Long-Term Care EMR 2023
Which Vendors Are Delivering High Value and Robust Technology?

With increasing costs and changing reimbursements for LTC, scrutiny of technology ROI is high. Experience Care is seen as providing solid value by providing additional functionality at no added cost; in recent years, they have made several improvements to their billing technology, bringing the solution more on par with others targeted at small organizations. This improvement has reportedly come with minimal price increases and limited additional costs—notable in a market where nickel-and-diming is common. Customers report PointClickCare drives strong value because of their focus on and investment in developing new cutting-edge technology (e.g., their care coordination technology, analytics suite, and Nursing Advantage care pathways solution). However, respondents say new technology often comes at a price. The Oracle Health (Cerner) solution (limited data) is used only by facilities under IDNs using Cerner. Customers are frustrated by the number of resources they need to sufficiently build out clinician workflows and optimize solution interfaces—work done with limited vendor guidance. Limited data for Netsmart indicates value is also a significant issue for customers (discussed in depth in the next section).

Across nearly all performance metrics, Netsmart (limited data) lags behind other vendors in the LTC market. Respondents are frustrated by a pattern of overpromising and underdelivering by Netsmart. Despite several updates intended to enhance functionality and improve integration, the changes have not actually met client needs, and issues persist. Additionally, clients say the frequent updates often lead to system outages, making the solution inoperable for periods of time during working hours. Because of this, nearly 60% of customers feel buyer’s remorse, though they often lack the needed additional resources to make an immediate change. Customers want the vendor to do more product testing before upgrades and follow through on unmet development promises. CPSI has robust technology, but since the acquisition of the product, customers have seen fewer advancements and less vendor engagement. As such, respondents note frustration with the level of value they are getting for the amount they pay.

Poor or insufficient EMR training is linked to increased burnout and staff turnover, so it is key to end users’ and organizations’ success. Epic, MatrixCare, and PointClickCare are rated highest for training. MatrixCare customers appreciate the vendor’s breadth of content and resources. This includes both highly knowledgeable trainers that create simple content and can come on-site, along with in-depth webinars and documentation for ongoing training. PointClickCare customers appreciate the vendor’s flexibility in providing a mix of on-site and virtual training resources, including a testing environment for end users. Respondents also note the value provided by ad hoc online training options. With Epic (limited data), the healthcare organizations’ internal teams usually do the implementations, while Epic provides 24/7 access to training resources. As a result, training can vary based on an organization’s resources.