“The Wal-Mart / eClinicalWorks (eCW) partnership to sell electronic medical records (EMR) software in Sam’s Club strikes us as an odd couple. While we think eCW will benefit from this marketing coup, we don’t see the relationship lasting over the long term.
Certainly, the intent is good: simplify a traditionally complex and expensive purchase by distributing through a low-cost distribution channel.”
Article
Don Fornes, Software Advice, 31 March 2009
As I noted in my blog “To Halamka on Sam’s Club eCW” I have a somewhat different take on this, although leads to a similar conclusion. Although Sam’s Club is owned by Wal-Mart it is a different operation, closer to Costco. Sam’s Club has a specific marketing channel reaching out to small businesses and through that channel is already supplying many of the needs of physicians practices. So, the model of initial customer approach is not of the kindly old retired guy at the door of Wal-Mart but rather the inside salesperson who has an ongoing client relationship with the office manager.
As Halamka described it in his blog, “Electronic Health Records from Wal-mart” the handoff to eCW sales occurred shortly after first contact. In this model, eCW has achieved what all EMR vendors are trying to find, a sales channel to small doctor’s offices.
My concern is that the economics of the deal give short shrift to implementation support. This is described in detail in my blog entry