“The efficiencies and
economies made possible through Eclipsys’ support of our IT operations not only
are helping us hold the line on our IT budget, but are also producing direct cost savings that can be allocated to
other mission-critical areas of the organization,” said Joslyn, Memorial
Health’s senior vice president and CIO.
“This enables Memorial Health to compete more effectively in southern
California’s extremely cost-constrained healthcare environment.”
Benefits achieved to date by
the five-facility regional integrated delivery system include a 29-percent
reduction in outsourcing costs (help desk, mainframe and mid-range) from
Memorial Health Services’ previous outsourcing arrangement, resulting in the organization’s ability to reallocate an estimated $1.8
million annually to other mission-critical IT initiatives. In addition, a comparative analysis of
in-sourcing the same IT services demonstrated an estimated six percent or
$270,000 in annual savings. Furthermore,
consolidation of peripheral hardware-support services into a single-vendor
Eclipsys solution has provided cost savings, a higher level of on-site support
and improved budgeting of expenses due to the flat-fee contract.
An Eclipsys software customer
for the last decade, Memorial expanded its relationship with Eclipsys by
outsourcing major components of its information-technology operations to the
company in July 2000. The partnership
includes remote hosting and management of Memorial’s software at Eclipsys’
Technology Solutions Center in Mountain Lakes, NJ; facilities management of
MHS’ on-site data center, supporting its mid-range systems; on-site
desktop-maintenance services; and management of the health system’s IT Help
Desk service. Among the Eclipsys
software products utilized at 1,430-bed Memorial Health Services are the
heritage Eclipsys 7000 clinical-information system and the company’s management
decision-support system.
A unique approach to outsourcing
The Eclipsys outsourcing
model and brand of outsourcing is truly unique in the healthcare industry. Offering a range of services from remote hosting to full onsite
facilities management, Eclipsys provides an OutcomeSourcingÔ solution
tailored to each customer’s needs ¾ a flexible solution that closely aligns with the customer’s
strategic objectives and ability to
share risk.
“From 1993 to 2000, Memorial
Health had outsourced its IT operations to another vendor with
less-than-satisfying results,” Joslyn noted.
“The organization felt it had lost control over the direction and
quality of what it saw as an increasingly critical resource. Given our successful relationship with
Eclipsys on the software side, it was natural to consider the company as a
possible outsourcing provider. Because
of Eclipsys’ ability and willingness to create an agreement tailored to our
unique situation, we’ve established an outsourcing relationship that is extremely flexible and fair to both
sides and positions us both for continued success. Since teaming with Eclipsys for our outsourcing needs, I now can
focus on strategic decisions and not worry about some of the things that
previously kept me awake at night.”
Joslyn stated
that Memorial continues to see value from the relationship and is considering
expanding it into other areas of the organization’s IT operations as well. “By outsourcing major IT functions and
responsibilities to Eclipsys, we are seeing dramatic savings and 70% improved
speed in mainframe processing, improved online performance and response time, a
substantial reduction in outsourcing and software fees, and significant value
from our increasing use of Eclipsys’ wireless technologies,” he reported.
“Eclipsys has also brought
extensive resources to the table,” he continued, “ranging from the use of best
practices to economies of scale, disaster-recovery capabilities, smooth
implementation of new software and hardware technologies, and depth of
expertise in hard-to-find IT resources, such as senior application programmers,
database administrators and software-development staff. Because of our Eclipsys relationship, we
know we can now successfully implement new technologies as we have the ability
to integrate them into our operations, while retaining control over the IT
process.”
About Eclipsys Outsourcing Services and
the Technology Solutions Center
Eclipsys provides
a full range of IT-related outsourcing services specifically tailored to each
customer’s individual needs. Solutions
include hardware and network support, help desk and partial, transitional or full
on-site IT outsourcing.
Through its
Technology Solutions Center, Eclipsys provides comprehensive remote hosting and
management services for both Eclipsys and non-Eclipsys software and
hardware. Services include remote
processing; remote help desk; remote network management; remote desktop management;
remote database management; and disaster recovery.
For more
information, see Eclipsys’ Web site at www.eclipsys.com or email info@eclipsys.com.
Customer Profile
Memorial Health
Services/MemorialCare, based in Long Beach, CA, provides a comprehensive range
of services through its women’s, children’s, rehabilitation and
medical/surgical hospitals at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and Miller
Children’s Hospital, Long Beach, and community hospital facilities; Anaheim
Memorial Medical Center, Anaheim; Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center,
Fountain Valley; and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, Laguna Hills.
Web site:
www.memorialcare.com
Eclipsys products
featured:
Outsourcing services:
-
Remote hosting and
management
-
Facilities management
-
Desktop maintenance
-
Help desk
Published: July 31, 2002