Healthcare It News - February 2008 - (Page 69)

www.HealthcareITNews.com vENdoRS February 2008 ■ Healthcare IT News 69 PointClickCare touts benefits of SaaS Vendor says solution makes better use of IT specialists. By dIaNa MaNos, Senior Editor MINNEAPOLIS – Contrary to popular belief, long term-care facilities employing Software-as-aService (SaaS) solutions will still need IT specialists, according to a new white paper released by PointClickCare. According to Mike Wessinger, CEO of PointClickCare, with SaaS, nursing homes don’t have to buy, install or maintain expensive hardware or software, and they don’t have to chase upgrades. They pay a monthly fee and receive the service as they would a utility. “In a nutshell, a lot of IT shops are threatened by SaaS. They wonder if they will be out of a job,” Wessinger said. “The reality is that will happen only if an organization doesn’t really understand how to get the most from SaaS. Instead of the IT department getting bogged down in the mud with commodity hardware applications and management, SaaS can help it focus on what drives business.” Minneapolis-based PointClickCare, one of the innovators in providing SaaS in the healthcare arena, serves some 3,000 long-term care facilities in 40 U.S. states and across Canada. Gartner, a global IT research firm, said organizations usually spend up to four times the initial cost of IT to manage their software after they buy it. Some companies spend more than 75 percent of their total IT budget on maintaining and running existing systems and software infrastructure. According to the Software-asa-Service Executive Council, in most cases, through economies of scale, a SaaS vendor can maintain a system at a much lower cost. As a result, providers can spread their IT budget across many more applications to support and grow their business operations which will in turn contribute to the bottom line. Murry Mercier, vice president and director of information services at HCR Manor Care and coauthor of the paper, said margins are much slimmer for nursing homes than for hospitals, so it was important to him to find the most IT value for the lowest cost. Mercier said HCR’s 280 facilities met their 18-month implementation deadline with no trouble. “We’re not a technology company, we’re a healthcare company,” Mercier said. “By leaving all the software and hardware in PointClickCare’s hands, we were able to focus on our operations and the rollout process.” According to Wessinger, the advent of improved bandwidth has contributed to making SaaS a more viable option. “SaaS is definitely coming - it’s not a matter of if, but when - and IT management should prepare their organization and begin the process of retooling and helping staff acquire skills needed for highervalue tasks.” ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: SaaS 0208 ● With Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions, healthcare providers pay a monthly fee for software without having to buy, install and maintain expensive hardware or software and chase down upgrades. This year at HIMSS, you are cordially invited to CONNECT WITH HEALTHPORT HealthPort is your ticket to connect with the people, technology and services you need to succeed. Visit HealthPort Booth #1239 at HIMSS and connect over food and drinks with the one-source provider offering: A scalable Electronic Document Management System A ﬂexible and comprehensive EMR Web based logging and Release-of-Information tracking A powerful Document Conversion partner Guaranteed revenue optimization with Revenue Cycle Management A Practice Management tool with ﬂexible technology surgICal Continued from page 67 with the DocuSys solutions provides medical staff with comprehensive patient health information, his or her surgical risk and specific instructions which are seamlessly communicated throughout a surgical case. Patient safety is achieved as the patient data and care recommendations are channeled throughout the stages of surgery to the appropriate care team members.” ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: SurGical 0208 ● 120 Bluegrass Valley Parkway Alpharetta, GA 30005 800.737.2585 | marketing@healthport.com | www.healthport.com e ● Connect: HealtHPort 0208 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8649 http://www.healthport.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8648 http://www.healthport.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/eConnect.cms?id=8720

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Healthcare It News - February 2008 Contents Hot Potato Wal-Mart Focus CIO Role Wasteland Linking Docs Katrina Work P4P Team Fire Sale? Emergency Systems Beyond Business

Healthcare It News - February 2008

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