IDX Archives - healthsystemcio.com

KLAS: CIOs Must Consider Total Cost of Ownership

08/27/2010 By Anthony Guerra Leave a Comment

Sticker price is only one, and may not even be the most important, factor to consider when evaluating an EMR purchase, according to a new report from KLAS — Acute Care EMR, Getting Your Money’s Worth: The Overall Experience. Those other factors include unexpected costs, physician usability, missed delivery dates, response time, stability and workflow interruptions. So buyers may find though they can “afford” to buy a particular solution, they can’t afford to own it or be successful with it in other ways, such as achieving significant adoption of CPOE.

When Does an Upgrade Become an Opportunity?

08/15/2010 By Anthony Guerra 1 Comment

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.

PODCAST: One-on-One w/St. Claire Regional Medical Center VP of IS & CIO Randy McCleese, Chapter 2

07/05/2010 By Anthony Guerra Leave a Comment

After 14 years with St. Claire Regional Medical Center, you might think Randy McCleese has done it all, but you’d be wrong. That’s because the CIO is just now embarking on a new core clinical install with a vendor he hasn’t worked with before — Meditech. And McCleese isn’t dipping his toe into the Meditech […]