According to a recent report from KLAS Research, an Orem, Utah research firm, most providers have not attested for meaningful use Stage 1, citing quality measures and reporting as their biggest challenges. This has led them to increasingly reach out to consultants for assistance, says the KLAS report, Rapid Growth of Meaningful Use Consulting: Why Providers Are Reaching Out.

Other attestation challenges are user adoption, software upgrades, and updates, the report mentioned. All of these challenges have led to the growth of consultancy firms for assistance, which has been met with praise. One CFO said to the report’s authors, "We were struggling to do the implementation ourselves, and I ultimately bit the bullet and hired [our firm] to come in and help us get our act together. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my professional career."

KLAS identifies a total of 51 firms that have conducted at least one MU-related project, doing everything from strategic advisory services and lead roles in implementations to supporting implementation engagements and to implementation and staff augmentation projects. Most firms are performing well and are satisfying healthcare provider expectations. More than half (61 percent) of the ranked firms in this report achieve a score of 89 out of 100 or above.