The vendor, system administrator and manager in a new fully digital environment
A report about the installation of a new HIS in combinations with the setting up of a new Economic Software platform at Semmelweis University.
The Cardiovascular Surgery Department at Semmelweis University made a big improvement to all its IT systems, as part of a university-wide upgrade plan. The installation of a new Hospital Information System (HIS) preceded the transition to complete digital archiving and was accompanied by the setting up of a new Economic Software platform.
Because all these components are produced by separate vendors (AGFA/Impax, ISH/Medsol, SAP), careful planning and central co-ordination of all events was fundamental. Project members face several issues - expected and unexpected - during such a thorough renewal. A flawless link of all systems was needed, especially the full-featured communication between the systems responsible for digital data handling and for hospital data management.
The project members needed to solve the problem of the separate buildings of the department. Sometimes it was also hard to establish the communication between the modalities and the PACS, in view of some older medical equipment. It was also necessary to set up a broker and to provide work lists for all possible modalities.
Besides technical tasks, staff training is also vital, to provide smooth transition and prevent a revolt. It isn’t easy to satisfy time constraints and avoid outage in medical services. There will always be dissatisfied staff members to handle.
During meetings the stages of our department’s approach will be reviewed. Both the planning and implementation phases will be discussed in detail. Special features of the actual case will also be presented.
The PACS and HIS systems were introduced successfully. Film costs could be reduced, and the previous ancient system is just a memory. Hopefully, by highlighting necessary steps and some pitfalls, we can provide our audience at the Forum with a guideline for fruitful revolution in their own hospitals.
01.03.2006
