PVM Next – Powering the Next Generation of Veterinary Care, Service, Learning, and Discovery

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The PVM Next project kicked-off in May with a team that is gathering information to help the college choose the next Hospital information and Laboratory Information Management Systems (HIS and LIMS). The project team of Nancy Allrich, Steve Jaeger, Armando Ortega Luis, Jon Cagle, and Lowell Williams is leading the college through this multi-phase project to assess the needs for PVM software solutions.

A governance committee of Dean Willie Reed; Purdue University Veterinary Hospital Director, Dr. Ellen Lowery; Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory Director, Dr. Kenitra Hendrix; and the head of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Dr. Catharine Scott-Moncrieff, along with Aaron Walz, PVM Senior Director of IT, is providing strategic direction to the team. “Strong, engaged leadership support, as well as open input from everyone, are essential to an effort like this. We’re fortunate to have both,” said Williams, lead IT project manager with College of Agriculture Information Technology, who is assisting with the project.

First up for the project is an extensive period of gathering requirements. “The team will document what features the systems must offer, seeking input from across the college to assess what works well now, what could be better, and what new capabilities the next HIS and LIMS solutions should offer,” said Jaeger, IT project portfolio manager and senior systems engineer with PVMIT. “This information will be used to evaluate vendor offerings and make comparisons with the current HIS and LIMS configurations.”

Individual and group sessions are being scheduled with Senior Business Analyst Jon Cagle to gather this input. These sessions are expected to continue and expand to more faculty and staff in the coming weeks. “Your feedback is always welcome and we want to hear from you,” Director of IT Operations Nancy Allrich emphasized. Cagle agreed, saying he has been impressed with the amount and quality of input received so far. “I’ve had some great conversations already. It’s fantastic to see everyone so willing to share their thoughts.”

“This initial phase of requirements-gathering and analysis will take four to five months, then college leadership will begin narrowing down the options based on analyzing this feedback,” said Williams.  “Implementation is planned to start by next summer.”

Questions, comments, or concerns about the future of the college’s HIS and LIMS systems may be shared with the PVM Next Team via any of the following ways:

• Email pvmnext@purdue.edu;
• Take an anonymous online survey;
• Visit PVM Next via Microsoft Teams to review project status, presentations, and other documents, or to use the General Channel to chat with the team. 

More information will be coming soon.

Writer(s): Lowell Williams and Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu