Yesterday you received an emailed memo from our system CIO Tim Tarnowski about the ongoing work of our UMass Memorial Soarian Exit Strategy Task Force. The task force, made up of members from across UMass Memorial and representing roles from the front line of care to the back office, is evaluating our current information technology systems to find the best solutions for our many needs. To help them make these crucial decisions, Tim asked for your input through a survey and product demonstrations later this month. His memo can be found here.

So far, more than 730 of you have taken the survey – that’s a great response and we thank you, but we want to hear from more of you. If you haven’t done so yet, please make sure to take the survey by February 20. Click this link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NGPTQFB).

A few respondents to the survey have told us that some questions could have been written more clearly. We appreciate that feedback very much and will learn from it. Overall, we are getting such great response and valuable information from you that we plan to continue with the survey as it is currently presented and look forward to reporting the results to you.

Tim has also received some great questions and we’ll continue to gather them and provide an FAQ next week and after the survey ends. Here are two that may also be on your mind, with Tim’s answer:

Question:  Many of our colleagues had experience with Epic and Cerner elsewhere. Can we ask them to compare AllScripts to the new programs that we are considering?

Question: Are there any nurses on this task force committee? Nurses use these systems and I would think our input should also be included.

Answer:  Yes to both questions. Three members of nursing leadership are on the Soarian Exit Strategy Task Force:  Diane Thompson, RN, and Lisa Gillum, RN. Pamela Mann, RN, also attends the task force meetings. Additionally, many nurses have been identified to participate in detailed demonstrations of the Cerner and Epic products. In all, a team of 600+ people will attend demos of Cerner and Epic. During these demos, the participants will formally rate each product using a scoring tool. The demos will be held on the Medical Center’s University Campus February 24 and 25 (Epic) and March 9 and 10 (Cerner). In addition to the formal demonstrations we may add drop-in sessions for those interested in seeing the products firsthand. Details to follow.

Please continue to send your questions and comments to Tim at tim.tarnowski@umassmemorial.org or the IT info center at askit@umassmemorial.org.

This is an exciting time at UMass Memorial. We are on the right path to finding a solution that is consistently reliable, stable and usable and brings you and our patients the best experience. Everyone, everyday.

Thank you for taking great care of our patients and each other.

Eric