Big Change Means Big Opportunity for Allscripts
With Paul Black, Will Allscripts Right the Ship?
Optimism --> The best word to describe the Allscripts merger with Eclipsys in 2010. I wrote a blog back then and said, “So can this work? It’s all about execution. . . . You can be sure there will be the normal time adjusting to each other and taking a few steps back before going forward, but at least the two love birds seem to be a fit.” Allscripts’ promised an integrated system to compete with Epic. It was just what their client base wanted to hear.
Alas, it never came to fruition.
Disappointment --> Since then, the proverbial wall became cluttered with the writing of an increasingly disappointed client base, some of whom felt “Allscripts has not kept their promises” (CMIO). One CIO said, “After the merger (with Eclipsys), there was a lot of shakeout, and the support is not what it used to be.” Another said, “The biggest disappointment with Allscripts was that while they spoke about how things would integrate, that was never a reality.” And one more said, “We are moving on to another system. I was never impressed with Allscripts, and nobody here will be sorry to see them go.”
After KLAS received more negative than positive comments from the 750+ Allscripts clients we spoke with in 2012, we were not surprised when Allscripts announced that both President Lee Shapiro and CEO Glen Tullman were stepping down. Many clients were leaving, and performance scores had been going down—over 5 points for Sunrise Clinical Manager the past 15 months and steady decreases for Enterprise EHR over the past two years. Something had to change, and that change was Paul Black.
Encouraged --> While Allscripts’ vision is not much further ahead than it was in 2010, clients’ optimism is peaking again. Expectations are being reset. One Allscripts client recently told us, “I am encouraged about the new leadership. I know Paul Black and feel more confident now that he is at the helm (as CEO).” Another said, “We think it is the best inpatient EMR available today. However, the integration we need is still not there. . . . We believe that Allscripts will be very successful if they find a way to resolve the challenges with integration.”
And so I echo my 2010 sentiment: Can Allscripts execute? Will Paul bring in top-tier delivery muscle? Grab some popcorn . . . the market is watching.