How to Stand Out in Your Category: Buyer Insights for Medical Software

Tools buyers are replacing with medical software

When our advisors asked buyers what methods they used over the past three years to handle their medical management needs, we observed a significant increase in the percentage of buyers switching to medical software from manual methods or no method at all.

While the number of buyers using medical software has risen from 22% to 24% from 2021 to 2023, manual methods have dropped from 18% to 14% during that same time period.

The increased adoption of medical software can be attributed to its comprehensive capabilities to manage both clinical and administrative functions of healthcare organizations. These systems can be tailored to automate just about every healthcare process, including billing, patient scheduling, creating and managing patient records, picture/image archiving, and prescribing medication. With telemedicine integration and predictive data analysis, medical software is an essential tool in modern healthcare.

→  Pro tip

Identify your buyers’ pain points and demonstrate how your medical software provides dedicated features that will lead to better outcomes across the practice. From centralizing day-to-day operations, promoting collaboration, tracking data analytics, to ensuring regulatory compliance. 

It’s important to clarify that despite requiring more upfront investment and time to implement, having a medical software solution in place will improve efficiency and reduce costs.

What medical software features are valued the most

When we asked buyers what functionalities they were looking for to manage their organization’s core medical needs, a specific set of five features emerged as crucial, especially for family medicine, psychiatry, medical spa, physical therapy, and chiropractic specialties. Our research indicates that one-fourth of the buyers (24%) request the following medical applications: 

• Electronic medical records (EMR) or electronic health record (EHR) software assists in creating and storing digital patient records and tracking patient notes, demographics, histories, and medications. Features include e-prescribing, SOAP notes, E&M coding advice, and more. EMRs may also provide medical lab integration, device integration, tablet support, and voice recognition.
• Patient scheduling automates the process of scheduling patient visits. Features include automated follow-ups, text message/phone/email reminders, and multi-location support. Typically offered with billing in a practice management suite.
• Medical billing manages the creation of patient statements and submission of claims. Functions include coding, claims scrubbing, eligibility inquiry, electronic claim submission, payment posting, and reporting.
• ePrescribing allows you to electronically generate and transmit a prescription order directly from a healthcare provider to a patient’s pharmacy of choice.
• Telemedicine enables medical providers to diagnose or treat patients remotely using secure telecommunications tools such as video chats, phone, and, email.

→  Pro tip

Understand what professionals in the medical industry prioritize when buying software to adjust your product profile description and features. Highlight key strengths and illustrate how reviewers use your software to solve business needs and challenges. 

You can also promote how your product stacks up against the competition by showcasing earned awards and third-party badges based on ratings and popularity.

Why buyers search for new medical software

Our advisors discovered that 24% of buyers currently using medical software want to replace their current system due to three significant pain points: limited functionality (27%), lack of user-friendliness (19%), and inefficiency (19%).

Addressing these challenges can improve your rating and retention rates:

• Inadequate functionality within medical software significantly hampers users’ capacity to efficiently manage their daily medical operations. To illustrate, some medical software lacks seamless integration with electronic health records (EHR) systems, making it difficult for healthcare providers to access patient medical histories. This limitation not only increases consultation time but also the risk of medical errors due to incomplete information.
• Lack of user-friendliness in medical software can reduce user’s productivity and compromise patient safety. For example, a physician using a medical software system with a non-intuitive interface for prescribing medications might struggle to select the correct medications, dosages, and frequencies efficiently if the system’s layout and navigation are unclear. 
• Inefficiencies within medical software can be a source of frustration for users. For instance, a medical billing solution lacking automation requires manual data entry for each patient, resulting in errors, extended administrative hours, and increased revenue loss risk for healthcare facilities.

→  Pro tip

Ensure your sales team can gather specific requirements from prospects and offer product demonstrations tailored to their unique needs.

Complement demos with customer success stories that validate how your software improves productivity by offering advanced functionalities and a user-friendly interface. Client testimonials will help you build trust with prospects.

Typical buyers’ budgets for medical software range from $388 to $432 per user, per month

The budget for purchasing medical software varies from one segment to another based on factors such as organization size, the number of users, and the specific features and functionalities required. Smaller medical practices often have more straightforward needs, whereas larger healthcare organizations require more advanced and comprehensive solutions. Consequently, the amount buyers tend to budget tends to increase as the size of the medical team or organization grows—ranging from $388 to $432 per user, per month.

However, these budgets are roughly in line with the pricing our research team sees in the marketplace. Entry-level plans typically cover limited functionality such as electronic medical records and their pricing might start below $29 per user, per month. Midtier plans covering advanced functionalities such as patient scheduling and medical billing tend to start in the double digits and go all the way into the thousands. Finally, high-end plans including additional premium features such as ePrescribing and telemedicine, range from as low as $39 to $15,600+ per user, per month.

→  Pro tip

When determining the pricing for your software, it’s important to consider the size of the organization in which your target buyers operate, as some healthcare providers may have more complex requirements that can drive up costs. To evaluate how you stack up against your competition, you can use the Capterra Shortlist™ for medical software.

Rise above your competition with strategic insights

Medical software marketers face enormous pressure to set their product apart from competition in a crowded marketplace. But with the right insights, you can better understand the key priorities and pain points of your target audience and address them directly in your product messaging to claim your fair share of buyer attention.

With more than 9 million active software buyers on our sites every month, Gartner Digital Markets can equip you with the strategic insights you need to level up your marketing strategy and become a leader in your category.

Log into your Gartner Digital Markets account and optimize your profile to ensure buyers understand how your software meets their evolving needs. 

Caroline Hogan

Caroline Hogan is the Senior Director of Vendor Marketing at Gartner Digital Markets, where she manages the marketing strategy for the vendor platform. She has more than 20 years of marketing experience, leading initiatives from brand strategy and demand generation to customer retention and advocacy. Connect with Caroline on LinkedIn.