Cerner Patient Accounting Software Receives Mixed Reviews

Customer satisfaction for Cerner’s Soarian Financials patient accounting software is low, with concerns worsening after the announcement of Cerner’s new RevElate product, according to a KLAS report.

Cerner introduced RevElate in October 2021 as their future patient accounting platform, replacing Cerner Patient Accounting (CPA). The platform will incorporate elements from both CPA and Soarian Financials, according to the EHR vendor.

KLAS researchers surveyed Soarian Financials customers over the last 24 months to determine if their experiences could be a possible indicator of the RevElate customer experience.

The report found that Soarian Financials customers were dissatisfied with its implementation under Cerner. Implementation problems have persisted since Cerner acquired Soarian Financials, with customers saying they are still recovering from poor implementations that happened several years ago.

One older customer interviewed in February 2016 said the patient accounting software was not implemented well and that Cerner did the implementation without involving any of the facility’s staff members.

A newer customer interviewed in March 2022 called the implementation painful and said that Cerner’s team members do not learn from their mistakes.

Soarian Financials customers were also dissatisfied with Cerner’s training resources, reporting that they are difficult to access, lack substance, and often do not align with the implemented workflows.

Satisfaction levels for Soarian Financials differed depending on how long customers have been using the software. For example, 80 percent of longtime customers were satisfied with the service and have learned to expect in terms of usability and workflows despite the time it takes to get it to a workable state.

Meanwhile, customers who have used the service for five years or less were more likely to report usability difficulties and were significantly less satisfied with it. The report also noted that customer satisfaction plateaued after five years of use and does not typically improve beyond that.

However, respondents reported increased engagement from the Cerner account team and more proactive customer support over the past few years.

Despite most users reporting that they could easily use Soarian Financials after a few years of acclimating to it, 25 percent of respondents said the software is antiquated and has not been kept up to date.

Over four in ten respondents (43 percent) were frustrated with having to use more third-party bolt-on applications than expected to achieve functionality. For example, Cerner does not offer its own capabilities for secondary claim billing, price estimation, patient billing, eligibility, and medical record duplicity checking.

More than half of customers (63 percent) reported nickel-and-diming from Cerner. Respondents thought Soarian Financials was expensive and said Cerner had too many additional charges for changes needed to meet regulatory requirements. Users said they would prefer Cerner to include regulatory changes in the support cost and the product’s standard maintenance.

Cerner’s RevElate introduction created further unease for some Soarian Financials customers. Before the RevElate announcement, some customers were concerned about Cerner failing to continually develop Soarian Financials.

Respondents said they wanted more clarity on how and when the RevElate launch will impact them. Others noted that they feel they have been left in the dark, with Cerner communicating more information to Millennium customers about the future.

In addition, customers noted that they are concerned about what Oracle’s recent acquisition of Cerner means for future pricing, product implementation, and vendor relationship. One respondent said that Cerner does not know what they are doing and gives customers little information about what is to come.

Cerner’s revenue cycle management has been spotty. In 2019, customers reported improved relationships with the vendor but noted that the products could be better. Additionally, in 2020, the vendor sold its revenue cycle management outsourcing service RevWorks to R1 RCM after receiving poor customer reviews.

Cerner’s RevElate introduction was an attempt to improve its revenue cycle management services. However, if customer experiences with Soarian Financials are any indication of RevElate’s future, the vendor may continue to see fluctuating success.