Home Health CareOffice Software

INF 566 Technology Assessment

David P. Salley

Gerland Home Health Care

The company provides in-home medical staffing (nurses, physical therapists, home health aides, housekeeping, companionship aides, etc.) and also provides staff for nursing homes and other medical facilities.

The company has recently decided to acquire office productivity software for processing documents, scheduling, patient tracking, sales presentations, physician referrals, patient forms, etc.

Gerland Home Health Care

New York Offices

Niagara Falls Buffalo -- Headquarters Hamburg Dunkirk Olean Hudson Valley

Ohio Offices

Akron Cleveland

Employee Statistics

300 Employees total

1 Chief Executive Officer 1 Chief Technical Officer – System Administrator 5 Sales Staff – 1 V.P. & 4 Associates 3 IT – Web projects, Database & Desktop Support

Managers, no specialized training 8 Liaisons – 1 in each office 8 Data Entry Personnel – 1 in each office The remainder -- nurses, physical

therapists, home health care aides, physician's office staff

Employee Statistics

High turnover of field staff Low turnover of office staff

Corporate growth is approx. 10% annually

Field staff allowed to view patient data Office staff allowed to view patient data Sales staff not allowed to view patient data

Current system

VPN connection to central HQ (virtual private network)

AS400 iServer from IBM Software 8+ yrs old, purchased from vendor 1 GB memory 75 GB hard disk Windows 2003 OS Databases: MySQL, MSSQL, DB2 Linux email Employees use dial-up, ISDN, DSL, cable,

modem Employees use any/all browsers, email systems

Virtual Private Network(courtesy of http://howstuffworks.com)

Virtual Private Network Security(courtesy of http://www.positivenetworks.com)

Office Productivity Software needs:

processing documents scheduling patient tracking sales marketing presentations physicians' referral letters patient forms (records, etc.) up and running within 12 weeks of decision HIPAA compliant

HIPAA -- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

In brief:

1. Improved efficiency in healthcare delivery by standardization of electronic data

2. Protecting confidentiality and security of health data by setting and enforcing standards.

In-House Development

Advantages Greater data privacy Better security Custom fit to needs Can sell software

packages to recoup development costs

Disadvantages No IT on staff – hire! Time consuming High ownership cost 1st Gen software : errors HIPAA compliant? No company experience

In-House Development Costs

According to Salary.com, a Level III Programmer in Buffalo, NY earns $49,815 annually. Round off to $50K = $25/hr

Optimistically:

12 wks x 40 hrs/wk x $25/hr x 4 programmers = 480 hrs x $100/hr = $48,000

Open Source Software

Advantages Cheap Customizable Greater data privacy

Disadvantages No tech support May not be suitable Hire programmer to

customize code Less secure – hackable HIPAA compliant? No company experience

Reviewed and Rejected

2K Medical Records (www.2kmedicalrecords.com)

AdvancedMD (www.advancedmd.com) Ajexus (www.ajexus.com) EdgeMed (www.edgemed.com) LeonardoMD (www.leonardomd.com) Med2020 (www.med2020.ca)

Reviewed and Rejected (cont’d)

Medical Software DB Systems (www.medicineau.net.au)

Medi-notes (www.medinotes.com) PatientSoft (www.patientsoft.com) SpectraSoft (http://appts32.co.uk) Surgical Information Systems

(www.orsoftware.com) Televox (www.televox.com)

Plexis Healthcare – 4th Choice

HIPAA compliant Windows 2000 or better MySQL or MSSQL database User-friendly interface 50 standard customizable reports System security allows nurses, not sales. 3 day training course available Phone and e-mail support available

American Health Care – 3rd Choice

HIPAA compliant Designed for an AS400 IBM computer Can purchase only the modules you need. User-friendly screen entry Patient & Prescription tracking Staffing schedules and training needs Data security Automated Billing Multiple customizable reports

MediSoft – 2nd Choice

HIPAA compliant Patient tracking Scheduling modules Doctor direct entry – no data entry needed Claims tracking Billing & Medicare Report generator Interactive training (7 CDs) + online Phone and online support -- $900/yr

Medservices – 1st Choice

HIPAA compliant Windows NT or Windows 2003 128MB RAM, 500MB hard disk 30 standard reports, customization available maintenance contract includes patches, minor

upgrades leased, 5 user licenses, $135/mo on 2 year

contract ($3,240) Additional user licenses available, ownership

after 2 years without additional payment

Medservices (cont’d)

Volunteer/Physician module Inventory module Donor module Prescription module Patient Assistance Program module Bill Tracking module Patient Imaging module Scheduling module Query / Report Writer module

Bibliography – Notes

http://www.hipaa.org http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa

(U.S. Health & Human Services Dept.) http://www.positivenetworks.com

(VPN security diagram) http://computer.howstuffworks.com

(VPN diagram) http://www.salary.com INF566 Discussion board notes

Bibliography – Accepted

American Health Co (www.ahconline.com) MediSoft (www.medisoft.com) MedServices (www.datanetsolutions.org) PlexisWeb (www.plexisweb.com)

Bibliography – Rejected

2K Medical Records (www.2kmedicalrecords.com)

Ajexus (www.ajexus.com) Advanced MD (www.advancedmd.com) EdgeMed (www.edgemed.com) LeonardoMD (www.leonardomd.com) Med2020 (www.med2020.ca)

Bibliography – Rejected

Medical Software DB Systems (www.medicineau.net.au)

Medi-notes (www.medinotes.com) PatientSoft (www.patientsoft.com) SpectraSoft (http://appts32.co.uk) Surgical Information Systems

(www.orsoftware.com) Televox (www.televox.com)