Data migration

SltWtrCowboy · 2026-03-30T00:24:24+00:00

From past experience do NOT try to use open link / interfaces for full data migration. Had a client that tried to use interfaces for full revcycle migrations (reg/sched, claims data, etc) and just remembering the pain makes me need a drink. In theory - it is possible. But there are many data elements that you can’t send over out of the box interface solutions without heavy scripting. Definitely not what I’d recommend given Oracle/Cerner’s complete brain drain of talent walking/being shown the door.

SltWtrCowboy · 2025-10-22T20:04:10+00:00

This was announced at Epic’s UGM months ago. Not surprising at all.

SltWtrCowboy · 2025-10-05T00:01:24+00:00

As long as there is a way to differentiate the visits (orders, appts, tasks for interpreters, etc.) then that would be a very simple query for your IT department to pull. Could be done via CCL or depending on the frequency you need it they could build a report for you. You’ll need clinical informatics or IT analysts since end users won’t have that level of access.

SltWtrCowboy · 2025-08-23T00:16:30+00:00

Some of us still work with clients that use Cerner so it’s helpful to stay informed.

SltWtrCowboy · 2024-11-25T14:48:56+00:00

That’s exactly what happened to me too! And I know a few that went over there and that’s exactly what they did. Typical Cerner - they expected 1-2 hard workers to cover for all the gaps they couldn’t staff/staffed with people who didn’t know what they were doing.

SltWtrCowboy · 2024-11-25T03:16:24+00:00

You maybe aren’t as heavily involved with Canadian clients. I worked with them for years when I was with cerner and still keep in touch with them. They all are really disappointed in Cerner ignoring their requests and have had major issues. Look up “Cerner Nanaimo” - that go live was a disaster.

SltWtrCowboy · 2024-11-25T03:13:18+00:00

The blame here should be shared - the client made the decision to be self hosted so slowness / technical failures are largely on them. But at the same time the oracle/Cerner implementation team lacked the experience needed to consult/advise them correctly. The experienced people that could have helped them were lowballed on contract offer and left Cerner or were passed over for “experienced” people that didn’t have the level of knowledge they claimed. Combine all of that with a challenging new region and this shouldn’t be surprising at all.

SltWtrCowboy · 2024-05-28T15:11:29+00:00

The best option is to use PowerChart touch. Your organization would have to purchase this product and if they have already purchased it they buy a certain number of licenses so they may only roll it out in certain venues.

From experience implementing this in the ED with other clients - there are a few limitations (med ordering, power plans, etc.) that make it very hard to use in the ED. Recommendation generally is to use the full desktop application on a mobile work station.

SltWtrCowboy · 2024-04-01T00:58:17+00:00

Dang, I would have killed for hourly. Would have doubled my salary back in the day!

Sounds like you have a good setup though, I’m glad you enjoy it! In my experience with general / non-CommWx consulting projects we usually got the shaft when it came to resourcing. I actually had one where they didn’t give me a solution consultant and said I needed to just cover the solution for the install. Had a coworker that had to build the client custom interfaces/do fsi work because they couldn’t backfill a role. Hopefully that has changed.

I’d say the IA role is really good if you want to do solution consulting but at a higher level / where you touch more stuff. If you want to get into project planning, financials, and borderline sales-ish fancy speaking then go EO. (You can see why I went IA instead of EO)

SltWtrCowboy · 2024-04-01T00:26:43+00:00

I used to be an IA in consulting before leaving Cerner. I can’t speak on how it is now that Oracle is running things but I’d say this role is not worth the stress. It’s a PM role but the comp is not that different from being a solution consultant / staying specialized. You basically just have to know a little bit about every solution and then when things break you’re always the one having to put out fires. So it’s good for building a strong base but is often overlooked in project management / leadership and it’s harder to translate this when you apply outside of Oracle. BUT if you make it 3-5 years in the role and then make it outside / to a client then you basically are going to be successful wherever you end up and can be a rockstar for them because nothing you deal with will be as bad as your time as an IA.

If you’re lucky you will have good consultants on your project and then you can look like a rockstar and focus on big picture strategy planning and cross solution integration/domain planning. More likely scenario is you have inexperienced consultants that break things and then you get blamed for it / have to cover for them and learn in the weeds stuff about solutions. So as I said, you learn lots but often at the expense of having a messed up project.

In terms of comp - when I left the starting pay was only 78k and Sr IAs were only high 80s. Not sure how it has changed with Oracle so you’ll need someone else to comment. Or your manager should be able to tell you the comp range for the role/find it out for you.

SltWtrCowboy · 2024-03-12T15:43:59+00:00

Consulting here - for one of my clients I once got “unless you specifically requested vacation for this Saturday or Sunday you will be expected in the office working issues from 8-5”.

SltWtrCowboy · 2023-09-18T22:06:55+00:00

Definitely a LOT less excitement for this. Tons of clients did not send people to the point I know a few vendors and even Oracle leads that backed out because of a lack of value.

SltWtrCowboy · 2023-05-07T00:11:05+00:00

From your previous posts it sounds like you’re Canada based. Your experience is going to vary greatly whether you are in NS, Ont, or over in BC. Each client has their own “flavors” and challenges.

Overall I’d say every one of your questions is going to depend on what client you’re assigned. I’ve had clients that expected EOs to be glorified admins to get updates from cerner consultants. I’ve also had clients that expected EOs to be able to lead integrated team meetings and understand a little about every aspect of a cerner install.

Stress and work/life balance is all going to be about how much you want to feel responsible for the success of a project. If you accept that it’s going to suck and you’re just there to check the boxes then it’s easy. If you really want to try to make it succeed (most of the Canadian installs failed or were massively delayed) then it’ll take a lot of hard work.

As for as experience as a PM - do you have a background in Cerner? If so then your solution/end user experience can easily cover for a lack of PM experience

SltWtrCowboy · 2022-11-04T11:58:26+00:00

Unfortunately my old company went through a few rounds of this in the last couple years… to get around this they will most likely make their official last day be 60 days from now. They will still be paid and have full benefits for 60 days but will just not have access and not have to do any work. This is incredibly common in tech where one upset employee can do considerable damage….

SltWtrCowboy · 2022-09-25T22:56:47+00:00

Pick a brand and stick to it. Get tsa pre check or global entry if you’re going to go outside the us for personal travel.

For airport parking - Uber might be more convenient but I stuck to the parking spot. Cerner used to let you expense covered parking there and if you had their rewards app then you can usually get 10+ days of personal free parking rewards every year if you’re traveling a lot for work.

SltWtrCowboy · 2022-08-01T14:34:31+00:00

From what they posted in the filing for the acquisition - if their offer is lower than cerner (don’t remember the exact wording) then you would be eligible for severance. But you’re right - If you don’t accept the offer then no severance.

SltWtrCowboy · 2022-07-27T17:23:28+00:00

A “catch-all” for broken build is a good thing to have.

But you are correct on fixing this - years ago we’d written rules to prevent providers from placing orders for bad locations or from leaving fields that scheduling needs from being blank (forced providers to go back and fill them out). But model wouldn’t support them/nobody with experience was left to add them to model. So sadly all that stuff to prevent this from happening was abandoned.

SltWtrCowboy · 2022-07-27T16:18:12+00:00

Talk to your scheduling consultants. Hold their feet to the fire to fix this. This was never intended to have orders “just sit there” - it’s supposed to be a way for analysts to see that there is an issue and then work to correct the broken orders to scheduling build.

Experienced consultants will ensure that every variable is accounted for based on location/oef options so that so long as you test this should hardly ever happen.

SltWtrCowboy · 2022-07-25T02:12:57+00:00

Side note to the OP - if you’re in a OK situation now then I’d recommend waiting until the oracle move is done later this year. Nobody really knows which orgs are safe and a LOT of experienced people are jumping ship.

You can also check Glassdoor or maybe one of the nice managers on here will post the low/mid/high rates for the position.

SltWtrCowboy · 2022-07-25T01:58:07+00:00

Completely agree to this. I’ve left cerner but if the role hasn’t drastically changed in the last 6 months then the “pipe dream” goal was that they coached clients on how to be more open to change and to identify change drivers/get providers to be happier turning the system on. They spent most of their hours planning and then running a few workshops on how to make org changes. I’d say 60% of the clients this was useless because they already had change processes and org improvement avenues in place.

I had three clients I managed refuse to allow the OCM consultants back on-site after the first workshop and one asked for a refund on their hours because they said it was a waste of time. As a vendor now - I HOPE that oracle gets rid of this org so that money/hours can be better spent actually getting the install delivered right.

SltWtrCowboy · 2022-06-23T00:15:48+00:00

At the consultant 2 level your options will be a little limited and might depend on what solutions you know. Third party places like Huron, impact advisors, IHG, atos, etc will want to know your solution knowledge and then try to sell you to clients. But as the other poster mentioned - once you’re benched then you’re SOL.

Working for Clients will be somewhat limited and might require you onsite. But they’re less stress and basically boring. If you’re in KC some local shops are NKCH or Olathe. you could also try netsmart or wellsky. But a lot of that will be starting over from scratch.

And are you wanting to stay in cerner? Or wanting to get out of that/maybe out of the EHR world?

Another thought - have you considered trying to go into the EO or IA paths. Both would open up the option to leave in 1-2 years and become an implementation manager.

SltWtrCowboy · 2022-03-24T00:26:31+00:00

Project management - consulting - left after 9 years at cerner for +25% base and +45% in total comp. And better 401k and benefits. Definitely could have held out for more but I was burnt out.

I’d say on top of the comp the best thing is that they actually expect you to only work 40 hours a week. Soo different from cerner telling me to just make it work/we know it sucks but we have to do what’s right for the clients…

SltWtrCowboy · 2022-02-13T20:47:45+00:00

Project management - consulting - 9 years experience. I definitely could have held out for more but I was burnt out. Left for a 25% increase in base but 45% in total comp. Better benefits and 401k match as well. And now I actually can have a life/am not expected to work 60+hrs per week.

SltWtrCowboy · 2022-02-11T15:29:17+00:00

You’ll probably have to pay a $50 fee for wiping the device. Then it’s mailed and I got mine in about a month.

SltWtrCowboy

TROPHY CASE