Evaluating and selecting an information system, Part 2.

Final steps in the evaluation and selection of a computerized information system for the pharmacy department are described. Once the computerization committees have been established, the needs assessment has been conducted, and vendors have responded to the request for proposal, the vendors and their products are subjected to quantitative and qualitative evaluations. The quantitative evaluation involves factors that can be counted, weighted, or tabulated and involves little professional judgment. Vendors can be quantitatively evaluated on the basis of the utility and features of the proposal, the fields to which the product applies, financial strength, product maturity, number of installations, regional presence, user group, software releases and upgrades, personnel, technology, and system costs. The qualitative evaluation requires judgment and intuition and is best performed by pharmacists. Vendors can be qualitatively evaluated on the basis of references, site visits, personnel, demonstrations and presentations, history and plans, user group, product literature, implementation plans, technology, and personalities. The steering committee makes the final selection of a system, and a contract is written that safeguards the hospital's interests. The contract should include performance criteria, promises made orally by salespersons, protection against software and other defects, a phased-in payment schedule, and language covering hardware, support and maintenance, default, and liability. Resources should be budgeted for implementation and stress testing after the contract is signed. Costly errors in selecting a pharmacy information system can be avoided by thoroughly evaluating vendors and writing a contract that protects the hospital.