Netsmart Rated the No. 1 Technology Solutions Vendor for 7th Year, Black Book Home Health and Subacute IT User Survey

Black Book Research announced that Netsmart has swept the post-acute ambulatory health technology platform ratings for highest customer satisfaction in the annual client experience polling of 20 top competitors. Black Book’s study of post-acute providers confirmed Netsmart has retained the top performance honor for the seventh year in a row. 1,459 agencies and affiliated providers participated in the crowdsourced survey from December 2020 to March 2021 this year. The polling includes the user experience scores of operations and financial administrators, nursing and clinical staff, physicians and support personnel. 164 information technology professionals also participated in separate polling.
Black Book also examined post-acute provider EHR adoption and usage in the U.S. and found that less than 26 percent of respondents consider their organization equipped to electronically engage in care coordination, patient record exchange, or population health initiatives with referral hospitals and physicians currently, only slightly up from 20 percent in 2019. The growth potential for post-acute care technology is estimated by Black Book to exceed 18 percent in 2021 as pending value-based payment reforms require providers to exchange data electronically and coordinate care effectively. 
While home healthcare volume has returned to Q4 2019 levels by Q4 2020, there remains uncertainty on provider performance and volume regarding 2022. 17 percent of for-profit home health agencies foresee an upgrade or replacement of their current EHR and RCM systems in 2021. Hospital-based home health services expect the lowest adoption in home health technology improvements through 2022 (3 percent). 
“Year after year, we see Netsmart as the top-rated in the industry by client users,” said Doug Brown, president of Black Book Market Research. “It’s clear that, even in a tightening and increasingly complex market, Netsmart is continuing to lead the post-acute care industry by providing a product that is a vital part of their users’ workflow, patient coordination, and critical digital capabilities to the successful providers in the value-based care environment.”
This report is based on findings from an independent survey conducted by Black Book qualified users of post-acute EHR systems, including Skilled Nursing Facilities, Hospital-Based Subacute Units, Short and Long Term Rehabilitation Centers, Home Health Agencies and Hospice organizations reporting on more than 50 vendors.
Home health and subacute profit margins are projected to remain strong through the calendar year, despite challenges associated with COVID-19 and the shift to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model, which providers are preparing for a Congressional reduction in the 2021 Medicare base payment rate to home health agencies by 5 percent into next year, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission this month.
“Top-rated industry software solutions, like Netsmart, are in high demand because technological efficiencies are needed to bring a higher level benefit to providers should overpayments diminish the value of ambulatory services as an alternative to high-cost inpatient services,” said Brown.
About Black Book 
Black Book Market Research LLC, its founder, management and staff do not own or hold any financial interest in any of the vendors or public relations firms covered and encompassed in the surveys it conducts. Additionally, Black Book does not contract for, barter, exchange or accept direct services from any public relations firm mentioned in the rankings. Black Book reports the results of the collected satisfaction and client experience rankings in publication and to media prior to vendor/firm notification of rating results and does not solicit vendor/agency participation fees, review fees, inclusion or briefing charges, consultation requirements and/or vendor collaboration as Black Book polls’ clients. Since 2010, Black Book Market Research LLC has polled the vendor and service firm satisfaction in the software/technology and managed services sectors around the globe. 
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Source: Black Book Research