December 2006/January 2007 (Vol. XIV, No. 2)
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ERP implementation project gains momentum
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is normally considered an organization's administrative information system and usually consists of several integrated modules, including:
- General ledger, accounting and budgets.
- Materials management and accounts payable.
- Human resources and payroll.
Because of its integrated nature, an ERP system optimizes financial controls. It uses a common technical platform and consistent user interface and security, as well as integrated information between the separate modules to minimize reliance on interfaces between systems.
UT Southwestern has engaged Accenture, LLP, to organize and direct the selection and implementation planning of its ERP system. During the first quarter of 2007, Accenture will:
- Organize and manage the activities associated with the selection of the ERP system for the university and its hospitals and clinics.
- Develop a high-level plan for rolling out the new system and its components to university departments, clinics and hospitals, including establishing a governance for the planning and implementation of the rollout, as well as possible "pause points."
- Develop a budget to fund this rollout.
The ERP Selection steering committee has been formed to oversee the ERP selection activities and is composed of representatives from research, education and university administrations, along with health system representation. The initial meeting of this group occurred in mid-December, where the primary topics were:
- Review of ERP selection activities to date.
- ERP selection project governance.
- Upcoming selection activities, including request for proposal (RFP) review and vendor demonstrations.
An initial draft of the RFP for the ERP system is currently under review by members of the Steering Committee. Once all required changes to the document are complete, it will be distributed to the primary ERP system vendors and posted to the UT Southwestern purchasing Web site, in accordance with university and state procurement policies.
Dates for the ERP software demonstrations have been set tentatively for the last two weeks in January. These demonstrations will cover the basic ERP software functions, including accounting, materials, human resources and payroll. The entire campus will be invited to attend the general overview demonstrations once the specific dates have been finalized.
For regular updates with all the latest information on the ERP project, attend Information Resources' (IR) IRTeam briefings on the second Thursday of each month at 1 p.m. Visit the IR Web site at http://UTSouthwestern.edu/ir and view the "Frequently Needed Links" for the meeting schedule and locations.
UpToDate now available via Web for on-campus use
UpToDate is a comprehensive, clinically-oriented information resource designed to give practical answers to clinicians at the point of care. The Library's new UpToDate site license provides access for UT Southwestern faculty, staff, students, residents and fellows, thanks to funding from the Southwestern Medical School dean's office.
UpToDate topic reviews are written by clinicians for clinicians and are continually updated. Information is geared toward internal medicine and selected subspecialty practitioners. The content provides specific, practical recommendations for diagnosis and treatment, is comprehensive and concise, and is fully referenced. The content also goes through an extensive peer review process to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and reliable.
Due to licensing restrictions, UpToDate is available from on-campus or from the UT Southwestern University Hospitals only. The Library-licensed UpToDate cannot be accessed from outside either the UT Southwestern campus or the University Hospitals. No VPN or EZProxy access is allowed.
UT Southwestern users who wish to use the Library-licensed UpToDate must access it from one of the Library's general access computers or another networked computer on campus. Due to technical issues, on-campus wireless access is not available.
For more background information on UpToDate, including a list of frequently asked questions, go to the Library's Tutorials/Support page at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/education/tutorials/index.cfm#UpToDate. For questions about access, contact Mori Lou Higa at 214-648-2989 or Mori.Lou.Higa@utsouthwestern.edu.
IR Call Center launches 24-hour coverage
The Information Resources (IR) Call Center has extended its "prime time" hours to include 24-hour coverage Monday through Saturday morning. When faculty, staff and students need technical support during these extended hours, a desktop analyst will answer, diagnose and resolve problems following the same processes used during the day. If the analyst cannot resolve your request while you're on the phone (for example, you may want us to install a telephone or set up a new computer), we will address your issue on the next business day.
Hospital and clinical hot issues will be expedited as they have been in the past and resolved as quickly as possible. In urgent situations, an analyst will also go to hospital locations.
During the remainder of the weekend hours, UT Southwestern operators will take calls for the IR Call Center, as they have done previously, and page an on-call client services technician, who will respond to your call in the order in which it was received.
As the IR Call Center continues to expand its hours, we hope you'll continue to think of us as the single point of contact for all your information technology needs at UT Southwestern. Call us any time, 24 hours a day, at 214-648-7600.
Librarians make office calls
UT Southwestern librarians will come to your office to demonstrate databases and other information resources on your computer at a time convenient for you. We can also visit to advise you on the best strategies for researching your topic.
We'll tailor the content of our visit to your particular interests. Tell us your topic, and we'll give suggestions for finding the information you need.
We are also pleased to meet with small groups — including journal clubs and lab groups — anywhere on campus.
Our information experts can:
- Provide an overview or personal tour of the Library's electronic resources.
- Identify information resources best suited to your research or patient care needs.
- Demonstrate resources and search techniques for evidence-based medicine.
- Help you set up alerts for subject-specific grants and funding opportunities and requests for proposal (RFPs).
- Show how to manage citations and create automatic alerts of tables of contents with EndNote or Reference Manager.
To schedule an office call, click on "Individualized Training" on the Library's home page (http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library) The link may be found in the left sidebar under "Get Help/Ask Us."
SWMED password now comes from SouthwesternID
Your SouthwesternID user account has recently been linked to your existing account in the SWMED Windows domain. Beginning the next time you reset your SouthwesternID password, your SWMED Windows domain password will be the same as your SouthwesternID password.
This change is part of an ongoing project to allow authentication to multiple campus computing systems with a single user ID and password.
SWMED Windows domain accounts are used for such things as:
- Access to some Windows applications.
- Login to some departmental file servers.
- Login to workstations that are members of the SWMED Windows domain.
Your SouthwesternID password can be changed through any of these methods:
- Campus iAim page (http://iAim.swmed.edu).
- "Ctrl-Alt-Del" on a Windows PC (with Novell client software 4.91 service pack 2 or higher installed).
- GroupWise for Windows or Macintosh.
- GroupWise WebAccess.
Notes:
- When you change your SouthwesternID password, your SWMED Windows domain password also changes, but it DOES NOT work in the other direction.
- This synchronization does not include passwords on standalone Windows workstations.
- Some SWMED Windows domain accounts have previously had non-expiring passwords. Once synchronized with the SouthwesternID, SWMED Windows passwords will be set to the same expiration policies.
Any questions should be directed to the Information Resources Call Center at 214-648-7600 or IRCallCenter@UTSouthwestern.edu.
Easily create bibliographies, organize references with EndNote
Many researchers, scholarly writers and students use EndNote software to:
- Download search results from online bibliographic databases automatically.
- Organize references, images and PDFs.
- Create bibliographies, tables and figure lists instantly.
EndNote is available at no charge to UT Southwestern students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty and staff. Licenses were purchased by the Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences' student computing committee.
EndNote can be downloaded from Information Resources' EndNote download site at http://inside.utsouthwestern.edu/irweb/Software/downloads/endnote/endnote_download_page.htm. One copy of EndNote may be downloaded on either a laptop or home computer at no charge.
For more information about EndNote, including instruction sheets and other resources, see the Library's "EndNote and Reference Manager UT Southwestern Resources" link at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/education/tutorials/endnoterefman/index.cfm.
Note: Previous versions of EndNote must be removed before the latest version can be installed. The license key is built into the installation. Be sure to save a backup copy of your EndNote "library" files (.enl) and the associated "EndNote library name.Data" folder.
The Library offers a monthly "EndNote Basics" class and a phone number for questions or problems. To register for classes, go to the Library's "Class Registration" link at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/education/registration.cfm#43. For general assistance or more advanced instruction, contact Therona Ramos by phone at 214-648-5073 or by e-mail at therona.ramos@utsouthwestern.edu.
OACIS upgraded to Web-based "vCDR"
Clinical Information Services has upgraded clinical applications and technology on OACIS — also known as the Clinical Data Repository (CDR) — to a new Web-based version, Virtual CDR (vCDR).
The new vCDR has the look and feel of a Web-based application using the browser paradigm (i.e., you can use the back button without the need to close windows), but it delivers the full functionality of the client server version. Also, the new technology increases user interface flexibility, improves filtering and test selection, and offers new options for more than 4,000 current OACIS users. It also positions the university and its partners to take advantage of additional functionality to further enhance patient care.
This upgrade includes all UT Southwestern locations, as well as Parkland Health and Hospital System, and allows faster and more cost effective implementation of future versions/upgrades via the Internet rather than the reconfiguration of thousands of devices individually.
Training for vCDR was delivered last November at multiple facilities throughout the campus. The online tutorial for the training as well as the vCDR training manual is available online at http://UTSouthwestern.edu/elearning. Intuitive and user friendly, vCDR also offers an enhanced online help that is searchable and context sensitive.
Clinical Information Services is working with our partners and clinicians to make this transition as smooth as possible. Any questions should be addressed to UTSW.Repository@utsouthwestern.edu.
Keep current via database tracking alerts
Need to track what you, your colleagues, or competitors have published? Want to stay current on the latest developments in your field? Then you need database alerts!
Once set up, database alerts automatically search new updates for relevant content and send you an e-mail to notify you of new content on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis. In a variation on database alerts, many electronic journals offer a table of contents (TOC) alert allowing you to receive the current issue's TOC — with links to the full text of articles — as it is released.
Follow these steps to get started with database alerts:
- Choose the database(s) from which you want current updates (e.g., Current Contents for tables of contents, BIOSIS, MEDLINE, COS, etc.).
- Login using your registered ID and password. (Don't have these? Follow the registration link on the desired database's home page.)
- Enter search strategy (e.g., name of journal, author name, subject, etc).
- When search results are retrieved, review for appropriateness. Modify if necessary.
- Save the strategy as an "alert." As the "alert" is saved, you will be prompted to supply your e-mail address and to select a choice of updating frequency (e.g., weekly, monthly, quarterly or as issued).
- Watch your e-mail for the updates.
If you later find that you are getting too many update e-mails, for each database you may access "my profile" or "my alerts" or "my saved searches" to verify search strategy, edit the strategy and cancel or modify frequency.
For more information or assistance, please use the Library's "Contact Us" form at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/forms/ContactUs.cfm?subject=AskReference&pageFrom=Information%20Times.
New clinical workstation e-learning
Do you, your staff or co-workers use clinical workstations?
If so, visit the Web site http://UTSouthwestern.edu/elearning and view our new e-learning module — "Clinical Workstation Overview" — to find out about hot swaps and other features.
Clinical workstations, which may be leased from Information Resources, provide a standard, reliable computer environment in the clinics and hospitals to facilitate maximum "up time."
SciFinder Scholar: Graphical access to chemistry and biomedical information
SciFinder Scholar 2006 provides graphical access to the databases of Chemical Abstracts Service back to 1907 and MEDLINE back to 1950. It covers the full spectrum of chemical and — through MEDLINE — biomedical information.
Areas of chemistry covered include: biochemistry; organic and inorganic chemistry; and chemical engineering and applied chemistry.
Substructure and reaction searching are available for chemical topics.
Access to SciFinder Scholar 2006 is available only to affiliated faculty, staff and students of UT Southwestern. Unlike other databases available through the Library's home page, the SciFinder Scholar software must be downloaded to each user's computer (PC or Macintosh) before the database may be accessed. Once installed, it will automatically connect you to Chemical Abstracts. SciFinder Scholar 2006 can only be accessed if you are directly connected to the campus network or accessing it via Virtual Private Network (VPN) software.
To apply for SciFinder Scholar 2006 download and access, fill out the online request form at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/forms/contactUs.cfm?subject=RequestSciFinderdownload. You will receive download instructions via e-mail by the next working day.
The Chemical Abstracts Service Web site includes more information about hardware and Web browser requirements at http://www.cas.org/SCIFINDER/SCHOLAR/systreq.html, and SciFinder Scholar educational materials can be found on the Library's Tutorials/Support page at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/education/tutorials/index.cfm#SciFinder.
For technical assistance with the download process, please e-mail Alitza Rueber at Alitza.Rueber@utsouthwestern.edu. For other questions, please e-mail Helen Mayo at Helen.Mayo@utsouthwestern.edu.
Computer protection checklist
Is your Windows XP computer safe from virus attacks? Do you routinely guard against prying eyes? Do you trust everything that you read in e-mails?
Unless your department has different policies for computer protection, we suggest that you use the following checklist to confirm that you are taking an active role in protecting your computer and its data.
- Review the campus' Security Policy 200-13: Information System User Responsibilities Policy at http://inside.utsouthwestern.edu/irweb/infosec/policies/pol_200_13.pdf.
- Find out who the Information Resources (IR) contact is for your department and watch for communications from that person about computer protection.
- Confirm that you have Sophos Anti-Virus protection in place and working.
- Confirm that you have PestPatrol protection in place and working.
- Confirm that you have Microsoft Automatic Updates turned on and working.
- Evaluate your backup techniques. Do you save your data on IR-managed servers (e.g., the O: drive)? If not, do you do your own data backup?
- Evaluate your password routine. Make any changes necessary to support security guidelines.
- Evaluate your workstation practices. Do you use "Ctrl-Alt-Del?" Do you use a screen saver with a password?
- Evaluate your e-mail practices. Do you exercise caution when opening e-mail with attachments from strangers? Do you understand about "phishing?"
- Evaluate the physical security of your computer and its data. Do you lock your office door when you leave? Is your laptop secured appropriately?
For more information, view the e-learning module at http://UTSouthwestern.edu/elearning or contact the IR Call Center at 214-648-7600.
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