KLAS: Big Expectations From Small Practices Shaking Up EHR Market

When it comes to EHRs, small practices have big expectations, and they aren’t afraid to cut ties if their needs aren’t being met. In a new report examining the ambulatory EHR market, KLAS found that practices with one to 10 physicians have the same needs in terms of functionality and vendor support as their larger counterparts, but must do so on a smaller budget.

“These practices are increasingly finding themselves in a quandary,” said report author Erik Bermudez.

And vendors are being challenged to step up to the plate. Those that are able to deliver quick and easy implementations with value-based products are the most sought-after, according to the report, which cited Amazing Charts, athenahealth, CureMD, Practice Fusion, and SRSsoft as top-rated ambulatory EMR providers.

On the flipside, providers identified McKesson, GE Healthcare, Allscripts, and Vitera as the lowest performers, pointing to “unmet product expectations, poor upgrade releases, and inadequate relationships as key drivers in dissatisfaction.” And, as vendors are finding, unhappy customers aren’t going to stick around. Poor service and vendor relationships were listed as the top reasons for replacing vendors, along with frustrations around product gaps, code quality issues and poor usability, and a feeling of being nickel-and-dimed.

For more information on the report, please click here.