preparing the request for proposal ehr
TRANSCRIPT
Preparing the Request for Proposal EHRPreparing the Request for Proposal EHR
Bill French VP eHealth StrategiesBill French VP eHealth StrategiesWisconsin Office of Rural Health HIT Wisconsin Office of Rural Health HIT
ImplementationImplementationStevens Point, WIStevens Point, WIAugust 24, 2007August 24, 2007
Presentation Will CoverPresentation Will Cover
Description and use of the RFPDescription and use of the RFP
Difference between RFP and RFIDifference between RFP and RFI
Structure of the RFPStructure of the RFP
Suggestions for the RFPSuggestions for the RFP
Opportunity to Practice what you learnedOpportunity to Practice what you learned
What is an RFP?What is an RFP?
Legal, proprietary document prepared by Legal, proprietary document prepared by the Hospital to identify and attract the right the Hospital to identify and attract the right vendors to supply the software, hardware, vendors to supply the software, hardware, operating system and interoperability operating system and interoperability required for a successful e Electronic Health required for a successful e Electronic Health RecordRecord
Part of the life cycle of the EHR application Part of the life cycle of the EHR application
What is an RFP? (Cont)What is an RFP? (Cont)
Its purpose is to provide the information to Its purpose is to provide the information to the decision maker's required to select the the decision maker's required to select the vendor finalist(s) vendor finalist(s)
Eliminate the vendors the hospital no longer Eliminate the vendors the hospital no longer wishes to considerwishes to consider
First ImpressionsFirst Impressions
RFP may be the first contact with the RFP may be the first contact with the vendorvendor
Will set the tone for a professional Will set the tone for a professional relationship with the vendorrelationship with the vendor
Will become part of future agreements Will become part of future agreements (contracts) (contracts)
Instrumental in due diligenceInstrumental in due diligence
Code of Conduct for Vendor SelectionCode of Conduct for Vendor Selection
Educate all members of the staff on the Educate all members of the staff on the Code of ConductCode of Conduct
Will reduce your risk that a vendor can Will reduce your risk that a vendor can claim unfair treatmentclaim unfair treatment
Portrays the appropriate professional Portrays the appropriate professional climate climate
The Difference Between the RFP and the RFIThe Difference Between the RFP and the RFI
RFP-RFP-
Small number of final Small number of final vendors, 4 or lessvendors, 4 or less
ComprehensiveComprehensive
Information gathering Information gathering tool on specific tool on specific vendorsvendors
Asks for pricingAsks for pricing
RFI-RFI-
Large number of Large number of potential vendors >5potential vendors >5
Limited in scopeLimited in scope
Information gathering Information gathering tool on the industrytool on the industry
May not ask for May not ask for pricing pricing
Step TwoStep Two
You did Step One during the Planning You did Step One during the Planning PhasePhase
If you did not go through a Planning Phase If you did not go through a Planning Phase do not attempt Step Twodo not attempt Step Two
During Step One You:During Step One You:
Accomplished your need’s assessment, goal Accomplished your need’s assessment, goal setting, process mapping, etc.setting, process mapping, etc.
You have to be able to reflect this in the You have to be able to reflect this in the RFP so the potential vendor understands RFP so the potential vendor understands what you want to accomplish with your what you want to accomplish with your EHR EHR
A Structure for the RFPA Structure for the RFP
Contact InformationContact Information
Hospital background and informationHospital background and information
Vendor background and informationVendor background and information
References References
System FeaturesSystem Features
Pricing and ContractsPricing and Contracts
A Structure for the RFP (cont)A Structure for the RFP (cont)
System SupportSystem Support
ImplementationImplementation
Documentation and trainingDocumentation and training
Technical design and operational requirementsTechnical design and operational requirements
Report generation and toolsReport generation and tools
Security Security
ConfidentialityConfidentiality
Contact InformationContact Information
Legal Name of the HospitalLegal Name of the Hospital
Name of single contactName of single contact
Method of contact Method of contact Mail-address for deliveryMail-address for delivery
EmailEmail
Deadline for responseDeadline for response
Hospital Background and InformationHospital Background and Information
Hospital demographics-Hospital demographics-
Type of hospitalType of hospital
Number and locations of hospital sitesNumber and locations of hospital sites
Number of providers and other staffNumber of providers and other staff
Number of visits for past three yearsNumber of visits for past three years
Number of new patients for future three Number of new patients for future three yearsyears
Other Information About the HospitalOther Information About the Hospital
Anticipated changes in the hospitalAnticipated changes in the hospital
Share your vision of the hospital and what Share your vision of the hospital and what you wish to accomplish with the productyou wish to accomplish with the product
Touch on the major applications Touch on the major applications (documentation, decision support, (documentation, decision support, e-prescribe) to give the vendor the scope of e-prescribe) to give the vendor the scope of your EHR your EHR
Primary ContactPrimary Contact
One person with ultimate responsibility for One person with ultimate responsibility for preparation of the RFP and contact with the preparation of the RFP and contact with the vendorsvendors
Okay to have a Steering Group, but the Okay to have a Steering Group, but the person doing the RFP should manage the person doing the RFP should manage the processprocess
Prevents vendor from doing the “end run” Prevents vendor from doing the “end run”
Requested Vendor BackgroundRequested Vendor Background
Contact InformationContact Information
ReferencesReferences
Research ActivitiesResearch Activities
StaffingStaffing
Recent acquisitions and mergersRecent acquisitions and mergers
Financial StatementsFinancial Statements
Requested Vendor Background (Cont)Requested Vendor Background (Cont)
Business alliances and partnershipsBusiness alliances and partnerships
Years in the businessYears in the business
Contact InformationContact Information
Vendor’s primary contact informationVendor’s primary contact information
Vendor’s preferred method of Vendor’s preferred method of communicationcommunication
LocationsLocationsCorporate HeadquartersCorporate Headquarters
Field support offices Field support offices
ReferencesReferences
Total number of installationsTotal number of installations
Client installations similar to your hospitalClient installations similar to your hospital
Contact information for three hospitals Contact information for three hospitals similar to yourssimilar to yours
Research ActivitiesResearch Activities
Product DevelopmentProduct Development
Number of new products/applications in the Number of new products/applications in the last 3-5 yearslast 3-5 years
Good place to ask about what is an upgrade Good place to ask about what is an upgrade and what is an enhancementand what is an enhancement
Number and Breakdown of Number and Breakdown of Vendor’s EmployeesVendor’s Employees
Skill sets availableSkill sets available
Level of sub-contracting Level of sub-contracting
What personnel resources are included in What personnel resources are included in the basic contract and what is an additional the basic contract and what is an additional chargecharge
Recent Acquisitions and MergersRecent Acquisitions and Mergers
Some indication of the vendor’s role in a Some indication of the vendor’s role in a larger organizationlarger organization
Is the EHR product a “leader” or “feeder” Is the EHR product a “leader” or “feeder” application? application?
How much does the primary vendor How much does the primary vendor control?control?
Answer the “off shore” questionAnswer the “off shore” question
Financial StatementsFinancial Statements
Ask for last five yearsAsk for last five years
Should provide indication of the financial Should provide indication of the financial stability of the companystability of the company
Be prepared for refusal to provide financial Be prepared for refusal to provide financial statements if the vendor is not a traded statements if the vendor is not a traded companycompany
First Practice ExerciseFirst Practice Exercise
Based on the needs assessment and the goals Based on the needs assessment and the goals you have set for your hospital, in 75 words you have set for your hospital, in 75 words or less, write a paragraph to include in the or less, write a paragraph to include in the description of your hospital section of the description of your hospital section of the RFP that will provide the vendor an RFP that will provide the vendor an overview of how you will use the EHR.overview of how you will use the EHR.
System FeaturesSystem Features
EHR FeaturesEHR Features
Pricing and ContractsPricing and Contracts
System SupportSystem Support
ImplementationImplementation
Documentation and TrainingDocumentation and Training
System Features (Cont) System Features (Cont)
Technical Design and Operational Technical Design and Operational Requirements Requirements
Integration with billing and other systemsIntegration with billing and other systems
Other InterfacesOther Interfaces
Report Generation and ToolsReport Generation and Tools
SecuritySecurity
EHR FeaturesEHR Features
Clinical ManagementClinical Management
Clinical DocumentationClinical Documentation
WorkflowWorkflow
Clinical ContentClinical Content
Clinical ManagementClinical Management
Ability to manage information about your Ability to manage information about your patient population:patient population:
Ability to search and report on prescribed Ability to search and report on prescribed medications in case of a drug recallmedications in case of a drug recall
Ability to transfer demographic information Ability to transfer demographic information between the HER and other systemsbetween the HER and other systems
Clinical DocumentationClinical Documentation
Documentation at the patient level:Documentation at the patient level:
Ability to build notes from drop down Ability to build notes from drop down menusmenus
Web based patient interviewing that can be Web based patient interviewing that can be incorporated into a noteincorporated into a note
Ability to carry forward review of systems, Ability to carry forward review of systems, problem list, and medicationsproblem list, and medications
WorkflowWorkflow
Care for patient as they move through the Care for patient as they move through the system-system-
Generate task lists for providers and other Generate task lists for providers and other hospital staffhospital staff
Clinical ContentClinical Content
Clinical ToolsClinical Tools
Patient education materialsPatient education materials
Integrated evidence based guidelines for Integrated evidence based guidelines for adult medicineadult medicine
Pricing Pricing
Separate pricing for software, Separate pricing for software, implementation, interfaces, hardware, etcimplementation, interfaces, hardware, etc
Method of pricing – it can beMethod of pricing – it can beNumber of providersNumber of providers
Number of usersNumber of users
Concurrent usersConcurrent users
Patient censusPatient census
Pricing (cont)Pricing (cont)
Maintenance and support pricing – does it Maintenance and support pricing – does it include?include?
Warranty PeriodsWarranty Periods
Future EnhancementsFuture Enhancements
Operating system and related environmental Operating system and related environmental softwaresoftware
Migration to emerging technologies Migration to emerging technologies
ContractContract
Ask for a copy of the vendor’s standard Ask for a copy of the vendor’s standard contractcontract
Check the contract to see if modification is Check the contract to see if modification is prohibitedprohibited
System Support System Support
Disaster RecoveryDisaster Recovery
Support coverage hoursSupport coverage hours
Response Time Response Time
Range and average system downtimeRange and average system downtime
Help Desk Help Desk
ImplementationImplementation
Overview of implementation processOverview of implementation process
Sample project plan with a timelineSample project plan with a timeline
Typical time from contract signing to start Typical time from contract signing to start of implementationof implementation
System Documentation System Documentation
Description of documentation providedDescription of documentation providedApplication manualsApplication manuals
System administrator manualsSystem administrator manuals
Operating system manualsOperating system manuals
Training manualsTraining manuals
Documentation media – hardcopy, CD, webDocumentation media – hardcopy, CD, web
Training DocumentationTraining Documentation
Training offeredTraining offeredDurationDuration
LocationLocation
Associated costsAssociated costs
Provider specific?Provider specific?
Retraining/training of new employees Retraining/training of new employees
Training/test system providedTraining/test system provided
Technical Design Documentation Technical Design Documentation
Information on the environment in which the Information on the environment in which the system functions:system functions:
Application web based or client/server?Application web based or client/server?
Year of development?Year of development?
Internally developed or acquired from a Internally developed or acquired from a third party?third party?
Backup environment and proceduresBackup environment and procedures
InterfacesInterfaces
Interfaces have two sides:Interfaces have two sides:Identify additional interface costs from the Identify additional interface costs from the vendorvendorIdentify interfaces required from other Identify interfaces required from other vendorsvendors
Report GenerationReport Generation
Is the report writing application supplied by Is the report writing application supplied by a third party?a third party?
Is there more than one report writer Is there more than one report writer application?application?
Ask the vendor to specify which data Ask the vendor to specify which data elements can be queriedelements can be queried
Any special training provided?Any special training provided?
SecuritySecurity
Another opportunity to ask the “off shore” Another opportunity to ask the “off shore” questionquestion
Ask for detailed approach to Ask for detailed approach to data/information security, especially with data/information security, especially with regards to internet technologiesregards to internet technologies
ConfidentialityConfidentiality
Does the system log all accesses at the user Does the system log all accesses at the user level?level?
Does the system provide a disclosure log to Does the system provide a disclosure log to track releases of information outside the track releases of information outside the hospital?hospital?
Preparing the RFPPreparing the RFP
Be conciseBe concise
Don’t ask “can” ask “tell me how”Don’t ask “can” ask “tell me how”
Some questions are yes/noSome questions are yes/no
Some questions require a narrativeSome questions require a narrative
Some questions require bothSome questions require both
Be ConciseBe Concise
Two-three sentence questions that can be Two-three sentence questions that can be answered in two-three paragraphsanswered in two-three paragraphs
Want to be able to compare responses from Want to be able to compare responses from different vendorsdifferent vendors
Needs to support due diligenceNeeds to support due diligence
Links responses to contract termsLinks responses to contract terms
Distribution of the RFPDistribution of the RFP
Done by the Primary ContactDone by the Primary Contact
Send it to all vendors at the same timeSend it to all vendors at the same time
If possible, distribute to all vendors by the If possible, distribute to all vendors by the same methodsame method
Do not send the RFP to vendor you have no Do not send the RFP to vendor you have no intention of engaging intention of engaging
Distribution of the RFP (Cont)Distribution of the RFP (Cont)
Provide a minimum of 8-10 weeks for the Provide a minimum of 8-10 weeks for the vendor to respondvendor to respond
Determine how you will handle late Determine how you will handle late responsesresponses
Need to be consistent with all vendorsNeed to be consistent with all vendors
Be consistent with all vendors if you need to Be consistent with all vendors if you need to request additional informationrequest additional information
Response to RFP Response to RFP
Acknowledge receipt of response to RFPAcknowledge receipt of response to RFP
Indicate when a decision will be madeIndicate when a decision will be made
Notify all vendors of the decision at the Notify all vendors of the decision at the same timesame time
Non-selection communication is importantNon-selection communication is important
Timely follow-up with selected vendor to Timely follow-up with selected vendor to start the next stepsstart the next steps
Some Things to Look ForSome Things to Look For
Did the vendor “outsource” the response to Did the vendor “outsource” the response to the RFPthe RFP
Ratio of “Marketing Material Content” Ratio of “Marketing Material Content” (glossies) vs. an original response tailored (glossies) vs. an original response tailored to the RFPto the RFP
Beware of vendor supplied RFP templates Beware of vendor supplied RFP templates
Some Things to Look For (Cont)Some Things to Look For (Cont)
Some vendors suggest that an RFP is “not Some vendors suggest that an RFP is “not necessary”necessary”
The Standard Contract that cannot be The Standard Contract that cannot be modifiedmodified
The free lunch – If the first response to the The free lunch – If the first response to the RFP is “to do lunch” say “no thank you”RFP is “to do lunch” say “no thank you”
Second Practice ExerciseSecond Practice Exercise
One of the vendor recipients of the RFP calls One of the vendor recipients of the RFP calls you on the telephone. The person has a list you on the telephone. The person has a list of questions “to more fully respond to the of questions “to more fully respond to the RFP.” The caller wants to meet at your RFP.” The caller wants to meet at your hospital and wants to meet the physicians hospital and wants to meet the physicians and other members of the staff.and other members of the staff.
How do you respond? How do you respond?
Third Practical ExerciseThird Practical Exercise
The deadline for the vendor to respond is in The deadline for the vendor to respond is in two days. The vendor calls and requests an two days. The vendor calls and requests an additional:additional:
DayDay
WeekWeek
Two weeks Two weeks
How do you respond?How do you respond?
Fourth Practical ExerciseFourth Practical Exercise
You have informed the vendors they were You have informed the vendors they were either selected or not selected. One of the either selected or not selected. One of the vendors you did not select calls and wants vendors you did not select calls and wants to meet with you. The vendor wants to to meet with you. The vendor wants to bring their CEO.bring their CEO.
How do you respond?How do you respond?
Contact InformationContact Information
MetaStar, Inc.MetaStar, Inc.2909 Landmark Place2909 Landmark PlaceMadison, WI 53713Madison, WI 53713
Phone number 608 441-8246Phone number 608 441-8246
www.metastar.comwww.metastar.com
[email protected]@metastar.comThis material was prepared by MetaStar under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. 8SOW-WI-PO-06-49