Super Bowls and Repeats

If you don’t pay any attention to the NFL, you may have missed the fact that the Green Bay Packers are undefeated this year. As last year’s Super Bowl winners, the Packers seem like good bets to repeat again this year, and maybe even be the first team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to be undefeated through an entire season. Why is it so difficult to repeat as Super Bowl champions, let alone go undefeated? Think about the injuries, the coaching changes and the big egos, to say nothing of the fact that you go around with a bulls-eye on your chest. Everyone is out to knock off the champion.

As we recognize the 2011 Best in KLAS vendors with their hard fought awards, it is interesting to recognize the difficulty in getting to the top spot in your field and staying in that top spot. First place vendors face unique challenges in staying on top as well: heightened expectations, changes in management at customer sites (think…who bought this anyway? And why?), customer egos (yes, Partners is likely different to work with than Juab County), uncertainty around government regulations and that same bulls-eye on the chest. With the flurry of changes that will continue to hit healthcare over the next few years, it will likely even become more difficult for existing solutions to meet increasingly complex needs without incredible focus.   With that said, kudos to those vendors that have maintained Best in KLAS status for 2011 and those that have knocked off a champion. Healthcare providers win when there is transparency and when the bar is raised for performance.

Congratulations to our two overall #1 vendors (Epic for Software and maxIT for Services) and to those first-time Best in KLAS winners for 2011:

-          Medhost (Emergency Department, tied for Best in KLAS with Epic)

-          Oracle PeopleSoft (ERP)

-          Zirmed (Claims & Clearinghouse)

-          Impact Advisors (Clinical Implementation Principal)

-          Cumberland (Planning & Assessment, Tied with Encore)

-          Encore (Planning & Assessment, Tied with Cumberland)

-          PwC (Revenue Cycle Transformation)

-          Orchestrate (Technical Services)

-          Teleradiology Solutions (Teleradiology)

-          TransTech (Transcription)

And to those vendors who have managed to keep the top spot for this year, you should be cheering for the Packers. Merry Christmas.