KLAS: Amalga performance score all over satisfaction map
Despite worlds of potential, sales of Microsoft's Amalga have been limited and its overall KLAS performance score has dropped 14 points in the last two years, from 84.2 to 69.9, revealing a split personality in customer opinions, the market research firm KLAS found in its newest survey.
For this report, KLAS interviewed 15 Amalga sites to understand what attracted them to Amalga, the value they found in the tool, any surprises they encountered and what advice they would give prospective buyers.
Compared with traditional data warehousing and business intelligence tools, Amalga is "highly adaptable and is employed in many ways, including but not limited to clinical portals, real-time patient surveillance, population management and central data repository."
Some healthcare providers are pleased with the results that Amalga has achieved at their facility, and others are displeased with the product as a whole, the Orem, Utah-based KLAS stated.
Forty-three percent of the report’s respondents stated the cost of the product’s implementation and maintenance was on par with their original expectations. "Customers rated Microsoft’s ability to deliver new technology six (out of nine),and only 36 percent said Amalga has the functionality that is needed today," the report noted. However, 29 percent stated it was higher and 21 percent stated it was much higher. Only 7 percent said the cost was lower compared to original expectations.
However, 81 percent of respondents stated that they would buy Amalga again.
According to the executive summary, providers with patience and deep pockets find the most success using the produce. "Customers with a mature technology strategy for Amalga cit benefits such as patient safety, better quality of care and cost avoidance. Many providers discover uses for Amalga beyond their original plans."
"Amalga is a flexible platform," Colin Buckley, strategic operations manager and report author, stated. "Some customers report that flexibility comes with an unexpected caveat: complexity. This complexity ultimately translates into expenses that many customers were specifically hoping to avoid when they made their Amalga purchase."
Amalga customers provided some advice in the report, including:
Don't expect an out-of-the-box experience: It's a platform, not a solution, according to the respondents. Plan to dedicate significant staff to maintenance and the development of clinical applications. Don't expect Microsoft to fill in many gaps.
Take time to really learn the system: Amalga is powerful, but complex. Providers well versed on Amalga's inner workings are in the best position to bend it to their needs.
Involve clinical staff: Database experts in IT are not always the best at perceiving the needs of end users. Clinical experts can team with IT staff to think of creative ways to take advantage of Amalga's flexibility.
For this report, KLAS interviewed 15 Amalga sites to understand what attracted them to Amalga, the value they found in the tool, any surprises they encountered and what advice they would give prospective buyers.
Compared with traditional data warehousing and business intelligence tools, Amalga is "highly adaptable and is employed in many ways, including but not limited to clinical portals, real-time patient surveillance, population management and central data repository."
Some healthcare providers are pleased with the results that Amalga has achieved at their facility, and others are displeased with the product as a whole, the Orem, Utah-based KLAS stated.
Forty-three percent of the report’s respondents stated the cost of the product’s implementation and maintenance was on par with their original expectations. "Customers rated Microsoft’s ability to deliver new technology six (out of nine),and only 36 percent said Amalga has the functionality that is needed today," the report noted. However, 29 percent stated it was higher and 21 percent stated it was much higher. Only 7 percent said the cost was lower compared to original expectations.
However, 81 percent of respondents stated that they would buy Amalga again.
According to the executive summary, providers with patience and deep pockets find the most success using the produce. "Customers with a mature technology strategy for Amalga cit benefits such as patient safety, better quality of care and cost avoidance. Many providers discover uses for Amalga beyond their original plans."
"Amalga is a flexible platform," Colin Buckley, strategic operations manager and report author, stated. "Some customers report that flexibility comes with an unexpected caveat: complexity. This complexity ultimately translates into expenses that many customers were specifically hoping to avoid when they made their Amalga purchase."
Amalga customers provided some advice in the report, including:
Don't expect an out-of-the-box experience: It's a platform, not a solution, according to the respondents. Plan to dedicate significant staff to maintenance and the development of clinical applications. Don't expect Microsoft to fill in many gaps.
Take time to really learn the system: Amalga is powerful, but complex. Providers well versed on Amalga's inner workings are in the best position to bend it to their needs.
Involve clinical staff: Database experts in IT are not always the best at perceiving the needs of end users. Clinical experts can team with IT staff to think of creative ways to take advantage of Amalga's flexibility.