New KLAS Report Examines Getting Your Money's Worth with Acute Care EMR Systems

    OREM, UT, August 26, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Comparing vendor prices at the time of an acute care EMR purchase may only be the tip of the iceberg. Unexpected costs, physician usability, missed delivery dates, response time, stability and workflow interruptions all play a role in the true cost of owning an EMR system. Buyers may find that they can afford to buy a particular solution, but they can't afford to own it or the solution won't facilitate the adoption they will need.

KLAS examines the recent buying experiences of 146 healthcare organizations. Looking at the elements involved in the true cost of ownership, such as getting the money's worth, scope, how well the vendor kept its promises, cost surprises and physician/clinician adoption, the KLAS report "Acute Care EMR, Getting Your Money's Worth: The Overall Experience" looks beyond the actual quoted price of an EMR in a contract to the realized cost of owning a system.

Because the process has matured, there are fewer pioneers and buyers are savvier, it is less likely today that an EMR project will go way beyond budget. MEDITECH is reported to be most consistently within or under budget delivering their solution, with Epic a close second. Cerner, Eclipsys, McKesson (mainly Horizon clients but with several Paragon included), and Siemens are tightly grouped in the second tier. Being within budget is significant but only one primary measurement in ownership.

Monetary ties to meaningful use and HI-TECH requirements put a focus on the proactive development of physician friendly solutions and CPOE that leave some providers hesitant about the ease of use of CPOE options available. "Some of the less expensive EMR adoptions may sacrifice depth of CPOE to keep costs low," said Kent Gale, author of the report and KLAS Founder. "Deep physician adoption typically has a major budget impact and requires significant investment."

Getting past general clinical use to deep CPOE adoption typically requires significant additional staffing, vendor and consultant costs. Purchasers question the overall expense of and value a particular EMR solution could bring to their organization. "When purchasing an acute care EMR solution, providers wonder if they will be able to count on what they have budgeted, if they will experience major cost overruns and if they will get their money's worth especially when it comes to physician use," continued Gale.

Epic is the only vendor in the report with high ratings for money's worth, contracting and costs--and Epic projects have the largest scope of any vendor. MEDITECH clients report little variation from what they expect compared to what they get in the MEDITECH contract, delivery, and post-live selling events; however, clients suffer with MEDITECH's lack of proactive help in getting their money's worth. When it comes to keeping promises, GE is the outlier. Since the acquisition of IDX, GE clients have reported a downward trend in GE's meeting commitments. "Keeping contractual commitments is tough for almost all vendors," Gale explained, "especially in the implementation and go-live phases."

More information about true cost of owning an acute care EMR, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of participating vendors are included in the "Acute Care EMR, Getting Your Money's Worth: The Overall Experience" report. This report is available to health care providers online for a significant discount off the standard retail price. To purchase the full report, health care providers and vendors can visit www.KLASresearch.com/reports.

KLAS is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of health care vendors. KLAS' mission is to improve delivery, by independently measuring vendor performance for the benefit of our health care provider partners, consultants, investors, and vendors. Working together with executives from over 4500 hospitals and over 2500 clinics, KLAS delivers timely reports, trends, and statistics, which provide a solid overview of vendor performance in the industry. KLAS measures performance of software, professional services, and medical equipment vendors. For more information, go to www.KLASresearch.com, email [email protected], or call 1-800-920-4109 to speak with a KLAS representative.

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