For your Stage 1 assignment, you will analyze the processes at the Wasatch Family Clinic to identify the essential requirements for the EHR system for the Clinic.  For this discussion, you will practi

For your Stage 1 assignment, you will analyze the processes at the Wasatch Family Clinic to identify the essential requirements for the EHR system for the Clinic.  For this discussion, you will practice analyzing processes and identifying functional requirements for a system to improve a process.

First, we need to be sure you can identify a process; many students have difficulty with this step, so refer to the week 2 readings that describe various healthcare processes.  Keep in mind that a process is a set of specified steps to accomplish a single task.

Second, requirements for a system need to be clearly written so that the people who are developing the system or evaluating a system for use can discern whether the requirements are met or not. This sounds obvious, but it isn't as easy as it might seem initially.  One set of criteria for writing clear requirements is referred to as "SMART" criteria, which means each requirement statement is:

• Specific – Clearly and simply stated, and not likely to be mis-interpreted.  Avoid such words as:  and, or, but, soon, immediately, somewhat.
• Measurable - Can be verified as complete or not.  Avoid such words as: best, fastest, optimally.
• Attainable – Able to be achieved; appropriate.
• Realistic – Considering the project and other requirements, can this one be expected to be met.
• Time-bound – If appropriate to the requirement, specifies when or how fast a requirement needs to be completed.

For a more in-depth discussion and some examples, see: https://jessica80304.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/smart-requirements/

1. Drawing from your own experience, select a health care process used at your place of work or in your interaction with a health care organization that you would like to see improved.  Explain why you picked that process.

2. Imagine that a system is to be implemented (or an existing system improved) to make that process better, and identify five (5) requirements that the system would need to satisfy.  Each requirement is one sentence in length and addresses one thing the system must do.  Here we are interested in "functional requirements" – the activities the system must perform to support the identified process.  We are not including "nonfunctional requirements"   that include how the system would perform.

 reply to the posting below, you are to critically evaluate all of the following for at least three main postings (three or more are required for full points):

1. Is the identified process actually a "process"; that is, does it meet the definition of "a set of specified steps to accomplish a single task"?
2. Do the requirements listed support the selected process?
3. Are the requirements clearly stated such that system testers will be able to ascertain whether or not the requirement has been implemented (have they followed the "SMART" criteria)?
4. What improvements to the requirements would you suggest?  At least one is required; explain what needs to be corrected and provide your re-wording of the requirement.

Greetings Sir/Madam

I think we can all agree that most outpatient pharmacy wait times/processes can be equally as painful/long as sitting at the DMV to update some sort of miscellaneous motor vehicle item/task. That brings me to the process in which I would like to see improve throughout the industry. I can only speak from the Military Medical Treatment Facility world as that is all I have known and experienced with my 15 years of Active Duty time served. I mention this because at a military pharmacy, you may receive up to a 90-day supply of most medications at no cost. Most military pharmacies accept prescriptions written by both civilian and military providers. So this benefit, eliminates the exchanging money/submitting insurance portion of the “bottle neck” of some outpatient pharmacies.

1. The Patient wait time for their prescriptions must be reduced.
2. The Patient must get the right prescription without errors.
3. The Pharmacy Staff shall be efficient in their movements/actions.
4. The Patients overall satisfaction must be worth the trip to our pharmacy.
5. The Pharmacy Staff must be able to answer patient prescription questions clearly and quickly.

SMART criteria:

1. The Patient wait time for their prescriptions must be reduced and the wait time must not exceed 20 minutes.

The Patient must get the right prescription without errors and will be required that a barcode safety check on every prescription we fill be completed in that 20 mins or less.

3. The Pharmacy Staff shall be efficient in their movements/actions. We will dedicate extra staff members to specific positions as to not have any one single points of failure during peak times (lunch hours etc).

4. The Patients overall satisfaction must be worth the trip to our pharmacy and we will ensure patient satisfaction, wait times and excellent customer service is all accomplished in 20 mins or less.

5. The Pharmacy Staff must be able to answer patient prescription questions clearly and quickly as to not bust the 20 mins or less suspense and to provide clear concise patient customer service.