Physician Leadership Weighs in on Acute EMR Usability
Progress Over the Past Two Years

1. CONSISTENT PROGRESS MAKES EPIC THE CLEAR USABILITY LEADER

Epic is rated highest in every aspect covered in this report. Physicians noted that recent Epic upgrades have advanced physician productivity and effectiveness around CPOE, problem lists, and clinical decision support. But the market still has considerable room for improvement when even Epic’s customers note a “crowded” and “busy” user interface that can hamper productivity.

2. CERNER DRAMATICALLY MORE INVOLVED IN USABILITY SUCCESS

Cerner’s focus on usability has many customers reporting significant improvements to usability in the past two years and attributing a majority of their usability success to Cerner— a dramatic change since 2013. Playbooks, MPages, and Dynamic Documentation have had a significant impact. Cerner’s recent push to improve usability has solidified them as one of the market leaders.

3. ALLSCRIPTS RETAINS SOLID USABILITY; MEDITECH JUMPS TWO SPOTS

Allscripts has long been among the usability leaders, thanks to inherent system flexibility. But getting to a usable state often falls on the customer—a significant difference between Epic and Cerner. Usability progress around CPOE, med rec, and problem lists has moved MEDITECH ahead of Paragon and Soarian. Recently-live MEDITECH customers reported better vendor guidance and usability across the board and said more progress is needed to catch up to the leaders.

4. SOARIAN AND PARAGON FALL BEHIND

Prior to Cerner’s acquisition, providers felt Siemens was disengaged. Customers continue to report little usability progress and say the physician documentation lags behind the industry. Paragon has seen dramatic increases in documentation, CPOE, and med rec adoption, yet recent enhancements have not addressed major usability challenges. Improving usability has been up to customers, who hope v.13 will be better.

5. EPIC MOBILE APP ADOPTION 2:1 VS. NEAREST COMPETITOR

Almost every Epic customer reported using mobile functionality. Allscripts and MEDITECH were a distant second and third. Cerner’s app is not generally available for inpatient usage, and both Cerner and McKesson customers reported price as a barrier. Almost all providers reported good view-only functionality but said the ordering and documentation functionality need improvement.

Designer
Natalie Jamison