December 4, 1998

To help balance the FY '99 budget, hospital management has been focusing on streamlining several areas throughout the hospital, including, most recently, MGH telecommunications services.

According to Sally Mason, of MGH Finance and chair of an ad hoc committee on telephone savings, limiting all directory assistance or "411" telephone access will save the hospital significant amounts of money. "This was a cost-reduction opportunity that we couldn't pass up in this highly constrained budget environment, particularly because we have an alternative online resource that provides comparable information at a much lower cost," says Mason.

Currently, more than 60,000 calls to directory assistance are being made each month – at an annual cost of $410,000. To access information, MGHers are encouraged to use other resources, such as phone books, which are available through Materials Management, or the online service instead of using telephone directory assistance.

Online directory assistance can be accessed from any Partners workstation by clicking the "Start" icon, selecting "Partners Applications," selecting "Utilities" and then selecting "AT&T Directory Assistance." Online resources also can be accessed through any web browser at www.anywho.com or www.globe.deu.net/telephone/phonecountry.html for international directory assistance.

Departments requiring telephone directory assistance because they cannot access the online resource can request the service through their vice president (General Hospital departments) or by e-mail to teldesk@partners.org (for MGPO practices and research funds).

The next step in reducing telecommunications costs will involve all departments reviewing telephone equipment and usage for possible streamlining targets.

For more information about telecommunications, visit the voice communications page of the Partners Information Systems Help Desk web site, at www.helpdesk.partners.org/splash.cfm.