04 Requirements Gathering Healthcare

Requirements Gathering in Healthcare Settings

Session Overview

Duration: 2 hours Prerequisites: Sessions 1-3 completion Session Type: Practical Skills

Learning Objectives

• Master healthcare-specific requirement elicitation techniques
• Handle clinical user interviews effectively
• Document functional requirements with healthcare compliance considerations
• Manage competing priorities between clinical, administrative, and technical stakeholders

Key Topics

1. Healthcare Stakeholder Characteristics

Clinical Staff Challenges

• Time Constraints: Limited availability due to patient care responsibilities
• Technical Literacy: Varying comfort levels with technology
• Workflow Disruption: Resistance to changes that impact patient care
• Clinical Priorities: Patient safety always comes first

Administrative Staff Considerations

• Regulatory Focus: Compliance and reporting requirements
• Financial Impact: Cost-benefit analysis and ROI concerns
• Operational Efficiency: Process optimization and resource utilization
• Risk Management: Legal and liability considerations

2. Specialized Elicitation Techniques

Shadow and Observe

• Clinical Shadowing: Observe actual patient care workflows
• Workflow Documentation: Map current state processes
• Pain Point Identification: Identify inefficiencies and frustrations
• Best Practice Discovery: Understand workarounds and innovations

Structured Interviews

• Role-Specific Questions: Tailor questions to clinical specialties
• Scenario-Based Discussions: Use patient cases to elicit requirements
• Exception Handling: Focus on edge cases and emergency procedures
• Integration Needs: Understand downstream impacts

Group Sessions

• Multidisciplinary Rounds: Participate in clinical team meetings
• Quality Improvement Sessions: Join existing improvement initiatives
• Training Observations: Observe new staff orientation
• Committee Participation: Attend relevant medical staff committees

3. Healthcare-Specific Requirement Categories

Functional Requirements

• Clinical Workflows: Step-by-step process documentation
• Data Capture: What information must be collected and when
• Decision Support: Clinical alerts, reminders, and guidelines
• Reporting: Clinical, administrative, and regulatory reports

Non-Functional Requirements

• Performance: Response time critical for clinical decisions
• Security: HIPAA compliance and data protection
• Reliability: System availability during patient care
• Usability: Minimize clicks and cognitive load

Regulatory Requirements

• Meaningful Use: EHR certification requirements
• Quality Measures: Core measures and patient safety indicators
• Privacy Controls: Access controls and audit logging
• Retention Policies: Legal record-keeping requirements

4. Documentation Strategies

User Stories for Healthcare

As a [clinical role],
I want [functionality]
So that [patient care benefit/clinical outcome]

Acceptance Criteria with Clinical Context

• Include patient safety considerations
• Specify error handling for critical situations
• Define clinical validation requirements
• Address workflow integration points

Regulatory Compliance Notes

• Map requirements to specific regulations
• Document audit trail needs
• Specify access control requirements
• Note data retention and disposal rules

5. Managing Competing Priorities

Clinical vs. Administrative Priorities

• Clinical Focus: Patient care efficiency and safety
• Administrative Focus: Cost reduction and compliance
• Resolution Strategy: Find solutions that benefit both areas

Immediate vs. Long-term Needs

• Immediate: Quick wins and critical fixes
• Long-term: Strategic initiatives and major improvements
• Balancing Act: Phase implementations to show early value

Resource Constraints

• Budget Limitations: Prioritize high-impact, low-cost improvements
• Time Constraints: Focus on essential features first
• Technical Constraints: Work within existing infrastructure

Practical Exercises

1. Interview Simulation: Practice interviewing different healthcare roles
2. Requirement Prioritization: Use MoSCoW method for healthcare scenarios
3. User Story Writing: Create healthcare-specific user stories
4. Stakeholder Mapping: Identify all affected parties for an HMIS change

Common Interview Questions by Role

For Physicians

• "Walk me through your typical patient encounter"
• "What information do you need before seeing a patient?"
• "What slows you down in your documentation?"
• "How do you stay updated on patient status changes?"

For Nurses

• "Describe your shift handoff process"
• "What patient information is critical at the bedside?"
• "How do you coordinate with other departments?"
• "What safety checks are most important to you?"

For Administrators

• "What reports do you need for operations management?"
• "How do you measure department performance?"
• "What regulatory reports are required?"
• "What are your biggest operational challenges?"

Key Takeaways

• Healthcare requirements gathering requires deep understanding of clinical workflows
• Multiple stakeholder perspectives must be balanced carefully
• Patient safety considerations must be embedded in all requirements
• Regulatory compliance is non-negotiable and must be built into every feature

Requirements Documentation Template

• Requirement ID: Unique identifier
• Description: Detailed functional description
• Clinical Rationale: Why this requirement supports patient care
• Regulatory Basis: Applicable regulations or standards
• Priority: MoSCoW classification with clinical justification
• Acceptance Criteria: Testable conditions including clinical validation
• Dependencies: Related requirements and system components

Next Session Preview

Session 5 will explore data analysis and healthcare analytics, including understanding different types of healthcare data and creating meaningful reports for various stakeholders.