Meditech, What The Heck?

Adam Gale, President, KLAS

Sorry, living in Utah you get a lot of “hecks” and “darns.”  But seriously, what the heck is going on with version 6? You know, this is the Meditech that had essentially owned the market for mid-sized hospitals and basically printed money in the basement as hospitals flocked their way. When you have nearly 2,000 full systems sold, you have little to prove. I think, until recently, you could count all Meditech defections on two hands. Not hard to see why, when there are so few integrated options out there, especially ones that don’t flatten your wallet.

With healthcare and IT specifically trying to change at the speed of light, Meditech is no different as they move down the path of a newly revamped version 6. Everywhere I turn I get a different perspective on what is real. From Jorge Grillo’s great blog about their Meditech install, to Bobbie Byrne’s fascinating read about a possible Meditech replacement decision and the hundreds of interviews that we do every year with many of you on MAGIC and C/S, it is hard to separate out what the real story is. It just seems easiest to side with those you trust. What happens when those you trust have such diverging opinions?

Our recent tally has Meditech v.6 live at over 50 sites with hundreds contracted. That is a great start, but no reason for most sites to move yet. No surprise that talking with those live on v.6 you find both vocal champions and frustrated critics. What’s the bottom line? This is a tough install, especially if you are moving from MAGIC. Version 6 customers rate significantly lower than their counterparts on MAGIC and C/S, but expect that will change over time. They still feel generally happy about what they spent, considering what they hear from peers. However, it’s certainly a whole new world when you have Meditech sites looking around at the new healthcare landscape and moving to Epic, Paragon, Cerner, Soarian and others. In the end, Meditech is banking on new clients getting live quickly and back to a “Meditech steadiness”. Until then, it looks like there will be some rough water.