The Integrated Case Study: Oncology Workflow

Posted: November 8th, 2023

The Integrated Case Study: Oncology Workflow

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The Integrated Case Study: Oncology Workflow

Users of the Workflow

Judging from the attached case study, the users of the workflow include members of staff and clinicians from both North and South Oncology. The first part of creating a workflow is determining the number and type of users to identify the different roles and processes (Karp, 2019). Based on the case study, the users are located in the group pages, meaning the workflow is based on user groups. The approach facilitates the establishment of a hierarchy that specifies users, user processes and the approval chain. Users at the top of the chain are responsible for approving requests and maintaining the approval user setup page. The approach is necessary to determine who receives a notification regarding workflow steps.

Opportunities to Expand or Develop the Capabilities of the EHR

            One must first gain a comprehensive understanding of what comprises the EHR system to identify development opportunities. The system is made up of a longitudinal section of health information, access by authorized users and healthcare delivery. The rapid expansion of technology in itself is an opportunity for expansion (Heart et al. 2017). The patient population is eager for the transformation to digital records, which is an opportunity for expansion. The medical facility should consider increasing the size of its centralized storage to improve access to store data. Centralization is also meant to ease the workload.

How the Future State Workflow Optimizes Electronic Documentation?

The workflow redesign process follows a mapping procedure meant to optimize individual processes. According to Koetter (2017), mapping EHR systems facilitates the creation of new workflows and the negation of redundant ones, which improves the delivery and quality of healthcare. The workflow redesign process entailed looking at human activities from an electronic perspective. The application of EHR functionalities in the documentation process helps guide the redesign process for the workflows. The streamlined activities will remove unnecessary roles, helping save resources while improving timeliness in healthcare delivery.

Effects of the Future State Workflow on Patient Care

            Workflow engines improve a healthcare institution’s ability to create, store, retrieve, access and interpret medical data. The result is enhanced medical awareness and knowledge in the respective facility (Lopez et al. 2021). The future workflow is also characterized with reduced workload as the system helps manage financial, clinical, administrative and operational processes using centralized and shared interfaces. The future workflow can help in decision making by showing people accountable for a decision and steps necessary to make a decision (Lopez et al. 2021). The approach also facilitates task allocation and time management.

How the Future State Workflow Changes Based on User Needs.

            Clinical processes and practices change based on shifting patient behaviours and requirements. The EHR system facilitates in-depth collection of patient data, which facilitates the individualization of patient care (Heart et al. 2017). A nurse or clinician can use the information to integrate particular practices in treatment that enhance the chances of recovery. For instance, chemotherapy includes faith for Christians to improve the spiritual aspect of healthcare. The system also enables care coordination and delivery improvement, which all contribute to a positive patient experience.

Developing an Improvement Plan

            The development of an improvement plan begins with collecting feedback from patients and clinicians on the usability and impact of the EHR system. Users can have critical insight regarding the software and workflow processes (Shah et al. 2020). Using the feedback, developers and management can align identified changes with corporate goals and priorities. Communication with the team is a must to ensure they are on the same page throughout the change process.

References

Heart, T., Ben-Assuli, O., & Shabtai, I. (2017). A review of PHR, EMR and EHR integration: A more personalized healthcare and public health policy. Health Policy and Technology, 6(1), 20-25.

Karp, E. L. (2019). Changes in efficiency and quality of nursing electronic health record documentation after implementation of an admission patient history essential data set. Computer Informatics Nursing, 260-265. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/CIN.0000000000000516

Koetter, L (2007). Workflow Opportunities and Challenges in Healthcare. Siemens Group.

Lopez, K. D., Chin, C. L., Azevedo, R. F. L., Kaushik, V., Roy, B., Schuh, W., … & Morrow, D. (2021). Electronic health record usability and workload changes over time for provider and nursing staff following transition to new EHR. Applied Ergonomics, 93, 103359.

Shah, T., Kitts, A. B., Gold, J. A., Horvath, K., Ommaya, A., Opelka, F., … & Sandy, L. (2020). Electronic health record optimization and clinician well-being: A potential roadmap toward action. NAM Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.31478/202008a

Appendix: Part 2 (Future Workflow)

Oncology Workflow Projected