eClinicalWorks, which recently struck a deal with Wal-Mart to sell its electronic medical records software, is the subject of a new report from KLAS, which examines the Wesborough, Mass.-based healthcare IT firm's rapid rise.

"The Rise of eClinicalWorks: Separating Fact from Fiction" examines why eClinicalWorks is gaining traction faster than any other ambulatory EMR vendor and whether it can sustain that growth and still effectively support its customers.
 
"eClinicalWorks has changed the landscape for EMR solutions by delivering a product that is easy to use and priced much lower than most of the competition," said Mark Wagner, KLAS' senior research manager and author of the report. "Physicians are drawn in by how easy the eClinicalWorks EMR is to navigate. They find the user interface appealing and intuitive, with minimal clicking. Current customers also report that overall physician use is high across all modules within the EMR."
 
The KLAS report found that the majority of providers interviewed are very satisfied with their eClinicalWorks EMR. Overall, 93 percent of customers said the EMR functionality met or exceeded their expectations, and 97 percent stated the overall cost of adoption met or exceeded their expectations. As one customer put it, eClinicalWorks was selected "because they were one-third of the price of the others and had better functionality than the rest."
 
At the same time, the report notes, company's rapid growth has led to a number of challenges, as corporate resources are stretched thinner. Many have expressed frustration with support, with some even suggesting that support is the worst aspect of their relationship with eClinicalWorks. A handful of smaller physician practices, in particular, have expressed concerns about waiting months to be implemented as eClinicalWorks' staff and resources are occupied with larger accounts.
 
Providers also report challenges in Integrating with other clinical systems. While eClinicalWorks' EMR and its homegrown practice management product share data effectively, creating a similar level of integration with third-party systems and devices has proven difficult, according to KLAS research. That integration is particularly relevant as physician groups adopting eClinicalWorks seek to securely transmit patient information to the core clinical systems of acute-care facilities.
 
Despite these obstacles, however, eClinicalWorks' low cost and easy, intuitive interface – plus the option of a remote-hosted model that about 30 percent of its customers choose – have allowed the vendor to deliver its EMR to a wide range of organizations, including state agencies, independent patient associations, multi-specialty organizations and, more recently, Wal-Mart and Target.
 
While eClinicalWorks is among only a few vendors with market presence across all practice size categories, it is not the current market performance leader in any one category. The following table compares the overall KLAS performance score for eClinicalWorks EMR with the highest-rated vendor for each practice size:

                                     eClinicalWorks EMR
Practice Size               Performance Score                    EMR Market Leader Score
More than 100 physicians           75.9                                  Epic – 88.5
26-100 physicians                       78.7                                  Allscripts – 79.5
6-25 physicians                           80.4                                  Greenway – 89.3
2-5 physicians                             82.8                                  Greenway – 90.3
1 physician                                  78.9                                  Sevocity – 89.9