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| Today's medical
clinic can be a busy, fast-paced environment. In order to
effectively attend to patients, the clinic must be able to
maximize exam room use. Also, to make medical treatment affordable,
most clinics must devise a plan to optimize the staff workflow.
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To understand how an electronic
system can improve a medical clinic organization, lets
look into what typically happens at such a facility. When a patient
enters a medical clinic, he or she fills out forms which include
history and identification. The clinic staff then determines if
there is a room available via an electronic
system. If there is one available, a medical assistant
will accompany the patient to the room where vital signs are taken
and recorded. When the patient occupies a room the electronic
system can record when the patient arrived and indicate
that the patient is in the room. Since there are few nurses and
even fewer doctors, the electronic system
will determine which patient is to be seen by the next available
nurse. When the nurse arrives, he or she will examine the patient
and record information and conclusions for the doctor. The electronic
system will record when the nurse was with the
patient and determine which patient is next. The electronic
system can also serve as an indicator to let
staff know the patient is ready after changing to avoid embarrassing
situations. Now, the next available doctor (determined by the
electronic system)
enters the room and examines the patient. The electronic
system will record when the doctor was with
the patient and determines the next awaiting patient. The doctor
prescribes the course of treatment, and the patient leaves the
room. Now the electronic
system indicates the room needs to be cleaned.
A staff member cleans the room and the electronic
system indicates the room is ready for another
patient.
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