Comments on: Monday Morning Update 6/16/08

By: MS User

MS User — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:49:22 +0000

Just wanted to point out that Obama is allowed in Word 2008 (though apparently not this comment box as my text is red). Just like a typical customer, complaining about a problem you could have a fix for if you would just use the new version.

As a side note, I love Office 2008, clearly all of Microsoft’s resources were spent on Office instead of Vista.

By: p_anon

p_anon — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:00:04 +0000

Re: MEDITECH, it makes perfect sense to prefer MEDITECH experience. If you have no intention of converting away, and all other things being equal, you will want someone who has worked in the MEDITECH ecosystem. This is important even for “strategic leadership and vision-casting,” because knowing what’s available (and what’s easy, and what’s difficult) in the MEDITECH ecosystem will drive your “strategic vision.”

As for REQUIRING experience, that’s another issue; I just agree it should be “strongly preferred.”

By: FormerCIO

FormerCIO — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:41:32 +0000

RE: “Odd requirement: “Meditech is a definite must-have and current.” I thought CIOs were supposed to be strategic thought leaders and visionaries, not application experts. That’s like searching for a CEO with experience retrieving Nortel voice mail. ”

Actually, I think it is an EXCELLENT requirement for this system. They are in the middle of implementing and expanding MEDITECH and if they are committed to this approach then, yes, MEDITECH experience is a plus.

As a former CIO and consultant, I have seen too many “thought” shifts in the middle of implementations from new leadership staff. As a result the support is not there for the implementation and the project fails resulting in a loss of dollars and manpower. Sounds like Caritas Christi does not want to make that mistake and wants to make their current investment count.

And regarding “Unemployed CIO”‘s comment about losing “community hospital CIO” jobs without MEDITECH experience, remember that in community hospitals this CIO position is strategic and operational. I know, I have “been there, done that” — board meetings in the morning and two hours later you are troubleshooting an application issue because one of your staff is on vacation. A community hospital CIO has to wear many hats and understand intimately the system that is running the hospital.

And secondly, Caritas Christi is not a “community hospital” so my take on application experience is that they want someone who supports the current vision of their system. Not an “odd requirement” at all.

By: Unemployed CIO

Unemployed CIO — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:49:11 +0000

What is it about Meditech that makes it unique? I’ve lost out out on over half the available jobs for a ‘community hospital CIO’ because I don’t have Meditech experience. Never mind the hospital IT department I ran had successfully implemented a competitor’s clinical system and we had achieved greater than 80% CPOE! One theory – the only thing the CFOs at these hospitals know about Meditech is the price and feel Meditech specific experience will be better.

By: The Alchemist

The Alchemist — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:07:37 +0000

Bumrungrdddeath: It is always refreshing and stimulating to hear the other side of the story. In healthcare, a.k.a. medical care, the truth always prevails as a result of investigation of a Sentinel Event. Maybe Bumrungrad is applying the processes of the Joint Commission International version of Sentinel Event? Which brings me to very astonishing occult theory purported if you read between the lines of most U.S. healthcare journals: Information + Disinformation = S-iloed H-ealthcare I-nformation T-echnology ( I would use the Acronym here, but I think most high school educated readers get the idea)

Maybe Paul Harvey knows the rest of the story? I’m all ears, Paul!