For the Course Project, you are asked to research a healthcare  organization, health information functions, and information technology  used at this facility. Your report should identify the type of  healthcare setting, identify services offered, identify users of health  information and their needs, discuss how user needs are met, describe  health information functions performed at this organization, and  describe at least one information system used in this facility along  with the system's functions and role in healthcare delivery. Application  of knowledge attained in this class will support your ability to  critically analyze your findings, to assess the strengths and weaknesses  of this organization's health information technologies, and provide  recommendations for improvement as may be appropriate to the situation.  This project is valued at 240 points (24% of your grade). Examples of the types of healthcare organization that may be  appropriate subjects for this type of project include hospitals,  hospital systems, integrated healthcare systems, multispecialty medical  clinics, physician practice offices, ambulatory surgical centers, mental  health service providers, public health clinics, rehabilitation or  long-term care facilities, insurance companies, pharmacies, Urgent care  clinics, etc. The organization chosen must be complex enough to offer  sufficient challenge and must be realistic in terms of information  available at a level needed to complete the project in the required time  frame. For example, an assisted living facility that does not make use  of information systems would not be appropriate for this project. There is no need to, nor would it be appropriate to access any  confidential patient information in order to complete the project. The best learning experience is obtained when you go through a  dynamic communication process with people in the chosen healthcare  organization. It is preferred that you interview someone who works in  health information management (HIM director, coder, someone in the  registration area, someone working with health information systems,  release of information, billing, etc.); however, interviews with  physicians, nurses, or other clinicians or administrative assistants  will work, too. Yes, it may take several attempts and different modes of  communications to secure an interview but you need to be persistent,  proactive, and adaptive in order to achieve your goal: the interview. If  your communication attempts and/or completion of the interview fails,  you may consider using your own experience in using health information  systems, or research AHIMA resources, articles, and case studies  available online or library resources. In such cases, reach out to the  professor for more guidance. For successful completion of the project, please follow the  guidelines below and comply with the criteria listed in the grading  rubric for deliverables, organization, grammar, and resourcefulnes ...

1. For the Course Project, you are asked to research a healthcare
organization, health information functions, and information
technology used at this facility. Your report should identify the
type of healthcare setting, identify services offered, identify
users of health information and their needs, discuss how user
needs are met, describe health information functions performed
at this organization, and describe at least one information
system used in this facility along with the system's functions
and role in healthcare delivery. Application of knowledge
attained in this class will support your ability to critically
analyze your findings, to assess the strengths and weaknesses
of this organization's health information technologies, and
provide recommendations for improvement as may be
appropriate to the situation. This project is valued at 240 points
(24% of your grade).
Examples of the types of healthcare organization that may be
appropriate subjects for this type of project include hospitals,
hospital systems, integrated healthcare systems, multispecialty
medical clinics, physician practice offices, ambulatory surgical
centers, mental health service providers, public health clinics,
rehabilitation or long-term care facilities, insurance companies,
pharmacies, Urgent care clinics, etc. The organization chosen
must be complex enough to offer sufficient challenge and must
be realistic in terms of information available at a level needed
to complete the project in the required time frame. For
example, an assisted living facility that does not make use of
information systems would not be appropriate for this project.
There is no need to, nor would it be appropriate to access any
confidential patient information in order to complete the
project.

2. The best learning experience is obtained when you go through a
dynamic communication process with people in the chosen
healthcare organization. It is preferred that you interview
someone who works in health information management (HIM
director, coder, someone in the registration area, someone
working with health information systems, release of
information, billing, etc.); however, interviews with
physicians, nurses, or other clinicians or administrative
assistants will work, too. Yes, it may take several attempts and
different modes of communications to secure an interview but
you need to be persistent, proactive, and adaptive in order to
achieve your goal: the interview. If your communication
attempts and/or completion of the interview fails, you may
consider using your own experience in using health information
systems, or research AHIMA resources, articles, and case
studies available online or library resources. In such cases,
reach out to the professor for more guidance.
For successful completion of the project, please follow the
guidelines below and comply with the criteria listed in the
grading rubric for deliverables, organization, grammar, and
resourcefulness.
Describe and analyze the chosen healthcare facility.
Location - where is the organization located.
Type of setting - acute care hospital, skilled nursing facility,
physicians office, surgical center, insurance company, etc.
Size of the facility - research the number of beds if applicable
or other information on the size.
Ownership - private, government owned, proprietary, voluntary,

3. etc.
Population served
Services offered
Any accreditation or certification facts (You can find these from
the organization's website, by searching accrediting
organizations, such as The Joint Commission at
https://www.jointcommission.org/ (Links to an external
site.)Links to an external site.
,
https://www.qualitycheck.org/ (Links to an external site.)Links
to an external site.
or DNV GL Healthcare at
http://dnvglhealthcare.com/hospitals (Links to an external
site.)Links to an external site.
or by asking questions during the interview).
Work on this section after completing Week 2 content and
reviewing Chapter 2 - Draft due on Week 4, Final Project due
on Week 7.
Describe users of the health information and health information
management functions at this organization.
Internal users, such as physicians, nurses, administrators,
coders, support services, therapists, pharmacists, etc.)

4. External users depending on the type of the facility, such as
accrediting agencies, payors, state department of health, CMS,
and others as applicable.
Patients - do they access health information through a patient
portal.
Explain whether this facility has paper medical records only,
electronic only, or both/hybrid.
Describe how users access these records (in whatever format).
Describe health information functions performed at this
organization such as patient registration, master patient index,
quality checks, record filing, scanning, retrieval coding,
billing, record storage, release of information, dictation, claims
processing, health information transmission, registries, data
abstraction, auditing, data transfer, patient education on using
the patient portal, etc. (Note that not all of these functions may
apply depending on the type of organization. You need to
figure out as much as you can which ones apply and clarify that
in your writing.)
Identify any health information functions that may be
outsourced and performed by another company or vendor. If
possible, obtain the name of that company.
Based on what you learned (through your readings, research,
and the interview), share your interest in the health information
functions - which ones seems more appealing to you at this
time; why; what would you need to do to work in such
function; and any other comments.

5. Work on this section after completing Week 3 content and
reviewing Chapters 1 and 3 - Draft due on Week 4, Final
Project due on Week 7.
Describe information technology or information systems used in
the facility.
Identify the name of the system and the vendor (e.g., Chart
Locator software by 3M, Sunrise software by Eclipsys, etc.). If
you have chosen to describe a technology, identify its name,
such as Picture Archiving and Communication Technology
(PACS).
Describe the system as explained by the interviewer or other
sources of information. Consider the following questions or
prompts in your description:
What is the purpose or function; what does the system do? For
example: registration, billing, coding, computerized physician
order entry [CPOE], nursing notes, picture archiving
communication system [PACS], medication administration, e-
prescribing, claims processing, finance system, etc.)
What type of data is entered in it; where does the data come
from (manual entry, transfer from another system, etc.); what
does the system do with that data (store only?; allows editing?,
allows updates?; enable transmission to another organization?)
Does the system generate any reports; does it have any
analytical tools? If so, how is it used in decision-making?

6. Is this system considered part of the electronic health record
(EHR)? If so, based on your knowledge, comment on whether
the system would be considered a source, core clinical "EHR",
supporting infrastructure, or connectivity system.
Does the system connect to or interface with other systems? If
so, which ones? What does that connection or interface do?
Why is it needed?
Is the system user friendly (easy to use)? Is the screen layout
efficient?
Is the system secure? Does the system have built-in tools to
assure data completeness and accuracy? Does the system go
down often?
Do vendors support the maintenance and updates of the system?
What do users do if they have a problem or a glitch? Who helps
them resolve it?
Classify the system (to the best of your ability) based on the
description you are given (e.g., clinical, administrative,
decision support, transaction-processing, MIS, EIS, etc.) and
what you have learned from Sayles, chapters 14 and 15.
Describe strengths (e.g., ask about benefits of using this system;
has it made a difference in the way care is delivered and
decisions are made?).

7. Describe weaknesses (e.g., functions that the system does not
currently perform and you would like it to perform).
Ask the interviewer on whether he/she has been involved during
the systems development life cycle (SDLC). If so, try to learn
about their input or impressions from that involvement. It could
have been something related to planning, implementation,
training, conversion, participation in a demo from a vendor
who designed the system, etc.
Try to find out if the organization is part of a health information
exchange (HIE). Also, try to find out if the organization is
engaged in a recent AHIMA initiative, called information
governance. Write your findings.
Ask if it is possible to see copies of a screenshot, policies and
procedures, brochures, training guidelines, or anything else
that they may be willing to share.
Keep in mind that these are not required and you definitely, do
not need to submit these as part of the project. They may
simply help you gain better understanding.
Identify any opportunities for improvement (based on what you
learned from the interview, identification of weaknesses,
additional research, or your knowledge about systems).
Work on this section after completing Weeks 4 and 5 content
and reviewing Chapters 11 and 12 - Draft due on Week 4, Final
Project due on Week 7.

8. Provide final comments and conclusions.
Summarize your findings about the organization.
Summarize your findings about the health information
functions.
Summarize your findings about the system or technology
described.
Comment on your experience in reaching out to the organization
and securing the interview (how difficult it was and what it
took to achieve your goal).
Reflect on your overall feelings and learning experience as a
result of working on this project.
Suggest working on this section after completing all other
sections of the project - Final Project due on Week 7.