News 08/31/04

Low-profile niche vendor Mediware names new execs: Frank Poggio, former president of Citation and Kelzon Consulting Group, and Robert Weber, former corporate counsel for Epic.

Quadramed goes GA with a Complexity of Care module for its WinPFS acuity, productivity, and benchmarking system.

Don't read the latest Computerworld if you thought ERP's problems were behind us. Articles include: HP is suffering due to its SAP implementation, JD Edwards customers are unhappy with PeopleSoft after the takeover, and Ford junks a planned Oracle procurement system. ERP is the CPOE of manufacturing.

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This Computerworld issue also had some healthcare stuff, although not all that brilliantly researched. The editorial did the usual preaching that healthcare in the US is behind technologically (gee, we need a computer magazine to remind us how important that is.)  It was reasonably balanced, at least until the last little "I'm so smart, so here's a zinger finish" from the writer: "Who knows, if the US can provide EHRs for each of its citizens, someday it might be able to give them all access to healthcare as well." Methinks the hand has been tipped. Since when is it a foregone conclusion that it's the government's job to give its citizens anything? The "government" is "us," and I'm not convinced I want Uncle Sam running the entire healthcare system as badly as it does Medicare, the VA, etc.

OK, here's one last quote I liked from Computerworld, in a "IT Survival Guide" from a retiring CIO: "Don't overmanage IT personnel. Our business is exciting and self-motivating. Provide the proper tools and environment, set the right strategy, and get out of the way. Remember when you were a programmer, and how the worst thing was to have someone looking over your shoulder." I've known a few folks over the years who confused position on the pay scale to position on the IQ scale. I bet you have, too.

Tim Thompson left Palmetto Health's CIO job to take the same role with Adventist Health System in Florida. He quit after a few weeks and went back to his old job at Palmetto. Adventist launched a search through Betsy Hersher and had some big-name finalists (you'd be surprised at the names.) They announced their new guy Friday and it's ... Tim Thompson again. CIO talent must be hard to come by when both organizations bring back the guy who bailed for greener pastures.

Cardinal Health promotes the former CEO of ALARIS Medical Systems, which it recently acquired, to chairman and CEO of a new Clinical Technologies and Services organization that includes the ALARIS and Pyxis product lines. David L. Schlotterbeck is the new CEO and group president Dwight Winstead will report to him. If I may digress, it's confusing enough when companies like Eclipsys make every region's top sales guy "President," but now we have a Chairman and CEO of a division? It's like a darned bank, where everyone including the janitor is a VP.

OhioHealth will deploy the VISICU intensive care monitoring system.

Stupid labor union action (is that redundant?) Over 500 nurses and other hospital employees walk off the job protesting layoffs. They aren't protesting because of self-interest, it's because the layoffs would cripple delivery of care. Sort of like their little strike, which prevented 1,000 patients from getting care that day. How sad that people are so insecure about their ability to get another job that they're bitter at the company already giving them a paycheck. If it's that bad, why not just get another job with dignity instead of whining?

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida will use RelayHealth to give patients secure access to non-emergency doctor consultations, lab results, prescription management, and appointment and referral management. Docs will get paid for doing the non-urgent online consultations. Amazingly logical, even if it did take awhile.

A couple of news articles described the success of hospitals with shift bidding software. Personally I'm sick of hearing about it, but some new vendors have products on the market.

It's early in the UK's mammoth NHS modernization, but already the national auditor is stepping in after local politicians let contracts get out of control. Their government's track record with massive IT projects is about as lousy as ours.

From our buddies over on the stock message boards:

Cerner
[in a thread called "Impersonation of a Cerner Sales Rep] "Of course this will be implemented by people with experience. The fact that it costs three times as much is justified by the integrated functionality. Or, the biggest whopper of all; "ProFit, our patient accounting system, is a mature product and works really well."

Eclipsys
[on the go-live of National Institutes of Health on Sunrise Clinical Manager] "SCM live on all NIH units in 22 months from contract signing. Let's compare other TDS 7000 replacements: CERN at MCV - 5 yrs, $50m and less functionality than TDS 7000. I wonder if the fired execs are still saying CERN was the right choice. CERN at Our Lady of the Lake - functionality so lacking that recent site visitors were embarrassed for OLOL. IDX at UVA - 5 years and still nothing, CIO fired."

Superior Consultant
"I think this company and it's management are loathsome but it could be worse you could be an investor or employee of First Consulting."

First Consulting Group
"OK. So let me get this straight (see PR release below). The problem isn't a management problem - rather a 'public relations' problem. Huh?!?! So the fact that FCGI can't produce profits and is slowly sinking into the depths of a 'has been' is just a PR problem? Sounds like more lipstick on this pig. P.S. Prediction - fire the management team and this sucker would double that day!

First Consulting Group -FCG- Retains Silverman Heller Associates
Tuesday August 10, 12:00 pm ET

LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 2004--FCG (NASDAQ:FCGI - News), a leading provider of outsourcing, consulting and systems implementation and integration to the health-related industries, has retained Silverman Heller Associates to assist the Company in developing and implementing a comprehensive investor relations program. "In retaining Silverman Heller Associates," said Thomas Reep, vice president, finance and investor relations of FCG, "we look forward to expanding our dialogue with the investment community. Silverman Heller will assist us in finding new investors who share our enthusiasm for FCG's future and whose support will be instrumental in our efforts to maximize shareholder value."

Idiotic lawsuit of the week: the father of a teen killed in an auto accident sues the city and two police officers for pursuing him after the teen ran a stop sign, then later crashed his car into a tree. The father blames the officers' poor training, negligence, misconduct, and poor supervision. The officers say they weren't even chasing the teen when he crashed. "Corey Mitchell's misconduct and lack of training resulted in the untimely death of John Richie," said the dad. "No death is timely, and if your kid hadn't stupidly crashed into a tree while evading the police, he would still be alive," said me.