The Power of the Web
Last week we announced the release of our new RISynergy Web Products Suite. I don’t usually write about our products directly in my blog, but in this case, I’m very pleased to share with my blog readers as the response from our customers and the industry has been very positive. You might have seen coverage on Auntminnie.com or HealthImaging.com.
Our customers have spoken and once again, we have listened. Based on their input, we’ve selected components for the web that make the most sense from a workflow perspective as we plot our course for the future for a total web-based product.
We realize that the web can play a very important role in facilitating radiology workflow. By extending the functionality of our widely deployed RISynergy Radiology Information System, our customers can utilize the web more effectively to reach users. The Web Products Suite includes the updated release of the Web Schedule Requestor and Web Results Viewer. The Web Schedule Requestor contains additional functionality to ensure data validation and improve ease of use. The enhanced Web Results Viewer now has the ability to display PACs images.
Our newest RISynergy Web Products Suite also includes the Radiologist Signoff and Scheduling modules. The radiologist sign-off feature allows radiologists to receive the results regardless of location, allowing them to edit, approve and forward the results. The Scheduling portion of the RISynergy Web Products Suite allows approved referring physicians offices to schedule select procedures for patients online.
I hope to see many of you in a couple of weeks in Chicago at the RSNA convention and show the RISynergy Web Product Suite in person. I look forward to seeing you – our booth # is 6019.
I welcome your comments.
Randall
Integrate – Interface – Connect: What does your RIS vendor mean when they say they can do all of these?
CONNECTIVITY
Today, in order to share important information, RIS systems connect to numerous other systems such as the Hospital Information System (HIS), billing system, PACS system, Voice Recognition system, etc. Most of these interfaces are accomplished through the use of HL7. Sounds simple right? The problem lies in the fact that there are numerous flavors of HL7 that are all considered “standard HL7”. An analogy would be radio waves. Yes, you can listen to any radio station but your radio has to be able to receive different frequencies of radio waves. Imagine what would happen if a radio manufacturer produced a radio that would only pick up one frequency. The radio salesperson would say, “Yes we have a radio and it works great.” What they didn’t tell you is that their radio will only pick up one, and only one, frequency. Thus, you can listen to any station provided that you somehow convince the station to transmit at that one frequency. They didn’t lie to you. They just didn’t disclose the whole truth. Unfortunately, the same is true for HL7 interfaces. A vendor might claim they will send (or receive) standard HL7 messages but they only accept/send one variation of HL7 and they expect the other vendors to adapt.
Here are some connectivity questions that will save you a lot of headaches in the future:
1) Are your interfaces flexible enough to adapt to most variations of HL7? Often, when you try to interface two systems via HL7, you find that the two systems are incompatible in some way. The worse case scenario is when each vendor says the other vendor must be the one to change and you have a stand-off. You have to have a plan for this event before you commit to purchase a RIS.
2) What are the costs associated with interfacing to other systems? Is there a cost per connection, cost per system or cost per transaction? Interface costs can sometimes exceed the license cost of the RIS. Also, what are the annual support costs for these interfaces?
3) What mechanisms does the vendor have in place to track/debug interface issues? It is imperative that the RIS communicate effectively and efficiently with other systems. Sooner or later, the interface will experience problems. It is important to know that the vendor has tools and experience in handling such issues. In fact, when you call a vendor’s referral customers, it is a great question to ask how often the interfaces go down and what is the average length of downtime per occurrence.
Bottom line: Find out, up front, if the vendor is able and willing to interface to your other systems and also, how much the vendor will charge you to interface to each of the systems it needs to communicate with. What connectivity guarantees, if any, do they offer?
I welcome your comments and responses.
Randall
Our customers mean the world to us- to our past, our present and our future
Our customers truly do mean the world to us. They’ve shaped where we’ve been, where we are today and where we’re going. Through their participation with us at our annual user’s conference and the twelve months in between, we gain critical input into product enhancements and features to improve our customer’s value and use of the Swearingen RIS. Without their input the Swearingen RIS would not be the product it is today. Our customers are also critical to our future as without their strong support and endorsement we could not land new customers.
Today I’m writing about the importance of customer referrals and customer participation in the success of Swearingen Software. If you’re one of our long-standing customers, let me thank you again for your support. If you’re not a Swearingen RIS customer, maybe you should be – visit our website www.swearingensoftware.com and read what some of our customers have to say.
CUSTOMER REFERRALS
Checking out referrals is probably the most important due diligence activity that you will ever perform during the RIS selection process. Your facility is about to make a huge investment in dollars, time and energy. It just makes good business sense to talk to their existing customers because referrals are the absolute best way to get the skinny on vendors and their products. Unfortunately, when you ask a RIS vendor for a list of referrals, what do you get? Most vendors will give you a very short list of less than five referrals. Guess what? Those referrals will NEVER tell you something bad about the product or the company because those are the vendor’s ‘A’ list with whom they have some type of referral agreement with. On the other hand, a vendor who gives you a large list of referrals (20 or more) are much more likely to have great products and thus, happy customers.
Bottom line: Want to get the real scoop on a RIS vendor? Ask for a list of at least 20 referrals and talk to at least two people per referral site. Yes, this can be time consuming but all the time that you spend, up front, doing your due diligence will pay tremendous dividends later on.
CUSTOMER PARTICIPATION
Most vendors have a users group and an annual user’s conference. It is important to verify this because customer participation in a RIS product is crucial to that product’s long term success. Here are a couple of questions that will tell you volumes about a particular vendor:
1) What percentage of your customers attend your annual user’s conference? The average user’s conference attracts roughly 20% of a vendor’s customer base. If the level of participation is less that that, it should be viewed as a red flag because it means that the customers do not consider the conference worth while. On the other hand, if the participation level is above 20%, that means that customers believe that the conference has significant benefits.
2) Do you hold customer brainstorming sessions during the conference? The reason behind this question is simple. Who uses the RIS, you or the vendor? Then, why should the vendor decide which new features to put into their software? In an ideal world, the customers should be able to vote on future product enhancements. The next related question would be, “What percentage of ideas that received a majority of customer votes, actually get implemented into your RIS?” Maybe the vendor accepts customer ideas but does the vendor actually follow up on them? Another important related question is, “What is the average amount of time that it takes to implement a customer voted request and is there a cost associated with it?”
Bottom line: Are customers allowed to participate in product design and direction (and to what degree)? This will let you know just how customer-focused the vendor really is.
I welcome your comments and responses.
Randall