Research firm KLAS has undertaken the daunting task of sorting out who's who in the emerging field of population health. In its new report, "Population Health Performance: Emerging Market, Emerging Value," researchers evaluated 29 vendors in all. Dallas-based Phytel rose to the top with an overall score of 89.8 out 100.

KLAS called  Phytel the "early leader" in the rapidly expanding market.

As Phytel executives note in a news release, the company received the highest score, and it rated 10 points above the market average. Phytel's emergence as a "clear leader" in the space comes as a result of "quick implementations, deep user deployment and high provider satisfaction in all performance areas," according to KLAS.
 
The report marks the second time in two years that KLAS pointed to Phytel as leader in the marketplace. In its population health report last year, Phytel was also at the top of the ratings.

Phytel points to other KLAS findings from this year's report.

• 100 percent of Phytel clients interviewed reported tangible benefits and a high number of linked clinics
• 100 percent of Phytel clients completed their implementations in less than six months
• 89 percent of Phytel clients interviewed ranked Phytel as the IT solution most valuable to their population health strategy
• Recognition as a leader in data aggregation, care management, and patient engagement

"Over the past year we have seen an exponential increase in interest surrounding population health management, especially as healthcare organizations work to make the transition to shared risk and pay-for-performance," said Steve Schelhammer, CEO of Phytel, in a news release. "As providers continue to pursue the Triple Aim, we are excited that KLAS has recognized Phytel as the sole 'early leader' in this space. We feel it speaks highly to the hard work our team has put in developing our innovative approach to PHM, and to the market leadership of our client organizations."
 
To compile the report, KLAS interviewed 203 providers at 173 organizations using 29 different products. Interviews focused on comparing the features and functionality of population health management vendors.

Phytel's PHM technology platform had the highest combined rate of customer utilization across all four pillars of population health identified by KLAS – data aggregation, risk stratification, care management, and patient engagement.  Importantly, the company tied for the highest average satisfaction rating from providers.

Phytel also was the most mentioned company for guiding customers in effectively managing their general and high-risk patients through "better prevention and care planning," with results that more than doubled the market average.   

Another advantage cited frequently by Phytel users was its ability to connect their population health networks to more hospitals and clinics than is possible with most other vendors. KLAS called Phytel a "standout leader" in data aggregation, where Phytel's high level of connections enables clients to draw data from disparate sources, especially the EMR.