If I never have to deal with hospital IT systems again

[reno316]

You called? Sys Admin for two hospital systems. I started in Biomed but had to fully cross over and now get to do both while our normal IT guys make the same but have 1/2 to worry about.

HL7 is HL7 right? BTW, if ya think normal medical systems are fun do it in a DOD environment.

It's not so much an HL7 issue as it is a "No, we won't re-write our software to fit your security policy. Open the damn port between the two servers if you want your $100,000 + software to work. If you don't, it won't work. I don't care, since we've already cashed your check..."

[68Charger]

I feel for ya, I haven't touched Hospital/Medical systems, but I work in the financial network business...

Security is paramount, reliablity/redundancy/diversity is critical to them, and Latency is also their bread and butter (if they're a HFT)

if the system is that critical, it should have redundancy and monitoring built in, so you don't start a surgery without a backup in place & known to be functioning... a backup is only good if you KNOW it's working- so you have to monitor it just as much as the primary path.

[jerrymrc]

It's not so much an HL7 issue as it is a "No, we won't re-write our software to fit your security policy. Open the damn port between the two servers if you want your $100,000 + software to work. If you don't, it won't work. I don't care, since we've already cashed your check..."

When all the fun started in 2002 or so for me it was the issue of the patches and updates being way faster than the MFG's.

Once company's started using "winders" OS then every update had to be approved not to interfere with the program. FDA issues made the normal medical software environment obsolete compared to how fast the IT world was moving. I remember being told that if a patch was not installed by next week that one of my servers would be in the hallway.

It has got somewhat better but entertaining none the less. I had a company ask last year for access and I told them while this could be done that it would be cheaper and faster to fly a guy out from FL to look at it firsthand.

The big issue is Doctors see the accessibility that some company's push and when you tell them that no, you can't just look at it from anywhere because of the security issues they just get mad. This is the main reason I want to kill salespeople sometimes.

[reno316]

The big issue is Doctors see the accessibility that some company's push and when you tell them that no, you can't just look at it from anywhere because of the security issues they just get mad. This is the main reason I want to kill salespeople sometimes.

There's an old joke in my department about Sales and Implementation. One person from each team were hiking together in the mountains, and got stranded by a freak snow storm. They were cold, hungry, freezing... when the Sales Dude struck on the idea: "Let's kill a bear! Lots of meat, warm fur... We can do it!"

So presently the Implementation Guy s building a roaring fire to cook the bear, when the Sales Dude comes running full speed into camp, bear hot on his heels, and screaming to Implementation "Open the tent! Open the tent!!"

Opened the tent, Sales dives through, zips the back flap of the tent, zip the front of the tent, and the Sales Dude takes a deep breath, hucks the Implementation Dude on the shoulder and says...

"OK, you take it from here. I'm going to find us another bear..."