According to a study recently released by HIMSS Analytics, 65 percent of physicians and 74 percent of physicians said that they did not plan to purchase, replace or upgrade their ambulatory EMR or practice management software solutions, respectively.
The “5th Annual U.S. Ambulatory Electronic Health Record & Practice Management Study” includes information gathered from over 800 physician groups. The study also incorporated information from the HIMSS analytics database.
Of the physician groups that did plan to purchase an EMR upgrade, 52 percent said that they would not seek an integrated practice management and EMR solution. Nearly 30 percent of physician groups and 60 percent of hospital groups report that they use a practice management solution that they’ve had since at least 2006.
Of those that did plan to purchase new EMR solutions, 80 percent said that they would do so in the next two years. Also, 60 percent of those that did plan to purchase practice management software said that they would make the purchase within two years.
The study seems to underscore a few major conclusions. First, the market for EMR and practice management solutions has become more saturated. Second, the physician and hospital groups that planned to purchase new solutions are going to take action soon.
“While both the tethered and non-tethered Ambulatory EHR markets show signs of maturing, there is continued opportunity with 35 percent of respondents planning to purchase, replace or upgrade an Ambulatory EHR solution,” said HIMSS Analytics Research Director Brendan FitzGerald.
Those that do purchase new ambulatory EMR want products that can be integrated with current practice management software. They are not as interested in purchasing an entirely new integrated system.
The HIMSS study also asked physician groups how they had progressed regarding the implementation of Meaningful Use. According to the study, 60 percent have hit Stage 1 targets, and 30 percent are confident that they will meet Stage 2 targets.
Additionally, 48 percent of the physician groups surveyed had received incentive payments for hitting Meaningful Use targets.
