Electronic health records (EHRs), sometimes interchangeably referred to as electronic medical records (EMRs), have now become a cornerstone of modern healthcare delivery. These tools are comprehensive systems that manage patient health information in real time, facilitate care coordination, and improve the overall quality of patient care.
As EHR technology continues to advance, several companies have distinguished themselves as industry leaders. It is important for healthcare providers to understand the strengths and limitations of each vendor's offerings before choosing the best EHR for their practice.
Here we will explore the top EMR companies in 2024, highlighting their key features, histories, and areas of focus to empower you to make an informed decision.
1. Epic EHR
Epic Software, founded in 1979, is a leading electronic health record software provider known for its extensive functionality and user-centric design. According to industry reports, it is one of the most prominent EHR vendors holding a significant hospital market share of around 36%. The software is designed to streamline clinical workflows, enhance patient care, and integrate seamlessly with other health IT systems.
Epic is best suited for large healthcare organizations across multiple specialties, such as hospitals and healthcare networks, due to its comprehensive features, high interoperability, and robust infrastructure. The vendor was named the top overall health IT software suite for the 14th consecutive year in the 2024 Best in KLAS Awards.
Moreover, the Epic community also represents 62% of HIMSS Enterprise Davies winners since 2010. These accolades highlight the strong reputation, reliability, and trust this system brings to healthcare organizations.
Reasons To Buy Epic Software
Here are the top reasons why Epic Systems might be the right choice for your healthcare organization:
- Supports a wide range of healthcare specialties and departments
- Seamless information sharing with a scalable and interoperable interface
- Integration with predictive AI models like GPT-4 to automate time-consuming tasks
- Advanced AI-driven RCM module streamlines billing processes
- Maintains HIPAA compliance and offers ONC-certified Health IT Modules
- Intelligent automation to transform data into actionable insights
- Invests in continuous technological advancements for healthcare IT innovation
2. Praxis EMR
Praxis EMR is a pioneering EHR software that has been a leader in the industry for over 25 years. It utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) known as Concept Processing, which learns from user input to automate practice workflows. Unlike traditional EHRs, its template-free interface allows physicians to chart quickly in their own words, enhancing the overall workflow efficiency.
This EHR vendor is suitable for practices of all sizes across various specialties, including endocrinology, family practice, gastroenterology, internal medicine, OB-GYN, and pain management. Also, Praxis EMR has achieved significant recognition in the EHR industry.
It was ranked #1 in The American Academy of Family Physicians EHR User Satisfaction Surveys over the past twelve years. It also received an "A" grade in the family practice specialty in an October 2010 KLAS report on EMR packages by specialty.
Reasons To Buy Praxis EMR
Here’s why you should consider Praxis EHR software for your healthcare practice:
- Facilitates template-free and personalized charting
- Datum+ automates MACRA, MIPS, APMs, and quality payment programs
- Suitable for practices of all sizes, from small clinics to large groups
- The Praxis Knowledge Exchanger™ tool promotes efficient knowledge-sharing
- Offers a concept processing-based portal to enhance patient experience
- Enhances research capabilities with the Praxis DataMiner™ tool
- ONC-ACB certified platform ensures compliance with industry standards
- Optimizes coding and billing accuracy with the PraxCoder tool
3. Oracle Cerner
Cerner, with the second largest global market share of approximately 25%, offers a proven track record and extensive experience in the healthcare IT space. Acquired by Oracle in 2022, Cerner EMR offers comprehensive capabilities for managing patient health records, clinical workflows, and administrative processes within healthcare settings.
The platform is best suited for large hospitals and healthcare systems that require scalable solutions to streamline operations, improve patient care, and enhance clinical decision-making through integrated data management. In addition, Cerner has also earned industry recognition.
This includes the prestigious Best in KLAS 2024 award for acute care EMR in the Middle East and Africa for six consecutive years. So, this award highlights the vendor’s commitment to innovation and excellence in supporting healthcare organizations globally.
Reasons To Buy Oracle Cerner
The following points highlight why Cerner is a trusted choice for healthcare organizations:
- Scalable solutions suitable for large hospitals and healthcare systems
- Integrated data management to enhance clinical decision-making
- Acclaimed for its user-friendly interface and extensive functionality
- Provides intelligent tools for data-driven healthcare experience
- Extensible ecosystem of partners and technologies
- Offers a clinically driven revenue cycle solution to optimize financial outcomes
- Comprehensive population health solutions to expand an organization’s care focus
- ONC-certified Health IT software ensures compliance with the industry standards
4. athenahealth
athenahealth is an all-in-one platform that integrates electronic health records, practice management, and revenue cycle management solutions. This comprehensive suite empowers healthcare providers to enhance patient experience, improve clinical effectiveness, and optimize financial performance.
The software was merged with Virence Health in 2019, expanding their network-enabled services and offering a more comprehensive suite of solutions for healthcare providers. This software is ideal for provider organizations of all sizes and specialties, including behavioral health, orthopedics, urgent care, and pediatrics.
athenahealth recently earned recognition with four 2024 Best in KLAS Awards, including overall independent physician practice suite. Additionally, the vendor was honored with the ‘Digital Health Innovation Award’ in the 7th Annual MedTech Breakthrough Awards Program.
Reasons To Buy athenahealth
Here are a few key reasons that make athenahealth one of the top EHR systems on the market:
- Enhances patient engagement with digital access and self-scheduling tools
- Streamlines medical billing workflows with automated real-time dashboards
- Network-enabled services expand care capabilities and connectivity
- Ensures compliance with various industry standards such as HIPAA
- Provides support and resources tailored for practices of all sizes and specialties
- Customizable workflows to fit the specific needs of different specialties
- Integrates generative AI capabilities to reduce administrative burdens
- Access to a vast network of over 155,000 providers for best practices
- Offers patient-centered mobile solutions for improved health outcomes
- Seamless interoperability with other health IT systems and third-party applications
5. Meditech
Meditech EMR, established in 1969, is a leading provider of electronic health record (EHR) systems. The software is designed to streamline clinical workflows, improve patient care, and enhance operational efficiency within healthcare organizations. It captures roughly 16% of the market share and is known for its user-friendly interface, focusing on ease of use and adoption.
The vendor’s scalable solutions cater to a broad range of healthcare settings, from small clinics to large hospital networks practice. It is suitable for various care settings, such as acute care, post-acute, ambulatory care, and emergency departments.
Meditech has consistently been recognized for its excellence in healthcare technology. For the 10th consecutive year, it earned the 2024 Best in KLAS Recognition. Meditech Expanse also received top marks in the 2023 KLAS Patient Accounting Report.
Additionally, KLAS ranked Meditech among the top two EHR vendors for market share growth in 2022, highlighting its expanding influence and adoption in the healthcare sector.
Reasons To Buy Meditech
Here are some of the reasons why Meditech stands as a trusted choice in the EHR industry:
- Embedded clinical decision support tools to improve patient safety
- Offers a voice-enables AI virtual assistant to retrieve patient data
- Expanse mobile EHR solutions for enhanced accessibility and mobility
- Integrates AI and large language models for higher-level decision-making
- Evidence-based toolkits to improve patient outcomes and safety
- Customizable solutions to fit the specific needs of various healthcare organizations
- Ensures HIPAA compliance to protect sensitive information
- High interoperability to connect seamlessly with other health IT systems
- Competitive pricing structure compared to some larger vendors
6. eClinicalWorks
eClinicalWorks EMR offers a full suite of cloud-based healthcare IT solutions including an electronic health record system, telehealth services, patient engagement tools, and revenue cycle management services. Its integrated platform is used by over 180,000 physicians and nurse practitioners and 850,000 healthcare professionals worldwide.
As a leading EHR vendor, eClinicalWorks continues to expand its AI-powered offerings, which currently include sunoh.ai, image AI, an AI assistant, and AI automation. The software is suitable for practices of all sizes and offers solutions tailored to various healthcare specialties, including behavioral health, urgent care, ophthalmology, and ambulatory surgery centers.
eClinicalWorks has been honored with the 2017 North American Ambulatory Revenue Cycle Management Customer Value Leadership Award by Frost & Sullivan. Additionally, the vendor achieved the highest rating for overall satisfaction, in a January 2018 Reaction Data poll of nearly 900 physicians who use an EHR daily.
Reasons To Buy eClinicalWorks
There are several reasons that make eClinicalWorks a top EHR choice for many healthcare providers, including:
- Comprehensive EHR solution with features for various specialties
- Robust reporting and analytics capabilities for performance tracking
- Offers an AI-powered scribe solution to simplify the clinical note-taking process
- Enhances interoperability through he PRISMA health information search engine
- The Healow CHECK-IN solution streamlines the previsit process
- Relatively affordable pricing model compared to some competitors
- Integrates AI to automate repetitive tasks and processes
- ONC-certified platform ensure compliance with security requirements
7. NextGen
Founded in 1974, NextGen is an award-winning electronic health record and practice management solution for medical practices. The software offers specialty-specific clinical content and workflow tools to help health care providers improve patient outcomes. NextGen EHR software also provides solutions for telehealth, patient engagement, and analytics to help practices enhance efficiency and financial performance.
The vendor offers integrated health IT solutions for practices of all sizes and multiple specialties, including behavioral health, cardiology, ophthalmology, and podiatry. NextGen Healthcare was ranked #1 EHR & PM by Black Book Research in 2024 for the seventh consecutive year. Additionally, the vendor was honored on Newsweek's list of America's Most Trustworthy Companies in 2024, marking its third consecutive year on the list.
Reasons To Buy NextGen
Based on user feedback, here are the reasons why NextGen is a preferred choice for healthcare providers:
- Integrated platform supports improved workflow and whole practice needs
- Specialty-specific clinical content boosts quality and compliance
- Simplifies the note-taking process with an AI ally called Ambient Assist
- Population health analytics deliver insights to improve care coordination
- Scalable and adaptable solution to suit various specialties
- Comprehensive API marketplace to enable third-party integrations
- Offers a mobile EHR solution to enhance overall workflow efficiency
- HIPAA-compliant and ONC-certified platform for robust security
8. Allscripts
Allscripts EMR, now known as Veradigm, is a fully integrated practice management and EHR system. The platform provides a comprehensive suite of solutions to help physicians streamline workflows, deliver more informed patient care, and improve practice profitability. It is designed for ambulatory physician practices and hospital organizations of all sizes across many specialties.
Allscripts has also won various awards and accolades. It received the #1 Ambulatory EHR award for practices with 26-99 physicians and the #1 practice management solution award for practices with 10-49 physicians from Black Book in 2020.
Reasons To Buy Allscripts
Allscripts software ranks among the top EHR companies due to the following reasons:
- Adapts to internal workflow patterns to optimize efficiency
- Provides an open integration with other healthcare software solutions
- Streamlines clinical documentation with one-click templates
- Supports value-based care to meet complex regulatory requirements
- Flexible interface and specialty-specific content with multiple preloaded templates
- Provides integration with state-controlled substance registries
- Veradigm EHR mobile solution provides on-the-go access to advanced features
- Offers an integrated telehealth solution to engage patients in real-time
- ONC-certified EHR module helps ensure regulatory compliance
9. Greenway Health
Established in 1977, Greenway Health Intergy EHR is a provider of end-to-end health IT solutions for EHR, practice management, and revenue cycle management. It offers a powerful system that is designed to simplify the complexities of patient data management. The software empowers practice to remain compliant, grow profitably, and improve patient outcomes.
Greenway Health offers a scalable solution that caters to practices of all sizes in more than 40 specialties. The Greenway Health platform was awarded Bronze for Private Company by the Merit Awards in the 2023 Business Awards.
Furthermore, the vendor was named ‘Best in KLAS’ for Most Improved Physician Practice Product for Intergy PM in 2022 and ranked among the top three patient portals.
Reasons To Buy Greenway Health
Here are the key benefits of choosing Greenway Health for your practice:
- Uses ambient AI to convert speech into clinical notes
- Boosts patient satisfaction with an integrated engagement platform
- Provides actionable insights to guide practice performance
- User-friendly medical software interface for ambulatory practices
- Dedicated customer support staff for prompt and effective assistance
- Interoperability engine to connect multiple clinical systems
- The Greenway Health Pay tool streamlines the payment collection process
- Ensures HIPAA compliance to deliver quality and secure patient care
10. Practice Fusion
Practice Fusion EHR Software is a cloud-based medical software solution designed to streamline administrative tasks and enhance clinical workflows for healthcare providers. Launched in 2005, this top-rated vendor aims to make healthcare better for both patients and providers through an intuitive, easy-to-use platform.
The software is particularly well-suited for solo practitioners and small to medium-sized independent medical practices across various specialties, including primary care, pediatrics, and mental health.
Practice Fusion was named the #1 Cloud-Based Ambulatory EHR by SK&A's annual report in May 2017. It also ranked as the #1 EHR for Solo and Small Practices in the 2017 Brown-Wilson Black Book rankings report. Furthermore, Practice Fusion was listed among the "150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare" by Becker’s Hospital Review in March 2017.
Reasons To Buy Practice Fusion
The following list outlines the key reasons why healthcare providers choose Practice Fusion:
- Cloud-based platform allows for easy access and mobility
- Enhances clinical workflows with integrated tools and features
- Offers affordable pricing plans for small and solo practices
- Includes customizable templates for various specialties
- Provides seamless e-prescribing and lab integration
- Offers a library of medical charting templates tailored to multiple specialties
- Connects to a network of over 98,000 pharmacies
- Simplifies participation in quality initiatives with insightful dashboards
- Ensures HIPAA compliance and employs advanced security measures
Ready To Take The Next Step?
Choosing the right EHR system is a critical decision for your healthcare organization. The vendors explored in this blog post represent some of the top EHR vendors available in 2024, each with its own strengths and target audience.
Carefully consider your specific needs, budget, and practice environment when conducting vendor assessments. You can also use our free EHR vendor quality checklist or book free demos to experience the software firsthand before making a commitment.
For personalized guidance, call us at (661) 384-7070, and our team of experts will be happy to help you choose the right solution for your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the two largest EHR vendors?
The two largest EHR vendors are Epic Systems Corporation and Oracle Cerner as they hold the largest market share in the US hospital EHR market.
How do I choose an EHR vendor?
Choosing an EHR vendor involves assessing factors like your practice's needs, budget, user-friendliness, and support services.
What is the difference between EHR and EMR?
EHR (Electronic Health Record) includes a patient's health information from multiple sources, while EMR (Electronic Medical Record) is a digital version of a patient's chart from one healthcare provider. Some top EMR systems examples include Epic, athenahealth, and NextGen.
Is Epic an EHR vendor?
Yes, Epic is one of the leading EHR vendors that provides comprehensive healthcare solutions.
What does EHR stand for?
EHR stands for electronic health record (EHR), which is a digital record of a patient's health information, accessible by authorized healthcare providers.
What are the top 3 EHR systems?
The top 3 EHR systems examples include Epic, Cerner, and Meditech. These EHR software companies are widely recognized for their comprehensive functionalities, scalability to accommodate large healthcare systems, and powerful integration capabilities.
