Vendor Control
How to prevent vendor-driven overbuilding, jargon fog, and “perfect upgrade” fantasies.
The inventory gate
Before you review any proposal, inventory:
- Workstations (front desk, clinical, back office)
- Network gear (firewall, switches, Wi-Fi)
- Peripherals (printers/scanners/imaging)
- Software dependencies (EHR, imaging, billing)
Rule: No inventory = no proposal = no decision.
Red flags
- Proposal without inventory
- “No downtime” promises
- Miracle “one fell swoop” solutions
- They avoid details or won’t document assumptions
- They hide behind jargon
Truth
Refreshes can be dicey. Honest vendors explain risk, mitigation, and the plan.
Scripts you can actually use
Pull back to needs:
“Before we talk products, let’s align on clinical and operational needs.”
“Before we talk products, let’s align on clinical and operational needs.”
Kill jargon:
“Please explain that in plain language. Assume I’m not technical.”
“Please explain that in plain language. Assume I’m not technical.”
Set the gate:
“We won’t review proposals until we’ve inventoried what we have.”
“We won’t review proposals until we’ve inventoried what we have.”
Stop overbuilding:
“We’re replacing what affects patient care and reliability, not building a hospital-scale network.”
“We’re replacing what affects patient care and reliability, not building a hospital-scale network.”