The Use Case Diagram
In the present scenario, John reveals that he had issues breathing in the morning. The problem appeared insignificant as John thought it would go away with time. Moreover, he attributed the breathing issue to change in temperature and weather. On the contrary, John realizes that the problem persists into the day, revealing that it was not a small issue as he had previously thought. This prompts him to seek medical attention, and he opts to consult his family doctor. John has two options: calling the doctor to book an appointment or going to the online portal and booking the same appointment with the doctor. One of the main challenges in this first part of the decision-making is that it is not directly clear to know which choice John picked between calling to book or accessing the portal for the same purpose. It is crucial to note that several factors can affect each choice, including lateness, internet access, and stability.
Even though John had two options to book an appointment with his family doctor, it is unclear what choice he used. However, John got an appointment with the doctor the next day at 10 in the morning. He made the family physician and explained his breathing difficulty, which had initially started as a simple issue, and persisted into the day. John spent the whole day with the condition, implying that as he visited the hospital on the day of the appointment while having the same difficulty, it reveals the severity of the health issue. The family doctor did not immediately confirm whether John’s problem was due to common cold, sinusitis, or asthma. This introduced three challenging points of decision, resulting in other problems. This flow of information is attached to the appendix A and shows the beginning of decision points through to the x-ray booking point.
The doctor ordered a chest x-ray to assess what could have caused John’s breathing difficulty. In addition, the physician also ordered a blood test to assess if Joh had viral infections that may have resulted in his issue. This is the first point of decision that the doctor had to make to find out the case of John’s breathing issue. However, it is not a grave point of the decision since it does not go deeper into processes that can cause negative consequences to the patient. The orders given are meant to isolate the causes of the breathing difficulty, thus making the doctor concentrate more on offering effective treatment after finding the real source of the issue affecting John’s breathing. At the same time, the ordered tests can help find any more related issues associated with breathing problems among people.
Apart from ordering an x-ray and blood test, the doctor recommends that Joh visit the Pulmonologist at the General Hospital. The doctor’s advice is crucial as it allows John to find all the possible causes of his breathing issue. At the same time, the orders and the recommendation become handy as they can reveal some other issues that John may not have known. Moreover, in some cases, a single health problem can result from a combination of several issues in the body. Without a proper analysis of possible disease entry points, it is possible to identify one cause, which may not result in the definitive treatment of the diseases. Therefore, seeking up to three alternatives helps to give more accurate results regarding the potential cause of the breathing difficulty. This flow of information is attached to the appendix A showing the beginning of decision points.
Online Appointment Booking
John may have opted to book an appointment online due to existing barriers. Doing this shows that John must have access to the internet and must have been registered with the relevant portal to book the appointment. In this case, John must access the service portal and undergo a user-authentication process to access his available services and the booking procedure. User authentication is necessary, especially in cases the system contains sensitive information of various patients. John must have the correct email or phone number and password to register to the portal. After entering these details, John will have access to his main page within the system and see all the possible options regarding the appointment. The system has all the procedures he can use to make the appointment, or if the doctor is not available, it will show that it is not possible to make any reservations. On the other hand, if the email-password combination is not correct, John will receive an error message telling him to try again or reset his password. This flow of the login process is attached in appendix B.
Visiting Pulmonologist at the General Hospital
Visiting the Pulmonologist at the General Hospital begins with having an appointment with the doctor by visiting the receptionist’s desk. This is crucial in allowing John to know the best time to visit the medic and have his issues effectively addressed. It also allows him to provide all the relevant information required by the doctor to set the checkup procedure and activities. After accessing the receptionist, John’s appointment is assured with the physician’s secretary. At this point, John is confident of getting assistance regarding his breathing problem from the Pulmonologist. When the Pulmonologist receives the x-ray results, he or she will conduct Pulmonary function tests or PFTs to assess how John’s lungs work. These tests can include lung size assessment and airflow patterns and behavior, including spirometry test, presence of pollen, allergies, and lung volume tests. Visiting Pulmonologist at the General Hospital information flow is presented in appendix C.
Payment Process Flow
The payment flow is similar in design to the process of an order. John can decide to pay for the healthcare services through a direct deposit with the hospital cashiers or use his online portal to complete the process. Several approaches can be used in the online payment process, however, online transaction with order placement is considered for the current analysis. After receiving all the medical services, John must initiate an order required through the portal. The system acknowledges and receives and accepts the order, which is filled correctly based on the services the hospital has offered. Upon filling the order form, two processes are initiated at the same time, including invoice processing and order shipment. In the invoice processing side of the flow, John receives a detailed instruction of how to make the payment, depending on the infrastructure of the system. John then makes the payment, which the system accepts and processes the relevant receipts, that can be sent automatically to him (Berdahl et al., 2019). To this end, both the shipment and invoice sides come to termination and the order is closed. The flow of this message is shown in Appendix D.
Reference
Berdahl, C. T., Easterlin, M. C., Ryan, G., Needleman, J., & Nuckols, T. K. (2019). Primary care physicians in the merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS): A qualitative investigation of participants’ experiences, self-reported practice changes, and suggestions for program administrators. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 34(10), 2275-2281. Web.
Appendix
Appendix A: Use Case Diagrams
Appendix B: Online Appointment Booking
Appendix C: Visiting Pulmonologist at the General Hospital
Appendix D: Service Payment
