New Century Health Clinic

New Century Health Clinic offers preventive medicine and traditional medical care. In your role as an IT consultant, you will help New Century develop a new information system.

Background

Five years ago, cardiologists Timothy Jones and Dolores Garcia decided to combine their individual practices in Brea, California, to form New Century Health Clinic. They wanted to concentrate on preventive medicine by helping patients maintain health and fitness and by providing traditional medical care. Dr. Jones recently asked you to work with him as an IT consultant. He wants you to help New Century develop an information system that will support the clinic’s operations and future growth. At your initial meeting, he provided you with some background information and asked for your suggestions about how to begin.

At your desk, you begin to review New Century’s situation. The clinic is located near a new shopping mall in a busy section of the city. New Century’s staff includes four doctors, three registered nurses, four physical therapists, and six office staff workers. The clinic currently has a patient base of 3,500 patients from 275 different employers, many of which provide insurance coverage for employee wellness and health maintenance. Currently, New Century accepts 34 different insurance policies.

Anita Davenport, who has been with New Century since its inception, is the office manager. She supervises the staff, including Fred Brown, Susan Gifford, Tom Capaletti, Lisa Sung, and Carla Herrera. Fred Brown handles office payroll, tax reporting, and profit distribution among the associates. Susan Gifford is responsible for the maintenance of patient records. Tom Capaletti handles most of the paperwork concerning insurance reporting and accounting. Lisa Sung has the primary responsibility for the appointment book, and her duties include making reminder calls to patients and preparing daily appointment lists. Carla Herrera is concerned primarily with ordering and organizing office and clinic supplies.

Each of the six office staff people has one or more primary responsibilities; however, all members of the staff help out whenever necessary with patient records, insurance processing, and appointment processing. In addition to their regular responsibilities, all six office work- ers are involved in the preparation of patient statements at the end of each month.

Using this information, you begin to prepare for your next meeting with Dr. Jones.

Assignments

1. Create an organization chart of the office staff using Microsoft Word or a similar program, or you can draw it by hand. In Word 2010 and Word 2007, click the Insert tab on the Ribbon, then Smart Art, then Hierarchy.

2. Identify at least three business processes that New Century performs, and explain who is responsible for the specific tasks.

3. Explain how New Century might use a transaction processing system, a business support system, and a user productivity system. For each type of system, provide a specific example, and explain how the system would benefit the clinic.

4. During the systems development process, should New Century consider any of the following: B2B, vertical and horizontal system packages, or Internet-based solutions? Explain your answers.