What EHR/PM vendors should do as 63% of buyers look to replace existing PM solutions

Melissa McCormack, a medical researcher with EHR consultancy group Software Advice, recently published their medical practice management BuyerView research, which found that 63% of the buyers were replacing existing PM solutions, rather than making a first-time purchase.  This mirrors the trend we’ve seen across medical software purchasing, where the HITECH Act may have prompted hasty first purchases of EHR solutions, followed by replacements 1-2 years later. For PM vendors, this means there’s a huge opportunity to market your products to practices as an upgrade, even if they’re already using PM software. I reached out to Melissa to ask her to elaborate on the implications of the trends she found in her recent research. Here’s some advice for vendors and solutions providers. 1. As EHR meaningful use requirements grow more involved, standalone billing or scheduling systems are becoming less viable. In fact, nearly 70 percent of the buyers we spoke with wanted integration between practice management and EHR. The trend of PM buyers looking for robust EHR integration grows more pronounced each year, and shows no signs of tapering off since EHR meaningful use requirements increasingly require physicians to utilize charting, billing and scheduling in tandem. Vendors who can offer seamless integration between these applications will have a clear advantage over those who cannot. 2. Another regulatory pressure influencing PM software replacement is ICD-10. Compliance with...
Source: The Healthcare IT Guy - Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs