When it came to providing care, Adventist Health did have a strong, unified approach to healthcare across its organization, with a “whole person” focus that cares for the body, mind, and spirit. But as a business, it didn’t run like a true healthcare system—it ran like a collection of clinics.
Adventist Health, based in Roseville, California, is a network of 19 hospitals and 250 clinics in city centers and rural locations in the western US. With anticipated future growth in mind, Olson recalls, “those green screens had to go.” Consider the challenge of purchasing and stocking each hospital and clinic with an inventory of 395,000 items, from surgical tools to stethoscopes. The acquired clinics tracked those items in different categories, sometimes as “surgical supplies,” or “general supplies,” or “medical supplies.” Beaman’s team had to modify the categories of about 25% of the items to account for them correctly.
That statement also made clear that cloud technology, with its ability to update software easily, was required for future success.