Clinical mobility spending in the U.S. is expected to grow from $2.9 billion in 2011 to $5.4 billion in 2016, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7 percent, according to a new report from research firm IDC Health Insights.

The new report, “Business Strategy: U.S. Clinical Mobility 2011-2016 – Forecast and Analysis,” provides an updated spending forecast for clinical mobility including hardware (mobile devices and back-end data center infrastructure), IT services, and software related to clinical mobility.

Growth in clinical mobility spending in the U.S., while strong, is tempered by other demands on IT and the need to respond to health reform initiatives. However, the deployment of the meaningful use technologies (i.e. EHRs, eRx, CPOE and HIE) will accelerate the use of mobile point of care solutions to create more efficient clinical workflows.

The report includes assumptions about the macroeconomic forces, technology developments, and market characteristics that IDC Health Insights has determined will affect the clinical mobility market. Some of those anticipated to have the greatest impact on the market include:

• Consumeriziation of technology, which is driving clinician adoption of mobile devices and mobile device proliferation
•  Increased availability of electronic health information and the resulting clinicians' desire for mobile access to patient data at the point of care
• Infrastructure demands of pervasive computing
• Security to comply with increasing more stringent Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

"The highly collaborative and mobile nature of clinical teams makes the strategic investment in clinical mobility solutions essential to meet the intense demands being placed on healthcare providers today," Lynne A. Dunbrack, program director, IDC Health Insights, said in a statement. "However, these mobile solutions extend beyond the device and mobile access to clinical application. Clinical mobility is placing new demands on the datacenter and IT organization."