? ? The Gila River Healthcare Corporation (GRHC) consists of three geographically separate healthcare ? facilities serving the needs of the Gila River and Ak-Chin Indian Communities in South Central Arizona and providing patient data for NIH diabetic research. GRHC is currently undergoing system-wide information system (IS) evaluation and implementation. Electronic information resources, including the existing RPMS (Resource and Patient Management System) software in place at all Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities, and the Internet, are underutilized and/or inefficiently utilized by GRHC personnel. Reasons for this include lack of network connections and computing equipment at the point-of-care, lack of efficient data entry and retrieval processes, lack of clinician training and/or computer skills, and lack of funding and personnel to correct these deficiencies. The current project work plan involves building the necessary information infrastructure (computers, servers, databases, and network connections), implementing process improvement plans, hiring IT support personnel, providing a graphical user interface (GUl) to RPMS and training clinicians on its use as well as the use of Internet medical resources such as the NLM databases. A functional requirements analysis has been performed and process improvement pilot projects have been initiated. Next steps will include installation of computer and network equipment to bring all GRHC facilities online. Next a GUl to RPMS will be installed and training of clinical staff will occur. A separate GUI will be designed and developed which will provide customized views to RPMS data for individual and population-based demographic information retrieval so that GRHC can better understand its resource utilization and can provide more accurate and reliable patient data for NIH diabetic research efforts. Additional IT support personnel will be recruited to develop a dedicated training effort and skills maintenance process for both clinical and administrative staff. Following successful implementation of full RPMS functionality, evaluation of the IS will be conducted to determine whether GRHC's information needs are being met and whether an IS migration effort is warranted. The usability and usefulness of the new information resources to clinicians ? will be evaluated as well as the IS impact on patient care through measures of data redundancy, reliability and accuracy, operational costs, and patient outcomes. ? ?
