Medeiros agrees with Bagwell that contracting with an ASP can save money and time. If you re looking for a new system, it lowers your start up costs because you just pay a monthly fee. With an ASP, you also have a company that deploys the system and maintains it, so you don t to pay for IT people. There is also a decrease in implementation time because vendors are experienced. While most ASPs don t offer customized software solutions to their clients, Medeiros notes, We will customize the software for those who require it because we are the developer of the software.
Some companies host software that they don t develop.
Not all developers of laboratory information systems believe that the ASP route is the best. ASPs don t make sense for small networks or for PC networks in which the analyzers are interfaced to the same PCs the technologists use, contends Comp Pro Med s Fisher. The big value of an ASP is outsourcing the mini or mainframe computer hardware and software. ICD-9 code requirements still have an impact on the type of systems labs choose, says Fisher. Because labs require ICD-9 to justify tests being ordered, this will often determine whether an existing LIS needs to be upgraded or replaced.