Running head: QUALIFACTS

E-Business Systems Report for Qualifacts Systems Incorporated

Aaron Hall
MGMT 3005/ISYS 3001 Information Systems in Enterprises
Walden University
Dr. Sherrie
October 10th, 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
E-BUSINESS SYSTEMS REPORT FOR QUALIFACTS SYSTEMS INCORPORATED
.............................................................................................................................................3
Introduction........................................................................................................3
Information Resources......................................................................................3
Role of Information Systems in Qualifacts Systems Incorporated...........4
Porters Five Forces Model...........................................................................5
System Specification..........................................................................................6
System Description........................................................................................6
Hardware........................................................................................................6
Application Software.....................................................................................7
Operating System...........................................................................................8
Network Infrastructure.................................................................................8
Electronic Business and Commerce.................................................................9
Qualifacts B2B Model....................................................................................9
E-commerce Plan...........................................................................................9
Emerging Trends and Technologies...............................................................10
REFERENCES..................................................................................................................11

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E-BUSINESS SYSTEMS REPORT FOR QUALIFACTS SYSTEMS INCORPORATED
Introduction
Qualifacts Systems Incorporated is a software company that provides electronic health
records for behavioral health and human services organizations across the United States. The
companys headquarters is in Nashville, Tennessee, and the business currently employs
approximately 160 people both in Tennessee and other states. The Qualifacts team helps over
50,000 behavioral healthcare providers and staff realize improved billing and clinical operations,
increased agency revenue, faster payment, and better client and staff satisfaction (Qualifacts,
2014). The company serves over 270 agencies across 30 states through the implementation,
maintenance, and improvement of CareLogic-an EHR designed specifically for behavioral health
which is a single, integrated, software-as-a-service solution.
Information Resources
Information resources in the business environment include people, data, hardware, and
networks. Qualifacts utilizes each resource to the fullest potential in order to be successful and
increase market share. In business, your most valuable asset is not technology but rather your
mind (Haag and Cummings, 2009, p. 11). Qualifacts employs individuals who understand the
behavioral health industry or have experience in the field. Employees contribute to national
forums on healthcare reform, compliance, and business strategy, all of which heightens the
companys profile in the industry. Data is one of the companys strongest resources. Informing
and tracking health care reform will require solid data on all aspects of the health care system,
from insurance coverage, to care delivery to outcomes (AHRQ, 2009). According to the
companys research, Qualifacts possesses the largest behavioral health database in the country,
and operational analysts within the company leverage that information to provide benchmarking

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data to customers. Finally, Qualifacts utilizes modern hardware and networking technologies to
deliver dependable and cost efficient solutions through a software-as-a-service model. Utilizing
the Internet and cloud based product delivery enables a focused, strategic implementation
process that results in a fully functioning product in record time (Qualifacts, 2014a). Through
hosting the hardware in a state of the art data center, customers receive their product wherever
access is needed and at a lower cost than selling on premise or client-server solutions.
Role of Information Systems in Qualifacts Systems Incorporated
The primary business of the company is selling a product that is in itself an information
system. The electronic health record marketplace has many vendors, and in order to differentiate
Qualifacts from other providers, ongoing product innovation and development are paramount to
achieving competitive advantage. Internally, the company utilizes an assortment of other
information systems to ensure customer service and product delivery are at the highest levels of
quality. Customer-driven integration is reshaping CRM and will accelerate as cloud platforms,
combined with APIs, reorder the customer relationship landscape (Columbus, 2013). Qualifacts
recently upgraded the companys CRM-salesforce-by developing a direct integration with
contracting software via an API. The project improved efficiency in the areas of creating
contracts, adjusting terms, and electronic execution of the companys contract agreements and
the system manages the entire sales process from lead generation to the contract. The support
team utilizes a customer support system called Soffront CRM to manage support request tickets,
maintain a knowledge base for customers, and communicate system information directly to
customers. In addition to sales and support, the development team utilizes a JIRA for
development ticket management, and project management software to ensure on time delivery of
development work that meets shareholder expectations. Finally, technical operations provide an

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internal network for communication and collaboration via email and a company wiki. Qualifacts'
wiki is a knowledge base for every department in the company and contains various types of
information ranging from project analysis and scope information to implementation guidelines
and training resources.
Porters Five Forces Model
Michael Porter developed the Five Competitive Forces Model to define how competition
in the market can affect business strategy. Porters five forces are (1) the threat of new entrants,
(2) the power of suppliers, (3) the power of buyers, (4) the threat of substitutes, and (5) the
rivalry of existing competition (Porter, 2008). Within the electronic health record market, the
level of competition between vendors is very high. Porter defines some of the forms or
competition rivalry as, price discounting, new product introductions, advertising campaigns,
and service improvements (Porter, 2008). Most EHRs provide the same type of basic
functionality which ultimately leads to a heavier consideration on cost during the purchasing
cycle. Given so many choices that meet the same basic needs of the organization, the number of
substitutes for CareLogic are significant, which also raises the level of buyer power in the
market. One reality that has impacted the company in a positive way is the introduction of the
Meaningful Use EHR Incentive Program by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2008. In order for eligible providers to receive government incentives to purchase EHR
software, the system had to be Meaningful Use certified. The amount of product development
required to maintain certification throughout the incentive program created a significant barrier
to entry for new software companies with limited resources. Qualifacts used certification and
meaningful use education to differentiate the company from other competitors in the marketplace
that in turn increased the companys supplier power.

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System Specification
System Description
The computer systems required for Qualifacts systems differ between what the company
uses internally, and the system recommended or required by the customer. Since the company is
an application service provider, the customer purchases and maintains their hardware to utilize
the system. The basic idea behind software-as-a-service is lower cost to the customer and
increased scalability to meet the customers growth needs. SaaS impacts both the hardware and
software licensing cost for the customer. Maintenance costs are reduced as well, since the SaaS
provider owns the environment, and it is split among all customers that use that solution (Sylos,
2013). The following sections detail the companys hardware and software needs and the
customers hardware and software needs.
Hardware
Qualifacts needs. Supporting CareLogic and the employees requires two different types
of hardware. Employees need powerful computers that are also portable. Users range from sales
people who spend a larger portion of their time in the field to developers who require faster and
stronger processing capabilities. Qualifacts supplies all of its employees with Lenovo ThinkPads
as their primary computer with Windows 7 preinstalled. The processors are a mix of Intel i5 and
i7 processors, depending on the employees role, with speeds ranging from 2.5 to 2.9 GHz. The
development teams computers have 8 GB of RAM standard while other computers have 6 GB.
Every employee also has a secondary flat panel monitor and access to shared printers in the main
office. An internal server houses the wiki and shared drives for storage; however, Google
application services provide all other needs such as email, chat, and storage. Supporting
CareLogic requires much more hardware. The company has many servers that act as web

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servers (view layer), application servers (application layer), and database servers (data layer).
The company contracts with a local datacenter to house the hardware and provide network
provisioning and support. Firewalls, routers, and intrusion detection systems are all part of the
data center housing CareLogic.
Customer Needs. The deployment of CareLogic as a SaaS solution significantly
reduces the hardware requirements for the companys customers. The basic need in order to use
the system is a computer that can access the internet. Currently, the computer must be a
windows based device using Internet Explorer to access CareLogic. Over the next few months,
support for the Chrome browser will be added which allows other platforms such as Apple, or
Android to access the system. The basic hardware requirements to run CareLogic are:

PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor clock speed recommended (Intel, AMD
or compatible processor recommended)

128 megabytes of RAM or higher recommended

1024 x 768 or higher screen resolution

Keyboard and mouse or compatible pointing device

Network adapter appropriate for the type of local-area, wide-area, wireless or other
networks you wish to connect to, and access to an appropriate network infrastructure
(Qualifacts, 2014b)

Application Software
Qualifacts Needs. The day to day business operations requires several applications to
support the companys workflows. As referenced above, Qualifacts uses Salesforce for CRM in
the sales department and Soffront for CRM in customer support. Both of these systems require

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licenses, and JIRA used in support requires an application license as well. In addition to these
applications, finance uses financial management software, and technical operations uses database
monitoring software from Oracle. Google email hosting and application services provide all of
the communication needs, and the phone system utilizes a VoIP application.
Customers needs. CareLogic is the application used by all of our customers. In
addition to CareLogic, Dr. First provides e-prescribing capabilities, and Emdeon Clinician
provides e-Lab support- both of which have separate licensing fees. The final application
required by our customers is for report writing. Qualifacts provides an open source report writer
called Pentaho through an additional license fee to customers.
Operating System
Qualifacts, as well as our customers, currently utilize Windows as the primary operating
system for all company needs. Other operating system utilized in managing CareLogic are (1)
Linux for server operating systems, (2) Oracle 11g for relational database management, and
(3)Apache HTTP Server for web server management in addition to other Oracle network and
database management tools.
Network Infrastructure
Qualifacts headquarters is in Nashville, Tennessee contained in a single building
downtown. The building has a Local Area Network which runs throughout the building on Cat-5
as well as several wireless access points per floor. The only Wide Area Network utilized by the
company is via a direct connection to our data center vendor located south of Nashville. Since
many employees work remotely, Qualifacts utilizes a Virtual Private Network for accessing
information on the internal server which hosts the shared drive and company archives.
Customers access CareLogic using an Internet connection.

Electronic Business and Commerce

Qualifacts B2B Model
Qualifacts is a Software-as-a-Service provider. The company provides an EHR to
behavioral health and human service agencies to meet all of their clinical and practice
management needs. Because the company does not sell behavioral health services directly to the
consumer, Qualifacts business model is business to business (B2B) e-commerce. Through this
model, behavioral health organizations collaborate with Qualifacts to improve efficiencies in
how they deliver care to individuals served by the company. Under healthcare reform,
companies must utilize electronic documentation, billing, and outcomes measurement platforms
in order to win contracts with insurance payers. Qualifacts created a software platform that
meets the requirements for government compliance and reform, and supports the way behavioral
health providers deliver care.
E-commerce Plan
Qualifacts singular focus is to deliver the highest quality EHR via the Internet to the
behavioral health industry. During 2015, the company plans to expand the product by adding a
native application version of the software for use on tablets and smart phones. During the first
part of 2014, the company added an outcomes management platform called CareLogic Impact.
Impact allows providers to use industry proven assessment to collect mental health, substance
abuse, and intellectual functioning data on the clients they server and measure their improvement
over time. This is important because there is a strong need to ensure that any health reforms
enacted improve disparities rather than worsening them (AHRQ, 2009). Qualifacts ecommerce plan focuses on identifying opportunities to improve CareLogic through the

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integration of mobile technology and product enhancements to support the customers the
company serves.
Emerging Trends and Technologies
Advances in technology have the possibility to transform the way people record and
share information. In the healthcare industry, integrated care that treats the whole person is a
primary goal of all healthcare reform. Doctors providing services to an individual in an
emergency room need information about a clients allergies, history, genetics, and other vital
information. While EHRs provide a method for recording and sharing information, biometric
devices provide better linkage to information necessary for quality medical care. Biochips have
been proven in some cases to block pain for people who suffer severe spinal injuries, help
paralyzed people regain some portion of their motor skills, and help partially blind people see
better (Haag & Cummings, 2009, p. 265). Implant chips can record personal information such
as a clients medical history, vitals recorded over the past several days, and much more.
Companies such as Qualifacts should work to integrate with biomedical technology to improve
patient care. Wireless and mobile technology continue to expand, and an EHR that can retrieve
data from biometric devices over the Internet would possess significant competitive advantage in
the market. Finally, holographic storage devices could revolutionize how a company like
Qualifacts stores data. Rather than needing multiple, high-cost servers in a data center, all
customer data could be stored on a few small crystals. The healthcare industry has witnessed the
ability of technology to improve patient care; however, countless opportunities remain for
companies willing to take chances on emerging technology.

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REFERENCES

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). (2009, July). Filling the Information
Needs for Health Reform: Expert Meeting Summary and Next Steps. Retrieved from
http://www.ahrq.gov/research/data/hininfosum/index.html.
Columbus, L. (2013, May 5). How Cloud Integration Is Defining the Future of CRM. Retrieved
from http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2013/05/21/how-cloud-integration-isdefining-the-future-of-crm/.
Haag, S., & Cummings, M. (2009). Information systems essentials (3rd ed.). New York:
McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Sylos, M. (2014, September 18). Top Five Advantages of Software as a Service (SaaS).
Retrieved from http://thoughtsoncloud.com/2013/09/top-five-advantages-of-software-asa-service-saas/.
Porter, M. E. (2008). THE FIVE COMPETITIVE FORCES THAT SHAPE STRATEGY.
Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78-93.
Qualifacts, Inc. (2014). History. Retrieved from http://www.qualifacts.com/about/history.
Qualifacts, Inc. (2014). System Specifications. Retrieved from http://help.qualifacts.com.