The Risky Business Of Third-Party Vendors

Jorge Grillo, CIO, Canton-Potsdam Hospital

In a free-market economy, supply and demand drive pricing, availability, and a host of other economic trends. I have been in the healthcare IT business for over 20 years now, and generally, that free-market model has worked well. It has also allowed for win-win pricing structure and contractual payment terms. For instance, I have regularly [...]

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Culture Clashes: The Romance and Reality of Working Overseas

Jorge Grillo, CIO, Canton-Potsdam Hospital

In my last article, I discussed the financial considerations of working abroad. In this one, I will discuss cultural factors you may wish to weigh before accepting a position overseas. The first is that we, as Americans, often forget how much the rest of the world dislikes us as a country and as a people. [...]

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So You Are Considering A Position Overseas…

Jorge Grillo, CIO, Canton-Potsdam Hospital

While the prospect of working overseas is exciting and may seem like the ultimate adventure, there are several things to consider before grabbing your Indiana Jones leather jacket, whip, and laptop. As a CIO that has lived and work overseas for half his life, I thought I would share some of my lessons learned, provide [...]

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Meditech 6.0 Diary Part 20: The $100,000 Question

Jorge Grillo, CIO, Canton-Potsdam Hospital

Over the last year and a half, many of you have followed our journey from Magic to 6.x with all its challenges and nuances. It has been a daunting experience and not without its frustrations. If hindsight is 20-20, then hopefully our experiences have helped you. In this article, I will attempt to summarize where [...]

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Meditech 6.0 Diary Part 19: Working Through The Growing Pains

Jorge Grillo, CIO, Canton-Potsdam Hospital

Well, we went live on CPOE on May 15. This was not a big bang but rather a trickle, starting with the hospitalists who volunteered to act as provider champions and were willing to work through the bugs and growing pains with us. It is now three weeks later and we are still with the [...]

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Meditech 6.0 Diary Part 18: A Summit And The Winds Of Change

Jorge Grillo, CIO, Canton-Potsdam Hospital

Many healthcare CIOs have argued for ages that Meditech’s large market-share has caused them to be a bit less than responsive to customer needs and somewhat rigid in their delivery of service, along with being more focused on their internal business drivers than their customer’s desires. I must admit to having been one of those [...]

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A Dinosaur Waiting to Happen?

Jorge Grillo, CIO, Canton-Potsdam Hospital

Are independent rural hospitals destined to go the way of the dinosaur (extinction)? No matter what state you look at, be it New York, Texas, or others, independent rural hospitals are merging or getting bought by larger entities or IDNs. While there are different drivers and benefits for this phenomenon, the core issue relates to [...]

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Meditech 6.0 Diary Part 17 – Addressing Post Go-Live Gripes

Jorge Grillo, CIO, Canton-Potsdam Hospital

So it has been 8 weeks since our go-live. It is always interesting for me to note the things that start to creep up post go-live that could, and should, have been caught during the pre-go-live build. The following is our experience, and will hopefully help you identify processes or items to address in your [...]

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