Quality Improvement Methodology

Phoenix Data surveys AIMS users throughout the year and at its annual User Group Symposium for ideas to enhance AIMS.  This user interaction influences the design and allows AIMS to quickly enhance any operational or management style.  The symposiums are sponsored by Phoenix Data and are designed to promote user input for product design and evolution.  [This year, 2007, will be the 23^rd consecutive Symposium.]

Phoenix Data has continuously expanded and advanced AIMS with input from its users –E.g., first with “Valid entry” only [1984]; Risk Inclusion [1988]; Remote laptop field access [1993]; Data Managers [1995]; Contracts Management [2000]; Automated Reports [2001]; HIPAA [2002],Critical Alarms [2003] and Hazard Alerts [2005].

 

Ease of Use

AIMS simple point & click interface allows your whole department – clerks, technicians, and managers – to easily interact with the system.

AIMS is very rich in features and functions and has many unique items designed to make your job as a manager or technician easier and more efficient.  [Please see “Special Features”.]

 

Flexibility

AIMS can run multiple departments within the same software in the same database.  However, various departments often run AIMS on a different, department-specific database.  Hospital departments commonly using AIMS are:  Biomedical/Clinical Engineering, Plant/Facilities, Information Services, Housekeeping, Buildings and Grounds, Laundry and Vehicle Maintenance.

AIMS has many opportunities to manage multiple sites.  The most comprehensive is a single AIMS database with multiple facility codes, where each code represents a single facility.  Additionally, each facility can have multiple cost centers.  Other opportunities include a single database using multiple cost centers, or multiple databases, each representing a single facility.

 

Versatility

Phoenix Data will modify AIMS for your smallest customization or largest interface.  About 40% of AIMS customers have some form of modification or customization to suit their specific needs.  All modifications and customizations are brought forward in future versions, such that users continually enjoy AIMS updates.

The most common customization is to provide an upload/download interface to and from AIMS.  Examples of typical interfaces are:  (a) AIMS can upload account and general ledger information to the organization’s primary accounting system, and (b) AIMS can download work requests from the hospital’s mainframe computer system and upload them into AIMS to create work orders.