December 2017

Thoughts from Our President

On December 12 KLAS issued a performance report on MEDITECH’s Web Ambulatory solution. In “MEDITECH Web Ambulatory, Insights into the Early-Adopter Experience,” KLAS interviews 19 of the 22 organizations currently LIVE on Web Ambulatory to uncover the successes and challenges faced by these organizations for both EMR and practice management. Ambulatory represents a bold initiative for MEDITECH and this report gives a favorable review and an encouraging perspective for the future of this product. In particular, the report highlights the successful integration between Ambulatory and Acute, physician satisfaction and mobility. Probably most important in our read is that they see MEDITECH on the right track. There is a common thread regarding steady improvement. We believe its findings represent an accurate portrayal of progress achieved and MEDITECH’s commitment to its success, with particular emphasis on the power of an integrated record. For those that have purchased or are thinking of purchasing MEDITECH Web Ambulatory, these findings should reinforce your decision. While the focus of the report is the Web Ambulatory product, KLAS includes questions regarding satisfaction with the consulting firms used for the implementations. The following article summarizes the feedback KLAS received from our clients.

John Haffty

KLAS Performance Report – MEDITECH Web Ambulatory

Navin, Haffty & Associates (NHA) is very pleased with the results reported by our clients on the success they have achieved with Ambulatory. The KLAS performance report referenced above, “MEDITECH Web Ambulatory, Insights into the Early-Adopter Experience,” includes feedback on the positive impact NHA has had for our clients during their implementations. The report acknowledges NHA has brought LIVE more sites with Ambulatory than all other consulting companies combined. Further, the vast majority of our clients indicated their projects were very successful, but this was not the case for organizations that used other consulting companies.

We want to share a quote from the report from a CIO which highlights the difference we proudly bring to organizations utilizing our services:

“Our experience with Navin, Haffty & Associates was excellent. The firm’s biggest strength is very close involvement with MEDITECH. The firm is totally committed to MEDITECH because they know they need MEDITECH to be successful, and MEDITECH goes to John Haffty and his staff to let them know what to expect down the road. The relationship between MEDITECH and Navin, Haffty & Associates is a definite win-win for MEDITECH customers.”

NHA has invested significant resources that work closely with MEDITECH to develop workflows and best practices specific to Ambulatory and integration with MEDITECH Web Acute/Web ED (which now totals approximately 50 unique processes). The keys to success of any software project go beyond the actual building of dictionaries and templates. It requires a focus on taking advantage of the new capabilities, such as an integrated EMR, to improve patient care and increase productivity. These require a holistic approach that blends detailed knowledge of Web Ambulatory, its overall design as part of the MEDITECH EMR, and a redesign of work processes.

Another key to success is our commitment to development of eLearning tools. Partnering with MedPower, we provide our 6.1 implementation clients a smartphone based micro-learning app consisting of brief lessons on the common new features of 6.1. The app is provided to our clients at no cost during training and Go-LIVE. KLAS confirms our clients benefit from our investment by way of improved efficiency and effectiveness in user training. For more information on our proprietary eLearning tool visit navinhaffty.com under the MEDITECH 6.1 READY Implementation Services section.

For more information on NHA’s results from this study, click here.

For those interested in receiving this report, visit klasresearch.com.

MEDITECH Announces Cloud-Based EHR Solution

MEDITECH recently released the following announcement of its new cloud-based EHR solution: “MEDITECH as a Service (MaaS) is a private, cloud-based EHR solution being offered initially to Critical Access Hospitals (CAH). MaaS will provide healthcare organizations with MEDITECH’s latest EHR technology designed to improve organizational efficiency and ensure quality patient care. The integrated EHR solution is obtained through a monthly subscription, allowing organizations to quickly procure a cost-effective, modern EHR system with simplified contracting.”

This represents a significant new approach to purchasing and supporting your EHR needs and may make sense for some of you. As with all things new and different, we encourage you to contact your MEDITECH representative for further information. To read MEDITECH’s full announcement click here.

NHA has been following the development of MaaS for some time and has insight into how this solution would fit best into your overall information technology strategic direction. If you are interested in MaaS, we’d be glad to share our understanding of this exciting solution. Contact John Haffty at jhaffty@navinhaffty.com.

Top Factors to Consider When Evaluating 6.1 Consulting Firms

MEDITECH’s READY implementation program certification process sets standards that require each consulting firm to have a minimum level of 6.x implementation knowledge and experience. Each firm is responsible for developing its own offerings and value-add services that are aligned with MEDITECH’s methodology. It is important to note that while the certification process involves requirements for certain levels of experiences and expertise, it does not distinguish between the effectiveness of a firm’s methodologies, tools, templates, or its overall success in delivering services. Before you sign the contract, ask and get the answers to these top questions:

1. How Much 6.x Experience Does the Consulting Firm Have?
2. How is the Consulting Company Rated in KLAS?
3. Does the Firm Offer a Project Management Tool that Covers All Success Factors?
4. How Does the Firm Develop its Methodologies and Tools?
5. How Does the Consulting Firm Drive Value?
6. How Does the Firm Ensure the Right Physician Training and Support?

Go to this link to get more information about the questions you should be asking.

Newsletter Comment

Last month, I made some comments in support of Veteran’s Day. I received the following response that I thought was worth sharing and might bring a smile to some of you:

“Glad to see that Veteran’s Day is a paid holiday with you all. I admire that. I was drafted and served as a combat medic in ‘Nam. Of the 11 medics I went over with, only 3 of us shipped home together after one year. That is how I ended up in medicine (switching from math) once I got home. It is also why I never have gotten too excited by any crisis since. Compared to crawling on the ground to get to a wounded buddy while being shot at puts all other situations in perspective. System crash? Anyone shooting at us? No? Then we cool😀😀.”

Client Testimonial and KLAS Comments

Here is a recent testimonial from one of our clients:

“Navin, Haffty & Associates has assisted us with many projects over our long tenure in the MEDITECH environment. They consistently provide qualified consultants and excellent guidance along the way. Our technical engagements have been especially rewarding, allowing us to get an objective, thorough evaluation of our options, so we can make informed decisions regarding our technical environment.”

Richard Cruthirds, Chief Information Officer, Peterson Health

Visit our website to see our full library of client testimonials.

Recent KLAS Comments:

“The Navin Haffty resources assigned to our project were excellent. They worked closely with our IT staff, our physicians, and our physicians’ staffs to implement our new ambulatory solution. Navin Haffty’s resources interviewed the executive team and key staff members in person or via phone, and Navin Haffty helped clinics customize things in the new system so that the system could support clinics’ workflows and processes. Navin Haffty held weekly status meetings to discuss whether targets were being met or whether we were falling behind and to cover what needed to be done the upcoming week. We plan to continue engaging with Navin Haffty to implement the additional ambulatory modules we need.” – CIO

“We would absolutely hire NHA again. In fact, we already have plans to work with them again in the future. We are going to hire them to help us with our business and clinical analytics. We want them to help us create some dashboards.” – CIO

“Navin Haffty has very good MEDITECH-specific experience. They have a very long history with MEDITECH. In my opinion, Navin Haffty has the most expertise and experience with MEDITECH’s system.” – Director

“NHA had knowledgeable consultants. I don’t think we could have done our implementation without them. All of the consultants we worked with were knowledgeable in their area of expertise. Overall, our experience with NHA was good.” – CIO

Please note selected commentaries may not represent the whole of provider sentiment related to this product or service. For a complete view, visit KLASresearch.com.

Quick Notes

• As most of you know, MEDITECH is committed to interoperability and is a leading member of CommonWell Health Alliance. Here are the key themes from CommonWell’s recent general meeting
• MEDITECH recently posted an update on the final MACRA ruling
• MEDITECH and Forward Advantage offer new biometrics options. In this video, Community Hospital Anderson, Anderson, Indiana, discusses the benefits
• Congratulations to our friends at Pella Regional Health Center, Pella, Iowa which successfully migrated from C/S to 6.15 including Ambulatory
• NHA is pleased to announce we have been selected by the following organizations for their upcoming projects:
  • Citrus Valley Health Partners, West Covina, California – 6.1 Financial and Clinical Project Leads
  • Exeter Hospital, Exeter, New Hampshire – POM Support
  • Peterson Regional Medical Center, Kerrville, Texas – 6.07 to 6.16 Web Acute Implementation
  • The Orthopedic & Spine Inpatient Surgical Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona – PCS/PCM Clinical Lead

Calendar of Events

Upcoming MEDITECH webinars (all times listed in EST):

Surgical Services
December 14, 2:00 PM
See how the enhancements in MEDITECH 6.1 Surgical Services will empower your organization to better manage surgery workflows and patient care, for increased productivity and revenue.

Quality and Surveillance
December 19, 2:00 PM
This high-level demonstration will show you how MEDITECH’s Quality and Surveillance solution monitors risk and quality throughout your organization — leading to enhanced patient safety and positive patient outcomes.

NHA is Hiring

If you are interested in consulting, consider joining us. NHA continues to need excellent MEDITECH specialists and for the fourth year in a row, we have been named to the Top 100 “Best Places to Work” by Modern Healthcare magazine.

We are currently looking for those with implementation experience with MEDITECH’s 6.1 applications with special interest in the AMB and RCG applications.

If you are interested, please contact us at recruiting@navinhaffty.com or call us at (855) 309-9334. See what positions are currently available by visiting the NHA Careers page.

Please note that at this time we are only able to consider those able to travel up to 80% of the time (also employees from MEDITECH and our clients cannot be considered).

Client Job Board

If you are interested in exploring new positions at other organizations, visit the client job board section of our website. This is a free service of NHA to the MEDITECH community. Currently, there are many postings from MEDITECH organizations. If you or a colleague are interested, check out what’s open.

If you would like to include your organization’s listing on the NHA website, please email Katie Kelly at kkelly@navinhaffty.com. Please note that as this is a courtesy to the MEDITECH community, we will not accept postings from recruiting companies.