Changes in Cardiology 2022

Healthcare organizations are steadily investing in cardiology solutions, but no vendor consistently performs at the top of the market in customer satisfaction. For the past several years, there has been a different Best in KLAS winner every year in cardiology, and that just speaks to how volatile this market really is.

Structured reporting specifically continues to be in the spotlight as providers search for one vendor that can help them bring together cardiology modalities and imaging in general. KLAS recently published a new Cardiology 2022 report to give an updated view of current customer satisfaction. The report goes beyond traditional KLAS data in this area to take a deeper look at the breadth of customer-reported structured reporting adoption.

A Volatile Market 

In the report’s introduction, we share that 25% of providers either are actively planning to replace their solution or indicate that they wouldn't buy their current solution again if given the option. These providers want a vendor who can really provide the tools that they need to implement quality structured reporting and to provide a unified platform.

Having a more unified platform is top of mind for providers right now. Up to this point, the various pieces that make up an organization’s cardiology unit, such as the echocardiography lab and the cardiac catheterization lab, have all been managed by different imaging products. That’s because organizations up to now have frequently implemented best-of-breed solutions in these areas. But, as in other healthcare IT segments, we're seeing that many providers are looking for one vendor that can provide everything they need.

Reasons to Read

Our goal in publishing these insights was to help providers learn about the vendors that can best meet their needs. In our overview for each of the included vendors, we aimed to answer performance-related questions, like the following: How has this vendor’s performance changed? Where is the vendor doing better? And where is the vendor doing worse? So regardless of where you’re at with your current solutions, this report provides valuable information.

Many providers in this market just want to know what else is out there. Whether you’re looking for an enterprise platform or looking to replace a solution in one area, use this report to see your options. The insights will show you how vendors are performing and where they're adopted when it comes to structured reporting. We also highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each one, from the product and service to the experience they have. You will know what you're getting into if you decide to go with any of them.

On the other hand, there are still many organizations who are staying with their current vendor. For those who want to stick with their vendor, this report can help inform your go-forward strategy. Whatever your strategy, the insights will help you understand how most of the vendors have changed in performance, even over the last year. Look and see how yours are changing. Learn how you can better partner with them or hold them accountable for what has changed.

Working Together for the Future

There are a lot of legacy solutions out there, and that's quite frankly why a lot of people are saying they're not satisfied. Many providers feel they’re very behind in cardiology. Sometimes providers say their solution doesn’t have a certain feature, but that feature is often available in an updated version.

Providers need to invest in upgrading to move forward. That said, upgrading hardware takes millions of dollars to do, so it makes sense that organizations are hesitant about updating. We know the upgrades are expensive, but the future and the features that people want are there.

If we really truly want to help healthcare, patients, and providers, vendors and providers need to come together to improve. We should also say that the facilities that have good structured reporting in place tell us they would not go back. That’s because once these changes are in place, the benefits become clear, like being able to benchmark the success of providers.

KLAS also gets asked about cloud and AI in imaging every day, and those things are coming—slowly but surely. When those things do get here, cloud and AI will help keep these solutions more up-to-date. But the timing on those things has yet to be determined.

As for KLAS’ future research, we'll do our best to continue to validate the customer experience of these solutions, especially as cloud and AI become reality. We're also planning to deepen our research especially when it comes to structured reporting adoption.

To learn more about current vendor performance, we recommend reading the report.

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