Ever-bigger HIT silos might be the result of ACO buildup

The recent KLAS report on how providers are grappling with accountable care organizations shows that no single IT vendor can provide a complete ACO solution. Nevertheless, the advent of ACOs--and all they portend in terms of future reimbursement changes--is driving many healthcare organizations to depend more on a single vendor for their IT needs, says Colin Buckley, a co-author of the report.

"What we're seeing is that organizations have been trying to get more standardized and are driving toward a single integrated vendor to simplify their lives," Buckley tells FierceHealthIT. "They look to those vendors to continuously develop their platform. But I don't think anybody we talked to is expecting that their single vendor is going to give them everything they need for an ACO."

Provider organizations that have a more integrated solution, he added, are more confident about their ability to build ACOs. In contrast, institutions that have best-of-breed systems are concerned about the future...