New software implementation is often daunting for healthcare organizations. If it goes wrong, it can wreak havoc on both the business and patients. Working with Syntellis’ Axiom implementation team, Valley View Health System experienced implementation done right.
“The Axiom implementation experience is night-and-day different compared to other implementations I’ve been involved in,” said Tim Wise, Decision Support Administrator at Valley View, shortly after implementing Axiom Performance Reporting.
“The Axiom team’s ability to guide configuration decisions and overall subject matter expertise is refreshing.”
This was Valley View’s second Axiom solution implementation — they’ve used Syntellis’ Axiom™ Budgeting since 2018 and plan next to implement Axiom Productivity Reporting, Cost Accounting, Decision Support, and Contract Management to help meet the growing needs of the independent, nonprofit health system serving rural Colorado. Valley View began in 1955 as a single story, 22,000-square foot hospital with 35 beds and has blossomed into a thriving regional medical center with eight locations and over 140 practitioners.
"We’re still a pretty small shop, with just three people in our finance department, so efficiency is critical for our success,” said Wise. “We have five different electronic medical records (EMRs), some with internal IT resources, some with external, which are difficult to coordinate. Those things can complicate an implementation, but our team — including managers and directors outside of finance — has been really happy. I attribute the positive experience to Axiom’s great functionality and support people.”
An Impressive Depth and Breadth of Industry Knowledge
Valley View’s transition from manual to electronic financial processes began with a vendor search, which quickly narrowed down to three finalists. True healthcare expertise made Syntellis and Axiom stand out.
“One thing I like about Syntellis is that our implementation consultants all had previous experience on the provider side, working for hospitals or physician groups,” said Wise.
“They really understand the business aspect of what we’re trying to accomplish, so their advice is spot-on. I’ve used some of their competitors’ solutions, and I can tell you this expertise is unique to Syntellis.”
That expertise isn’t limited to implementation professionals — Syntellis also applies that deep knowledge to Axiom software design and configuration.
“I really liked the fact that when we’re trying to explain our goals from a business standpoint, Syntellis consultants have the experience necessary to understand how to translate that into the technical side of making the system work.”
Building system configurations that fit each client’s specific needs is part of Axiom’s implementation process. So when the Valley View team had questions and wanted advice on best practices, they had a number of resources to choose from.
“The volume of questions that come up during implementation can be overwhelming, but they usually made a recommendation based on how they solved a similar situation. When that wasn’t the case, they put us in touch with some of their clients who were willing to speak to us in detail,” Wise said. “Talking with counterparts in hospitals across the country who’d actually been through the implementation really helped our decision-making so we chose the best configurations and workflows.”
Laser Focused on the Business Goals
This deep knowledge spanning both the technological and business sides of the implementation were a major contributor to the project’s success.
“The implementation consultants understand our business goals,” explained Wise. “They first understand what we’re trying to do and then they go and work with their technical team to achieve the business results we’re looking for.”
By combining a deep understanding of healthcare business with broad industry experience and technical know-how, Syntellis delivers solutions, services, and an implementation experience that work together to help hospitals and health systems like Valley View improve performance.
Added Wise:
“We’ve already seen fruits using Budgeting and Productivity Reporting. Everyone’s pretty excited about implementing our remaining Axiom solutions.”
Read more about the other health systems we empowered:
West Tennessee Healthcare Delivers Continuous Financial, Reporting, and Clinical Quality Improvement with Axiom
Hackensack Meridian Health’s Seamless Transition to Axiom Budgeting in the Cloud
