Investments

Affinity Health Streamlines IT Governance

Bank Of America Investment By Mike Klein • 12/15/03 MENASHA, Wis. - Healthcare providers are continually exploring new technologies that will result in a more effective and efficient patient experience. Affinity Health Systems based in Menasha, Wisconsin is strategically investing in new healthcare technologies that will improve the quality of care it offers by focusing on those initiatives that are the most valuable to its patients.

Affinity has been able to prioritize such investments as portal capabilities for its patients and commit IT dollars as a result of a new portfolio management system from Portland-based software vendor ProSight, a provider of top-down portfolio management solutions for the enterprise.
ProSight develops enterprise-wide business alignment and strategic collaboration tools that facilitate effective governance of investments, resources and performance without disrupting existing systems and processes.

Affinity has automated its information technology (IT) governance process and patients will now be able to track their lab results and prescriptions online.

Affinity Health System, which owns hospitals and clinics across Wisconsin and Minnesota, this year assembled an IT governance steering committee to help prioritize its multiple IT projects and to understand what capacity the organization has to fund these projects. Within seven weeks of deploying ProSight the organization was able to provide the steering committee with reports to guide its decision-making process on the 100 IT projects being tracked, including everything from the computerized physician order entry system to deployments of wireless networks.

"We chose ProSight over other portfolio management providers because of its demonstrated ability to deliver results within our tight timeframe, its flexibility and their comprehensive understanding of what we hoped to accomplish," said Will Weider, CIO at Affinity Health System. "ProSight provided us with invaluable information, enabling us to make strategic business decisions that will ultimately save resources and benefit our patients with more comprehensive care -- and they did it on time and under budget."

Affinity Health System is an integrated regional health network that offers a broad array of health care services to more than a dozen Northeast Wisconsin communities. In addition to offering 17 clinics, three hospitals and a long-term care facility, Affinity also owns and operates Network Health Plan, a locally owned managed care insurance plan servicing more than 100,000 members through 1,300 local and regional health care providers.

"If compliance wasn't difficult enough, now companies are faced with a barrage of technology vendors claiming to automate compliance as if it were a project. In his new book, Dr. companies need to embrace the broader tenets of governance and use technology to embed governance policies and controls into their daily business processes. Only then can they gain business value from their compliance investments."

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