Vitro Software's eHealth Insights

Views, experiences and opinions from our own specialist eHealth staff and guest contributors, covering CIS, EMR, integration and interoperability, cloud hosting, change management and user adoption.

78 articles published between 2014 and 2020.

For a Digital Hospital Think Information Not Technology

15 December 2020 · Joe Peppard

The current COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented stress on healthcare systems all around the globe. It has also accelerated the adoption of...

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What is a good Hospital Integration Strategy?

29 September 2020

Healthcare IT Integration expert Colin McGrath, who has worked with hospitals around the world for more than ten years, writes about four things that...

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An EMR Implementation - Harnessing the Power Within. Use your End-Users.

15 September 2020

Tips from a clinician and healthcare IT expert... Michelle Sayseng Cruz explains why clinicians play such a vital role on an EMR implementation project...

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The 8 step guide to successfully buying and implementing an EMR for Private Hospitals - Covid & Beyond

31 August 2020

This just published eBook "The 8 step guide to successfully buying and implementing an EMR for Private Hospitals - COVID & beyond" has been complied by...

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The Growth and Impact of Mental Health Apps

17 September 2018

This Insight is about the rise in Mental health apps; the huge benefits to those suffering from mental health challenges but also some of the cautions....

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Patient record security is everyone’s job

25 June 2018

Within the first few weeks of Australia’s legislation around Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) a total of 63 notices were received, and with the highest...

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Getting health record interoperability right in Australia & beyond

10 April 2018

As the Australian health system upgrades to digital patient records, interoperability has been a hot topic among the leaders in the health IT...

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IT Governance: lessons from the trenches

17 October 2017 · Malcolm Thatcher

Dr Malcolm Thatcher talks about IT Governance and what he considers are the lessons. Malcolm talks about a lack of clarity, a lack of leadership and...

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Bridging the Information Gap

10 October 2017

Calvary Health Care's Sue Hanson says; “From the outset, we never supported a one system, one vendor approach. So we looked at the market to find a...

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How an Advance Care Plan will Improve End-of-Life for the Elderly

8 March 2017 · Marie Pascal

Marie Pascal writes about the positive impact the introduction of electronic advance care plans has in improving end-of-life care for the elderly. She...

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The Impact of Civil Registration in Developing Countries

15 August 2016 · Maria Shanahan

Maria Shanahan writes about the importance of Civil Registration, both in the context of benefits to the individual and also in governments being able...

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The benefits of a tailored EMR for elective surgery and next steps

21 June 2016 · Sinead Kane

Day case procedures are increasing. As well as reduced costs to the hospitals, patients benefit by being able to recover at home. In 2012 in Ireland...

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Cloud Hosting and EMR Data Security

17 May 2016 · James Heslin

Technical Solutions Manager, James Heslin looks at EMR data security and cloud hosting in this week’s Insight. James discusses the perceived risks in...

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Brazil - the Political and Economic Crisis & its Impact on Healthcare

13 April 2016 · Andrea Rangel

Andrea Rangel looks at Brazil's political & economic landscape today in 2016 and describes a challenging or even stark situation, she digs deeper into...

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Consumption Based Pricing for your Electronic Medical Record

15 March 2016 · Paul Mooney

Paul Mooney investigates the drawbacks which can often arise with EMR pricing. Traditional EMR vendors want you to commit to large perpetual licences....

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EMR Implementation – Big Bang or Phased Approach?

19 February 2016

We examine the Big Bang versus phased EMR implementation for hospitals. Exploring the various concerns hospitals have during an implementation of an...

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Why the notion of “what” an EMR consists of is changing

12 January 2016

The changing face of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs). We examine procurement in the US and overseas markets which is driven by the preferred vendor...

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Three different approaches to EMR procurement

16 December 2015 · Jessica Broun

Jessica Broun looks at the eHealth landscape in the UAE and the shift in focus to Electronic Medical Records. She discusses three approaches to EMR...

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The Road to a Virtuous EMR – Episode VII: What makes one system better than another?

23 November 2015

The strength of a network is dependent on how active its members are. The network effect; greater value is gained when more people use it or when the...

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eHealth Procurement & Implementation - A nurses perspective

27 October 2015

Nurses should be consulted in the early stages of EMR implementation so healthcare technology companies can create a user friendly EMR. 98% of nurses...

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Allowing Health Information Exchange (HIE) while protecting privacy

29 September 2015

There is a perception that paper is more secure because it is tangible and can be kept under lock and key. The security and privacy risks to changing...

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The Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources FHIR Update

19 August 2015

Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) is the standard that is on everyone's lips these days. Dominic Green writes about the changes made to...

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A Clinical Information Gap: Transferring patients from Residential Aged Care Facilities to acute care

22 July 2015 · Jeff Smoot

There can be barriers to the transfer of elderly patients from Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF) to acute care facilities that can complicate the...

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Tricks and tips to shortening your Buying Cycle and streamline Electronic Medical Record (EMR) vendor selection.

25 June 2015 · Paul Mooney

This weeks insight highlights the importance of shortening your buying cycle when it comes to purchasing an EMR and the ways in which you can achieve...

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What is Mobility in Healthcare?

26 May 2015

The use of mobile devices in the health industry has grown hugely. Clinicians are now using Apps on mobile devices for health related services , they...

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Using technology to disrupt healthcare

29 April 2015 · Andrew Murphy

Andrew Murphy, CEO Sláinte Healthcare recently wrote an article for Microsoft Health which was published on their blog. The article 'Using Technology...

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The Journey from Paper to ECM to EMR… where do we begin and where do we end?

28 April 2015

The HSE in Ireland has announced the vendor list for the ECM Framework. In relation to this, there are a number of important steps that should be...

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Collaboration in Healthcare - Everyone Matters

26 March 2015 · Neil Jordan

Neil Jordan, Worldwide General Manager of the Health Industry for Microsoft, discusses the importance of collaboration in the delivery of efficient...

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Process Improvement in Healthcare

18 March 2015 · Stuart Turk

Stuart Turk discusses process improvement in health care and the drivers behind the improvement need. He writes about the desire to improve methods and...

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“make them use it” is not a valid EMR adoption strategy

5 March 2015

User adoption, something determined as the single biggest risk when it comes to a successful EMR project. He looks at the 'we'll just have to force...

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The Road to a Virtuous EMR: Episode VI

23 February 2015

Billy Diggin discusses the thought that 'EMRs remove the soul from the Medical Record'. He counters this argument with the point that 'EMRs should...

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The Healthcare Consumer Experience

17 February 2015 · Jeff Smoot

Jeff Smoot explores how the Healthcare industry has become focused on and driven by the consumer. Over the past couple of years patient experience has...

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The real impact of Open Source Software (OSS) within Healthcare

9 February 2015

National Health Service (NHS) England’s tech fund schemes had a focus on open source projects from the start. The first round (Safer Hospitals Safer...

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Electronic Medical Record Big Bang or Damp Squib!

3 February 2015 · Canice McKee

It’s universally agreed that there are good reasons to move to a paperless healthcare environment. The benefits are pretty obvious in terms of...

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Open Source Software (OSS) within Healthcare IT

3 February 2015

National Health Service (NHS) England’s tech fund schemes had a focus on open source projects from the start. The first round (Safer Hospitals Safer...

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Experiencing an Operation Smile mission - Life changing operations in Vietnam

29 January 2015 · Lewis Rhatigan

Last November Lewis Rhatigan went to Vietnam as part of a Operation Smile mission, where Sláinte Healthcare are delivering Vitro as their EMR. Lewis...

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The Challenge of Attrition in the Middle East

20 January 2015 · Jessica Broun

Jessica Broun writes about some of the challenges that can sometimes be associated with doing business in the Middle East... one that is not often...

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Uncovering Hospital Grouping & Universal Health Insurance

13 January 2015 · Mark Grant

Mark Grant writes about 'Hospital Grouping or trusts', one of the measures that is planned to help the Irish Healthcare system is to move towards...

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Reconciling escalating costs and restricted expenditure

6 January 2015

It was reported that no single party within the health sector anywhere in the world has (to date) demonstrated how to reconcile the two opposing forces...

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Paper versus electronic health information - Benefits to patients and providers

16 December 2014 · Clare Harney

Quality Manager Clare Harney looks at the magnitude of adverse events in Healthcare and how the provision of safe and reliable healthcare depends on...

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The Road to a Virtuous EMR - Episode V

9 December 2014

Billy Diggin outlines a "Dear Santa wishlist" for healthcare providers looking to move away from the inefficiencies of paper. " We run a mid-sized...

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Change and adoption in Healthcare

2 December 2014 · Kim Gilbert

“Change and adoption in Healthcare” Kim Gilbert, Sláinte’s Australian National Account Manager writes about the consistently unproven assumption that...

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Residential Aged Care-Where is the Information

25 November 2014 · Jeff Smoot

Jeff Smoot writes about Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF), how they are home to our most chronic, complex and vulnerable patients who are...

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Paperless NHS - 2020 is a hard stop

18 November 2014 · Canice McKee

By 2018 a paperless NHS will ensure patients only have to tell their story once: if you consent, your electronic care record will be available securely...

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The Unforgettable FHIR - Healthcare Integration

11 November 2014 · Dominic Green

Integration expert Dominic Green, writes about healthcare interoperability and integration in relation to the relatively new FHIR (Fast Healthcare...

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Future proof your healthcare organisation

4 November 2014 · Jessica Broun

Jessica Broun writes about future proofing your healthcare organisation and the key role that interoperability plays in delivering financially...

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Getting personal - why all health organisations should be using big data

28 October 2014

John MacMillan, Head of Daisy Health explains why all health organisations should be using big data. As usual, America seem to be ahead on the big data...

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The patient’s experience

21 October 2014

Very recently I had the opportunity to experience the paper clinical notes system from a patient point of view, when I was in Accident & Emergency...

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Are we MAD with Aged Care Technology

14 October 2014 · Jennifer Dunn

Building an eHealth bridge to connect the aged care sector. Currently the number of Australians accessing services in 2012-2013 were 900,000, by 2023...

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The Road to a Virtuous EMR - Episode IV

30 September 2014

Billy Diggin looks at Boonstra & Broekhuis's review of EMR barriers. They i dentified eight categories, four are quantitative and four qualitative, all...

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Going Digital – Why healthcare is different to other sectors?

23 September 2014

We look at the reasons why the healthcare sector is behind the curve in adopting technology, technology that enables maximum quality and efficiency for...

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EMR Solution Platforms – Do they really exist and how important are they?

16 September 2014 · Jeff Smoot

Do EMR platforms really exist? Jeff Smoot explores whether traditional Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solutions can truly be considered platforms and...

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Adopting New Technology in Healthcare

9 September 2014 · Canice McKee

We all know the benefits that a digital environment can bring in a hospital setting. Allowing clinicians the ability to access patient information at...

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Does your company need a HL7 specification?

2 September 2014 · Dominic Green

After the last article I wrote was published, I was asked a very insightful question, which was, “If you were writing a new piece of software, how...

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Healthcare Technology - Know your customers

26 August 2014 · Jessie Sampson

Marketing, no matter where you are or what you are promoting follows the same basic principles, the differentiators really come down to who your...

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Are We MAD - Empowering the Clinicians to Care

19 August 2014

Technology has an important role to play in improving a clinician’s efficiency, effectiveness and quality when providing patient care. In recent years...

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The Road to a Virtuous EMR - Episode III

12 August 2014

Dr Fawdry has written extensively in www.fawdry.info, www.eepd.org.uk and others publications and media. He brings a much needed breath of realism to...

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Myths of IT Project Implementations in the Healthcare Industry

5 August 2014

As technology continues to advance, the benefits to improve healthcare globally, also continue to be realised. However, the healthcare industry is a...

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Clinical IT Procurement – Everyone is Involved

29 July 2014 · Jeff Smoot

Whether within primary, acute or Community settings, clinical IT solutions are one of the key tools used in managing the information required in...

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Electronic Patient Records – Why Bother?

22 July 2014 · Canice McKee

One of the biggest barriers to the widespread adoption of an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) is its usability (or lack thereof), which is no surprise...

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What is an integration engine?

15 July 2014 · Dominic Green

...But this now undersells what an integration engine does, or is capable of. While the bulk of the integration work may still follow this diagram, the...

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International Standards for ICT

8 July 2014 · Jean Evans

Standards are required in many of the activities that we undertake on a day-to-day basis, whether it be the provision of a service in a hospital, or in...

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UHI - Proposed Changes to the Irish Healthcare Sector

1 July 2014 · Mark Grant

Previously, we discussed the government draft paper on the proposed new funding model for Irish Public Hospitals. It was mentioned that the ‘money...

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Are We MAD? We’re getting there!

17 June 2014

“Are we MAD” - Making a Difference. In this Insight I started to look into the ‘All or Nothing’ model offered by EMR vendors.

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Clinicians get frustrated and disillusioned in using EHR Systems

10 June 2014 · Jeff Smoot

Electronic Health Record (EHR) solutions are being implemented worldwide in an effort to increase the quality of care delivery and drive efficiencies....

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Sláinte Healthcare Bucks the Trend with 57% women in Senior Management Positions

4 June 2014

Current CSO statistics in Ireland show male/female labour market participation at 49% male/51% female, here in Sláinte we have an exact 50%/50% split....

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The Road to a Virtuous EMR - Episode II

27 May 2014

Episode II: Evolution of Medical Records – Evolution of Medical Records – A Systems Perspective. This episode examines the evolution of the medium and...

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NHS Initiatives to Turn Data into Actionable Information

20 May 2014 · Canice McKee

The National Health Service (NHS) England continues to work towards the ambitious target of achieving a paperless environment by 2018. While many...

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The HIMSS EMRAM Model – Showing how information technology can assist improvements in patient care

13 May 2014 · Jean Evans

EMRAM is the first internationally recognised and specifically designed ICT model that assists organisations in measuring the success of their EMR...

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Why healthcare integration is like midwifery

6 May 2014 · Dominic Green

Two conversations recently made me ponder this question, which, initially, seems a strange comparison to draw. The first was a talk with one of our...

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Proposed Changes to the Irish Health Sector – Money Follows the Patient...

2 May 2014 · Mark Grant

There are many changes taking place in the Irish Health sector at the moment, focusing primarily on the current health system model. Let’s take some...

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Are we MAD?

24 April 2014

It was never more evident to me than today when I picked up a healthcare IT magazine from 4 years ago and compared it with the current copy that not...

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UAE Healthcare Market Overview

22 April 2014 · Jessica Broun

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is actively expanding its national healthcare system, to meet the needs of the growing population, and support economic...

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The Road to a Virtuous EMR - Episode I

8 April 2014

The original purpose of the patient chart was to record and document the patient’s medical history. This was for two good reasons; firstly for the...

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Reducing the risk and improving the ROI in implementing an EMR solution

25 March 2014 · Jeff Smoot

There is a view that implementing an EMR solution will magically provide cost effective and efficient patient care, and will improve the overall...

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Electronic Patient Record –more to it than meets the eye!

18 March 2014

Across the world there is a drive to deliver a better patient experience with improvements in patient safety and outcomes while cutting costs and...

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HIMSS 14 Conference: A Taste of the Future in Health Information Management

11 March 2014 · Jean Evans

The annual Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference in the USA is recognised as the global marketplace for health information...

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What should the future of health interoperability look like

4 March 2014 · Dominic Green

For a long time, the well-trodden path within healthcare IT has been to look to large-scale, one-size-fits-all systems, costing many millions of...

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