My dissertation work culminated in a web-based, open-source pharmacy information system designed for free clinics. RxMAGIC provides automated inventory tracking, electronic dispensing and labeling, automated reporting and alerting, and order communication; it is functionally interoperable with EpicCare, an ambulatory EHR. Watch the tutorial video below!
My skill set in action.
1. User experience research.
- Performed contextual inquiries and informal interviews to understand challenges associated with medication management at a free clinic in Pittsburgh, PA.
- Challenges informed initial proposal of an information system grounded in individual interventions.
2. Lean healthcare.
- Conducted a continuous observation time motion study to understand pharmacist time utilization at the clinic.
- Used Lean healthcare principles to identify waste and redundancy in non-value-added tasks.
- Proposed specific interventions to reduce waste.
3. User-centered design.
- Used an agile approach to create user stories that define desired functionality and their benefits to the end-users.
- User stories were implemented to build and test a web-based prototype system.
4. Human-computer interaction.
- Conducted a laboratory-based usability evaluation to diagnose potential interaction problems.
- Iteratively refined system interface to improve system usability and learnability.
5. System evaluation.
- Incrementally deployed RxMAGIC in two sites.
- Created educational materials to train users in addition to on-site training and change management.
- Evaluated impact of system on pharmacist time utilization, satisfaction, quality of care, and cost.