KLAS released its annual rankings of healthcare software and services vendors yesterday. Rankings aside, the most important data point of the survey of hospital CIOs and medical practice executives is that customer satisfaction for ambulatory care EMRs dropped significantly.

The dip is being attributed to a "maturation of the market," according to Adam Gale, president of KLAS. "The growth that these vendors are experiencing - it creates some challenges in and of itself," he said. Gale said that customers are becoming more demanding and expect good support and want quicker, better, easier to use and less expensive products. "The bar is continually being raised, and it's tough for these vendors to keep up."

While I hear what Gale is saying, if it's true that vendors are having a difficult time keeping up and meeting expectations, it's disappointing, to say the least. Technology is usually ahead of the curve - ahead of legislation, policies and regulations - ahead of everything. IT companies hire the best and the brightest developers and chief medical officers who have the background to help develop products that are in tune with clinician workflow. There is no room for the status quo or mediocrity. There was a lot of talk about support for health IT before it became a reality in the HITECH Act, so in theory health IT companies should have been out of the gate early (even before all the details were released) strategizing on how to accommodate an expected spike in demand for products and services.

I also think the reason customer service is down is that hospital CIOs and medical practice executives are more educated now and understand what they need. They're not just handing over a project to vendors and consultants. They’re heavily involved in the project. And why not? Their healthcare systems are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. They ought to be intimately involved and they ought to expect more and raise that bar higher. It's what's going to keep vendors on their toes and drive innovation and excellence.

Patty Enrado blogs regularly at EHRWatch.com.