Outpatient Pharmacy 2016
Who Is Meeting Today's Demands?

1. TODAY'S MARKET: QS/1 SEES BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE; CERNER STAYS STAGNANT

QS/1 has made gains during the last 12 months thanks to more responsive support and improvements to integration, a past challenge. They lead the best-of-breed market thanks to impactful upgrades that increase providers’ ability to handle higher volumes. After a sharp decline, ScriptPro has steadily improved functionality, although customers say development has stagnated over the past several months. Cerner’s score remains stagnant overall due to unresponsive phone and web support and a lack of aggressive product development. Some customers feel the product’s functionality was oversold.

2. IS EPIC A VIABLE OPTION? MOST SAY YES THANKS TO STRONG DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION

Providers hoping for strong integration want to know whether Epic’s is mature enough to meet their needs. Epic has a relatively small outpatient pharmacy customer base—around 30 sites. This limited customer base says the functionality is not as strong as that of best-of-breed players, though most agree that their functionality needs are being met and that the product is not oversold; it is the highest rated product. Customers feel confident in Epic’s ability to meet their growing needs and rate the vendor high for development and integration. Cerner struggles to deliver meaningful upgrades, and providers are disappointed with the lack of integration with other clinical and financial systems.

3. SMALL MCKESSON CUSTOMERS FACE INTERFACE COMPLEXITIES; CERNER STRUGGLES TO SCALE UP

Small McKesson customers report that the resources required to create and maintain interfaces are prohibitive, leaving them unable to properly leverage the system’s capabilities. Many feel these complexities were not disclosed during the sales and contracting process. Conversely, large Cerner customers state that the product lacks the speed and functionality to meet the demands of high-volume health systems. Limited feedback suggests that ScriptPro’s sweet spot is midsize organizations and that there are some challenges accommodating large volumes in organizations over 500 beds.

4. EPIC FOSTERS STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS

Epic customers see their vendor as a true partner, saying that Epic keeps their development promises and is up front about support and upgrade costs. Around two-thirds of McKesson customers feel nickel-and-dimed and face unexpected costs around customizations, functionality upgrades, and phone and web support; also, promises around integration are often unmet. Around half of Cerner customers say that their vendor does not keep their promises, and while many are hopeful that needed functionality will be developed, others are concerned about Cerner’s ability to meet their needs in the future.