Practice Management 2017 (Over 10 Physicians)
Many Vendors Struggle to Provide Consistent Experience across Practice Size

1. Cerner PM Not Meeting Needs; Is Customer Optimism Misplaced?

Though Cerner customers report the highest rates of optimism for the future, Cerner also has the lowest number of satisfied customers. Cerner’s 2016 overall score (for which there was limited data) was low and has declined further as Cerner has failed to meet providers’ needs for a functional PM product. Major pain points for customers include increased A/R days, inaccurate reporting, nickel-and-diming, and the need to create workarounds to deal with functionality gaps. In addition, insufficient staffing has led to delayed go-lives and difficult implementations, and the support staff lacks knowledge and is slow to resolve issues. Almost two-thirds of interviewed customers say that Cerner does not keep their promises to improve the system or develop the needed functionality.

2. Impressive Improvements Seen from NextGen—Will They Sustain the Momentum?

NextGen Healthcare provides a highly functional, highly customizable PM product that is stable and easy to use. NextGen’s support and relationships, however, have historically been erratic. Currently, larger customers report that they are receiving more proactive support, closer executive involvement, and better communication regarding NextGen’s vision for the future. These changes have contributed to significant improvements in larger customers’ satisfaction in many areas, and providers are optimistic that they will receive needed development and functionality going forward. Some would like more robust reporting capabilities. While many customers feel that the PM solution is a strength, the lack of a strong EMR solution is motivating some to look elsewhere.

3. Scalability and Specialty Customization Increasingly Problematic for Some Larger athenahealth Customers

athenahealth has long held a reputation in the industry as being the gold standard for practice management and is 2017’s Best in KLAS PM system for practices with 11–75 physicians. Regardless of practice size, many customers acknowledge that the system is worth the sizable investment since it allows them to optimize revenue cycle operations. However, many large practices that have shared feedback with KLAS over multiple years have become less satisfied with athenahealth over time. About one-quarter of athenahealth’s larger customers plan to leave, many due to the system’s inability to be customized for their complex billing needs. Specialty practices also run into difficulty with the lack of customization options. In addition, over the past six months, larger practices have noticed more variability in the quality of the support and less involvement from their account executives.

4. Among Large Practices, Epic Far Outperforms All Other Practice Management Vendors in Overall Satisfaction

Large practices trust Epic, who has consistently delivered a stable, highly functional system backed by the support that customers need to be successful. Providers feel the system is worth the monetary investment, and they report very little nickel-and-diming. Provider satisfaction is consistently very high, with few users citing negative experiences or product shortcomings. Feedback from midsize practices comes from a limited sample. While most midsize practices that KLAS interviewed struggle to learn the system due to its complexity, a small number appreciate the solution’s robust features, as do most large practices.

5. GE Healthcare Delivers Tangible Results, Lacks Real Clinical Integration

In addition to providing proactive support and strong account managers for their large customers, GE Healthcare provides a mature, stable practice management solution that users describe as highly functional and flexible for the needs of larger practices. Despite the system’s strengths, about one-third of larger customers are leaving, mostly due to the system’s lack of true clinical integration. While GE Healthcare claims the system is integrated with the EMR, customers say the systems are interfaced rather than truly integrated.

Writer
Elizabeth Pew

Designer
Jess Wallace-Simpson