Latin America Electronic Health Records Market Research Report: Forecast (2022-2027)

Market Definition

The Electronic Health Records (EHR) system is used commonly for combining patients' medical data records electronically & helps to store the data in a digital format. EHR systems help in increasing the accessibility to patient data, thus enhancing the overall productivity & efficiency of patient care. The components of the EHR system include a laboratory system, computerized physician order entry, and a radiology & pharmacy system. Furthermore, owing to these applications and the growing introduction to technologically advanced healthcare services in the region, it is expected that there would be a robust growth of Latin America Electronic Health Record (EHR) market in the forthcoming years.

Market Insights

The Latin America Electronic Health Record market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 8.12% during the forecast period, i.e., 2022-2027, owing to the benefits of EHR, such as storing patients’ medical history, diagnosis, immunization dates, laboratory test results, etc., on a digital platform. Further, overcoming traditional healthcare challenges like concerns about keeping patients' previous medical records on paper has fuelled the demand for electronic health records in healthcare units, such as hospitals, clinics, laboratories, etc., assisting in the better treatment of patients in the future. 

Furthermore, the region experiences a growing elderly population with several diseases such as cardiovascular diseases in the countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Chile, etc. Hence, this has boosted the need for modernized healthcare platforms, such as the digitization of patients' medical records, along with the implementation of advanced healthcare information systems to store bulk data generated in the region. Hence, these factors would act as a catalyst for the market growth of EHR in the forthcoming years.

Besides, the surging regulations by the governments of Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, etc., as well as a large number of investments to support the digitalization of healthcare units, are further expected to drive the market for electronic health records in Latin.

• In 2021, Brazilian healthcare start-up Pipo Saude raised USD20 million to promote digital healthcare in the country.

Key Trend in the Market

• Rising Integration of AI in the Healthcare Industry for Efficient Patient Data Management

The growing developments in the healthcare sector for the adoption of various technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, etc., to handle large amount of patient data led to escalate the market growth in the coming years. AI in Electronic Health Records is mainly used for improvising the patient data extraction & helps to provide personalized references for their treatments.

Furthermore, several advancements in medical imaging & the propagation of clinical diagnostics centers resulted in generating a huge amount of patient data. Therefore, AI-powered EHR systems help to integrate the data and offer numerous solutions with a variety of functionalities. Moreover, technologies such as AI, Machine learning, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) also help in recording the medical experiences of the patients and maintaining the large EHR data. Hence, the growing integration of AI in EHRs systems is expected to escalate the market growth during 2022-27.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Latin America Electronic Health Records Market

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the growth of the Latin America Electronic Health Record market. The paradigm shifts within the medical facilities to rely on digital solutions for operational activities & reduce physical contact catalyzed the market growth of Latin America Electronic Health Record. Furthermore, in 2020 electronic health record systems were increasingly used for tracking patient data due to the rising number of COVID-19 patients in the region.

Moreover, the increasing investment in the healthcare sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic & the sudden surge in the adoption of digital technologies in the healthcare sector resulted in a surge in demand for Electronic Health Records systems in the region. Hence, this would significantly escalate the market growth during the forecast period.

Market Segmentation

Based on the Product Type:

• Cloud
• On-premise

Among them, Cloud holds a significant growth rate in the Latin America Electronic Health Record market. The numerous benefits of cloud-based EHRs systems, such as the elimination of the need for additional hardware & software installation and associated costs, as well as simplified deployment, are driving market growth, particularly in small clinical offices.

Besides, the increasing digitalization in the healthcare industry for digital storage of medical records, emerging startups in telemedicine, and soaring government investment to promote AI in healthcare are the factors projected to infuse the demand for cloud-based EHR for data storage. 

Based on Function:

• Patient Management
• E-prescription
• Schedule Appointments
• Bill Payment
• Others (Referral Management, etc.)

Of them all, Patient Management held a significant share in the Latin America Electronic Health Records market during the historical period, owing to the growing number of patients with diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes, etc., in the countries like Mexico, Brazil, etc. Therefore, the increasing patient concerns regarding the management of their medical records for timely analysis resulted in propelling the growth of patient management function. Hence, the hospitals & clinics have inclined more toward the use of EHRs systems for managing patient data.

Moreover, the launch of technologically advanced platforms for electronic health records in the countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Chile to manage patient's historical medical records & the growing digitalization of health records are expected to have a positive impact on the growth of the Latin America Electronic Health Records market in the forthcoming years.

Based on End User:

• Hospitals
• Clinics
• Specialty Centres
• Labs

 Among them, hospitals & clinics witnessed a significant growth rate during the historical period. Some crucial factors responsible for market growth are the increasing adoption of HER systems in hospitals & clinics with the growing government support for the digitalization of hospitals. Therefore, the rising government initiative to digitalize healthcare units in the countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, among others results in proliferating the market growth. For instance:

• In 2018, the Federal Government of Brazil made a law called Digital Medical Record Law, 13,787 to adopt digitization in the healthcare industry and the use of computerized systems to store patients' medical records.

Regional Landscape

Geographically, the Latin America Electronic Health Record Market expands across:

• Mexico
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Chile
• Rest of Latin America

Of all the regions, Mexico attained the highest market share in the Latin America Electronic Health Record market during 2017-21, owing to the implementation of well-developed healthcare policies that encourage the adoption of EHR in private, public, and healthcare institutions as well as a growing inclination to promote an interoperable platform that allows the integration of data from existing & future EHR. Besides, the growing usage of ICT devices such as smartphones & wearables by patients to readily access the information from the system has fueled the demand for an EHR system that incorporates wearables, blockchain, and mobile technologies.

Furthermore, the increasing integration of electronic health records among the hospitals to increase efficiency is also projected to promulgate market growth in the coming years.

• In 2019, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez (HIMFG) implemented HarmoniMD HIS in a phased approach, starting with the Emergency Department, which has a staff of 20 MDs, and 35 nurses & cares for thousands of children each month.

Market Dynamics:

Key Drivers: The Growing Government Support to Digitalize Healthcare Units

The government support for upgrading electronic health record services has increased via continuous investment for its expansion & digitalization of the healthcare industry. The framing of guidelines for the computerization of health records, application of 5G, cloud expansion, and others have also driven the demand for EHR in the region. Furthermore, digitization has been the initial development towards the modernization of the record system as a result of a resolution by the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM) in Brazil.

Moreover, the EHR system helps the government in making health strategies & policies related to chronic diseases or pandemics for the citizens. Besides, electronic digitization has replaced obsolete paper notes to provide security & safety to patient data. Thus, the government of countries such as Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and others has been investing extensively for improvement in the Electronic health record system to provide more security & accessibility. For instance:

• In 2020, the Government of Brazil invested more than USD432 million for the computerization of around 15,000 health teams that are serving primary healthcare (PHC) services. The investment would support the implementation of electronic medical records in health centers, facilitating the follow-up of patients seeking care in these services.

Possible Restraint: High Cost & Lack of Affordable Systems in the Market

With the increasing use of EHR systems in clinical labs & administration applications, various EHR factors are responsible for hindering the market growth. Factors such as the lack of an affordable EHR system pose a prominent challenge to the Latin America Electronic Health Records Market. In addition, the lack of system availability especially in the countries such as Peru, Argentina, and Chile, is creating distress in the market for the adoption of the EHR system.

Furthermore, one of the major factors restraining the market growth is the high implementation and maintenance costs of EHR systems resulting in declining market growth. Therefore, the countries are facing difficulties in the adoption of electronic health records due to their high price. Hence, the shortage of EHR systems and high costs lead to hampering the market growth.

Key Questions Answered in the Market Research Report:

1. What are the overall statistics or estimates (Overview, Size- By Value, Forecast Numbers, Segmentation, Shares) of the Latin America Electronic Health Record Market?
2. What are the region-wise industry size, growth drivers, and challenges?
3. What are the key innovations, opportunities, current & future trends, and regulations in the Latin America Electronic Health Records Market?
4. Who are the key competitors, their key strengths & weaknesses, and how do they perform in the Latin America Electronic Health Records Market based on the competitive benchmarking matrix?
5. What are the key results derived from surveys conducted during the Latin America Electronic Health Records Market study?