Case Study: “Partnering for the Long Haul”

Cheshire Medical Center
Keene, N.H.

A Sea of Doubt

“We hadn’t even heard of MediClick… but we knew we had to do something with our old system.”

Cheshire Medical Center Team

Director of Materiel Management George Rennie had worked with other materials management systems in previous jobs, but when it came time to replace Cheshire Medical Center’s financials and materials management systems, Rennie and his colleague, Cheshire Controller Mary Sherwin, found they needed to adhere to a specific set of criteria.

“We liked the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, because it helped ensure the program’s features remained at an advanced level,” Rennie said. “It had to be affordable, and we reviewed MD Buyline ratings.”

They chose MediClick for their efficient, easy-to-use products; they got the partner they didn’t know they were missing.

Setting Sail Together

In mid-2007, Cheshire Medical Center, a 169-bed acute care hospital based in Keene, N.H., contracted for two MediClick solutions: MediClick for the Supply Chain and MediClick for Financials.

“It’s a fully integrated system that’s a quantum leap ahead from the DOS-based system we used for more than 15 years,” said Rennie, noting the legacy system’s technology dated to the early 1980s. “But MediClick’s support and training process really impressed me. I’ve been through implementations at other hospitals and learning a new system is difficult, but everyone at Cheshire caught on quickly because MediClick’s training process was so thorough.”

That process – led by Debbie Corey and Lisa Fohey, both senior implementation consultants for MediClick – began with converting several years of data from Cheshire’s legacy systems and loading it into the application to train the hospital staff.

“Their training database allowed us to learn the system with our own data,” said Cheshire Controller Sherwin. “Looking at your own data is so helpful because it reflects what the system will actually be like at go-live. We could already see the possibilities.”

MediClick’s Debbie Corey noted that the Cheshire staff’s dedication helped the implementation process run smoothly, accepting and completing the “homework” MediClick left with them. “The hospital had all their staff on board, from the top down,” said Corey.

Her colleague Lisa Fohey adds that Cheshire benefited from a training process that began earlier than previous installations. “Just as we are constantly updating our products, MediClick is constantly updating our processes as well,” she said. “Cheshire’s success shows us that this approach works for our customers.”

Cheshire’s Mary Sherwin attributes the successful installation to not only the procedural process but the personal approach. “MediClick brought knowledge ‘from the trenches’ that helped us through the process,” she said. “Debbie’s been a controller and Lisa used to manage hospital logistics, so they understand what we want to do and what works in a practical setting.”

When training and installation ended at go-live, George Rennie was “happily surprised” to see that MediClick’s customer service retained the same level of partnership and support delivered during the installation process. “My purchasing manager contacted MediClick’s customer service with a question. Thirty minutes later he came back and said ‘George, they already called back!’”

His colleague Mary Sherwin summed up her feelings by explaining that “You don’t feel alone after implementation.”

Destination: Success

With the system in place, Rennie, Sherwin and their staff have found the system to be everything they wished for and more.

“There are things we haven’t even tried yet,” said Sherwin. “But it’s made life easy, saving us time and helping us plan next year’s budget.”

In addition to eliminating manual processes, the inquiry and analysis functions in Financials have proved to be especially helpful for Sherwin, allowing her to bring data up quickly.

Rennie offers similar praise for Supply Chain, explaining that tracking trends was difficult under their old system. “Running a report used to take 25 minutes – now it takes me 25 seconds,” he said.

“I had a fellow materials manager visit after our go-live, and she was amazed to see how easy it was to use and the flexibility it offers. She was envious that we don’t have to get up to send a fax!” laughed Rennie.

The Next Journey

Implementation was so successful, Cheshire soon adopted and begun implementation of MediClick for Contracts & Analysis. The suite’s newest application, Contracts & Analysis helps hospitals control contract pricing and discover savings opportunities.

Having seen demonstrations of the application, Rennie decided to adopt Contracts & Analysis because “seeing a return on your investment seemed very quick.

“It’s going to keep Cheshire ahead of the curve on how we handle pricing for contracts,” he added. “Contracts & Analysis ‘closes the loop’ to let you keep pricing straight. It ensures you’re paying the right price at the right time. It updates in seconds. We can see what we’re buying and where we’re going.”

And that’s a goal that MediClick strives to share with not only Cheshire Medical Center, but with every hospital.