Are Industry Rankings Really Indicative of EHR Usability?

Sara Heath | EHR Intelligence | February 3, 2016

A high ranking for an EHR might not be indicative of its actual usability. This becomes clear when one compares recent industry rankings with polls and testimony coming straight from users. Just last week, KLAS released its Best in KLAS rankings, with Epic Systems clearly coming out on top. Taking home two overall rankings and seven other Best in KLAS rankings, the EHR vendor giant continued to assert its dominance in the health IT industry.

However, these rankings come in light of several user complaints surrounding the EHR.
Last October, Epic was ranked last for EHR usability in an emergency department in a Black Book poll, which takes the considerations of EHR users and puts them directly into their results. The poll found that users found Epic, along with other mainstream and typically high-ranking EHRs, as too generic for ED needs.

This problem applies to more EHR vendors than just Epic. In an August poll conducted by peer60, providers cited EHR usability amongst all vendors as one of their top concerns in healthcare. In total, 54 percent of surveyed providers are unhappy with their EHRs. While 54 percent may not be a staggering number, as the healthcare industry increasingly shifts to a technology-based format, it is reasonable to expect that significantly more than half of users would be pleased with their products...