| Rank | EHR vendor | # of installs | % of market share | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Epic Systems Corporation | 3,379 | 43.92% | Explore |
| 2 | Oracle Cerner | 1,928 | 25.06% | Explore |
| 3 | MEDITECH | 996 | 12.95% | Explore |
| 4 | TruBridge | 486 | 6.32% | Explore |
| 5 | Veradigm Inc | 277 | 3.60% | Explore |
| 6 | athenahealth | 155 | 2.01% | Explore |
| 7 | MEDHOST | 109 | 1.42% | Explore |
| 8 | Netsmart Technologies | 101 | 1.31% | Explore |
| 9 | Vista | 59 | 0.77% | Explore |
| 10 | WellSky | 57 | 0.74% | Explore |
Fig. 1 Analysis of data from the Definitive Healthcare DHC Visuals product. Data is proprietary and updated on a continuous basis. Accessed November 2024.
Which ambulatory EHR vendor has the largest market share?
Epic Systems Corporation has the highest market share in the ambulatory EHR space, with about 44%. Oracle Cerner ranks second with over 25% of the market share. Rounding out the top three is MEDITECH with nearly 13% market share.
The top three ambulatory EHR vendors hold about 82% of the ambulatory EHR market at outpatient physician groups. Beyond the top three vendors, market share drops considerably for the remaining vendors on the list.
How big is the ambulatory EHR market?
In recent years, the healthcare landscape has experienced significant and profound shifts in patient care settings. The ambulatory—or outpatient—market has grown in patient volumes and popularity while hospital visits have declined. We explore this trend in greater detail in our blog, Shifting care from hospitals to ASCs.
As a result of this shift, the ambulatory EHR market is growing steadily. In 2021, the ambulatory EHR market size was valued at $5.3 billion and has been forecast to reach $7.1 billion by 2027.
Beyond the rising number of ASCs, some of the factors propelling the growth of the ambulatory EHR market include: (1) An increased need for fluid movement of healthcare information, particularly in a post-COVID healthcare world, and (2) Support from government initiatives to better maintain patient health record portals, like the HITECH Act that offered healthcare providers financial incentives to begin using EHR software.
Despite the great opportunity for success in the ambulatory market, some challenges exist. Digitally documenting healthcare cases generates a lot of data—often too much data for most healthcare providers to manage. Many small physician groups, clinics, and urgent care centers do not have the necessary infrastructure to process the volume of data needed to successfully implement ambulatory EHR solutions. IT systems and expertise are also both costly expenditures that may be beyond the budgets of some providers.
Ambulatory EHR vs inpatient EHR
Ambulatory EHR systems are designed primarily for outpatient centers and small physician practices, where patient visits do not include an overnight stay. Inpatient EHRs are designed for use on patients staying at a facility for at least one night and are, therefore, primarily used by hospitals.
Ambulatory EHRs tend to be less complex than inpatient EHRs and have different certification criteria that are more focused on patient-centric features.
Electronic health records vs electronic medical records
Most people tend to use the terms electronic health record and electronic medical record (EMR) interchangeably. However, there are some technical differences between the two.
While both contain digital records of a patient’s chart, EHRs tend to have a bit more functionality and have a more complete picture of a patient’s overall healthcare history.
EMRs track a patient’s medical and treatment history in one facility, offering a narrower view of a patient’s medical history. EHRs can do all the things an EMR can – and more. EHRs contain more data on a patient than that collected in a provider’s office, including things such as patient allergies and lab results, helping to form a more comprehensive picture of a patient’s medical history.
EHRs are also designed so all healthcare professionals, such as laboratories and specialists, can share data on a patient across different practices.
Learn more
Want to learn more about EHR market share or see what other technologies a hospital has in place?
Start a free trial to see how our healthcare commercial intelligence can help you understand the vendor share for specific technologies to size your potential total addressable market, perform competitive analysis, and so much more.
