Ambulatory Providers Overly Optimistic about Reaching Meaningful Use

    OREM, UT, April 12, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Although nearly 80 percent of ambulatory providers that have purchased an EMR are confident they will qualify for meaningful use (MU) in 2011, a closer look at what functionalities they have actually implemented reveals that most still have significant holes to fill, according to a KLAS report. Over two thirds of the surveyed providers are not sharing medical records electronically with patients, and nearly half have not implemented clinical decision support (CDS) rules, two key MU requirements.

The report, "Ambulatory EMR: A KLAS Guide to Meaningful Use Success," presents the results of interviews with 597 ambulatory providers using 25 different EMR systems. The study measured vendor performance in eight key MU areas: progress notes, drug-drug and drug-allergy alerts, CPOE, data mining tools, ePrescribing, CDS rules, patient electronic access to medical records, and viewing active medication, allergy, and problem lists.

The report notes that Epic and Greenway customers appear best-prepared overall to qualify for MU incentives this year, with high usage and high clinician satisfaction in the key MU areas measured. Providers using Praxis, SRSsoft, simplifyMD, and LSS, however, appear the least prepared to qualify for MU in 2011.

The report also outlines several best practices for ambulatory providers looking to make an EMR purchase in the near future.

Other vendors covered in the report include AdvancedMD, Allscripts, Amazing Charts, Aprima, athenahealth, Cerner, e-MDs, eClinicalWorks, GE Healthcare, Healthport, Henry Schein, Ingenix, McKesson, MedPlus, NextGen, Sage, and Sevocity.

To learn more about the current ambulatory EMR vendor performance with regard to MU, see the full "Ambulatory EMR: A KLAS Guide to Meaningful Use Success" report, available to healthcare providers online for a significant discount off the standard retail price www.KLASresearch.com/reports.

KLAS is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of healthcare vendors. KLAS' mission is to improve delivery, by independently measuring vendor performance for the benefit of our healthcare 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. Follow KLAS on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KLASresearch.

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