Automated Medical Evaluation System

Project Plan

February 16, 2001

Team number: dec01-03

Client: Dr. David Carlyle

Faculty advisors: John Lamont, Ralph E. Patterson III

Team Members: William Chan, Chau-Meng Gan, Lucas Fisher, Onome Ufomata

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Table of Contents

List of Tables 3

List of Figures 4

Abstract 5

Definition of Terms 5

Acknowledgements 6

Introduction 6

General Background 6

Technical Problem 7

Operating Environment 7

Intended Users and Uses 7

Assumptions and Limitations 8

Design Requirements 9

Design Objectives 9

Functional Requirements 9

Design Constraints 11

Measurable Milestones 12

End Product Description 12

Approach and Design 13

Technical Approaches 13

Technical Design 14

Testing Description 16

Risk and Risk Management 16

Financial Budget 17

Personal Effort Budget 17

Project Schedule 18

Project Team information 19

Faculty Advisors 19

Client 19

Team Members 19

Summary 20

References 20

Appendix A – User interface structure 21

Appendix B – Project Schedule Gantt Chart 22

List of Tables

Table 1 - Financial Budget 17

Table 2 - Personnel Effort Budget 17

List of Figures

Figure 1 - Sample patient visit record. 15

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Abstract

A typical day in a clinic involves scheduling patient visits, admitting patients for doctor examinations, scheduling and recommending tests and medication, and recording these events for future reference. More often than not, the same illnesses are diagnosed over and over again for different patients, as many illnesses are seasonal in occurrence. Having to write the same descriptions of symptoms and illnesses time and time again would become inefficient and time consuming. Often, the efficiency of a clinic is highly dependent on the efficiency of the patient visit and recording process.

The primary aim of the Automated Medical Evaluation System is to reduce the time between an examination and when the report gets filed in the patient’s folder. The Automated Medical Evaluation System also aims to make this process more efficient and reliable by using a computer to collect the patient’s health data, provide standard responses to various illnesses, provide a standard output format for the patient’s visit record, and make the recording process concurrent with the examination.

This system is currently suited to meet the requirements of the McFarland clinic in Ames, Iowa.

Definition of Terms

·  Client: Computer or system that seeks data or service from a server system.

·  Database: Software that stores and organizes data for easy searching and retrieval.

·  Local area network: Links computers and printers in the same building or area.

·  Prototype: Initial product that exhibits the essential features of the final product.

·  Server: Computer or system that houses data or services which client systems can request.

·  Touchscreen: Computer monitor that also acts as an input device by positioning the cursor or mouse at the location of the user’s touch.

·  Visual Basic: Programming language developed by Microsoft that has extensive graphical capabilities necessary to develop a user interface for this project.

Acknowledgements

With our current schedules and deadlines, it would be a most challenging task for the project team to completely and accurately accomplish the requirements of this project. The following individuals are actively involved in ensuring that this project is a success.

·  Dr. David Carlyle, McFarland Clinic, Ames, IA -- Client and sponsor of the project.

·  Prof. Lamont and Prof. Patterson -- Project overview and guidance. Project team advisors.

Introduction

General Background

The Automated Medical Evaluation System involves developing software to record daily patient visits. Doctors would use it when examining patients to record their diagnosis of the patient’s situation and also prescribe any tests or medications necessary. The automated system developed is specifically suited to meet the requirements of the McFarland clinic in Ames, Iowa.

The current system used in McFarland clinic involves the doctor writing down his diagnosis of the patient during the examination. Later in the day, notes are voice recorded into a tape recorder. Recordings are later typed and printed into patient records and filed in patient’s folder several days later.

This project aims to improve the speed and reliability of the recording process by fully automating the patient visit record process. When a patient is admitted to the examination room, the software would require the nurse to select the patient’s name and then enter other pertinent information such as the patient’s symptoms, blood pressure, pulse, etc. When the doctor comes in, he or she can review the symptoms and other information and then proceed with the examination. The diagnosed illness is then selected from a list of illnesses provided by the software. Automatically, a full description of the diagnosis comes up on the screen. This description can then be edited if required. Prescribed tests and medications are then entered. The output is previewed and sent electronically to the front desk where it is printed and filed in the patient’s folder. Also, the software will be user-friendly to allow easy maneuvering by the clients. It will have a relatively simple user interface that intuitively guides the user through the software.

With the Automated Medical Evaluation System, a standard format for the patient visit record will be developed. With the current system, different doctors may have different ways of recording diagnoses so different doctors will produce different visit records. The automated system developed would standardize not only the recording process, but also the output format.

Technical Problem

The Automated Medical Evaluation System is required to work on a touch screen monitor, which will be the primary means of interaction with the software. It will also have to work with other standard forms of input such as the keyboard and mouse.

This software will be developed for standard Microsoft Windows based PCs using Microsoft Visual Basic.

This system will have some form of authentication for entry. Client software will have to manage users and user information (such as passwords).

Patient records may also have to be stored for future referencing. The software will have to implement or work with some underlying database to store patient information.

The user interface must provide entry capability for all pertinent information such as height, weight, blood pressure, pulse rate, symptoms, etc.

The software will have to provide networking capabilities to electronically send patient visit records to the front desk or a printer for printing and filing. Records will also have to be printed in a form suitable for filing in the patient’s health record.

Operating Environment

The software will be installed on Microsoft Windows-based computers in examination rooms and doctors’ offices at McFarland clinic. Some of these systems will be equipped with touchscreen displays. Patients may have access to the system while waiting in the examination room for a doctor. Depending on future expansions at McFarland Clinic, the computers and software may experience a high frequency of use and thus touchscreen monitors working with the Automated Medical Evaluation System will have to be durable and maintained.

Intended Users and Uses

The intended users will naturally be medical personnel, such as doctors and nurses, which examine patients at the clinic. Currently, this software targets the requirements of the McFarland clinic in Ames, Iowa. Dr. David Carlyle, a doctor at McFarland clinic, is the main client of this project. Only doctors at McFarland Clinic may use the software to record patient visits.

Other staff at the clinic may use the software to update patient names, illness lists, and illness descriptions as required by clinic standards and operations.

Assumptions and Limitations

The main assumptions made in this project are:

  1. The software will have a source of patient names on a daily basis.
  2. The clients of this software will supply a list of illnesses, and their descriptions and treatments.
  3. All computers running this software will have Microsoft Windows-based operating systems.
  4. A network connection to a central printer is available.
  5. The touchscreen driver software emulates a mouse.
  6. Users have some basic knowledge on the operation of computers and software use.
  7. Touchscreens and all other required hardware are provided and maintained by the client.

Limitations to the development of this project include:

  1. Project team members have no previous experience with Visual Basic programming.
  2. Project team members have not seen the actual environment the system will be used in, so estimations of hardware setup are being made.
  3. Touchscreen input accuracy defines how user interface items such as buttons and scrollbars are designed.
  4. The type and location of the printer, and the exact format of the printed patient visit record are still unknown.
  5. The source of daily patient appointments is still unknown. The project team assumes that the client has patient appointment scheduling software. Interfacing with this system is to be determined.
  6. Finding time to meet with the client. Communication with client is extremely limited due to conflicting schedules.
  7. Client has little knowledge about software development and may not be able to provide a complete set of requirements at initial encounters. Prototyping maybe required to assess the full requirements of the system.
  8. Little or no testing time may be allowed on actual systems the software is going to run on.

Design Requirements

Design Objectives

Software to collect patient information during clinic visit. – The software needs to provide a clear and easy way to record the information the nurses and doctors gather during a patient’s visit to the clinic. Some examples of this type of information are height, weight, pulse rate, diagnosis, and prescribed treatment.

Create suitable patient visit record. – A means to output the visit record in physical form is needed. The output method must be suitable for placing in a patient’s health record.

Easy to use interface. - The user interface must be easy to use with a touchscreen, mouse, and keyboard. The user interface must help limit the number of errors made by the user. The interface will hide the complexities of whatever storage system is chosen for patient and illness lists.

Software runs on existing equipment. - The client already has computer equipment that he does not want to replace. The software must perform acceptably on this computer.

Functional Requirements

The following subsections define the required functions that the end product will perform. The Automated Medical Evaluation System will be used to generate patient records that may contain sensitive information. Records will be generated during the patient examination and printed on patient forms right after. The Automated Medical Evaluation System will have to address this process to make it as efficient and reliable as possible.

Authentication

The software must authenticate the identity of the user before allowing the user to enter a patient visit record.

·  An authorized user shall be able to choose which users may access the software. This means they will maintain the list of users and passwords.

·  The user must sign the patient visit record to approve it.

User Interface

The user portion of this software will hide any complexities involved in processing information for obtain the desired output.

·  The user shall be able to exclusively control the user interface with a touchscreen or mouse or keyboard or a combination of these devices.

·  The current date and time shall be displayed on every screen.

·  The user shall be able to scroll through lists one item at a time or many items at a time.

·  At any time during the process of creating a patient visit record the user shall be able to return to previous screens to change previously entered information.

Patient Health Statistics

Patient health statistics are required on a patient visit record so that future references to these records present enough information to help in further diagnosis and treatment.

·  The user shall enter the patient’s health statistics. These statistics include, but are not limited to: height, weight, blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature, and symptoms.

·  The user shall choose which statistics will appear on the patient visit record.

Illness List

Illness lists with automatic responses (diagnosis, treatments, and tests) would make the examination process more efficient and also reduce time between the examination and filing patient records.

·  The user shall select the patient's illness from a list of illnesses.

·  The user shall be able to add and delete illnesses from the illness list. The user shall be able to modify the default illness description and treatment associated with an illness.

·  Upon selecting an illness a description of the illness and a suggested treatment will appear.

·  The user shall customize the illness description and treatment to fit the patient’s needs.

·  The list of illnesses, illness descriptions, and treatments shall be stored on the computer in a readable and editable text file or in a central database connected to the local area network.

Output

The output shall be a patient visit record with patient statistics, illness description, treatment, tests (if required), and additional information entered by the doctor.

·  The user shall preview the patient visit record. The preview shall look exactly like the printed patient visit record.

·  The printed patient visit record shall include the:

  1. name, address, and phone number of the clinic at which the patient was treated.
  2. patient’s name, id number, and insurance information.
  3. date and time of the patient’s examination.

·  The printed patient visit record may include the:

  1. patient’s vital statistics such as height, weight, pulse rate, blood pressure, temperature, and other yet to be determined statistics.
  2. patient’s symptoms.
  3. doctor’s diagnosis, prescribed treatment, and prescribed medicines.
  4. laboratory tests to be performed on the patient.
  5. additional instructions from the doctor.

·  The user shall print the final patient’s visit record to a printer of his or her choice.

·  The patient’s visit record shall be printed in a standard format.

·  The most recent patient visit record for every patient may be stored for purposes of backup. For example, if the printed copy is lost the clinic staff will be able to retrieve the most recent visit record and reprint it.