KLAS: Amwell, Teladoc Health, Caregility Most Chosen Vendors

April 20, 2023 - Published this month, a new KLAS report indicated that many virtual care vendors report success in terms of purchase decisions and replacements among customer organizations, with the highest performers displaying Oracle Health Center integration abilities, market maturity, and strength of technology.

For the report, KLAS researchers requested that vendors report recent wins. KLAS then validated the collected data with customer organizations to ensure accuracy. The main units of measurement used were purchase decisions, encompassing both customer selections and replacements.

KLAS found that Amwell was the leader in selections and replacements. Most users chose it due to the Oracle Health integration capabilities of its solution. Further, it led other vendors in terms of replacements, with costs and support or issues related to account management cited as the top reasons for solution replacement. According to the report, seven customers decided to replace their Amwell solutions; however, nine indicated they were using it, and 19 noted their intentions to use it.

Users of Teladoc Health InTouch indicated that the vendor displayed market maturity. Additionally, in the past, live customers reported strong outcomes for patients. But, in the past year, customers indicated that Teladoc was slower with response times and displayed reduced proactivity. The report noted that one customer replaced Teledoc Health InTouch, while eight considered it, and 15 decided on it.

Often chosen due to product appeal, Caregility was a 2023 Best in KLAS winner. Although many users have indicated that Caregility’s strength in providing updates and innovation has dropped slightly in the last several months, a high level of trust remains. Further, the company is known for avoiding nickel-and-diming strategies. Although two customers replaced Caregility, four considered it, and six decided to use it.

The report also showed that EMR-based telehealth solutions offering sufficient feature parity are leaving many video conferencing solutions, such as Zoom and Cisco Webex, vulnerable to replacement. In addition, during the pandemic, many organizations moved towards "deeper integration, tech-stack consolidation, and more healthcare-specific workflows," according to the report.

Nonetheless, Zoom received a high number of selections, which was likely due to its reliability and consistency.

Vidyo, however, experienced declines largely due to its reputation of being costly, as well as Epic no longer using Vidyo as the main video layer of its platform.

Video conferencing tools focusing on healthcare are also vulnerable to being substituted by EMR-based solutions.

However, Doximity, named a 2023 Best in KLAS winner, bucked the trend with the most selections of all solutions included in the research. This was largely due to the ease associated with using the system, along with its consistency and cost-effectiveness, the report stated.

Despite the departure of some Updox customers in pursuit of EMR-embedded solutions, this vendor also experienced a fair number of wins, particularly with small and single-doctor clinics.

Further, many who moved on from Doxy.me selected their EMR's solution to achieve deeper integration. Although current Doxy.me customers indicate low integration levels, many noted that the solution is fairly easy to use and cost-effective.

Previous KLAS reports have also shown the gains and losses virtual care vendors have experienced post the pandemic's peak.

For example, a KLAS report from July indicated that Caregility received high scores in delivering care within complex inpatient settings.

However, many users of this platform, as well as Amwell and Updox users, stated that they intended to make a switch. Reasons for the switch related to plan differences, functionality preferences, and differences in connectivity.