Software:
Links:
|
| Strategic National Stockpile System for Ohio Department of Health |
|
|
The Ohio Department of Health, a cabinet-level position for the State of Ohio,
has moved into the forefront of proactive emergency response systems, meeting
the CDC's requirements for responding to unforeseen statewide events by
developing a series of standalone warehouse management system (WMS)
applications. Should a large-scale event occur, the CDC will immediately deploy
to the State of Ohio mass quantities of medicines, medical equipment and
antigens for a variety of possible biological, chemical or airborne events. With
the state's population of more than 11 million persons, this is an exceptionally
complex undertaking for Ohio which would not be possible without the development
of new information technology systems to control the flow of
materials.
The Ohio Department of Health's requirements for their
warehouse management system were atypical. First, they planned to deploy a
two-tier system: a day-to-day system that would meet their ongoing mission
needs, and a standalone application that had to work "in the worst-case
scenario." Second, the day-to-day application was to be deployed in such a
unique fashion: the warehouse management system was three items in one: a host
with order entry capability, a decision support system for medical information
analysis and verification, and a WMS to handle order fulfillment. They planned
to also expand the application to accept a greater and greater volume of orders
directly via the Internet.
With complex requirements for both the
day-to-day and the standalone versions of the system, the Ohio Department of
Health decided on two system architectures: one with complex functionality and
order processing capabilities; the other with the minimum of requirements needed
to ensure correct order handling and data recording. On the one hand, the need
for order verification and analysis of each line item to make sure that formal
regulations were adhered to was paramount; on the other, there was the
realization that product had to move with the utmost speed to avert civil
disorder and to calm the public. In this case, regulations would have to be more
relaxed. These diametrically opposed requirements brought the best design
solution for the IRMS product.
The standalone warehouse applications
developed for the Ohio Department of Health to handle the CDC medical supplies
in the event of a statewide emergency is scheduled for a full-scale test in
FY2006. Should the system ever be called upon to go into service, the impact
will be immeasurable. The duties that the system is being designed to address
have among the highest level of importance and purpose that can ever be placed
upon information technologies. |
| |
|
|
|
|
