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Hospital Augments In-House IT to Accelerate Stimulus Readiness EffortsBy Pat Mongoven Administrative Director, Information Technology Winter Haven Hospital Winter Haven, Fla. Overcoming an IT Staffing Shortage Established in 1926, Winter Haven Hospital serves as one of the major medical centers in central Florida. Our 527-bed hospital's staff of 2,500 includes more than 300 board-certified physicians representing every major specialty. We are one of Polk County's largest private employers, recognized as one of its Best Places to Work and recently awarded the prestigious American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition. Even so, it has been difficult to recruit and retain skilled IT professionals from the Orlando and Tampa areas. When it came time to upgrade our hospital information systems, we were faced with a shortage of in-house technical resources. Coupled with managing the upgrades and the tight schedules required by current healthcare legislation to meet federal stimulus funding guidelines and deadlines for ERM meaningful use, we sought increased outside expertise to assist us with project-based application integration, and technical and project management services. This would enable our in-house IT team to work on other projects and provide ongoing user support for our new applications. Providing safe, high-quality patient care without disruption is always at the forefront of our decisions, so it was critical to make the right choice of a consultant. Choosing a Trusted Partner In addition to a severe shortage of internal IT staff, in the past, we've had frustrating experiences with consultants who didn't become true partners. As a result, one of our top priorities was to choose a vendor that had staffing experience in the EMR solutions we had acquired and would be interested in building a collaborative effort with us by adopting shared goals with our team. A Proven Track Record. We've been working with McKesson since 1999. Over the years, we've built a high level of trust with its employees, and they have become full-fledged partners. They are in tune with us and our needs. While we evaluated other vendors, we had confidence that McKesson's Accelerated Services team has quality, knowledgeable employees and understood our goals. We were comfortable they were as committed as we were and could take us where we wanted to go. A Smooth, Predictable Process. During a two-phase EMR process, they helped us implement an array of technologies in a smooth, predictable manner, including a pharmacy information system, an Allergy integration between clinical and patient accounting systems, and a bar-coding medication administration system that will help us prepare for meaningful use requirements. Fixed-Fee Pricing. The fixed-fee pricing enables us to confidently plan and manage our budget in these tight economic times. Assembling an Experienced Team When selecting a consultant, expertise is all important — not only bringing it to the table, but also passing it on to the in-house IT team. In-depth Knowledge of Hospital Process. In addition to being in alignment with our in-house IT team, the McKesson team brings an in-depth knowledge of hospital processes. Most members have hands-on experience working in a hospital environment, so they are intimately aware of procedures and department cultures. Solution Experts for Each Project. A complete understanding of the company's software solutions is vital to the success of any IT implementation. The implementation team for each project comprises experts with experience in the solution and its implementation. This ensures that each implementation or upgrade is spearheaded by true experts and is completed in an accelerated manner. Passing on the Expertise to Our Team. They share expertise with our in-house IT team so we can support the applications after deployment. They train our team and end users so that we get optimum use from our applications, even providing side-by-side support on the nursing floors for 60 days after go-live. We have been pleased with the adoption of IT from these efforts. Expertise Drives Results Across all of our projects, the team applies the knowledge and expertise of its members to achieve success by:  Documenting processes to ensure that we complete all necessary actions Coordinating work with members of the hospital's clinical design, information services andnursing administration team Keeping the implementation project on track via regular goal-setting meetings Understanding and communicating the expected outcomes of implementation-related decisions Explaining the gamut of available technical options Ensuring that we meet all implementation milestones on or before deadlinesHaving detailed and continuous reporting gives us the confidence that we know the current status of every project. Close collaboration with our caregivers and the in-house IT team also contributes to the success of the projects. Meeting the Acceleration Challenge Like other healthcare organizations, we are concerned with meeting milestones for achieving meaningful use as well as moving forward our patient safety efforts and ongoing system upgrades. In this accelerated environment for IT, we rely on access to expert teams that can mesh with our own limited staff to provide the expertise to implement new technology quickly. McKesson has proven to be a good partner in these efforts. Pat Mongoven has been with Winter Haven Hospital for nine years. Previously, he was with Lakeland Regional Medical Center. He is a member of the Healthcare Information and Management System Society.   |
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