What is this Meditech thing, anyway?
When I first started in the healthcare business, I had never heard of Meditech. Many, many people who visit this website will probably be in the same situation. So I thought I’d take the time to explain for you, dear reader, just what exactly this crazy thing called Meditech is.
Meditech is a Healthcare Information System, or HIS. Basically, it’s software that’s designed to capture, store, and display administrative and clinical data used within a hospital, health system, or medical practice. The most common users of Meditech are generally hospitals and health systems, because it is designed for their needs. It tends to be used by small- to medium-sized hospitals, though there are plenty of larger and academic institutions that choose to use it as well.
So What Does it Do?
Meditech provides a very well integrated suite of applications. Below are some of the groups that people in the Meditech community, and MEDITECH (the company) itself, tend to categorize the applications by:
- Administrative: These are the applications that would be used to register you or admit you when you come into the hospital or ER, schedule an appointment, manage your Medical Records, or even your surgery in the OR.
- Departmental or Clinicals: These are the applications that the clinical staff use to order, manage, document, and report on your actual clinical tests and physician orders. This covers areas like:
- Radiology or Imaging (where you’d get your X-rays, MRI’s, CT’s, Ultrasounds, Nuclear Medicine studies etc.)
- Laboratory services, like blood tests, blood bank, and pathology
- Rehab Services like Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and Recreational Therapy
- Cardiopulmonary Services like Respiratory Care, Cardiac Care (including EKG’s/ECG’s, holter monitoring, stress tests), Sleep Studies, and the like
- Pharmacy
- Emergency Department/Emergency Room
- Patient Care or Advanced Clinicals: These are the applications that nurses and doctors use to document their treatment of you or view your Electronic Medical Record (EMR). This group tends to have some overlap with the Departmental Clinicals above, in that often treating providers in those departments will document and review documentation or results in the Advanced Clinical applications.
- Patient Financials/Revenue Cycle: This group includes the applications used to bill your insurance, send you statements, and manage this portion of the hospital’s business. This group tends to have a large amount of overlap with the Administrative applications above, because that is where the information that is used in these applications is generally entered.
- General Financials: This group includes the applications used to manage the accounting-type functions of a hospital’s business, like their General Ledger, assets, Materials Management, Payroll, Accounts Payable, and so forth.
- Decision Support: Decision Support applications are used to provide the hospital management and administration with consolidated information to help them manage their departments and hospitals. Members of this group range from Budgeting and Forecasting applications, to a Cost Accounting module, to a Data Repository/Warehouse.
- Continuing Care: Facilities that provide non-acute care, such as Long-Term Care, Behavioral Health, or Home Health services have their own versions of the Meditech software that are tailored to their specific needs.
- Technical: The applications that provide system-wide functionality are grouped under the technical grouping, and include things like the report writer, system management, administration and control functions.
Who Created Meditech?
Way back in 1966, a man by the name of Neil Pappalardo was working at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), who needed a healthcare information system. Neil and his collegues created a language called Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System, or MUMPS, for use at MGH, on a computer called a PDP-7 from the now defunct Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).
In 1969, Neil left MGH to found Medical Information Technology, Inc., which is commonly and popularly known as MEDITECH. The software is also refered to as Meditech. I use the capitalized form, e.g. MEDITECH, to refer to the company itself as an entity, and the proper or initial case form, e.g. Meditech, to refer to the software itself.
How do you fit into this?
Since this is my first article on the site, I feel it is only fair that I should introduce myself, what I’ve been doing, and why I know way more about this than any human being should.
In case you missed it below the post title, I am your host, Robert Simplicio. I created this site to share knowledge about the Meditech HIS, other healthcare and technology related topics, and to boldly venture out into the world as an entrepreneur offering Meditech services for hire.
I first started using Meditech in 1999 when the hospital and health system I then worked for needed to upgrade their systems due to their current systems not being Y2K compliant. I was asked to be the Admitting representative on the core team for the implementation of system, and as I got more involved, I expressed my interest in doing more with the system. Shortly thereafter, a core team leader resigned to go back to her clinical role, and I was offered that position.
Since that time I have been working with Meditech more or less constantly for the past 9 years, and have had to wear many hats, so I’ve been fortunate enough to learn most all of the applications that Meditech has to offer, and have been pushed to get in-depth with many of them.
My company, Simplicio Systems Inc., offers Meditech NPR report writing (that report writer I spoke of in the Technical section above), custom Meditech programming, and other services by request to the Meditech community at-large. To request our services, please use the Contact Us form to get in touch today.
Thanks for all of the information. Now what?
If you enjoyed reading this, or found it useful, I’d really enjoy if you’d leave comments. If you didn’t, I’d love for you to tell me why, so that I can improve this information. My goal is to foster a healthy community on this site and others, and commenting is a large part of that. Don’t be afraid to tell me what you think. I really want to know.
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
With very little knowledge about the Meditech system, I was able to follow your article and grasp the general concepts and goals of this medical suite. Thanks for making something that once sounded difficult, easy to understand.
Dear Computer People,
I use MEDITECH daily as a sonographer. I would vey much like to have more knowledge as to how to use it for maximum ease and speed. My understanding is very basic as I am older than my co-workers and quite frankly don’t understand computers like they do. Is there a handbook that can be purchased? The messages which come up as I am using it (supposed to be helpful hints) are useless as there is no time in my very busy department to read them and try to understand the advice while I am in the middle of doing my patient workup and editing. If you could help I would be eternally grateful.
Can you send me any links so I can review Meditech on line? I’d like to know more about all the modules. Any user guide or manual would work for me. I need this ASAP as my CEO wants this info from me.
Thank You,
Dennis
It sounds like meditech does it all. If a health system has meditech deployed, what percentage of their workforce would you guess even use microsoft office on a daily basis?
I work in a medium size hospital. I do GPOC. My interest in all of this is to better understand how RALS+ interfaces with Meditech and what to ezpect as far as passing over glucose POCTs. We also work through Cloverleaf (firewall so to speak) just to let you know. I am an amateur when it comes to this. I am movtivated by efficiency in managing patient data for glucose management. I have trouble understanding concepts and pathways of the electronic world. You could help me by giving me diagrams about the interactions of the various modules and how the information moves around. I have working 38 years in this environment and belive in its capability. I believe that most of us only know 15% of what it can do. Thanks for listening – Art
I am a newly graduated Heathcare Administration major. I would like to learn the fundamentals of this all encompassing system. My intent is to first obtain experience in the billing/coding/insurance part of the healthcare industry, then secure an Administrator-In-Training position in Nursing Home sector. Can you provide some assistance in learning this program?
Your website was super with review for me. I am patient access supv and am now doing contract work for hospitals. Meditech is one of 9 systems that I have experience in. But, how fast it all changes!
Is there somewhere I can take a course on using the Meditech system.
I would like to learn more on how to work/use meditech so I can be more marketable in my field.
I work in an LTACH, and I was briefly trained on the basic basics for Meditech B/ar… I feel like a bit of a dummy trying to work with procedure batches, adding and deleting pt days for ILOS visits. Is there a book available that can walk me thru any of these processes. Our home base is in another state, so I am muddling thru by myself.
thanks and hoping to hear from you.
Is everyone’s inquiries being answered? I, too, am interested knowing if there is any training available in how to use Meditech. Classroom training or maybe even online certification using online modules? Would someone please respond.
Thank you.
Hello! I am researching Meditech for a class project. I am currently in my second session working toward my associate’s degree in HIT. I know absolutely nothing about how a HIS works, is there a way I can see how it works so I can add this information to my paper. I would really appreciate any help I could get. Thanks.
I would like to know more about how the program runs. Can you please send me information on this program?
Hello. I just started a position with a large hospital as a medical collector. the main system is Meditech. I love the system but feel I need more training and would like to find a way to become knowledgeable about the Meditech system. I am having a hard time moving money around, rebilling, billing 2ndary ins companies etc. any sugguestions?
Hello. I just started a position with a large hospital as a medical collector. the main system is Meditech. I love the system but feel I need more training and would like to find a way to become knowledgeable about the Meditech system. I am having a hard time moving money around, rebilling, billing 2ndary ins companies etc. any suggestions?
I work as an analyst for a public health entity that operates nine clinics in Southern California. I was instrumental in implementing Meditech and the conversion from our old legacy system. Since then I have done four uprades and three additional module implementations. I am the sole report writer for this operation. My concerns are the same as many of the previous inquiries. There is a major shortage of Meditech Training available. I have attended the Meditech Training sessions in Boston, and NPR Training on line, but I think that there is a huge opportunity for someone to create a training venue for the thousands of people involved in this Application.
Is there a Quality Management module in the Meditech software?
I am a RN seeking employment at a community hospital, in the nursing informatics dept. The candidate must have Meditech experience. I am versed in electronic medical records and software. I am interested knowing if there is any training available in how to use Meditech. Classroom training or maybe even online certification using online modules? Waiting for your response.
Hi,
Is there a course you can do for Meditech?
Looking forward to hearing from you! Thanks
I would be interested in taking a course to learn Meditech. Who offers such a course?
I would love more information on meditech. Is there a class to take or a handbook to use as a refresher as I have not used it in awhile? Any ideas would be appreciated. I do love the system it worked well at each facility I used it in.
Thanks
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