KLAS Report: Hospitals, Vendors Recognize Value of Patient Flow Systems

OREM, UT, April 20, 2011 (Press-News.org) Seeking to relieve increasing stress on their staff and financial resources, a fifth of hospitals have turned to patient flow products -- and 9 out of 10 current users say they'd make this same choice again, according to a new study by KLAS.

The new report, "Patient Flow 2011: Relieving Hospital Pressure," offers a detailed review of the three most prevalent patient flow vendors -- Allscripts, McKesson, and TeleTracking -- plus a brief overview of nearly a dozen up-and-comers. According to the report, 85 percent of the 200-plus providers interviewed reported benefiting from these systems, primarily citing improved resource collaboration and smoother communication.

"Patient flow systems are essentially communication tools that, when optimized, can illuminate underutilized resources in crowded hospitals and EDs," explained Steve VanWagenen, KLAS research director and author of the report. "In this study, providers reported achieving better bed management, increased visibility from tracking boards, and overall clearer communication as a result of employing these products."

Relatively few hospitals, only about 20 percent, currently utilize a comprehensive patient flow system to coordinate bed management, environmental services, and transport resources. However, nearly a dozen vendors beyond those measured in this report -- including Cerner, Epic, GE, and Siemens -- are planning or developing their own patient flow products in response to growing demand.

"As ED volumes continue to increase, the value of an optimized patient flow system will also increase," VanWagenen explained. "In the last 20 years, access to emergency departments has diminished, but the need for these services has grown. At this point, an estimated 40 to 50 percent of hospital admissions come from the ED, with the National Center for Policy Analysis predicting another million ED visits per year."

In "Patient Flow 2011: Relieving Hospital Pressure," McKesson Horizon Enterprise Visibility earned the highest rating, at 87.4 out of 100 points. TeleTracking Capacity Management Suite was next, at 82.2, followed by Allscripts Sunrise Patient Flow (Eclipsys), at 70.6. The report also briefly highlights ACS, CareLogistics, Central Logic, Cerner, Epic, GE, Medworxx, Patient Focus Systems, PCTS, Siemens, and THOR Systems.

For more information about the patient flow market, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of measured vendors, "Patient Flow 2011: Relieving Hospital Pressure" is available to healthcare providers online for a significant discount off the standard retail price. To purchase, 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. Follow KLAS on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KLASresearch.