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Investor Newsletter May 2021
Author
Justin Long
Author
Joshua Harris
Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.
Industry Insights
CX Framework—Value
This month’s highlight: Value
Customers don’t just pay for technology; they pay for outcomes. One of the core KPI questions KLAS asks in our thousands of annual interviews is about a vendor’s ability to “Drive Tangible Outcomes.” KLAS has found that customers often measure a solution’s value against the outcomes that are being realized by their organization. As a result, the perceived value is greatly impacted by the expectations held by customers for the outcomes that will be generated. From an investor perspective, vendors that fully seek to understand those expectations and ensure the product sold is capable of delivering expected value tend to see greater levels of success and overall customer satisfaction.
If a product is sold as a complete solution only to have additional add-ons or fees added at a later date, KLAS has found that not only does perceived value decrease but customers also report less willingness to stay with the vendor and less likelihood of purchasing the product again if given the chance. Value, therefore, whether actual or perceived, is a key driver in overall customer “stickiness” and longevity.
Who’s Doing It Well?
One example of a vendor who has been very successful at driving outcomes is Patientco. In their case, they make it easy for patients to view and pay their medical bills. The large majority of healthcare organizations that use Patientco have all seen increases in revenue and patient satisfaction. One highly satisfied customer shared the following:
“My biggest thing is an ROI, which is an improvement in my overall collection, and we have seen a significant improvement from where our previous vendors were. Our previous system was a disaster. A number of complaints were going to our senior administration, and I need to have happy patients. Now, we have very few complaints about the statements. We get more statements, but we have a lot of people that are going paperless. I want patient satisfaction, and I want to get overpayments. I was having issues left and right where the vendor could not reconcile the balances. People were not paying; they were furious with us because the payments were not posting accurately, and we couldn’t reconcile our bad debt, so accounts couldn’t cycle over 120 days, but Patientco resolved that. We measure Patientco’s ability to cycle our bad debt at 120 days.” —Director
The “KLAS”ifieds
KLAS Emerging Technology
Each week, dozens of new companies are knocking on the doors of provider organizations and health systems to present their latest innovative solutions. Leaders of these provider organizations are reporting more noise than ever in this market for healthcare start-ups and innovation, and they are looking for some guidance on which solutions they should really consider.
In an effort to give providers access to performance data on solutions designated as emerging, disruptive, or innovative, KLAS provides early performance data on these solutions. Because KLAS feels it is important to provide a level of insight on these types of solutions, this data has not met the same strict data level of criteria required to be fully ranked and rated by KLAS.
Recent Emerging Technology Report Sneak Peek
Vatica Health Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021
Vatica Health provides dedicated clinical support and technology to payers’ contracted physicians to improve diagnostic coding, documentation, and quality of care for members. Vatica Health’s team works on-site to lend providers support, enabling payers to manage members and their care while also increasing financial impact and reducing compliance risk.
Quil Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021
Solutions that address multiple patient engagement needs are in high demand. Quil offers a unique approach through their association with Comcast and Independence Blue Cross. This spotlight examines Quil’s potentially disruptive and innovative solution.
KLAS Report Highlights
Specialty & Emerging Technology Reports—Published April 2021
Computer-Assisted Coding 2021:
Which Vendors Best Meet Needs in the Face of COVID-19?
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid coding changes and strong support from computer-assisted coding (CAC) vendors as provider organizations scrambled to adjust to billing and revenue changes. This report explores customer satisfaction with recent updates, each vendor’s response to the crisis, and the following key metrics that have proven to be crucial in this market: accuracy and quality of coding suggestions, impact on coder productivity, service and support, and value.
HIT Staffing 2021:
Which Firms Consistently Deliver?
HIT staffing engagements vary widely in terms of the length of the project, the project’s complexity, and the skill sets required. Yet success with any engagement comes down to the same factor: having high-quality, well-matched consultants who drive value and achieve desired outcomes. Fortunately, healthcare organizations have many excellent options when choosing a staffing firm. This report—KLAS’ first to examine client satisfaction with HIT staffing engagements—explores which firms in this high-performing market are able to deliver most consistently.
ACO Enablement Services 2021:
Enabling Risk and Delivering Outcomes
The initial explosive growth of ACOs sparked by the Affordable Care Act has since tapered off due to uncertainty about how to move into downside risk. Over the years, several services firms have emerged to help provider organizations with the setup and ongoing management of ACOs. This report shares client feedback on how effectively and quickly these firms drive clinical and financial impact and prepare clients to take on more risk.
Upcoming KLAS Specialty & Emerging Technology Reports
US Hospital Market Share 2021
This yearly report details US hospital EMR market share with updates on how many hospitals are contracted with each vendor and how the landscape has changed in the last year.
Global EMR (Non-US) Market Share 2021
This report will provide a look at EMR purchasing activity around the globe in 2020. One major question it will aim to answer is how big of an impact did COVID-19 have on EMR buying energy?
Telehealth Ecosystem 2021
This report examines telehealth-related solutions in the market today. Which vendors offer the broadest suites? Which vendors offer what capabilities? What has KLAS validated from new, smaller vendors?
Information Blocking 2021
CMS has proposed several rules to penalize provider organizations for blocking patients or their other caregivers from healthcare information. This regulation will take effect in April 2021, and in the meantime, provider organizations are striving to get processes and technology in place to ensure they do not violate these proposed rules. This report will look at how well prepared organizations are for the upcoming regulations and what vendor partners they are planning to leverage.
AMS/Help Desk 2021
In recent years, the AMS and help desk services market has seen an expansion in the number of firms and the depth of services offered. Some long-term players in the market are falling behind, and a few newcomers have widened the field. This report examines the most recent trends in adoption and performance.
Payer Care Management Performance 2021
Medical management and utilization management systems have been around for decades, but the acceleration toward value-based care leaves health plans with the important question of which vendors are keeping up. This report will look into the new capabilities and visions vendors are promoting and how well their clients feel they are executing on these promises, whether they be around member engagement, payer or provider data sharing, or other areas. This report will also examine information KLAS has gathered over the last year regarding health plans’ recent and planned HIT purchase decisions.
PatientBond
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021
MDSave
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021
Pexip
Emerging Technology First Look 2021
Armis IoT Solutions
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021
SOC Telemed
Emerging Technology First Look 2021
Clinintell
Emerging Technology First Look 2021
Revenue Cycle Outsourcing 2021
Entrusting your organization’s financial health to a revenue cycle outsourcing (RCO) firm can feel like giving up the keys to the kingdom. However, these firms can offer economies of scale, industry expertise, and financial outcomes that are difficult to duplicate in-house. To determine which firms are the most trusted RCO partners, this report explores market energy data from 15 recent RCO contracts (a majority of the decisions made in the last two years) as well as satisfaction feedback from current clients.
To make a purchase or find more information on KLAS reports, contact the KLAS Investment Advisory team at investorservices@klasresearch.com.
Industry Investments of Interest
Market Activities Impacting Investments
Amazon Care Disrupting Telehealth Market
Amazon Care: Amazon Care has been available to Amazon employees, but making Amazon Care available to outside companies puts Amazon in direct competition with virtual care giants like Teladoc, Amwell, and Doctor on Demand, which bring in a sizable chunk of their revenue through deals with employer and payer clients. Success for Amazon Care will be measured by their ability to interoperate with EHRs and to integrate remote patient monitoring devices into their solution. But they have an advantage in that the Echo and Kindle solutions provide an exceptional platform for them to take this into patient homes.
Another question is about whether any telehealth company will achieve profitability over the next three to five years. We do not know of a single telehealth company (Zoom and Microsoft excluded) that has a positive EBITDA. Yahoo Financials indicates that Teladoc Health has a negative EBITDA of $347 million. Can Teladoc Health acquire its way to profitability? Can Amwell?
In March 2021, we recorded $595 million in telehealth investments and three telehealth acquisitions of over $190 million each. Two of the acquisitions resulted in valuations of over one billion dollars. Telehealth will continue to be a highly risky investment market.
SCOTUS Ruling – Oracle vs. Google
Google’s Supreme Court victory over Oracle was hailed as fantastic for small companies.
The Supreme Court on Monday, April 5, 2021, sided with Google (GOOG, GOOGL) in a $9 billion copyright fight with Oracle (ORCL) over software in billions of Android phones in a ruling the Electronic Frontier Foundation hailed as “a fantastic win” for smaller companies trying to innovate.
According to Professor Tyler Ochoa of the Santa Clara University School of Law’s High Tech Law Institute, the court’s decision doesn’t mean that software programs can be copied wholesale, but rather that the implementation of application software interfaces can be used under fair use.
Mayo Launches New AI Solutions
Mayo Clinic is launching two new AI commercial applications based on AI platforms to improve diagnostic and clinical decision support processes. Anumana focuses on cardiology support, and Lucem Health captures data from remote telemetry devices for the curation of data and integration into clinical workflows.
eTech Insights
Synthetic Data Advances Clinical Research: Synthetic data is statistically identical to real patient data but allows clinical researchers to quickly create data sets to support focused analytics. Synthetic data does not violate PHI regulations as it cannot be associated with real patient data.
Sow Now, Reap Later
Fertile soil is perhaps the most vital component to yielding a healthy harvest. Similarly, research and data that are both timely and accurate are foundational for sowing and reaping fruitful investment decisions. KLAS has been solely dedicated to collecting healthcare industry research for nearly 25 years. It is fair to say that we know a thing or two about healthcare. If your firm is actively investing or looking to begin investing in the healthcare space, look to the experts at KLAS for insight into your next healthcare investment decision. For more information or to schedule a call, contact our team at investorservices@klasresearch.com
Designer
Natalie Jamison
This material is copyrighted. Any organization gaining unauthorized access to this report will be liable to compensate KLAS for the full retail price. Please see the KLAS DATA USE POLICY for information regarding use of this report. © 2024 KLAS Research, LLC. All Rights Reserved. NOTE: Performance scores may change significantly when including newly interviewed provider organizations, especially when added to a smaller sample size like in emerging markets with a small number of live clients. The findings presented are not meant to be conclusive data for an entire client base.