Enterprise Imaging Partnerships and Growth Opportunities in Selected Asia-Pacific Countries

In this report, Frost & Sullivan analyzes emerging business models in the medical imaging industry in Asia-Pacific, focusing on India, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore. Conventional business models that focus on selling products based on specification superiority or unique selling propositions are forecast to slow down. Requirement changes in the healthcare provider community amid increasing focus on patient centricity and staff burnout have led to the growing demand for consulting services in imaging departments. Innovative asset-light models are an excellent proposition for cash-strapped hospitals, whose balance sheets are already stretched and may no longer be able to generate funds for outright equipment purchasing. This means traditional product selling is no longer the avenue for vendors’ long-term growth.

As healthcare systems gradually transition to value-based care, imaging vendors in the value chain position themselves as partners in this journey through outcome-based services and risk-sharing without burdening healthcare providers’ capital budgets. Financial limitations, complicated procurement procedures, insufficient expertise in managing imaging technologies, and the ever-growing need to focus all efforts on clinical services drive healthcare providers toward service models in imaging.

Care providers need solutions that meet their clinical requirements, and equipment ownership is only valuable if it assures performance. Business models that provide the product/solution as a service with guaranteed performance will gain popularity as hospitals focus on clinical excellence and explore partnerships to achieve operational and financial excellence. Strict service-level agreements (SLAs) that detail key performance metrics and associated penalties can lead to higher penetration of services/solutions business in imaging.

The industry is registering a transition from product-selling to solutions/services-selling model. Imaging vendors sign up for long-term partnerships with clients, promising business continuity for clients and stable recurring revenues for vendors. Partnership strategies also offer more opportunities for cross-selling other solutions. Hospitals’ need to derive maximum return on investments/assets creates a market potential for vendors who can leverage their technology competency to add value to offerings.

Analyst: Imran Khan