Small standalone hospitals are opting for Meditech and Epic EHR systems, an Oct. 31 report from KLAS found.
The findings are based on data from KLAS' 2024 acute care EHR market share report, which tracks EHR choices among small, independent hospitals with 1 to 200 beds. Many of these hospitals face challenges, such as limited budgets and fewer internal resources, affecting their ability to adopt new EHR systems. As of 2024, 42% of these hospitals still use legacy systems.
Between 2021 and 2023, KLAS validated EHR decisions made by 184 small hospitals, representing about 14% of the market. This report examines how a sample of these hospitals is adapting to new EHR systems, including insights on perceived value, usability, training experiences, and trends in future EHR purchases for small hospitals.
Eight key findings from the report include:
- Organizations seeking to upgrade or replace their EHRs show a strong preference for Epic Community Connect, Meditech Expanse, and, to a lesser extent, Oracle Health.
- Epic's Community Connect, hosted by larger Epic customers, is widely chosen for its internal integration capabilities and potential to enhance clinician satisfaction.
- Many hospitals view Epic's Community Connect as a straightforward way to achieve a consistent user experience across systems. However, some providers express concerns over initial costs and Epic's lack of direct support, which can be challenging for smaller institutions.
- Meditech's Expanse system has gained popularity, especially among organizations transitioning from older Meditech products.
- The Expanse platform's high usability for physicians has drawn interest from current Meditech users seeking a seamless upgrade and from new adopters interested in an intuitive interface. Organizations selecting Expanse often cited positive experiences with past Meditech solutions.
- Oracle Health has primarily appealed to small, standalone hospitals, securing the most net-new wins among small hospitals from 2021 to 2023.
- Oracle Health has drawn attention for its comprehensive platform, low initial costs, and support model, making it a popular option in recent years. However, 2024 data shows a dip in Oracle Health's traction, with only one organization indicating it as a likely choice this year.
- Some providers cite issues such as ad hoc costs and limited flexibility within Oracle’s shared model as deterrents.