The number one topic of debate on this blog has definitely been Client Server EHR versus SaaS EHR. There are staunch parties on both sides of this aisle. No doubt both sides have a case to make and we’ll see both in healthcare for a long time to come. Although, I think that long term the SaaS EHR will win out.
As I was thinking about this recently, I realized that while client server EHR can do everything a SaaS EHR can do, it definitely makes a lot of things much harder to accomplish.
It’s much harder to create an API that connects to 2000 client server EHR installs.
It’s much harder to make 2000 client server EHR installs interoperable.
It’s much harder to evaluate data across 2000 client server EHR installs.
I’m sure I could keep going with this list, but you get the point. Even though something is possible, it doesn’t mean that they’re actually going to do it. In fact, if it’s hard to do, then it takes extreme pressure for them to do it.
All of this has me begging the question of whether client server installs are holding back the EHR industry. Up until now, many of the things I mention above haven’t been that important. Going forward I think that all three of the things I mention above are going to be very important.
The good thing is that I see many client server EHR moving to some kind of hosted EHR solution. That solves some of the problems mentioned above. At least if it’s a hosted EHR solution, they can control the environment and more easily implement things like API access and interoperability. That’s much harder in the client server world where if you have 2000 EHR installs, you have 2000 unique setups.
Of course, as soon as a large SaaS EHR has a massive breach, healthcare will go running after the client server EHR. The battle lines are drawn and each side knows each other very well. Although, I think the SaaS EHR have the high ground right now. We’ll see how that continues over time. Client server EHR have done an amazing job battling.
