by Michelle Schneider
I attended MUSE in Toronto and Newport over the last few weeks. The decreased attendance was disappointing because so many missed out on some exceptional opportunities for education. However, the smaller numbers gave me the chance to spend more time with attendees discussing their strategic goals. Most had a wish list as long as their arms; the uncertainty over how decision-makers would prioritize their needs was paramount. There are flowsheets, monitor interfaces, RAC tools, system upgrades and so much more hanging in the balance.
Most of the attendees had gotten feedback from MEDITECH that there was no longer a place for those add-on tools with the FOCUS/6.x platform. They were also unsure which they needed first since they don’t know what to expect with FOCUS/6.x. It struck me that it would be impossible to properly prioritize these purchases without knowledge of the FOCUS/6.x platform and without hearing of lessons learned by those who upgraded before them. While much of that knowledge can be obtained from reading a blog or downloading a user manual, the lack of interaction, networking and good ‘ol Q&A live and in person will certainly take its toll.
Most non-attendees cited budget cuts as the reason for missing the user conference. Pinching pennies here can hurt in the long run. With the 6.x price tag, a poorly planned implementation can be way more than pound foolish. So, that leaves us with some important questions. What now? What’s next? Can you properly prepare for and prioritize those strategic initiatives? I mean, let’s cut out the hotel, meals and travel and things are looking better, right? We can certainly bring the education to you but this will require a culture change. It is up to you to provide an environment that is conducive to learning. That means really getting away for a 2 hour session. No multi-tasking, no texting, no answering emails. That’s the real beauty of attending the conferences. Eye contact, interaction and information sharing.
So, name your poison. How can we bring you the education to help you prepare for the day when that budget approval for upgrading to FOCUS finally comes through? We want you to be ready! Do you need webcasts, self service recorded sessions or live streaming of meetings? Your fellow MEDITECH users have so much to share with each other but we’ve got to think outside the box. Let’s figure out how to meet your learning needs and focus on the issues ahead.
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment