Cash-strapped Health IT Vendors a Danger for Hospitals

Marla Durben Hirsch | Fierce Health IT | September 12, 2011

Financial issues for a software company could result in medical procedures going unscheduled and needy patients going without beds at a hospital across the pond, providing a cautionary tale for U.S. hospitals about the importance of vendor selection.

Late last month, IMS Computers Ltd., in bankruptcy proceedings in Ireland, discovered that it can't stay in business without an influx of investor capital, according to an article published in the Irish Examiner....

Comments

Reduce Your Risk With Open Health Solutions

There are a lot of small and mid-sized companies selling health IT solutions to hospitals, clinics, and physician offices. Over time, there is risk that a fair number of these will not survive in this marketplace. Switching to a new vendor and moving your data can be a costly and troublesome process. One of the many arguments for major open source health IT solutions is that there is community of users, developers, and vendors that are supporting the product that you can turn to when needed. If you want to reduce your risk when choosing an EHR system, you should choose a larger company with a good track record over time OR go with a major open source solution like OpenEMR, OSCAR, OpenMRS, or VistA.