Providers disappointed with HIE interoperability

Satisfaction with health information exchange vendors is lagging as they struggle to produce the level of interoperability that providers want, according to a November report from KLAS.

The Orem, Utah-based market researcher surveyed approximately 200 providers to determine that only 11 vendors account for about 80 percent of the HIE market share. Six vendors were ranked according to an overall compound score based on provider surveys and the remaining five were left unranked due to insufficient data. The six included, according to rank, were: Epic, Medicity, Cerner, eClinicalWorks. RelayHealth and OptumInsight.

The top objectives for providers with an HIE included improving care coordination, driving change through analytics and reducing costs through increased efficiencies. Asked to rate vendors on their product’s ability to achieve these goals, providers gave them an average score of seven on a scale of one to nine, with Epic receiving the highest average approval rating at 8.2 and RelayHealth receiving the lowest at 6.

“The HIE industry has one foot stretch to the future as providers’ strategic plans bloom, but the other foot is stuck in the interface mire of incomplete connectivity,” concluded report author Mark Allphin. “Even the most satisfied clients request better interfaces from their vendors. Vendors who can nail down interoperability will be in a better position to meet future strategic needs of clients, including physician engagement, analytics reporting and patient portals.”