Evaluation of the Air Force Clinical Laboratory Automation System (AFCLAS) at Wright-Patterson USAF Medical Center. Volume I. Summary.

摘要

This summary presents the most significant findings of an evaluation of the impacts of installing a medical information system, the Air Force Clinical Laboratory Automation System (AFCLAS), at the USAF Medical Center, Wright-Patterson AFB. The evaluation plan was developed by identifying 58 potential impacts of introducing AFCLAS in place of the existing manual information system. Some of the areas investigated in the evaluation were clerical tasks inside and outside the clinical laboratory; completeness of the medical records; time for processing laboratory test requests; and acceptance by, or satisfaction of, various personnel and patient groups. Data were collected at two different times-before and after AFCLAS was installed. The evaluation included a cost-benefit analysis, as well as an analysis of the nondollar benefits of AFCLAS. The cost-benefit analysis showed that the expected cost of operating a clinical laboratory using AFCLAS was $382,123 more per year than the cost of operating a clinical laboratory using the previous manual system. The one-time installation cost of AFCLAS was an additional $91,631. The nondollar benefits of AFCLAS are: probable improvement in patient care, provision of cumulative reports, improved legibility of reports, easy retrieval of test results, additional information on reports, and improved report format. (Author)