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IMPAC Acquisition Inspires Confidence in Product Development
for Informatics
The Pathology department at Palo Alto Medical Foundation has
been working with the PowerPath anatomic pathology system for
nearly 13 years. From the initial implementation of the product
in the early 1990s, helping to develop standard reports that are
used today, beta testing PowerPath 2000, and recently upgrading
to version 8.2, the site has experienced all of the ups and
downs. As Deanna Iverson, pathology manager, explains,
“PowerPath has held its own through all of the company
transitions and acquisitions. We’ve never jumped ship because we
value the product.”
Pathology & the IMPAC Product Line
Since the acquisition of the product by IMPAC in December 2003,
PowerPath has been part of IMPAC’s complete solution for
managing the spectrum of cancer care. Iverson observes that
“being a part of IMPAC has helped us tremendously because we can
call on resources of the larger company, particularly around the
issue of interfaces. Even though it may be a different workflow,
there is infrastructure to support what we need and it’s all
interrelated to cancer therapy.” Iverson also explains that she
feels excited by IMPAC’s vision for informatics and believes
that will help improve PowerPath’s ability to deliver even more
data.
“It makes me nuts that I can’t get some data out of the system.
A big plus about being part of IMPAC is that the company has a
vision for informatics. I believe that improvements in this area
are more likely to happen because development can be applied to
different divisions,” Iverson says.
Commitment to the Customer
As part of the fallout of multiple management teams over the
past five years, Iverson observed a significant decline in
customer service and stagnated product development – noting that
now the situation has improved. “I definitely see a change in
IMPAC seeking input from the customer. When the company was
smaller in the early 1990s, there was a desire to know the
customer. I appreciated people coming out to see the workflow at
that time. This value has reemerged since IMPAC acquired
PowerPath; there has been a real push to gather customer input,”
Iverson explains. Ginny Rankin, administrative coordinator, says
that she has also experienced improvements in technical support.
“We have had a long-term working relationship with the company
and have appreciated, in the past year, the prompt response and
resolution for our technical support issues. “The biggest change
I’ve seen with IMPAC has been the level of professionalism and
organization within the technical support team.” |
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Palo Alto Medical Foundation campus, Palo Alto, Calif.
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