EXPANDED COMPUTER CENTER, NEW EMERGENCY GENERTOR ON DIS HORIZON

The Division of Information Systems provided University of Mississippi Medical Center employees with an overview of current projects and future plans during its “2007 State of Information Systems.”

John Summer, interim chief information officer, began the Sept. 6 presentation by talking about how far DIS has come over the decades, from 43 employees in 1989 to 173 full-time employees and 10 contract employees this year. The department’s growth mirrors that of the campus and the computer systems that support the three-fold mission of the Medical Center: education, research and patient care.

Summer said the DIS is in the process of expanding its computer center and in January, a new emergency generator should be added to make sure there’s no interruption of service in cases of extended electrical outages. He also touched on plans for wireless devices or “clickers” for audience participation during group meetings and creating a new information technology support structure to enhance hospital and educational functions.

Other DIS managers shared plans for their areas.

Richard Everitt, an assistant director of information systems, talked about the clinical portal and how it streamlines access through a single sign-on.

“The portal allows access to clinical data with a single application and uniform look and feel,” he said. Medical staff can access detailed patient information through various methods, including by name and social security number.

Theresa Hill, director of clinical information systems and project manager for Allscripts, known as the electronic health record, gave an update on pilot testing of the system. Phase 1 of the system will launch Oct. 15, and the pilot clinics will be in the Department of Otolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, the Department of Allergy and Immunology, the Division of Cardiology, and the Unacare Clinic.

Hill said the system will have real-time interfaces for order entry and results. Phase 2 will begin in those same pilot clinics and include the ability to make patient notes, track phone calls to the clinic and forward billing online.

“We’re ultimately going to roll it out to all UMC clinics,” Hill said.

Monte Luehlfing, deputy chief information officer for health care, explained what the Wildly Important Goals (WIG) were. DIS’ most important goals, or WIGs, are support, project management and availability. 

“By focusing on these areas, DIS wants to improve the level of service we provide to our customers and throughout the organization,” he said. “We know your job depends on the information technology that we provide.”

Luehlfing also said that by the end of the year, DIS will be completing an internal review, consisting of surveys and interviews of customers. The department’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and talents will be examined. DIS and UMC administrations currently are listening to proposals from external review organizations that are looking at applications, operations, staffing, budgeting, and support.

Luehlfing said the reviews will help the department find out if it’s meeting the needs of the institution and how it compares to similar departments at other academic institutions.

Steve Nowell, who recently became an assistant director of information systems, is overseeing the campus’ transformation from a Novell system to Microsoft. He said it requires a technology and operational change and will take some time to complete.

The new system should help improve customer service, reduce downtime and increase overall agility, compatibility and performance.

—Patrice Sawyer Guilfoyle (9-17-07)

2007-09-14 00:00:00 17326