Disruptive Innovation for Eye Care Technology Program Proposals
San Jacinto eye care program proposes the innovation of electronic medical records (EMR) training in the classroom to prepare students for the first clinical practicum round. The second proposal is the investigation and implementation of rotational labs incorporating service learning. The courses effective by these two innovations are OPTS 2441 (Basic Ophthalmic Techniques), OPTS 2445 (Advance Ophthalmic Techniques), OPTS 2167 (Practicum Opticianry), HPRS 2200 (Pharmacology), POFM 1327 (Medical Insurance), and HPRS 2210 (Basic Health Professional Skills II).
Both proposals will be the main focus of discussion with the Advisory Board during the February 2017 scheduled meeting. The advisory team is the Medical Director, Program Director / Faculty, one full-time faculty, and three part-time faculty. All San Jacinto faculty are both certified ACademic online instructors and Allied Ophthalmic Personnel (AOP). The Advisory Board consists of thirteen eye care professionals from industry, including the medical director.
The discussion of electronic medical records will include the options of using a textbook verses downloading a software platform from an established company.
The first option of a textbook (electronic or hard copy) is the Electronic Health Records: Understanding and Using Computerized Medical Records, 3rd edition by Gartee. It is currently being used in other accredited ophthalmic personnel training programs in the United States. With the textbook option the students would purchase the mandatory ebook with the access key code to download during the two year program. The book and access code are published by Pearson and retail price is $108.00. The second option for EMR is to purchase from one the leading ophthalmology EMR software developers. The leaders in ophthalmology based EMRs are MDIntellSys, Epic (hospital and larger facilities), and Medflow. The purchase of EMR software by the department would need the considerations and recommendations by the college IT department on compatibility along with the cost of software. With the budget constraints of the program, a bid and application for monies through a Perkins Grant would be obtained to finalize purchase of software. Along with the need of software the program would need to establish the hardware. The program currently has only four laptop computers for use in the eight basic lab exam rooms, one receptionist desk, and four advance lab exam rooms. The options for the department on the extra nine computers are as follows; check out computers through the college IT department each semester as needed, purchase by the department using Perkins grant monies, and/or student BYOD (bring your own device).
The second innovation for advisory board discussion is the rotational labs. Which consist of rotations with rotating lab partners, collaboration between basic and advance labs, open lab with simulators for skills assessment, and service learning rotations including in-house physician. The first three rotational labs are maintained by the program instructors for each course. The service learning rotational labs consist of Kid's Vision for Life See to Succeed and Community Wellness fairs. The students will perform pre-screening test on the patients at each event. The disruptive innovative service learning rotation lab to embrace is the community eye care clinic. This lab would provide the eye care student chair side, technical pre-screening experience with the physician and patients in our 5,000 square foot eye care suite facility equipped with eight exam rooms, front desk, four diagnostic exam rooms and optical. The community eye care clinic rotational lab would provide a physician a satellite location for seeing patients with very little overhead expenses, San Jacinto College students and employees an on campus eye care provider, as well as give the eye care students real life experience in their classrooms and lab.
Developing these innovations begins with planning and communication between advisory team, advisory board, Dean of Allied Health, Provost of central campus and Chancellor of the college district wide. The implementation of both innovations will take several phases and at least a proposed year and a half to establish the biggest disruption, service learning in-house eye clinic.
Phase I - February 2017
Take proposal for EMR Training and the Rotational Lab to the Advisory Board meeting.
Phase 2 - March 2017
Take the Advisory Board recommendations to the Dean, Provost and Chancellor.
Apply for a Perkins Vocational and Technical Grant for software and hardware needs.
Meet with the college legal team on liability issues surrounding the in house rotation lab.
Place the in-house physician on the agenda for the Board of Regents meeting.
Phase 3 - Summer 2017
Order the electronic medical records platform approved by the board.
Add electronic medical records to the curriculum and syllabi.
Phase 4 - Fall 2017
Introduce electronic medical records into OPTS 2441 and HPRS 2200.
Refine the lab group rotations, open simulations stations, See to Succeed and Diabetic Health Fair service learning lab rotations, and collaboration of basic and advance techniques labs.
Phase 5 - Spring 2018
Recruitment of an ophthalmologist for in house lab rotation
Phase 6 - Summer 2018
EMR software added to POFM 1327 (Medical Insurance) course
Phase 7 - Fall 2018
Implementation of rotational lab with the in-house clinic
Student rotations for lab:
Scribe for physician (OPTS 2441)
Front Desk reception (POFM 1327)
Coding & Billing (POFM 1327)
Technician assists the physician (OPTS 2441, 2445, HPRS 2210, HPRS 2210)
The technician performing diagnostic tests (OPTS 2445, HPRS 2210)
Optical - dispensing glasses (OPTS 2167)
The Eye Care Program vision for the future is twofold to cultivate a quality allied ophthalmic professional into the workforce and to deliver quality eye care to patients such as yourself. Sight is one of our most precious sense -- join us in the fight of Saving Sight.