I saw this news this past week and was mulling over the implications.
http://www.emrandehrnews.com/2013/02/20/kareo-buys-epocrates-ehr/
Is this a game-changer?
I think the biggest company that will be affected is Practice Fusion. Why? Many of the web-based EMR software from Practice Fusion users are on Kareo for billing. A tighter interface to EMR and ‘no ads’ will make it attractive for providers to switch, unless Practice Fusion does something about it fast.
But, Providers beware.
I have written earlier, all that Glitters is NOT Gold!
As a provider, and a ‘business owner’, I would be extremely skeptical. I must look for the following three things:
- Speed – not just of a clinical encounter, but for the entire practice. Providers tend to look at the speed of doing their part.
- Focus on Business Enterprise. What about the entire business; front desk, check-in check-out, patient wait times in the clinic, claims processing, reporting, collections, and so on…
- Is the Enterprise System a truly Integrated Platform with a single database? Does that matter? Perhaps not on the surface, but as any experienced healthcare technologist will tell you, ‘interfaced’ is not the same as ‘integrated’. Only Integrated Systems preserve data integrity.
