Buyer's Handbook: Find the best EHR software to manage your patient data Article 5 of 5

Learn about the leading EHR software products and their features

Read in-depth about leading EHR tools on the market and how their capabilities, pricing and implementation offerings and mobile features can match up with organization needs.

There is no shortage of EHR software products in the marketplace, so it is critical for buyers to understand what...

each option can offer them.

EHR buyers have the opportunity to get up and close to EHR vendors during the HIMSS, Medical Group Management Association and the American Medical Association conferences. These are popular events during which EHR vendors showcase their products and physicians, CIOs and other health organization members can interact with the EHR vendor representatives to get an up-close look at the products and their capabilities.

The main factors that determine fitting EHR software products are the size of the healthcare organization, their specialty and infrastructure requirements or limitations. The vendors below are some of the leading products in the EHR space today and all offer a cloud-based EHR system that healthcare organizations can utilize. Read on to discover the EHR software products available, as well as their functionalities, features, implementations and pricing options.

AdvancedMD

AdvancedMD is a cloud-based EHR and billing system. Users recognize this platform for its user-friendly interfaces and easy-to-use online billing platform. The company has been around since 1999 and offers an EHR that allows providers to customize clinical notes and templates along with workflows that fit their practice.

The platform offers a number of add-ons for their EHR subscription which includes:

  • AdvancedEPCS for prescription management;
  • AdvancedInsight for advanced reporting and telemedicine capabilities; and
  • HealthWatcher for clinical decision support capabilities.

Mobile App:

Advanced MobileDoc, AdvancedTelemedicine, Advanced Front Office, Advanced Practice Kiosk

Implementation mode:

Cloud-based only

Pricing Model:

For practice management only: $429.00 per provider, per month

For EMR & PM: $729.00 per provider, per month

Other plans are available through their website

Platform support:

Windows, Mac, Linux, mobile devices

Specialties:

Most specialties

Target organizations:

Small and midsize

Allscripts TouchWorks

Not to be confused with Allscripts's other Professional EHR product, TouchWorks is the platform geared toward physicians in the ambulatory settings and multispecialty practices. The system is popular with organizations that have a significant need for advanced workflows and task assignment to help streamline processes and ensure timely billing and follow-up appointments.

The platform also offers a significant amount of flexibility to customize physician orders and clinical forms, which is an important feature because physicians and their support staff are able to customize the system to fit their unique needs and workflows.

Mobile App:

Allscripts TouchWorks Mobile, Allscripts Patient Flow

Implementation mode:

On premises or remotely hosted

Pricing Model:

Via quotes only

Platform support:

Windows or through a browser

Specialties:

Most specialties

Target organizations:

Midsize and large provider outpatient practices

AthenaHealth

AthenaHealth released the first cloud-based EHR software products that also provided a fully hosted web-based EHR platform with one of the first comprehensive web-based billing and EHR alternatives to the traditional on-premises platforms. Providers quickly recognized that the AthenaHealth EHR would free them from having to make significant infrastructure investments and also allow them the flexibility to connect from remote locations at any time.

The AthenaHealth product also offers additional web-based tools that help with a number of critical tasks for physicians. Some of these include platforms like AthenaCoordinator, AthenaCommunicator, AthenaCollector and AthenaClinical that focus on population health management, patient engagement and billing.

Mobile App:

AthenaCapture, AthenaWell Care Management

Implementation mode:

Cloud-based only

Pricing Model:

Per provider or a percentage of the reimbursements

Platform support:

Windows, Mac, Linux, mobile devices

Specialties:

Most specialties

Target organizations:

Small, midsize, large provider outpatient practices, academic medical centers and community hospitals

Centricity by GE

Centricity is GE's ambulatory electronic medical records designed to support physicians' practices. The Centricity platform integrates both the practice management system and the EHR component under one platform.

The platform is available in two deployment options: an on-premises platform where physician groups can deploy the EHR within their environments and have full control over it; or GE (or GE partners) can host Centricity online and a medical group can access it through a subscription.

Centricity has been around since 2003, over those years GE has been able to integrate their product with a number of other systems that include document management platforms like OnBase to digitize and scan paper-based charts, medical imaging (GE PACS) and other third-party vendors.

Mobile App:

Centricity Advanced Mobile Chart

Implementation mode:

On premises or cloud-hosted

Pricing Model:

Pricing for on premises available through a quote

Cloud-hosted for the Practice Management System starts at: $359 per month; for the Electronic Medical Records prices start at: $559.00 per month

Platform support:

The product requires a client installation on a Windows computer

Specialties:

Most specialties

Target organizations:

Small, midsize and large medical practices

Cerner

Cerner delivers a comprehensive EHR system that caters to both physicians in hospitals and ambulatory settings. The platform provides capabilities for physicians to access a number of built-in clinical templates for multiple specialty divisions that address the majority of what practitioners need.

Cerner has also been a favorite among hospitals and continues to compete for its share in the marketplace against other big players like Epic. With its recent win to deliver its EHR to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense, Cerner has been able to gain some more popularity in the marketplace, boosting its position and brand as a result of the $10 billion contract with the VA.

Cerner's PowerChart has also been popular amongst hospitals because of its ability to deliver on some of the recently pressing changes in healthcare relating to the coordination of care and support for interoperability.

Mobile App:

PowerChart Touch, HealtheLife, HealthyNow, Cerner Camera Capture, Cerner Instanote, CareAware Connect Inpatient, FetaLink, Cerner Message Center, Capacity Management, MoodTrek, Connect Nursing, Cerner Bridge, Cerner Staff Manager, GoSchedule

Implementation mode:

On premises or hosted

Pricing Model:

Pricing for on premises available through a quote

Platform support:

The product requires a client installation on a Windows computer or the use of mobile apps

Specialties:

Most specialties

Target organizations:

Hospitals and large health organizations

Editor's note:

With extensive research into the EHR market, TechTarget editors have focused this series of articles on EHR software with considerable market presence that offers a cloud-based platform option. Our research included Gartner, Forrester and TechTarget surveys.

eClinicalWorks

EClinicalWorks emerged on the EHR scene in 1999, where bigger names like Allscripts, GE, Practice Partners, EMDs and others in the space had already had a strong foothold in the market with their EHR software products, but healthcare providers quickly took a liking to this product and its lower cost. Over the years, the platform continued to see significant growth in its market share despite some of its legal problems around certification issues in recent years.

While in previous years eClinicalWorks suffered from customer support issues, the company has said that they are committed to addressing some of those customer relationship and support gaps.

Today, they claim to support over 130,000 clinical staff with over 850,000 medical professionals across the globe using its on-premises and browser-based products.

Mobile App:

eClinicalMobile, Healow, eClinicalTouch 2, eClinicalTouch 3

Implementation mode:

Cloud-based, web-based, on premises

Pricing Model:

Starting at $449.00 per provider, per month

Platform support:

Windows, Mac, Linux or mobile devices using a browser or app

Specialties:

Most specialties

Target organizations:

Small, midsize and large provider outpatient practices

Epic

The main factors that determine fitting EHR software products are the size of the healthcare organization, their specialty and infrastructure requirements or limitations.

Epic is one of the most recognizable EHR software products in the marketplace today. With a significant presence in the hospital market, EPIC delivers a comprehensive set of products that cover everything from behavioral, cardiology, dental, dermatology, endoscopy, ENT, hospice care, fertility treatment, long-term care, nephrology, obstetrics, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, radiology, rehabilitation, rheumatology, transplant, wound care and urgent care. This module diversity makes Epic an appealing EHR platform for many hospitals as it doesn't require any additional interfaces and integrations since the platform is already designed to have all the modules interact with each other.

Epic's popularity began in the hospital setting, but it's now found its way to physician practices that utilize the system through subscribing to participating hospital systems.

In the majority of Epic implementations, hospitals opt to deploy the system within their environment as it requires a significant amount of infrastructure investment and bandwidth to run.

Mobile App:

Haiku, Canto, Limerick

Implementation mode:

On premises or hosted with Epic

Pricing Model:

Pricing for on premises available through quote

Platform support:

The product requires a client installation on a Windows computer

Specialties:

Most specialties

Target organizations:

Large medical practices and hospitals

Greenway Intergy EHR

Greenway's Intergy EHR is the ambulatory platform that the company markets to medical practices to assist with clinical, billing and administrative needs. Admins can deploy the platform in-house or operate it from Greenway's own data center through a monthly subscription where it is Greenway that manages and maintains the systems as it hosts them.

This EHR platform targets different specialties within healthcare organizations that vary from small to large physician groups.

Some of the modules that Greenway offers go beyond just the standard EHR features and services common in the market place. The company even advertises their care coordination services, as well as support for value-based care performance as the key differentiators for their suite.

Greenway attempts to distinguish themselves from the rest of the EHR software products by taking a comprehensive approach to EHR and practice management while addressing the new realities in the current healthcare market. They focus on delivering services and capabilities that address the following areas: population health, care coordination, patient engagement, analytics and revenue cycle management.

Mobile App:

Intergy Mobile, Prime Mobile

Implementation mode:

On premises or cloud-hosted

Pricing Model:

Pricing available through direct quote

Platform support:

PC, mobile apps

Specialties:

Most specialties

Target organizations:

Small, midsize and large medical practices

Meditech

Medical Information Technology (Meditech) was founded in 1969 by A. Neil Pappalardo. In March 2015, CMS reported that 946 hospitals used the product, making it one of the most widely used EHR platforms in hospitals.

Meditech's EHR is more popular with midsize to large healthcare facilities ranging from hospitals, large multispecialty practices and clinics. It provides organizations with a HIPAA-compliant and fully certified EHR platform for clinical charting, as well as document management and billing capabilities.

The platform also provides robust capabilities when it comes to care coordination and communication among care teams. These features make it more attractive as an EHR for those focused on care management and transitional care as opposed to acute care setting.

Meditech is also browser-based and the company puts a heavy emphasis on its flexibility and open web environment.

Mobile App:

Meditech MHealth

Implementation mode:

On premises or hosted

Pricing Model:

Pricing for on premises available through a quote

Platform support:

The product does not require a client installation and can run from any compatible browser

Specialties:

Most specialties

Target organizations:

Midsize to large hospitals and clinical

NueMD

NueMD, which AdvancedMD acquired in the summer of 2018, is popular with practices looking for a cost-effective EHR platform and is a great alternative to many of the bigger names out in the marketplace because of its low cost. Even with its affordable pricing, the NueMD platform delivers all the required EHR capabilities necessary to support the needs of a small to medium-sized medical practice that may only need basic features such as e-prescribing, chart management, lab test ordering and a patient portal without all the advanced modules typically required for large groups like radiology and advanced reporting. The EHR product has an easy-to-use interface and offers adequate flexibility when it comes to customizing clinical notes, encounters and other parts of the EHR.

While the pricing is available in three tiers (Practice Solution, Total Solution and Ultimate Solution option), buyers should note that this does not include the record management piece and reporting.

Mobile App:

NueMD, NueMD ICD-10 Code

Implementation mode:

Cloud-hosted

Pricing Model:

Standard starting at $149, Total Solution starting at $199 and Ultimate Solution starting at $249

Platform support:

Mobile App, Mac, Windows or web browser

Specialties:

Most specialties

Target organizations:

Small, midsize and large medical practices

Dig Deeper on Electronic health record systems

CIO
Cloud Computing
Mobile Computing
Security
Storage
Close