A new report from the Rockville, Md.-based research and consulting firm, MarketsandMarkets indicates that the healthcare analytics market is set for double-digit growth over the coming years thanks to the emergence of big data and the advance of analytical technologies. The report, "Healthcare Analytics/Medical Analytics Market - Trends & Global Forecasts to 2017, says that by 2017 the healthcare analytics industry will be worth $10.8 billion.

Over the five-year period from 2012 to 2017, the industry will grow at a rate of 23.7 percent, the researchers found. They said the federal healthcare mandates, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act/ Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (ARRA/HITECH) Act and various elements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), will drive the industry’s growth. Even with concerns over security of data and lack of cross-functional analytic skills, the report’s authors are still bullish on healthcare analytics.  

They cite both payers and providers as the leading users of healthcare analytics for cost reduction, fraud prevention, revenue generation, service improvement, real-time view of the business, and clinical reasons. They also cite the ROI as a reason for investments into this technology. .