For over three decades, MEDITECH has successfully addressed the unique concerns of small and rural health care organizations. Our system's ease-of-use and reliability make it easy for small hospitals to maintain, while the robust nature of our technology protects hospitals against bugs, viruses, and other network threats.

Many small facilities are understandably concerned that they don't have enough full-time employees to implement and maintain a sophisticated health care information system. This has not been an issue for MEDITECH customers, due to our willingness to provide extensive hands-on implementation support. Smaller facilities are also concerned about third-party payer issues, where their size (typically under 50 beds) can make favorable negotiating very difficult. MEDITECH's streamlined billing and reimbursement processes work to solve this sort of problem.

With concerns similar to their smaller counterparts, rural organizations often reside in lower-income communities relying more heavily on Medicare, and these facilities often serve a widely dispersed population base. MEDITECH provides an affordable solution for these organizations that strive to cut costs without sacrificing quality. Our integrated system unites all facilities within an organization for efficient, high-quality care that reaches an extensive patient base. With a reliable, integrated system, tasks can be performed quickly with fewer employees, while maintenance costs are reduced, and savings can grow. To increase affordability, many customers choose to start with a basic, core set of applications, which they can build upon over time.

“Staff communication has greatly improved since we implemented MEDITECH, which is a boost for overall productivity.” - Bill Overbey, CIO, CFO Hays Medical Center

Better Communication and Increased Integration
While MEDITECH prides itself on the integration of its applications, our industry standard technology also enables effective communication with outside systems. For example, Children's Hospital in Richmond, Virginia is a small specialty hospital running MEDITECH's financial application suite in conjunction with its own on-line documentation system. "The MEDITECH system is an excellent 'core' system, with a terrific cost of ownership," says George Masiello, CIO at Children's. "Furthermore, it exchanges information with our homegrown system and other third-party systems."

On the other hand, Hays Medical Center, a 156-bed hospital located in rural Hays, Kansas, has achieved success by operating a fully integrated MEDITECH HCIS in its mid-size facility. "Our old system was automated in most areas, but entirely non-integrated. When we decided to look for a new IS we knew that we wanted one which was fully integrated in order to save money and increase efficiency," says Bill Overbey, CIO and CFO at Hays Medical Center. "Staff communication has greatly improved since we implemented MEDITECH, which is a boost for overall productivity."

"Implementing MEDITECH's Patient Care System (PCS) application was really exciting for everyone, especially since we did not have a Nursing system before. Our Pharmacy department was ecstatic when PCS went LIVE, because they can now communicate with Nursing via the electronic Medication Administration Record."

Island Hospital, a 43-bed facility located in rural Anacortes, Washington, is another example of a site that makes the most of an integrated approach. "We're known as a small acute-care facility with a range of service that mirrors a big hospital," says Tom Bluhm, IS director at Island.

After having customized its old system beyond its limits, Island Hospital began looking at MEDITECH back in 1991, when it decided to take on a more standardized, integrated approach. "We initially went LIVE with Financials, Order Entry, and Lab, but an integrated clinical system had real appeal, so we later added Pharmacy, Radiology, and Nursing, among others," says Bluhm. "MEDITECH's Patient Care Inquiry (PCI) application has been key for us. We love how easy it is for our staff to navigate and pull information from one central location."

“MEDITECH has been great because it's easy to maintain, and we have a good relationship with their service team. They're definitely the best vendor we deal with for support.” - Tom Bluhm IS Director Island Hospital

Experience Meeting Specialized Needs to Achieve Results
MEDITECH is committed to helping customers achieve solutions that meet their individual needs and requirements. Hays Medical Center participates in the federal Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) program, which assists hospitals in rural areas of the U.S. that have no more than 25 beds. Hays supports a total of 21 Critical Access hospitals, four of which utilize MEDITECH's Financials, Radiology, Pharmacy, Laboratory, and Community-Wide Scheduling.

"These small hospitals found a smart solution by contracting for MEDITECH with us as a way of acquiring a more sophisticated, integrated system that they otherwise may not have been able to afford," says Overbey.

David Markant from Albert Lindley Lee Memorial Hospital, a 67-bed facility in Fulton, New York, was concerned that his hospital didn't have the money or staff to implement and maintain a new system. A phased implementation approach proved to be a cost effective way for the hospital to go about installing new software, as it chose to start with a core set of MEDITECH applications, with the plan to add on applications when the hospital could afford them.

"The MEDITECH implementation was textbook and everything ran on time," says Markant. "The hospital's new system has actually been easier to maintain than its prior system. For one programmer who used to support the legacy systems on a full-time basis, MEDITECH support now represents only about 60% of his job."

A lack of full-time employees was also a concern for Island Hospital. "We can't afford to have full-time employees just to support the system," says Bluhm. "MEDITECH has been great because it's easy to maintain, and we have a good relationship with their service team. They're definitely the best vendor we deal with for support."

For financial reasons, Island chose to start out small during implementation and grow gradually over time. When they first began installing in 1992, Island went LIVE with what was being replaced from its old system, mainly Financials and Order Entry. Over time, the hospital rolled out other applications, including Laboratory and Pharmacy, and has continued to add to their system ever since. "We just went LIVE with MEDITECH's Emergency Department application and have plans to implement the electronic Medication Administration Record, Bedside Medication Verification, and Provider Order Management," says Bluhm.

Powerful Clinical Functionality for Facilities of All Sizes
Small and/or rural hospitals that invest in a MEDITECH solution add powerful clinical functionality to their organizations. For example, 100% of the medical staff at Hays Medical Center are using the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and the system's Electronic Signature capabilities.

"There's very little to no paper on the inpatient charts, because our medical staff and associates are asked to use the EMR exclusively, which they've adjusted to wonderfully," says Overbey. Continually making the most of its system, Hays recently went LIVE with its first physician using Provider Order Management (MEDITECH's CPOE application), which they expect to have fully implemented within the next year.

Citizens Memorial Healthcare, a rural organization located in southwestern Missouri that consists of a 74-bed acute care hospital, 16 clinics, affiliated physician offices, a home health service, and five long-term care facilities, is another organization that has proved to be an exemplary user of our clinical products. CPOE is currently used by all physicians who admit to the hospital and has been viewed as a real time-saver.

"Physicians love that CPOE can be tailored according to preference, and they particularly like the 'Order Sets' feature and the 'Favorites List,' which we set up to contain the top 20 things they order the most," says Denni McColm, CIO at Citizens. "In addition to increasing efficiency, our physicians recognize that the the problem of illegible handwriting is eliminated, and the immediacy of physician alerts improves patient safety."

Additionally, MEDITECH's EMR has been described as the centerpiece of the system in place at Citizens, as it's accessible to providers throughout the entire organization--from the hospital to physicians' offices, as well as all of the clinics and long-term care facilities. With just the push of a button, providers can get information on anything and everything about an acute care patient that's in their EMR, and can even access the system remotely.

"Our employees love the accessibility of information that's inherent with an integrated, paperless system," says McColm.

Return-on-Investment Gives Customers a Financial Boost
MEDITECH has received a great deal of positive feedback from customers achieving a return-on-investment with our HCIS.

"As a small hospital serving a rural community in an economically depressed area, billing and reimbursement is an important priority," says Markant. "We've been very pleased with the impact MEDITECH has had upon our A/R days."

Masiello of Children's Hospital adds, "Automation is very cost effective, and MEDITECH provides one of the least costly systems out there. I recommend that small hospitals start with them as a core system, and then decide where they want to build off of the existing system or link to outside sources."

Hays Medical Center went LIVE with MEDITECH back in the summer of 2003 using a "big bang" implementation approach that went over very smoothly. "The system was implemented fast and efficiently and we're saving money right and left," says Overbey.

A Reliable System is a Smart Choice
For hospitals lacking the resources and funds to continually maintain an information system, MEDITECH's HCIS is a smart choice. "Our hospital doesn't have a lot of money or much staff, so we needed a system that was well-proven and well-run, which is exactly what MEDITECH offers," says Albert Lindley Lee's Markant. "We wanted stability at the lowest cost to support, and we knew that MEDITECH was offering a good product, one that was far less susceptible to bugs and failures."

A reliable system was an absolute must for Citizens's vast care network. "The success we've achieved is based on the system's availability and response time. Everyone expects it to be available and to be fast, and it is," says Sherry Montileone, network manager at Citizens. "We have planned downtime every month where we actually take the system down for practice. Though we have not experienced any unplanned downtime with MEDITECH, it makes everyone feel better knowing that we're prepared to handle it regardless.”

Medical Information Technology, Inc . MEDITECH Circle Westwood, MA 02090 781-821-3000 www.meditech.com