An Inquiry Into Administrative Operations and Process Flow at CERC

The Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC) is one of the primary centers in New York City and New York State providing health care services to children with developmental disabilities. In 2004, President Bush mandated that all healthcare providers convert to an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) by the year 2014. To fulfill this mandate and streamline their quality customer and provider service, CERC asked the Capstone team to observe and analyze current processes and procedures at its facilities, identifying areas of similarity and convergence across units. To obtain a stronger understanding of procedure and workflow for each unit, the team interviewed administrative staff in various units and analyzed internal processes beginning with initial patient contact and ending with determination and execution of treatment (or end of contact, if the patient was moved to another CERC unit or outside of CERC). The team's observations and recommendations are intended to assist CERC with the implementation of its EMR system and to generate general improvements in process and operational flow.