Case Study: The business analyst began to match up the functional requirements with the features available in various "off the- shelf" software packages. But to no avail, no standard software package was able to meet all of the critical requirements. There were lots of standard packages that handled patient billing and medical histories. A few of the packages even had very good HMO billing and tracking capabilities. But, the real issue was that no package could handle the integration of state`s requirements for Medical Assistance billing into a single comprehensive package. This is a significant issue as the county and state have estimated that approximately 25-30% of the medical center patients will be on Medical Assistance. The business analyst reviewed her findings with the County Manager and the Director of Information Systems. They understood the situation and asked the analyst to make a recommendation. She stated that the only real alternative was for the county to internally develop the software for PMC`s medical information system. The Director of Information Systems said that his department already had a backlog of work and it would probably take months to get the software written. Frustrated, the County Manager exclaimed that the Pediatric Medical Center needed the software yesterday and that the staff was currently doing everything by hand! The business analyst then stated the project could easily be done utilizing a standard relational data base management system (RDBMS). The Director of Information Systems agreed. In order to speed up delivery of the system, the county decided to contract with a consultant to design and implement the database. In addition, the consultant was to develop the procedures to populate the database, as well as, write many of the required queries. After the consultant completed the work, the county`s Information Systems group would then use the tools that came with the RDBMS to construct the user interface, build the input and query forms, and develop reports based on the consultant`s queries.

QUESTIONS

Q1. The DAMA DMBOK textbook describes the following two core activities as part of the Data Architecture management exercise: "Understanding enterprise information needs" and "Develop and Maintain the Enterprise Data Model".

Explain these activities in the context of the organization described in the case study, citing relevant academic sources where appropriate. Your discussion should not simply contain general definitions but should focus on the case study. For instance, how would each of the components in an Enterprise Data Model apply to the healthcare provider described?

Q2. Consider what makes this particular industry unique from others. Data management is constrained by certain requirements such as (a) government regulations, (b) business concerns and (c) legitimate needs. These should be mentioned in your discussion.

To address Q2a you must locate legislation or rules specific to Australia that pertain to the collection, storage or use of medical or healthcare records. These may consist of general privacy legislation as well as specific acts relating to healthcare.