KLAS: Oncology IT needs integration/functionality one-two punch
While most practices appear to be relieved that meaningful use incentives have raised the bar for oncology information systems vendors and brought both enterprise EMR and niche health IT vendors into the market, most are not fully satisfied with the current offerings, according to a report from healthcare market researcher KLAS.
“Part of oncology’s complexity results from physicians moving between hospitals and clinics, patients moving between infusion suites and radiation oncology facilities and medical records not being always immediately at hand,” the Orem, Utah-based researcher continued.
Best-of-breed vendors have picked up their game, but are being asked to allocate precious resources to accommodate meaningful use requirements; enterprise vendors are coming in strong, but appear to be focusing on medical oncology only. “At this point in time no one is quite hitting all the targets; enterprise vendors are offering products without radiation oncology applications, and best-of-breed vendors are pushing to interface suites to enterprise and other systems,” the report added.
Varian Aria's score improved by eight points over the past year, moving the niche tool from last place in the 2010 report (71.1 out of 100) to first place in this year's report (79.6) and closer to the performance scores of the other oncology solutions. Elekta/MOSAIQ (78.7) and IntrinsiQ/IntelliDose (74.7) both continued to perform well this year, ranking second and third respectively.
Overall, Varian customers feel that the tool delivers a solid offering across the oncology suite; Elekta's large client base reports that MOSAIQ is a good oncology partner with a system that shows continued improvements and works well in the ambulatory space; and IntrinsiQ users say the program offers robust oncology tools that complement any EMR.
Epic Beacon received the highest overall performance score (83.4) this year, in spite of not being ranked in the report because KLAS was unable to validate enough users of the tool in cancer centers and ambulatory clinics. While a large portion of the data came from IT, Epic customers felt secure in the company's commitment, despite some limited functionality, and they believe that the tool's progress is promising, the report concluded.
“Part of oncology’s complexity results from physicians moving between hospitals and clinics, patients moving between infusion suites and radiation oncology facilities and medical records not being always immediately at hand,” the Orem, Utah-based researcher continued.
Best-of-breed vendors have picked up their game, but are being asked to allocate precious resources to accommodate meaningful use requirements; enterprise vendors are coming in strong, but appear to be focusing on medical oncology only. “At this point in time no one is quite hitting all the targets; enterprise vendors are offering products without radiation oncology applications, and best-of-breed vendors are pushing to interface suites to enterprise and other systems,” the report added.
Varian Aria's score improved by eight points over the past year, moving the niche tool from last place in the 2010 report (71.1 out of 100) to first place in this year's report (79.6) and closer to the performance scores of the other oncology solutions. Elekta/MOSAIQ (78.7) and IntrinsiQ/IntelliDose (74.7) both continued to perform well this year, ranking second and third respectively.
Overall, Varian customers feel that the tool delivers a solid offering across the oncology suite; Elekta's large client base reports that MOSAIQ is a good oncology partner with a system that shows continued improvements and works well in the ambulatory space; and IntrinsiQ users say the program offers robust oncology tools that complement any EMR.
Epic Beacon received the highest overall performance score (83.4) this year, in spite of not being ranked in the report because KLAS was unable to validate enough users of the tool in cancer centers and ambulatory clinics. While a large portion of the data came from IT, Epic customers felt secure in the company's commitment, despite some limited functionality, and they believe that the tool's progress is promising, the report concluded.