'Prior Relationship' the Most Influential Factor for Providers Choosing RAC Audit Vendors

OREM, UT, November 11, 2010 (Press-News.org) When it comes to choosing a Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) solution, healthcare providers generally lean towards vendors with whom they already have an established business relationship, according to a new study by KLAS.

For the report, "RAC Management Vendors: Early Leaders Among Rising Awareness", KLAS randomly selected 98 provider organizations looking for a commercially available solution to support the RAC process. Of these, the vast majority (92 percent) had already made their choice, enabling KLAS to monitor both considered and selected solutions.

"More than half of interviewed providers considered only one vendor -- a curious finding, given that there were 29 different RAC vendors chosen in this sampling," said Paul Pitcher, KLAS research director and author of the report. "For example, nearly 90 percent of those who considered MediRegs chose MediRegs."

According to the report, vendors with strong revenue cycle, health information management, or case management install bases are leveraging their previous exposure with customers to win RAC solution contracts.

"Many other vendors offer RAC solutions, but their lack of traction in the RAC market illustrates the influence of that prior relationship with providers," Pitcher commented.

In addition to previous experience with the vendor, the report indicates that providers highly prize a solution's ability to perform audits outside the RAC sphere. Most vendors covered in this study claim to have at least some capability in this area, and in fact, many providers report using their solutions to manage non-RAC more often than RAC requirements.

The most-considered vendor in "RAC Management Vendors: Early Leaders Among Rising Awareness" was HealthPort, considered 23 percent of the time; it was followed by MediRegs at 16 percent and 3M at 14 percent. ACS Midas+, The Advisory Board Company, Compliance 360, The greater New York Hospitals Association, Ingenix, MedAssets, and several other vendors were also highlighted in the report.

For more information about the RAC market, "RAC Management Vendors: Early Leaders Among Rising Awareness" is available to healthcare providers online for a significant discount off the standard retail price. To purchase the full report, healthcare providers and vendors can visit www.KLASresearch.com/reports.

KLAS is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of healthcare vendors. KLAS' mission is to improve delivery, by independently measuring vendor performance for the benefit of our healthcare provider partners, consultants, investors, and vendors. Working together with executives from over 4500 hospitals and over 2500 clinics, KLAS delivers timely reports, trends, and statistics, which provide a solid overview of vendor performance in the industry. KLAS measures performance of software, professional services, and medical equipment vendors. For more information, go to www.KLASresearch.com, email marketing@KLASresearch.com, or call 1-800-920-4109 to speak with a KLAS representative.