MAAS doc example: MGH

Rather than assume that every reader of our MAAS documentation is a network expert looking for a quick fix, we’re planning to expand the available material somewhat. In the past, we’ve used random analogies, screenshots, and examples to keep the text interesting — and it’s worked well enough. Going forward, though, it feels more practical and useful to create a single example thread that carries throughout blog posts and the documentation.

This doesn’t mean that we’re going to adopt fable-like narratives or “day in the life” scenarios. Far from it. We do, though, want to backstop explanations and feature discussions with a single, coherent model. Our goal is to help the various parts of the doc set fit together a little more neatly.

To that end, we’re introducing Metaphorical General Hospital (MGH), an example data centre that provides computing support for a 100-bed, suburban hospital that serves a community of around 5,000 residents. The example doesn’t have to be complete or perfectly realistic. It might not represent any actual hospital. It just needs to be sufficiently coherent to (1) tie the doc together, and (2) provide a better reference point for describing MAAS features.

That said, here is a general outline of the MGH model. This model describes the types of computing and network constructs needed to help illustrate the features of MAAS. Don’t worry too much about what each bullet means; you can assign whatever meaning makes sense to you, based on the labels provided, and the model should still work just fine.

• Patient management
  • Caregiver services
    – Provider services
    — Charts
    — Provider orders
    — Provider documentation
    – Nursing services
    — Nursing orders
    — Continuing education
  • Medication management
    – Nursing meds
    — Medication administration
    — Narcotics control
    – Prescriber controls
    — Pharmacy
    — Narcotics control
    — Medication interactions
• Accounting
  • Accounts payable
    – Staff compensation
    — Timeclock
    — Payroll
    – Supplies & services
    — Medical and surgical supplies
    — Office and general supplies
  • Accounts receivable
    – Business office
    — Patient intake
    — Insurance reconciliation
    – Collections
    — Patient collections
    — Insurance collections
• Facilities
  • Patient support
    – Housekeeping
    – Food service
  • Staff support
    – Instrumentation
    – Information technology

This isn’t intended to show all functions, or, really, to convey the actual functioning of a real hospital. Those functions are certainly much more complex, with a much deeper structure and a lot more controls. But it does give us a plausible model that can be used to describe — and illustrate — the features of MAAS.

We’ll point back to this post in blogs to come.