The Beginning of the Vendor Relationship

Podesta says providers must not allow the need for contract flexibility to place a burden on the most important part of the process: the go-live. “Get it up and running so you can start to get the benefits of it and move into optimization phase, where you really get the benefits,” he urges. “You don’t want to fall on your face…The last thing you want to do is put together a four-year implementation plan because you are changing the system over and over again, and trying to get 100 percent out of the design of the system. That’s a dangerous road to go down since you don’t know how good this system is until it’s in use.”

There is also the potential to be too aggressive, in the desire to go live as fast as possible, especially under the pressure of meaningful use deadlines, says Podesta. He says if an organization is just starting its EHR selection now, it’s not worth it to hit any meaningful use deadline before 2015. The money it would get from incentives isn’t worth risking the organization’s profitability, he says.

Finding the middle ground that Podesta speaks of is something Turisco advises as well. “Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure the ball is in your court,” she says. “Make sure all the important points are in the contract before you think about signing it. But the other thing is, is you can’t drag it out. Once you get involved, the important thing is to make sure it is someone’s business that all the bases are covered.”

Chuck Podesta

PARTNERSHIP IS THE GOAL
The relationship should not end at the contract signing, of course. Observers like Healthcare Integration Strategies’ Marion say that developing a strategic connection within the organization is essential to quickly resolving issues as they occur. The worst thing that can happen, he says, is having a vendor that closes the deal, collects, and moves on. “Make sure that it’s a two-way partnership,” he says, and one designed to last for years, especially given the long horizons involved in achieving meaningful use and preparing for the future beyond meaningful use.