Ambulatory EMR Purchasing 2016
Enterprise-Wide Considerations Reshaping Market

1. INDEPENDENT PRACTICES NOW GIVE TOP CONSIDERATION TO EPIC

In a new trend, independent clinics now give top consideration to Epic, hoping for improved data sharing with neighboring providers. As in years past, ambulatory providers overall (both owned and independent) still consider Epic most, attracted by the enterprise integration. Health systems also consider Cerner frequently, though interest from independent practices lags behind interest in Epic and athenahealth. MEDITECH’s web-based application (not yet GA) garners attention from current MEDITECH customers.

2. DECREASED CONSIDERATION, INCREASED REPLACEMENT FOR ALLSCRIPTS, GE HEALTHCARE, NEXTGEN

Opting not to bank on the ever-distant promise of interoperability between disparate EMRs, providers are giving much less consideration to traditional market leaders Allscripts, GE Healthcare, and NextGen. Meanwhile, a number of current customers in the large end of the market are leaving amidst complaints of inpatient integration issues, lacking development, and poor service delivery.

3. ATHENAHEALTH: COMPELLING NON-ENTERPRISE ALTERNATIVE

Providers are attracted to athenahealth’s strong RCM offering, unique fee structure (percentage of monthly collections), and web-based tools. The vendor holds particular interest for small organizations (1–10 physicians) and is the second most considered among independent practices. Noteworthy is the amount of interest larger, owned organizations show, given that athenahealth is a new entrant to the inpatient market. Some large, owned providers currently using athenahealth are leaving to gain inpatient integration.

4. ECLINICALWORKS CONSIDERATIONS DROPPING AMID SUPPORT, SCALABILITY CONCERNS

In 2012, eClinicalWorks was the second most considered vendor and was actively replacing the ambulatory market’s traditional players. Now, despite the vendor’s innovative technology, providers consider them much less frequently, and many customers are leaving—especially larger ones. Citing as their top concerns poor support and a PM solution that cannot scale to their enterprise needs, one-third of respondents with over 10 physicians report plans to switch. Smaller providers also note support concerns, though they aren’t replacing eClinicalWorks as often as their larger counterparts.

5. SMALL PRACTICES MAKING FEWER CHANGES, CONSIDERING BROADER FIELD OF PLAYERS

Strapped for cash, most smaller independent practices are not investing much in HIT—about 15% are considering an EMR change. Those who are give top consideration to athenahealth and Epic but also consider a large number of smaller-market players in a bid for better usability and support. Practice Fusion EHR receives consideration from some small practices as a free EMR.