Premium Reports

Telehealth Performance 2022: What Is the State of Telehealth Post-Pandemic?

At the onset of the pandemic, telehealth solutions became critical for healthcare organizations to maintain appointments, offer safe care, and increase patients’ access to care. Now, with many patients still wanting to use telehealth (see recently published report on the patient perspective), provider organizations are at a crossroads as they evaluate telehealth’s value and long-term use, especially if the US government’s emergency telehealth use policy isn’t renewed past summer 2022. This report examines how well vendors facilitate a quality customer experience and what outcomes customers have achieved, particularly as they have overseen patients’ involvement with the technology (i.e., accommodating patients’ differing devices, connection bandwidths, and levels of digital literacy). Vendors are divided into two groups based on the type of technology they offer: virtual care platforms and video conferencing solutions.

Upcoming

Global (Non-US) EMR Market Share 2022:
The Impact of the Pandemic’s Second Year

Authored by: Everton Santos , Jonathan Christensen | July 2022 |

2021 was an active year for EMR purchasing despite the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 150 provider organizations outside the US signed an EMR contract in 2021, covering 31 different vendors and impacting over 430 hospitals. While total decisions were lower in 2021 than in any other of the last five years, the number of beds impacted was above average thanks to a number of larger organizations making EMR purchase decisions. Europe remains the most active region, though Africa and Asia both saw increased purchase energy from 2020. The pandemic continues to hinder EMR decisions most in Oceania and Latin America (especially Spanish-speaking countries).

New

Midsize/Large Ambulatory EMR 2022:
Healthcare Organizations’ Hierarchy of Needs

Authored by: Aaron Gleave , Alex McIntosh | July 2022 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Technology needs are constantly evolving in healthcare, yet vendor development efforts may not always align with provider organizations’ top priorities. To better understand what these priorities are in midsize and large ambulatory practices (11+ physicians), KLAS interviewed over 500 respondents from such organizations regarding the areas most in need of improvement from their EMR vendor.

New

Europe PACS 2022:
Technology & Partnership Crucial in Evolving Market

Authored by: Eder Lagemann , Jonathan Christensen , Sidney Tate | July 2022 | Read Time: 9 minutes

The PACS market in Europe is evolving. To unify care delivery, many countries are pushing for HIT consolidation across regional groups of hospitals. At the same time, healthcare organizations are increasingly looking to expand their imaging strategies outside of radiology to bring together more departments and facilities at an enterprise level. This report leverages the perspectives of 199 individuals representing 168 unique organizations across 25 European countries to determine which PACS vendors are delivering the technology and partnerships needed to drive imaging progress in Europe.

New

Multiview:
First Look 2022

Authored by: Niel Oscarson , Braden Taylor | June 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Many healthcare organizations, especially smaller community institutions, struggle to find effective enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions at an affordable cost. Multiview Financial Software seeks to provide easy-to-use, comprehensive financial applications for healthcare organizations of all sizes. This report examines customers’ use of and satisfaction with Multiview ERP and its primary functionalities, which include core accounting, business insights, business automation, and inventory management capabilities.

New

Patient Communications Landscape 2022:
Leveraging Communication Tools to Drive Outcomes

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Dan Czech | June 2022 | Read Time: 11 minutes

As patients’ expectations have evolved and provider organizations’ technology has matured, the need for quick, easy, ongoing patient/provider communication has become even more prevalent. It is often no longer sufficient to merely push communications to patients (e.g., appointment reminders). This study examines and defines the current landscape of patient communications solutions—including how they are used; how easy they are to set up, customize, and use on an ongoing basis; and what outcomes they are helping organizations to achieve.

New

Surescripts Interoperability Solutions (Vendor Customers):
First Look 2022

Authored by: Tyson Blauer , Jacob Mortensen | June 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Surescripts has been well known in the industry for their ePrescribing work for many years. What is not as well known is that they have capabilities to help with other interoperability challenges their customers face, including locating records, getting patient event notifications, and using Direct messaging. This report highlights what capabilities customers have been able to use as well as what their experiences have been. The customers highlighted in this report are vendors with solutions that leverage Surescripts’ interoperability capabilities.

New

SocialClimb:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Aurene Wilford | June 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Improving access to quality provider organizations is imperative for all patients. Many patients use online reviews to select provider organizations, so in order to attract clients, physicians need to improve their online reputation and deliver targeted advertisements to the right patients. SocialClimb’s HIPAA-compliant marketing software assists provider organizations with their online presence and physician accessibility and enables them to measure the ROI from their marketing efforts. This report examines customers’ experience with the SocialClimb solution.

New

PwC SMART:
First Look 2022

Authored by: Warren Whitford , Spencer Larson | June 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Medical billing errors are alarmingly frequent and cause large financial tolls for all in healthcare. It can be resource intensive for provider organizations to address these errors on their own, but as healthcare costs rise, it is imperative to prevent and correct coding errors. PwC seeks to address the issue through SMART, a prebilling solution that helps automate coding quality and regulatory compliance. This report evaluates the experience of provider organizations using SMART.

New

Neudesic:
First Look 2022

Authored by: Warren Whitford , Spencer Larson | June 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Provider organizations require a broad range of technical skills to help them manage mergers and acquisitions and the acceleration of healthcare’s digital transformation. To help already strained IT departments, many provider organizations turn to services firms for project-based implementation services and infrastructure and application management. This report evaluates the experience of healthcare organizations that have used technical services offered by Neudesic, an IBM company.

New

Data Archiving 2022:
In a Competitive Market, Who Is Being Selected and Why? (A Decision Insights Report)

Authored by: Ryan Oliver , Jennifer Hickenlooper , Doug VanWagenen | June 2022 | Read Time: 11 minutes

Data archiving solutions—which allow organizations to archive and access historical data from retired legacy software—continue to be in high demand. For the first time, KLAS has validated organizations that are replacing their existing archive solutions as they seek to consolidate archives, cut costs, and identify systems that can meet their needs for various types or volumes of data. To better understand what factors are influencing purchase decisions in this market with no clear leader, this report examines 23 recent or upcoming data archiving purchase decisions validated by KLAS between January 2020 and December 2021. For additional context, satisfaction data from current customers is also included. It should be noted that the decisions in this report are not representative of all data archiving purchase decisions made in the last several years.

New

Drug Diversion Monitoring 2022:
What Outcomes Are Provider Organizations Achieving?

Authored by: Jackson Tate , Jennifer Hickenlooper | June 2022 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Drug diversion monitoring continues to be a top area of interest for pharmacy departments across the US as they seek to understand which products can effectively identify non-compliant behavior and otherwise unknown diverters. This report—KLAS’ first to analyze the performance of several vendors in this area—looks at which vendors are consistently delivering guidance, analytics, and insights that help organizations identify and prevent drug diversion. In addition, this report examines the outcomes provider organizations are achieving and how well vendors follow through on commitments.

New

Cerner Soarian Financials Pulse Check 2022:
Understanding Soarian Financials’ Performance as a Possible Indicator of RevElate’s Success

Authored by: Coray Tate , Alex McIntosh | June 2022 | Read Time: 8 minutes

In October 2021, Cerner introduced RevElate as their go-forward patient accounting platform instead of Cerner Patient Accounting (CPA). According to Cerner, RevElate will be built on elements of both CPA and Soarian Financials. The number of Soarian Financials customers has decreased over the years, and because the solution was never Cerner’s go-forward platform, KLAS has not actively collected research on it for several years. However, since the RevElate announcement, organizations have wondered whether the Soarian Financials customer experience is a possible indicator of the RevElate customer experience. This report—the second in a series of Cerner-focused reports—examines the state of Soarian Financials today, based on data collected from customers over the past 24 months with an emphasis on interviews conducted since the RevElate announcement. In future research, KLAS intends to collect perceptions from additional Cerner customers and validate the impacts customer organizations have seen from Cerner’s recent changes.

New

CareRev:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Niel Oscarson , Braden Taylor | June 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Healthcare organizations are consistently looking for solutions that address the continuous struggle with staffing shortages. CareRev provides an alternative to traditional travel contracts in the form of a web-based marketplace platform, which enables users to efficiently fill open shifts by hiring local, prequalified healthcare professionals. This report validates the outcomes seen by CareRev ’s customers and examines their satisfaction with the product.

New

Complex Claims Services 2022:
Who Delivers Consistent Results?

Authored by: Mollie Hunt , Alex McIntosh , Chloe Jensen | June 2022 | Read Time: 6 minutes

To process complex claims (specifically, claims for motor vehicle accidents, VA, workers’ compensation, and out-of-state Medicaid), provider organizations must make significant time and resource investments. By hiring specialized firms with the knowledge and experience to handle complex claims, organizations can increase revenue, decrease the cost to collect, and reduce A/R days while saving resources. Contingency-based pricing—which is typical for the market—also makes engaging with these firms fairly low risk. This report examines the performance of each complex claims services firm across different claim types and details their delivery of outcomes and strength of client relationships.

New

Investor Newsletter June 2022

Authored by: Joshua Harris , Justin Long | June 2022 | Read Time: 10 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

New

EMR-Centric Virtual Care Platforms 2022:
Provider Insights on a Rapidly Evolving Market (Report 2 of 2)

Authored by: Aaron Gleave , Alex McIntosh | June 2022 | Read Time: 8 minutes

Virtual care has been a roller coaster for healthcare organizations in the last few years—from minimal uptake in the face of reimbursement barriers, to the COVID-19 rush in demand and availability, to hastily implemented and developed IT solutions, to a recent return to more-standard care delivery, and now the re-examination of go-forward strategies. This report shares how EMR-centric virtual care platforms perform today and what provider organizations have planned for the future.

New

MD Revolution RevUp:
First Look 2022

Authored by: Schafer Jackson , Aurene Wilford | June 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Healthcare organizations are increasingly needing to provide wraparound care and attention to a large number of patients outside of office visits, often in remote settings. They want to be able to track patient conditions, offer interventions, and improve outcomes while minimizing the workload of clinical staff and maintaining financial viability. This report is a first look at MD Revolution’s care management platform, RevUp, which assesses, manages, and monitors patients—thereby assisting care managers and proactively encouraging remote patient engagement.

New

Biofourmis:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Schafer Jackson , Aurene Wilford | June 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Remote patient monitoring solutions offer providers the ability to track patients’ conditions throughout their day-to-day life rather than only during in-office encounters. Their goal is to improve clinical outcomes (by enabling early intervention and preventing further complications) and reduce the cost of care (by lessening ED visits and hospital admissions). This report offers a first look at Biofourmis, whose remote patient management platform aims to improve clinician workflows, patient engagement, and care, as well as lower the cost of care.

New

AWS in Healthcare 2022:
A Deeper Look at Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Capabilities

Authored by: Mike Smith , Emily Paxman | June 2022 | Read Time: 6 minutes

New

LeanTaaS iQueue for Operating Rooms:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Niel Oscarson , Braden Taylor | June 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Maximizing operating room (OR) utilization can be very difficult for healthcare organizations to achieve, leading to the misuse of valuable time and loss of potential revenue. The LeanTaaS iQueue for Operating Rooms solution provides real-time data, as well as block and open time management tools, to help perioperative leaders improve margins by optimizing staff, equipment, and capital utilization. This report aims to explore customers’ experiences and satisfaction with iQueue for Operating Rooms.

New

Codoxo Forensic AI Platform:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Ryan Pretnik , Aurene Wilford | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Each year, billions of dollars are put toward healthcare, yet much of it is lost to fraudulent claims and bad payments. To help payer organizations control costs, Codoxo’s Forensic AI Platform provides actionable insights that identify existing or emerging fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) issues. This report looks to validate the Codoxo customer experience.

New

Patient Perspectives on Patient Engagement Technology 2022:
Identifying Opportunities to Align Patient, Organization, and Vendor Priorities

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Dan Czech | May 2022 | Read Time: 7 minutes

The pandemic has emphasized the need for healthcare organizations to better accommodate patients’ needs and decrease barriers to effective care. However, patients are frequently absent from discussions around healthcare information technology (HIT). In KLAS’ previous report on the patient perspective, we discovered a lack of alignment between patients’ engagement technology priorities and those of provider organizations and vendors. Since then, KLAS has sought to gain a deeper understanding of what is needed from vendors and providers to drive greater alignment with patients. This report seeks to highlight the patient voice and is one of many KLAS initiatives aimed at more deeply understanding and measuring the patient perspective on HIT.

New

Virtual Scribing Services 2022:
An Initial Look at Outcomes Driven by Remote Scribes

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Jonathan Christensen , Shawn Howell | May 2022 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Since the onset of COVID-19, the adoption of virtual scribing services has accelerated among provider organizations, driven largely by the need to ease documentation burdens, alleviate physician burnout, and limit the number of staff members present during a patient examination. To help organizations understand how virtual scribes can address these challenges, this report—KLAS’ first to focus on virtual scribing services—examines the client experience of two frequently used firms and shares client recommendations.

New

HealthTalk A.I.:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Aurene Wilford | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Healthcare AI data science solutions are transforming healthcare with the goal of providing better care quality to patients and improving administrative and operational efficiency for clinicians and staff. This report examines HealthTalk A.I.’s AI-assisted patient engagement tool, which aims to improve patients’ access to care and improve communication between healthcare organizations and patients by identifying care gaps, coordinating care, and automating scheduling.

New

Investor Newsletter May 2022

Authored by: Joshua Harris , Darin Dooley | May 2022 | Read Time: 11 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

New

rater8:
First Look 2022

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Aurene Wilford | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

In competitive healthcare markets, provider organizations continue to seek ways to differentiate themselves. With growing capabilities to help patients find clinicians and access care, provider organizations are turning to tools that help manage their online reputations. This report will look at rater8 and its unique capabilities to help providers stand out online and organize customer feedback. KLAS will validate customer outcomes and share organizations’ insights on their current experiences and how expectations are being met.

New

Go-Live Support 2022:
Matching the Right Firm to Your Implementation Needs

Authored by: Kaleb Harris , Cathy McCabe | May 2022 | Read Time: 5 minutes

Firms that provide go-live support for HIT implementations continue to consistently deliver high client satisfaction. Across the board, these firms are highly skilled and knowledgeable, making it rare for healthcare organizations to report a poor experience. Instead of asking which firm provides high-quality go-live support, organizations must decide which firm is the best fit for their organization.

New

Interoperability Summit 2022

Authored by: Coray Tate , Mollie Hunt , Paul Warburton | May 2022 | Read Time: 8 minutes

Interoperability has been a focus in healthcare for years, yet progress toward any goal is difficult without consistent, impartial measurement. On February 7–8, 2022, KLAS held our second Interoperability Summit as part of ongoing efforts to comprehensively measure and validate EMR and other application vendors’ interoperability performance. While a previous summit had focused on creating a framework for interoperability vendor measurement (see below), the chief goal of the 2022 summit—attended by 93 leaders from across the healthcare industry—was threefold:

Optimize Health Remote Patient Monitoring:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Schafer Jackson , Aurene Wilford | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Healthcare organizations seek to accelerate a continuous patient care experience while reducing administrative and financial costs, improving patient outcomes, and reducing hospitalizations. Remote patient monitoring vendors, like Optimize Health, aim to use advanced technology and expert support that engage patients in their care outside of regular office visits to improve clinical workflows and clinical outcomes with minimal up-front risk. This report examines the Optimize Health customer experience.

SyncTimes:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Paul Hess , Jacob Mortensen | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

In clinical settings, resource optimization and communication efficiency are paramount in delivering quality care. SyncTimes is a clinical workflow and communication tool that streamlines operations, inter-team communication, and resource management. Features include a real-time location system, communication tools, and analytics based on documentation of patient activities and personnel management by room. This report seeks to validate provider organizations’ adoption of SyncTimes and their overall satisfaction.

Points of Light 2022:
Recognizing Successful Payer/Provider Collaborations

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 4 minutes

Despite their common goal of enabling efficient, effective healthcare, payer and provider organizations often find themselves at odds, struggling to navigate the intersections where disparate processes and systems converge. The goal of KLAS’ new Payer/Provider Initiative is to help reduce this friction by facilitating trust, collaboration, and alignment between payers, providers, and HIT vendors.

As part of the initiative, the annual Points of Light awards celebrate success stories—or “points of light”—from payers, providers, and vendors who have partnered together to reduce costs and inefficiencies and improve the patient experience. 14 such collaborations were awarded a 2022 Points of Light award, and their strategies and outcomes are shared in this report to illustrate the art of the possible. The report’s Executive Overview provides a high-level summary of the types of challenges tackled and the outcomes achieved, while the full report provides an in-depth case study of each collaboration. See page 6 for the full list of winners.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 9:
Bundled Payments for Maternity Care Improve Quality, Drive Down Cost

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

With the costs for maternity care rising, Metro Nashville Public Schools partnered directly with Vanderbilt Health to create a bundled payment program for their maternity population. Technology from Cedar Gate Technologies enables the smooth, efficient administration of the program, resulting in high satisfaction for all stakeholders, including the patients themselves.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 8:
Improved Data Integration Generates Quality and Financial Benefits for Payvider Organization

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

In order to provide better care and build trust between their payer and provider divisions, Community Health Plan of Washington (a provider-owned health plan) worked with Arcadia.io to build a 360-degree patient view based on both claims and clinical data. They then used the data to create a pay-for-performance program that rewards providers for value-based behaviors. The program has led to both quality and financial improvements.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 7:
Quadruple Aim Is the Goal for Provider and Payer Organizations’ Separate Use of AI-Enabled Prior Authorization Solution

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

The technology in this case study is used by Essentia Health and GuideWell to automate the prior authorization process and thus reduce manual processes and delays in care. This case study is unique in that the highlighted healthcare and payer organizations pursued their prior authorization automation independently of each other. Their perspectives demonstrate how the technology is able to reduce friction for both the provider and payer markets without direct collaboration or contracting.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 6:
Innovative Care Management Program Used to Cut Costs and Transform Lives of Super-Utilizers

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

To better serve individuals experiencing homelessness—who are often super-utilizers of The Queen’s Health Systems’ inpatient and emergency department (ED) services—the stakeholders in this case study worked together to enable the healthcare organization to first identify these individuals and then provide community health workers to help connect them with available community resources. The resulting program has been extremely successful for all parties involved—first and foremost for the patients and the clinicians who serve them.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 5:
Automation of Prior Authorization Process Reduces Manual Workload for Critical Resources

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Seeking to reduce the manual effort required to obtain prior authorization, the collaborators in this case study worked together to create a SMART on FHIR link between Conway Medical Center’s EMR and the software used by Palmetto GBA. The link simplifies the process for both the payer and healthcare organizations and frees up resources to work on critical pandemic-related tasks. The stakeholders are now working to expand the automation to additional procedures and healthcare organizations.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 4:
Avoidable Denials Reduced via Early Detection of Claims Errors

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Administrative costs in healthcare are now in the trillions. Hoping to reduce these costs, the three stakeholders in this case study worked together to incorporate UnitedHealthcare’s payment rules into the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics’ billing solution. This allows the health system to catch errors before claims are submitted, reducing rework and saving administrative costs. The collaborators emphasize the importance of continued collaboration to make sure the suggested edits continue to be refined and expanded.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 3:
Streamlined Chart Retrieval Reduces Waste and Provider Abrasion

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

In response to a growing volume of clinical-data requests, the collaborators in this case study worked together to streamline and automate the chart-retrieval process. Using a 100% digital chart-retrieval solution from Moxe, Payer Organization 3 is able to access complete, accurate clinical data from Novant Health and Healthcare Organization 3. By bringing all stakeholders to the table and creating relationships of trust, the collaborators have been able to improve satisfaction among members/patients, reduce frustration and manual work for the healthcare organizations, and improve ROI for the payer.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 2:
Payer/Provider Collaboration Reduces Credentialing Turnaround and Improves Denials Process

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Spectrum Health partnered with Priority Health to tackle two areas of inefficiency that were causing employee frustration and reducing productivity: the credentialing turnaround time and the denials process. A workgroup that included representatives from both stakeholder organizations was formed to identify areas of friction in these processes and to implement solutions. The results include improved member/patient satisfaction, increased staff productivity, and reduced denials. The collaborators note that success came as they were willing to fully commit to the project and work amicably on a shared objective.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 14:
Holistic View of Patient Data Enables Better Identification of and Care Management for High-Cost Patients Under Capitation

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

The stakeholders in this case study collaborated to bring together clinical and claims data in one holistic view of the patient. This data is used to identify high-cost or high-risk members covered by capitated contracts so that these individuals can be referred to Baton Rouge General Medical Center’s comprehensive care clinic. The care management provided by the clinic is designed to optimize health outcomes and reduce costs.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 13:
Collaboration Creates More Automated Prior Authorization for Orthopedic Practices

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

To combat a prior authorization process that was burdensome to patients, providers, and payers, the stakeholders in this case study worked together to provide a more automated process and incorporate suggested care plans into the provider workflow. The stakeholders kept the patient as the center of their focus, and the collaboration has not only led to faster access to care for patients but also reduced the administrative burden for the payer and provider organizations.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 12:
ePA and RTPB Technology Used to Reduce Unnecessary Prior Authorizations, Increase Price Transparency

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Lack of patient-level insurance coverage data at the point of care can add to the administrative burden for provider organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, and payers and lead to high prescription costs for patients. The technology in this case study helps reduce these issues by confirming whether prior authorization is needed and embedding patient-specific formulary information into the prescriber’s workflow. The results have been a win for all stakeholders involved.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 11:
Bidirectional Data Exchange Leads to Increased Ability to Close Care Gaps

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

As the industry shifts to value-based reimbursement, everything revolves around quality of care. And providing a high quality of care requires increased collaboration and data exchange between payer and provider organizations. In this case study, SC House Calls’ EMR vendor used FHIR APIs to create and automate a closed-loop exchange of clinical data between the organization and Humana. Outcomes of this collaboration include reduced administrative burden, improved clinical outcomes, and improved provider satisfaction.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 10:
Prior Authorization for Imaging Automated Via CDS Technology

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

UVA Health realized that the government-mandated clinical decision support they used when placing imaging orders for Medicare patients could potentially be leveraged to expedite the prior authorization process while also improving providers’ imaging order patterns. As a result, the organization partnered with Change Healthcare and one of their commercial payers to leverage the clinical decision support mechanism for non-Medicare patients and expedite the prior authorization process, leading to significant benefits for patients, ordering providers, and the payer organization.

Points of Light 2022 Case Study 1:
Consolidated Patient Billing Leading to Higher Satisfaction, Increased Collections, and Reduced Waste

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Lois Krotz | May 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Seeking to provide a simplified billing experience for patients and reduce administrative costs, Payer Organization 1 and Healthcare Organization 1 teamed up with Cedar to create a unified patient bill that combines the health system’s billing with the payer’s explanation of benefits. The payer and healthcare organizations also integrated their customer service. By working collaboratively and leveraging Cedar’s patient financial experience technology, the organizations were able to achieve improved member/patient satisfaction, higher collection rates, and reduced costs. The participants emphasized the importance of building trust and letting go of past narratives that didn’t serve the common goal.

The Chartis Group Digital Transformation 2022:
Providing Best in KLAS Digital Transformation

Authored by: Warren Whitford , Spencer Larson , Cathy McCabe | April 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Provider and payer organizations are increasingly concerned about their strategies for digital capabilities that affect operations and patient care. Through engaging with consulting firms to define needs and develop digital road maps, organizations are utilizing firms’ assistance to plan, manage, and improve these digital capabilities and, ultimately, consumer experiences. This report evaluates the experiences of healthcare organizations that have engaged The Chartis Group for digital transformation work, which is a relatively new area that the firm is being measured for.

Healthlink Advisors IT Planning & Assessment:
First Look 2022

Authored by: Trent Davis , Spencer Larson | April 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Rapid advances in healthcare technology, increased demand from COVID-19, and staffing shortages have stretched the ability of organizations’ internal HIT teams to find, evaluate, select, and manage new technological systems and services across the evolving healthcare landscape. As an advisory services firm, Healthlink Advisors seeks to address that issue. This report evaluates the experience of healthcare organizations that have used Healthlink Advisors’ IT planning and assessment offerings.

Healthcare Safety, Risk & Compliance Management 2022:
Adoption, Capabilities & Performance

Authored by: Ryan Pretnik , Jennifer Hickenlooper | April 2022 | Read Time: 8 minutes

Healthcare organizations are increasingly interested in taking a broad, enterprise approach to safety, risk, and compliance management. Additionally, multiple vendor mergers and acquisitions in the last few years have many organizations considering their future. This report (KLAS’ first on safety, risk, and compliance management specifically) examines the state of the market, including an early look at the energy around an enterprise strategy. How broadly are organizations adopting their solutions today? What vendors are furthest along on the path toward a unified platform? Which are delivering consistently today, both at a solution level and in terms of support and vendor/client partnership?

US Hospital Market Share 2022:
Strong Purchasing Energy across Large, Small, and Standalone Hospitals

Authored by: Tyson Blauer , Paul Warburton | April 2022 | Read Time: 7 minutes

EMR purchasing continued to be high in 2021, despite hospitals and health systems grappling with inflation, lingering complications from COVID-19, overburdened clinicians, and a historic nurse shortage. This report examines trends in EMR purchases that occurred in the US from January–December 2021.

_{A Note about Acquisitions
In 2021, Oracle entered the acute care EMR space through their acquisition of Cerner, becoming the second biggest EMR provider in the US. Additionally, at the beginning of 2022, Harris acquired Allscripts’ EMR technology, effectively increasing their number of inpatient beds by a factor of 17.}

Notable:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Kyle Chilton , Aurene Wilford | April 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Having financially viable healthcare organizations is imperative and requires a reduction in administrative costs. One opportunity to improve financial viability is to digitize and automate workflows across the care continuum, including all operational and clinical workflows. This report offers a first look at Notable—a solution provider focused on delivering intelligent automation for healthcare.

Price Transparency 2022:
Hospital Perceptions of CMS Regulation

Authored by: Dustin Cragun , Alex McIntosh , Tyler Sycamore | April 2022 | Read Time: 6 minutes

As of January 1, 2021, all US hospitals must comply with CMS’ price transparency regulation, which stipulates that hospitals must provide clear, accessible pricing estimates online for at least 300 different shoppable services. Many healthcare organizations have expressed that a variety of challenges make this mandate difficult to meet. In this perception report, KLAS interviewed 66 revenue cycle leaders to understand how hospitals are responding to the regulation and their future plans around price transparency. Going forward, KLAS intends to continue to measure and provide insights into the consumerization of healthcare.

Investor Newsletter April 2022

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | April 2022 | Read Time: 9 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

Phox Health:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Jackson Tate , Kyle Chilton , Aurene Wilford | April 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Healthcare organizations can face challenges while maintaining pharmacy financial margins, reducing medication abandonment, and delivering medications safely and securely to patients. Providing optimal care quality to virtual care patients requires timely access to prescription-delivery products and other healthcare products. This report offers a first look at Phox Health, a healthcare solution provider who partners with medical couriers to deliver medications across health system departments and to patients.

Damo Consulting Digital Transformation Consulting:
First Look 2022

Authored by: Warren Whitford , Spencer Larson , Cathy McCabe | April 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Healthcare provider and payer organizations are increasingly concerned with the consumer experience and are working to improve digital engagement. As part of this effort, some organizations enlist consulting firms to help plan, manage, and improve consumer experiences through digital means. Through digital transformation services, consultants help define needs and develop digital road maps. This report evaluates the experience of organizations that have engaged with Damo Consulting on a digital transformation project.

CorroHealth Autonomous Coding:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Kyle Chilton , Braden Taylor | April 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

More and more healthcare organizations are evaluating the viability of autonomous coding to increase efficiency and reduce overhead expenses. CorroHealth’s autonomous coding product offers provider organizations a solution that streamlines coding workflows to reduce labor-intensive tasks and improve productivity. This report looks to validate the outcomes that CorroHealth’s customers have experienced and examine customers’ satisfaction with the product.

Revenue Integrity/Underpayment Services 2022:
Finding the Firm That’s Right for Your Organization

Authored by: Mollie Hunt , Alex McIntosh , Tyler Sycamore | April 2022 | Read Time: 9 minutes

Overall, healthcare organizations are highly satisfied with the firms they engage to tackle difficult revenue-collection issues, such as underpayments, denials, and complex government reimbursement requirements. However, different firms focus on different revenue integrity areas, making side-by-side comparisons difficult. To help organizations identify which firms best fit their needs, this report (1) looks at how well firms educate clients on ways to proactively avoid missed revenue, (2) highlights firms’ client-validated areas of expertise, and (3) examines each firm’s specific strengths and opportunities for improvement.

Note: The data in this report comes from two different surveys. Not all respondents answered both surveys, so sample sizes vary throughout the report. See About This Report for more information.

Middle East & Africa PACS 2022:
Which Vendors Meet Customer Expectations?

Authored by: Everton Santos , Jonathan Christensen , Sidney Tate | April 2022 | Read Time: 6 minutes

The PACS market in the Middle East and Africa is evolving, with some vendors gaining prominence and others losing traction. Healthcare organizations are looking to enhance their imaging strategies with new, advanced technology (e.g., AI and the cloud) and want vendors who innovate and deliver this technology. Using customer feedback from 60 organizations across 14 countries, this report is KLAS’ first to focus on the PACS market in the Middle East and Africa, exploring vendor market share and performance and examining which vendors are keeping pace with customer expectations.

European EMR 2022:
Which Vendors Meet Customer Needs in a Rapidly Shifting Landscape?

Authored by: Eder Lagemann , Jonathan Christensen , Sidney Tate | April 2022 | Read Time: 11 minutes

In the past few years, there has been significant merger and acquisition (M&A) activity among EMR vendors who market in Europe as well as significant purchasing activity by healthcare organizations, creating one of the world’s most dynamic EMR markets. From 2016–2020, KLAS validated over 300 EMR decisions impacting over 1,200 inpatient facilities (comprehensive data for 2021 purchases not yet available). Using this data and customer feedback from 100 organizations, this report examines the customer satisfaction, market share, and recent market energy of European EMR vendors and evaluates which are best meeting customer needs in this competitive market.

Interoperability Facilitator Ecosystem 2022:
Vendor-Reported Capabilities

Authored by: Tyson Blauer , Paul Warburton | March 2022 | Read Time: 3 minutes

Almost all HIT solutions today need to be able to share data in some capacity. To a large extent, efforts by provider and vendor organizations to enable interoperability have focused on EMR-to-EMR data sharing or sharing between other solutions whose primary function is not interoperability (e.g., BI systems, population health management platforms). Such sharing has also been the focus of KLAS’ historical interoperability research. However, there are a large number of standalone solutions—both old and new—whose primary function is to facilitate interoperability for specific use cases. These interoperability facilitators are garnering increased market interest as organizations face an expanding array of data-sharing needs.

To help provider organizations better understand their options for tackling interoperability, this report uses vendor-provided information (not yet validated by KLAS) to examine the various solutions’ primary use cases, customer types, and deployed functionality. Future research will utilize customer feedback to validate vendor capabilities and measure customer satisfaction. For complete details on vendors’ self-reported capabilities, see the full report.

1upHealth FHIR Platform:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Joe VanDeGraaff , Joseph Ybarra , Aurene Wilford | March 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

In 2021, new CMS rules came into effect that require CMS-regulated health plans to have a patient access API and a provider directory API. Aimed at increasing the interoperability of personal health data, these rules have prompted payers to look at new ways of sharing external information. This report evaluates 1upHealth‘s FHIR Platform, an interoperability solution designed to help payer customers meet governmental regulations and improve consent and authorization management.

Investor Newsletter March 2022

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | March 2022 | Read Time: 9 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

Smart Pumps 2022:
Where Are Organizations Investing for the Future? (A Decision Insights Report)

Authored by: Jackson Tate , Jennifer Hickenlooper | March 2022 | Read Time: 10 minutes

The smart pumps market sees a high number of purchase decisions as old pumps wear out and new functionality becomes available, including bidirectional EMR interoperability, updated pump functionality, and better verification and documentation. To determine where healthcare organizations are investing for the future, this report examines 40 recent or upcoming smart pump purchase decisions validated by KLAS between January 2020 and December 2021. For additional context, satisfaction data from current customers is also included.

Clarify Atlas Platform:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Bradley Hunter , Ryan Pretnik , Spencer Larson | March 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Today, many healthcare organizations have a limited ability to aggregate, analyze, and generate actionable insights from big data. Properly harnessed, big data can enable provider and payer organizations to better analyze population health to unlock the potential of value-based care (VBC) and improve medical and financial decisions. Clarify Health strives for this through Atlas, their analytics platform that delivers insights via use case specific software applications. This report seeks to validate customers’ experience with Clarify Health’s analytics software.

Healthcare AI 2022:
Proven Outcomes with Data Science Solutions

Authored by: Ryan Pretnik , Jennifer Hickenlooper | March 2022 | Read Time: 10 minutes

The potential for artificial intelligence (AI) to transform healthcare has been both championed and challenged. In 2019, KLAS published our first research on healthcare AI data science solutions, exploring healthcare organizations’ clinical, financial, and operational use cases and the early outcomes they were achieving. An update to that research, this report examines how outcomes and customer satisfaction have evolved in the years since. Though progress has been somewhat hamstrung by the financial and operational constraints of COVID-19, many of the organizations interviewed for this research have found results by focusing on the right problems.

Medication Inventory Management 2022:
Insights from Advanced Users Reveal What Is Possible Today

Authored by: Jackson Tate , Paul Warburton , Doug VanWagenen | February 2022 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Medication inventory represents tremendous hospital spend. Managing it well is crucial for patient safety and cost management, yet many healthcare organizations report they struggle to get the right tools and workflows in place, leading to high-touch, manual processes. To understand what is possible with medication inventory management today, KLAS spoke to organizations that have broadly adopted capabilities from BD, Epic, Omnicell, and Swisslog Healthcare. Based on the feedback from these advanced users, this report examines the breadth of capabilities in use today, how well the solutions integrate with various hardware components, and how well the vendors support their customers to drive key outcomes. Performance data from vendors’ general customer bases is also included for additional context.

Investor Newsletter February 2022

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | February 2022 | Read Time: 10 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

Healthcare IoT Security 2022:
Moving beyond Device Visibility

Authored by: Joe VanDeGraaff , Dan Czech , Ciera Walker | February 2022 | Read Time: 15 minutes

As the number of devices connected to networks within healthcare organizations continues to grow, so does the potential for network security to be compromised. These security risks—which can come from medical devices or the myriad other devices connected to healthcare networks—can impact not only information security but patient safety as well. Many healthcare internet of things (IoT) security solutions give organizations visibility into connected devices, but the most effective solutions also help actively reduce the risk associated with those devices. To inform healthcare organizations of their IoT security options, this report highlights the performance and purchase decision energy of software vendors in this space. The performance of IoT security services firms is also shared.

Cerner Flash Insights 2022:
Customers' Initial Perspectives on Big Company Changes

Authored by: Coray Tate , Sarah Arsenoff | February 2022 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Cerner clients and the healthcare industry at large believe Cerner is at a crossroads. In the past few months, Cerner has brought on a new CEO, pivoted in a new direction with their revenue cycle offering (RevElate), and announced their acquisition by Oracle. In addition to these recent changes, over the past two years, an increasing number of long-time Cerner executives have left. Amidst these changes, several clients have been forming contingency plans and say they cannot wait one or two years for more solid information. Many have reached out to KLAS seeking to better understand their peers’ impressions of these significant changes. This report—the first of several Cerner-specific reports KLAS intends to publish this year—is a summary of Cerner’s current performance data, collected over the past five years. It is supplemented with initial customer perceptions from 26 unique organizations, all collected after Cerner announced the move to RevElate in October 2021. In future research, KLAS intends to collect perceptions from additional customers and validate the impacts customer organizations have seen from the recent changes.

DHIS 2021 White Paper:
Using Technology to Resolve Patient Pain Points

Authored by: Justin Long , Shawn Howell | February 2022 | Read Time: 6 minutes

In September 2021, KLAS hosted its fifth annual Digital Health Investment Symposium (DHIS). In attendance were healthcare thought leaders from private equity and venture-capital firms, digital health companies, and healthcare provider organizations. Small group discussions focused on patient pain points within the care journey, the barriers to solving these pain points, and how technology can be utilized to further activate patients in their own care. The intent of this paper is to share insights from those discussions and to highlight ways stakeholders throughout the industry can support meaningful change to improve the patient experience.

2022 Best in KLAS Awards - Software and Professional Services

Authored by: Sam Eaquinto | February 2022 | Read Time: 10 minutes

The Best in KLAS report recognizes software and services companies who excel in helping healthcare professionals improve patient care. All rankings are a direct result of the feedback of thousands of providers over the last year. A Best in KLAS award signifies to the healthcare IT industry the commitment and partnership that the top vendors should provide. Read the report to see the top-rated medical software and services for 2022.

2022 Best in KLAS Awards - Global Software

Authored by: Sam Eaquinto | February 2022 | Read Time: 2 minutes

The Global Best in KLAS awards are given to vendors to recognize outstanding efforts to help healthcare professionals outside the US deliver better patient care. Global Best in KLAS awards are currently given in two software market segments that have broad operational and clinical impact on healthcare organizations around the world: (1) acute care EMR and (2) PACS.

Stellar Health Platform:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Bradley Hunter , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | February 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Disbursing payments to physicians participating in value-based care (VBC) contracts has always been tricky since payments are often delayed by several months. Stellar Health helps maximize results in VBC contracts by incentivizing physicians via quick payments for desired value-based actions and behaviors. This report seeks to validate the experiences of healthcare organizations that use the Stellar Health Platform.

Zebra Technologies:
First Look 2022

Authored by: Paul Hess , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | February 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Shared smart devices are becoming increasingly popular in healthcare as a means of improving communication, streamlining clinical workflows, and potentially consolidating the nurse tool belt. In this report, KLAS spoke to healthcare organizations that are using Zebra Technologies’ TC52-HC, a mobile computer, to get their perspective on how well these devices perform, increase operational efficiency, enhance patient care, and meet the unique needs of clinical workflows.

_{Note: This report is a reprint of research originally published in November 2021. Small data errors that appeared in that report have been corrected in this current version.}

DeliverHealth (MIST) Ambulatory Services:
First Look 2022

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Joseph Ybarra , Aurene Wilford | February 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Healthcare organizations often seek to simplify their IT processes by eliminating productivity barriers and lessening physicians’ documentation burdens. To aid organizations in streamlining their processes, DeliverHealth (formerly MIST) provides industry expertise and customizable EMR consulting and advisory services. This report is a first look at the DeliverHealth client experience.

Datos:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Jeremy Goff , Joseph Ybarra , Aurene Wilford | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

In the expanding world of remote and virtual care settings, healthcare organizations are actively working to better engage with patients and implement solutions that enable clinicians to provide needed care. The purpose of this spotlight report is to provide an early look at customer satisfaction with the Datos Health remote care platform and the outcomes customers have achieved.

Carium:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2022

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Joseph Ybarra , Aurene Wilford | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

As healthcare organizations seek to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes, they often look to technology that engages patients in their care. Carium strives to fill this need by providing tools that remotely monitor patients, report on their conditions and progress, and guide them through their care journeys. This report examines the Carium customer experience.

Investor Newsletter January 2022

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | January 2022 | Read Time: 9 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

DeliverHealth Gemini:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Joseph Ybarra , Tyler Sycamore | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

More and more healthcare organizations are looking to engage patients throughout their healthcare experience. DeliverHealth’s Gemini—a digital front door solution—is intended to improve the patient experience while minimizing pain points that can arise. This report seeks to validate early adopters’ experience with Gemini.

Iodine Software Artifact:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Joseph Ybarra , Jacob Mortensen | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Clinician burnout is a major concern for health systems. Burnout comes from various factors and can be tackled in a variety of ways. With the end goal to improve patient outcomes and decrease clinician burnout, Iodine Software Artifact provides a physician querying process designed to decrease duplicate efforts and speed up answers to clinical documentation coding questions. This report seeks to validate the experiences of organizations using Artifact.

Nuance DAX:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Joseph Ybarra , Braden Taylor | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

To increase clinical documentation quality and reduce physician burnout, provider organizations look to solutions like scribes who can take notes during patient appointments or technology that captures physician notes. Nuance’s solution Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) uses ambient technology to capture and automatically document patient encounters via a mobile app. This report seeks to validate early adopters’ experience with the solution and what outcomes they anticipate.

Surescripts Interoperability Solutions (Direct Provider Customers):
First Look 2021

Authored by: Tyson Blauer , Joseph Ybarra , Jacob Mortensen | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

For many years, Surescripts has been well known in the industry for their work with ePrescribing. It is not as well known that they also have capabilities to help with other interoperability challenges. This report shares customer feedback on Surescripts’ Record Locator & Exchange and Clinical Direct Messaging solutions, along with limited insights on adoption of the newer Care Event Notifications solution. Customers interviewed for this report are provider organizations using Epic’s EMR and working directly with Surescripts (other EMR vendors act as an intermediary between their customers and Surescripts).

Spectralink Versity:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Paul Hess , Joshua Jensen , Aurene Wilford | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Shared smart devices are a means of improving communication and clinical workflows. For this report, KLAS spoke to healthcare organizations to understand their perspective on how well these devices meet their needs. Aspects reported on include clinical workflows, network connectivity, call quality (VoIP), barcode scanning, camera quality, overall durability, battery life, bulkiness, operating system updates, native security features, average cost of device, and the quality of vendor services offered.

Enterprise Imaging 2021:
A Deep Dive on the Market Landscape

Authored by: Monique Rasband , Emily Paxman , Sarah Arsenoff | January 2022 | Read Time: 8 minutes

As their enterprise imaging (EI) strategies mature, many healthcare organizations are looking to consolidate their imaging portfolio to save money, simplify IT support, and achieve better and easier access to images and data. Choosing the right imaging partner (or partners) is critical to long-term EI success. This report aims to help organizations choose vendors aligned with their goals and needs through insights on EI market share^†, breadth of coverage, and typical customer profile.

VIDAL (Non-US):
First Look 2022

Authored by: Eder Lagemann , Joseph Ybarra , Braden Taylor | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

As the need for safe, efficient medication management becomes more critical, VIDAL plays an important role in providing drug database software to healthcare organizations outside the US that are using ePrescribing. VIDAL partners with EMR vendors worldwide to offer customers drug referencing and interaction-checking capabilities that are integrated with EMRs. VIDAL also offers their solution as a standalone product. This report shares customer perceptions of how well VIDAL improves prescription quality and optimizes medication management.

Omnicell XR2:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Jackson Tate , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Hospital pharmacies are evaluating new automations that can reduce costs, improve efficiency, and boost medication safety. Omnicell’s XR2 robot contributes to autonomous pharmacies, and many hospitals are investigating its viability to drive real, lasting automation and change. Reports regarding the XR2’s performance are still emerging, and this report contains the experiences of a very small number of live customers.

Hayes MDaudit:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Dustin Cragun , Joseph Ybarra , Aurene Wilford | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Healthcare organizations are under pressure on many fronts, including their financial viability. Amid this pressure, revenue optimization, integrity, and total compliance are crucial. MDaudit from Hayes addresses these concerns by bringing multiple teams into a single enterprise platform to mitigate compliance and revenue risks. The solution addresses key areas such as continuous risk monitoring, anomaly detection, and workflow automation.

CenterX Real-Time Prescription Benefits (RTPB):
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Dustin Cragun , Joseph Ybarra , Tyler Sycamore | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Medication compliance is an important, if not the critical, driver of successful clinical outcomes. When prescribing, providers need to know out-of-pocket costs and alternatives so they can involve patients in determining the treatment that is most clinically and financially appropriate. CenterX Real-Time Prescription Benefit (RTPB) provides real-time, patient-specific prescription information and plan restrictions based on the patient’s coverage, such as suggested alternatives and prior authorization requirements.

CenterX Electronic Prior Authorization:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Dustin Cragun , Joseph Ybarra , Tyler Sycamore | January 2022 | Read Time: 1 minute

Obtaining prior authorization (PA) can be time-consuming and frustrating. If done incorrectly or missed entirely, it can lead to claims being denied. CenterX Electronic Prior Authorization (ePA) is a digitally integrated solution that allows users to complete pharmacy benefit PAs from their Epic workflows. Simplified digital workflows coupled with accurate data submission and retrieval can save valuable time, reduce administrative burden, and reduce inaccuracies in the PA process.

Drug Diversion Monitoring 2021:
Energy High for Next-Generation Solutions (A Decision Insights Report)

Authored by: Jackson Tate , Jennifer Hickenlooper | January 2022 | Read Time: 9 minutes

In the last 12 months, KLAS has interviewed 41 healthcare organizations that have recently purchased a drug diversion monitoring solution or are in the process of doing so. This represents a sharp increase in market activity. Several factors are fueling the growth, including greater awareness of the opioid crisis as well as a greater need during the COVID-19 pandemic for visibility and automation when it comes to managing medication inventories. Additionally, organizations are considering several newer technology options purported to offer more intuitive workflows and more complete investigational tools. This report examines recent and upcoming drug diversion monitoring purchase decisions to determine which vendors are generating the highest interest.

Virtus Informatics Derwaza:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Everton Santos , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | December 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Virtus Informatics’ Derwaza solution is a digital gateway that enables caregivers and patients to securely access patient data and perform patient-centric activities via mobile devices. The solution promotes digital health and facilitates digital transformation without customers having to invest in costly off-the-shelf EHRs. This report seeks to validate clients’ experiences with Derwaza’s features.

Cognizant Healthcare BPaaS:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Joe VanDeGraaff , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | December 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Business process as a service (BPaaS) is a new delivery method for core payer claims and administration solutions that can lighten administrative burdens and increase health plans’ efficiency. Cognizant began offering BPaaS about two years ago (previously offered business management services [BMS] and business process outsourcing [BPO]). Today they have the largest presence in this space, and they actively encourage BPaaS adoption. For this report, KLAS performed in-depth interviews with five organizations using Cognizant’s Healthcare BPaaS model for Facets and QNXT (both acquired from TriZetto).

Gozio Health:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Joseph Ybarra , Jacob Mortensen | December 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Gozio Health offers a solution to help patients not only locate healthcare locations and services but also consolidate and access multiple tools that are used to engage patients in their care. As the landscape of patient-facing engagement tools becomes more fragmented, solutions like Gozio have the potential to simplify and improve the overall patient experience. In this spotlight report, KLAS will validate the use cases, experiences, and speed to outcomes of Gozio Health’s customers.

Everbridge:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Paul Hess , Joseph Ybarra , Tyler Sycamore | December 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Everbridge is a market share leader in the critical alert management and mass communications spaces. Enabling healthcare organizations to assess risk, locate impacted people, act rapidly, and analyze outcomes for improvement opportunities, platforms like Everbridge’s are essential for healthcare organizations’ emergency preparedness programs and strategies. This report highlights healthcare customers’ experiences with and usage of the Everbridge platform for emergency preparedness and other mass communications needs.

European Digital Pathology 2021:
Adoption Grows for Primary Diagnosis

Authored by: Eder Lagemann , Jonathan Christensen , Sidney Tate | December 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Use of digital pathology for primary diagnosis^† has recently seen a rapid increase in both interest and adoption, thanks to benefits like improved efficiency and remote reading/telepathology capabilities (see KLAS’ 2019 report). The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred even greater consideration of remote-reading options, and some organizations are looking to digital pathology to mitigate anticipated pathologist shortages in the future. Overall, Europe has seen the greatest adoption of digital pathology. For this report, KLAS interviewed pathology groups across 15 European countries who are live with digital pathology for primary diagnosis. The following pages share performance insights on Philips, Sectra, and Tribun Health—the market leaders in considerations and live customers for digital pathology image management systems (IMS).

Comprehensive Ambulatory Platforms 2021:
What to Expect from a Single Source

Authored by: Aaron Gleave , Alex McIntosh | December 2021 | Read Time: 7 minutes

Looking to improve integration and reduce vendor complexity, ambulatory organizations have recently accelerated efforts to consolidate their technology solutions. However, their EMR vendor’s portfolio may have gaps or may not stack up in certain areas to the specialized functionality of best-of-breed solutions. To help organizations determine whether a consolidated IT approach is best for them, KLAS conducted in-depth interviews with ambulatory organizations that have broadly and deeply adopted their EMR vendor’s technology portfolio. These customers’ feedback reveals what technology is adopted today, where gaps still exist, and what benefits and potential pitfalls other organizations may want to consider as they move toward consolidation.

Vendors that offer a wide range of IT solutions for ambulatory practices were invited to submit a list of the organizations that have most broadly and deeply adopted their ambulatory portfolios (eClinicalWorks elected not to participate and MEDITECH did not have enough standalone ambulatory customers to qualify). Five “deep adopters” were interviewed for each participating vendor. Their insights are intended to help other organizations understand the current best-case scenario with a comprehensive ambulatory platform.

Investor Newsletter December 2021

Authored by: Joshua Harris , Justin Long | December 2021 | Read Time: 10 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

Microsoft Acquisition of Nuance 2021:
Nuance Customer Perceptions of Acquisition's Impact

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Joshua Jensen , Tyler Sycamore | December 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

In April 2021, Microsoft signaled a further push into the healthcare industry by announcing their acquisition of speech recognition and artificial intelligence vendor Nuance. To gauge customer perceptions of this acquisition, KLAS interviewed 39 of Nuance’s healthcare customers to get their thoughts on how the acquisition might impact their organizations going forward.

Patient Access 2021:
How Well Do Enterprise EMR Vendors Meet Organization Needs?

Authored by: Dustin Cragun , Alex McIntosh | December 2021 | Read Time: 5 minutes

Due to the ever-increasing complexity of revenue cycle management, organizations have historically had to supplement patient access functionality from their enterprise EMR vendor with third-party revenue cycle vendors. But with the push toward software consolidation, organizations would like their enterprise EMR vendors to further develop patient access capabilities and better meet customers’ growing needs. This report examines the patient access offerings of enterprise EMR vendors^† Cerner, Epic, and MEDITECH and shares customers’ perception of how well positioned these vendors are to deliver functionality currently provided by third parties. To view performance data for third-party vendors, click here.

† KLAS was unable to interview a sufficient number of Sunrise Financial Manager customers to include data for Allscripts’ patient access offering.

What Is Patient Access?

For the purposes of this report, patient access functionality includes address verification, cost estimates, coverage discovery, eligibility verification, medical necessity, prior authorizations, propensity to pay, registration QA, and scheduling. KLAS acknowledges this functionality is closely related to other areas like patient experience improvement, patient financial engagement, and patient intake management. To access data about these additional areas, view the relevant market segments on the KLAS website.

Patient Experience Improvement 2021:
Increased Consumerism Driving Need for Customized, Real-Time Feedback

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Dan Czech , Ciera Walker | December 2021 | Read Time: 12 minutes

Provider organizations’ efforts to improve the patient experience have typically relied on standardized, retrospective benchmarking data (predominantly from the CMS-regulated CAHPS survey). However, to really amplify the voice of the patient and meet the rising demands of healthcare consumerism, organizations also need customizable tools that allow them to respond to patient feedback in real time and quickly identify service-recovery options. This report examines the opportunity that exists for the industry to augment a CAHPS-centric approach with more customizable capabilities.

Healthcare Services 2021:
(A Decision Insights Report)

Authored by: Warren Whitford , Sam Eaquinto | November 2021 | Read Time: 5 minutes

Since November 2020, KLAS has collected insights regarding 349 decisions by 245 healthcare organizations to engage a services firm. This report offers a first, high-level look at services decisions specifically. The types of services with the highest decision energy in the last year include HIT staffing, HIT advisory services, HIT implementation leadership (small), and technical services. Ongoing insights on services decisions will be available on the KLAS website in the first half of 2022, and as this research continues over time, data on individual markets and firms will grow more representative.

Investor Newsletter November 2021

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | November 2021 | Read Time: 7 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

Laudio:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Tanya Egbert , Joseph Ybarra , Braden Taylor | November 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Laudio’s continuous performance management platform provides frontline healthcare leadership with real-time support for personalized engagement between managers and team members. Laudio takes engagement insights from existing data sources to detect turnover risk and identify opportunities for employee engagement that drive job satisfaction, reduce burnout and turnover, improve employee satisfaction, and impact quality, safety, and patient experiences. This spotlight aims to capture Laudio’s performance and ability to deliver for initial customers.

Imprivata:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Paul Hess , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | November 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

The increased use of shared smart devices in healthcare has revealed the difficulty and manual intensity that healthcare organizations face in systematically securing, managing, maintaining, and deploying smart devices at scale while ensuring adoption and ease of use for end users. The Imprivata Mobile solutions—which include GroundControl (for iOS) and Mobile Device Access (for Android)—are designed to help. This report examines the customer experience with these solutions.

Emerging Post–Acute Care Product Suites 2021:
An Initial Look at the WellSky Suite

Authored by: Paul Hess , Emily Paxman | November 2021 | Read Time: 7 minutes

Value-based reimbursements and changing regulations have brought more attention to post–acute care (PAC). Hoping to drive significant outcomes, many provider organizations are seeking a single-vendor offering to cover as many of their PAC settings and service lines as possible. As a result, vendors like MatrixCare, Netsmart, PointClickCare, and WellSky have made PAC product suites a top priority. This report focuses on WellSky and is part of a series examining the use of a single product suite across multiple post–acute care settings. The following pages include feedback from WellSky customers with multiple PAC service lines, exploring (1) their adoption of WellSky’s offerings, (2) outcomes from the product suite approach, (3) WellSky’s strengths and weaknesses, and (4) how likely WellSky is to meet long-term needs. Other reports in this series detail the other major post–acute care vendors, and future KLAS reports will examine customer satisfaction in individual care settings.

Streamline Health:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Dustin Cragun , Joseph Ybarra , Braden Taylor | November 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Inaccurate coding significantly impacts healthcare financial performance and introduces unnecessary risk. Though provider organizations would prefer to optimize all coding before billing, resource constraints force them to review only a limited number of cases after the billing process. This report examines customers’ experience with Streamline Health’s eValuator, a cloud-based system that allows organizations to analyze and correct 100% of cases prior to billing to achieve the greatest financial impact.

Imaging in the Cloud 2021:
Early Adoption Shows Promising Results

Authored by: Monique Rasband , Jonathan Christensen , Sidney Tate | November 2021 | Read Time: 8 minutes

Cloud-based technology is quickly gaining momentum among provider organizations, particularly for imaging solutions. To get an early look at the reality of cloud-based imaging and the vendors best positioned to help organizations transition to the cloud, KLAS interviewed 37 organizations that have adopted imaging technology hosted by their vendor in the cloud (i.e., the organizations are leveraging the public or private cloud to operate or store imaging solutions and/or data); of this group, 20 are doing primary PACS production in the cloud. These organizations almost unanimously report positive experiences. Most have successfully transitioned to the cloud and are seeing beneficial outcomes—e.g., decreased IT burden and improved security. Because of the early nature of this market, all vendor performance data is limited (see the About This Report section). This research is also specific to the United States.

Guidelines for Strengthening Customer Success Management Programs

Authored by: Rebecca Hammond , Darin Dooley | November 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

When measuring success, provider organizations don’t consider solely product outcomes—the vendor relationship is also critical. KLAS has found that vendors who partner with their customers cultivate stronger loyalty among them, even when the product is in need of improvements. This is because vendors have properly managed expectations, communicated the developmental road map and vision, and understood their customers’ goals to help drive outcomes. To define some guidelines around strengthening customer relationships, KLAS interviewed 65 vendors about their customer success management programs. The research includes vendors who have an account management team or customer success managers (CSMs) that fulfill responsibilities outside of generating sales and offering frontline support. This report outlines common CSM pitfalls and some guidelines that address these pitfalls and strengthen CSM programs.

Capgemini:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Everton Santos , Joseph Ybarra , Tyler Sycamore | November 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Capgemini offers healthcare management consulting services to provider and payer organizations to improve their business processes. Using digital transformation strategies and data-driven insights, Capgemini analyzes clients’ existing organizational problems, develops solutions, and then assists in executing strategic plans. This report is an early look at the outcomes and satisfaction of Capgemini clients.

Avaap:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Kaleb Harris , Jacob Mortensen | November 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Healthcare organizations are increasingly pivoting to the cloud and seeking digital transformations, and those changes cause many healthcare organizations to invest in new ERP systems—such as the Workday ERP suite. Avaap became a certified Workday services partner in 2016 and a Workday advisory services partner in 2015. Historically, Avaap has been an Infor-focused firm, but they recently divested their Infor services to focus solely on Workday. This report explores Avaap’s performance as an ERP implementation and digital transformation partner in the Workday space.

Emerging Post–Acute Care Product Suites 2021:
An Initial Look at the Netsmart Suite

Authored by: Paul Hess , Emily Paxman | November 2021 | Read Time: 7 minutes

Value-based reimbursements and changing regulations have brought more attention to post–acute care (PAC). Hoping to drive significant outcomes, many provider organizations are seeking a single-vendor offering to cover as many of their PAC settings and service lines as possible. As a result, vendors like MatrixCare, Netsmart, PointClickCare, and WellSky have made PAC product suites a top priority. This report focuses on Netsmart and is part of a series examining the use of a single product suite across multiple post–acute care settings. The following pages include feedback from Netsmart customers with multiple PAC service lines, exploring (1) their adoption of Netsmart’s offerings, (2) outcomes from the product suite approach, (3) Netsmart’s strengths and weaknesses, and (4) how likely Netsmart is to meet long-term needs. Other reports in this series detail the other major post–acute care vendors, and future KLAS reports will examine customer satisfaction in individual care settings.

Risk Adjustment 2021:
Which Vendors Deliver Best?

Authored by: Ryan Pretnik , Jennifer Hickenlooper | November 2021 | Read Time: 8 minutes

Payer organizations, provider-sponsored health plans (PSHPs), and provider organizations are expressing growing interest in adopting risk adjustment solutions that provide a wide variety of capabilities and enable consolidation to fewer vendors. Many vendors say they can provide a comprehensive solution, but which actually deliver? Based on the feedback of 163 respondents, this report examines vendor performance across key customer experience metrics and validates customer adoption across the broad spectrum of risk adjustment capabilities.

DrFirst MedHx:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Aaron Gleave , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | October 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

DrFirst’s MedHx solution provides a broad source of medication history data, including local pharmacy data, with the goal of enabling faster, more accurate medication reconciliation that reduces the risk of medication errors and adverse drug events caused by keyboard errors and missing/poor-quality prescription data. This report provides a first look at the experiences of MedHx customers and explores whether the solution’s medication history data is driving accessibility, accuracy, and safety.

MEDITECH Implementation Services 2021:
How Well Do Firms Drive Successful Implementations?

Authored by: Kaleb Harris , Doug VanWagenen | October 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

When implementing a MEDITECH EMR, provider organizations must use a firm that is certified by MEDITECH (i.e., READY-certified). There are many READY-certified firms in the market, and MEDITECH has recently joined the competition by offering their own implementation services. To help provider organizations navigate their options, this report seeks to share which firms consistently provide high-quality services and provides an early look at the client experience with MEDITECH’s implementation services.

Opioid Management 2021:
Insights from CHIME’s “Healthcare’s Most Wired”—An Update on Strategies Employed by Advanced Ambulatory Healthcare Organizations

Authored by: Bob Cash , Cathy McCabe | October 2021 | Read Time: 2 minutes

On an annual basis, acute care, ambulatory, and long-term/post–acute care organizations take part in CHIME’s HealthCare’s Most Wired survey, with the overall goal of improving healthcare through the best use of available technology. Organizations are surveyed about their current adoption levels and strategies across many IT areas. This study looks at the responses of 263 ambulatory organizations in the United States to understand how organizations are using technology to battle opioid use disorder (OUD). It also compares the latest findings with trends from 2019 (see KLAS’ prior installment in this series).

HealthEdge Core Payer Administration Platform 2021:
Newfound Energy in a Stagnant Market

Authored by: Joe VanDeGraaff , Jennifer Hickenlooper | October 2021 | Read Time: 9 minutes

Though core administration platforms are essential for payer organizations, many of the products in the market are perceived as outdated, complex, and low performing (the market has one of the lowest average performance scores of any KLAS measures). However, HealthEdge has recently seen increased attention from both small and large health plans, who view the vendor’s technology as innovative and who have been asking KLAS for vendor insights. This report examines the experience of HealthEdge customers and how the HealthEdge technology stands out from competitors’.

SureTest:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Kaleb Harris , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | October 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Provider organizations regularly need to upgrade and update their IT applications. Testing to ensure previous workflows remain intact is a monotonous, manual process that diverts resources from patient care. SureTest’s automated testing tool streamlines the testing process and significantly reduces staff hours devoted to testing. This report examines customer experiences to see how SureTest is helping provider organizations gain valuable hours by automating this testing process.

Investor Newsletter October 2021

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | October 2021 | Read Time: 9 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

Emerging Post–Acute Care Product Suites 2021:
An Initial Look at the PointClickCare Suite

Authored by: Paul Hess , Emily Paxman | October 2021 | Read Time: 7 minutes

Value-based reimbursements and changing regulations have brought more attention to post–acute care (PAC). Hoping to drive significant outcomes, many provider organizations are seeking a single-vendor offering to cover as many of their PAC settings and service lines as possible. As a result, vendors like MatrixCare, Netsmart, PointClickCare, and WellSky have made PAC product suites a top priority. This report focuses on PointClickCare and is part of a series examining the use of a single product suite across multiple post–acute care settings. The following pages include feedback from PointClickCare customers with multiple PAC service lines, exploring (1) their adoption of PointClickCare’s offerings, (2) outcomes from the product suite approach, (3) PointClickCare’s strengths and weaknesses, and (4) how likely PointClickCare is to meet long-term needs. Other reports in this series detail the other major post–acute care vendors, and future KLAS reports will examine customer satisfaction in individual care settings.

Extended Business Office Services 2021:
Achieving Profitability While Reducing the Administrative Burden

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Alex McIntosh | October 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Citing labor shortages, slimmer budgets, and higher costs, more and more healthcare organizations are turning to outside firms to fill gaps in their business office operations and meet their revenue cycle needs. With specialized expertise, firms that offer extended business office services (EBOS) can achieve economies of scale, allowing healthcare organizations to remain profitable while delivering quality care. The firms measured in this report have previously been included in KLAS’ revenue cycle outsourcing (RCO) research; given increased market interest, the EBOS segment is now measured independently.

PHM Downside Risk 2021:
Guiding Principles from Successful Organizations

Authored by: Bradley Hunter , Cathy McCabe | October 2021 | Read Time: 11 minutes

In the United States, just 10% of the average healthcare organization’s revenue comes from downside risk contracts. However, several health systems are ahead of the curve, and their valuable insights on adopting downside risk can help peers figure out how to move the needle on value-based reimbursement (VBR). KLAS worked with population health management (PHM) vendors to identify which of their customers are most advanced in adoption of downside risk contracts and then conducted interviews with top executives at 15 of these organizations. We spoke with large, midsize, and small health systems as well as a handful of ACOs, highlighting the fact that with the right technology and organizational structure and buy-in, organizations of all types can make significant progress toward VBR.

The Executive Insights portion of this report explores what outcomes the organizations have achieved as well as their aggregated insights regarding keys to success, lessons learned, and potential pitfalls. Case studies for each of the participating organizations provide additional detail and can be found in the Expanded Insights section of the report.

Pulse Check—Patient Financial Engagement 2021:
Recent PFE Adopters Realizing Outcomes

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Alex McIntosh | October 2021 | Read Time: 5 minutes

Interest in patient financial engagement (PFE) solutions is high as provider organizations seek to improve their revenue cycle and the patient financial experience. As part of other research, KLAS interviewed 13 financial leaders whose organizations have recently adopted a PFE solution. Though from a small sample, these interviews yielded valuable insights regarding the outcomes that are possible with a PFE platform. While future KLAS research will explore more vendor-differentiating insights, this report provides an early pulse check on the potential PFE solutions have to elevate the patient experience while improving provider organization revenue (a rare combination). A small amount of data from KLAS’ standard software performance evaluation is also included to provide context as to how each vendor is performing in the market.

ECP:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Paul Hess , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | October 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

ECP provides a web-based software suite used by assisted living facilities (ALFs), independent living facilities (ILFs), memory care facilities (MCFs), intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) care providers, and pharmacies to help improve clinical outcomes, business performance, and compliance. This report examines the real-life outcomes and satisfaction experienced by ECP customers as well as what key functionality has been adopted, specifically by ALFs, MCFs, and ILFs.

Armis:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Joe VanDeGraaff , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | October 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

With the expansion of medical and non-medical devices that connect to the internet, security for the internet of things (IoT) is a top priority for healthcare organizations. As ransomware cases have increased, the ability to identify, monitor, and secure all network devices has become critical. This study is an early look at customers’ experience with Armis, a cross-industry vendor that has gained traction in the growing healthcare IoT security market.

CDS Point of Care Reference 2021:
Cost Pressures & Competitive Options Top of Mind

Authored by: Joe VanDeGraaff , Jennifer Hickenlooper | October 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Healthcare organizations typically use multiple clinical point-of-care reference systems to satisfy different users and address various use cases. But COVID-19 cost pressures, recent system updates, and the desire to standardize care have prompted organizations to reevaluate existing solutions and their CDS strategy. To help organizations navigate their options, this report seeks to illuminate the pros and cons of established clinical point-of-care solutions; it also provides an early look at the recent collaboration between EBSCO Information Services and IBM Watson Health.

Infor FHIR Bridge:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Dustin Cragun , Joseph Ybarra , Tyler Sycamore | October 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Large-scale investment in legacy systems can inhibit healthcare organizations from adopting FHIR technology. Infor FHIR Bridge allows healthcare organizations to continue using existing legacy systems while interoperating with FHIR-enabled solutions. This solution bridges the gap between traditional clinical systems that usually communicate via HL7 v2, proprietary APIs, or database interactions with the emerging FHIR-based application ecosystem. It uses a library of prebuilt standard adapters that allow organizations to use FHIR as they choose.

Clinical Communication Platforms 2021:
Improved Efficiency Leading to Concrete Outcomes

Authored by: Paul Hess , Paul Warburton | September 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Many acute care organizations’ clinical communication strategies have moved far beyond clinician messaging and now aim to streamline communication across most areas of the hospital. Having thoughtfully deployed enterprise communication platforms, these organizations report a myriad of powerful outcomes. This report examines these outcomes as well as which vendors best drive efficient, timely communication, support adoption across a variety of user roles, and earn high confidence in their ability to facilitate customers’ future goals.

Healthcare Consulting and Services 2021:
What Challenges Lie Ahead, and Who Can Help?

Authored by: Warren Whitford , Lois Krotz , Cathy McCabe | September 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

No industry has been impacted by COVID-19 quite like healthcare, and many provider organizations now have new ideas about what the future will look like. For this study, KLAS asked 140 healthcare leaders (from C-suites to directors in both IT and non-IT roles) to identify which areas of future focus are most likely to require help from consulting firms and which firms are best positioned to offer guidance.

Health at Home White Paper 2021

Authored by: Schafer Jackson , Dan Czech , Ciera Walker | September 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

In the wake of COVID-19, health at home is growing in popularity as provider organizations seek to deliver high-quality, lower-cost patient care while minimizing the health risks associated with the hospital environment. To this end, organizations have begun offering acute care services at home, in addition to existing post–acute care options. The technology, supplies, services, and staffing needed for health at home can be quite complex, and the many interdependent pieces may be adopted à la carte or as a comprehensive offering. To help provider organizations better understand this dynamic market, this paper establishes a health at home framework and answers key questions about what provider organizations may want to consider for their own health at home strategies. While KLAS’ customer satisfaction research for health at home is emerging, we have existing data for areas like home health, hospice, and private duty/personal care; links to this data are provided where appropriate.

Digital Front Door 2021:
A View Through the Eyes of Market Leaders

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Dan Czech | September 2021 | Read Time: 10 minutes

Along with buzzwords like “AI” and “population health,” the term “digital front door” has become more popular but lacks a consensual definition. For this study, KLAS spoke to 27 leading organizations to understand what digital front door means to them, what digital front door strategies and key technologies they use, and what outcomes they have seen. Based on the lessons they have learned along the way, these organizations (most of which use Cerner or Epic for their core EMR) also shared advice for peers seeking to build or improve their digital front door strategies.

Investor Newsletter September 2021

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | September 2021 | Read Time: 10 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

AvaSure:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Schafer Jackson , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | September 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

In the course of patient care, risks like violence, drug use, suicidal ideation, patient elopement, and falls can make providers and patients less safe. Historically, high-risk patients have been monitored by placing staff members in their rooms, which is expensive and increases risk to staff. To address this problem, AvaSure’s platform allows a single staff member to digitally monitor high-risk patients, keep them safe, and interact with them through a command center. This report details the customer experience with AvaSure.

Emerging HCIT Companies 2021:
Top-of-Mind Healthcare Technologies

Authored by: Doug Tolley , Sam Eaquinto | September 2021 | Read Time: 2 minutes

Representing the feedback of 139 healthcare professionals from 131 provider organizations, this report examines the healthcare IT (HCIT) vendors and market segments that are top of mind for healthcare organizations today as well as which technologies are likely to be the target of future investment. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed capital spending for a time, patient engagement, artificial intelligence/machine learning, telehealth, and other remote care solutions continue to attract attention. In total, this report indexes nearly 100 emerging vendors in these and other high-interest markets.

Data and Analytics Platforms 2021:
An Early Look at Deep Adopters

Authored by: Ryan Pretnik , Lois Krotz | September 2021 | Read Time: 9 minutes

The need in healthcare for broader, deeper analytics has increased dramatically, and provider organizations are now looking for consolidated, end-to-end analytics platforms that offer a wide variety of capabilities. To validate what is possible with these solutions, KLAS gave vendors with broad analytics offerings the opportunity to identify their deepest platform adopters. We then interviewed three such organizations for each vendor and validated their adoption across the five pillars of a data and analytics platform (see framework below). To provide additional context as to how vendors perform, this report also includes customer experience data collected from the broader base of platform users.

Klara:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Joseph Ybarra , Tyler Sycamore | September 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Provider organizations are seeking to consolidate patient engagement vendors, and Klara—a provider of patient outreach functionality—offers several components needed for an effective patient engagement strategy (click here to explore KLAS’ full patient engagement ecosystem). This report provides a first look at the satisfaction and outcomes of Klara’s patient outreach customers.

Middle East & Africa EMR 2021:
Vendor Performance and Market Energy

Authored by: Everton Santos , Jonathan Christensen , Sidney Tate | September 2021 | Read Time: 9 minutes

Many healthcare organizations in the Middle East and some in Africa have made EMR purchase decisions over the last five years (2016–2020). In that time, KLAS has validated 86 EMR decisions—72 in the Middle East and 14 in Africa—impacting over 320 hospitals, with decisions made in 2018–2020 impacting (on average) at least twice as many facilities as decisions made in 2016–2017. This report will examine the customer satisfaction, market share, and recent wins and market energy of EMR vendors in the Middle East and Africa. Compared to KLAS’ previous report on EMRs in the Middle East (published in 2019), this study includes performance data on a significantly higher number of vendors, providing more expansive insights, particularly into the Middle East market.

Ambulatory Surgery Center EMR 2021:
High Clinical Adoption Driving Value

Authored by: Aaron Gleave , Alex McIntosh | September 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

As more medical care moves to ambulatory settings, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are gaining momentum in both general and specialty settings. Today, the vast majority of ASCs use paper for their clinical documentation, but the market is shifting. Some newer vendors have begun offering EMRs for ASCs alongside their specialty-specific EMRs. Organizations can choose from ASC-specific solutions or integrated ambulatory solutions. Across vendors, the value is clear—nearly all interviewed organizations have achieved high physician adoption of clinical documentation tools and can complete all documentation in the EMR. And nearly all feel their EMR has helped them deliver better patient care and drive clinical outcomes. This report examines how vendors in this market measure up in key areas.

Atlas Health:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Joseph Ybarra , Spencer Larson | August 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Atlas Health offers solutions that help healthcare organizations better serve their low-income and uninsured patient populations by matching patients with financial aid and medication assistance programs. Atlas Health’s staff also manages all post-enrollment tasks, like ordering medication, submitting claims, and documenting reimbursements. This report is an early look at the customer experience with Atlas Health’s services and Atlas Navigator product.

Investor Newsletter August 2021

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | August 2021 | Read Time: 7 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

Emerging Post–Acute Care Product Suites 2021:
An Initial Look at the MatrixCare Suite

Authored by: Paul Hess , Emily Paxman | August 2021 | Read Time: 7 minutes

Value-based reimbursements and changing regulations have brought more attention to post–acute care (PAC). Hoping to drive significant outcomes, many provider organizations are seeking a single-vendor offering to cover as many of their PAC settings and service lines as possible. As a result, vendors like MatrixCare, Netsmart, PointClickCare, and WellSky have made PAC product suites a top priority. This report focuses on MatrixCare and is part of a series examining the use of a single product suite across multiple post–acute care settings. The following pages include feedback from MatrixCare customers with multiple PAC service lines, exploring (1) their adoption of MatrixCare’s offerings, (2) outcomes from the product suite approach, (3) MatrixCare’s strengths and weaknesses, and (4) how likely MatrixCare is to meet long-term needs. Other reports in this series detail the other major post–acute care vendors, and future KLAS reports will examine customer satisfaction in individual care settings.

Real Time Medical Systems:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Paul Hess , Joshua Jensen , Tyler Sycamore | August 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

With the shift toward value-based care, data analytics and care coordination across various modalities will be critical to organizational success. Real Time Medical Systems’ Interventional Analytics solution provides actionable clinical and reimbursement performance data—pulled directly from the post–acute care EHR—to skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, ACOs, and payers. Real Time’s SaaS-based platforms include live data analysis that offer patient- and facility-level risk stratification to reduce hospital readmissions, identify and intervene in high-risk changes in patient conditions, monitor antibiotic usage and infection control, and more. This report aims to validate the experience of Real Time’s customers.

ViTel Net:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Schafer Jackson , Joseph Ybarra , Tyler Sycamore | August 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

As telehealth strategies mature beyond virtual visits, providers are looking for a virtual care platform that will allow them to interoperate with solutions like remote patient monitoring, interpretive services, imaging, and the EMR to make data more accessible and improve outcomes. Since clinical workflows are unique to each service line, the platform needs to be configurable and scalable to meet the needs of each organization. ViTel Net vCareCommand is a platform that allows healthcare organizations to connect the aforementioned solutions while configuring a specific workflow for each service line. The aim of this report is to validate the configured workflows, interoperability, and outcomes achieved by healthcare organizations using the ViTel Net platform.

DrFirst:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Aaron Gleave , Joshua Jensen , Spencer Larson | August 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

This report examines the experiences of early adopters of two DrFirst solutions: Medication Management Suite (MMS) and Backline. MMS combines the medication history of MedHx with the price transparency of myBenefitCheck and the automated prescription notifications of RxInform to help health systems improve medication reconciliation and adherence, thereby reducing the risk of readmissions and unnecessary costs. Backline is a comprehensive care collaboration and telehealth platform that aims to provide seamless, compliant, and secure communication (via messaging and telehealth) to internal and external clinical teams, patients, and caregivers. The first section of this report explores how MMS and Backline work together; the remainder of the report examines each solution separately.

Healthcare Operations Command Center Ecosystem 2021:
A First Look at the Spectrum of Technology

Authored by: Niel Oscarson , Emily Paxman | August 2021 | Read Time: 11 minutes

Implementations of healthcare operations command centers have increased substantially in recent years. The value of a centralized approach to healthcare operations was emphasized by the COVID-19 pandemic and the inefficiencies it brought to light. KLAS’ research shows commandcenters can drive significant outcomes, including improved efficiency, increased revenue, and enhanced patient safety and satisfaction (highlighted explicitly by providers during the pandemic).

This study (1) introduces the healthcare operations command center ecosystem—a framework for the many capabilities and services that can be deployed under the command center umbrella, including how vendors’ stated offerings match up to that framework and providers’ needs, and (2) shares critical insights and best practices from providers and vendors regarding what it takes to successfully implement and optimize a command center. For some areas detailed in this report, KLAS already measures vendor performance, and links to that content are provided where applicable. However, note that information about vendors in this report is based mainly on vendor-reported information. Future research will further validate capabilities and dive deeper into vendor performance.

Global (Non-US) Virtual Visit Solutions 2021:
Unprecedented Demand Leads to Broad Options

Authored by: Jeremy Goff , Jonathan Christensen | August 2021 | Read Time: 7 minutes

Across the globe, COVID-19 forced provider organizations to explore new ways to safely meet with and care for patients. While regulations may shift in the post-COVID world, most countries are unlikely to roll them back completely, meaning telehealth is here to stay. For this study, KLAS interviewed 113 organizations outside the US about their current state with and future plans for virtual visit technology. 90% have adopted virtual visit technology, and in total, they mentioned using or considering the commercial video visit platforms, public telehealth platforms, or video conferencing platforms of 56 different vendors. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations rolled out technology in a matter of weeks, and most plan to reevaluate these solutions in the near future. What types of platforms and which vendors are being used and considered most often? Who is likely to lose customers and why?

Hart:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Ryan Pretnik , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | July 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Data and analytics can be daunting to many healthcare organizations. Hart is unique in providing data management services without forcing customers to use a specific software solution. By outsourcing the data integration, organizations can focus on solving problems. Hart also provides expertise around the processes, technology, and best practices for healthcare systems and data. This report will examine the experiences of Hart’s initial clients.

Nurse & Staff Scheduling 2021:
First Look at Workload Balancing

Authored by: Niel Oscarson , Emily Paxman , Ciera Walker | July 2021 | Read Time: 18 minutes

As one of healthcare organizations’ largest operational costs, staffing is a top-of-mind concern. Though not yet widely used, workload balancing can provide insight into staffing gaps and help organizations make equitable assignments based on census data, patient acuity, and staff credentials. This report examines the customer experience of current workload balancing users to help organizations that are considering the tools understand the potential benefits and pitfalls and which nurse and staff scheduling vendors have experience with organizations of their size.

Investor Newsletter July 2021

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | July 2021 | Read Time: 9 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

SYNERGEN Health:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Dustin Cragun , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | July 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Healthcare revenue cycle management (RCM) is complicated and often plagued by inefficiencies and bottlenecks, resulting in cash slow-downs or even stoppages. SYNERGEN Health provides services and advanced digital transformation tools to improve and optimize RCM workflows for ambulatory organizations. These offerings are intended to reduce costs and errors, leading to quicker cash recognition. This report provides an initial look at the SYNERGEN Health client experience.

Secure Exchange Solutions:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Tyson Blauer , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | July 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Secure Exchange Solutions (SES) provides multiple interoperability solutions—such as Direct messaging and ADT notifications—that connect disparate organizations. As a vendor-agnostic health information services provider leveraged by both providers and HIT vendors, SES facilitates clinical exchange and interoperability that helps provider organizations coordinate and manage care and be compliant with core measures. This report looks at customer satisfaction with SES’ offerings and how broadly their offerings are being used.

Enterprise Resource Planning 2021:
Move to the Cloud Prompts Evaluation of All ERP Options (A Decision Insights Report)

Authored by: Niel Oscarson , Sam Eaquinto | July 2021 | Read Time: 11 minutes

The enterprise resource planning (ERP) market continues to see high purchase energy. Although many healthcare organizations have already switched to cloud platforms, others still use superseded solutions and are faced with a tough decision: do they switch to the cloud offering from their incumbent vendor or take their chances with a new ERP partner? This report examines 65 recent or upcoming ERP purchase decisions to determine the main factors guiding organizations’ ERP platform selections.

Cardiology 2021:
Opportunity for Market Disruption (A Decision Insights Report)

Authored by: Monique Rasband , Emily Paxman , Sam Eaquinto | July 2021 | Read Time: 14 minutes

While enterprise imaging (EI) is on healthcare organizations’ minds, many currently use multiple vendors for different imaging needs. For cardiology in particular, organizations frequently must piece together multiple systems to meet their structured reporting needs. Today, a number of organizations are replacing their legacy cardiology solutions and/or evaluating cardiology in the context of their long-term EI strategy (including structured reporting in the CVIS). No cardiology offering stands out with great customer satisfaction—each of the last three years has seen a different vendor win Best in KLAS for cardiology. This report examines 38 recent cardiology purchase decisions and the factors driving these decisions.

Gravimetric Verification In IV Workflow Management 2021:
How Has The Market Progressed?

Authored by: Jackson Tate , Paul Warburton | July 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Gravimetric verification has been touted as a way to drive significant patient safety gains, and most major IV workflow management vendors have released this functionality. However, the associated challenges (e.g., maintaining an accurate drug density database, changes to compounding workflows) have hurt perceived value for some healthcare organizations, and so far, only BD has demonstrated broad deployment in their customer base. This report examines the maturity of vendors’ gravimetric verification functionality, provides a first look at BD’s performance in this area, and assesses how the technology affects purchase decisions across the market.

Security & Privacy Consulting Services 2021:
Market Perceptions vs. Client Reality

Authored by: Kaleb Harris , Dan Czech , Ciera Walker | June 2021 | Read Time: 18 minutes

In a constantly shifting security environment, many healthcare organizations choose to engage outside firms to help them improve their security posture and reduce risk. To differentiate the many firms that offer such services, KLAS spoke with security and IT leaders from 74 healthcare organizations of various sizes to understand (1) what makes a security and privacy consulting firm a true partner, (2) which firms are perceived to have the strong security services offering that healthcare organizations need, (3) how these perceptions compare to the experiences of actual clients, and (4) how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected healthcare organizations’ security programs.

Pareto Intelligence:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Ryan Pretnik , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | June 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Analytics and risk adjustment are hot topics due to the expenses associated with value-based care, government regulations, and CMS programs. Pareto Intelligence’s revenue integrity solution attempts to provide organizations with actionable data to improve their risk documentation outcomes. This report examines the Pareto customer experience.

CareSimple:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Schafer Jackson , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | June 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

To broaden their virtual care strategies, many healthcare organizations are looking for ways to remotely monitor patients, generate additional revenue, and improve outcomes. CareSimple offers a cloud-based remote patient monitoring (RPM) solution that includes cellular-enabled devices and key services to help organizations optimize their RPM approach. This report aims to validate the performance and scalability of their offering.

EMR-Centric Virtual Care Platforms 2021:
Vendor-Reported Capabilities (Report 1 of 2)

Authored by: Aaron Gleave , Alex McIntosh | June 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Though many ambulatory and acute care EMR vendors already had plans pre-COVID to create, acquire, or expand virtual care capabilities, the emergence of the pandemic obviously necessitated an accelerated development pace. Based 100% on vendor-provided information (not yet validated by KLAS), this report explores what virtual care capabilities are available from EMR vendors and how these solutions are being deployed. Many EMR vendors were invited to participate in this report; those who responded are included in the charts below. Part two of this report (scheduled for release later in 2021) will explore the actual customer experience for as many of these solutions as possible, regardless of vendor participation.

Note: For information on the broader telehealth ecosystem (including telehealth technology from non-EMR vendors), see KLAS’ recent Telehealth Ecosystem 2021 report.

Population Health Vendor Overview 2021:
Matching Vendor Capabilities to PHM Needs

Authored by: Bradley Hunter , Paul Warburton , Cathy McCabe | June 2021 | Read Time: 5 minutes

Provider organizations looking to advance their value-based care strategies often look to population health management (PHM) technology to give them the confidence to move forward with value-based care. This report seeks to provide transparency into the major PHM technology offerings available today—the types of organizations that typically use the systems, what the customer experience is like, which solutions are seeing the most market energy, and the breadth of their PHM capabilities. PHM insights that go beyond this study’s general overview can be found here.

Swellbox:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | June 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Accelerating an ongoing healthcare trend, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has proposed changes that would strengthen a patient's right to gain access to their own health information. Swellbox provides tools and support to empower patients to access their PHI. This report looks to validate the outcomes and satisfaction of Swellbox clients on this important topic.

Intrado HouseCalls Pro:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Sam Eaquinto | June 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

The HouseCalls Pro solution from Intrado includes multiple patient engagement capabilities that go beyond basic appointment reminders. This First Look report examines the experience of early adopters to explore whether the solution is able to expand capabilities and help guide patients.

GetWellNetwork GetWell Loop:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | June 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

In November 2018, GetWellNetwork acquired HealthLoop. The renamed GetWell Loop solution offers a way to connect with patients throughout their care journey rather than just reminding them about specific events. This ongoing communication is meant to guide and engage patients but also identify those who need additional support and intervention. This report will examine the experiences of clients using GetWell Loop.

Investor Newsletter June 2021

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | June 2021 | Read Time: 7 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

MDsave:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | June 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

In an ongoing effort to provide flexibility and insight into healthcare costs, CMS has recently implemented price and quality transparency initiatives. MDsave works with healthcare organizations to ensure they are compliant with these initiatives—the vendor helps organizations provide better prices and allows patients to pre-pay their bills, thereby saving time and cost. This report is an early look at customer satisfaction and seeks to validate what outcomes are being achieved.

MEDITECH Complete Look 2021

Authored by: Tyson Blauer , Paul Warburton | June 2021 | Read Time: 3 minutes

When making a go-forward enterprise decision, healthcare organizations must take into account how prospective partners deliver across a variety of key technology areas. This MEDITECH Expanse “complete look” provides a high-level analysis of the key IT systems that make up MEDITECH’s enterprise suite. (Other reports in the series do the same for Allscripts, Cerner, and Epic.) This report focuses on the core Expanse suite; data on MEDITECH’s MAGIC, C/S, and 6.x platforms is excluded.

Epic Complete Look 2021

Authored by: Coray Tate , Paul Warburton | June 2021 | Read Time: 3 minutes

When making a go-forward enterprise decision, healthcare organizations must take into account how prospective partners deliver across a variety of key technology areas. This Epic “complete look” provides a high-level analysis of the key IT systems that make up Epic’s enterprise suite. (Other reports in the series do the same for Allscripts, Cerner, and MEDITECH).

Cerner Complete Look 2021

Authored by: Coray Tate , Paul Warburton | June 2021 | Read Time: 3 minutes

When making a go-forward enterprise decision, healthcare organizations must take into account how prospective partners deliver across a variety of key technology areas. This Cerner “complete look” provides a high-level analysis of the key IT systems that make up Cerner’s Millennium enterprise suite. (Other reports in the series do the same for Allscripts, Epic, and MEDITECH.)

Allscripts Complete Look 2021

Authored by: Tyson Blauer , Paul Warburton | June 2021 | Read Time: 3 minutes

When making a go-forward enterprise decision, healthcare organizations must take into account how prospective partners deliver across a variety of key technology areas. This Allscripts Sunrise “complete look” provides a high-level analysis of the key IT systems that make up Allscripts’ enterprise suite. (Other reports in the series do the same for Cerner, Epic, and MEDITECH.) This report focuses on the core Sunrise suite and its supporting technology; data on Allscripts’ standalone ambulatory platforms (TouchWorks and Professional) is excluded.

Upfront:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | June 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Upfront’s purpose is to engage patients in their care by focusing on the patient actions needed to improve health outcomes. Using analytics to tailor patient communications, they offer ways for patients to connect and engage with care teams at a deeper level. This customized approach has the potential to personalize care and follows consumerism trends found outside healthcare. This report examines the experiences of early customers.

Alpha II ClaimStaker:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | June 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

To optimize the intensive process of coding and billing, provider organizations look to solutions that can reduce redundancies in clinical workflows and drive improved financial outcomes. Alpha II’s SaaS-based platform called ClaimStaker integrates with various clinical and financial workflows, and Alpha II draws from their team of certified coders, EDI specialists, and reimbursement subject matter experts to review organizations’ claims and address any needs. This report seeks to validate clients’ outcomes and satisfaction with Alpha II’s offering.

Patient Privacy Monitoring 2021:
Many High-Performing Options for Keeping Records Safe

Authored by: Joe VanDeGraaff , Dan Czech , Ciera Walker | June 2021 | Read Time: 15 minutes

To combat the rising number of patient privacy breaches, healthcare organizations are increasingly using patient privacy monitoring solutions for regulatory compliance, efficiency, and peace of mind around medical record access. Overall, patient privacy monitoring is one of the highest-scoring markets KLAS measures. For this report, KLAS interviewed 148 healthcare organizations about their customer experience and tracked 48 recent purchase decisions through our Decision Insights^† research to learn why certain solutions are being chosen and who can reliably lead organizations to success.

† Note: KLAS’ Decision Insights data conveys the future plans of current and potential customers in a given market segment. For more details, see the About This Report section.

Bluesight Insights:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Jackson Tate , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | May 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Kit Check has created Bluesight Insights to help maximize savings by streamlining medication purchasing and cost containment. The solution identifies unused wholesaler contracts that have reduced pricing for preferred drugs, highlights savings through additional drug programs (e.g., 340B, MedShorts, etc.), and gives proactive alerts to avoid over-invoicing. This KLAS Spotlight will examine the experiences of early adopters using Bluesight Insights.

Payer Care Management 2021:
Amid Shifts in the Market, Who Will Step Up?

Authored by: Joe VanDeGraaff , Jennifer Hickenlooper | May 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

In the past, payers have struggled with vendors’ care management solutions not keeping pace with functionality and support needs. Recent market shifts, such as M&A activity and leadership and ownership changes, along with the need for better payer/provider collaboration have created energy and optimism around the future of some vendors. Which vendors are stepping up, and which are missing the mark? This report focuses on how well vendors are helping organizations achieve desired outcomes through delivery of needed technology, excellent support and service, and follow-through on promises.

Application Management & Help Desk Services 2021:
COVID-19 Rapidly Accelerates the Need for End-User Services

Authored by: Ryan Oliver , Lois Krotz , Cathy McCabe | May 2021 | Read Time: 8 minutes

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the demand for IT managed services, especially patient-facing help desk services. In addition, demand for third-party application management services (AMS) has increased as provider organizations seek to free up internal staff to work on strategic initiatives. This report examines which firms execute well and drive outcomes in AMS and help desk engagements.

Telehealth Ecosystem 2021:
Understanding the Rapidly Evolving Landscape

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Dan Czech , Ciera Walker | May 2021 | Read Time: 8 minutes

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly accelerated healthcare delivery organizations’ adoption of telehealth and virtual care technologies. As these organizations scrambled to meet the immediate demand, they quickly implemented solutions that often required few resources and met focused needs. At the same time, vendors quickly pivoted to either develop dedicated telehealth products or add telehealth capabilities to existing offerings, creating a sea of options. This study, along with additional deep-dive content on KLAS’ website, shows which vendors report the broadest telehealth capabilities and aims to help organizations navigate different options as they look to consolidate systems and define their long-term telehealth strategy. For reader ease, links to relevant online content are provided where applicable. Note that the vendor-capability data in this report is based on vendor-reported information.

uPerform by ANCILE:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Mike Smith , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | May 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

When clinicians can effectively use their EMR, quality of care increases, costs decrease, and clinician satisfaction improves. ANCILE’s digital learning platform—uPerform—helps clinicians save time by providing targeted training, help buttons, and links within EMR workflows. This report provides a first look at the uPerform customer experience.

SOC Telemed:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Schafer Jackson , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | May 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

SOC Telemed offers a turnkey virtual telemedicine platform to help hospitals expand their telemedicine programs across multiple service lines and facilities while achieving clinical and financial outcomes. Customers can leverage their own existing telemedicine hardware and physicians, SOC Telemed’s hardware and physicians, or a hybrid of the two. This report seeks to validate the performance, outcomes, and use cases of the Telemed IQ platform.

Redox:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Tyson Blauer , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | May 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Not all facilitators of interoperability are prominently visible to healthcare providers. Redox is an interoperability facilitator that works primarily with vendor organizations to enable them to connect to an EHR via a single API. Once this connection is in place, Redox manages all other needed connections and normalizes disparate data sources. Their goal is to enable vendors to easily provide the interoperability that provider organizations need. This First Look report will examine the experiences of Redox’s vendor customers.

ClinIntell:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | May 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Historically, clinical documentation improvement (CDI) vendors have provided traditional benchmarking solutions that measure case mix index (CMI) and productivity in hospitals and health systems. ClinIntell, however, uses a data-driven approach based on patient population metrics to help providers and clinicians improve documentation and subsequent coding. This report looks to validate the early outcomes and satisfaction of ClinIntell clients.

Revenue Cycle Outsourcing 2021:
Choosing A Strategic Partner

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Alex McIntosh | May 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

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.

Investor Newsletter May 2021

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | May 2021 | Read Time: 9 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

Information Blocking:
Flash Insights Report 2021

Authored by: Coray Tate , Paul Warburton | May 2021 | Read Time: 4 minutes

The final rule from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) regarding the 21st Century Cures Act went into effect April 5, 2021, and includes new regulations regarding interoperability and information blocking. Just before the rule’s start date, KLAS reached out to provider organizations to understand what they have done to prepare, what the biggest challenges were, and how they think the changes will impact interoperability. Feedback from 42 respondents is explored below.

PatientBond:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | May 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

PatientBond attempts to guide patients through their care journeys by understanding and focusing on their psychographic motivations. By segmenting patients into different patient personas, PatientBond feels they can help target and guide patients more appropriately. This spotlight will examine the experiences of clients hoping to use PatientBond to better personalize care for patients.

Pexip Health:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Schafer Jackson , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | May 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Pexip Health enables virtual telehealth visits with their platform. Since their founding 10 years ago, Pexip has gained traction in the healthcare community with their self-hosted, cloud-hosted, and hybrid cloud-deployment options. Pexip aims to replace videoconferencing systems by integrating with healthcare organizations’ existing technologies and workflows and not requiring patients to download software or plug-ins. This report is an early look at the Pexip solution’s performance and outcomes for healthcare customers.

Computer-Assisted Coding 2021:
Which Vendors Best Meet Needs in the Face of COVID-19?

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Jennifer Hickenlooper | April 2021 | Read Time: 5 minutes

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 key metrics that have proven crucial in this market: accuracy/quality of coding suggestions, impact on coder productivity, service and support, and value.

ACO Enablement Services 2021:
Enabling Risk and Delivering Outcomes

Authored by: Bradley Hunter , Paul Warburton , Cathy McCabe | April 2021 | Read Time: 8 minutes

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.

HIT Staffing 2021:
Which Firms Consistently Deliver?

Authored by: Kaleb Harris , Jennifer Hickenlooper | April 2021 | Read Time: 7 minutes

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 factors: 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.

Investor Newsletter April 2021

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | April 2021 | Read Time: 10 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

Vatica Health:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Ryan Pretnik , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | April 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

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.

RXNT:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Aaron Gleave , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | April 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Use of third-party ambulatory RCM services continues to expand rapidly, and the organizations that provide these services need technology solutions that work behind the scenes to deliver strong, successful outcomes. RXNT provides key solutions in this area, and this report is KLAS’ first look at the customer experience of organizations that use RXNT’s solution within a business process outsourcing (BPO) or managed services organization (MSO) environment.

Quil:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | April 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

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.

Enjoin:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | April 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

Clinical documentation improvement (CDI) is critical for improving things such as case mix index (CMI) and productivity in hospitals and health systems. While many CDI vendors focus on workflow improvements using technology, Enjoin complements this approach with CDI education, denial defense, and operations support to help clinicians improve documentation and coding. This report looks to validate the outcomes and satisfaction of Enjoin clients.

Smile CDR:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Joe VanDeGraaff , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | April 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

In 2021, new CMS rules came into effect requiring CMS-regulated health plans to have a patient access API and a provider directory API. These regulations, aimed at increasing the interoperability of personal health data, have prompted payers to look at new ways of facilitating external information sharing. This report offers a first look at Smile CDR, a fast-moving, healthcare-specific solution provider that has recently delivered interoperability solutions to payer customers to help meet the new mandates.

Vendor Performance in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis:
2021 Update

Authored by: Taylor Davis | April 2021 | Read Time: 4 minutes

Responding to the long and difficult COVID-19 pandemic has tested the healthcare IT and services communities. What vendors have truly been partners? What vendors have fallen short in their response? Who showed they are up to the challenge of working through inevitable future crises? This report is the second in KLAS’ series on vendor performance in response to COVID-19.

Enterprise Health:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Joe VanDeGraaff , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | April 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

COVID-19 vaccination is perhaps the top priority for health systems right now, but it is no easy feat to track, manage, and report on vaccination status and progress. This spotlight shines a light on Enterprise Health, who is helping employer and hospital organizations do just that.

SDOH Referral Networks 2021:
A First Look at Connecting Providers with Community Resources

Authored by: Bradley Hunter , Paul Warburton | March 2021 | Read Time: 7 minutes

Adoption of technology to help provider organizations manage SDOH referrals is still early, but interest is growing as organizations seek to take on more value-based reimbursement risk. This report provides a first look at customer satisfaction with various SDOH referral network solutions and examines the parts of the SDOH referral process in which these solutions are being used. All measured vendors in this early market have overall scores above 90 (out of 100), indicating high overall satisfaction. Shifts in satisfaction are possible as the market matures and the number of KLAS ratings increases.

Patient Engagement Ecosystem 2021:
How Has the Industry Progressed?

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Dan Czech | March 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Patient engagement technology continues to be offered by a large group of vendors aiming to solve varied, complex challenges—leading to the need for clarity about what capabilities vendors offer to meet provider and payer organizations’ core needs. This study, along with additional deep-dive content on KLAS’ website, seeks to show which vendors report the broadest capability sets, which vendors made the most progress over the last two years, and how the industry as a whole has matured. For reader ease, links to relevant online content are provided where applicable. Note that the data in this report is based on vendor-reported information.

Release of Information 2021:
Differentiating Firms in a High-Satisfaction Market

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Jennifer Hickenlooper | March 2021 | Read Time: 5 minutes

The release of information (ROI) services market is a well-established segment with generally high overall client satisfaction. Market share leader Ciox Health and 2021 Best in KLAS winner MRO have long-standing experience in ROI; Sharecare and Verisma have smaller customer bases but are widening the field of options for healthcare organizations. To understand these firms’ strengths and areas of opportunity, this report explores their retrieval accuracy, ability to work with third-party requesters, and staff quality.

VisiQuate:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Dustin Cragun , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | March 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

As the complexity of revenue cycle management (RCM) processes increases, it is critical that provider organizations keep pace with advanced analytics and actionable insights. Challenged with disparate systems and fragmented data, organizations need a single source of actionable data. This report highlights VisiQuate’s advanced analytics solution and reports on the customer experience with these tools.

Enterprise Physician Scheduling 2021:
Who Delivers Best For Enterprise Customers?

Authored by: Tanya Egbert , Emily Paxman | March 2021 | Read Time: 8 minutes

In the last year, physician scheduling vendors have made great strides in providing enterprise scheduling that drives tangible outcomes for provider organizations. This report specifically examines the experience of organizations using physician scheduling solutions in an enterprise context, defined as using a scheduling solution to not only view schedules but also build them across at least three departments in one or more facilities. Which vendors can scale, how well do their reporting and dashboards drive insights, and which vendors are delivering desired outcomes?

XSOLIS:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | March 2021 |

XSOLIS takes a unique approach to reducing the burden of utilization review and case management by applying algorithms and machine learning models to leverage the medical record in real time and transform the process of utilization management between payers and providers. This Spotlight seeks to validate the functionality and performance of XSOLIS CORTEX.

Investor Newsletter March 2021

Authored by: Justin Long , Joshua Harris | March 2021 | Read Time: 8 minutes

Monthly overview of recent KLAS insights, upcoming reports, and industry happenings.

RRS Medical:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Mac Boyter , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | March 2021 |

Provider organizations need release of information (ROI) firms that offer flexibility and industry experience. While many firms primarily provide services, RRS Medical also delivers innovative dashboards and software, aiming to improve turnaround time and efficiency. RRS Medical has been providing ROI solutions to organizations large and small for 20 years, and their client base includes direct customers as well as some white-label and channel-partner relationships. This report evaluates feedback only from clients who utilize RRS Medical’s solutions directly.

HealthMark Group:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Aaron Gleave , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | March 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

KLAS’ release of information (ROI) research has historically focused on firms used in acute care settings. This report represents an expansion of that focus by examining the experience and outcomes reported by clients of HealthMark Group, whose ROI services are used mostly by ambulatory organizations.

Bright.md:
Emerging Technology Spotlight 2021

Authored by: Adam Cherrington , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | March 2021 |

Bright.md offers a solution that seems to go past the typical telehealth model by offering an online visit that creates unique notes, uses NLP to help assess a patient’s primary issue, and creates a care path for next steps. This unique approach to virtual care and care management makes Bright.md a compelling option for provider organizations. This spotlight attempts to validate the performance, benefits, and outcomes associated with Bright.md’s solution and its unique approach to virtual care.

Small Community Hospital EMR Best Practices 2021:
What Can Hospitals Do to Invest in Their Own Success?

Authored by: Tyson Blauer , Paul Warburton | March 2021 | Read Time: 8 minutes

With budget and resource constraints that necessitate strategic investment, it is imperative that small community hospitals (1–200 beds) understand how to drive success with the technologies already in their tool belt, especially their EMR. While EMR vendors are accountable for the quality of their technology and support, satisfaction with the EMR is also strongly influenced by factors within each organization’s control, including setting proper expectations, proactively addressing potential challenges, and empowering internal resources to overcome relationship and product gaps. What are the top EMR challenges faced by small hospitals, and what best practices can help them achieve satisfaction?

Note: This report includes only primary, go-forward solutions. Excluded are supported yet not primary solutions such as athenahealth athenaClinicals for Hospitals and Health Systems, Allscripts Paragon, CPSI Centriq Clinicals (Healthland), and legacy MEDITECH solutions.

Physician Advisory Services 2021:
Physicians Helping Physicians

Authored by: Boyd Stewart , Emily Paxman , Alex McIntosh | March 2021 | Read Time: 6 minutes

Physician advisory services firms fill providers’ needs for peer-to-peer review, utilization review, and/or other help sorting through rules and regulations to ensure the right care decisions are made and are properly reimbursed (e.g., observation or admission). This report examines some of the market’s more prominent physician advisory services firms and how they are differentiating themselves with services and technology.

eHealth Exchange:
First Look 2021

Authored by: Tyson Blauer , Joshua Jensen , Sam Eaquinto | February 2021 | Read Time: 1 minute

EHR vendors have increasingly adopted national networks such as CommonWell and the Carequality framework to connect their customers, but there are limitations regarding which vendors and provider organizations can connect and share data. eHealth Exchange is a vendor-agnostic national network that works to fill the gaps by connecting providers to entities they otherwise may not have access to, such as the Social Security Administration (SSA), Veterans Affairs (VA), and Department of Defense (DoD). This report will highlight how customers are leveraging eHealth Exchange and what their satisfaction is.

Home Health EHR 2021:
A Look at the Experience of Midsize to Large Home Health Agencies

Authored by: Paul Hess , Jonathan Christensen | February 2021 | Read Time: 5 minutes

Home health agency growth and consolidation have resulted in increasingly larger agencies, many of whom are seeking economies of scale and need strong IT solutions to drive them into the future. This report highlights home health EHR vendors’ performance among midsize and larger home health agencies (average daily census of >200) and explores a few key questions:

Which vendors are most often used by midsize or larger organizations, and how do they perform?
Are other vendors challenging Homecare Homebase’s significant presence in the largest agencies?
How have recent acquisitions impacted satisfaction for MatrixCare (Brightree), Netsmart, and WellSky customers?
Which solutions are most commonly used by independent agencies versus those owned by health systems?