There is still no one company that dominates the market for electronic medical records, according to market research firm Kalorama Information.

Kalorama's most recent report valued the market for EMR at $15.7 billion in 2010. [See also: Kalorama: EMR market at $15.7B for 2010, MU to further growth.]

"You still have no one company that is the leader in EMR, but there is a clear pack of competitors now," said Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama Information. "There are still opportunities for new entrants, but this may not be the case for long as the competitive picture is more defined than it was."

According to the report, among the primary market participants are established hospital IT giants such as Cerner, GE Healthcare, McKesson and Siemens.

Kalorama notes that Allscripts, which completed a merger with Eclypsis in 2010, executed a major play for market share and is expected to hold a significant share in the ambulatory market this year, while companies such as NextGen, athenahealth, and Amazing Charts continue to be seen in physician surveys.

[See also: Ambulatory EMR sales shoot up again]

There is one hopeful sign for new entrants: physicians don't appear to have a clear favorite yet, according to Kalorama's analysis of recent American College of Physicians (ACP) and American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) surveys. The healthcare market research publisher also found that physicians are willing to try products advertised on the Internet.

"Physicians are all over the board in their association surveys, so there might be opportunity there for a Web-based product with a great interface," Carlson said. "Since doctors' needs vary, becoming a regional provider or a niche provider to a physician specialty is still a valid option as well."