Relevance of the Sample Medical Practice Throughout the

component, Installation and Maintenance of Health IT Systems

Sunny Happy Care (SHC) Family Practice
Intructor !uideline
Activities have been created throughout this component referencing Sunny Happy Care
to provide a more relevant and consistent experience for the student. The example was
intentionally written to provide flexibility for the instructor, who can tailor the example to
best meet the specific needs for the component.
The Sunny Happy Care documentation includes:
An introductory lecture outlining Sunny Happy Care amily !ractice
"otes and guidelines for using SHC #This document$.
loor !lans for SHC amily !ractice. %ne with networ&ing ports, one without.
"arrative
SHC amily !ractice is a small, two'physician, outpatient practice which for many
years has used a traditional system of paper records and folders to manage patient
information, along with an electronic practice management system for appointments
and billing. Their nine employees consist of two physicians, two nurse practitioners
#"!s$, two nurses, a practice manager, a boo&&eeper, and an office cler&.
or several years, the physicians and "!s and their practice manager have had
growing interest in installing an electronic health records #(H)$ system. They
suspected it would bring efficiencies to their practice that would ultimately lead to
cost savings, but they have always been too intimidated by the cost and too
confused by the complex, changing (H) mar&et to seriously investigate a
purchase. *ith the advent of federal financial incentives to adopt healthcare
information technology #H+T$ however, ' along with the threat of future financial
penalties for failing to do so ' the SHC staff has decided the time is right to
purchase an (H).
Initial Step for Selecting an #HR
%ne of the initial steps The SHC ta&es is to ma&e a list of their top H+T goals ,
priorities:
-. Cost savings ' by increasing productivity, i.e. more operational growth without
hiring additional full time employees
Health +T *or&force Curriculum +nstallation and .aintenance of Health +T Systems -
/ersion 0.12Spring 31-3
This material (Comp8) was developed by Duke University funded by the Department of Health and Human Services !ffice of the
"ational Coordinator for Health #nformation Technolo$y under %ward "umber #U&'!C((((&')
3. 4ualify for ederal incentive dollars
0. 5ser'friendliness
6. e'prescribing, including electronic management of refill re7uests
8. )esult viewing and trac&ing, including images #i.e. !icture Archiving and
Communication Systems #!ACS$$
9. e'documentation
:. 4uality reporting #e.g. ;How many of my diabetic patients are at their target
hemoglobin A-c and blood pressure<;$
=. 5pdated practice management system< '' +n order to be compatible with the rest
of their new (H), do they need an upgrade< %r should they pursue robust
interfaces< +f a new system is chosen, they would want enhancements to:
a. scheduling of appointments
b. billing
As the staff of Sunny happy care family !ractice #SHC!$ progress through the
process of purchasing and installing their (H), they will encounter considerations
such as the following:
System cost ' up front as well as maintenance. How much of their current
e7uipment will still wor&<
.anaging wor&flow disruption during installation , training
+nterfaces to2with:
)eference labs #e.g. where they send their blood samples to be tested$
)adiology facilities #i.e. where they send their patients for x'rays, .)+s,
etc$
Functionality $e Cae
The chart below serves as an example of a typical functionality use case. SHC would
document similar cases for each relevant wor&flow component affected by installation
of the (H). (ach use case would detail current wor&flow patterns for each event as
well as the anticipated wor&flow improvements expected with the implementation of
the selected (H) system.
%oe &' "ure(Practitioner )rite a Precription for %ane &' Patient'
Pre(#HR Pot(#HR
>oe pulls out his prescription
pad and pen.
>oe activates the e'prescribing module within the (H).
>oe consults with a poc&et
drug reference to chec& the
usual dosing.
>oe searches for and selects the drug he wants to
prescribe, and he sees the usual doses, fre7uencies, etc,
presented as options on'screen.
>oe glances at >ane?s allergy The e'prescribing system chec&s behind the scenes to
Health +T *or&force Curriculum +nstallation and .aintenance of Health +T Systems 3
/ersion 0.12Spring 31-3
This material (Comp8) was developed by Duke University funded by the Department of Health and Human Services !ffice of the
"ational Coordinator for Health #nformation Technolo$y under %ward "umber #U&'!C((((&')
list to ma&e sure she is not
allergic to the new
medication.
see whether >ane is allergic to the selected medication or
whether it has any significant interactions with her other
current prescriptions.
>oe handwrites the drug
name and ;sig; #e.g. dose,
route, fre7uency, 7uantity,
refills$.
>oe fills in the re7uired data to complete the prescription.
+f it is a commonly'prescribed medication, he 7uic&ly
selects a complete prescription #i.e. drug, dose, route,
7uantity, refills, etc$ from a list of common options for that
drug.
>oe hands the handwritten
prescription paper to >ane for
her to bring to the pharmacy.
>oe as&s >ane, which pharmacy she uses, selects that
pharmacy in the system, transmits the e'prescription, and
tells >ane it should be available for pic&up shortly.
Health +T *or&force Curriculum +nstallation and .aintenance of Health +T Systems 0
/ersion 0.12Spring 31-3
This material (Comp8) was developed by Duke University funded by the Department of Health and Human Services !ffice of the
"ational Coordinator for Health #nformation Technolo$y under %ward "umber #U&'!C((((&')