgrade.”

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