Dive Brief:
- From large hospitals to small clinics, providers are pursuing different functionalities in the secure communications they purchase, and the industry is responding to those demands. But wide variation exists in what vendors are currently offering to meet various needs, a new KLAS Research report finds.
- Acute care organizations tend to want broad communication platforms that facilitate communication enterprise-wide, while ambulatory facilities more often opt for HIPAA-compliant messaging.
- After functionality, cost is the most important factor behind lost sales. Vendors that offer enterprise pricing, such as Cerner and Epic, are more likely to clinch new deals, since customers know what they will get for the price and don't feel they’re being nickle-and-dimed, according to KLAS.
Dive Insight:
KLAS surveyed 100 acute care, ambulatory and post-acute care organizations to see which vendors they considered, what drove their decisions and how they rated the vendors they chose. As EHRs become ubiquitous in healthcare, such questions will shape how the sector evolves.
When it comes to consideration, retention and performance, Epic, Voalte and TigerConnect all do well. Epic's broad EHR market imprint, enterprise pricing and reputation for quality products and services makes it a dependable choice for many acute care organizations, KLAS says. Customers also appear confident the product will improve over time.
Voalte's broad communication platform is also viewed as above average in meeting acute care facilities' needs. Secure messaging vendor TigerConnect, formerly TigerText, has wide name recognition as a cross-industry vendor, but less scores due to immaturity of its broader platform.
The top two reasons organizations consider and settle on one vendor over another are product functionality and having a standing relationship with the company. Voalte and Vocera rank highly here because both have communication platforms offering a range of functionalities, such as VoIP, alarm routing, nurse call tools, mass notifications and labs, according to the report.
EHR integration is the next most important factor, and Epic and Cerner both score marks here, though their platforms are less optimal than some others, according to the authors.
Organizations are also looking for vendors that offer continued development of their platforms. Spok and Imprivata have lost potential customers because they have been slow to develop new functionalities and improve integration, the report says.
The report points to possible disrupters in the mix as well. A good share of acute care hospitals that consider Telmediq and PatientSafe Solutions are choosing to go with the vendors, citing high quality and confidence the companies can deliver on communication platform needs. Providers are drawn to Telmediq's robust physician scheduling and PatientSafe Solutions' BPOC and nurse documentation. Moreover, both companies offer enterprise pricing.
However, it remains to be seen whether these vendors can scale up to meet growing demand, KLAS says.