The Patient Administration Solution Project - Report Example

Author’s name Instructors’ name Course Date Abstract The following paper discusses the Patient Administration Solution project, which is spear headed by the State government. The government has come up with a strategy to ensure that clinical decisions and services are harmonized in a systematic manner in the entire State. A case study of Royal Prince Hamlet Hospital (RPH) has been carried out to assess the viability of the PAS project Lewis, J. P. (2010). Therefore, this report analyses the case presented and provides some tips on how well the project can be done from the management point of view. Introduction The synchronization of health services in all departments and regions in a country is important and a welcome move. In light of this, the State Government has come up with strategies of ensuring that the process of making clinical decision is eased at al levels of government institutions. One of these conditions is by coming up with Patient Administration Solution (PAS). This project is expected to roll out in a couple of years through the use of available resources in the Department of Health Project Management Institute. (2004), However, to assess the feasibility of this project, the government has decided to pick Royal Prince Hamlet Hospital (RPH) to offer a pilot study of the project. This is the largest teaching hospital situated at the sub-urban area of Sydney. This case study showed that each regional hospital has its own way of operating and therefore little changes are needed in order to integrate the PAS in their system. Further, for this project to be successful, best project practices must be instilled by project managers at all levels. They need to apply their experience in ensuring that expected results coincide with the actual results in the project. This should apply to all stakeholders including management teams. In ensuring that this is achieved, there are different areas that need to be addressed. These areas of concern in the PAS project have been discussed below: Scope Validation of the PAS Project According to Meredith (2012), scope of a project indicates the extent or areas to which the project will cover. However, there are very critical factors to be considered in defining the scope of a project. These include the time and available resources. Depending on the availability of these factors, the projects scope can be prolonged or minimized. The main objective of a project is to see the verifiability of the deliverables. There are therefore some areas of the project which are not under ‘critical factors’ that can be ignored for a given time. Further some other considerations that could help in defining the scope include: The goals of the PAS project Risks involved in some areas of the project Determining the critical success factors The expected product or service of the entire PAS project Stakeholder’s expectations and abilities, such as customers, management teams and sponsors (State and Regional Governments). The above factors could be helpful in determining the scope of the project. At the same time, it is critical to consult the other stakeholders who include the State Government, Department of Health, Regional Health Services, management teams among others. It will ensure that a consensus is reached on what can be avoided at a particular stage of the project. Other measures include: Adding resources to ensure that all tasks are completed in the PAS project Extending the deadline of the project to ensure all deliverable are met If impossible, tasks or even duration to tasks can as well be added. Stakeholder Management Stakeholder management, in the words of Wysocki (2004), is very crucial in project. It is a process through which one analyses the roles and responsibilities of everyone participating in the project implementation. It helps in ensuring that one wins the support of the entire team for the successful implementation process. In the PAS project, there are several stakeholders with different roles. However, the four main project stakeholders include: The State government through the department of health The Royal Prince Hamlet Hospital (RPH) The Central IT Policy Group (ITPG) The Central Program Office Each of the above stakeholders has a role to play in the implementation of the PAS project. The Health Department under the State Government has one of the major roles which include ensuring that proper and long time strategies are formulated to improve health services in the entire State Klein (2008); the government is also the major sponsor of the project. At the same time, through the Health Department, the State Government has tasked the Central IT Policy Group to advise and coordinate all regions so that they can integrate and benefit from the laid out infrastructural facilities. The other role of this department is to ensure that the PAS project is rolled out in the entire State through the Central Program Office. On other hand, the Royal Prince Hamlet Hospital (RPH) is playing a critical role of providing a case study in the ability of the PAS project. This is amongst the largest teaching hospitals, strategically placed around Sydney. It acts as the government operating center since it hosts the Central Sydney Area Health Service (CSAHS). It will also act as a reference case once the project is rolled out to other hospitals and ensuring that the same standards are maintained. Further, the Central IT Policy Group (ITPG) is another stakeholder which is entitled to ensure that the PAS system’s cost is minimized as much as possible to reduce maintenance expenses. This is because after the project has been implemented, it may be challenging to some regional health services in maintaining the system. At the same time, by retaining the core PAS system, the group ensures that future upgrading process will be easy even to the suppliers. Finally, the Central Program Office is under the department of health of the State Authorities. The main objective is making sure that the State’s health projects are effectively carried put in the entire nation. Therefore, the role of this office in the PAS project is to ensure that the rolling out is successful Fleming,(2003), The office is tasked to consult widely from the other large hospitals in the State, in order to come up with the best practices to be incorporated in the PAS system. Time Management in PAS Time management is a factor which must be incorporated at all stages of project implementation. It manifests itself in the deadlines with which given tasks are to be completed and also the amount of time an activity must take. Good tine management ensures that all project timelines are met. Some of the major milestones to be considered in the PAS project include: Time for PAS planning The management team needs to set aside enough time to plan in each of the first four chosen hospitals. The plan should involve activities to be carried out in a certain phase of the project in a given hospital. At the same time, an estimate of how long each activity would take. According to Lewis (2010), resources should then be allocated in time, including the personnel such as managers, team members and specific bodies among others. Activities should then be allocated over time including the deadline of every task. Time in PAS progress monitoring= Once the project has commenced, it is advisable to monitor the progress including deadlines. However, incase activity cannot be completed within the deadline, then adjusting work schedules is recommended. For instance, each Regional Health Service has its way of operation and therefore same timelines may not apply. Time in PAS project reporting Project reporting is essential in the project implementation process. However, this should be done in the actual timelines. Klein (2008) suggests that project report should also be accurate and understandable. An explanation why some tasks progress more quickly or slowly than others should be given out. A work breakdown structure could work well in the PAS project. PAS Progress Monitoring (Cost and Time) It is prudent to calculate Earned Value in the process of implementing PAS project. Earned Value is a technique that relates the budgeted cost of performance to the actual output in the implementation of a project at a given period of time (Wysocki, 2004) this is important in knowing the delivery status of the PAS project. In determining the Earned Value, a single activity is considered at a given time. The percentage level of work completed is calculated and then multiplied by the Budgeted at Completion (BAC) work. Formula: Earned Value = Current Task Level Percent Complete (%C) X BAC In the case of the PAS, therefore, one could take an activity, say making changes in the automated systems in a regional hospital, with a target of two months. After the end of this period, the percentage (%) of the work done is taken and then multiplied by the expected results. If the figure is below the budgeted one, then adjustments will be needed to ensure that performance is improved Rics Construction Faculty. (2007), In determining cost or schedule overruns, the planned cost or time and the actual cost or time of a project activity should be subtracted in finding the variance of the two variables. Quality in the PAS project Quality requirement of the PAS project need to be fulfilled. As a team manager, one of the main measures to ensure that quality is maintained is by monitoring the performance of the team members. He needs to review the planned results against the actual performance and determine the variance. The next factor could include ensuring that the people working on the PAS system are qualified and with expected skills. Project Management Institute (2004) observes that in the case of project planning and designing, time a major factor that should be employed in the control and performance enhancement. It can be monitored by ensuring that deadlines are met. In the building stage, the main aim is to have strong qualified team that will deliver the expected results. Monitoring personnel’s performance could be a good way of ensuring that they deliver. PAS Project Procurement Fleming (2003), states that the process of project procurement consists of identification of good services or products from a vendor or supplier. In ensuring that clear roles and responsibilities are defined as well as ensuring delivery is done in time in PAS project, the following factors are necessary: Planning contract in advance including the steps to be taken incase one breaches the same. Reviewing the reliability of the supplier Administering contracts Outlining responsibility and obligations of the supplier Clearly defining objectives, targets and goals of the project. PAS Project Closure It is important to ensure that a project is closed properly. In the case of the PAS, some of the lessons learned from the trial are that there is need to: Get enough funding Proper planning, including budgeting Training of doctors and nurses in advance Involvement of staff and clinicians is necessary in decision making Old computer interface should be changed However, Rics Construction Faculty (2007) contends that many managers ignore this stage of the project implementation. The signing off should involve all stakeholders after all parties are satisfied with the results. The PAS Project Communication The communication factor in project management refers to who, when and what kind of information should be availed. Some of the information expected to a senior management or stakeholders include: Any issue arising from the project Risks involved at a given stage of the project Cost or budget Acton taken and decisions agreed upon, among other factors. However, it should be noted that proper documents should be used in communicating, such as issue list, statement of work, project reports and so on Conclusion As Stated earlier on, the decision to enhance clinical services in the entire State is a bold move. However, the inclusion of all parties, especially clinical staff and administration staff, is necessary. This will foster the successful implementation of the PAS project. Finally, more resources should be availed to ensure that the project is able to cover all areas of health services. Bibliography Fleming, Q. W. (2003). Project procurement management : Project contracting, teaming. Tustin, Calif, FMC Press. Klein, H. (2008). Basics project planning. Basel, Birkhäuser. Lewis, J. P. (2010). Project planning. Chicago, Ill, Irwin. Meredith, J. R., & Mantel, S. J. (2012). Project management: a managerial approach. Hoboken, NJ, Wiley. Project Management Institute. (2004). A guide to the project management body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide). Newtown Square, Pa, Project Management Institute. Rics Construction Faculty. (2007). Project monitoring. Coventry, RICS Books. United States. (2009). Donor coordination and project monitoring practices: foreign economics assistance project study : report. [Washington], The Office. Wysocki, R. K. (2004). Project management process improvement. Boston, Artech House. Read More