Did you know the Healthcare EDI market CAGR is forecasted to register around 8.2% from 2021-2026? The structured method of transmitting healthcare data between digitized systems enhancing the data management has improved with time.
Not just the savvy data analyst but governmental bodies have taken the initiative to set standards in electronic data interchange systems to better support healthcare industries while reducing the challenges and concerns of adopting EDI systems.
Healthcare Industries have a lot to handle, ranging from the transfer of patient’s credentials, medication, and diagnostic data to managing emergency records. These time taking and resource-intensive tasks have been dominated by digitized EDI solutions that not just assist care providers in managing and rendering data but, also organizing voluminous data systematically and efficiently to make it accessible whenever needed.
With a new and improved technology stack, such as AI, AR-VR, & Big Data analytics, care providers can implement favorable policies, incentive programs, and other initiatives to promote more healthcare IT, driving growth. Investing in EDI ensures speedy data transfers and accessibility of healthcare information at national as well as global levels.
Understanding the Market Trends of EDI
Trading with business partners along with payment transactions requires accuracy, which is a strenuous task to deal with every day. The software development, being the base of the EDI solution, includes a myriad of features to deliver the outcome that any organization expects to receive.
EDI software can be integrated with a translator or converter to seamlessly convert the available data in human-readable format, which makes sharing data much easier and accurate.
Other than payments, EDI can be used for managing multiple medical claims and standardization of data for transferring data quickly. EDI transaction sets such as EDI 834 and others eliminate the data errors along with time-consuming manual inputs.
The United States dominates the EDI market, followed by the Asian continent and Africa. There are many players in the market that realize the power of EDI offering developmental, software, and hardware solutions. Approximately 45% of the software solutions can be found globally, followed by 35% for comprehensive management support solutions, and the remaining 20% for EDI hardware support.
The Growth of EDI In the Upcoming Years
EDI is continuously adopted over the decades with cautious improvements in the standards & formats for accuracy and speedy transactions. Here is the extensive list of trends that are also predicted as the future of the EDI in upcoming years.
The Demand for EDI Growing Among Small Companies
EDI solutions may seem difficult to embed due to being expensive. Only large organizations are thought to have a proper EDI architecture along with in-house support. Seeing only large enterprises scaling and benefiting from EDI, a new concept – iPass, has burst out in the market to help even the small business.
Software as a service in EDI is meant to empower small-scale companies offering more control and visibility.
Instead of integrating in-house EDI for meeting the standards and demands of the large organizations that they trade with, small and mid-sized companies must look for outsourcing or an iPaaS solution provider to manage & maintain EDI needs.
The solution providers will relieve the small business operators with the burden to maintain the standard and align themselves with the latest technology changes to retrieve the best of EDI.
EDI to Replace API
The improving EDI is expected to eliminate the need for an API. However, earlier it was predicted that modern API and web services will end the EDI concept.
One of the reasons for the forecast of EDI ending was due to the exorbitant cost companies have to bear to maintain and upgrade them with time. Additionally, the need for employing experts can be a costly addition.
Cloud-based solutions are now progressing to eliminate cost-related challenges. The modern iPaaS platforms are meant to reduce the time and effort to integrate EDI. This robust solution is expected to amplify API enhancements and drive improvement in B2B processes without the need for IT help.
The need for consultants to manage EDI architecture will always be there. Since it is evaluated that hiring engineers and developers can be challenging to match the budget of the companies. Although 95% of the EDI software is to be customized, hence the need for learning ways to connect ERP or CRM systems with EDI software will be prudent.
PEPPOL and Other E-invoicing Mandates to Expand Continuously
The current state of EDI may be less popular globally however, the new e-invoicing mandates, such as the PEPPOL – Pan European Public Procurement Online EDI protocol is updating day after day to facilitate EDI connectivity in the same way as a VAN standard does.
This protocol is meant to eliminate the need for a lengthy setup, unlike the traditional process. Companies will be able to signal one another on the retrieval of data within this protocol leading to a very low cost of entry.
Along with EDI for healthcare, it is also adopted by the supply chain industry, somewhere 59% to 85%. There are still companies that are carrying out the same old manual process. Here, PEPPOL can eliminate the way people earlier had to deal with the EDI while strengthening it with technology presence.
eCommerce and EDI Uniting
The electronic B2B sales in 2019 for EDI accounted was approximately 78.4%, which is around $7 trillion. With time the numbers increased so does the collaboration of EDI with eCommerce. The improved and optimized EDI offers interconnectedness with eCommerce platforms to help organizations purchase and invoice products and services effortlessly. This combination of EDI with B2B eCommerce capabilities can deliver deep insights into the key processes while streamlining them for better business flow.
The Need for IT Skill
In order to make EDI competitive and stand out, it requires continuous upgrades. Additionally, the managed service providers also need to constantly upgrade their skill set in order to make the business of the people successful aiding them with requisite knowledge.
Whether the companies use API to connect EDI with other software systems to meet their current requirements or integrate other technology to accelerate the business. In both cases, the providers must be skilled enough.
Since EDI being an exorbitant affair, there are fewer skilled and expert providers to support small and mid-sized companies. Without automation and other latest technology, companies cannot provide flexibility and accentuate workflows. EDI staffing needs to upgrade their skills to prevail challenges of the healthcare and logistics industry challenges.
As per the Grand View Research – global EDI experts state that the EDI market will exceed 6 billion dollars by 2025 with an upgrade in the CAGR of 9.4%.
While most companies choose to outsource their EDI services, it is requisite for the managed providers to be competent and technologically skilled to provide the desired outcome or EDI/B2B implementation for the companies.
EDI Becomes a Part of Digital Transformation Initiatives
After the grave and expediting pandemic occurrence, ways of conducting business have transformed. The sector which was most affected was the supply chain business that collaborates with multiple traders globally. They manage their business and operate every trade manually, managing every trader individually.
Since the pandemic insisted people shift towards digital platforms. Those who were already familiar with EDI may know that, with time, new methods should be integrated to make outcomes fruitful.
Those who do not are still using the old, slow, and unproductive methods to operate their business.
With time, companies have to learn the impact of digitization in business. The agility and resilience of new and integrated technology can bring their manual process into automation to accelerate their workflow, eliminating the complexity.
Companies have to get used to digitization and partner with ecosystems in order to automate processes as much as possible. However, the initiative might not be affordable at the beginning, but with proper research and the right solution provider, companies can make it as per their budget.
Accommodating cloud-solution within the business process can leverage companies to better connect and trade with suppliers and customers globally while offering built-in, automated workflows with value-added tools to enhance business growth and maximize visibility.
In a Nutshell –
The global healthcare EDI market evaluation in 2019 was $2.78 billion and is expected to enhance by $4.7 billion by 2027. It is due to the constant evolution in technology standards and file formats. Additionally, the stringent HIPAA regulations continue to make EDI transactions for the care providers seamless and secure.
Today, the automation in EDI has allowed care providers to offer accurate and agile data exchange, product traceability, and shortened delivery times.
The main component here is the internet, which is getting stronger with each passing day to give swiftness to the business. Another component we may see contributing to the growth of EDI is the smaller business able to adapt them with the assistance of iPaaS vendors, which could leverage them to collaborate with bigger companies. We are expecting to see some unexpected and brilliant evolution in EDI to change the business operation methods benefiting different industry verticals.
Author’s Bio: Alicia works with the editorial team of A3logics, a leading company offering IT consultation services. Exploring the latest technologies, reading about them, and writing her views have always been her passion. She seeks new opportunities to express her opinions, explore technological advancements, and document the details. You can always find her enjoying books or articles about varied topics or jotting down her ideas in a notebook.
