Cookeville Regional Finance Committee Chair Danny Rader requesting the hospital look into a software maintenance agreement costing the hospital some $100,000.
Rader said the agreement is for a hands-free communication system nurses use to talk to one another while working. Rader said he is impressed with the system itself but the maintenance agreement may be unnecessary.
“I’d like to track on these software maintenance agreements how much we’re using those,” Rader said. “‘Cause we’re spending a ton of money on those over and over again and they’re huge dollar figures. I mean a hundred thousand dollars to be able to call somebody on the phone for support doesn’t seem particularly valuable to me.”
Chief Information Officer Tim McDermott said the maintenance agreement also provides software updates and customer support. McDermott said the hospital calls the support line every month or so for help with the communication system.
“It is also how they incorporate new features in the product,” McDermott said. “So that’s part of their product development.”
McDermott said if the hospital stops paying for the agreement and then decides to reinstate it later, the hospital would have to pay back the years it did not paid for.
“I don’t know about that,” Rader said. “I’ve read a lot of contracts in my job.”
Rader said the system already has a number of specialized features incorporated into it. Rader said he does not know if there are any new features that could be added via software that could justify the expense of the agreement.
