KLAS: Population Health Field Saturated With Players, But Not Leaders

Although the population health management (PHM) market is still in its infancy, it’s quickly becoming saturated as vendors race to compete for mindshare.

According to new research from KLAS, PHM’s emergence as a priority for many organizations has prompted several vendors to enter the fray. But at this early stage of the game, few frontrunners exist, and there are still a number of challenges.

“Automation is a misnomer for vendor solutions and PHM remains largely a manual process,” the report stated. That said, Explorys, Forward Health, and i2i Systems received the most consistent praise for guiding care coordination. And although “vague language” and “unclear goals” plague several solutions, a number of vendors are emerging in the space based on their portfolio breadth, experience, and ability to deliver.

KLAS also found that although third-party vendors currently dominate the space, a number of EMR vendors are breaking into the market through acquisition, looking to make a splash. But while EMR integration from back-end database to front-end physician workflow is the ultimate goal, it remains a challenge.

For the report, KLAS interviewed 78 provider organizations currently using at least one PHM solution. Providers gave feedback on the depth of the PHM vendors’ experience, the breadth of their portfolios and the delivery of performance for each of the solutions.

“With so many vendors echoing similar messages, it is hard for providers to know where to start,” said report author Mark Wagner. “The purpose of this report is to create structure around population health terminology and to get beyond the vendor marketing messages in an effort to validate how these solutions are being used in live environments.”