Customer Spotlight: New hospital in Dublin completes Phase I of MEDITECH implementation

By: Donna Carroll, Editor

Over the past year, I've had the pleasure of performing some international recruitment, an endeavor which has taught me a lot (probably more than I ever wanted to know) about work permits, international work standards, and true cultural differences in the business world! Although there were many challenges along the way, a creative mindset and one very dedicated CIO served well to accomplish the recruitment goals of our client. With our client having recently completed Phase I of their MEDITECH implementation, I took some time to talk with the CIO about the project. Below is a summary of my interview with him.

FACILITY:

Hermitage Medical Clinic, Dublin, Ireland

DESCRIPTION:

The Hermitage Medical Clinic is a private, acute care facility with 101 inpatient beds, 24 day beds, 8 ICU beds, and 7 Operating Rooms.

INTERVIEWEE:

Mike Gogola, CIO

BACKGROUND:

Mike Gogola has managed the implementation and operation of MEDITECH at 24 hospitals. Under his watch, two hospitals have won the “100 Most Wired Hospitals” award.

Mike is a Diplomate Member of ACHE, a Member of CHIME, a Fellow with HIMSS, and a Member of the EU MUSE Board. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a BS degree in Business Management and received his MBA from Roosevelt University in Chicago. Mike has previously served as a MUSE Western Regional Director and International Board Member.

What is the overall scope of this project?

The scope of the project is to implement MEDITECH at a start-up hospital, utilizing full-time super-users, along with IT staff and MEDITECH consultants, to fully implement the system. The key element is utilization of dedicated, full-time super-users in each of the departments.

Which MEDITECH modules are you implementing?

We’re implementing over 15 modules of MEDITECH MAGIC v5.5. We’ve taken a phased approach to include the following:

Phase I: ADM, MRI, PCI, OE, B/AR, GL, LAB

Phase II: BBK, NUR, CWS, ORM, MM, AP, SCA, PHA

Phase III: POM

At what stage are you in the project?

We have recently completed Phase I and are just beginning with Phase II. The timeline for implementation is:

Phase I: 12/06 thru 4/07

Phase II: 5/07 thru 1/08

Phase III: Around 3/08

Aside from MEDITECH, what other systems or software are you implementing?

We’re also implementing GE Centricity RIS/PACS system, and Iguana HL7 Integration Engine (from Toronto-based company, iNTERFACEWARE).

Who comprises your project team?

Our project team is comprised of 7 IT staff, 1 Radiology staff, and numerous department super-users. Specifically, we have 1 Applications Manager, 2 Clinical Analysts, 1 Financial Analyst, 1 Network Manager, 1 PC Support Technician, 1 PACS Administrator (in IT), and 1 PACS Manager (in Radiology). Our staff is a multi-national team with members coming from the United States, Canada, South Africa, and, of course, Ireland.

What is the biggest difference between Ireland’s healthcare system and the U.S. healthcare system?

Ireland has a public healthcare system. Residents are taxed by the government with a portion going toward healthcare services. As a result, there are extremely long wait times for medical care, especially in the ER. Medicare and Medicaid do not exist in Ireland. You can purchase private health insurance fairly inexpensively, and this would allow you to receive medical care at private hospitals in order to avoid long wait times in the public facilities. There are relatively few private hospitals in Ireland, with just 3 new facilities built over the last few years. But, these are the only new private facilities to open in 20 years.

Having implemented MEDITECH at over 20 hospitals in the U.S., what are some of your biggest challenges in implementing MEDITECH in Ireland?

The single largest challenge to this implementation project has been recruitment. MEDITECH Inc. sold to its first Ireland customer just a couple of years ago, so there is no local pool of experienced MEDITECH professionals to draw from yet.

What specific actions were taken to overcome these challenges?

We have addressed this challenge through a variety of means. We have advertised job vacancies on the MEDITECH-L, have tapped into our professional network to find interested candidates, have utilized a professional search firm which specializes in MEDITECH recruitment, and have supplemented our staff with some short-term consultants.

In hindsight, are there any things you might do differently if you were to do this project all over again?

Not really. A lot of research and foresight went into the planning process. We tried to identify potential problems ahead of time, so that we could approach them with possible solutions, rather than be surprised by them. To some extent, we shared information with the other 2 new facilities (also implementing MEDITECH) in Ireland.

What are some important pieces of advice you have to offer other sites embarking on the same project?

The biggest recommendation I would make to any start-up hospital is to have their senior management team in place at least 1 year prior to the expected completion of construction. I was actually the first employee hired by the hospital, and began 6 months prior to the completion of construction. Our IT Steering Committee was initially comprised of myself, a local management consulting firm, and some of the hospital’s investors. I obviously had to staff my own department in order to lay the groundwork for the IT infrastructure. But, because I was the only executive at the time, I was also very involved in the recruitment process for the other key executives and department managers. In Ireland, it’s common practice for executives to give 3 months notice, and for department managers to give 1 month notice to their current employers before vacating their positions. Therefore, it took 3 months for our CEO and other executives to start work once they were selected. The department managers then had to be in place before staff members could be hired. So the entire recruitment process was a rather protracted one, and is still ongoing.