[perseus29]

Hi there,
just curious to see who in here has used software by any of these companies. Last time I used sotware by meditech was in 1999, and i hear not much of that has changed. Currently I use Cerner software and I wondered how does it compare to Mckesson's or any other of the big companies out there. Anybody here has any input? Thanks!

[JLynnOR]

I use Cerner. Our new hospital was one of the first to go live with an integrated hospital-wide use of Cerner. Can't say the experience has been a positive one. My hope is that, as various large companies start coming out of the woodwork with their versions of medical record programs, Cerner will improve to counter the competition and become better and better.

[perseus29]

thanks!
I think cerner has been in the business for a while; if they haven't gotten it by now, not sure if they will; I think the main problem is with implementation times; hospital says, "we want to go live by this date", and cerner says, "sure!" Problem is they don't plan for ups and downs, so what could be a decent software turns out to be a nightmare. What drives the implementation time is money; the faster they implement, the more money they make---or at least it seems like it! So instead of taking time to make it right for the clinicians, they try to go as fast as possible cause at the end, money is king!

[RN4NICU]

I have used all three. I found McKesson to be the best of the three, Meditech to be the worst, and Cerner to be the middle of the road.

[MKL65]

Has anyone looked at Eclipsys? It might surprise you!

[batmik]

MKL65,

Do you use Eclipsys? What is your opinion of it ? How long was the learning curve and/or the time to get the bugs out? The hospital I work for went live with it about 2 weeks ago.

[BadBird]

Yup, I used all the above. Cerner was my least favorite, it could have been the software purchased though.

[supermom2]

Originally Posted by MKL65

Has anyone looked at Eclipsys? It might surprise you!

Our organization is in the process of choosing a clinical documentation system, and I recently attended demos by Cerner and Eclipsys. I must say I love both of them, but Eclipsys seems to be more user-friendly and I like the windows-based appearance.
We have to make a decision soon on which system to choose. I would like to ask people to reply on what they see are the strengths and weaknesses of both of these systems? I have summaries that our project manager complied from evaluations handed in by attendees of both demos, but I would also like to hear from those of you who have worked with these systems. I would really appreciate it. Thanks.......Supermom2

[perseus29]

My only suggestion would be that no matter what system it is, find out what the implementation methodoloy is from both vendors. Hospitals will say, we want to have the system working for us in 6 months, and it could be done, if hospitals had a department that was specific for contributing to the project; however, most of the times hospitals have to pull nurses from their posts to get all the data that it takes to get the project going. So those 6 months are more like a year. And thus, it is very important to find out about implementation strategies from the vendors. Of course it helps to first know when your hospital wants to have the systems running. Check your private messages.

[NRSKarenRN]

I use McKesson's homecare product Pathways. The build was the easy part over 6 months. Implementation over a year for 90% first office clinical's staff computer novices. We lost a few RN's over issue. Educating further offices with computer savy RN's has been much easier. Still tweeking upgrades over first 2 years. System plus is it has both great clinical and business/billing package.