Top 10 ambulatory EHR vendors

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act passed in 2009 helped kickstart the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) in healthcare facilities by giving healthcare providers financial incentives to begin using the software.

Today EHRs can be found in nearly all hospitals and at most physician group locations. As of 2021, 96% of hospitals and 72% office-based physicians have adopted the use of EHRs.

Below we explore the top ambulatory EHR, or outpatient EHR, vendors by at physician groups by market share.

Top 10 ambulatory EHR vendors by market share

Fig 1. Data from the Definitive Healthcare PhysicianGroupView product. Data is proprietary and updated on a continuous basis. Accessed January 2023.

Which ambulatory EHR vendor has the largest market share?

eClinicalWorks has the highest market share in the ambulatory EHR space, with about 14% of the market share at physician groups. Epic Systems Corporation ranks second with nearly 10% of the market share. Rounding out the top three is athenahealth with 7% market share.

The top three ambulatory EHR vendors hold about 31% of the overall ambulatory EHR market at outpatient physician groups. Once you get outside the top three vendors, market share drops considerably for the remaining vendors on the list.

Ambulatory EHR vs inpatient EHR

Ambulatory EHR systems are designed primarily for outpatient centers and small physician practices, where patient visits do not include an overnight stay. Inpatient EHRs are designed for use on patients staying at a facility for at least one night and are therefore primarily used by hospitals

Ambulatory EHRs tend to be less complex than inpatient EHRs and have different certification criteria that is more focused on patient-centric features

What is ambulatory care?

Ambulatory care, also known as outpatient care, is medical care that is provided in an outpatient setting and does not traditionally require admission for a hospital stay. Examples of outpatient facilities include medical offices, ambulatory surgery centers, hospital outpatient departments and dialysis centers. Ambulatory care typically focuses on diagnosis, observation, consultation, treatment and rehabilitation services.

Electronic health records vs electronic medical records

Most people tend to use the terms electronic health record (EHR) and electronic medical record (EMR) interchangeably. However, there are some technical differences between the two.

While both contain digital records of a patient’s chart, EHRs tend to have a bit more functionality and have a more complete picture of a patient’s overall healthcare history.

EMRs track a patient’s medical and treatment history in one facility, offering a narrower view of a patient’s medical history. EHRs can do all the things an EMR can – and more. EHRs contain more data on a patient than that collected in a provider’s office, including things such as patient allergies and lab results, helping to form a more comprehensive picture of a patient’s medical history.

EHRs are also designed so all the healthcare professionals, such as laboratories and specialists, can share data on a patient across different practices.

Learn more

Want to learn more about EHR market share or see what other technologies a hospital has in place?

Start a free trial to see how our healthcare commercial intelligence can help you understand the vendor share for specific technologies to size your potential total addressable market, perform competitive analysis, and so much more.