Characteristics associated with hospital health IT vendor switching and dropping.

While a growing body of research has investigated the diffusion of health IT among providers, no empirical research has yet focused on health IT vendor switching by hospitals. Vendor switching is one indicator of a competitive commercial vendor market, and competition among vendors can spur innovations which contribute to better products over time. This study examines the interaction of hospitals with commercial vendors in the recent past to serve as a baseline for future investigations into how the federal health IT incentive program influences changes in the vendor market and vendor-provider relationships. We find that there has been considerable switching between vendors by hospitals, including some hospitals switching away from automated systems all together. Furthermore, our descriptive cross-sectional analysis reveals various hospital characteristics which are associated with vendor switching and dropping, including lower constraints on hospitals' financial resources, nonprofit ownership, and having some form of integrated arrangement with physicians.