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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Wal-Mart to give EHRs the discount treatment

Most small physician offices cite cost as a big reason for not adopting electronic health records but what if they could buy their EHRs at Wal-Mart? Wonder no more. The mega-chain, known for using its huge purchasing power to offer deep discounts, announced that it will begin offering EHR packages through its Sam's Club division this spring, the New York Times reported--for about half the price currently charged by its competitors.

Wal-Mart's package will include hardware (through Dell), software (from eClinicalWorks), installation, maintenance and training. It has already test driven the technology over the past three years in its own clinics. According to the Times article, the package will cost under $25,000 for the first physician in a practice, about $10,000 for each additional physician and $4,000-$6,000 a year for annual maintenance and support. The chain is betting that its rock-bottom prices, combined with financial incentives offered through President Obama's stimulus package, will be the tipping point for doctors who've so far seen EHRs as out of reach.

It could be good news for small practices, even though Wal-Mart's ability to offer all things to all people can get a little scary. Now you can pop an EHR into your oversize cart, along with food, clothing, electronics, cosmetics, prescriptions, photos, eyeglasses -- and the list goes on. However, conditions were ripe for the retail giant to jump in. As an official quoted in the article notes, "We're a high-volume, low-cost company... And I would argue that mentality is sorely lacking in the health care industry."

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posted by Janet Colwell at 8:47 AM  

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