Recording Keeping Techniques - Case Study Example

Project Plan Management By Student’s Name Course Code Class Institution Date Executive summary Data storage is an important aspect in health facilities. All medical records are supposed to be properly stored and easily accessed. Jeddah Hospital currently holding 300-bed capacity is to be expanded to 500-bed capacity. This calls for drastic measures to be put in place for all records to be readily available. Scanning of medical records will be a better method. Scanning enables storage of large amounts of archived data. The primary storage needs to be readily available since it is updated more often. This requires a fixed primary storage of archived files. This project looks at all the recording keeping techniques in order to obtain the best method. The medical records should be kept in a way that that promotes efficiency at workplace. This will translate to better operations in the medical facility. In time, the efficiency will be improved. In addition, the operational cost will be low and the staff will be motivated. The medical records will also have to be safe. This is because the files contain sensitive patients’ information. The code of conduct is very strict on privacy of the data. The data should not be available to anybody except only authorized staff. This project looks at the steps that will be undertaken to achieve this goal. The project plan will undertake an analysis of the scanning of the archived medical records. It will also look at the scanning of the primary storage and fixed units for the primary storage. Introduction and Background Information Jeddah Hospital is a metropolitan hospital that currently utilizes a paper based medical records. The majority of archived files are stored in an off-site storage while the other primary storage is in a small department onsite. The primary storage consists of medical records mostly from the patients’ admission over the last two years. Currently Jeddah Hospital has 300-bed capacity and is intended for some expansions over the next 3 years. In 2017, it is estimated that the bed capacity will be 500. This calls for a better storage of the medical records. Data access currently is a bit hard. This can be in the case where a patient has been admitted and reference has to be made to previous record. If the medical record of the patient is 5years old, it means the record is at the off-site location. This makes it hard for the staff to retrieve it to make a follow up of medical history. It is time consuming to retrieve the medical records in the present record keeping system. The fact that some records are at an off-site location and some at the facility, complicates the process of retrieving patient information. The current system is inefficient. The bed capacity poised to double the present status, which translates to overhauling of the medical record storage. The way records are stored presently should be changed to enable an efficient system. The present system does not promote privacy of various medical records. The system fails to keep track of the activities involving access and retrieval of the patients’ medical records. The proposed system will increase file holding capacity, create adequate space for movements during medical operations and enhance security of the medical records. Objectives and Scope of the Project Objectives The main objective of this project was to design a better storage of medical records in readiness of the expansion of the hospital. Specific objectives i. To provide a mobile storage unit for archived records. The mobile storage unit will enhance efficiency in retrieving medical records for former patients at the hospital. ii. To establish a fixed storage unit for of primary medical records iii. To establish biometric measures in the storage room to enable only authorized personnel to access the medical records. iv. To establish a colour code for the different medical records to enable faster file access. The colour coding criteria enables various individuals at the hospital to identify medical records for patients attended to at a particular date. In addition, it enables clarification of the files based on the type of treatment received by the patient. Scope The scope of the project was to establish an efficient method of file storage. This ought to follow the regulations set by the health sector. This is to be achieved by scanning and changing the mode of storage unit. Project Structure and Governance The project structure and governance focuses on the management framework from which the project decisions will be made. In addition, this report will lay down the project accountability and the responsibilities. This will provide guidance during the implementation of the entire project. Jeddah Hospital has an organizational chart, which will be followed in order to provide a clear roadmap and accountability. The project manager will provide guidance in creating a robust, repeatable and logical framework to govern Jeddah Hospital’s capital investments. A governance committee structure will be established and followed throughout this plan. Project steering committee, the board and the stakeholder groups will be consulted at all stages. Jeddah Hospital’s Programme Board will govern this project and at the same time govern other related works in order to ensure that the effect of this project is at a streamline level with the other works. Members of the board will consist of representatives from all levels of Jeddah Hospital. These will include each from the management, doctor, nurses, support staff, government representative, legal adviser and the community representative (Armoni, 2000). The information will be the core, which entails storage of medical records. This will have to be availed to the committee for decision-making. (Hubbard, 2009)The project manager will assume the leadership and accountability role. This role will enable the project to be accountable for successful completion. Project manager will oversee the implementation. This is because the project manager understands the organization well. (Roehrig 2006) The next step deals with the project ownership independent of asset ownership. This goal is to enable the project plan to meet Jeddah Hospital’s fundamental needs. However, project ownership will be given to a specialist party that is not a stakeholder in this project. The specialist will understand the hospital’s working environment well. There will be a separation of stakeholder management and project decision-making activities. This will enable the committee to be up to speed with all the developments. The separation of the management roles is to prevent wasting more time explaining to the committee the developments (Armoni, 2000). However, the needs of all stakeholders will be addressed in order to avoid discriminatory cases. This working criteria creates a better working relationship and to prevent any conflict during the entire project. According to experts, project governance structure will be separated with the organizational governance structure. This separation creates more flexibility and speed of decision-making. The project will have an approved plan that will be reviewed to be approved. All decisions made at authorization points will be recorded and communicated to all. The project business will be supported by relevant information to provide a basis of making authorization decisions. The roles of the project sponsors will be strictly adhered to. The three areas of responsibilities are the board, project manager and stakeholders of the project. The board will be provided with leadership about the culture and real values. This is to enable the project to be aligned with Jeddah hospital’s strategy. It will also govern the project risk, work with all relevant sponsors and focus on the realization of benefits. It will also recommend the opportunities to optimize the coasts and benefits. This ensures continuity of sponsorship and then provides feedback, lessons learnt and assurance. The project manager will be provided with timely decisions, clarify the framework of decision-making and strategies. They will access resources for enhancing effective implementation of the project. The project manager also promotes good relationship among the parties involved in the project, which encourages ethical working. The stakeholders will be consulted in the project implementation process. The sponsor will direct the relationship of the clients and govern the communication. It will also direct the governance of suppliers (Eagle, 2009). Project Resources The fundamental core of this project plan is to make it profitable. All the resources used will be detailed to have a clear budget. This detailing of the resources ensures the project plan is undertaken within the limited budget. It also creates more accountability and can be used for future reference in case another plan will need to be undertaken. The project resource will examine both the human resource and the tools that used to undertake this project. This project focuses on the medical files storage where mobile storage system the best choice for the project. The mobile system offers a more spacious alternative in relation to the traditional method (McGivern et al. 2012). The layout of the filing system is flexible and can easily accommodate all medical records. The size is big enough to fit all relevant medical records. It can also store more than 60% of files more than the drawer type storage. It utilizes the height and is good for easy movement within the storage unit. The mobile storage will be customized to fit and suit the storage room. The system will be modular and can easily be added or relocated. The format will range from six bays deep inside to maximize the space. Decor panels will be fitted. These fitting of panels enable it to match the office décor and the desktops. The mobile record storage system will be critical in reducing the space occupied by fixed systems. In addition, retrieval of various records easiness because of customized arrangement of the system (Wegman, 2011). The medical files will need to be secured and placed where there is privacy. For this to be achieved, biometric measures will be implemented. The traditional door lock is not safe since anybody can sneak and take the keys and gain access to the storage room. The best biometric method is the fingerprint reader. The iris identification is more expensive to install and costly to maintain (Schatz & Berlin, 2011). Fingerprint scanners are readily available and can be installed. It is also cheap to maintain over a short and long period. Fingerprint scanners enhance privacy of patients’ medical records. The incorporation of fingerprint scanners ensure that only authorised individuals access the information. The scanners will also keep track of the time a particular medical record is retrieved. It will also indicate the details of the personnel who access the medical records (Eagle, 2009). Construction of the mobile storage will be such that it will be around seven bays high. Shelf compartments will be made. This is to ensure the heavy medical files are intact. To reduce timing to retrieve the files, new files will be bought. The colour code will be utilized. In this way, files of a particular year will have one colour and then they will be placed in shelves compartment in the monthly order. In addition, magnetic label holders will be used. The human resource will be minimal. This is because the project is not a labour-intensive work. Payment will be done on a daily basis for the hours worked (Fred, Filipe & Gamboa, 2013). The costs associated with implementing the plan are summarized in the table below. This is the current market value with some allowance limit of $200 in case the dollar appreciates or the cost/labour amount changes. Table 1: The project budget Item Quantity Rate $ Total cost ($) Biometric fingerprint reader 1 65 65 Mobile shelf l/sum 2,000 2000 Medical files(coded colour) 100,000 0.5 50,000 Casual labourers 3 $90 per person per day for 7days 1,890 Décor panels 10 10 100 TOTAL COST 54,055 Table 1: Budget amount Stakeholder Identification Stakeholder refers to all people that will be affected either directly or indirectly by this project plan. They are diverse and consideration must be looked at all. The identification of the stakeholders will be done in relation to the project governance. Emphasis will be put on the baseline stakeholders. Identification of all supplier and client stakeholder in relation to the project is established. The developers are those that will analyse, design and be able to program. The maintenance staff and project manager are part of this team (Fred, Filipe & Gamboa, 2013). The decision makers are the different committee members and they include the board, policy makers and all management (Freeman 1984). The clients in this case the patients will be asked for their opinions on how they prefer their medical records are to be stored. Part of stakeholders also consists of the hospital staff. These are the medical and non-medical support staff. The owner also helps in the undertaking of this project. They set out the budget constraints and time required for the project (Poulodi 1997). Risk Identification In any project there are risks. Risks will be identified and mitigated to ensure the project does not stall along the way. Risks involving liquidity has been examined. This funding liquidity risk is the risk that results from limited resources allocated to the project. Financial liquidity will be eliminated laying out detailed budget as expected (Fred, Filipe & Gamboa, 2013). There is also legal risk. This refers to mostly the case of medical records privacy. The medical records will have to be safe and no sharing to third party will be allowed. This will be addressed by setting out the rules expected in handling of patients’ records. Operational risks will be evaluated in order to determine the feasibility of the project. The project proposes the setting up of mobile storage of archived medical records. In case of a fire, it will be easy to evacuate all the records. Maintenance of the biometric measures will also be done timely to minimize the chance of it failing since it will be the way to gain access to the storage room (Fred, Filipe & Gamboa, 2013). Change in Management method Whenever a new system is implemented, there is always some resistance from some quarters of the stakeholders. A change in management will be done to assess the readiness Jeddah Hospital with respect to implementation of the new storage system. An assessment of both short term and long-term impacts of the project at Jeddah Hospital is done. To avert management resistance, all stakeholders will be briefed at all stages of the project. This is to ensure accountability and flexibility for all (Moumtzoglou & Kastania, 2011).Those who deal with medical record handling will be coached and trained. Authorized personnel will be shown how they expect to access the storage room. In addition, they will also be coached on the new method of storing files. This training entails the color-coding method evaluation (Moumtzoglou & Kastania, 2011). Table 2: Gantt’s Chart Appendix A References Hubbard, Douglas. 2009. The Failure of Risk Management: Why It's Broken and How to Fix It. John Wiley & Sons. p. 46. David, Hillson and Ruth, Murray. 2007. Understanding and Managing Risk Attitude. Gower Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-566-08798-1. Retrieved 17 April 2012. McGivern, Gerry and Fischer, Michael. D. 2012. Reactivity and reactions to regulatory transparency in medicine, psychotherapy and counselling. Social Science & Medicine74 (3): 289–296. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.09.035. Roehrig, P. 2006. "Bet On Governance To Manage Outsourcing Risk". Business Trends Quarterly. Armoni, A. 2000. Healthcare information systems (1st ed.). Hershey, Pa.: Idea Group Pub. Eagle, S. 2009. The Professional Medical Assistant (1st ed.). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co. Fred, A., Filipe, J and Gamboa, H. 2013. Biomedical engineering systems and technologies (1st ed.). Berlin: Springer. Moumtzoglou, A and Kastania, A. 2011. E-health systems quality and reliability (1st ed.). Hershey PA: Medical Information Science Reference. Schatz, B and Berlin, R. 2011. Healthcare infrastructure (1st ed.). London: Springer. Wegman, D. 2011. Incorporating occupational information in electronic health records (1st ed.). Washington DC: National Academies Press. Read More