4 Reasons U.S. EMR Firms Won’t Try China

James Ritchie | EMR & HIPAA | October 23, 2013

If you have something to sell, chances are you’ve thought about selling it in China.

...But health IT doesn’t export quite as easily as Pringles and KFC. I’ve seen China’s healthcare system up close several times, and if you ask me, making headway in the world’s most populous nation will be beyond difficult.

China, which is in the midst of its own health care reform, could certainly be tempting for companies such as Epic, McKesson and Cerner. As Benjamin Shobert wrote for Forbes, the country in 2009 extended basic health coverage to 97 percent of its citizens. It also promised to build 31,000 hospitals, upgrade 5,000 existing ones and train 150,000 new primary-care doctors.

McKinsey & Co. last year said health care spending in China would grow to $1 trillion in 2020 from $375 million in 2011...

Open Health News' Take: 

Having lived in China for many years, I don't see them adopting a U.S. solution for their national healthcare system. However, I do see an opportunity for companies that offer implementation training, and support for 'open source' health IT solutions (e.g. VistA, OpenEMR, OpenMRS) to partner with a Chinese firm and possibly gain entry to that market. What do you think?  -  Peter Groen, Senior Editor, Open Health News (OHN)