Negotiating SaaS contracts: what to do and what to avoid
As the trend in cloud computing continues, in part as a way to reduce capital investment costs, laboratory decision-makers must learn the nuances of how to vet this type of vendor and negotiate software-as-a-service agreements. Without this knowledge, they risk entering into a less-than-satisfactory contractual arrangement that can cost them money, industry experts say.
“I have clients who reach out to me when things go wrong,” says health care and information technology attorney Tatiana Melnik, JD, of Melnik Legal, PLLC, in Tampa, Fla. Melnik gave a talk on how to handle information technology agreements at the 2015 American Society for Clinical Pathology meeting in October. Obviously, it’s much better to prevent problems before a service agreement is signed, she notes.