Hospital software hits a snag

Federal rules require update to ensure patient privacy

By STEVE BREWER
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

The sluggish $75 million push to upgrade the Harris County Hospital District's outdated computer network has hit another snag -- new software to improve patient processing and billing won't be ready until June.

The software, which was supposed to be ready by now, is being developed by Per-Se Technologies, a company with a $6.1 million contract with the district.

Administrators told the district's board at a special meeting Thursday they are debating whether to move ahead with the deal or take their business elsewhere and try to recoup the $2.1 million taxpayers already have paid to Per-Se.

Meanwhile, district President John Guest said officials will keep working with Per-Se to fix the problems.

But a solution is needed soon. The software was part of a larger plan for the district to comply with new federal rules involving patient privacy and medical records. The district was supposed to be able to comply with the rules this year. But it and other districts had the deadline extended to October 2003.

Board members were told of the extension earlier this year and have received stacks of reports about problems with Per-Se and other computer projects.

But lingering questions about the district's computer systems prompted some board members to push for the special meeting Thursday. Several complained they weren't being informed -- a charge Guest denied.

Barbara Penatzer, the district's chief information officer, said the Per-Se problem also is delaying implementation of $16 million worth of software being developed by another company. That software will help the district modernize clinical records used by doctors and nurses.

The problems, said Penatzer, have occurred as Per-Se and the district try to adapt the software to what officials need in a large health system. The Per-Se software has been used only in a small hospital in Indiana, but the district intends it for its three hospitals, about a dozen health centers and a vast array of other programs and services.

The Per-Se problem is just the latest glitch in a district computer upgrade that started in 1999. Guest and other officials concede the effort has been slow and expensive.

The problems also have been embarrassing, especially after former district Chief Information Officer Charles Cortez was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2000 for his part in a kickback scheme that cost taxpayers $150,000.

Huston Chronicle

-- Anonymous, October 20, 2002