Meaningful Use Requirements Stretch Community Hospital EMR Vendors

OREM, UT, May 18, 2011 (Press-News.org) KLAS recently investigated clinical technology adoption in community hospitals (under 200 beds) to better understand which vendors would have the greatest likelihood of helping community hospitals achieve meaningful use (MU). Due to increased energy in the market and with MU Stage 1 just around the corner, KLAS is sharing a deeper dive into that body of research.

"Meaningful Use is causing a flurry of buying activity," stated Paul Pitcher, KLAS research director and author of the report. "In the past two years the three driving factors of electronic medical record (EMR) selections were cost, integration, and functionality. Other reasons for selecting one EMR over another were physician usability, solid references, and flexible and modern architecture."

The majority of provider organizations that are currently live on an EMR, 80 percent, reported they have confidence in their vendor's ability to ultimately satisfy the requirements of meaningful use. However, 20 percent are concerned about being able to achieve MU requirements with their current EMR and are looking at replacing their vendor as a result. The chart below illustrates that the different levels of confidence clients have in meeting Stage 1 MU requirements by 2013 with their current EMR vendor.

See chart: Provider Confidence in Meeting MU Stage 1 by 2013 Varies by Vendor
www.klasresearch.com/News/PressRoom/2011/Community_CIS

As organizations move beyond simply owning the required MU technology, they realize the importance of simplified, efficient clinical workflow to further facilitate physician adoption. Physician satisfaction or dissatisfaction will become a differentiator in determining which vendors capture future market share. Additionally, Stage 2 of MU will require even greater levels of physician/clinician adoption.

For more additional information about the community hospital CIS market, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of measured vendors, "Community Hospital EMRs Maturing for Meaningful Use" 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.