The Middle East PACS and RIS market generated $86.1 million (59 million euros) in revenue in 2009, and is projected to grow to reach $140.6 million (96.4 million euros) in 2014, according to a new report from market research firm InMedica.
The region has seen a sharp increase in the PACS and RIS installed base in the last five years, driven by a strong desire by many governments to improve healthcare provision and to attain Western standards of care, according to the Wellingborough, U.K.-based firm. InMedica predicts there will be 1,680 hospitals with PACS or RIS in the Middle East, up 71% from the 984 at the end of 2010.
InMedica noted divergent RIS and PACS penetration by country. While Kuwait and Israel were amongst the earliest adopters and have fully developed markets for PACS and RIS, Saudi Arabia has shown the greatest progression in the development of modern healthcare systems in recent years, the company said. In 2009, PACS installations in Saudi Arabia accounted for nearly a third of the regional total, a share that InMedica expects will increase during the next three years.
