Great Expectations Abound for ED Information Systems Although Delivery is Questionable

    OREM, UT, October 03, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- "EDIS 2011: Delivering on Great Expectations," a study conducted by KLAS, investigates provider satisfaction concerning Emergency Department Information Systems (EDIS) and reveals which solutions are meeting provider expectations related to achieving meaningful use (MU) requirements, improving clinician functionality, reaching integration needs, and facilitating physician workflow.

Over 80 percent of providers interviewed report plans to utilize their EDIS to help them attest for Stage I MU. However, only a third of them say their vendor is ready, noting a variety of functionality gaps--including medication reconciliation, reporting, and CPOE. All EDIS vendors indicate they are focused on meeting provider needs, but clients report variable progress across the vendor landscape.

"Actually being able to demonstrate meaningful use involves a combination of robust clinical tools that rely on integration," said report author Steve VanWagenen. "As a result, providers are choosing one of two EDIS paths--while hoping to end up at the same destination." Enterprise solution users cherish their integration and expect their vendors to gain clinical functionality, in much the same way that standalone users cling to their custom functionality and expect their vendors to be able to deliver the level of integration that they require to effectively meet current and anticipated MU requirements.

In addition to enhancing care and the communication about that care, providers are looking to their EDIS solutions to improve ED efficiency. The ED often functions as a key admission point in a hospital, inefficiencies and bottlenecks in the ED can have a longer-term impact both operationally and financially.

"EDIS 2011: Delivering on Great Expectations" explains that, while the standalone/enterprise EDIS distinctions are still prevalent, there is a growing sense that the term "best of breed" should be applied to the best EDIS system(s), regardless of origin. The "best" being defined as the EDIS solutions that are delivering on provider expectations by helping them demonstrate MU, expanding their integrated clinical capabilities, and improving physician efficiency in the ED.

For this research KLAS interviewed more than 500 providers to understand their experiences with the EDIS vendors and to find out how well those vendors are meeting their great expectations. Findings about the following vendors are included in the report: Allscripts, Cerner, CMR (Regional), EmpowerSystems, Epic, McKesson, MEDHOST, MEDITECH, Picis, T-System, and Wellsoft. In addition, KLAS provides the industry with an update on 15 other EDIS solutions.

To learn more about the EDIS market, including the strengths and weaknesses of vendors' ED solutions, the report "EDIS 2011: Delivering on Great Expectations" is available to healthcare providers online for a significant discount. To purchase the report, healthcare providers and vendors can visit www.KLASresearch.com/reports.

KLAS is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting on 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 more than 4500 hospitals and more than 2500 clinics, KLAS delivers timely reports, trends, and statistics that provide a solid overview of vendor performance in the industry. KLAS measures performance of software, professional services, medical equipment, and infrastructure 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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