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Interviews with Stakeholders
Doctor
1. What is your role in providing services to patients?
As a doctor, I have taken an oath to do no harm when it comes to the treatment of my patients. When examining patients, I use the information in front of me to determine the next direction to go in assessing their health. In some cases, I may have to request lab work to be completed before I can make a final diagnosis and treatment plan. I typically only spend 10 to 15 minutes per patient to make this assessment. It is crucial that the information provided for the patient is current and accurate. Bad data can result in wrong diagnosis.
2. What do you dislike about the existing process and software system?
Filling out proper paperwork for a patient’s status at the end of the day takes up a huge amount of my time. The data has to be accurate and kept current.
3. What features and functions would you like to see in the new system to improve the process?
Having access to a patient’s medical file to quickly make updates will reduce the chances of wrong data being entered. I would also like to be able to fill out the records in real time while interacting with the patient. These features would allow doctors to practice more medicine and less record keeping. Also, being able to access the patient's lab results and X-rays from one system associated with their medical file also allows for better diagnosis of symptoms, thus providing better healthcare for the patient.
Nurse
1. What is your role in providing services to patients?
As a nurse, I want to accurately and efficiently assess the health status of each patient. When they visit our facility for a scheduled appointment, I check their vitals and review their chart information. I provide this information to the assigned physician by entering the patient’s vitals and current symptoms into our software system. If lab work is required, I gather the patient samples and ensure they are properly labeled and sent off for review, all while ensuring that I accurately enter this information into the system.
2. What do you dislike about the existing process and software system?
Whenever overbooking for appointments occurs, it creates a busy day for everyone, and it increases potential errors in providing patient care. Also, not being able to access the patient's full medical chart for drug allergies can cause a delay or mishap in treatment.
I also don’t like how I have access to every patient’s data. It makes me nervous that I might accidentally look up the wrong patient and will learn something about a patient that I wasn’t supposed to.
3. What features and functions would you like to see in the new system to improve the process?
Come to think of it, I’m really nervous about getting fired, and I think there could be a feature in the system that would ease my nerves. It would be great if the new system locked me out of a patient’s file if I was not their nurse. For security measures, I shouldn’t have access to patient files that I don’t interact with that day. To be real, a couple of nurses were dismissed within the past year because they accessed records that they should not have looked at. I’m constantly on edge that this is going to happen to me. Do you know how many “John Smith” patients we see in a week? What if I look at the wrong patient file and start mixing up the information on the patients? I don’t want to be fired for something that isn’t my fault and that could be prevented if we had a better system in place.
Another feature that I would like to see is that the system doesn’t allow for overbooking appointments. A feature like this would allow for us to react quickly to cancellations. It would allow us to fill and open appointments more efficiently.
Business Admin
1. What is your role in providing services to patients?
As a business admin, I am responsible for the logistical processes that occur from the time when a patient arrives until they depart. I also consider the patient experience before they arrive, and how they may engage with our online services.
When the patient arrives, I want to make sure that, if at all possible, the visit is scheduled, and we have the staff available to provide the services. We also need to ensure that the patient's insurance information is current, which allows us to bill the insurance provider soon after the services have been rendered. All copayments, if required, need to be collected from the patient when they arrive. It is also my team’s responsibility to ensure that there are enough time slots available in the day in the event that a patient needs to schedule an appointment on short notice. Overbooking will cause patients to experience a huge delay in time to service from their healthcare provider.
2. What do you dislike about the existing process and software system?
One of the issues that takes time to research is the patient’s healthcare provider information. If patients change jobs, their insurance information and copayment fees may all change. Not having this information accurate and accessible causes delays in providing a service to them.
There has also been a problem with inaccuracies. A patient may check in at our receptionist’s desk and we identify the patient with the scheduled medical procedure, but when the medical technician comes to pick them up, they have the wrong patient. There is an error in the current system that sometimes confuses the patient identity with the appointment that they are scheduled for.
3. What features and functions would you like to see in the new system to improve the process?
Prior to the patient’s visit, it would be advantageous to have the patient fill out an online form that captures current insurance provider information and medical history. This will speed up admittance time and get patients to the doctor/nurse for their medical examinations and services.
It would also be ideal if all of the systems would interact with each other in a more accurate way. There seem to be some glitches between the check-in system and the system that the medical technicians and nurses use. This is why we’re striving to have a more unified system for the entire organization to use. However, the important thing to keep in mind is that our staff should never be able to see and review a patient’s medical history, as it would violate MHC’s policies on privacy.
Pharmacist
1. What is your role in providing services to patients?
As a pharmacist, I have a goal to make sure that I fill the patient’s prescription as soon as possible, but also in a safe and cautious manner. I have to make sure that if the patient is taking existing medication, the new medication will not have any harmful drug interactions. Also, due to the cost of certain drugs, I may provide the patient with an alternative drug to reduce the costs.
2. What do you dislike about the existing process and software system?
Not having access to the patient’s drug history delays prescription delivery and adds to the risk of the patient’s care. I understand that there are certain aspects of a medical history that I should not have access to, but if I could have enough information to inform me as to why a patient is taking a medication, and the previous medications that they’ve taken, it would be helpful.
I also don’t like how there is no flashing alert when the system indicates that two drugs should not be taken together. Right now, it just says “Negative Drug Interaction; Do Not Take Together,” but there is no red alert that alarms me.
3. What features and functions would you like to see in the new system to improve the process?
I would like to have the ability to have all the drug history of a patient, but in a way that respects our patients’ privacy. I would also like to receive an alert message whenever the system searches for drug interactions that are not compatible with each other.
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