Indian IT to boom on U.S. healthcare stimulus

U.S. stimulus for the healthcare sector is proving a boon to the Indian IT with numerous IT-healthcare contracts coming to the country. The Obama administration has unveiled plans to invest $10 billion annually in IT to refurbish the American healthcare system.

The various Indian firms like Bangalore based iSoft and Apollo Health Street (AHS) are gearing up to grab the contracts arising out of the stimulus plan called American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009, reports The Economic Times. The billion dollar plan aims to create electronic health records (EHR) for each person in the U.S. by 2014.

iSoft expects an advantage over other companies as its product development center is in India while winning the contracts. For AHS, the contracts will spur the growth of their business by around 15 percent. "Companies who have a U.S.-India footprint will be able to position themselves to deliver on this," said Divya Sehgal, Chief Operating Officer (COO), AHS. The Indian firms are expecting to see a surge in the outsourcing of large healthcare application, as the plan is basically targeted to combat recession. "There will be more opportunities for Indian firms who have tested their softwares in other markets," said Pradip Kanakia, Head of Markets, KPMG.