For the ninth straight year, Epic Systems was named the top Overall Software Suite in the 2019 Best in KLAS Software and Services report from the Orem-Utah based KLAS Research.
The report from KLAS names the top-performing vendor companies within various market segments based on customer feedback. “Best in KLAS” is awarded only in those software and services market segments that have the broadest operational and clinical impact on healthcare organizations, according to the firm’s officials.
The Overall Software Suite ranking is reserved for those vendors that provide a suite of products clients would purchase to address their core IT needs, according to KLAS. Epic topped the list with a score of 87 out of 100; the Wisconsin based EHR (electronic health record) vendor was followed by athenahealth, with a grade of 78.2; Meditech, with a grade of 76.9; Cerner, with a grade of 76.4; and then Allscripts/McKesson (Allscripts acquired McKesson’s enterprise information solution in 2017) with a 72.2 grade. Using KLAS’ internal grade scale, Epic’s 87 grade qualifies as a B+; the other top-5 vendors’ grades in this category ranged from a B- to a C.
In addition to displaying an overall performance score for each product, this year’s report also includes grades across six customer experience pillars—culture, relationship, operations, product, value, and loyalty. Each pillar is comprised of key questions from the standard KLAS evaluation. Epic did not receive worse than a B grade in any of these six pillars; it’s lone A was an A- grade for loyalty.
Epic received Best in KLAS awards in the following segments: acute care EHR (large hospital/IDN); ambulatory EHR (11-75 physicians); ambulatory EHR (more than 75 physicians); HIE (health information exchange); practice management (over 75 physicians); patient portals; laboratory (large hospital/IDN); application hosting; and patient accounting and patient management. The company was also named the top Overall Physician Practice Vendor.
Meanwhile, Impact Advisors was named the top Overall IT Services Firm, breaking a two-year run by Optimum Healthcare IT. Impact Advisors also won one Best in KLAS award for HIT Enterprise Implementation Leadership and one Category Leader award for Clinical Optimization. Premier earned the award of top Overall Healthcare Management Consulting Firm.
For the second year in a row, GE Healthcare’s Universal Viewer saw the largest improvement in overall score of any software product KLAS rates. Along with some clients’ high optimism, GE Healthcare’s earnest efforts to improve their product development and response to customer issues are largely responsible for the increase in the solution’s overall score.
The most improved physician practice product (11 to 75 physicians) was Greenway Health’s Intergy EHR. In 2018, satisfaction among Greenway Health’s Intergy customers saw significant improvement in all performance areas measured by KLAS. Customers have seen improved vendor relationships, better communication, better overall value, and an increased focus on providing a product-development road map.
