RWJF Common Ground-Using Work Flow Mapping Tools to Improve Chronic Disease Management Processes

1. RWJF Common Ground-Using Work Flow Mapping Tools to Improve Chronic Disease Management Processes Adapted from presentations by: Minnesota Department of Health- Disease Division

2. Common Ground Background • Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and managed by the Public Health Informatics Institute. • Common Ground aims to transform how we do public health by working collaboratively to develop information system requirements together rather than in our traditional public health silos. • Elements of work flow mapping can be used even when the ultimate goal is not IT requirements definition.

3. What is a business process? • A set of activities and tasks that logically group together to accomplish a goal or produce something of value for the benefit of the organization, stakeholder, or customer. • Helps to clarify each staff members specific duties and their relationship to other members of the staff, as well as, outside partners (i.e. diagnostic centers, hospitals/clinics, etc.) • If we can collaboratively define the 80% of what is generally similar among our processes, we can find a way to effectively combine processes and support not just one program or health department, but the public health enterprise as a whole.

4. Why is this important to us? • Improved organizational efficiency • Improved work flow processes • Better understanding of our job descriptions • Essential part of the quality improvement process

5. Important Terms • Business Process • Information System • Requirements Development Methodology • Business process analysis • Business process redesign • Requirements definition • Tools: • Business Process Matrix • Context diagram • Task flow diagram

6. Three Phased Approach

7. Phase 1: Business Process Analysis • Evaluate the current work flow process of specific services • Thinking logically about how work is performed on a daily basis • Reveals practices and procedures that meet objectives, as well as, exposes problems within the current work flow process

8. Phase II: Business Process Redesign • Rethinking the current work flow process and identifying how the process should be done. • Identify efficiencies and inefficiencies • Refine the business processes and business rules

9. Phase III: Business Process Requirements • Identify how we can enable our information system to support the work that we do. • Make the system work for you rather than you working for the system you were given.

10. Unintended (but good consequences) • People see their processes in different ways • There is an element of surprise • Inefficiencies can be identified and resolved without the use of technology • Errors can be corrected immediately

11. Tool- Context Diagram • Show us the relationships that exist among the participants (entities) within the work environment, as well as, how information is exchanged (transactions) between these entities.

12. Tool- Task Flow Diagram • Information from context diagram • Used in the task flow diagram • Shows sequence of the activities (task sets) involved in a given work flow process • Symbols used include: • Boxes (squares, rectangles) • Diamonds • Arrows

13. Today’s Exercise: Screening for depression using the PHQ-9 • Context Diagram • Task Flow Diagram • Draw a task flow that identifies the trigger for the process and shows each step, transaction, and decision that is involved. • Discussion • What does the current state? • What could the future state look like?