Higher price doesn’t equal higher quality: How the right EHR can provide clinical sophistication and support a healthy bottom line

As healthcare technology rapidly changes, organizations need an EHR that can help them keep pace. AI, data analytics, advanced interoperability and other advancements are no longer nice-to-have features, but prerequisites, and decision makers are being asked to continually evaluate how an EHR can help them provide sophisticated care while balancing tight margins and declining reimbursement.

With average hospital operating margins barely above 2%, choosing an overpriced EHR that provides no more value can literally wipe out your margin. Today, the purchase, installation, and use of some EHRs now exceeds 5% of healthcare organizations’ total operating costs, while the value they produce is often no greater than EHRs with half the total cost of ownership.

And yet, some vendors want you to believe that if you pay more for your EHR you get more. But that claim is not supported by evidence.

Comparing FY2024 CMS quality metrics data from the CMS database with EHR platform data, Haffty Consulting evaluated the incidence of hospital-acquired condition penalties, readmission penalties, and both positive and negative value-based adjustments for hospitals using the three leading EHR vendor systems. They concluded that there is no correlation between the amount of money a hospital spends on its EHR and its Hospital Performance on Quality & Value Measures.

Their findings indicate that healthcare organizations using all three leading EHRs perform equally well, dispelling the notion that spending more translates into improved quality measures and financial performance. MEDITECH customers across all platforms had equivalent to — if not better — outcomes across all four quality and value measures.

Spending less and getting the same or even better results puts organizations on a sustainable financial path. At the same time, when you are able to strengthen your bottom line, you can allocate resources to the providers who need them, ensuring that your patients are receiving the best care possible.

The proof is in the numbers

Let’s zoom in on one example of success paired with value: revenue cycle changes at Phelps Memorial Health Center. A critical access hospital in rural Nebraska, Phelps was struggling with a high claims denial rate, low clean claims rate, and elevated A/R days, before moving to MEDITECH’s integrated EHR. With an advanced revenue cycle solution, the team at Phelps was better able to analyze denials and pinpoint problem areas. By establishing key performance indicators and monitoring performance more accurately, leadership can now gauge progress toward organizational goals and make more informed, data-driven decisions.

Results:

  • Slashed denial rates from 9.4% in 2018 to 0.2% in 2024
  • Brought clean claim rates from zero to over 90%
  • Reduced total A/R days from the mid 50s to the low 30s

But an EHR can’t just save money — it also needs to offer the clinical sophistication that both providers and patients expect in an increasingly competitive market. This includes the adoption of AI-powered solutions designed to optimize efficiency, improve patient outcomes, and streamline administrative processes. Mile Bluff Medical Center is one example of an organization experiencing measurable benefits following the adoption of advanced AI solutions.

In 2023, MBMC staff rolled out an AI-powered search and summarization solution developed collaboratively with MEDITECH and built on Google Cloud, enabling clinicians and other users rapid access to information from multiple sources in a true, longitudinal view of a patient's health history. This has resulted in dramatic time savings and reduced cognitive load for providers.

Results:

  • 7.5 minutes saved per patient visit
  • 16.7 hours saved in HIM \ (a 25-40% efficiency improvement)
  • 86% user satisfaction

The bottom line

How can YOU be sure an EHR vendor that will keep your bottom line healthy without sacrificing clinical sophistication? Download MEDITECH’s free value and sustainability ebook for an in-depth cost-benefit checklist, a look at the 10 key drivers of financial sustainability, and more examples of organizations seeing the results of a thoughtful EHR selection process.