Galen Healthcare Solutions: Allscripts Consultants Enterprise EHR

—Discrete Clinical Data Elements as the building blocks to a Connected Health Platform—

Broken down to its basis, any vision of a truly connected Health Network will be reliant on the ability to pass, and ultimately present, discrete data elements.  Although the audiences for the information will be diverse, and the front-end systems will vary, the foundation of the information is the same.  In order to unlock the value that lies in the data being captured every day, an organization must have solid planning and execution. 

Each organization we work with is unique, but overall themes are constant: Reporting for Meaningful Use, Optimizing Health Care Decisions with Analytics, and Growth through Acquisition or Partnership.     

If we consider Clinical Data as building blocks that will be used, in whole or part, to support these efforts, we need to ensure both the ease of access and integrity of that data.  Galen has leading expertise and insight on conversions, reporting, and interfaces that can help you down this path. 

So how do you take the first steps in creating solid building blocks?  We would recommend to:

Define and establish consistency in electronic documentation and workflow.  This starts by understanding the EHR build and configuration decisions that will impact both availability and integrity of the data.   This consistency will also pay dividends to the organization by making the support of the Enterprise EHR system more predictable and efficient. 

Independent of your organization’s current state, Galen has the breadth and depth of expertise to help achieve your vision.

Tags: Allscripts Consultants, Allscripts Enterprise EHR, Clinical Conversion, Data Conversion, EHR Implementation, Enterprise EHR, Healthcare IT, Interoperability

In last quarter’s newsletter we were excited to announce our Galen Certified-Enterprise EHR Application Specialist training and certification program. Today we are proud to share the news that this quarter we added another eight employees to this distinguished group!  

During the 7 weeks of training not only are all modules of the Enterprise product discussed in great detail with an added emphasis of clinical relevance, but each student must demonstrate a complete knowledge and understanding of the Certified Workflows. Prior to taking both a written and verbal examination on Enterprise fundamentals, each student must successfully build out an entire Enterprise environment from the ground up!

Please join me in congratulating the following…Galen Certified™ Enterprise EHR Application Specialist!

 

Steven Beaucaire, Consultant

Steven joined Galen on September 11, 2011. He comes with us with over 14 years of healthcare experience. He has extensive experience in project management and business operations as well as in-depth knowledge on how technology and healthcare can work together to ensure patient safety and continuum of care. He has significant knowledge on how ambulatory clinics and acute facilities interact within a healthcare organization. His extensive experience as a manager in both clinical and business settings within a healthcare consortium provides an exceptional perspective on today’s healthcare demands. He looks forward to a long and prosperous career at Galen. Steven currently resides in Lewiston, Maine.

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 August Borie, Consultant

August joined Galen in January 2011 as a member of the upgrade team, helping to get clients ready to demonstrate Meaningful Use. He worked as both a Project Manager and Upgrade Consultant on this team, while building his Enterprise EHR application experience. Most recently he is working with a client in Portland, Maine on an upgrade and implementation rollout. August graduated from the University of Vermont in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Information Systems.

 

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Elise Brault, Associate Consultant

Elise joined Galen in November 2011 as an Associate Consultant and completed Galen’s Certification program in December. Elise graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor’s Degree in Recreation Management. She completed master’s degree coursework in Business Administration at St Michael’s College and also recently completed the Health Information Technology Certificate Program at the Community College of Vermont. Elise brings her diverse background in business, healthcare, and management with her drive for customer service excellence to the Galen team. She looks forward to providing Galen clients with EEHR systems expertise and unsurpassed service.

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 Barry Chamberland, Associate Consultant

Barry joined Galen in November 2011, having previous experience as a Software Quality Analyst testing clinical applications and workflows. He has been involved in website development for many years and looks forward to expanding his knowledge and expertise in the Allscripts Enterprise EHR™. Barry lives in Burlington VT, and graduated from the University of Vermont in 2004 with a Bachelors Degree in Recreation Management.

 

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Jon Deitch, Associate Consultant

Jon joined Galen Healthcare in November of 2011. He graduated from the University of Vermont in 2009 with a BA in Political Science and English. He enjoys Skiing, Music, World History, and Traveling.

 

 

 

 

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Evan Lea, Consultant

Evan joined Galen in May of 2011 as an Implementation Consultant. He graduated in 2009 from The University of Vermont with a degree in Marketing. Since joining Galen, he has quickly come up to speed with the front end and configuration of Enterprise EHR. He has recently been working closely with Catholic Health Initiatives in the Midwest with user support, EHR configuration, and build work as they move towards bringing over 500 clinics live in one integrated system.

 

 

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Kyle Paya, Consultant

Kyle came to Galen in 2011 from UVM with a Bachelor’s Degree in business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship. Kyle has been part of the success of a multi-million dollar company with focus on project management, inventory management, and operations planning. During his tenure at the aforementioned company; he also designed, built, and implemented the company’s first formal inventory management database mainly for the managerial accounting initiative he introduced. Kyle has been a Project Manager on six (6) v11.x to v11.2 upgrades in 2011. He also became a Galen Certified – Enterprise EHR Application Specialist during this time. As 2011 came to a close, he made a transition to consultant on the professional services team and joined the Galen group at Lexington Medical Center. There, he is helping bring sites live on Allscripts EEHR while also working with the hospital group’s upgrade team as they under-go their own v11.2 upgrade.

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Chelsea Stovall, Consultant

Chelsea joined Galen in September of 2011 as an Implementation Consultant. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Human Biology. Following graduation, she completed a Postbac program at UT Austin in Health Information Technology and received her Health Information Technology Manager and Exchange Specialist certification. She has over a year of experience in EHR training, work flow design, go-live support and EHR customization.

 

 

 

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Tags: Allscripts Consultants, Allscripts Enterprise EHR, EHR Certification, Enterprise EHR

As seen in the trend from past newsletters, Galen continues to grow not only as a company, but as a presence in the Healthcare IT industry.  Galen’s success continues this quarter with the help of those from within; those that help propel us forward. While we could recognize the talents and valuable contributions of the entire staff, we are pleased to recognize two individuals in their promotions.

 Troy Forcier, Team Lead – Upgrade Technicians

 In the time since our last Spotlight article, Troy was promoted to Team Lead of the Upgrade Technicians. In this role, Troy serves as the front man for his team’s education, client relations, and resource planning. Troy continues to perform assessments and training on effectively maintaining Allscripts server environments, also drives the webinar schedule for the Technical Team’s topics. Since his arrival in 2008, Troy has continuously found ways to work efficiently within his group and will continue to help shape the direction his team as the IT group evolves moving forward.

Join us as we congratulate him stepping into this new role as Team Lead!

 John Buckley, Senior Consultant

 This month, John not only celebrated his fourth year with Galen, but he also was promoted to Senior Consultant. He has been a powerful asset working with clients such as North Shore – Long Island Jewish and Mercy of Maine. Early in his career with Galen, John worked as a technical resource with the upgrade team and continued to grow his working knowledge of the various components of the Enterprise EHR^TM program. In addition to his assignments, he contributes to the Galen Newsletter, Blog, and assists with other internal technical projects. John is very motivated and serves as an excellent role model to others in Galen.

Congratulations John with your promotion to Senior Consultant!

 

Tags: Allscripts Consultants, Healthcare IT

Galen Certified – The New Standard for Allscripts Enterprise™ Expertise!

Our consultants have always been the experts when it comes to the Allscripts Enterprise EHR™ application and now they have the certification to prove it! We are proud to announce the Galen Certified-Enterprise EHR Application Specialist training and certification program. This week marks the completion of Galen’s second group of employees who have taken part in our intensive seven week training that concludes with both a written and verbal examination.

The training, which is designed and performed by our experts, consists of an in depth review of all the Enterprise Certified Workflows and build methodologies with an added emphasis on the clinical relevance of each. Much like that of the Configuration Workbook, we step through Base, Rx, Charge, Order/Result, Note, CareGuides, Dictate, Transcribe and Scan. Along with the module specifics, we provide an entire System Administration review with the latest 11.2 Enhancements and configuration techniques.

During the training each student is provided with their own virtual 11.2 Enterprise environment so they might build, test, and configure without the concern of being in a LIVE environment or configuring over another user. As part of the testing process each student is required to build out a mock client environment from scratch. They are given mock client build specifications that begin with the organization set up and build of users, right down to the assignment of all Task List and Worklist views. They participate in “real-life” patient care/documentation scenarios to ensure that they are prepared to support the actual day to day needs of the end user without hesitation or delay.

We began the training and certification with newly hired employees and then expanded it to include verifying the overall level of understanding of the Enterprise product by including our Senior Consultants. We are proud to announce that as of today 15 employees already hold the distinction of being Galen Certified Enterprise EHR Application Specialist, with 7 more preparing to test in the next 2 weeks.

We are currently working to complete the training and certification for all the consultants on our Service Team. As well, the future will include Advanced Certifications in areas of V11 Note, Order/Results, Charge, CareGuides, and System Administration.

Please join me in congratulating the following employees:

Michael Dale, Associate Consultant

Michael joined Galen in April 2011 as an Associate Consultant. He attended the initial class for Galen’s Certification program. He was the first employee to officially become “Galen Certified – Enterprise EHR Application Specialist”. In his six months in this industry, he has grown very familiar with Allscripts Enterprise EHR™ and has become a frequent contributor to the Galen Blog. In the coming months, he plans to contribute to the Galen Public Webcast series.

Michael graduated from Iowa State University in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Management. His background includes analytical experience in the Healthcare industry and a variety of leadership positions.

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Zia Rahman, RHIA, Associate Consultant

Zia works primarily from the Chicago office and focuses on Allscripts Enterprise EHR™ implementations. He is a recent graduate from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management and is also RHIA certified. Most recently he has been assisting a large client in the Midwest as their dedicated resource to help the implementation go as smoothly as possible. Zia is always dedicated to ensuring the project is a success.

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Christy Erickson, Consultant

Christy joined Galen in March of 2011 as a Consultant serving clients in either Project Manager or Implementation Consultant roles specializing in clinical workflows and v11 Note. Before joining Galen, Christy was Operations Manager for Abraxas Medical Solutions (now Merge Health) responsible for implementations, support, technical services, and client education. Prior to that, Christy spent three years at Allscripts in both project management and consultant roles where she was named the 2008 Allscripts Service Employee of the Year and promoted to Manager, Professional Services. Before entering the health IT industry, Christy worked in nursing as a nurse and nurse practitioner with experience in outpatient, hospital, and hospice, including several years in Spain as an ICU/OR nurse where she became fluent in Spanish. Christy earned both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Nursing from Salisbury University in Maryland and currently lives in Southern California.

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David Burkhead, Managing Consultant

David joined Galen in March 2010 as a Consultant and recently transitioned from Senior Consultant to Managing Consultant. In his 6 years working with Allscripts Enterprise EHR™, his project experience has included Project Management, Implementation Consulting, Conversion Analyst, and Interface Analyst roles. In his recent experience with Galen, he has been involved with an Enterprise EHR™ READY deployment, external webcasts, and an occasional contributor to the Galen blog. David graduated from The University of Vermont in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration along with a concentration in Management of Information Systems.

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Cecil Hunter, Senior Consultant

Cecil has been an integral part of the Galen team since April 2008. He has more than 11 years of experience in the health care Industry and 6 years of experience with Allscripts Enterprise™ EHR deployment. Cecil has most recently worked on a deployment of Enterprise EHR™ Version 11 modules for a large comprehensive network of affiliated physicians in Columbia, South Carolina. Cecil is certified in Allscripts Enterprise EHR™ Version 11 System Administration, as well as, Allscripts Enterprise EHR™ Version 11 Upgrades. Prior to joining Galen, Cecil served as an Allscripts Super User at a major University Healthcare Group in South Florida.

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Steve Cotton, Managing Consultant

Steve has been with Galen Healthcare Solutions since January 2010 and has recently transitioned from Senior Consultant to Managing Consultant. Following his years of experience at Allscripts Healthcare Solutions as a Senior Implementation Consultant and the Lead Internal Educator, he has continued to exhibit his expertise in project management, implementations, and education. In his recent Galen experience, he has contributed to the Galen external webcasts, assisted multiple clients with the Order Synchronization process, and serves as the primary implementation resource for Galen’s business continuity solution, VitalCenter. Steve has a Bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management and a Master’s degree in Health Informatics; his educational background has provided him with a strong understanding of the Healthcare Industry.

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Carl Fulton, Lead Consultant

Carl has more than eight years experience with healthcare information systems, specializing in Project Management and Implementation Consulting for Allscripts Enterprise EHR™. He has led implementation efforts for a range of clients, affecting thousands of providers, using all modules within Enterprise EHR™. In addition to his background in healthcare information systems, Carl has a Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University and Bachelors Degree in Management Information Systems from Washington State University.

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Cyn Gerson, Senior Consultant

With over ten years of health information systems experience, Cyn has played an integral role in many client projects; including implementation & deployment of all Allscripts Enterprise EHR™ modules, for many healthcare systems around the country. Most recently Cyn took a lead role with a major multi-specialty organization to get them live on their latest implementation phase, which included multiple Order/Result interfaces, Charge and v11 Note.

Cyn has demonstrated her skills in project management, workflow analysis, application build, interface testing and end-user training & support. She has a strong work ethic combined with a commitment to excellence in all projects undertaken, and continuously strives to cultivate positive relationships with her clients while providing objective guidance in accomplishing their goals.

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Tony Yelacic, Senior Consultant

Tony Yelacic has been with Galen Healthcare Solutions since 2007. He came to Galen with 30 years of healthcare experience across clinical, operational, and information systems areas. His unique blend of skills has provided many opportunities for the Galen community.

 

 

 

 

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Karla Koertner, Consultant

Karla Koertner is a software implementation professional with more than 11 years in healthcare. She is experienced with both acute and ambulatory care software systems and has functioned as a Project Manager, Subject Matter Expert, and Implementation Consultant on several large scale Allscripts installs. Karla resides in Charlotte, NC and looks forward to a long career with Galen Healthcare Solutions.

 

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Matt Woodside, Managing Consultant

Matt has been involved with the design, build and implementation of clinical software for over 10 years, including extensive experience with clinical application testing and evaluating end-user readiness. Most recently, he has been working with Senior Implementation staff, Clinical Analysts and Hospital Management to roll-out Allscripts Enterprise EHR™ to the first Beta sites in the network at one of the largest Allscripts clients in the Northeast. Matt was also involved with leading the client team through their recent Allscripts Enterprise EHR™ version11.2 upgrade. Matt is looking forward to continuing to apply his knowledge and experience to current and future client needs.

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Steve Stahr, Senior Consultant

Steve joined Galen in April 2008, and has been integral in assisting clients with their EHR projects, both as a Project Manager as well as Implementation Consultant. More recently, Steve became more involved with the Galen Upgrade Team, assisting with the increased demand of upgrading clients trying to achieve Meaningful Use and report from the Stimulus Set. His interest in the Orders and Results modules of Allscripts Enterprise EHR™ has given him the opportunity to assist many different clients with navigating this significant and strategic process. Steve has also been very involved with hosting webcasts through Galen’s Free Webcast Series, and conducted on site training with clients, as well.

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Will Ditton, Senior Consultant

With more than 10 years experience in Healthcare IT and working with Allscripts products, Will has had the opportunity to be involved with clients ranging in size from small to large MSO. His experience includes implementing Allscripts Enterprise EHR™ as well as assisting clients with optimization. In addition to his main focus on the Enterprise EHR™ application, Will has experience with Network and System Administration. Will has proven to be a huge asset to Galen’s clients and he looks forward to assisting future clients in achieving their goals.

 

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Litisha Turner, MSN, Clinical Consultant

Litisha has been with Galen as a Clinical Consultant for one and half years. She is a Registered Nurse with a Master’s Degree in Nursing Informatics. Her focus has been on building notes, forms, text templates and flowsheets for various clients including Northwest Community Hospital, Scripps, North Florida Surgeons and University Physician Associates. She has provided remote System Administrator training and end user training to a number of clients, as well as v11.2 Upgrades and work on bidirectional lab interfaces.

 

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Laleen Shah, Associate Consultant

Laleen Shah has been with Galen Healthcare Solutions since May 2011. In her recent experience she has been involved with a large healthcare organization in Iowa, assisting in system build, go live support, and data gathering for upcoming go-live events. She is currently a Galen Certified Enterprise EHR Application Specialist. Laleen graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2011 with a Bachelors Degree in Health Information Management.

 

 

 

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Tags: Allscripts Consultants, Allscripts Enterprise EHR, Galen Certified - Enterprise EHR Application Specialist

It’s been an exciting quarter for everyone in the Allscripts community as more and more physicians are adopting EHR technology and health systems across the country are positioning themselves for Meaningful Use. As our industry continues to evolve, Galen has recently made some key promotions designed to give our employees additional support needed to provide high-quality services to a growing client base. Their leadership allows our company to stay better connected. Please join us in congratulating the following people on their recent promotions.

Dave Burkhead, Managing Consultant

Dave knows the configuration of the Enterprise EHR application front and back and has worked on the interface and technical side of the application. In addition to this product knowledge, Dave has project management experience and a natural ability to lead. This combination of product knowledge and higher level vision is at the heart of what Galen provides, and it’s what makes Dave such a valuable asset to both his clients and team members. Congratulations to Dave on this well-deserved promotion.

Steve Cotton, Managing Consultant

Steve came to Galen with superior product knowledge and a willingness to do whatever it takes to help his clients, and that has not changed. Steve does all things Enterprise EHR™; trainings, onsite support, orders/results build, interfaces, VitalCenter™ implementations, external Galen webinars, and much more. In addition to his client work, he has been a steady contributor to internal projects and is the true epitome of a team player. In his new role as Managing Consultant, Steve will be able to bring years of consulting and application experience to his team. We congratulate Steve on this well-deserved promotion.

Michael Ficociello, Upgrade Manager

Michael was one of the original upgrade team members who started in 2008 and has made immeasurable contributions to its success in the years since. His work ethic and attention to detail have allowed him to provide superior services to his clients, and his passion for process improvement has allowed the entire upgrade team to stay organized and on point. In his new role of managing the upgrade consultants and upgrade project managers, Michael will continue to provide leadership to the team in addition to his full workload with his own upgrade clients. Congratulations to Michael and thanks for all the hard work.

Troy Forcier, Senior Upgrade Technician

Troy has been upgrading Galen’s client base for the past three years, working with just about everything between V10 and V11. During that time, he has taken on some of our largest clients as well as some of our smallest, and done great work at every stop. In addition to his upgrade work, he has also gone on-site with clients to perform assessments of their Allscripts infrastructure, visited clients to perform Galen’s System Maintenance Training, and hosted educational webcasts.  He has also been a tremendous help in on-boarding some of our newer upgrade resources, allowing Galen to bring top-quality technical services to a growing client base. We congratulate Troy on his promotion to Senior Upgrade Technician.

Carl Fulton, Lead Consultant

Carl has been with Galen since September 2007 and has worked with multiple clients throughout his time with Galen.  The common theme with each is that they keep coming back to Galen for support with their implementations, upgrades, and other projects. He has tremendous product knowledge and combines his great sense of humor with a level of professionalism that makes him a great resource for all clients. In addition to his client-side impact, Carl plays a large role internally for the service team. He is truly an asset to the clients and to Galen. Carl has made the transition from Consultant to Senior Consultant to Lead Consultant in his four years here, and we congratulate him on his newest promotion.

Matt Woodside, Managing Consultant

Matt has been promoted to Managing Consultant and will now take on responsibilities for managing part of the service team in addition to his continued full-time client work. Matt has a combination of extensive product expertise and excellent leadership capabilities. His strong project management skills have helped him provide direction and leadership to one of Galen’s largest clients as they move towards Meaningful Use. Within Galen, he has helped with the recruitment of new employees, ensuring that Galen employees continue to represent the highest standard. Congratulations to Matt on his exciting new role as Managing Consultant.

Tags: Allscripts Consultants, EHR Implementation

The last few months at Galen have been wildly successful. We have continued to grow with the industry, and in the midst of this growth, several of our employees have stepped up and received important promotions. We are excited to recognize those people here.

Justin Campbell, Director, Integrations

Incredibly passionate about his work, Justin Campbell’s clients have raved about him and the work he does. Rarely does a week go by that we do not receive kudos for his work. He is consistently working on the Galen Wiki, the Blog, and now the Interface Forums, sharing what he’s learned and promoting the Galen brand.  Despite his already expert-level product and industry knowledge, he continues to eagerly learn more and share that knowledge with others in the community. His contributions to the company cannot be overstated.

Justin’s new position will allow him to continue the work that he has already been doing for quite some time –mentoring the interface/integrations team and developing our integrations business. His expertise in interfaces, conversions, patient summary exchanges, HIE, and UAI will serve him well as he moves forward as Director, Integrations. Undoubtedly he will also continue to contribute to Galen’s success in all the countless other ways he has for a long time.

Congratulations to Justin on a big and well-deserved promotion.

Max Stroud, Senior Upgrade Consultant

As one of Galen’s most experienced Upgrade Consultants, Max has been an integral part of our Upgrade Team since its very beginning. She has great functional knowledge of Allscripts Enterprise EHR™, and her many experiences have allowed her to become one of our true lead Upgrade Consultants. Her passion for learning and teaching has benefitted Galen greatly. Max has been a great teacher and mentor to our newer resources and has been eager to share her knowledge and experience with all members of our company.

That same willingness to share her knowledge has made her invaluable to the many upgrade projects she has been a part of. She brings a great combination of product knowledge, industry experience, and strong interpersonal skills, all of which make her an extremely effective resource and member of our company.

We congratulate Max on her recent promotion and thank her for all the hard work she has put in to earn it!

Michael Ficociello, Senior Upgrade Consultant

Another original member of our upgrade team, Michael Ficociello has been a primary contributor to the success of our upgrade team as a mentor and project manager. His ability to drive projects forward while staying organized and on point has been enormously helpful as we take on more Enterprise EHR™ version 11.2 upgrades. His passion for detail and process improvement allows our entire Upgrade Team to be more effective.  Combined with his strong work ethic, this attention to detail has helped to identify gaps in the upgrade process as well to generate solutions that have since filled those gaps. These contributions to the upgrade process have been invaluable to our clients and have helped  establish Galen as a leading upgrade partner.

We thank Michael for his dedication to our upgrades and to Galen, and for his ability to mentor others on what seems to be an ever changing process. Congratulations on a well deserved promotion!

Steve Stahr, Senior Consultant

Steve Stahr has been a valuable member of the service team while working with a  number of different clients. Among other things, his understanding of orders and results functionality has been valuable not only to his many clients, but also to his peers at Galen. Always eager to lend a hand to a colleague, Steve’s positive attitude and sense of humor have helped Galen become not only a leader in the industry but a fun place to work. Recently Steve has contributed to a number of internal initiatives, including our webcast series, our company trip, as well making the Chicago office a welcoming place for several recent new hires.

Steve is consistently a go-to guy for new projects that spring up, and has always been an outstanding Galen advocate and representative. He takes pride in working for such a great company.

Congratulations to Steve on a well deserved promotion and we look forward to many more years of success!

Tags: Allscripts Consultants

Galen Healthcare Solutions was founded on the belief that the Allscripts Enterprise EHR is the premier ambulatory electronic health record and the conviction we could add more value to the community by focusing on client side implementations.  Over the past 5 years, we have watched that dream become a reality in many ways.  We are currently working with hundreds of clients and have over fifty experts working on our team in a variety of roles.  Our vast expertise is a critical component of facilitating our partners’ successful deployments and advancements of the electronic health record. 

At Galen, we believe strongly in sharing our success and giving back to our community.  One of our driving tenets internally is to “Perpetually Learn and Share”.  As a team member at Galen, it is not simply an expectation to further one’s knowledge of new and evolving areas of the application and stay current with the latest releases but a requirement. Furthermore, we foster a collaborative environment where this experience and knowledge are communicated to the entire team.  This has been instrumental to our success and ensures that when you work with a Galen team member you are getting full access to the resources that define our organization. 

This goal is not just an internal method for us to keep up to date and deliver value to our clients; it is also our philosophy to share this knowledge with the community for free.  We have established many forms of knowledge sharing for the community and our hope is that we are able to further educate the entire industry by doing so.  Throughout the years, we have actively expanded our roster of free guidance and I’m proud to affirm we now have three ways to share this knowledge:

The Galen Wiki – This houses the industry’s largest source of free Enterprise EHR information.  We currently have many customers, competitors and colleagues that use this repository on a regular basis to research and share information.  The Galen Wiki also allows you to sign up for an account if you’d like to share information.  If you haven’t accessed this site, we hope that you’ll take a minute to see what we’ve shared.  (http://wiki.galenhealthcare.com/Main_Page)

Galen Webcasts – Many groups utilizing the Enterprise application have benefited from the various webcasts that we have offered to date.  Our team offers a few sessions each month to cover various topics, including technical and functional based sessions.  The overall feedback has been remarkably positive and we feel this has been a great forum to educate the community and share some of the experience we’ve gained.  These webcasts are free to join and are announced on our website.  If you haven’t attended a session, we encourage you to register for one of the upcoming events!  (http://www.galenhealthcare.com/calendar/)

Allscripts Interface Developers Network – Most recently, we launched a new forum dedicated to the Allscripts interface developers community.   This is meant to assist with questions and advice for interface developmental needs.  As the content and usage grows, our hope is that this will become the primary place to research interface advice or post a question with the challenges you are currently facing.  If you are an interface developer or work with interfaces on a regular basis, we suggest that you check it out and post questions or suggestions you may have.   (http://interfaces.galenhealthcare.com/)

These forums are our way of giving back to the community that has supported us throughout the years.  As we continue to grow and identify further needs, we expect these to continue to grow as well.  We hope that each of you is able to gain valuable insight from each of these resources and cultivate your own expertise so you can in return perpetually learn and share.  Together we will conquer the challenges universally faced within health care today and ensure that everyone in the community is well prepared to implement and deploy the Allscripts Enterprise EHR.

Tags: Allscripts Consultants, Allscripts Enterprise EHR, EHR, Galen Webcast Series

With a majority of healthcare organizations being multi-site as well as an increasing trend in MSO oriented healthcare systems, the ability to effectively manage and deploy EHR to entire physician networks is critical to achieving an integrated patient record and reducing disparate records across physician networks.  The release of Allscripts Enterprise EHR version 11.2.x brings the movement towards meaningful use and reimbursement incentives; as well as penalties.  This requires that organizations develop the capacity and knowledge required to take on, prioritize, and execute multiple EHR initiatives simultaneously.  In many cases this involves what seems like the never ending rollout of sites, practices, and acquisitions that comprise these complex physician and community based networks.

So what is really involved in order to make this happen?  Is it really just about system configuration, setting system preferences, writing interfaces, analyzing workflows, and installing hardware?  Cumulatively it is, but who makes this happen and why don’t they grow on trees?  This article aims to take a step back and take a hard look at the soft skills needed to ensure not only a successful initial installation of EHR, but the underlying principals needed in order to ensure a fully functional, well seasoned, and confident EHR deployment team.

Perhaps a quite common question or source of anxiety presented to on site vendor support is “Well what happens once you’re gone?  Who is going to take care of us?”  The following are pre-emptive measures that organizations can take in order to ensure that once the “experts” leave, the pace of the EHR implementation can maintain its course.

Initiate the Transfer of Knowledge

The fast and furious pace of installing EHR at a particular practice can sometimes leave the remaining implementation and support staff straddling between new support duties and ramping up additional practices.  Don’t wait for the knowledge to come to you….go to where the knowledge is.

• Identify the key drivers and what the critical build aspects are for the organization or practice installation.  Don’t just now what they are, but take the next steps and get a head start in building towards expert level knowledge in those areas.
  • Attend product focused webinars
  • Invest in either remote or on site focused system maintenance or functionality driven education courses
• Granted these elements can require time and some capital to achieve, but the long term return on investment will come in the form of self sufficiency

First Impressions Are Everything

Remember that through the eyes of a practice going live on a brand new electronic health record the initial round of go-live support and change management will set the tone for the long term relationship between the practice(s) and the core EHR implementation team.

• Get the core team’s faces out there and work to establish a positive rapport with new and upcoming practice(s), but keep in mind not to overwhelm them.
• Make sure the practice(s) know that as a team they will be working together directly with the EHR implementation team and that they will not be experiencing this change alone.
• Let the practice(s) know that it’s okay to ask questions prior to go-live and work to eliminate that potential perception go-live day is a just a silent time bomb waiting to explode.

Cross Training & Skill Set Ramp Up

Get as many of the core EHR and support team involved in all phases of the project life cycle for a given practice.  This will help build the perspective and broaden knowledge needed not only to maintain autonomy and depend less on other team members, but also increase the support capacity of each team member.  This can translate into increased support bandwidth and end user satisfaction.

• Encourage every core team member to participate in clinic walkthroughs, workflow assessments, go-live support, and the post-live optimization process.
• Provide internal or “brown bag” presentations (post-live) so that other team members can become familiar with each other’s focus or area of product specialty.

Remember that once the “experts” leave, the core EHR implementation and support team is the lifeblood of the implementation and a key driver to any organization’s long terms success with EHR.

Good Luck!

Tags: Allscripts Consultants, Allscripts Enterprise EHR, EHR Implementation, Successful EHR Implementation

It has been an exciting few months at Galen.  In the midst of the amazing growth we are experiencing both in the Healthcare IT Industry and at Galen, we take pride in recognizing our people who are excelling with their clients.  We are excited to announce the following promotions within Galen.

Cynthia “Cyn” Gerson, Senior Consultant

With over ten years of health care information systems experience, Cyn has played an integral role in many client projects; including implementation & deployment of all Enterprise™ Version 11 modules for a variety of healthcare systems around the country.  Most recently, Cyn was asked to step in and take a lead role with a major client in New Mexico to get them live on their Phase IV implementation which includes Order/Result, Charge, Structured Note, etc.  Cyn has also added her wisdom to the Galen Meaningful Use Group and to our public webinar series, among other things. 

Cyn has demonstrated her skills in project management, workflow analysis, application build and end-user support.  She has a strong work ethic combined with a commitment to excellence in all projects undertaken, and continuously strives to cultivate positive relationships with her clients while providing guidance in accomplishing their objectives.

We congratulate Cyn on her many accomplishments and look forward to many, many more!

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Jerri Cowper, Channel Manager

Jerri has made herself an invaluable asset to our partners as she has facilitated the strategic deployment of the EHR in large multi-specialty environments.  She has leveraged this experience, and her understanding of the evolving client needs, to drive other Galen initiatives such as the client education webcast series, and specialty user groups.  We have always heard great things about her from clients and there is no doubt that she builds great relationships with the people she works with on a daily basis.  She is great at advising her clients on the best way to approach their workflows to meet the business objectives of the organization.

Within her new role as Channel Manager, Jerri is responsible for linking the needs and demands of the client community to the development of webcasts, trainings, and service offerings within Galen.  Her active role with the Regional User Groups will ensure the group members benefit from the latest trends and strategies that she and the other Galen professionals are involved with on a daily basis.    Jerri was recipient of the 2009 Road Warrior award, 2009 Galen Rookie of the Year award, 2010 Road Warrior, and was voted by her peers to receive the 2010 Mentor Award.  It’s been a great few years so far and we look forward to many more years to come.

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Steve Cotton, Senior Consultant

Steve has been a valuable member of the team since he joined Galen, and consistently steps up to take on challenging projects.   Steve works primarily out of the Chicago office and focuses on Enterprise implementations and training.  Most recently he has been assisting a large client in the Midwest with an upgrade as their dedicated expert to help ensure things go as smoothly as possible.  There’s no doubt that they have benefitted from having him involved and he’s been able to provide them with the support and knowledge they were looking for.   Beyond that, Steve is always helping out when the needs are there.  His expertise and experience with the product is amazing.  Add his ability to explain issues and talk through resolutions with clients and you have a dangerous combination.  Steve was also the recipient of the 2010 Galen Rookie of the Year Award.  He has been a huge asset during his tenure at Galen.  We look forward to what Steve has to offer both Galen and our clients over the coming years.

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Matt Woodside, Senior Consultant

Matt is a true professional and respected amongst clients, Allscripts, and his peers.   He gains this respect because he exhibits product expertise, excellent leadership and management capabilities. Matt immediately began making an impact with a large multi-specialty client in the Northeast as part of the rollout and build team.  He has been described by his client as a leader of their project.  Matt is also helping us with the future vision of VitalCenter by helping to create a more defined road map, and he most recently agreed to help with recruitment.  Matt was voted by his peers as the recipient of the 2010 Professionalism Award.  Thanks to Matt for all of his efforts and those that are still yet to come.  Overall it has been a great year and we look forward to working with him for many years to come. 

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David Burkhead, Senior Consultant

Dave is a valued member of the Galen team and also with his clients!  He was integral in the deployment of their READY project that included leading them through a successful conversion, design, build, configuration, and go live.  He is currently working as the project manager for their initial clinical data conversion and also as the project manager of the organization wide implementation of Allscripts Enterprise EHR.  Dave has a wide range of skills – he knows configuration of the Enterprise EHR application front and back and has worked on the interface and tech side of the application. 

Dave also has a passion for educating others as evident from his participation in our webinar series and most recently his order/result presentation at the Company Meeting in New Orleans.  He is self described as having a willingness to learn any skill set; whether that is functional, technical, or educational – and we totally agree!

Tags: Allscripts Consultants

Over the past year we continued to experience tremendous change as a company, an Allscripts community and as an industry.

As a company we can point to our proficiency with the Allscripts PM and Professional products. Prior to 2010, our Technical Services team had been involved with a handful of interfaces with Allscripts Enterprise PM, primarily the standard interfaces with the Enterprise EHR. In 2010, however, the team took its knowledge of PM interfaces from elementary to expert as demonstrated in the PM Integration article in this newsletter. The team became experts in inbound demographics conversions, customized outbound registration and scheduling interfaces, and began to explore the world of general ledger interfaces. Additionally, the company performed its first conversion of an Allscripts Professional EHR system – splitting a single environment into three as part of a four-party acquisition. Galen also had the fortune of bringing on a handful of experienced Allscripts PM Implementation Professionals in 2010.

It wouldn’t be entirely fair to categorize 2010 as the year of Allscripts PM and Professional at Galen. Our advancements in these areas simply showcase the organization’s willingness to embrace change. Our commitment to learning and, more importantly, sharing what we learn requires us to constantly move into unexplored territory as we strive to add measurable value to our clients. We share our experiences and newfound knowledge within the industry via the Galen Wiki and the Galen Blog. We also see the Allscripts community sharing its knowledge through the Regional User Groups, the AmberSight forums and at ACE each year.

The upcoming year promises to bring even more change to all of us in Healthcare IT. Many groups are aiming to achieve Stage 1 Meaningful Use in 2011. This means an upgrade to Allscripts Enterprise EHR version 11.2. It means capturing new data, like smoking status and language. It means new interfaces, including lab and immunizations. New workflows. New reporting. We all have a lot to do.

At Galen, we began our journey towards Meaningful Use in earnest in 2010 following the release of the Interim Final Rule. Our Meaningful Use Committee began meeting bi-weekly to discuss the rules, their impact and how we can quickly and effectively assist our clients to meet MU in 2011. Galen’s Upgrade Team will be performing nearly 20 upgrades to v11.2 this summer, ensuring the systems are there for our clients to achieve meaningful use in 2011. Additionally our Interface Team has been furiously working the past 12 months on interfaces that aid in achieving Meaningful Use, and will continue to do so over the next two years.

At Galen, we welcome the opportunity of another year working with some of the best health care providers in the nation. We look forward to overcoming the challenges that will come with implementing the software, workflows and procedures necessary to achieve Meaningful Use.
We will stay the course of learning and sharing – with our colleagues, with our existing clients and with the broader Allscripts community.

Mike Dow

Tags: Allscripts, Allscripts Consultants, Allscripts Enterprise EHR, EHR Implementation, Enterprise EHR, Interfaces, Meaningful Use