When these systems don’t integrate well with each other, the results can be rather alarming. “Sometimes it ends up looking like Frankenstein,” Blumenfeld said. “The ear’s a little too big, and you’ve got a different head and a different arm.” Because many vendors struggle with effectively integrating their products, he added: “The vendors that have chosen that approach and have grown by acquisition are facing an uphill battle right now.”

According to a July 2012 KLAS report on clinical market share, McKesson actually lost footing for the year, along with Allscripts, MEDITECH and Siemens.

Furthermore, a 2012 Medscape report, “Physicians Rank Top EHRs,”  found that more than one-fifth (22 percent) of physicians bestowed Epic with the top-ranking honor. Epic is one of a handful of EHR companies that has not expanded by acquisitions.

By contrast, Allscripts was favored by 9 percent of physicians, and Cerner followed close behind at 10 percent. With that said, M&A acquisition is a part of nature for the business world, and simply because companies merge and acquire does not denote failure. The value of McKesson and Cerner stocks have been on the upward trend since 2009. However, officials say that the meaningful use incentives established by the current administration, certainly give health IT vendors a step up in that realm. With more providers looking for EHR solutions, in many cases, business can't help but be booming.