Hey Vince & Elise, I read with great interest your excellent article on which acute EMR vendors have the most robust and integrated ambulatory EMR products. I was hoping you could take me on a deeper dive as far as a Epic vs Cerner head-to-head matchup goes. Let’s say I’m a best-of-breed IDN looking to […]
Which Acute EMR Vendors Have the Strongest Ambulatory Products?
A Reader Asks: Dear HIS Pros, I recently read Anthony Guerra’s article on Meditech’s ambulatory EHR situation and wanted to know your assessment of the other major inpatient vendors when it comes to their ambulatory offerings. Thanks! Good question: Anthony’s blog on Meditech and LSS makes one wonder about the other big boys offerings in […]
What Does the Sunquest Acquisition Mean?
Dear HISPros, “I am CIO at a large medical center with Sunquest in the Lab. What does this deal mean to me?” A press release this morning announced the planned acquisition of Sunquest, a major LIS vendor, by an investment group headed by Huntsman Gay Global Capital LLC. It’s a complex transaction including Sunquest itself borrowing $655 million to “fund a dividend to existing shareholders, refinance $115 million of outstanding debt, and pay related fees and expenses,” according to Moody’s Investor Services. And I’m sweating paying $200 bucks for a new all-in-one printer!
How Much Do HIS Implementations Really Cost?
Dear HIS Pros, I have been searching and searching for information regarding costs of implementing the Epic and Eclipsys Acute Care EMR systems and can’t find a hint anywhere! Any chance you have a second to give me a ballpark range for a 300-bed independent hospital? — Emilie Hedlund, Master of Healthcare Administration Student, University of Minnesota
What Will the Keane Acquisition Mean?
So Keane, Inc. is being acquired by a Japanese firm: NTT Data for $1.2B. Just 3 years ago (in February 2007), Keane had been acquired for $845M by Caritor, a global organization based in San Ramon, Calif., with a solid track record in offshore IT development. Not a bad profit in 3 years for Caritor […]
Do Integration Technologies Need to be Certified?
Dear HISPros: I’m very confused about ONC’s certification requirements – if my EMR is certified, but the data goes through an interfacing technology or data warehouse before reaching a third party or CMS, am I still qualified to receive Meaningful Use dollars? This is a very interesting question and I am sure we will hear more on this as there are so many possible permutations of vendors and systems in a “best of breed” hospital IT shop.
When Does an Upgrade Become an Opportunity?
A Reader Asks: “When it’s time to upgrade, how do I discern between a major and minor one? How do I decide if an upgrade is big enough that it makes sense to investigate my options with other vendors?” HIS Pros Answer: Most “upgrades” are new releases or versions of a currently installed system, and should have no cost associated with them. That’ what you’re playing software maintenance for. The only cost with a new version or release might be hardware (a larger server) or third party software (newer versions of Windows or Office). If a vendor is charging for a new version or release, something is wrong with your contract, as almost all vendors provide them for free.
Can Today’s EMRs Handle MU Reporting?
Can current EMR systems produce the kinds of reports that will be required to demonstrate Meaningful Use? If not, where does that leave providers? HIS Pros Says: The temporary EHR certification rule released by ONC requires certified systems to be capable of reporting the numerator, denominator and percentage for each measure detailed by CMS in the final meaningful use rule. (See §170.302(n) in the certification rule). This requirement was not in the proposed rule and was added as a response to numerous comments urging ONC to include requirements that reduce the burden on provider organizations to evaluate and demonstrate compliance with the percentage measures, as well as increase the accuracy and reliability of provider reporting.
Glaser & Siemens: Perfect Together?
What effect do you think John Glaser taking over could have on Siemens’ competitive strength? First off, it’s a brilliant marketing coup by Siemens: Glaser is easily the most famous CIO in the industry, with a stellar reputation for leadership, vision, communications skills, etc. No CIO has written more articles, been interviewed more times, given more presentations, runs more blogs, etc. John even joined his fellow Partner’s alumnus Dr. Blumenthal to help craft the ONCHIT rules & regulations for certification, meaningful use, etc. He’s simply at the top of the heap!
Can AllScripts & Eclipsys Integrate?
“From a technology point of view, how difficult will it be to truly integrate the Allscripts ambulatory product/s with the Eclipsys inpatient product/s. How long might it take?” Good question, and complicated answer: If you define “integrated” as systems running the same programming language, operating system, data base, and hardware platform, then AllScripts will never truly integrate all of their products with Eclipsys’. True integration would mean re-writing every product from both firms to be on the same database, OS, servers, etc., something that even Eclipsys didn’t do with the many (fine) products they bought over the years to build their Sunrise suite, to whit: