KLAS: Epic may have ‘head start’ on patient portal market

Convenience and the ease of integration that comes from having an established relationship with an EMR vendor are the primary factors providers use to choose a patient portal, based on a report from market research firm KLAS. The research examined the patient portal market, which is on the verge of a growth spurt due to Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements.

The report focused on which technology providers are using and what role they play in their long-term healthcare strategies for patient engagement. KLAS interviewed 104 providers about which technologies are being used or considered and what role they play on the healthcare stage. Respondents included a mix of health systems, hospitals and clinics.

The KLAS report found that EMR vendors like Epic and Cerner hold an advantage in their customer bases due to integration benefits and single-vendor strategies. For other EMR clients, there is room for vendors that can minimize integration challenges and bring together data from disparate EMRs. “In either case, most providers see their portal’s functionality as sufficient for their current needs, including Meaningful Use,” the executive summary concluded. “The most challenging task for providers is determining how they will leverage the technology to get the most out of their patient portal.”

With the urgency surrounding Meaningful Use and accountable care, providers are feeling increased pressure to engage with their patients at deeper levels than ever before, the report authors wrote. Approximately 50 percent of interviewed providers already had a portal in place, primarily from their current EMR vendor. Providers needing to connect a number of disparate EMRs were the only group more likely to opt for a best-of-breed technology.

At a high level, the final rule for Meaningful Use Stage 2 requires that providers give at least 50 percent of their patients’ online access to their health information, with at least 5 percent actually accessing it. In addition, at least 5 percent of patients must securely message their physicians.

Not only do most patient portals already offer both of these functions, they are also the most used—78 percent of those interviewed currently provide online access and 72 percent use their portal for messaging. Portal vendors performed similarly in both areas, which clarifies why few interviewed providers mentioned Meaningful Use as a specific concern or an important selection criteria, even as Meaningful Use drives portal adoption.

Although most major enterprise vendors have a portal solution, few seem to have as extensive adoption among their clients as Epic, based on respondents. While many providers are choosing to stay with incumbent EMR-based patient portals, KLAS reported significant interest and engagement with third-party vendors, including Intuit Health, Jardogs, MEDSEEK, NextGen and RelayHealth. The report detailed experiences with each of the vendors and also took an early look at popular EMR vendor technologies, including Epic MyChart.

“The existing EMR vendor relationship appears to be more important than any other factor when choosing a patient portal," said report author Mark Allphin. "While functionality and ease of use are important to providers, they take a backseat compared to providers' desire to manage fewer vendors and interfaces."