According to a new report from KLAS (Orem, Utah), 85 percent of healthcare providers believe their ambulatory EMR software will enable them meet the 2011 meaningful use deadlines being considered by the federal government.

The study, entitled, For Ambulatory EMR: On Track for Meaningful Use, featured interviews with more than 1,400 providers about 26 EMR vendors. According to KLAS, customers of Epic, NextGen and athenahealth customers expressed the most confidence, while SRSsoft and Amazing Charts clients expressed the least.

However, providers also identified a number of functional areas that are still lacking, including EMR reporting tools, patient access to medical records and the ability to share key clinical data. KLAS says that more than 17 percent of providers say reporting is difficult or impossible with their current tools, and another 24 percent report needing specific technical expertise to manipulate the tools provided.

The study also looks at the EMRs that excel or struggle with other proposed requirements, such as the digital transmission of pharmacy orders. Of all the products in the report, only Allscripts Enterprise had 100 percent of interviewed clients able to digitally transmit qualifying orders, says KLAS. Greenway and e-MDs earned the highest marks for functionality in this area, while MED3000 was considered the most challenged.

For more information or to purchase the full report, healthcare providers and vendors can visit www.KLASresearch.com/reports.