Reference no: EM132340745

Assignment - Needs Analysis for a Healthcare Organization

Imagine that a Unit Coordinator and the Nursing Director of a hospital are having a discussion:

Unit Coordinator: We just can't seem to get these lab results fast enough for the physicians to use them! I have seen 6 lab tests reordered this week alone, when a consulting doc didn't realize that the attending physician had already ordered them.

Nursing Director: We do seem to have a problem with getting lab results back into the charts. Can't you just work faster or harder to get the paperwork assembled?

Unit Coordinator: The lab sends paper results up with runners every hour or two. But then we have to find the right chart, making sure we paste the results in the right spot in the chart. Sometimes the runners send up results that are four or five hours old. You should see the docs steaming when they still don't know the results of the latest CBC or blood gas analysis! Then the patient gets upset about the phlebotomist coming around again to draw blood. I mean, who would want to get stuck in the arm twice in 3-4 hours?

Nursing Director: Well, I'll see what we can do. We were talking in utilization committee just the other day about duplicate charges on lab work. We had thought it was a billing duplication problem. Now I see, maybe it's bigger than that.

Your task: Write a 1-2 page paper that answers the following:

• If you were director of the health information management department in this hospital and wanted to improve on the current system, what would you recommend?
• If an electronic computerized solution is proposed, what would you specify that system has to be able to do?
• What departments would it need to communicate with?
• Use your background in health information technology to write a Needs Analysis proposing a solution and specifying system features.

Module - Lesson Content

Feasibility Studies

This module provides an overview of planning for information systems needs, from the top levels. First, we consider what the organization can or should do in terms of information systems purchase. What problems or issues need to be solved? Have specific goals been set to reduce medical errors and to contain costs of care?

When considering and developing new systems, management considers overall organizational goals.

For example, an electronic prescribing system is supposed to reduce the level of prescription errors in transcribing and administration.

A hospital or clinic transforming from paper-based to electronic prescribing needs to consider the following issues:

• Does the technology exist for sending remote prescriptions to the pharmacy, efficiently and securely?
• Does this institution have the electronic infrastructure needed to support such a system? What changes would be needed?
• Do the major managers in the institution support such a move? Will the chief medical officer, chief operating officer, and pharmacy department director support this change? If not, why not?
• What other questions or issues should be considered, to evaluate making the move to electronic prescribing?

Needs Analysis -

In the Needs Analysis phase, the institution considers what the system needs to accomplish.

Interviews with key departments and managers should be conducted to clarify expectations and requirements.

On a general level, requirements for the system include items such as:

• The system will provide timely computerized transfer of all prescription information to the pharmacies involved. Timely transfer is defined as within xx minutes of order entry.
• The system will adhere to all applicable state and federal regulations.
• The system must include privacy and security features.
• The system requires a backup plan in case of network outages.

All staff will be trained to use the system and be up-to-speed on functions within three weeks of implementation.

These provide examples of general, systems-level goals and needs. Once the general needs have been signed off and agreed upon, the process of writing systems specifications ensues.

As a practical matter, the general needs and detailed specifications might be defined simultaneously, instead.

A Requirements Analysis and Systems Specifications Go Hand-in-Hand

A software requirements specification (SRS) is a comprehensive description of the intended purpose and environment for software under development. The SRS fully describes what the software will do and how it will be expected to perform.

Bitpipe.com, (n.d.) In Bitpipe.com. Retrieved on January 2, 2011.

Systems Cost and Assessing Vendor Capabilities

Some reports make the transition to electronic health records look straightforward, even enjoyable. However, some physicians have difficulty justifying costs and making changes needed for adapting to the EHR. How can system capability and costs be determined?

Specifying the system needs and features first, will help in developing a checklist against which to compare systems capabilities. By interviewing the system's key users on how their work is accomplished, a list begins for system needs and unique capabilities.

Is it necessary to have remote access to an EHR after hours? If so, that need should be made known. The systems selectors and vendors will need such information.

Vendors will want to give product demonstrations. Vendors often present features in the order they specify.

However, starting from the user's need list, and asking the vendor to show the part of the system that meets that need and specifications, will put the burden back on the vendor to demonstrate capability.

Costs

Costs for the system need to include all costs including its design or customization, installation, training of users, and ongoing maintenance and backups.

Some systems are purchased via a license granted for a given time period. Others may be leased on a month-to-month (or longer term) basis.

Where will the data be stored? Some systems require the hospital or practice to purchase and maintain servers. The staff needed to administer and maintain server capacity and security are another cost. Other systems for a physician office level may have server space available remotely, and associated maintenance tasks will happen out-of-sight.

A back-up scheduled every 24 hours will ensure that no more than a day's work would need to be re-entered.

Staff who have not used computers extensively in the past may fear that they will wipe out needed data on the system. It is likely that more errors will occur during system startup than at any other time.