The behavioral health electronic health record (EHR) vendor market has shown poor performance, to date, according to customers, who cite slow development, implementation challenges and lackluster customer support, according to a KLAS Research report.
A recent KLAS report examines behavioral health EHR performance, based on interviews with 149 unique organizations to get their perspective on the performance of these solutions. According to the organizations interviewed, the settings in which behavioral health EHRs are used are primarily outpatient/private practice (78 percent); intensive outpatient/residential day program (64 percent); inpatient residential treatment center (42 percent) and acute psychiatric services (22 percent).
The report, KLAS’ first on behavioral health EHRs, is intended to give executives at behavioral health organizations a high-level overview of the market and to shine a spotlight on where vendors can improve. Specifically, the report dives into the behavioral health vendors used most frequently (in both inpatient and outpatient settings) and their performance in product quality, development, and service and support.
Organizations who offer behavioral health services need robust IT solutions that can support their efforts, however, on average, the overall performance of behavioral health vendors is very low. According to KLAS, the average overall score for behavioral health vendors is 70.8 (out of 100), putting behavior al health in the second percentile of all software market segments that KLAS measures (about 100 total).
Several factors contribute to this low performance, KLAS researchers note in the report. Organizations’ needs vary greatly based on the types of services they offer and the states they operate in, and this latter factor specifically impacts reporting. What’s more, a one-size-fits-all solution isn’t adequate for most organizations. Also, behavioral health vendors often overcommit on what they can deliver and are slow to develop the functionality organizations need and request.
According to KLAS “While vendor performance is low across the board, most frustrated customers plan to stay with their behavioral health vendor due to limited resources and a lack of compelling alternatives,” the researchers wrote.
Among the vendor solutions covered in the report are Cerner’s Community Behavioral Health solution, Cerner’s Millennium Behavioral Health, Core Solutions, Credible, Harris Healthcare, Netsmart, Qualifacts, Valant and Welligent.
Credible, a Rockville, Md.-based vendor that provides web-based EHR software for behavioral health providers, is leading what, so far, is an underperforming segment with wide variation, according to the report. KLAS researchers also note that Valant, a Seattle-based company that behavioral health HER software, is strong among private practices.
“Credible and Valant manage to give their customers a more consistent experience,” the report authors wrote. “Of the vendors used broadly in both outpatient and inpatient settings, Credible is most consistent thanks to their stronger implementation and training process, which has helped most customers find success with the easy-to-use, cloud-based system. Valant, whose customers are mostly private practices, also has an easy-to-use product, which was designed by a licensed psychiatrist. Valant’s multi-pronged approach to training (which includes a train-the-trainer program as well as online tools, such as webinars and blogs) helps private practices feel they get good value for their money.”
Despite the challenges, few are planning to replace, KLAS notes. One CIO interviewed for the report said, “Our CEO was considering other options a while ago. That person spends every spare minute trying to figure out what is best for us, and the CEO's research suggested that there really isn't anything better than [our current EHR] on the market.”
KLAS researchers also found that most behavioral health vendors have been slower to develop than customers would like or have failed to keep development promises. “Missed development timelines are referenced by almost all customers who say their vendor hasn’t kept promises,” the report authors wrote. “Even Credible, the overall top-performing behavioral health vendor, has overcommitted on timelines, specifically for new treatment-planning and state-reporting functionality.”
Cerner is the most mature of the enterprise health system EHR vendors when it comes to behavioral health, according to the report. Cerner has been developing their go-forward Millennium platform and incorporating learnings and content from their acquired Anasazi product (renamed Community Behavioral Health).
KLAS researchers found that overall customer satisfaction with the two products is comparable. In regard to Millennium, health system clients report higher satisfaction; relatively strong support and previously unattainable benefits, like integration across service lines, make up for product inadequacies mentioned by some behavioral health–specific Millennium customers.
Looking at other health system EHR vendors, Meditech has customers live with their integrated behavioral health solution, though adoption is light to date. Epic recently released a behavioral health–specific module, but no customers were yet live at the time of this research. Several of Epic’s inpatient EHR customers say they would have to pay an additional fee for the behavioral health module, according to the report.
Allscripts has no specific platform for behavioral health and recently sold their stake in Netsmart, making them the only EHR vendor—among those in use at large health systems—with no behavioral health–specific solution, the report authors state.
