Abstract
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1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
General Hospital calabar. The hospital provide qualitative Health care services
but maintains that they do not just heal mere physical illness which attacks the
human body, but a much deeper and holistic healing of the entire human
person.
These service areas include all the wards (medical and surgical for male and
female, pediatrics, chest unit and the maternity section as a whole. Other
departments are out patient department (OPD), laboratory department,
pharmacy department, central sterling and supply department (C.S.S.D), XRAY department community medicine and the mobile clinic, and theatre
department. The roles of these departments are complementary and depict
what they call team-work in patient management, the patient always beings at
the center.
The Hospital since its establishment has demonstrated a very keen
interest in the staff recruitment and development of highly skilled and very
dependable medical and paramedical personnel. Presently, their work force
stands at 460.
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1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
Many problems are encountered with the manual method of handling files. It
is quite unfortunate that ESUT Teaching Hospital. In spite of her large medical
service and recognition still keep her records manually.
The problems associated with this manual system include time wastage,
ineffective use of statistical data, and duplication of efforts in records keeping.
Delay in decision making, it requires a lot of clerical efforts inability to cope
up with daily work load. Slow in responding the queries / enquires, Rodents
records, lot of human mistakes, lack of confidentiality of files and high cost of
stationary.
This project is aimed at devising a system that will eradicate these above
problems and improve medical services to the citizens. This computerization
process is believed to be capable of not only solving these problems but many
more to be encountered.
1.3 AIM/OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
The main purpose of this project is to investigate and design a computer
based medical services, capable of eradicating the above mentioned problems
to be speeding up the processing, storing and retrieval of information which
greatly assist medical personnel in the performance of their duties. Again, it
will provide a means to ease medical laboratory statistics and improve decision
making by reducing processing time, as well as reducing the communication
gap between the Doctors and other staff still involved in the patient medical
care. It will also reduce human errors to the barest minimum and improve
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confidentiality of files. In summary, the objective is to set an efficient medical
database for the advancement of the medical research and analysis.
1.4 JUSTIFICATION FOR THE PROJECT
The researcher during the course of this investigation found out that all
the medical keeping record are done manually and having seen the problem
associated with the manual system, the researcher calls for a new system in
patient related services. The new system is justified in many ways.
The design of the new system will eliminate the problems of the system
mentioned earlier by providing quick file retrieval and searches. By providing
accurate up to date information on demand.
It will minimize redundantly , loss of information will be prevented, the
need for volume paper files and unnecessary spending of paper folders, file
cabinet will be removed and adequate security will be provided to ensure
database system.
Furthermore, the new system is justified when receptionist, medical
record clerks in recording would not be our worked again by the implemented
of the automatic system.
1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this study is to develop a computerised management
system. Others include;
i. To provide total asset visibility.
ii. To allow high levels in giving full patient history.
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iii. To reduce lead time, shelf space, and errors due to damage, fatigue of
staff .
iv. To facilitate “just in time” deliveries.
v. To provide full process control for the patient.
vi. To provide higher level security as the system would be passworded to
prevent unauthorised access.
vii. To shorten cross docking time and speeds up sort/pick up rate.
viii. To help the management plan, monitor, optimize resources and ascertain
their financial position at any time.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of the project covers the development of a computer based database
application for use by the these sections (patient state of health,bill payment
and address ) at the general hospital to replace their old paper notebook
recording system.
The requirements include designing a user interface for the application and
providing options for a user to log into the application by supplying the correct
username and password combination; register new patient and view a list of
already registered patient; to keep records of out patient and in-patient in the
hospital; view patient registered on the database; admitted, discharge, bill
patient etc. It also covers writing the background programming to ensure that
the interface works with the database through the underlying codes to perform
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the required actions. It also involves the testing, improvement and optimization
of the application.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
MEDICAL RECORDS: It is the records that spell out the patient’s illness and
treatment during a particular period for out patients and inpatients.
OUT PATIENTS: Any person who goes to receive treatment in the Hospital
but does not stay overnight.
WARD: A section in the hospital where inpatient stays and receives treatment
on regular bases.
INPATIENTS: A patient staying and receiving treatment in the hospital.
1.8 PROJECT REPORT ORGANIZATION
This report is organized into five chapters. The first chapter takes care of
introduction: background, aims and objectives, justification and scope of the
project. Chapter two surveys the literature review of this work. In chapter
three, the project methodology, data collection, analysis, limitations of the
existing system, system design, system flowchart and top down design were
done. The input, processing and output modules are critically analysed.
In chapter four, system implementation, testing and integration: choice of
development tools, system requirements, and testing were carefully done.
Finally chapter five closes up with summary, recommendations and
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conclusions: limitation, Bill of Engineering Measurement and Engineering
(BEME), bibliography, appendices