Small health IT firms may be able to compete with GE-sized giants

Federal funding for electronic medical records will likely reshape the health IT industry, CNN reports. "There are an estimated 300 to 400 companies in the United States peddling [EMR] systems to the nation's hospitals, medical clinics and solo practitioners. While some, such as GE Healthcare and NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, are part of corporate behemoths, the vast majority are small, privately held firms ... As the [EMR] field heats up… analysts expect a frenzy of spending -- and consolidation. From a field of hundreds, a few victors will emerge. The question is, will the little guys get bulldozed by giants, or will smaller and nimbler players outmaneuver the Goliaths?"

Big firms can out bid their smaller competitors on attractive new software, but smaller firms have advantages, too. "One big factor working in the small companies' favor: The majority of doctors' offices that have yet to adopt electronic records are small businesses themselves" (Olen, 3/5).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.