A recent Kalorama Information Report names Cerner Corporation, McKesson, and Epic Systemsas the top three EHR vendors dominating the market in 2017.
While these EHR vendors hold a majority of the market share, researchers stated small competitors can still succeed in the industry. Frustrated physicians, dissatisfied hospitals hopping from vendor to vendor, and substantial shifts in government and healthcare policy can all play in favor of small vendors.
“A few companies have more than half the market, but it’s still true to say no company, not even the largest healthcare IT firms, have even a fifth of this market,” said Publisher of Kalorama Information Bruce Carlson. “We think that is because there’s still usability, vendor-switching, lack of mindshare in the market and customers are aching for better. Healthcare still involves a lot of local markets and then with EMR there is a web opportunity to sell direct to smaller hospitals and physicians.”
While there is room for smaller companies to survive among the dominant players, the top positions are firmly in the hands of EHR vendors capable of satisfying the needs of large contractors and healthcare systems.
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Cerner
Cerner earned the number one slot primarily, Kalorama states, because it continues to develop new services to its arsenal to keep pace with a rapidly-evolving technological landscape.
CernerITWorks, a suite of services designed to meet the demands of hospital IT departments, and Cerner RevWorks, a solution improving revenue cycle management, are both new additions to Cerner’s service offerings improving hospital management well outside the realms of traditional EHR services.
The health IT company also benefitted from the recent acquisition of Siemens IT, as well as a major contract with the Department of Defense to assist in the federal agency’s modernization efforts.
A recent Black Book survey stated Cerner is the best fit to meet the Trump Administration’s Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initiatives after its first-quarter 2017 surveys.
Cerner outperformed its competitors in technology functionalities to combat the opiate crisis and scored well regarding its ability to provide veteran service delivery improvements and government agency innovations.
McKesson
Coming in second place, McKesson offers a broad range of clinical and financial solutions including medication safety and information access, revenue cycle management, and EHR adoption.
RelayHealth, McKesson’s connectivity business, is one of the top patient portal vendors in healthcare offering patients easy access to provider consultations, prescription renewals, appointment scheduling, and referral requests.
Epic
Epic is the third-leading EHR vendor according to the report. The privately-owned company provides EHR services for Kaiser Permanente and many other large health systems and hospitals. Market research suggests Epic will continue to grow.
While Epic is popular among large healthcare organizations, CEO Judy Faulkner announced at HIMSS17 the health IT company will now offer new product packages designed for mid-sized and small practices. The scaled-down versions are modified to fit the varying complexities, sizes, and budgets of different organizations.
Epic suffered a setback recently after a deal with the US Coast Guard to develop an EHR solution suited for the federal department’s 178 sites fell through.
The five-year attempt to implement a commercial EHR failed due to inconsistencies. The Coast Guard recently posted a request for information to gather insight into other EHR commercial solutions and potentially find a better match for the department’s needs.
Allscripts
Allscripts snagged the fourth spot in the EHR market according to Kalorama’s research. Acquiring Eclipsys in 2010 helped Allscripts procure a sizable market share.
The Chicago-based health IT company recently became the first to offer a health IT suite meeting 2015 edition certified EHR technology criteria. With the Quality Payment Program underway, Allscripts Professional is designed to meet federal requirements and advance the effort toward industry-wide interoperability.
Date:Apr 27, 2017