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Maryland Board of Nursing |
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In 1997, when the
Maryland Board of Nursing (MBON) called on Edge Systems to provide an IMEDGE
forms processing system to help the board streamline the Nursing License
Renewal process, it was considered a major coup in the never-ending
quest to tame the paper beast. Ms. Lynn Kirk-Flury, MBON Director of
Information Systems was satisfied with the results. After the initial
implementation she explained, “The new in-house system gives us the
control we need, plus it ensures that all forms are processed on time.
An added benefit is our ability to quickly and correctly handle
complaints and discrepancies.” But like all technology
solutions…there was room for improvement. Fast forward to 2003—today
the Maryland Board of Nursing has leveraged the power of the Internet to
bring the license renewal process on line. In fact with the help of Edge
Systems, the Board has created a solution that processes not only
Nursing License Renewals, but also renewals for nursing assistants, as
well as certifications for medication assistants. Nursing License Renewal
The improved Nursing
License Renewal System provides on-line license renewal for all active
Registered Nurses (RN), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN), and Advanced
Practical Nurses (APN). Nursing Licenses must be renewed on an annual
basis. According to Ms. Kirk-Flury, “Currently over 60% of nurses in
the state are renewing on-line.” MBON is hoping to have all licenses
eventually renewed on line. Part of the strategy is a discontinuation of
MBON’s policy of mailing out paper renewal forms. “It used to be
that the board would send a renewal form out to the nurses that they
filled out and returned.” Ms. Kirk-Flury explained, “Now we send out
a flyer that tells applicants that they can either renew on line or send
in a request for the paper renewal form to be mailed to them.” By
offering the choice of on-line or paper renewal, MBON is seeing a
steadily increasing number of nurses renewing on-line, and the benefits
are readily apparent. The on-line system allows for the electronic
capture of the data, providing hours of reduced effort for MBON staff.
It is no longer necessary to open mail, prepare and scan the forms, and
perform quality assurance on the forms. In addition, all payments are
handled electronically via credit card, eliminating the need for staff
to process payment information. Errors have been greatly reduced and the
turnaround time is vastly improved. According Ms. Kirk-Flury, “The Nurse can renew on line
today and the new license will be sent out tomorrow.” The on-line Nursing
License Renewal System co-exists with the IMEDGE forms
processing system, allowing MBON to use the same workflow process. With
the on-line solution, the only manual process involves mailing the
renewed licenses to the nurses. The on-line and forms processing systems
combined handle nearly 7,000 applications per month. Medication Assistant Certification
Registry
Recently, MBON took on
the task of maintaining a registry of certified medication assistants.
MBON looked to Edge to develop a web based solution, and now this
procedure is performed and maintained entirely on line. According to Ms.
Kirk-Flury, “Medication Assistants are required to take a clinical
update class every two years. The system allows Instructors to enter the
names of individuals that completed the update. The system maintains a
registry of certified individuals and their current status.”
Employers and other individuals that need to check the current
status of medication assistants can access the registry on line, saving
considerable time and effort in the certification process. Nursing Assistant Certification
Also being handled on
line is the renewal program for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA).
According to Ms. Kirk-Flury, “Prior to the year 2000, CNA’s didn’t
have to be certified. But now this task has been taken on by the Board
of Nursing.” A web-based solution was the logical choice, and was
recently implemented. For the CNA certification, the nursing assistant
logs into the web site and fills out the license renewal information
much like the nursing license renewal process mentioned earlier. Unlike
RN’s, LPN’s and APN’s, CNA’s are required to have their
supervising nurse approve the application. Edge provided a system that
allows the approving nurse to log in to the site, review the CNA’s
application and approve the application on line. There are about 2,000
CNA requests being processed per month. Benefits for the MBON
As mentioned, the
system provides significant labor savings as well as improved operating
efficiency. Enhanced Reporting and Audit Trail
Capabilities
To further streamline
MBON’s administrative processes, Edge developed a Crystal Reports
based web reporting system for management review and daily transaction
summary reporting. A variety of reporting options have been developed,
both analytical and transactional. Explains Ms. Kirk-Flury, “We use
the reporting system to ease the payment reconciliation process. The
on-line payment processor is only able to give us credit card numbers
and payment amounts. With the Edge reporting system, we have access to
information such as name, social security number, nursing license number
and type, amount paid, and other pertinent information. Plus, we can run
a report based on a date range, allowing us to get an accurate snapshot
of activity during any given period of time. Previously, our reports
were limited to batches, which made it difficult to run a report across
a wider time window.” Future Improvements
According to Ms. Kirk-Flury,
there may be future applications being added as MBON takes on new
responsibilities. “We’re looking at a generic on-line licensing
system to handle a variety of professional licensing requirements that
have a smaller user base.” |
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