KLAS Reports Meaningful Use Confidence With Ambulatory Medical Records Systems – Challenges and Unanswered Questions Still Exist

To create the report, KLAS interviewed 1458 providers about 26 different electronic medical record companies. To be included only products rated by 15 or more providers are included in the report.

If you are a provider who participated, it states that a complimentary copy is available. Both software vendors and providers are concerned about potentially missing out on any available reimbursements or getting hit later with non compliant penalties. This survey was developed to help determine how far or close on target some of the major medical record vendors are as far as meeting the meaningful use incentives. Most of the providers agreed that their EHR/EMR system was in a position to help them meet the up and coming new requirements. There’s a 60 day commenting period starting soon on the newly released 500 plus page requirements, so it is also possible that some provisions could stand to be modified, changed, eliminated and so on, depending on the commenting and ideas suggested through the website established for this purpose. BD

OREM, UT, January 06, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Eighty-five percent of healthcare providers believe their ambulatory electronic medical record (EMR) software will enable them meet the 2011 meaningful use deadlines being considered by the federal government, according to a report from KLAS.
For "Ambulatory EMR: On Track for Meaningful Use?", KLAS interviewed more than 1,400 providers about 26 EMR vendors - in order to assess each solution's readiness to meet meaningful use requirements, based on the guidance provided by the HIT Policy Committee in July 2009. Among the study respondents, the vast majority believe their EMR will help them meet the proposed government requirements, with Epic, NextGen and athenahealth customers expressing the most confidence, and SRSsoft and Amazing Charts clients expressing the least.

The KLAS study also looks closely at the EMRs that excel or struggle with other proposed requirements, such as the digital transmission of pharmacy orders. Of all the products in the report, only Allscripts Enterprise had 100 percent of interviewed clients able to digitally transmit qualifying orders. Greenway and e-MDs earned the highest marks for functionality in this area, while MED3000 was considered the most challenged.

The following vendors are highlighted in the new KLAS ambulatory EMR report: Allscripts, Amazing Charts, Aprima (iMedica), athenahealth, Cerner, CHARTCARE, DoctorsPartner, eClinicalWorks, Eclipsys, e-MDs, Epic, GE, gMed, Greenway, HealthPort, Ingenix, LSS, McKesson, MED3000, MedcomSoft, NextGen, PracticeOne, Praxis, Sage, Sevocity and SRSsoft.

To learn more about the ambulatory EMR market, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of participating vendors, the report "Ambulatory EMR: On Track for Meaningful Use?" is available to healthcare providers online for a significant discount off the standard retail price. To purchase the full report, healthcare providers and vendors can visit 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 more than 4,500 hospitals and over 2,500 clinics, KLAS delivers timely reports, trends and statistics, which provide a solid overview of vendor performance in the industry. KLAS measures the performance of software, professional services and medical equipment vendors. For more information, go to www.KLASresearch.com, email marketing@KLASresearch.com or call 1-800-920-4109 to speak with a KLAS representative.