Transaction Processing: A Conceptual Model for Information Management Systems in Medical Rehabilitation

The implementation of a transaction-based model in comprehensive medical rehabilitation settings can increase efficiency, reduce costs, facilitate up-to-the-minute patient progress tracking, and improve overall quality of care. In this model, all rehabilitation-related data are captured and contained as standardized data sets, providing a consistent means with which to monitor patient, clinician, resource, and program performance. Data about each discrete transaction or "event" in the course of a patient's rehabilitation are retained at the most granular level, permitting unlimited capabilities for advanced analysis. Using these events as building blocks, management reports may be generated to support decision making for the individual served, for similar groups of patients, for different resource configurations (e.g., treatment teams, alternative therapies), and for the organization as a whole.