Healthcare Insights
Top 10 clinical decision support system vendors
It wasn’t so long ago that providers had to go out of their way to track down answers to vital patient care questions. Clinicians who faced questions on the latest best practices, for example, would spend hours in the library to identify and reference research papers that often weren’t readily available.
Fortunately, clinical decision support systems (CDSS) now give clinicians immediate access to critical information on best practices.
What is a clinical decision support system?
A clinical decision support system (CDSS) is a type of health information technology designed to provide healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, with knowledge and person-specific information to enhance clinical decision-making. CDSS tools integrate clinical data, guidelines, and medical knowledge to assist in diagnosing, managing, and treating patients, aiming to improve outcomes and reduce errors.
These systems are usually integrated with electronic health records (EHRs) and aim to improve patient care by delivering the right information at the right time to aid clinicians' decisions.
Using our HospitalView product and technology install dataset, we’ve generated a list of CDSS vendors by market share and number of installs in 2023.
| Rank | Vendor | # of installs | % market share | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Epic Systems Corporation | 2,264 | 35.55% | Explore |
| 2 | Oracle Cerner | 1,587 | 24.92% | Explore |
| 3 | Change Healthcare | 1,441 | 22.63% | Explore |
| 4 | MEDITECH | 934 | 14.67% | Explore |
| 5 | TruBridge | 537 | 8.43% | Explore |
| 6 | Altera Digital Health a Harris Company | 398 | 6.25% | Explore |
| 7 | Zynx Health | 394 | 6.19% | Explore |
| 8 | MEDHOST | 290 | 4.55% | Explore |
| 9 | Proprietary Software | 83 | 1.30% | Explore |
| 10 | athenahealth | 69 | 1.08% | Explore |
Fig 1. Data from Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product. Data is proprietary and updated on a continuous basis. Data is accurate as of October 2024.
Which clinical decision support system has the largest market share?
Epic Systems Corporations is the leader in the clinical decision support system market with more than 2,200 installations in hospitals across the U.S., representing approximately 35% market share.
Oracle Cerner comes in second place with nearly 1,600 installs and a market share of nearly 25%. Change Healthcare is slightly behind in third place with 1,441 installs and a market share of 22%.
The market is dominated by the top three vendors. Epic, Oracle Cerner, and Change Healthcare hold approximately 81% of the overall clinical decision support system market. Outside of the top three vendors, market share drops considerably for the remaining vendors on the list.
Pros and cons of clinical decision support systems
CDSS software offers numerous benefits to hospitals and healthcare professionals but may also come with certain challenges. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons:
Pros
- Improved decision-making: CDSS enhances clinical decisions by providing timely, evidence-based recommendations, helping clinicians make more accurate diagnoses and treatment plans.
- Data-driven insights: With access to large datasets, CDSS tools can offer predictive analytics, helping healthcare providers anticipate issues and manage population health more effectively.
- Personalized care: CDSS can analyze patient-specific data (e.g., medical history, lab results) to tailor recommendations to the individual, which supports more personalized and effective treatment.
- Reduction of medical errors: By alerting healthcare providers to potential issues, such as drug interactions or incorrect dosages, CDSS helps reduce human error and improve patient safety.
Cons
- Integration challenges: To be effective, most CDSS tools must be seamlessly integrated with EHR systems and workflows. Poor integration can lead to disruptions, inefficiencies, or resistance from clinicians.
- Cost: Implementing and maintaining a CDSS can be expensive, especially for smaller healthcare practices. There are also ongoing costs for updates, staff training, and IT support.
- Alert fatigue: Excessive alerts, especially for less critical issues, can overwhelm clinicians, leading them to ignore important warnings over time. This can reduce the effectiveness of the system.
While CDSS tools can greatly enhance patient care, their effectiveness depends on careful design, proper integration, and thoughtful use. Balancing technology with human expertise is key to achieving optimal outcomes.
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