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EHR is a massive component of the healthcare IT spend, but there are other technologies currently being adopted throughout the industry, including secure networking, diagnostic imaging etc.

With the growing buzz around healthcare IT, many VARs looking to grab a piece of the electronic healthcare records (EHR) market are met with frustration at the limited opportunities for the channel. Citing large and risky sales cycles, few EHR software providers allow VARs to resell their software. 

According to Rishel, EHR is a massive component of the healthcare IT spend, but there are other technologies currently being adopted throughout the industry, including secure networking, diagnostic imaging, analytics and data warehousing and analytics products. Specifically, Rishel points to the opportunity for services around hardware, networking, support and monitoring.

VARs that provide custom-built or proprietary applications should also take a close look at new federal interim regulations around electronic health records. It includes the federally required standards and certifications for EMR deployments.

“It makes clear the government is thinking of EMR as a compilation of products, not a single product, and it covers a range of capabilities,” said Rishel.

The list includes not only the expected personal information, record management and electronic prescription software, but also portal enablement, analytics, and a wide range of other Web and secure networking technologies.

EHR deployments have received a lot of press because of federal incentives  or “pay for performance” cash allocated by the federal stimulus bill. The legislation aims to move doctor offices and hospitals that have not yet done so, to electronic health systems.  Organizations that make the investment will enjoy higher incentive payments on Medicare and Medicaid beginning in 2011. Organizations that do not move to an EHR system will suffer penalties, beginning in 2015.

Rishel says that EMR vendors have greatly left VARs out of their market approach because of the nature of the sales cycle.

Although some EMR vendors are trying to open their channels, Rishel says the vendors are experimenting with nontraditional channels like hospitals that are willing to share the cost with smaller healthcare practices by adding seats and letting the smaller practices utilize the hospital’s implementation.

Source: VAR

 You can get more details about EMR & its related topics from our EMR User Group.