Lightning Step Technologies EHR Review (2026)
Cloud-based behavioral health EHR with AI-powered documentation, native e-prescribing, and integrated CRM -- now merged with Sunwave Health under PE ownership.
Vendor Assessment Scorecard
Weighted rubric using fit signals (deployment model, scope, pricing posture, certification, market maturity, and review rating), then calibrated to separate tiers more clearly.
Composite Score
6.2/10
Lightning Step Technologies Overview
Lightning Step New UX/UI: Coming Soon
Overview
Lightning Step Technologies is a cloud-based EHR platform built for behavioral health and addiction treatment organizations. Founded in 2014 in Houston, Texas by former treatment center owners, operators, and clinicians, the company was built on the premise that people who had actually run treatment centers would build better software for them. That origin story gave Lightning Step credibility in a market where many EHR vendors are technology companies first and healthcare companies second.
The platform bundles clinical EMR, CRM for admissions, revenue cycle management, native e-prescribing, telehealth, and -- most notably -- LIA (Lightning Intelligent Assistant), an AI-powered documentation tool that achieved ISO 42001 certification in May 2025, making it the first ISO 42001 certified AI in behavioral healthcare. LIA is the feature that most clearly differentiates Lightning Step from the pack, with the company claiming it reduces documentation workload by 55% and saves clinicians 12+ hours per month.
However, Lightning Step's story in 2026 cannot be told without addressing the elephant in the room: aggressive PE-driven consolidation that has fundamentally changed the company's trajectory. The timeline tells the story:
- 2019: Acquired AVA Billing & Consulting (full-service RCM provider)
- March 2022: Acquired ZenCharts, a cloud-based behavioral health EMR -- significantly expanding the customer base
- November 2022: Gallant Capital Partners made a significant investment
- June 2023: Divested AVA Billing to Medusind (an Alpine Investors portfolio company)
- September 2023: Brent Michael appointed CEO. Michael was previously President at EverCommerce/EverHealth and CEO of Eye Care Leaders, a PE-backed ophthalmology EHR rollup that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- March 2024: LIA AI launched
- May 2025: LIA achieves ISO 42001 certification
- October 27, 2025: Merged with Sunwave Health under BVP Forge (Bessemer Venture Partners' $1B growth equity fund). The combined entity claims 3,000+ facilities and 34,000+ users.
That is a lot of ownership changes, acquisitions, divestitures, and leadership transitions in a short period. Prospective buyers need to understand this context because it directly affects the platform's stability, roadmap, and long-term viability. This review examines both Lightning Step's genuine product strengths -- particularly LIA -- and the significant risks that the company's ownership trajectory creates.
Disclosure: EHR Source is an independent review site with no business relationship with Lightning Step Technologies or any vendor listed on this site. Our reviews are based on publicly available information, user feedback, and hands-on evaluation.
Critical buyer alert: merger integration drag
Post-merger execution risk is now central to Lightning Step diligence. Operators report that support responsiveness and implementation consistency have become less predictable during Sunwave integration. Buyers should require named implementation leads, written escalation paths, and enforceable support SLAs before signing.
Key Features
LIA (Lightning Intelligent Assistant) -- AI-Powered Documentation
LIA is Lightning Step's headline feature and the strongest argument in the platform's favor. Launched in March 2024, LIA uses AI to automate clinical documentation -- primarily progress note generation. The company reports that LIA reduces documentation workload by 55% and saves clinicians 12+ hours per month, which, if accurate, represents a meaningful reduction in the documentation burden that consistently ranks as the top driver of clinician burnout in behavioral health.
The more significant milestone is the ISO 42001 certification, achieved in May 2025. ISO 42001 is the international standard for AI management systems, covering governance, risk management, transparency, and responsible deployment of AI. Lightning Step claims LIA is the first ISO 42001 certified AI in behavioral healthcare. That distinction matters: in a healthcare context where AI-generated clinical content has patient safety implications, having a certified governance framework around the AI is a meaningful differentiator -- one that most competitors, including larger vendors, have not yet achieved.
The practical question is whether LIA's capabilities survive the Sunwave merger intact. AI products require sustained investment in model training, clinical validation, and infrastructure. When PE firms merge two companies, consolidation decisions often deprioritize products from the smaller entity. Prospective buyers interested in LIA should ask explicitly what the post-merger AI roadmap looks like and get commitments in writing.
Clinical EMR
The core EMR provides clinical documentation, treatment planning, assessments, and progress notes built around behavioral health and addiction treatment workflows. Documentation templates are designed for the clinical patterns specific to SUD treatment, mental health, and co-occurring disorder programs. The Patient Timeline feature provides a visual representation of the patient journey -- a useful tool for care coordination and clinical review that gives clinicians a chronological view of a patient's treatment history at a glance.
Native E-Prescribing
Lightning Step includes a built-in e-prescribing module that is native to the platform rather than being a third-party integration (notably, not Dr. First, which many behavioral health EHRs use as their prescribing backbone). For addiction treatment programs prescribing buprenorphine, naltrexone, and other medications, having e-prescribing natively integrated into the clinical workflow reduces context-switching and eliminates the integration dependencies that come with third-party prescribing modules.
CRM for Admissions
The CRM module targets the admissions workflow -- lead tracking, referral source management, and patient lifecycle management from first inquiry through admission. For treatment centers where the admissions pipeline is the primary revenue driver, having CRM data in the same system as clinical and billing operations provides pipeline visibility without requiring a separate tool like Salesforce or a standalone admissions CRM.
Revenue Cycle Management
The RCM module covers electronic claim submission, denial management, patient billing, and payment processing. Lightning Step acquired AVA Billing & Consulting in 2019 to add full-service RCM capabilities, then divested AVA Billing to Medusind in June 2023. The current RCM module is the in-platform billing functionality that remained after the AVA divestiture. Some users have reported issues with billing configuration and claim submission (see Cons section), so organizations should evaluate the billing module carefully during demos.
Telehealth
Lightning Step includes integrated telehealth for virtual care sessions. Clinical documentation for telehealth visits uses the same workflows as in-person encounters. Some users have reported issues with the telehealth feature, including technical problems and continued charges after requesting removal -- issues that prospective buyers should verify have been resolved.
Reporting and Analytics
The platform includes a reporting and analytics module with automated custom reports and a QA dashboard for documentation compliance monitoring. The QA dashboard is a particularly useful feature for clinical directors and compliance officers who need to track documentation completeness, timeliness, and quality across their clinical staff -- a persistent operational challenge in behavioral health organizations where documentation deficiencies directly impact billing and accreditation.
Pros
- + LIA AI is genuinely innovative -- first ISO 42001 certified AI in behavioral healthcare. The ISO 42001 certification for AI governance is a meaningful credential that no other behavioral health EHR vendor has achieved. The reported 55% reduction in documentation workload and 12+ hours saved per clinician per month, if validated, represent a significant clinical efficiency gain. LIA is the single strongest reason to consider Lightning Step.
- + Modern-looking interface and visual Patient Timeline. The platform's interface is more contemporary than many legacy behavioral health EHRs. The Patient Timeline feature provides an intuitive visual representation of the patient journey that clinicians find useful for quick clinical review and care coordination.
- + Native integrated e-prescribing. The built-in e-prescribing module avoids the third-party dependency (typically Dr. First) that most behavioral health EHRs rely on. For addiction treatment programs that prescribe controlled substances daily, native prescribing reduces workflow friction and eliminates integration points that can fail.
- + Per-user pricing rather than census-based. Lightning Step uses per-user pricing rather than the per-patient or per-bed pricing models common among residential-focused EHRs. For organizations with high census volumes, this pricing model can be more predictable and potentially more economical than census-based alternatives.
- + Robust reporting with automated custom reports and QA dashboard. The automated report generation and documentation compliance dashboard give clinical directors and compliance officers tools to monitor documentation quality proactively -- a feature that many competing platforms handle through manual chart audits.
- + Founded by treatment center operators -- deep domain expertise. The founding team's background in running treatment centers informed the platform's clinical workflows and operational features. This practitioner-built origin is evident in the platform's understanding of addiction treatment workflows, even if the company's ownership has shifted significantly since founding.
- + Combined CRM, EMR, and RCM in a single platform. Having admissions, clinical documentation, and billing in one system eliminates data handoffs between separate tools and provides end-to-end visibility across the patient lifecycle.
Cons
- − "Profound buyer's remorse" -- highly polarized user reviews. Lightning Step's user reviews are strikingly polarized. Some users praise the platform enthusiastically; others describe their experience in terms like "profound buyer's remorse." This level of polarization is a red flag that suggests the platform works well in some configurations but fails badly in others. Prospective buyers should seek references from organizations similar to their own -- not just the references Lightning Step provides.
- − Implementation failures reported. Multiple users describe implementations where major aspects of billing configuration and calendar setup were left incomplete or non-functional. An EHR implementation that leaves billing broken is not just an inconvenience -- it is a direct threat to revenue and cash flow. Organizations should demand implementation milestones and acceptance criteria in their contracts.
- − Lost revenue from billing issues. Users report charges not dropping correctly, customer payment reminders not functioning, and billing workflows that fail silently -- costing facilities thousands of dollars in lost revenue. For treatment centers operating on tight margins, billing system failures have immediate and measurable financial impact.
- − Support quality described as "appalling" by some users. While some users report adequate support, others describe resolution timelines stretching to weeks and support interactions that fail to resolve issues. The inconsistency of support experiences -- some good, some terrible -- makes it difficult to predict what level of support a new customer will receive.
- − 36-month contract commitments. Users report that Lightning Step requires 36-month contract terms. A three-year commitment to any EHR vendor carries risk; a three-year commitment to a vendor that just merged with another company under PE ownership, led by a CEO whose previous company went bankrupt, is a significantly larger bet. This contract length should be a non-starter without aggressive negotiation.
- − Clunky UI and slow server performance. Despite having a generally modern appearance, some users report that the platform can be clunky in daily use, with slow server response times that impact clinical workflow efficiency. Performance issues in an EHR have a multiplicative effect -- every clinician who waits for pages to load loses productive time across every patient interaction.
- − Telehealth feature problems and billing disputes. Users have reported issues with the telehealth module, including continued charges for the feature even after requesting its removal. Functionality issues in add-on modules that continue to generate charges are a trust-damaging problem.
- − Not ONC certified. Lightning Step is HIPAA and PCI compliant but has not obtained ONC Health IT certification. Organizations that require ONC certification for regulatory compliance, quality reporting programs, or state program participation will need to look elsewhere.
- − Merger with Sunwave creates significant platform uncertainty. The October 2025 merger with Sunwave Health raises fundamental questions: Which platform will survive long-term? Will customers be forced to migrate? What happens to the LIA roadmap? Will support resources be consolidated (and potentially reduced)? These are not hypothetical concerns -- they are the predictable consequences of PE-driven mergers in healthcare technology.
Pricing
Lightning Step uses a modular pricing model starting from $49/month base, with organizations paying for the modules they select (EMR, CRM, RCM, e-prescribing, telehealth, etc.). Pricing is per-user rather than census-based, which can be advantageous for high-census residential programs where per-bed pricing models from competitors become expensive.
The most critical pricing consideration is the reported 36-month contract requirement. Three-year contracts are unusually long in the behavioral health EHR market, where 12- to 24-month terms are more common. A 36-month commitment amplifies every other risk factor -- if implementation goes poorly, if support deteriorates post-merger, or if the platform direction changes under PE ownership, you are contractually locked in for three years.
Contract Warning
Do not sign a 36-month contract without aggressive negotiation. Given the Sunwave merger, CEO track record, and polarized user reviews, we strongly recommend pushing for a 12-month initial term with renewal options. If Lightning Step insists on a longer term, negotiate performance-based exit clauses, data portability guarantees, and SLA commitments with financial penalties for non-compliance.
Additional pricing factors to understand:
- Modular add-on costs. While the base price starts at $49/month, the total cost depends on which modules are included. Prospective buyers should get a fully loaded quote that includes every module they need -- not just the base EMR price.
- Implementation fees. Clarify upfront what implementation costs are included and what constitutes additional professional services, particularly given user reports of incomplete implementations.
- Post-merger pricing changes. PE-backed mergers frequently result in pricing adjustments. Ask explicitly whether pricing will change after the Sunwave merger and get any pricing commitments in writing for the full contract term.
For a broader comparison of EHR pricing models across the industry, see our EHR cost guide.
Who Should Use Lightning Step
Despite the significant risk factors, Lightning Step may be appropriate for specific organizations that value its unique strengths and are willing to accept the vendor risk:
- Treatment centers that prioritize AI-powered documentation above all else. LIA's ISO 42001 certification is a genuine differentiator. If reducing documentation burden through certified AI tooling is your top evaluation criterion and you are willing to accept the ownership risks, Lightning Step is worth evaluating -- provided you negotiate strong contract protections.
- Organizations that value native e-prescribing. The built-in e-prescribing module (not Dr. First) eliminates third-party dependencies. For addiction treatment programs that prescribe controlled substances daily, native prescribing can be a meaningful workflow advantage.
- Facilities comfortable with PE-backed vendor risk. Organizations that have experience working with PE-backed vendors, understand the dynamics of portfolio company management, and are comfortable with the uncertainty that mergers create may be better positioned to navigate the Lightning Step/Sunwave situation than risk-averse organizations.
- Mid-size treatment centers (11-50 providers) that need an all-in-one platform. The bundled EMR/CRM/RCM/telehealth offering can consolidate multiple vendor relationships into one -- if the implementation is executed properly and the billing module functions as expected.
Who Should NOT Use Lightning Step
Lightning Step is not the right fit for a significant number of behavioral health organizations. Consider alternatives if:
- You are risk-averse about vendor stability. The combination of a recent merger, a CEO whose previous company filed for bankruptcy, PE ownership under a growth equity fund, and highly polarized user reviews represents a concentration of risk factors that risk-averse organizations should avoid. AZZLY Rize (independently owned) and Kipu Health (market leader with the largest installed base) are more stable alternatives.
- You cannot afford a 36-month commitment to an uncertain vendor. If you cannot negotiate the contract term down from 36 months, the risk-reward calculation changes significantly. Three years is a long time to be locked into a vendor in the middle of a PE-driven merger.
- You need stable, long-term vendor relationships. Lightning Step's ownership has changed dramatically in just a few years -- AVA Billing acquired and divested, ZenCharts absorbed, Gallant Capital invested, new CEO installed, merged with Sunwave. Organizations that value continuity and predictability in their vendor relationships should look elsewhere.
- Small solo practices. The platform's complexity, cost, and contract length make it a poor fit for individual practitioners or very small practices. TherapyNotes or SimplePractice are better options for this segment.
- Organizations that require ONC certification. Lightning Step is not ONC certified. If your organization needs ONC certification for regulatory compliance, state programs, or payer requirements, the platform does not qualify.
- Practices where billing accuracy is mission-critical. Given the user reports of billing configuration failures, lost charges, and non-functional payment reminders, organizations that cannot afford billing system downtime should evaluate the billing module very carefully or consider alternatives with stronger billing track records.
PE Ownership and Acquisition Concerns
Ownership Risk Advisory
Lightning Step's ownership trajectory represents one of the highest concentrations of PE-related risk factors we have seen in the behavioral health EHR market. This section documents the specific concerns that prospective buyers should evaluate carefully. For broader context on how PE consolidation affects behavioral health EHR customers, see our analysis of behavioral health EHR acquisitions.
The Merger with Sunwave Health
On October 27, 2025, Lightning Step merged with Sunwave Health under BVP Forge, Bessemer Venture Partners' growth equity arm (a $1 billion fund). The combined entity claims to serve 3,000+ facilities and 34,000+ users. While the companies position this as a strategic combination that strengthens both platforms, PE-driven mergers in healthcare technology follow predictable patterns that do not always benefit customers:
- Platform consolidation. When PE firms merge two competing products, they typically sunset one platform over time. Whether Lightning Step or Sunwave becomes the surviving platform -- or whether a third "combined" platform is built -- creates uncertainty for customers of both companies.
- Forced migrations. Customers of the deprecated platform may eventually face mandatory migration to the surviving platform, with all the disruption, data migration risk, and retraining cost that entails.
- Support consolidation. Merging two support organizations typically results in reduced headcount, knowledge loss, and at least a temporary degradation in support quality -- on top of the support inconsistency that Lightning Step users already report.
- Roadmap deprioritization. Features and improvements planned for the pre-merger roadmap may be shelved, delayed, or redirected as the combined entity focuses on integration and cost synergies.
CEO Track Record
Brent Michael was appointed CEO of Lightning Step in September 2023. His prior role was CEO of Eye Care Leaders, a PE-backed ophthalmology EHR platform that pursued an aggressive rollup strategy -- acquiring multiple smaller EHR companies to build scale. Eye Care Leaders subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Employee reviews of Eye Care Leaders described the organization as a "dysfunctional mess."
A CEO's past performance does not guarantee future outcomes in either direction. But the parallels between Eye Care Leaders (PE-backed EHR rollup, aggressive acquisitions, consolidation) and the Lightning Step/Sunwave trajectory (PE-backed, ZenCharts acquisition, Sunwave merger, aggressive consolidation) are notable enough that prospective buyers should ask questions about leadership's strategic vision and how this merger will differ from previous rollup attempts.
Rapid Ownership Changes
In the span of a few years, Lightning Step has gone through: the AVA Billing acquisition (2019) and divestiture (2023), the ZenCharts acquisition (2022), a Gallant Capital investment (2022), a CEO change (2023), and the Sunwave merger (2025). Each ownership change introduces organizational disruption, strategy shifts, and potential changes to pricing, support, and product direction. Organizations looking for a stable, long-term vendor partner should weigh this turbulence carefully.
What Prospective Buyers Should Demand
If you decide to evaluate Lightning Step despite these concerns, protect yourself contractually:
- 1. Negotiate short contract terms. Push hard against the 36-month contract. A 12-month initial term with annual renewals gives you the ability to exit if the post-merger reality does not match the sales pitch.
- 2. Get data portability guarantees in writing. Your clinical data must be exportable in a standard, usable format at any time. This is non-negotiable with any EHR vendor, but especially critical with a vendor in the middle of a merger.
- 3. Negotiate SLA guarantees for support response times. Given the polarized support experiences reported by current users, contractual SLAs with financial penalties for non-compliance provide protection that verbal assurances do not.
- 4. Ask specifically what happens to your platform version post-merger. Will you be migrated to Sunwave's platform? Will Lightning Step remain a standalone product? What is the timeline? Get answers -- and get them in the contract, not just in a sales meeting.
- 5. Include performance-based exit clauses. If billing is non-functional, if uptime falls below agreed thresholds, or if the platform is deprecated post-merger, you need contractual grounds to exit without penalty.
For a deeper analysis of how PE consolidation is reshaping the behavioral health EHR landscape and what it means for treatment center operators, read our guide to behavioral health EHR acquisitions.
Implementation
Lightning Step is a cloud-based platform, so there is no on-premise hardware to deploy. Access is through a web browser, which simplifies initial rollout. However, implementation quality is one of the most significant concerns raised by current users.
Key implementation considerations:
- Billing configuration is a critical risk area. Multiple users report that billing and calendar configuration were left incomplete or non-functional after implementation. This is not a minor inconvenience -- broken billing means lost revenue from day one. Organizations should negotiate specific billing configuration milestones, acceptance testing criteria, and post-go-live support commitments that are tied to billing functionality being fully operational.
- Define implementation acceptance criteria upfront. Before signing, agree on specific, measurable criteria for what constitutes a "completed" implementation. Include billing workflows, claim submission, payment posting, scheduling, and all modules you are purchasing. Do not accept a go-live until these criteria are met.
- Plan for data migration carefully. Organizations transitioning from another EHR should plan for patient record migration, historical data validation, and parallel operation during the transition period.
- Account for post-merger implementation capacity. Merging two companies often strains implementation and support resources. If you are implementing Lightning Step during or after the Sunwave merger, ask about the availability and continuity of your implementation team.
- Training investment. The platform bundles EMR, CRM, RCM, e-prescribing, and reporting -- each requiring role-specific training. Plan for dedicated training time for clinical, billing, and administrative staff.
Implementation Negotiation Tip
Given user reports of incomplete implementations, we strongly recommend tying contract payments to implementation milestones. Structure payment terms so that a significant portion of implementation fees are contingent on successful completion of billing, scheduling, and clinical documentation configuration -- verified through defined acceptance testing. Do not pay in full before the system is operational.
For a comprehensive overview of what to expect during any EHR implementation, see our EHR implementation checklist.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lightning Step Technologies?
Lightning Step Technologies is a cloud-based EHR platform built for behavioral health and addiction treatment organizations. Founded in 2014 by former treatment center owners and clinicians, the platform bundles EMR, CRM, RCM, e-prescribing, telehealth, and AI-powered documentation (LIA) into a single system. In October 2025, Lightning Step merged with Sunwave Health under BVP Forge (Bessemer Venture Partners), creating a combined entity claiming 3,000+ facilities and 34,000+ users.
Who owns Lightning Step Technologies?
Lightning Step is owned by BVP Forge, the growth equity arm of Bessemer Venture Partners. In October 2025, Lightning Step merged with Sunwave Health under BVP Forge ownership. The combined entity is led by CEO Brent Michael, who was previously CEO of Eye Care Leaders, a PE-backed ophthalmology EHR rollup that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Earlier ownership changes include Gallant Capital's investment in 2022 and the ZenCharts acquisition in 2022.
What is LIA AI from Lightning Step?
LIA (Lightning Intelligent Assistant) is Lightning Step's AI-powered documentation tool, launched in March 2024. LIA automates progress note generation and clinical documentation, reportedly reducing documentation workload by 55% and saving clinicians 12+ hours per month. In May 2025, LIA achieved ISO 42001 certification, making it the first ISO 42001 certified AI tool in behavioral healthcare. The certification covers governance, risk management, and responsible deployment of AI in clinical settings.
How much does Lightning Step cost?
Lightning Step pricing starts from $49/month base with a modular pricing model. However, users report that 36-month contract commitments are typical, which is significantly longer than most competitors. We strongly recommend negotiating for shorter contract terms. See our EHR cost guide for industry pricing benchmarks.
Is Lightning Step ONC certified?
No. Lightning Step is not ONC certified. The platform is HIPAA compliant and PCI compliant for payment processing, but it has not pursued ONC Health IT certification. Organizations that require ONC certification for regulatory compliance, quality reporting programs, or state program participation should consider alternatives like Kipu Health, Ease, or AZZLY Rize.
What happened when Lightning Step merged with Sunwave Health?
In October 2025, Lightning Step merged with Sunwave Health under BVP Forge (Bessemer Venture Partners' growth equity arm). The combined entity claims to serve 3,000+ facilities and 34,000+ users. It remains unclear how the two platforms will be integrated, whether customers will be migrated between platforms, and which product roadmap will take priority. This is a significant risk factor for prospective buyers. See our behavioral health EHR acquisitions analysis for broader context.
How does Lightning Step compare to Kipu Health and Ease?
Kipu Health is the market leader with 6,000+ facilities and the largest installed base in addiction treatment. Ease offers the most modern interface and native AI built from scratch. Lightning Step's LIA AI is genuinely innovative, but the platform carries more vendor risk than either competitor due to the Sunwave merger, CEO track record, and polarized user reviews. Organizations that prioritize stability should lean toward Kipu or Ease; those willing to accept higher risk for LIA may find Lightning Step compelling with strong contract protections. See our behavioral health EHR comparison for a detailed breakdown.
Should I sign a 36-month contract with Lightning Step?
We strongly recommend against signing a 36-month contract without significant negotiation. Given the October 2025 merger with Sunwave, uncertainty about platform direction, and the CEO's track record at Eye Care Leaders (which filed for bankruptcy), a 3-year commitment carries substantial risk. Push for a 12-month initial term, include data portability guarantees, specify SLA commitments for support response times, and get written assurances about what happens to your platform version post-merger.
Verdict
Lightning Step Technologies presents a genuine paradox for prospective buyers. On one hand, the platform has a real product strength that most competitors cannot match: LIA is the first ISO 42001 certified AI tool in behavioral healthcare, and its documentation automation capabilities represent exactly the kind of clinician workflow improvement that the behavioral health industry desperately needs. The native e-prescribing module, the practitioner-built clinical workflows, and the QA dashboard are meaningful differentiators that reflect the company's treatment-center-operator roots.
On the other hand, the risk factors surrounding Lightning Step are among the most concentrated in the behavioral health EHR market. The CEO was previously at the helm of a PE-backed EHR rollup that filed for bankruptcy. The company has been through a rapid-fire sequence of acquisitions, divestitures, investment rounds, and a merger -- all within a few years. The October 2025 merger with Sunwave under BVP Forge creates fundamental uncertainty about which platform survives, what happens to the LIA roadmap, and whether support quality (already inconsistent) will deteriorate further. User reviews are highly polarized -- some enthusiastic, others describing "profound buyer's remorse," implementation failures, and lost revenue from billing issues.
The 36-month contract requirement compounds every one of these risks. Signing a three-year deal with a vendor in the middle of a PE-driven merger, led by a CEO whose last company went bankrupt, while some current users report that billing broke and support was "appalling," is a bet that requires a very high risk tolerance.
Our recommendation: Organizations that need stability, proven track records, and predictable vendor relationships should look elsewhere. Ease offers a modern platform with native AI, independent ownership, and a design-forward approach. AZZLY Rize provides strong customer support and independent ownership in the SUD space. Kipu Health has the largest installed base and the most proven operational track record, despite its own PE-backed dynamics.
For organizations that are specifically drawn to LIA's AI capabilities and are willing to accept elevated vendor risk, Lightning Step can be a viable choice -- but only with aggressive contract protections. Negotiate a 12-month initial term, demand data portability guarantees, secure SLA commitments with financial penalties, and get explicit written answers about the post-merger platform roadmap. Do not rely on verbal assurances from sales.
EHR Source Recommendation
Lightning Step's LIA AI is a genuinely innovative tool -- the first ISO 42001 certified AI in behavioral healthcare. However, the significant vendor risk from the Sunwave merger, CEO track record, polarized reviews, and 36-month contracts means we cannot recommend Lightning Step without strong caveats. For organizations that prioritize stability: consider Ease, AZZLY Rize, or Kipu Health. For organizations drawn to LIA: evaluate Lightning Step, but negotiate contract protections aggressively -- short terms, data portability, SLA guarantees, and post-merger platform commitments in writing. Read our EHR acquisition analysis before making a decision.
Evaluating multiple options? See our behavioral health EHR comparison for a side-by-side look at the leading platforms, or read our EHR selection guide for a structured evaluation framework.