Click image to view it in full size

As the focus increases on improvement of cancer care and cancer care pathways becomes more complex, the use of information and communication technology seems to be unavoidable to be able to manage the increasing volume of health data. Oncology information systems (OIS) are becoming increasingly prevalent as a way of storing data and driving actionable insights to deliver better outcomes, more efficiently. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of nearly 10% in the next five years. It is driven by technological advancements in OIS, associated advantages of OIS over conventional record maintenance, and surge in prevalence of cancer worldwide. In addition, rise in awareness of the benefits of using OIS is expected to fuel the market growth. This study analyzes the global market for OIS and assesses the trends and complex vendor ecosystem (comprised of radiation equipment manufacturers, EHR vendors and niche oncology software companies) that is driving it. It throws light the strategies being deployed by the market leaders and identifies areas of growth for the next five years.

Oncology Information Systems (OIS) software is used by cancer clinics and departments– medical oncologists, radiation specialists and department employees to manage and plan the treatment module of cancer patients. Automation of oncology workflow with the EMR, not only delivers greater department efficiency but can help in improving the quality of care, reducing medical errors, decreasing clinical documentation time, providing rich data for clinical research, and controlling health costs. The software has evolved over the last decade as a tool to centralise the patient’s electronic medical record (EMR) in one easily accessible place and to manage the treatment process from referral to treatment and eventually disease management. Hospitals & oncology clinics, and research centers are key users of this technology. The adoption of OIS developed by software vendors will increase in the coming years as health systems/hospitals realize the value they bring in maintenance of systems, regular updates and training as they focus solely on software development.