Avnet VARs Examine An Arizona Hospital's IT Needs

"From the first day, this was an experience like no other," said Joe Roslansky, director of sales and business development for Capital Data Inc., Milwaukee, one of the VARs who attended the session. "It was very clear Avnet put themselves up 10 notches with this."

Phoenix-based Avnet spent several months with Scottsdale Healthcare to work on the curriculum and get the hospital to agree to give the solution providers a rare, behind-the-scenes look into numerous departments.

After first meeting with the hospital CFO, Avnet structured the program for VARs to view the hospital through the eyes of a patient, starting with the admissions department, said Tony Vottima, vice president of vertical market solutions at Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas.

"We went to the medical records department to see how information is captured. From there we went to the emergency department, through IT, through the lab, then through radiology," Vottima said. "We spent a fair amount of time in the nursing department to see how they keep track of things around the patient."

The group also visited the pharmacy, supply department, supply chain management and even surgery, he added.

"They got to dress up in scrubs. They were watching actual surgeries to understand the technologies in that department," Vottima said. "They got to see and talk to personnel live, and they can go back to their territories now and have a good, solid understanding of what the challenges are."

All the VARs had previously attended HealthPath University, but the classroom session is not the same as experiencing real-world drama, Vottima said.

"You go into an environment to provide technology solutions, but until you see it in action and the business problems they face every day, it's hard to connect the dots to see how the technology works."

Avnet worked with Jim Cramer, vice president and CIO, Scottsdale Healthcare, to develop the program. Cramer had hosted several seminars at HealthPath University and found the level of interest to bring the VARs in very strong at the hospital's departmental level.

"I'm very happy with the way it went. I think the level of engagement of the participants was outstanding," Cramer said.

Avnet is discussing another in-hospital session for another group of VARs for the fall, Cramer said.

Roslansky said he's already had a better dialogue with health-care clients back home.

"One of the things I learned was they have a lot of jargon. I learned a whole new dictionary," he said. "This was the best training I've ever received in my professional life, but it was also an unbelievable experience in my personal life, to understand what they're going through."

In addition, Roslansky learned how to ask the right questions about the business operations and how to translate that information into technology solutions. "In an emergency services department, it's a matter of saving lives. Doctors or nurses will bypass any technology that slows them down. It has to be effective and efficient," he said.