Boston, MA, October 19, 2009 – A new report from Aite Group, LLC analyzes the impact of the recession on the healthcare industry and primary issues in the healthcare market. Based on a qualitative, June 2009 Aite Group survey of 27 senior industry executives at major stakeholders such as health plans, healthcare vendors, financial institutions, clearinghouses and providers, the report also sheds light on the healthcare industry's reaction to top areas of focus: healthcare payments, electronic medical records (EMR), consumer-directed healthcare (CDH) and individual insurance. It also provides information on how stakeholders could benefit from potential changes to the healthcare market over the next three years.

Despite the largest recession the United States has faced in decades, the healthcare industry has been thriving, growing steadily at a 9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past few years. Even so, the industry continues to run into challenges that need to be addressed, such as legislations/regulations, technology, healthcare revenue cycle management and increasing costs. Stakeholders seeking to drive change must take an active role in addressing these issues by investing in improving business processes around healthcare payments and upgrading to modern technology architecture. There is much headway to be made in the healthcare industry, such as increasing awareness among individuals through education, and implementing successful guidelines and best practices across technology solutions.

"To address the problems facing the industry, stakeholders must not only recognize the areas in need of attention, but also focus on how to improve healthcare payment processing, education, technology and quality of care," says Kunal Pandya, senior analyst with Aite Group and author of this report. "Only through careful consideration can stakeholders improve the long-term workings of the industry."

This 27-page Impact Report contains 18 figures. Clients of Aite Group's Health Insurance service can download the report.