Improving APAC EHR growth outlook

Signify Research has released new reports as part of its 2025/2026 EHR Market Intelligence Service, focusing on key Asia-Pacific (APAC) markets: India, China, Japan, and Australia–New Zealand (ANZ).

APAC’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) market is one of the most diverse globally, spanning highly mature systems in Japan, Australia, and South Korea alongside rapidly-emerging digital health ecosystems in India and Southeast Asia.

While parts of the region have already achieved near-universal hospital digitisation, much of APAC is still in the early to mid-stages of EHR adoption, creating a market that combines replacement-driven demand in mature countries with high organic growth in developing ones. As a result, vendors must simultaneously compete for share in saturated markets, while positioning for scale in fast-digitising healthcare systems across Southeast Asia.

Three major trends are currently shaping the competitive landscape of APAC EHR, creating significant opportunities for vendors:

Workforce and Demographic Pressures Accelerating AI-led Care Models

Across APAC, demographic imbalance is becoming a structural driver of digital health investment.

Japan, with the world’s oldest population and shrinking healthcare workforce, is a regional leader in adopting generative AI, ambient clinical documentation, and automation to maintain care delivery with fewer clinicians. The government-backed Healthcare DX Plan is actively pushing cloud-based EMRs, AI-driven workflows, and interoperability to offset labour shortages.

This trend is spreading across APAC. Australia and New Zealand are modernising frontline systems through statewide and regional EMRs, while China is building a national EHR and health code system. South Korea is doubling down on healthcare AI through its AI-Healthcare Roadmap (2025–2028), following USD $1.7bn of Medical AI investment over the last five years. The common objective is to use digital infrastructure and AI to make limited clinical labour more productive as populations age and chronic disease incidence rises.

Governments Building National Data Platforms to Enable Interoperability and Preventative Care

APAC is moving towards state-led health data ecosystems, with interoperability now a core policy objective rather than a technical afterthought.

Japan is enabling the sharing of electronic medical charts between hospitals and pharmacies, driving growth in data exchange and interoperability platforms.

In India, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is creating a federated national health information architecture, with ~800 million digital health records already linked, plus national registries for clinicians and healthcare facilities.

China is building a national health information platform where every citizen will have a dynamically-managed EHR and health code.

The Australian federal government has mandated data sharing via FHIR and My Health Record, including compulsory uploads of imaging and pathology data, and is now investing heavily to improve usability along with releasing its national health information exchange programme.

Indonesia has emerged as one of Southeast Asia’s most structured EHR markets. The 2024 Omnibus Health Law clarified data protection and clinical service boundaries, while incentives and penalties now enforce EHR compatibility, with SATUSEHAT (OneHealth) using FHIR standards that is driving deployments such as InterSystems’ TrakCare EHR across eight hospitals.

Vietnam and Cambodia, meanwhile, have adopted national EHR and hospital information system roadmaps for 2026, signalling in those markets that data platforms are now foundational, not aspirational.

Market Growth Shifting from Mature North Asia to Emerging South and Southeast Asia

The centre of gravity for APAC health IT is gradually moving southwards.

Japan and China are mature, highly-regulated, and demographically-constrained. Japan’s saturated market of local vendors and China’s highly nationalised system limit long-term growth for international vendors, while China’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign in healthcare is dampening near-term investment momentum.

In contrast, India represents one of the region’s largest long-term growth engines. While EHR adoption is still low and infrastructure remains weak in rural areas, the ABDM, national standards for EMRs, and Health ID rollout are laying the foundation for mass-market digital health adoption through to 2030.

Australia remains one of the most advanced with large-scale statewide EMR deployments and mandated interoperability driving ongoing replacement and upgrade cycles. Epic has been rapidly growing its presence in the country, winning its third state/territory contract in May 2025 by securing the Tasmania tender leaving only Western Australia tendering for an EMR partner.

Signify Research’s Digital Health team provides market intelligence and detailed insights on numerous digital health markets.