James A. Haley VA hospital in Tampa refuses to pay for software

Company says James A. Haley VA hospital in Tampa refuses to pay for software
By William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
Sunday, September 2, 2012

TAMPA — Software developed by a Tampa company transformed pharmacy operations at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center starting in 2006, benefiting thousands of veterans.

The software improved pharmacist performance, reduced errors and led to veterans being released from the hospital faster, a Haley pharmacist wrote in a 2007 letter that was approved by the assistant pharmacy chief.

But the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital now refuses to pay the company, QueueVision Inc., for software that its nurses and pharmacists have been using daily since 2006, according to Michael Blom, a company partner.

Haley's director, Kathleen Fogarty, told the company that it had no contract with the hospital — which is true.

"As a purchase order does not exist, we are unable to process your request," she said in a Feb. 24 letter.

But Haley pharmacy officials nonetheless repeatedly assured QueueVision that the hospital, one of the VA's busiest, would buy the software and that payment with a purchase order, or PO, was being processed, QueueVision's owners said.
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