Patient Record Management Information Systems (Prmiss) in Existence, but They Are Not Readily Usable Nor Are Their Designs Available for Improvement
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Researchjournali’s Journal of Information Technology Vol. 1 | No. 1 May | 2014 1 Patient Record Management Information System Adewale O Adebayo School of Computing and Engineering Sciences, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun, Nigeria Olugbake Kanyinsola School of Computing and Engineering Sciences, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun, Nigeria Toluhi David School of Computing and Engineering Sciences, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun, Nigeria www.researchjournali.com Researchjournali’s Journal of Information Technology Vol. 1 | No. 1 May | 2014 2 Abstract The purpose and essence of any records management system is to provide the right information in the right place, in the right order, at the right time for the right person at the lowest cost. This is better achieved by a computer-based system. There are some patient record management information systems (PRMISs) in existence, but they are not readily usable nor are their designs available for improvement. The main objective of this research was, therefore, to design and develop a PRMIS that would automate patient information management and give direct benefit in certain terms, whilst avoiding any confusion that would jeopardize the quality of patient care. The research strategy was design and creation, and the software development model used was the waterfall. The design and implementation of PRMIS is presented, a veritable stepping stone. Keywords: Patient Record, Hospital Management, Management Information System, Patient Record management, Record Management 1. Introduction Patient Management Information Systems (PMISs) are comprehensive, integrated information systems designed to manage the information of patients of a hospital and manage the service processes. Hospitals are becoming more reliant on the capability of patient management information system to assist in the diagnosis process and management, for better and improved services and practices. The main goal of PMISs is to streamline the flow of information across the hospital towards effective decision making for patient care, in an optimized and efficient manner. Recording of patient information, be it medical, personal, financial or legal, or recording of medical personnel information on paper is at risk of thievery, fire outbreaks, misplacement by employees and even petty things such as handwriting legibility. An automated PMIS will be necessary because there are a lot of difficulties in maintaining a large amount of information on paper, especially as there is usually no back-up for the information, access to information can prove difficult and time-consuming if it has to be searched for, and accuracy is needed in the recording of vital information, and chief medical personnel cannot oversee all that is written on the vast amount of paper to be used. It is, therefore, vital for a healthcare organization such as a hospital to have an automated patient management information system. There are a number of hospital management applications, open source and non-open source, but they are usually difficult to customize or proprietary and expensive, and their designs are not readily available for appreciation and improvements. The aim of this research is, therefore, to design and create a patient record management system that would enhance information integrity, reduce transcription errors by minimizing the chances of wrong documentation, reduce duplication of information entries, optimize report turnaround time, www.researchjournali.com Researchjournali’s Journal of Information Technology Vol. 1 | No. 1 May | 2014 3 reduce the chances of pilferage as related data would be readily available electronically, and maintain records of indoor and outdoor patients. The research strategy was design and creation (Oates, 2009). The development model employed for the project was the waterfall model (Hughes & Cotterell, 2009) because the project‟s requirements were clear and understood before the commencement of design and development. Interview and direct observation data collection methods were utilized at two hospitals to gather information about patient record management. In addition, extant literatures were reviewed and existing software providing similar facilities were examined for enlightenment and possible improvement. The resultant application was evaluated within certain limits. No exceptional difficulty of being ethical researcher was encountered. Effective management of information in any organization is vital for the optimal maintenance and growth of that organization. Management of information in healthcare organisation can in some cases be the difference between life and death. Hence, a healthcare organization such as a hospital will benefit from system such as the proposed, and its design is available for adoption and improvement. 2. The Patient Record Management System The system specification describes the functional and non-functional requirements posed on a system element (Modelli, 2010). The Use Case diagrams, Figures 1 to 4, present the Receptionist, Nurse, Doctor, and Administrator, the key hospital entities, requirements of the system. The attendant processes flowcharts are shown in Figures 5 to 8, respectively. Login Receptionist Login Register Patient View Patient Record Search for Patient Record Edit Patient Record Save Patient record as pdf-document Logout Figure 1 - Receptionist Requirements www.researchjournali.com Researchjournali’s Journal of Information Technology Vol. 1 | No. 1 May | 2014 4 Login Login View Patient Record Nurse Search for Patient Record Assign Patient to Ward Assign Patient to Bed Login Assign Patient to Room Login Logout Login Figure 2 - Nurse Requirement Login Login Create New Staff Record Administrator Search for Staff Record Assign Staff to Department Delete Staff record Logout Login Figure 3 - Administrator Requirements Login Login View Patient Record Doctor Upload patient Diagnosis Summary Search For patient record Logout Login Figure 4 - Doctor Requirements www.researchjournali.com Researchjournali’s Journal of Information Technology Vol. 1 | No. 1 May | 2014 5 Start Login Validation details NO Validation successful YES Register Patient View patient record Search for patient Edit patient record record Save patient record Update database NO Logout YES Stop Figure 5 - Receptionist Processes Flowchart Start Login Validation details NO Validation successful YES View patient record Search for patient Assign patient Assign patient record to ward/bed to bed Update database NO Logout YES Stop Figure 6 - Nurse processes www.researchjournali.com Researchjournali’s Journal of Information Technology Vol. 1 | No. 1 May | 2014 6 Start Login Validation details NO Validation successful YES View patient record Search for patient Upload patient record diagnosis summary Update database NO Logout YES Stop Figure 7 - Doctor processes Start Login Validation details NO Validation successful YES Create staff record Search for staff Assign staff to Delete staff /patient record department record Update database NO Logout YES Stop Figure 8 - Administrator processes www.researchjournali.com Researchjournali’s Journal of Information Technology Vol. 1 | No. 1 May | 2014 7 Some of the algorithms formulated include Login, Register User, Add a Record, Edit Record, and Delete Record algorithms. These pseudo codes detail the processes much like the flow charts. The Login algorithm, for example, follows: - System startup - Enter login details - On click of login button - Connect to database - Database query for user login verification authenticity - If inauthentic - Deny access and return to login page with error message - If authentic - Allow login - Set administrator session - Re-direct administrator to home page with administrator-privilege access - If not administrator - Allow login - Set user session - Re-direct user to home page with user-privilege access 2.1 Database Design The database had to be designed in a particular manner, as one of the core elements of any management information system. The entities about which data is required include the Patient, Staff, Appointment, Prescription, Departments, Patient Diagnosis History, Patient Family Medical History, Patient Medical History, Admission, Wards and Responsible Party. A number of the required attributes are presented in Tables 1 to 9, as part of the physical database design. This process started at the analysis phase of the project, to identify the necessary entities and relations, and their attributes, leading to determination of tables required for the database and the associated field names, format and length of each table. The Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD), which is a graphical representation of the relationship between the entities, and their attributes within proposed database of the system, is shown in Figure 9. www.researchjournali.com Researchjournali’s Journal of Information Technology Vol. 1 | No. 1 May | 2014 8 Table1: Patient Details Table Table 2: Staff details table www.researchjournali.com Researchjournali’s Journal of Information Technology Vol. 1 | No. 1 May | 2014 9 Table 3: Department Table Table 4: Patient Diagnosis History Table Table 5: Patient Family Medical History Table www.researchjournali.com Researchjournali’s Journal of Information Technology Vol. 1 | No. 1 May | 2014 10 Table 6: Patient Medical History Table 7: Admission Table www.researchjournali.com Researchjournali’s Journal of Information Technology Vol. 1 | No. 1 May | 2014 11 Table 8: Wards Table Table 9: Responsible Party Table Figure