In this illustrated photo, you can see the Oracle logo on a mobile phone screen and a laptop keyboard. … (+)
NurPhoto (from Getty Images)
At the Oracle Health Summit, Oracle announced a newly built EHR scheduled for release in 2025 for early adopters. After previewing the product, we focused on the latest design that incorporates a clinical AI agent. This enables hands-free documentation and patient inquiries, reducing the use of traditional keyboard and mouse clicks. Meanwhile, major health systems such as Intermountain Health, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and AdventHealth have already indicated plans to move away from Oracle's EHR. With this announcement, the question remains: Will Oracle be able to convince healthcare CIOs to reconsider their choices?
The two most important considerations for healthcare CIOs and technology leaders are:
Deciding on Healthcare ERP
Healthcare organizations are faced with another decision regarding their enterprise systems. Your back office ERP software is outdated and you need to evaluate your vendor and move to a cloud ERP solution. Oracle has a proven cloud ERP solution that many healthcare organizations already use. The question is whether to keep or continue with the newly built Oracle EHR and switching system to keep the two largest enterprise softwares (ERP and EHR) on one platform.
The industry has struggled with the ease of integrating ERP and EHR systems to generate insights that help improve operational efficiency. Relying on one vendor platform facilitates the integration of back office data and clinical data management, while also allowing healthcare CIOs to reduce the number of point solutions in their portfolio.
It will be interesting to see whether the implementation of Oracle's cloud ERP solution influences healthcare organizations' decisions to adopt or continue with Oracle's new EHR.
M&A strategy
Mergers and acquisitions remain strong as we begin to see large systems merging with similarly sized companies or acquiring smaller organizations to bring them into the enterprise. One of the traditional strategies used by healthcare CIOs is EHR system integration, but this is complex because implementing a new system involves significant change management costs. The thought process behind systems integration is to centralize technology tools and potential operating models, while the acquiring organization believes it has improved technology and operational efficiencies.
Healthcare CIOs and executives can rethink their EHR strategy during mergers and acquisitions if their organization uses Oracle's EHR to acquire hospitals. Continuing with your current system can save you a lot of money and give you time to evaluate whether you need to consolidate to a single EHR across your enterprise. Large health systems face significant implementation costs when mergers and acquisitions play a role in strategic planning.
The launch of Oracle's all-new EHR is a great accomplishment and a promising advancement for the industry. Seema Verma, executive vice president and general manager, Oracle Health and Life Sciences, said, “Most EHRs were built in the 90's and are designed to support the complex security requirements of today's healthcare networks, providers, and patients. “We are not fully equipped to meet our clinical needs.” Additionally, Oracle is seeking new EHR implementation partners that can enhance our clients' support and implementation experience. Oracle has announced an impressive new product, but the question remains: Is it too late to capture the attention of the US market?
