Thank goodness - winter is slowing coming to an end and spring is not far away. Not to sound too corny, but as everyone knows, spring is a time of rebirth and growth, and this same analogy can be applied to Insight.

In January, the InSight Board met for the first time this year. We have four completely new board members, which is somewhat unusual, as often times board members will run for re-election or are elected to another position on the board.

At the 2005 InSight Annual Conference, we introduced the STAR Tune-up Program, which generated a great deal of enthusiasm. As strategic partners, McKesson and InSight are joining together to offer STAR customers a complementary patient accounting, patient processing and medical records system "tune-up." If you have not yet heard of the Tune-Up program, a brief description follows.

The STAR Tune-up Program involves the following assessment and educational components that will be offered to every STAR HIS customer:

• A brief STAR Utilization Survey
• Remote system audits by the STAR services team, followed by a STAR Utilization Audit Report
• A series of Web seminars will be available to all facilities that complete the Utilization Survey. Web seminar topics will include:
  • Best practice recommendations
  • System set-up quick wins
  • Top features and functions users may not be aware of
  • Steps for "do it yourself" assessments

Benefits of participating in the STAR Tune-Up include:

• In-depth understanding of the utilization of your core applications
• A detailed assessment of your system set up and utilization
• Advice and best practices for facilitating optimal use of your STAR system

Currently, we are in the pilot phase of this program. As the pilot concludes later in January, McKesson and InSight will provide more detailed information about the program. Expect an invitation to take the STAR Utilization Survey and further details in the coming months.

Sincerely,

Kathy Brantley
Vice President and General Manager
STAR
McKesson Provider Technologies

InSight was present at the 2006 HIMSS Conference in San Diego, February 12-16th. Visitors could find us at the McKesson booth, passing out pens, brochures and talking up the benefits of InSight membership.

The 2006 Recruit-A-Member campaign will kick off on 02.01.06, so encourage non-members to take advantage of InSight's benefits and apply today! Have them apply for membership online at our new comprehensive member benefits page - and make sure they name you in the 'Referred By' area. Click here to get detailed information on our individual, affiliate, consultant and trial membership options.

Since our volunteer leadership is highly aware of the benefits and services offered by InSight, the Membership Committee has initiated a New Member Mentor program that would link new members with volunteers to provide input and advice. We hope that this program will contribute to the retention and contributions of new members. If you are an active volunteer and would like to be a mentor, or if you are a new member and would like a mentor to contact you, please email info@insight-net.org.

Nominations for the Tom Utley Achievement Award are accepted on a continuous basis with a July 1 deadline. The goal of the Tom Utley Achievement Award is to recognize those who lead by example. Any InSight volunteer, regardless of position, who demonstrates passion and dedication to InSight, like Tom did, is encouraged to apply.

The 2006 InSight Annual Conference Call for Speakers Closes March 31, 2006!
Don't miss your opportunity to share your knowledge! Submit an abstract to present at the 2006 InSight Annual Conference. The InSight education committee is looking for users to present new and innovative presentations on topics including:

• Information Life Cycle Management (Technology Service)
• Pre-Bill Edits (STAR Patient Accounting, Electronic Commerce)
• HR Recruiting & Retention (Series Finance)
• Anesthesia Documentation (Horizon Surgical Manager)
• Optimizing use of Care Organizer/Patient Tracker (Horizon Clinical Documentation/Horizon Expert Documentation)

Click here for a complete list of suggested topics!

Conference Speakers receive a reduced conference registration and have the opportunity to qualify for the 'Best of InSight' Speaker Award. The call closes March 31 so Submit an abstract to today! Contact speakers@insight-net.org for more information.

The InSight Education Committee would like to congratulate the 2005 InSight Annual Conference 'Best of InSight' Speakers: Betsy Ronk (Wheaton Franciscan Health Services, Inc), Jim Larson (John Muir Medical Center), Margarete Cox (Baptist Health System), and Jenna Bowser (Wheaton Franciscan Health Services, Inc.)! InSight thanks these and all InSight Speakers for their outstanding commitment to quality education.

In March InSight will host its first educational Webcast - Change Management! Carole McEwan, McEwan Revenue Cycle Systems, Inc., will share her expertise on the practical aspects of change management and her advice on how to maintain a focus on the results. In celebration of this first time event, InSight invites both members and those considering membership to take part in this educational opportunity. Watch the InSight Web site for additional information.

The InSight Board approved the proposal to revise Policy EDH-020, and place into effect a new work process for InSight.Strategic Product Change Model is the name that describes the new work process. The new process captures the essence of the former 'Enhancements Process' (with significant improvements) in addition to creating some fundamentally new capabilities.

It was agreed by the Board (including our McKesson liaisons) that the Strategic Product Change Model will create value for InSight members, InSight as an organization, and McKesson's Product Managers.

A transition pilot of the Strategic Product Change Model will commence in February, 2006. The SIGs participating in the pilot are: Paragon Clinical Apps, Pathways Healthcare Scheduling, Horizon Surgical Manager, and Paragon Revenue Cycle Management. The detailed pilot instructions are as follows:

Step I: CSEs for the above SIGs, logged to the former online enhancement system, will be listed in an excel spreadsheet.

Step II: The SIG volunteers and McKesson Liaisons will categorize each CSE in the spreadsheet - By February 17th 3pm central time.

Step III: The SIG volunteers and McKesson Liaisons will post the categorized CSE spreadsheets to the SIG Discussion Forums with detailed instructions on submitting discussion comments: Discussion Phase will last from February 20th at 9am central time until March 3rd at 3pm central time.

Step IV: SIG volunteers and McKesson Liaisons will re-categorize CSEs (if necessary based on customer discussion) and will re-post the CSE spreadsheet to the Discussion Forum as final decisions* - March 17th at 3pm central time.

*CAGs may be formed if necessary depending on CSE categorization.

Please note that this transition pilot is not directly representative of the final work process. Web applications to support the final "go-live" work process are currently being finalized and tested. These will be ready for our "go-live" in late Q1 or very early Q2, 2006.

If you are interested in participating in the pilot, please sign up for the appropriate Discussion Forum. If you are not signed up for the Discussion Forum you will not be notified when the CSEs are posted to the Forum for the Discussion Phase.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact InSight Headquarters at 312.321.6839 or send an email to info@insight-net.org.