Class Assignment: Complete the Volere Requirements Specification Template for the

Physician Family Clinic Case Study

Below are topics with responses, based on the template.

Project Drivers
1. The Purpose of the Project – the Physician Family Clinic is considering upgrading its health care
reporting and insurance claim system from paper-based to the latest information technology. Additionally,
the owner of the Clinic wants to increase the number of physicians, improve the efficiency of administrative
work, improve patient care, expand the Clinic to be able to provide more services and improve the quality
and safety of health care for her Clinic. Upgrading the Clinic’s information technology capabilities and
providing additional health care services will greatly enhance the Clinic’s ability to attract and retain
patients. Additionally, one of the goals and objectives for Dr. Ramos is “make some financial profit” in
order to invest more into the Clinic.
2. The Client, the Customer and Other Stakeholders – the Physician Family Clinic has patients and
administrative staff members who are used to:

• Using an all paper-based system and have experienced long patient waiting times,
• Manually filling out forms that should be automated (based on the finding that the Clinic has no
quick way to check patients in)
• Errors associated with medical records, lab results and financial records (all paper-based).
The Clinic’s patients are the main clients/customers and if the Clinic continues to operate without making
major changes to patient care and administrative capability, the Clinic will not be able to attract and retain
patients. Additionally, the owner, Dr. Ramos will continue to operate the Clinic inefficiently and not
provide high quality patient care.
Other stakeholders include:

• Employees of the Clinic, who will have to learn the latest information health care systems, and
new Physicians who will work alongside them.
• Health care personnel interacting with the Clinic
• Potential stakeholders in nearby hospitals or clinics that will interact or provide health care
information
3. Users of the Product - the patients of the Physician Family Clinic will benefit if the efficiency of the
Clinic is improved. Dr. Ramos will benefit from access to the latest information technology and the Clinic
will benefit from the expansion of more physicians, newer facilities and more service capabilities from
renting space to provide patients’ physical therapy. The benefit of upgrading and providing additional
services will be:

• Attracting new patients and retaining current patients.

• Introduction of a website for the Clinic, increasing the capability to communicate with the public
(and the Clinic’s patients),
• Enhancing the Clinic’s effectiveness in promoting its new, higher quality patient care,
• Introducing a “network” with other clinics and hospitals in order to ensure that the Clinic stays
current with all clinical, safety, legal and financial information and guidelines.
Project Constraints
4. Requirements Constraints - developing the project to upgrade the Physician Family Clinic in order to
provide new capabilities will be:

• Time-consuming and complex (from a paper-based to information technology),

• Necessitate new financing for hardware/software,
Investment in upgrading the interior of the Clinic and expansion to possibly include rooms for physical
therapy.
The design constraints are dependent on accurate depiction of the hardware/software that is needed to
introduce and obtain fully-functioning health care information systems, automated medical records, lab
results and automated medical billing applications.
Time other project constraints are that the Clinic needs to complete the upgrade project in a reasonable
amount of time and,

• Have a plan for hiring new physicians,

• Implementing the new systems, including computers, current hardware/software, training and a
Help Desk for issues while the staff and physicians are learning the new systems,
• Expanding the Clinic and upgrading the interior and
• Providing new and current patients a web site.
The new website will facilitate several of administrative activities that were previously completed at the
Clinic, including scheduling, reviewing medical records, lab results and providing the patient the capability
to input their medical insurance information.
5. Naming Conventions and Definitions – because the Physician Family Clinic has been paper-based
since the Clinic opened, once the changes are made, the clinic staff and physicians will need:

• Guidebooks for the implemented health care information systems, medical records and medical
insurance claim payment systems, containing appropriate vocabulary and definitions
• Guides must have all acronyms and abbreviations defined so employees can learn and adapt to
the new environment.
• Well-defined application of each term that can be understood and used properly when needed
and
• The most up-to-date medical dictionaries, payroll and medical payment guides, as well as
training materials for employees who are new to information technologies and the use of
computer software applications.

6. Relevant Facts and Assumptions – the relevant facts are that the Physician Family Clinic will face
obstacles to:

• Upgrading the Clinic, including possible factors such as location of the Clinic compared to major
hospitals or specialty clinics,
• Obtaining funding for renovations,
• Hiring additional physicians and
• Purchasing space for additional services (physical therapy).
Assumptions are that:

• Upgrading the Clinic assumes a smooth transition from a paper-based system to automated
systems.
• The Clinic will face long learning curves based on the capabilities and knowledge of its current
employees.
• There will be increased costs from hiring consultants who will be training employees on several
of the new systems and
• Due to the size and capacity of the Clinic, there may be other small clinics that are already
operating efficiently which may attract patients from the Physician Family Clinic to other nearby
clinics.
Functional requirements – the functionality of the product
7. Scope of work –

• The current business process provided by the Clinic consists of a paper-based system that
includes paper medical records filling the front office shelves. Additionally, the patient billing
system is done manually and there is typically a long period of time before patients can consult
with the doctor.
• The Clinic, due to administrative burden of its employees, is ineffective in processing insurance
claims, relying on a third-party medical billing company (there is no billing software installed)
• The Clinic needs modernization of its medical examination rooms and its patient waiting area
• Patient’s laboratory test results are also paper-based, providing an opportunity for mis-labeling
and a manual filing system prone to administrative errors
• In order to provide an efficient business process, the scope of work will include implementation
of an EHR automated system
The owner of the Clinic is seeking to change the scope of work, to include implementation of an EHR
system, examining room and waiting room upgrades and improving the quality of patient care by
adding additional services and additional physicians.

8. The scope of the product –

• The product (EHR system) is intended to provide the capability of storing, reporting and
transferring patient data. The EHR system will provide physicians and clinic staff the capability
to review patient data, input lab test results, complete patient billing transactions, check the status
of claims and communicate with other clinics or hospitals.
• Based on input from stakeholders, the EHR system will provide patient history reports, patient
examination information, patient person data and patient outcome reports
• The EHR system will contain all compliance, policy and regulatory data and be able to receive
information from other clinics and hospital networks

9. Functional and Data Requirements –

• The Clinic will conduct market research in order to find the best solution.
• The Clinic will perform a comparative price/capability analysis in order to provide Clinic staff
and Physicians the most up-to-date hardware/software in the medical field
 • The health care information technology selected by the Clinic will provide patient data, lab test
results, patient billing, patient referral, patient examination and procedures completed, billing
information, patient treatment history and a Clinic website for current and potential patients.
• The patient data should in a form that can be easily sent through the patient system, to other
clinics, hospitals, and to the patient. Patients will be able to review their patient history online
and consult with the Clinic’s physicians via e-mail or the website.
• The Clinic staff will ensure that patient data is kept confidential.
• The Clinic’s staff will recommend reporting requirements based on the capabilities of the health
care information technology
• The Clinic staff will maintain patient records in a patient database

Non-functional requirements – the product’s qualities

10. Look and Feel Requirements -

• The Clinic’s office will be modern, clean and provide comfortable furniture for all patients.
• The examination room will be clean, sanitized, include the latest medical equipment and
fixtures. The examination room have the appropriate medical supplies and instruments ready for
patient consultations and procedure by the Clinic’s physicians
• The Clinic’s office will include the latest information technology that will be capable of
processing patient’s in an efficient manner
• The Clinic will provide modern, clean and safe facilities for patients and physicians
• The Clinic will provide a physical therapy physician the latest medical and physical therapy
equipment as well as medical supplies as needed
• The Clinic will provide a clean, safe and sanitary environment that meets or exceeds standards
for medical clinics
11. Usability and Humanity Requirements –

• The Clinic’s efficiency in all administrative functions will improve with the introduction of new
information technology
• The health care information technology utilized by the staff and physicians will be easy to use,
provide ease in patient reporting and ease in understanding analysis of patient’s procedures
• The health care information technology will provide usable findings and results for patients to
comprehend and provide feedback
• The Clinic’s website will provide easy to follow instruction and patient forms that are simple to
fill out online

12. Performance Requirements –

• The Clinic will provide an efficient, effective process for patient check-in and patient release
• The health care information system will be the latest version and have the capability to accept
patient data accurately while providing a reliable, agree-upon standard for record-keeping
• The health care information system will provide patient reports and results accurately, timely and
will conform to the Clinic’s data analysis requirements
 • The health care system will provide current medical terminology, medical dictionaries, patient
records, patient histories, billing records, lab test results, inpatient and outpatient forms and
include the capability to transfer data to hospitals and/or clinics

13. Operational and Environmental Requirements –

• The Clinic will operate in a quiet, comfortable and accepting environment

• The Clinic staff will be open and acceptable to be trained in the latest health care and billing
software applications
• The Clinic’s physician will be open to learning new ways of patient reporting and providing
results to other hospitals and/or clinics
• The Clinic environment will accommodate physically handicapped patients and provide up-to-
date facilities for those with physical disabilities
• The Clinic will provide appropriate equipment if Clinic staff require special accommodations
• The Clinic will correct all safety violations immediately if notified by inspection
14. Maintainability and Support Requirements –

• The health care information system hardware will have a refresh cycle
• The health care information system software will be updated as needed, at least once a year
• Medical equipment and supplies will be examined for obsolescence at least two times a year
• The Clinic will budget for external subject matter experts in order to support new health care
software installation and training
• The Clinic will provide training and workshops to keep staff and physicians up-to-date regarding
medical terminology, new medical procedures and potential local health issues
15. Security Requirements –

• The Clinic staff and physicians will ensure that all patient data is kept private and all computers
have the latest security software installed
• The Clinic staff and physicians will ensure that all patient records are labeled appropriately for
the type of information contained
• The Clinic and staff will ensure that all patient records are not transferred to an outside source
with the permission of the owner of the Clinic
• The Clinic staff will ensure that only employees of the Clinic have access and are authorized to
view patient records
• The Clinic staff will ensure that all newly-installed software contains the appropriate level of
network security
• The Clinic staff and physicians will ensure that any employee security violation is reported to
the appropriate authorities

16. Cultural Requirements –

• The Clinic will not provide patient reports findings that can be construed as offensive to any
patient, regardless of their religion, ethic group, age or sexual orientation
 • The Clinic will, in good faith, provide patients with high quality patient care, regardless of their
religion, ethnic group, age or sexual orientation
• The Clinic staff will operate in a manner that does not discriminate or show bias towards any
patient, regardless of their religion, ethnic group or sexual orientation
• Clinic staff will complete sensitivity training and will be provided annual sensitivity workshops
• The Clinic will provide timely training and workshops in the organizational culture field
17. Legal Requirements –

• The Clinic will conform to all local, state and U.S. laws
• The Clinic will ensure all applicable laws and regulations are followed when accessing and
storing patient records
• The Clinic will follow all applicable Data Privacy Act policies and regulations regarding
patient’s personal information and patient records
• The Clinic will conform to all applicable laws and regulations regarding the use of medical
supplies, pharmaceutic products and medical equipment
• The Clinic will conform to all applicable medical laws and ethical standards regarding patient
care

18. Open Issues – as yet unresolved issues with a possible bearing on the success of the product
• The length of time it will take the Physician Family Clinic’s physicians and staff to be
trained on the Electronic Health Records (EHR) system
• The transition time for Dr. Ramos and her staff to convert from the current paper-based
system to the EHR system
• The success of the EHR system will be to substitute the paper-based system, which is
vulnerable to data and filing errors and is time-consuming.
• The objective of adding physical therapy services, which will affect the profitability of
the Clinic. Profitability for additional services follows successful implementation of the
EHR system
• Obtaining qualified new physicians who may have to, at first accept a lower salary, until
the Clinic shows a profit. New physicians may already have the capability of working
with electronic medical records (EHR system) and be able to quickly bring expertise to
the Clinic, which will affect profitability based on an increase in the number of patients.
19. Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) Solutions – ready-made components that might be
used instead of building something from scratch
• Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) hardware will be fully capable of providing the
computer performance needed to operate efficiently (the EHR system functional
requirements). COTS hardware also includes computers (desktops and laptops) and other
Clinic office equipment that will be bought without customization requirements.
• Computers selected COTS will include warranties and instructions for replacement. An
example would be replacing hardware every 5 years due to obsolescence.
• Financial application software may be available without being customized. Other
medical record applications may be included that can be replaced without external
 consultation. For example, a financial application that assesses financial resources and
the Clinic’s sources of funds
• Medical health care record workflow software may be COTS and replaceable when
updates are available. For example, health care information technology that is an
integrated system and reviews the Clinic’s workflow activities, providing
recommendations for enhanced clinical processes. COTS medical records software may
also assist in planning the conversion from a paper-based system to electronic patient
health care records.
• IPads and/or IPhones can be made compatible for the EHR system, in order to process a
patient’s appointments, referrals, billing and other administrative services.
• Overall demonstration that most EHR hardware/software will be COTS compared to
software applications that need to be customized by system engineers and/or external
consultants

20. New Problems – problems caused by the introduction of the new product

• Clinic patients may need continuous education regarding interpretation of patient

outcomes reported by the EHR system. Patient outcome reports include diagnosis and
potential referral to another physician. Additionally, outcome reports may include a plan
for recovery, symptoms and recommended treatment. The patients will receive the
outcome reports after consultation with Clinic physicians and staff
• Dr. Ramos may need a longer learning curve in order to utilize the EHR system, based on
the Clinic’s reliance on paper-based health records
• Fully-budgeted resources needed to implement the EHR system
• The learning curve for Dr. Ramos and her staff in order to learn and apply the EHR
system may cause delays in the Clinic’s workflow
• The transition from a paper-based system to the EHR system may cause disruptions in
certain services
• The EHR system may not perform as required, which may cause errors in patient’s health
records or a requirement to review a patient’s paper-based health record
21. Tasks – things to be done to bring the product into production
• The Clinic will implement the EHR system based on the policies and procedures agreed
upon by the Clinic physicians and staff
• The EHR system will be delivered and installed and inspected for by installation
personnel
• EHR system training when the system is fully installed
• Dr. Ramos and her staff will begin the conversion process from paper-based to electronic
health care records
 • Dr. Ramos and her staff will test the EHR system for data accuracy and produce patient
health care record reports. Additionally, Clinic personnel will begin interfacing with
other functionalities in order to completely understand the EHR system’s capabilities

22. Migration to the new product – tasks to convert from the existing system

• The business analyst will establish a timetable for the conversion of the current paper-
based system to the EHR system
• The business analyst will develop a transition plan (include “as is” and “to be”) from the
paper-based system to the EHR system
• The business analyst will provide an estimated schedule for completing the patient health
record transfer tasks
• Procedures will be developed to Dr. Ramos, her clinic staff on the EHR system
• A systematic, verifiable approach will be developed for entering patient health records
into the EHR system.
• The Clinic staff will test the EHR system for patient data accuracy and completeness
• System and software engineers will develop a patient history database for use by the
Clinic’s physicians and staff

23. Risks – the risks that the project is likely to incur

• Dr. Ramos may not be able fund the new EHR system, which will delay the conversion
from a paper-based system to a patient electronic health care record system
• The Clinic staff may leave the Clinic due to implementation of the EHR system
• The conversion from paper-based patient health care records to the EHR system may
take longer, cost more and not be immediately operational as planned
• Achieving some financial profit for the Clinic may take longer than Dr. Ramos had
planned
• The EHR system may not meet the functional requirements established by the Clinic’s
stakeholders, patients and Clinic staff
• The business analyst may need to develop different functional requirements for the EHR
system if the system does not perform as planned
24. Costs – early estimates of the cost or effort needed to build the product
• The business analyst will provide a cost estimate to Dr. Ramos based on the required
performance of the EHR system. The business analyst will provide an estimate of an
EHR system that is interoperable with other systems and is the latest patient health care
record system available.
• The business analyst will provide a cost estimate for the funding needed to upgrade the
business office, examination rooms, waiting area, renting an apartment to convert for
physical therapy services, new physician’s salaries, the cost of hiring new Clinic staff and
 the anticipated cost of implementing the EHR system. The cost estimate will include all
salary and expenses of the clinic staff and external consulting with follow-up.
• The business analyst will include the cost of hiring system and software engineers in
order to install the EHR system
25. User Documentation – the plan for building the user instructions and documentation
• The business analyst will arrange a professional workshop for Dr. Ramos and Clinic staff
to attend in order to become familiar with the EHR system and its capabilities
• The business analyst will ensure physicians and Clinic staff have access to online or
paper-based EHR training materials
• Clinic staff will contact the EHR vendor, on an agreed-upon schedule, to ensure that the
Clinic has the most up-to-date instructions and training materials
• The Clinic staff will receive, from the vendor and software application developer, EHR
patent reporting training materials and sample workflow process templates
• Clinic staff will receive from the vendor, EHR system point of contact information for
assistance with issues and problems
26. Waiting Room – requirements that might be included in future releases of the product
• Detailed functional and non-functional requirements relating to the quality of care,
patient safety and current and future regulatory requirements
• Patient decision support and data visualizations of a patient’s medical history.
• EHR system will provide comprehensive patient consultation notes and improved
documentation of each patient’s medical history
• A patient website that enhances the patient’s quality of care and promotes the Clinic’s
services to the public
27. Ideas for solutions – design ideas that we do not want to lose
• Clinic staff will build an idea repository for design ideas and re-visit the list of ideas on a
monthly basis, prior to Dr. Ramos’ monthly design idea meetings
• Consider hiring a social media expert in order to market the Clinic’s capabilities and
inform the public of the Clinic’s services
• Provide a way for patients to provide ratings and reviews through social media, based on
their experience(s) at the Clinic
• Design and develop a strategy to collaborate with other small internal medicine practices
in order to obtain physician and patient referrals. Include idea to enhance
communication between clinics and exchange current medical information
• Hire a market research analyst to train Clinic staff and design and develop a marketing
strategy that attracts new patients, informs the public about the Clinic’s services and
develops a strategy for continually meeting the needs of the Clinic’s patients

References
Dizon, A., (2018, June 18), 35 Best Medical Marketing Ideas for Your Practice, FitSmallBusiness, retrieved
May 24, 2019 from https://fitsmallbusiness.com/medical-practice-marketing/

LeadingAge Cast (Center for Aging Services Technologies), (2016). Electronic Health Records (EHRS) For
Long-Term and Short-Term and Post-Acute Care: A Primer on Planning and Vendor Selection.
LeadingAge/CAST, Washington, D.C.

Robertson, S.& Robertson, J., (2013). Mastering the Requirements Process – Getting Requirements Right (3rd
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley