The Role of Information Technology For A Private

Medical Practice

Noel Chua

Rosalinda Raymundo

BACKGROUND

Ellwood Medical Group Zelienople and Ellwood City 5 Doctors, 1 Nurse Practitioner 5 Offices Ellwood City Hospital 8000 patients

MAJOR PLAYERS

Doctors and Nurse Practitioner Office staff (secretaries, nurses, etc) Insurers Pharmacies

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the problems encountered primarily by doctors in EMG and propose a system that will provide solutions to these problems especially through information technology

PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED

Patient record inaccessibility Poor scheduling process and no

monitoring of incoming lab results and outstanding messages

No integration of diagnosis and billing codes

PROBLEMS CONTINUED

No alerts for missed health maintenance protocols

No alerts for lack of progress towards an expected goal

No process for tracking down referrals and consultation

PROBLEMS CONTINUED

Lack of customized flowsheets for various medical problems

No process of tracking prescriptions filled by the pharmacies

No process of tracking adverse drug reactions according to different categories such as by patient, drug, or pharmacy

PROBLEMS CONTINUED

No process available to access single or groups of medical records by specific clinical attributes

No process for alerting physician on non-covered medicines or HMO authorization requirements

ANALYSIS OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROBLEMS

To improve accessibility requires a system that will allow capture and storage of patient data easily retrievable at the point of care

The system should be capable of different administrative functions

ANALYSIS CONTINUED

The system should support physicians in the proper use of billing codes, integrating these codes with diagnosis codes and procedural codes

The system should have an alert system that will trigger a response from the physician when treatment objectives are not satisfied

ANALYSIS CONTINUED

The system should enable physicians to do ad hoc queries such as tracking referrals and consultations

The system should allow physicians to view nationally accepted practice guidelines on demand and enable physicians to provide relevant handouts

ANALYSIS CONTINUED

The system must be able to alert physician whether a prescription is filled or not filled

The system should be able to monitor and alert physician about adverse drug reactions and classify them according to causation

The system must allow physicians or authorized users access to single or groups of medical records by specific attributes

ANALYSIS CONTINUED

The system should alert physician about non-covered medication and likely requires integration with the systems of the pharmacy or the insurers

MAJOR VENDOR IDENTIFIED MCKESSON HBOC www.hboc.com Strategic mix of applications and

technologies, support and services designed to support the entire health delivery process

Allows physicians and other clinicians to document patient information at the point of care

HBOC CONTINUED

Allows management of cash flow, monitor risk, maintain and share patient demographics and medical records

Allows scheduling of services and resources Allows access, control, analysis and

integration and sharing of financial and patient information throughout the organization

HBOC CONTINUED

Offers managed care software solutions for providers beginning to assume risk for patient populations as well as managed care organizations

Offers decision support tools for the provider and payor markets by giving them access to diverse sources of information, powerful analytical functions, and extensive reporting and presentation tools

HBOC CONTINUED

Offers extensive clinical management tools to optimize quality, appropriateness and cost-effectiveness of patient care

Offers comprehensive financial management tools that facilitate detailed cost accounting and budgeting analysis, resource utilization analysis, member management, risk assessment

GAPS IN EXISTING SOLUTIONS HBOC does not allow customization of

chart formats and specialty specific formats

Has limited support for customizing flowsheets

Does not track prescriptions filled Does not track causes of adverse drug

reactions

GAPS CONTINUED

Does not have the ability to handle clinical problem solving

Does not support education for drug/food interactions

CONCLUSION

EMG needs a system that will: allow an integrated delivery of health

service streamline all work processes integrate all office functions, monitor patient outcomes and alert

physicians

CONCLUSION CONTINUED

Boost efficiency and productivity This requires a considerable investment

of its resources in order to adapt and stay competitive in a technology driven society