A new report focusing on the healthcare biometrics market predicts that the sector was valued at USD 1.2 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25.9% from 2013 to 2019, to reach an estimated value of USD 5.8 billion in 2019.

Published by Transparency Market Research the report explains how the technology is used in the healthcare industry for the purpose of patient and medical staff verification and access control.

The authors say that rapid technological advancements in healthcare infrastructure, increasing accuracy and performance levels, along with reduced complexity and cost of biometric devices are some of the major factors driving the biometrics growth in healthcare. Furthermore, growing preference for reducing healthcare expenditure by minimizing the risk of security breaches and medical identity theft with the use of biometrics, support the growing acceptance of biometric systems in the healthcare industry worldwide.

The global healthcare biometrics market can be categorized into biometric technologies and their applications in various authentication processes. Fingerprint recognition technology is the most prominently used biometric technology and will make up more than 50% percent of biometrics demand in healthcare industry through 2019, it is predicted.

Meanwhile, hand, vein, face and iris recognition are expected to witness fastest growth. Demand for these products will benefit from more strict government regulations and industry standards covering the safety, security, and functional features of biometric systems. Logical access control, physical access control and transaction authentication are the three prime application areas of healthcare biometrics. Use of logical access is essential for user's authentication to permit access to computer systems in hospitals and healthcare facilities. Thus, in terms of allocations, the logical access control segment is expected to dominate the global healthcare biometrics market during the given forecast period of 2013 to 2019.



Geographically, North America is expected to remain the largest market for healthcare biometrics technologies. Currently, North America along with Europe capture more than 75% of the market share. In the developing world, Asia-Pacific region will provide the largest and most diverse sales opportunities for biometrics security solutions in the healthcare sector due to budding domestic and export markets for nationally produced biometric devices.