Currently, when a patient enters our office, the receptionists give them a clipboard with several pages of forms to fill out. When the patient finishes filling out the forms, they give the forms back to the receptionists. The receptionists then enter the information for new patients into our patient portal system. If it is an existing patient, they check for any changes.
Family Health Care's managing partner, Dr. Stephen Nguyen, sent a letter to IT consultant, Adam Burke, to help develop the system for the new services. During the project, Adam will work closely with Maria Martinez, web master. Jayne Rogers, an intern will assist Adam. She is eager for the chance to make a good impression in your first professional job.
Family Health Care is a healthcare clinic specializing in family medicine. They would like to expedite the procedures when a patient arrives to reduce the amount of time a patient spends in the waiting room, and reduce paperwork by the receptionists.
Dr. Nguyen, managing partner oversees operations of the clinic. There are four other doctors, each with a different specialty; three receptionists, and four nurses. Maria Martinezis web master, Grace Collins is the head receptionist; Tom Sawyer is the head nurse.
Family Health Care currently has several systems in place: there is an accounting system thsat handles billing and patient claims, and pays the staff; there is a patient information system; and an Online system lets patients login to watch educational videos, or download information phamplets. Routine office tasks are handled with Microsoft Office products.
Dr. Nguyen discussed the project with the web master Maria Martinez, and she suggested hiring Adam Burke, an experienced consultant, to work with the clinic staff to develop the system. Adam, has asked Jayne Rogers, an intern, to assist. Adam's first task was to learn more about business operations, so he requested a meeting with Dr. Nguyen and Maria Martinez. After some small talk, the discussion went like this:
Adam: Tell me about your plans for the new service. I'm especially interested in what kind of information management you'll need.
Maria: To tell the truth, I'm not so sure. We've had no problems with the systems we have in place now and I don't really want to do anything to adversely affect the current operations. I am especially worried about security. We have a responsibility to safeguard patient information.
Adam: Maybe we should start by looking at the similarities — and the differences — between the new services and the existing ones.
Dr. Nguyen: Okay, let's do that. Our current systme is mostly manual. Patiernts fill out the forms, then give them to the receptionists to enter into the patient information system. This is time consuming for the receptionist, and I think it would be more efficient for the patients to enter the information themselves. That would also reduce errors that occur when the receptiponist can't read the patients writing. However, Maria is right, security is a big concern.
Adam: So, how can we help?
Dr. Nguyen: We realize that some patients are not comfortable with technology, some patients would need help at first, and I don’t want to do anything that would affect the current operations. I don't have a lot of time, and will ask Grace Collins, the head receptionish to take the lead on this project.
Adam: That's fine, it sounds like she would be familiar with the current operations and what is required. We'll work with you and the rest of the staff to come up with a solution that supports your business.
Dr. Nguyen: Sounds good to me. What is next?
Adam: Let's meet with Grace first thing tomorrow. Send me an organization chart and your thoughts and concerns about the new services. We'll try to build a model of the new service so we can identify the business functions. When we know what the functions are, we'll know what kind of information is needed or generated by each function. That will be our starting point.
Use the information given in the initial letter and your own experience and Internet research to complete the following tasks. These are essential first steps in understanding the business.
Create a professional looking document to address the issues noted below. Be sure that you have corrected all spelling and grammar errors and all sections of the report are clearly labeled.
Assignment 1: Business Profile