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What is my current workflow?

Developing a comprehensive understanding of health center’s current and future operation processes is a key step in outlining the requirements of the IT system. Workflow models are useful in providing visual representations of clinical care processes. Health care processes are particularly unique and are often associated with problems such as numerous hand-offs, time limitations, and the need to coordinate between many departments. By developing workflow models of existing processes, health centers can identify current inefficiencies. Such analysis is important prior to system implementation as it offers the health center the opportunity to optimize how work is done and ensures that broken processes are not replicated once the new system is installed. The resources below include tools for workflow modeling and process analysis.

Resources on Workflow:

• A Systems Approach to Operational Redesign Workbook (PDF - 7MB)  - Developed by MassPro for the DOQ-IT program, this comprehensive document can be used to ascertain workflow and assists in workflow redesign.  Contains multiple tools as well as descriptive text.
• Workflow Redesign: A Model for California Clinics (PDF - 541KB) – Developed by the California Health Care Foundation to discuss improvements to patient flow and workflow redesign.
• Practice Readiness Assessment Form (DOC - 180KB) – Developed by DOQ-IT as a tool to conduct an assessment regarding practice readiness for health IT implementation.
• The Rapid Redesign Test Toolkit (PDF - 125KB) – Developed by Coleman Associates, this tool can be used to guide the redesigning of patient visits.
• Patient Visit Redesign Tracking Toolkit (PDF - 617KB)  - Developed by Coleman Associates, this tool can be used to detail patient workflow.
• Patient Visit Redesign Mapping Toolkit (PDF - 49KB)  - 2nd in a series of tools developed by Coleman Associates; guides user through process of translating patient tracking into a workflow diagram.
• Gather Baseline Data Toolkit (PDF – 38KB) - 3rd in a series of tools developed by Coleman Associates to assist in redesigning portions of a practice's workflow.

Once the health center has developed a list of their functional requirements, they can commence evaluating different health IT systems that meet these requirements. Depending on the IT capacity, resources and existing infrastructure, health centers may seek to look at Open Source solutions, decide on an ASP model, or procure a system that they will host themselves.