KLAS: Oncology system functionality lacking
Despite low vendor performance scores, best-of-breed vendors claim a majority of the oncology market with few providers planning to replace their current oncology systems in the near future, according to a report issued on Sept. 23 by research firm KLAS.
The Orem, Utah-based firm attributed poor oncology vendor performance scores to focus on integrating medical and radiation oncology or the enterprise clinical system, rather than the development of functionality—a trend based on the approach of meaningful use requirement deadlines and the need for product certification.
“Epic appears to be the closest enterprise system to delivering an oncology solution with Cerner, Eclipsys, GE, MEDITECH and Siemens all offering some level of oncology functionality at various levels of reported capability,” stated Monique Rasband, author of the report, noting that these vendors have limited user bases.
The report ranked Elekta MOSIAQ as the number one best-of-breed product with an overall score of 77.8 out of 100, and IntrinsiQ IntelliDose (77.1) and Varian ARIA (71.1) were the second and third ranked solutions, according to KLAS. Also mentioned in the report were Altos Solutions OncoEMR, BMSi OncoChart, Epic Beacon and US Oncology iKnowMed.
While the report noted that progress in developing oncology-specific functionality has been slow because oncology can be a difficult technology market due to operational crossovers, complex protocols and the difference in requirements between medical and radiation oncology, system replacements are rare and come primarily as a result of consolidated practices. This may be attributable to the investment expense and integration costs associated with implementation.
“The oncology market has been ignored by enterprise software vendors for the most part,” stated Rasband. “Oncology seems to be on the roadmap for most vendors, but few have made much progress and their functionality doesn’t seem to be meant for use as a full oncology platform.”
The Orem, Utah-based firm attributed poor oncology vendor performance scores to focus on integrating medical and radiation oncology or the enterprise clinical system, rather than the development of functionality—a trend based on the approach of meaningful use requirement deadlines and the need for product certification.
“Epic appears to be the closest enterprise system to delivering an oncology solution with Cerner, Eclipsys, GE, MEDITECH and Siemens all offering some level of oncology functionality at various levels of reported capability,” stated Monique Rasband, author of the report, noting that these vendors have limited user bases.
The report ranked Elekta MOSIAQ as the number one best-of-breed product with an overall score of 77.8 out of 100, and IntrinsiQ IntelliDose (77.1) and Varian ARIA (71.1) were the second and third ranked solutions, according to KLAS. Also mentioned in the report were Altos Solutions OncoEMR, BMSi OncoChart, Epic Beacon and US Oncology iKnowMed.
While the report noted that progress in developing oncology-specific functionality has been slow because oncology can be a difficult technology market due to operational crossovers, complex protocols and the difference in requirements between medical and radiation oncology, system replacements are rare and come primarily as a result of consolidated practices. This may be attributable to the investment expense and integration costs associated with implementation.
“The oncology market has been ignored by enterprise software vendors for the most part,” stated Rasband. “Oncology seems to be on the roadmap for most vendors, but few have made much progress and their functionality doesn’t seem to be meant for use as a full oncology platform.”