Student ID: s3795086
Email: s3795086@student.rmit.edu.au
Bio:
Currently studying a Bachelor of Business (Finance) through RMIT, living on the Central Coast of NSW where I've called home all my life. I enjoy skateboarding, snowboarding & camping in my spare time.
IT Interest
My interest in IT is based around the instant connectedness the world now shares because of the invention of the internet. The ability to communicate with anyone, anytime at any place around the globe is an amazing human achievement. When you consider how the world operated and communicated only 30 years ago, experiencing the IT-based world we now live in is something I am very grateful for. My current interest in IT revolves around staying up to date with modern applications and trends that businesses can utilise to stay relevant and grow in the modern business environment.
The experience I have had with IT began through school at a young age. From the early years of primary school, we were allotted time for computer classes where we would learn basic operations of computers, different things you could do with them and beginner typing. This continued throughout all my years at school, with the internet becoming the main source of information relating to studying and where I got to experience the growth of the world wide web to what it is today.
In later years of school, I had managed to learn basic image editing through Photoshop, management of IRC channels revolved around gaming and beginner HTML. Originally having the idea to pursue the career of a web designer, I lost interest after school and only now, years later, I have decided to continue on studying
My decision to study at RMIT was based around the degree choices that were offered by different universities allowing distance education, combined with the perception I had of how different universities would be perceived by future employers. I am a believer that a degree attained through RMIT will hold a high standard when starting out a career in my chosen field.
In my studies through RMIT I hope to learn how IT can assist with the performance and growth of companies in the modern day business environment. Teamwork and collaboration are two areas I have a constant experience with in my current career, and will continue to utilise throughout my working life.
Ideal Job
The primary function of a Business Analyst is to provide experienced advice on how businesses can improve efficiency and grow. Through the use of data analysis and developing new business models, work can be streamlined to provide businesses with higher returns and productivity. The appeal of being able to take a third person view of a company to assess where improvements can be made, communicate with teams to achieve common goals and ultimately make long term differences makes this career an ideal prospect for my future.
Minimum qualifications for a Business Analyst generally include a bachelor’s degree in business, finance or IT, while the skills needed may include detailed reporting, data analysis, strategic planning, budgeting, strong communication and financial modelling. To move into a senior role as a Business Analyst would require many years’ experience with a proven record of success in previous roles.
I am currently completing my Bachelor of Business (Finance) while working full time in retail management. The current relevant skills I utilise in my career include leadership, communication, reporting, planning and coaching. The combination of my current studies and work experience will provide me with the necessary skills and education to change career into a business analyst, while moving into a senior role will be achieved once experience is gained in the new career path.
Personal Profile
- The results of an online Myers-Briggs test: = ESTJ-A (The Executive)
- The results of an online learning style test: Visual Learner
- The results of an Interpersonal Skills Self Assessment:
- Total score: 76%. Comprised of 63% Listening Skills, 75% Emotional Intelligence, 86% Verbal Communication, 80% Communicating in Groups.
The results of these tests confirm confidence I have about myself moving forward when dealing with group work in studies and collaboration in the work place. There are definitely areas that could be looked at to improve in, such as the listening skills result of 63%. Previously I was of the view that my listening skills were quite good but the results have indicated I will have to reassess them when communicating with colleagues and fellow students. Overall I am happy with the results, but understand there is always room for improvement.
Undertaking participation in a team with the new information I have received from the tests will definitely assist me in being a good contributor to shared goals. The extra focus I will now commit to listening and understanding other’s opinions will help form better group communication, while clear communication and emotional intelligence will also contribute to success when working in groups.
When forming a team, it will be essential to recognise everyone’s strengths and weaknesses through discussion to assist with the delegation of tasks. It will be critical to understand that not all group members will have the same profiles as myself, and therefor listening and collaborating to achieve common goals will be essential. Clear communication between all group members will form the basis for successful assessment completion and a stress-free experience.
Project Idea
Overview
The project I have chosen to undertake is the creation of an application that can be used by health care providers such as doctors and dentists to eliminate the use of paper prescriptions. Utilising a persons unique Medicare number, the application will enable patients to present their phone or device during a consultation with a medical professional such as their GP who will then electronically prescribe their medication. Upon presenting the application to a pharmacy, the patient will be able to have their prescription filled without the current requirement for a paper prescription.
Motivation
In Australia currently, there is approximately 300 million prescriptions filled each year by the Pharmacy Benefits Scheme (PBS)(Australia's health 2018, 2018), which is initiated by the Australian government. This 300 million figure does not include medications not covered by the PBS. Those 300 million prescriptions have the potential of containing up to 11 repeats, all of which would currently require a new A5 sheet of paper per repeat. Prescriptions are required to be held for up to 4 years and due to their confidential information, without the use of a paper shredder they can’t be recycled.
With the world moving towards a more environmentally friendly way of operating, the use of paper prescriptions in our health care system is an area where we can greatly reduce our carbon footprint.
Description
The base for the application will be its compatibility with both iOS and Android. With a focus on the ease of use, the application will not only be appropriate for the aging populating, but enticing for younger Australians, especially those who are trying to lessen their environmental footprint.
The simple application will be accessed using a persons unique Medicare number for login, combined with a unique password and touch ID for compatible devices. The user interface will contain menus such as:
- New Prescription
- This feature works as a QR code reader, where the patient is able to scan a unique QR code which is currently generated when a doctor prescribes a medication using the existing Electronic Prescription (eRx) software. Once the QR code is scanned it loads the prescription into Current Prescriptions. The patient is then able to present the application to any pharmacy which supports eRx software, click on the desired prescription to load the same QR code for the pharmacy to scan.
- Current Prescriptions
- Where a patient can view their active prescriptions (prescriptions with repeats remaining or new prescriptions that are yet to be filled).
- Prescription Reminders
- An option for reminders to be set to notify patients when scripts are near expiry or when repeats are due to be filled.
- Overview
- A handy feature that enables a patient to view a summary of all current medications they are taking, which can be convenient in a situation such as an emergency where a medical professional may need to know information about a patient’s drug history.
- Safety Net Record
- The PBS currently has a safety net threshold of 60 prescriptions in a calendar year (concessional). A patient is required to keep a record of their own safety net contributions, unless they only visit the one pharmacy. This option will enable patient’s who visit multiple pharmacies in a year to easily record their history to enable them to apply for the safety net card promptly and avoid exceeding the patient-contribution.
- Personal Information
- This option will enable patients to list personal information such as preferred doctor, allergies to medications (such as penicillin), current medical conditions, immunization records, non-prescribed regular medication such as vitamins, next of kin, private health insurance information.
The easy to use application will enable patients to better manage their prescription medication. It will enable medical professionals to have a more complete overview of their patient’s medication, combined with ability to ensure the correct use of prescription medication.
Tools and Technologies
To begin making applications for iOS and Android you must first become registered as a developer with each individual platform. The cost for iOS development is $99 USD per year, while Android is a one off fee of $25. The coding supporting the application can be written on any computer with the ability to support both company’s software. For iOS development, a program called xCode is readily available to use on Mac computers, with PC it will take more effort to run but is still an option. Android’s own development program is more friendly to different operating systems, with Android Studio able to run on both PC and Mac easily.
Skills Required
The development of the application will require coding experience in multiple languages due to to the multi-platform basis. To cover all the main development in iOS, Apple provides their own language called Swift which covers most features the application will have. For Android, multiple coding options are available, with the most common being PHP and Java, others using Python. Database management would be written in SQL.
The QR code scanning will be written in AVFoundation for iOS, as is recommended by Apple, while the Android counterpart will be achieved using Zebra Crossing (zxing). To acquire the skills needed for this project is feasible, however learning the coding that is required will take a significant investment of time.
Outcome
If this project is successful, the reduction in paper waste in Australia will be significant. Combined with that, there would be a reduction in the time taken for patients to be prescribed and then dispensed medication, thus reducing wait time in pharmacies and doctors’ practices. The aging population we have would be a significant challenge to transfer over to modern electronic services, however over a long enough timescale, paper could eventually be phased out completely in the prescribing of medication in our country. The system could be modified and implemented into other country’s healthcare systems, greatly increasing the positive impact seen through the reduction in paper waste.
References
Australia's Health 2018. (2018). Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, p.400.