Galway Medical Clinic, owned by Blackrock Medical Partners, has licensed the complete health care information system (HCIS) from Medical Technology Medical Information Technology, Inc. (Meditech), becoming the first Meditech customer in Ireland. The new private Galway Medical Clinic comprises 36 consulting suites and a 101 bed hospital. US-based Meditech will provide staff working at the clinic with an integrated electronic patient record system, designed to provide GPs with access to records both in the clinic and from remote locations as well. The Meditech system will also enable GPs to access real-time data from different departments including labs and diagnostic imaging. James Sheehan, project manager at Blackrock Medical Partners, predicted that Meditech’s financial systems would help to track and reduce costs at the clinic: “Meditech’s strong financial software suite is a necessary tool for performing billing and collections in this tight industry,” says Sheehan. Sheehan added that the pharmacy and materials management software applications provided will help them manage the stock in their Pharmacy department and track the clinic’s use of expensive hospital materials. “The Meditech HCIS is a real value for customers, as we receive regular updates, and aren’t forced by the vendor to purchase new versions every few years. Additionally, the maintenance costs are low, less than half of what we’ve seen in this market,” said Sheehan. He added: “We also selected Meditech on the strength of their 33-years of experience in the industry, and their history of building their own applications, rather than acquiring them through other companies.” Meditech says that 70% of its core applications will be live by the time the clinic’s doors open in July 2004, with the remainder to follow by September 2004. The joint Meditech/FileTek solution unites clinical, financial, and administrative applications under one umbrella, within both stand-alone and managed service environments – with installations at 25 private and NHS hospitals in the UK. Meditech, which operates in markets including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and South Africa, says that its information systems are installed globally in more than 1,800 enterprises worldwide.
