KLAS: Meditech 6.0 Leaves ‘Em Wanting

After years of anticipation at the coming of Version 6.0, some Meditech clients are canceling go lives mid-implementation and trialing competing products, according to a new report from KLAS — MEDITECH V.6 2011: Expectations Meet Reality.

Though Meditech v.6 is live at over 50 sites with another 150 contracted, the report points to a “premature entry to market that has left providers to deal with buggy software and incomplete integration across modules,” stated KLAS.

Meditech is traditionally popular as an affordable, stable option, despite being weaker with some clinical functions, KLAS noted. Meditech touts v.6 as a new generation of healthcare technology that gives significantly enhanced usability while staying budget friendly.

“From what we can find, provider satisfaction really depends on providers’ expectations,” says Colin Buckley, KLAS report author. “The interesting thing about v.6 is you have some providers who are very frustrated, yet others who are perfectly satisfied. Some expect a simple upgrade and have a lot of problems adjusting to the fact that it’s a complex, time-intensive build that requires a lot of resources. Others come in expecting that level of work, and they seem to ride the waves quite well.”

KLAS reports that though providers say v.6 is “half-baked” and more expensive than other Meditech options, it is still considered cheaper than competing vendor products and worth the pain to make it work for them. “The question is not so much is v.6 ready for you,” Buckley notes. “The question is are you ready for v.6?”

The report reviews the experience of 38 new v.6 clients.