Inpatient Implementation

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Documentation for Inpatient module

1. Patient Number for Inpatients

When a patient is registered in the outpatient system, they are assigned a unique ID number.
For inpatient admission, the patient's outpatient number is used, but with the prefix "IP" added
in front of the outpatient number.
Example:

• Outpatient ID: 12345
• Inpatient ID: IP12345
  This ensures that inpatient and outpatient records are easily distinguishable in the system.

2. Patient Allocation to Ward and Bed

Once a patient is admitted to the hospital as an inpatient, they must be allocated a specific
ward and bed. The system should keep track of which patient is assigned to which ward and
which bed.

3. Ward and Bed Information

Each hospital has multiple wards, each with a specific number of beds. The hospital must
maintain a record of all available wards, their respective ward numbers, and the number of
beds in each ward.
Example:

• Ward Name: Women's Ward
• Ward Number: 1
• Number of Beds: 50

The system should store this data for quick reference to ensure proper ward and bed
management.

4. Bed Allocation Logic

When a bed is allocated to a patient, it cannot be reallocated to another patient until the
current patient is discharged. This principle is similar to booking a flight seat, where once a seat
is booked, it cannot be reassigned until the reservation is canceled or the flight is completed.
For example, if Patient A is assigned to Bed 101, that bed is no longer available for other
patients unless Patient A is discharged or moved to another bed.

5. Medicine Prescription for Inpatients and Outpatients

Outpatient Medication: When an outpatient is given a prescription, the medicine is
typically listed in a 2x3 format, where the doctor specifies the dosage, frequency, and
quantity. For instance:
o Medicine 1: 2 tablets, take 3 times a day.
o Medicine 2: 1 tablet, take once a day.
Inpatient Medication: Inpatients are typically given medicine to be administered by a
nurse at regular intervals (e.g., every 8 hours). For instance:
o Medicine for Inpatient 1: 2 tablets, administered by the nurse every 8 hours.
Repetition in Drug Prescription: This ensures that medication dosages and intervals are
specified clearly, and regular prescriptions are repeated as per the treatment plan.

6. Nurse's Medicine Picking Process

The pharmacy system should organize medicine by the ward that each nurse is in charge of. The
nurse picks up medicines for patients in their assigned ward.
Example:
o Ward: Women's Ward 1
o Nurse's Responsibility: The nurse in charge of Women's Ward 1 will pick up
medication for all patients in that ward.
The nurse is notified in advance when it's time to pick up medication, based on the prescribed
timing. For example:

• 1x1 (Midnight medication): The nurse is notified 10 minutes before midnight, at 11:50PM.
• 1x2 (Noon medication): The nurse is notified 10 minutes before noon, at 11:50 AM.
• 1x3 (Every 8 hours): The nurse is notified at regular intervals for every 8 hours.
• 1x4 (Every 6 hours): The nurse is notified for medicine required every 6 hours.Each medicine picked up will include:
• Patient Name
• Bed Number
• Medicine Name

This ensures that the nurse is aware of what medication needs to be administered and to which
patient.

7. Setting Notification Time Preferences

The hospital system should be ableto configure how many minutes before a scheduled
medicine administration they want to be notified. This configuration can be set for each
medication.
For instance, if a hospital prefers the nurse to be notified 1 hour before the scheduled time for
midnight medication (1x1), they would set the notification preference to 60 minutes before
midnight. If the hospital prefers the notification to be 30 minutes before, they can adjust the
system accordingly.

8. Billing for Inpatient Medications and Lab Results

Medications: Inpatient medications are billed after they are dispensed. Once the nurse
picks up the medication, it will be billed accordingly to the patient’s account.
Lab Results: Lab results are billed once the results are delivered and reviewed by the
medical team.
For example:
Medicine Billing: After a nurse picks up and dispenses the medicine, the billing process
for that medicine is triggered.
Lab Result Billing: Once a lab result is available and reviewed, the charges for the lab
tests are billed.

9. Billing by Nurse Responsibility

Nurses are only authorized to bill for patients in the ward they are assigned to. For example,
Nurse 1, who is in charge of Women's Ward 1, can only bill patients in that specific ward. If apatient is transferred to another ward, the patient's details and billing responsibility must be
transferred to the nurse in charge of the new ward.
Permissions & Restrictions:
Nurses cannot access or bill patients in wards they are not assigned to. This is enforced
through a permissions system to ensure confidentiality and proper billing procedures.

10. Medicine Dispensing Control

Medicines should only be dispensed by the pharmacy when needed. If a patient's condition
improves, and a doctor modifies the medication, the pharmacy system should stop dispensing
the previous prescription and begin dispensing the new medication.
For example, if Patient A’s condition improves, and the doctor changes their prescription from
Medicine X to Medicine Y, the pharmacy system should immediately stop dispensing Medicine
X and begin dispensing Medicine Y according to the updated prescription.

11. Outpatient Medicine Billing Before Dispensing

For outpatients, billing should occur before the medicine is dispensed. If an issue arises—such
as a patient not having enough money, the medicine being out of stock, or the doctor changing
the prescription—there should be a mechanism in place to remove specific items from the bill.
This mechanism will work similarly to how supermarkets handle item returns or removals
during checkout.
Example Process:
The outpatient is billed for the prescribed medicines at the point of prescription.
If any medication is not available or if the prescription is updated, the system will allow
the billing of specific items to be removed or updated accordingly.
This ensures that billing is accurate and reflects the current state of the prescription and
available medication.