EHR purchasing in Latin America has fluctuated over the last few years, initially declining at the onset of the pandemic before rising in 2023. KLAS recently published a report that provides an update on which vendors are gaining market share in this region, along with which are best meeting customers’ needs. The report first looks at market share across Latin America overall and then customer satisfaction in two subregions: Brazil and other countries throughout the region, referred to collectively as “other Latin American countries & the Caribbean.”
EHR Market Share in Latin America
Over the years, the same EHR vendors have had a presence in Latin America, with MV, Philips, and NTT DATA being the biggest players.
MV had the most 2023 hospital wins and has the largest acute care market share. MV’s customer base—which is largely in Brazil—includes both small hospitals and large multihospital groups. The vendor has also migrated several dozen hospitals to SOUL in the past five years.
Philips had the second most 2023 hospital wins. In the last five years, their growth has occurred mostly in Brazil. Additionally, one-third of their contracts during that time frame were legacy migrations.
NTT DATA had the third most hospital wins in 2023, due in large part to a contract with a provincial public health authority in Argentina.
Even though the players in the Latin American EHR market have been the same over the years, that doesn’t mean the story will always be the same for these vendors. For example, we’re interested to see what will happen with Oracle Health’s i.s.h.med customers. They are all serviced via SAP resellers, and SAP announced that they will stop supporting the product by 2030. It remains to be seen what vendor these customers will decide to go with.
EHR Customer Satisfaction in Latin America
In the report, we wanted to examine which vendors are most reliable when it comes to delivering on technology and promises, along with who is meeting customers’ expectations. One thing that surprised us was that across the Latin American EHR market, respondents—regardless of vendor—often reported similar successes and challenges.
For successes, the interviewed customers generally feel their vendor’s product provides value and meets essential needs. At the same time, many say their vendor’s support isn’t meeting their needs and significantly delays resolutions. Bugs are also a common concern, suggesting that vendors are potentially rolling out product fixes too quickly.
In the next few years, we hope to see vendors’ solutions mature so that their customers have a more consistent experience. That being said, there are multiple EHR options that are in a good spot right now. It is important to acknowledge that in regions outside the US, overall performance scores near or above 80.0 (on a 100-point scale) are difficult to achieve. So it is exciting to see that a few vendors in this report are close to that threshold.
The Challenge of Having Clients across Multiple Countries
Several EHR vendors, including some in this report, play in multiple regions across the world. This can be a unique and interesting challenge for vendors, since different countries have different local needs and regulations. Many vendors decide they aren’t going to take on clients in new countries unless there is sufficient demand. Others decide to expand if there is just one customer, though they often regret it later due to complications and expenses.
In the report, respondents using global vendors acknowledged this challenge—they are hesitant to accept certain product versions that have only ever been tested outside of Latin America, in other parts of the world. Customers want solutions that are tried and true in their country.
As previously mentioned, several vendors’ customer bases share similar concerns. We wouldn’t be surprised if a root cause is vendors trying to expand or maintain their customer bases in different countries. It remains to be seen which vendors will be able to eliminate this customer concern moving forward.
What’s Next?
As healthcare organizations across Latin America continue to prioritize digital transformation, the demand for robust and adaptable EHRs is expected to grow. Additionally, the increasing involvement of both public and private sectors in healthcare investments highlights the region’s commitment to modernizing its healthcare infrastructure.
As Latin America navigates these changes, healthcare organizations will be looking for EHR vendors that can meet the diverse needs of their populations and ultimately drive better patient outcomes and more-efficient healthcare delivery systems.
Be sure to read all the details in the report.
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