The medical informatics market is expected to eclipse $5 million by 2021, according to a report published by Allied Market Research.

Analysts expect an annual growth rate of 5.6 percent over the next five years, propelling the market value to $5.38 million by 2021 from $3.65 million in 2015. Primary drivers of growth are the increase in diagnostic imaging procedures, rising incidence of chronic disease, and cost decreases for informatics software.  

Big data has the potential to drastically alter care. with real-time data and the inclusion of geographic or environmental information giving clinicians a clearer picture. Big data can even aid in error identification and correction.

Nonetheless, the market is restricted by factors typical of an emerging technology: lack of operational expertise and high installation costs. Kinks are still being ironed out, and the rapid spread of EMR and PACS means terabytes upon terabytes of data are available—data that is often still incompatible across databases. Integrating various types of data into easily-digestible packages can enable clinicians to view holistic depictions of patient health from genome to behavior. Tools such as Hadoop can help accelerate data processing and querying, according to researchers from Mayo Clinic.

The digital radiography segment held its leading position in 2015, largely due to the widespread use of radiography. However, the mammography segment is expected to expand with an annual growth rate of 9 percent, owing to democratization of breast screening and increases in breast cancer worldwide.

North America and Europe accounted for three-quarters of the overall market in 2015, and they are expected to maintain that lead through 2021.

Read more about the medical imaging informatics market at Allied Market Research.