Cook County Tuberculosis Treatment Facility

Improving Workflow: How a Leading Tuberculosis Treatment Facility Accelerated Work Flow and Reduced Administrative Procedures with Microsoft InfoPath® 2007

BACKGROUND
The Suburban Cook County Tuberculosis Sanitarium District (SCCTSD) provides leading edge tuberculosis testing and treatment nationally and internationally. Formed in 1947 in the Chicago suburb of Forest Park, SCCTSD currently serves over 2.5 million Cook County residents and estimated over 82,000 office visits in 2005.

“This will bring the sophistication of our organization’s administrative processes up to the cutting edge of our tuberculosis treatment methods, helping SCCTSD to serve the public even better than before.”

--Glenn Duplissa, IT Manager, Suburban Cook County Tuberculosis Sanitarium District

BUSINESS CHALLENGE
Given the considerable caseload at their four clinics, SCCTSD staff must be able to efficiently initiate and track work orders. Previously, SCCTSD used paper forms with carbon copies to process and track work orders. When a staff member completed the form, copies were routed to personnel required to complete the work. The paper-based process was time-consuming, made it difficult to track work orders, and occasionally work orders were lost as forms moved from desk to desk, resulting in delays of important work.

SCCTSD needed a new system to enable administrative staff to initiate, process and track electronic work orders for better processing and tracking. Additionally, that system would need to provide a document library so various staff members could view, edit, approve and track processed work orders.

GOALS
SCCTSD was looking for a robust, yet simple solution that improves workflow and enhances productivity. That solution is designed to do the following:

  • Provide an electronic version of a work order to streamline work flow and enable easy order editing and tracking
  • Develop a centralized, and secure document library to enable all staff with appropriate clearance to access a searchable repository for work orders
  • Allow for the simple and efficient modification and maintenance of forms so that little training is required for use
SOLUTION
Working with SWC Technology Partners, SCCTSD decided that in order to update and streamline its work order process they would implement an electronic forms solution based on the 2007 Microsoft Office system.

Using the Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 information gathering program, an electronic work order form will be created and made available within a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 document library. Because Office InfoPath 2007 includes familiar Microsoft Office system features and tools, very little training will be required to use the form, and the drag-and-drop Office InfoPath 2007 interface will also make it easy for SCCTSD staff members to modify the form as future needs dictate.

The document library will centralize storage of work orders and also enable staff to view, edit, approve, and track work orders. Built-in workflow capabilities of Office SharePoint Server 2007 will be used to initiate and move work orders through to completion. Office SharePoint Server 2007 functionality makes it easy for staff to find a specific work order, because the document library is easily searchable. And, build-in search security features help ensure that only authorized users can view work orders. Once the work order is completed, an e-mail message is sent to the person who submitted the work order, as well as the designated approver. Once approved, the work order is tagged and displayed as “complete” in the document library.

ANTICIPATED RESULTS
  •  SCCTSD predicts considerable improvements to workflow. They anticipate the following:
  • The reduction of administrative time spent on the work order process by an estimated 50 percent
  • Minimizing delays and ensuring that work orders are not lost by providing a central tracking repository
  • Reducing the number of meetings required because all involved parties will have access to work order status
An additional benefit of the solution is the ease of training for the SCCTSD staff which will greatly accelerate implementation and use.

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