A study by IQ4I Research and Consultancy predicts that the market for health care analytics will reach $20.8 billion by 2020. According to the research firm’s conclusions, factors including a lack of skilled labor and little guarantee of patient confidentiality are currently hindering market growth.

“The majority of the growth is driven by factors such as government funding, technological standards, rising health care awareness/standards, extending social health insurance and medical tourism,” reads the report.

In 2013, North America accounted for 58.5 percent of the global health care analytics market and IQ4I expects that situation to continue, although other regions will also grow during the forecast’s six-year timeframe. Researchers point out that the major providers of health care data solutions, all U.S.-based, make up about 80 percent of the market.

Supporting these predictions, Health Data Management cites the results of a recent survey of IT executives at some of America’s largest health systems. Fifty-four percent of respondents said that analytics is their top priority going forward, well ahead of population health initiatives (42 percent), adoption of the World Health Organization’s ICD-10 code (30 percent) and accountable care and shared risk initiatives (29 percent). In all, 90 percent agreed that analytics will be “very important” or “extremely important” for their organizations within the next three years.

Data management solutions can help health care providers simplify the analytics process by presenting information in a clear and easy to read manner. With that data in hand, organizations can ensure streamlined operations and superior care for their patients.