Medical Information Technology, Inc., commonly known as MEDITECH, is a Massachusetts-based software and service company selling information systems that are installed in health care organizations. The company was founded in 1969 by A. Neil Pappalardo, Morton E. Ruderman, Curtis W. Marble, Jerome H. Grossman and Dr. Edward B. Roberts. This post provides the MEDITECH company profile as well as an overview of MEDITECH products.
MEDITECH Company Profile and History
Prior to founding MEDITECH, A. Neil Pappalardo and Curt W. Marble developed MUMPS (Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System) technology on a DEC PDP at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1964 to 1968. Also known as M, MUMPS had not been standardized yet and its evolution took two different directions: 1) the ANSI and ISO-standard language; and 2) the proprietary MIIS which is the basis of the system now known as MEDITECH. In 1969, Pappalardo purchased a DEC PDP-9, leased some office space in Cambridge, and began development of MEDITECH Interpretive Information System (MIIS). MEDITECH began developing with the MAGIC programming language in 1977 and MAGIC became the proprietary language and operating system upon which MEDITECH’s health care information systems were implemented.
In 1994, the company adopted the use of Client/Server architecture as its second software platform. Client/Server utilizes the same programming language, MAGIC, to run all the code on a central server, but the code is executed on users’ PCs acting, essentially, as dumb terminals. Client/Server supports Microsoft Windows as well as Citrix systems.
In 2008, MEDITECH released its new generation of technology: 6.0 platform, with subsequent releases of its 6.x platform since then. 6.x is also based on Client/Server architecture.
MEDITECH’s most recent product, Web EHR, is a mobile, web-based solution which is a clinically-integrated healthcare solution meeting the needs of large IDNs, small critical access hospitals, and everything in between. Today, MEDITECH’s solutions can be used on a variety of mobile devices as well as PCs.
Acquisitions & Partnerships
In 2007, MEDITECH acquired its long-time software partner Patient Care Technologies, Inc. (PtCT), as a wholly owned subsidiary. In 2010, PtCT was fully merged into MEDITECH and no longer exists as a separate entity. PtCT’s products are now part of MEDITECH’s HCIS, and includes three offerings: Home Health, Hospice, and well@home Telehealth.
In 2011, MEDITECH acquired its long-time ambulatory software partner LSS Data Systems (LSS), also as a wholly owned subsidiary. At that time, MEDITECH and LSS had been partners for nearly three decades, and LSS’s practice management and electronic health records applications were built to be compatible with MEDITECH’s hospital systems. LSS Medical and Practice Management software is now offered as MEDITECH’S ambulatory solution for MAGIC, Client/Server, and 6.0 customers.
To extend its functionality, MEDITECH partners with several external software vendors such as: DrFirst for e-prescribing and medication management; Zynx Health and Wolters Kluwer Health for evidence-based order sets; EBSCO Publishing for evidence-based discharge instructions; Thomson Reuters Micromedex and PatientEDU for patient educational materials; Intelligent Medical Objects (IMO) for medical terminology mapping.
MEDITECH has a very large and active user community which began meeting informally in 1981 and was formalized two years later into the Medical Users Software Exchange (MUSE). According to the group, MUSE supported “healthcare organizations using MEDITECH developed software and technologies, by providing a user-driven networking environment conducive to learning–where ideas are exchanged and information is shared so that our members can continually improve organizational performance.” Led by volunteers, MUSE hosts both regional and national U.S., as well as international, conferences.
MEDITECH Corporate Organization
Headquartered in Westwood, Massachusetts, MEDITECH now has eight offices in Massachusetts; one office in Atlanta, Georgia (former offices of PtCT); and two offices in Minnesota: Eden Prairie and Minnetonka (LSS Data Systems). MEDITECH currently employs approximately 4,000 people. The company routinely hires recent college graduates in entry-level positions and offers elaborate training, mentor programs, staff development sessions, and advancement opportunities.
Their customer base expands the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, and several Spanish-speaking countries.
Today, more than 2,400 institutions worldwide use MEDITECH’s clinically-integrated and interoperable EHR to provide healthcare to the communities they serve. Their patient-centered technology spans the healthcare continuum, including functional capacity for ambulatory care, acute care, long-term care, rehabilitation services, behavioral health, and home care.
MEDITECH EHR, Products, and Modules
| Product Solutions | 6.x Platform Module Name (Mnemonic) |
Client/Server Platform Module Name (Mnemonic) |
MAGIC Platform Module Name (Mnemonic) |
| CLINICAL DEPARTMENTS | Anatomical Pathology (PTH) | Anatomical Pathology (PTH) | Anatomical Pathology (PTH) |
| Blood Bank (BBK) | Blood Bank (BBK) | Blood Bank (BBK) | |
| Emergency Department Management (EDM) | Emergency Department Management (EDM) | Emergency Department Management (EDM) | |
| Imaging and Therapeutic Services (ITS) | Imaging and Therapeutic Services (ITS) | Imaging and Therapeutic Services (ITS) | |
| Laboratory (LAB) | Laboratory (LAB) | Laboratory (LAB) | |
| Microbiology (MIC) | Microbiology (MIC) | Microbiology (MIC) | |
| Oncology (ONC) | Oncology (ONC) | Oncology (ONC) | |
| Operating Room Management (ORM) | Operating Room Management (ORM) | Operating Room Management (ORM) | |
| Pharmacy (PHA) | Pharmacy (PHA) | Pharmacy (PHA) | |
| Surgical Services (SUR) | Radiology (RAD) | ||
| IT DEPARTMENT | Corporate Management Software (CMS) | Corporate Management Software (CMS) | Interoperability (NMI) |
| Interoperability | Interoperability (NMI) | Management Information Systems (MIS) | |
| Management Information Systems (MIS) | Management Information Systems (MIS) | Report Writer (NPR) | |
| Report Designer (RD) | Report Writer (NPR) | ||
| Report Writer (RW) | |||
| PATIENT ACCESS | Authorization & Referral Management (ARM) | <<Grouped with HIM – see below>> | <<Grouped with HIM – see below>> |
| Community-Wide Scheduling (CWS) | |||
| Patient and Consumer Health Portal (PHM) | |||
| Registration/Admissions (ADM / REG) | |||
| HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT | Abstracting/Coding (CAS) | Abstracting/Coding (ABS) | Abstracting/Coding (ABS) |
| Care Manager | Authorization & Referral Management (ARM) | Authorization & Referral Management (ARM) | |
| Health Information Management (HIM) | Community-Wide Scheduling (CWS) | Scheduling (SCH) | |
| Scanning and Archiving (SCA) | Medical Records (MRI) | Medical Records (MRI) | |
| Registration/Admissions (ADM / REG) | Registration/Admissions (ADM / REG) | ||
| Scanning and Archiving (SCA) | Scanning and Archiving (SCA) | ||
| PATIENT CARE MANAGEMENT | Bedside Medication Verification (BMV) | Bedside Medication Verification (BMV) | Bedside Medication Verification (BMV) |
| e-Prescribing (ERX) | Electronic Health Record (EMR) | Clinical Review (EPS) | |
| Order Management (OM) | Mobile Rounding | Departmental (DPT) | |
| Patient Care System (PCS) | Order Entry (OE) | Mobile Rounding | |
| Patient and Consumer Health Portal (PHM) | Nursing (NUR) | ||
| Patient Care System (PCS) | Order Entry (OE) | ||
| Physician Care Manager (PCM) | Patient and Consumer Health Portal (PHM) | ||
| Provider Order Management (POM) | Patient Care Inquiry (PCI) | ||
| Physician Care Manager (PCM) | |||
| Provider Order Management (POM) | |||
| PHYSICIAN ACCESS / PHYSICIAN DOCUMENTATION | Electronic Health Record (EHR) | <<Grouped with Patient Care Management – see above>> | <<Grouped with Patient Care Management – see above>> |
| Mobile Rounding | |||
| Physician Care Manager (PCM) | |||
| CONTINUING CARE SERVICES | Home Care Manager (HCM) | Behavioral Health (BH) | Home Care Manager (HCM) |
| inSync | Home Care Manager (HCM) | inSync | |
| inSync | |||
| Long Term Care (LTC) | |||
| FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT | Accounts Payable (AP) | Accounts Payable (AP) | Accounts Payable (AP) |
| Billing/Accounts Receivable (BAR) | Billing/Accounts Receivable (BAR) | Billing/Accounts Receivable (BAR) | |
| Fixed Assets (FA) | Fixed Assets (FA) | Fixed Assets (FA) | |
| General Ledger (GL) | General Ledger (GL) | General Ledger (GL) | |
| Human Resource Planning (HR) | Human Resource Planning (HR) | Materials Management (MM) | |
| Internet Access for Staff (IAS) | Internet Access for Staff (IAS) | Payroll/Personnel (PP) | |
| Materials Management (MM) | Materials Management (MM) | ||
| Patient Accounting (RCG) and Electronic Claims (CLM) | Payroll/Personnel (PP) | ||
| Payroll/Personnel (PP) | Staffing and Scheduling (STS) | ||
| Staffing and Scheduling (STS) | |||
| DECISION SUPPORT | Budgeting and Forecasting (BF) | Budgeting and Forecasting | Budgeting and Forecasting (BF) |
| Business and Clinical Analytics (BCA) | Business and Clinical Analytics (BCA) | Business and Clinical Analytics (BCA) | |
| Cost Accounting (CA) | Cost Accounting (CA) | Cost Accounting (CA) | |
| Data Repository (DR) | Data Repository (DR) | Data Repository (DR) | |
| Executive Support System (ESS) | Executive Support System (ESS) | Executive Support System (ESS) | |
| Quality Mgmt / Risk Mgmt (QM / RM) | Quality Mgmt / Risk Mgmt (QM / RM) | MAGIC Office (MOX) | |
| Quality Mgmt / Risk Mgmt (QM / RM) | |||
| AMBULATORY CARE | Ambulatory (Web EHR) | Ambulatory Order Management (AOM RXM) | Ambulatory Order Management (AOM / RXM) |
| Medical and Practice Management (MPM) | e-Prescribing (ERX) | e-Prescribing (ERX) | |
| Medical and Practice Management (MPM) | Medical and Practice Management (MPM) | ||
| Physician Practice Management (LSS) | Physician Practice Management (LSS) |
- MEDITECH Company Profile – MEDITECH Products - Aug 9, 2016
