Automatic identification and data capture or AIDC refers to a group of technologies that helps to automatically identify objects, verify, and collecting data, all without manual intervention. Almost all industries, including healthcare are now making use of AIDC technologies for patient care, inventory management and equipment tracking. Effective AIDC technologies that experienced data entry companies use to manage data are – barcodes, magnetic stripes, smart cards, Optical character recognition (OCR), Radio frequency identification (RFID), and other biometric techniques including finger scanning, electro-optical fingerprint recognition, and voice recognition.
According to the report from Research and Markets, the global healthcare AIDC market is expected to reach $25.91 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 22.5% during the forecast period 2021 to 2028. Based on volume, this global healthcare market is predicted to reach 269,949,445.5 units by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 24.8%.
Key factors that drive the market growth are –
- technological advancements
- widening applications of AIDC technologies in healthcare applications such as asset management, patient management, and inventory management
- growing acceptance of advanced technologies, such as RFID, barcode, and biometrics and
- increasing adoption in the healthcare supply chain, hospitals, and patient management
However, high cost of some AIDC devices may restrain the growth of the AIDC market in the healthcare industry.
The report segments the market in to Product, Technology, Application and Region.
Product
In terms of product, the healthcare AIDC market is segmented into scanners & readers, biometric scanners, printers & recorders, mobile computers, consumables, and software.
- In 2021, the scanners & readers segment have the largest share in the market, due to the increase in demand for AIDC systems for tracking patients, managing supply chain, inventory, and asset management, and reducing personalized data entry errors.
- Scanners & readers are also expected to reach the fastest growth rate over the forecast period, due to the increasing demand for safe specimen management during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Based on volume, the consumables segment has accounted for the largest share in 2021 and the segment is also expected to grow with the highest growth rate over the forecast period.
Technology
Based on technology, the market is broadly classified into barcodes, RFID, biometrics, smart cards, magnetic strips, and OCR.
- In 2021, the RFID segment accounted for the largest share of the overall market, owing to factors such as the growing significance of access control, increase in demand for AIDC systems to reduce personalized data entry errors, consistently growing identity fraud, and increasing demand for contactless data access post-COVID-19.
- The biometrics segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR during the forecast period due to growing demands for biometric devices in the industry.
Application
Based on application, the market is classified into patient & prescription management, asset management, inventory management, facility management, medication management, specimen management.
- Due to advancements in AIDC technologies and the growing adoption of AIDC technologies for increased patient safety during COVID-19, the patient & prescription management segment accounted the largest share of the market in 2021.
- Owing to factors such as the effective provision of a prescription, increased applications of AIDC for initial evaluation of the patient’s need for psychotropic medications, and ongoing medical monitoring related to the patient’s use of the psychotropic medication by a qualified physician/prescriber, the medication management segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.
Region
Geographically, the market is divided in to North America (U.S., Canada), Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Rest of Latin America) and Middle East & Africa.
- Of these regions, North America, one of the most advanced regions in terms of technology adoption and development has achieved the largest share of the market in 2021, due to factors such as – large investments for modernization, up-gradation of cloud-based software solutions and increased usage of innovative connected devices.
- During the forecast period, the Asia-Pacific region is predicted to grow at the highest CAGR due to economic growth of the region, growing per capita income, rising per capita consumption with a large population base, high economic growth rate, and increasing government investments for enhancing safety & security in the healthcare sector in the region.
The key players operating in the global market are Zebra Technologies Corporation (U.S.), Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.), Avery Dennison Corporation (U.S.), Newland EMEA (Netherlands), Datalogic S.P.A. (Italy), NEC Corporation (Japan), Alien Technologies Corporation (U.S.), Seagull Scientific, Inc. (U.S.), and SATO Worldwide (Japan).
To ensure accuracy and workflow efficiency, practices, pharmaceutical enterprises, physicians and health insurance companies can rely on medical data entry services provided by outsourcing companies. Barcode and RFID technology implementation reduce errors and increase efficiency and quality of patient care.
