Apple has been in the news with some amazing ups and down recently: • Surpassing Exxon Mobile to be the largest U.S. company in market cap. For those of you wise enough to avoid the perils of Wall Street, “market cap” = market capitalization, or share price times number of shares, which in Apple & […]
Breaking Down an Epic Versus Cerner Selection
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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:
Ask the Pros: CPOE or eMAR First?
Dear HIS Pros: Which do you recommend doing first: CPOE or bedside bar-coded eMAR? Although this question has become a hot topic recently due to its implications with “meaningful use” of an EMR, we have been answering it for many years since CPOE first hit the charts. We always recommend a hospital first implement most nursing applications, not just BMV, before tackling CPOE for a number reasons:
Ask the Pros: Best Critical Access Hospital Vendor?
QUESTION: “What vendors would you recommend for a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) of 25 beds?” That’s easy: just look at vendors whose client base consists mainly of 25 bed CAHs: The “Big 3” are CPSI, Healthland and HMS, who each have hundreds of CAH facilities each; indeed, these three small-hospital leaders have few clients over 100 beds in size! They feature strong integration, offering almost every financial and clinical application, obviating costly interfaces. CPSI even has a self-developed PACS and T & A system. HMS just bought superb ED vendor “MedHost,”