OREM, Utah – April 7, 2010 – When it comes to choosing an electronic medical record (EMR), physician practices are considering an ever-increasing number of software vendors, according to a new report from KLAS. However, established vendors Allscripts, NextGen and eClinicalWorks still maintain the most mindshare in the ambulatory EMR market, as those vendors are considered in one of every three purchase decisions.
For the new report, Ambulatory EMR Buying: A Roller Coaster Ride in 2010, KLAS interviewed more than 370 healthcare providers who plan to choose an EMR solution in the next two years, to discover which EMR vendors are making the short list. KLAS found that providers are increasing, not reducing, their pool of considered vendors, including lesser-known options. This is especially true for small practices with one to five physicians, where 72 percent are considering solutions outside the best-known vendors. In similar fashion, larger practices are also considering vendors that have traditionally serviced smaller organizations.
“The vendors with the largest market share – companies like Allscripts, NextGen and eClinicalWorks – are considered the most often in purchasing decisions,” said Mark Wagner, KLAS general manager of ambulatory research and author of the new report. “What’s interesting, however, is the number of smaller vendors, such as athenahealth, e-MDs and Greenway, which are getting more looks, even from practices that are larger than their typical clients.”
The KLAS report also found that among providers planning an EMR purchase, nearly a third of them are actually replacing an existing solution. Further, half of the providers planning a switch are doing so because their current EMR lacks functionality or certification – in short, because they are not viable go-forward strategies in today’s ARRA-focused healthcare environment.
Which ambulatory EMR vendors providers are considering varies significantly depending on practice size; however, some overall trends were evident: Allscripts EMR products (including Enterprise, Professional, Misys and MyWay) are being collectively considered in 35 percent of purchase decisions, more often than any other vendor’s products. Allscripts was followed by NextGen (considered in 32 percent of planned purchases) and eClinicalWorks (29 percent). Other vendors highlighted in the KLAS report include athenahealth, Cerner, e-MDs, Eclipsys, Epic, GE, Greenway, McKesson and Sage.
