Healthcare Domain Knowledge for Software Quality Assurance Engineers
Strong domain expertise is essential for software quality assurance (QA) engineers working in the healthcare industry to guarantee the creation and implementation of high-quality software that is secure, dependable, and compatible with laws (Reddy, 2021). This knowledge extends beyond technical proficiency and dives into comprehension of the intricacies of the healthcare sector, its operations, and the particular requirements of its consumers.
Benefits of Healthcare Domain Knowledge for QA Engineers
Improved Test Design and Execution: QA engineers with domain expertise are better equipped to create and carry out test scenarios that more closely mimic actual user interactions and use (Hossain, 2020). They can pinpoint crucial areas for testing and allocate their resources appropriately by being aware of the clinical processes and data flow that occur within the healthcare system.
More Defect Detection: QA engineers are more equipped to recognize and report issues pertaining to functionality, usability, and standard compliance when they possess a greater comprehension of healthcare language and laws (Reddy, 2021). By doing this, the possibility of software faults affecting patient care and safety may be greatly decreased.
Good Communication and Cooperation: Developers, medical professionals, and other stakeholders may communicate and work together more effectively when there is domain expertise (Hossain, 2020). Based on their comprehension of the domain context, QA engineers are able to articulate their results, talk about possible hazards, and provide solutions.
QA engineers may achieve more efficiency and shorter testing times by streamlining the testing process and concentrating on the most important features of the product, as well as by comprehending the intended behavior (Guru99, 2023).
Enhanced Regulatory Compliance: To guarantee that healthcare software complies with legal requirements and protects patient data, a detailed grasp of industry laws and standards, such as HIPAA, DICOM, and HL7, is essential (Reddy, 2021).
Key Areas of Domain Knowledge for Healthcare QA Engineers
1. Terminology used in healthcare
Medical language: Assessing the accuracy of diagnosis, procedures, drug names, and other healthcare-specific data requires a thorough understanding of medical language (Reddy, 2021). This calls for knowledge of pharmacological categories, medical acronyms, and anatomy terminologies.
Terminology related to Clinical Workflows: Being able to understand terminology like “admission,” “discharge,” “transfer,” and “order entry” is helpful for creating realistic test scenarios and assessing the software’s performance in a clinical setting (Guru99, 2023).
2. Procedures for Clinical Work
Patient Registration: Testing software features linked to patient intake and data management requires an understanding of the patient registration process, which includes gathering demographic data, verifying insurance, and arranging appointments (Reddy, 2021).
Order Management: QA engineers must be knowledgeable about how to place orders for prescription drugs, diagnostic testing, and other services. They can assess the completeness and correctness of orders handled by the program thanks to this knowledge (Reddy, 2021).
Medication Management: To guarantee the safe and correct usage of drugs inside the program, it is essential to comprehend medication administration procedures, including dispensing, administration, and reconciliation (Guru99, 2023).
Billing and Coding: To verify the correctness of claims produced by the program, one must be familiar with healthcare billing and coding systems, such as ICD-10 and CPT codes (Reddy, 2021).
3. Standards and Rules for Healthcare
HIPAA: To guarantee patient data security and privacy in healthcare software, it is necessary to be familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Reddy, 2021). QA engineers need to be aware of HIPAA rules regarding data breaches, disclosure, and access.
DICOM: For medical pictures to be compatible and interoperable across various healthcare systems, the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard is essential (Reddy, 2021). QA engineers must comprehend how software communicates with DICOM pictures and the data that goes with them.
HL7: The Health Level Seven (HL7) standard makes it easier for various systems and applications to share healthcare data (Reddy, 2021). The HL7 communications formats and how software uses them for data transmission should be known to QA engineers.
4. Features of Software
Particular Features: Creating thorough test scenarios requires an understanding of the particular features and functionalities of the healthcare software under test (Reddy, 2021). Features for order input, medication management, clinical recording, patient management, reporting, and data analytics are all included in this.
User Interface and Usability: To assess the software’s usability and accessibility for healthcare professionals, QA engineers should be knowledgeable on usability best practices and user interface design principles (Hossain, 2020).
Integration with Other Systems: Electronic health records (EHRs) and laboratory information systems (LIS) are only two examples of the various systems that healthcare software systems connect with (Reddy, 2021). Testing the software’s overall operation requires an understanding of these connections and how they affect data flow.
5. Risk and Safety Coordination
Knowledge of Possible hazards: QA engineers need to be aware of the hazards that might arise from using healthcare software, including prescription mistakes, data breaches, and system malfunctions (Reddy, 2021). They may prioritize testing efforts and pinpoint locations where risks can be reduced thanks to this knowledge.
Techniques for Risk Management: QA engineers may detect possible failure sites and create plans to reduce such risks by having knowledge of risk management approaches as FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) and FTA (Fault Tree Analysis) (Reddy, 2021).
Healthcare QA engineers may make a substantial contribution to the creation and delivery of high-quality software that satisfies the unique requirements of the healthcare sector, guarantees patient safety, and improves healthcare outcomes by learning and using expertise in these crucial areas.
Getting Subject Matter Expertise in Healthcare
The following resources can assist QA engineers in gaining the required subject knowledge
Training programs: Healthcare organizations and training providers offer specialized training programs and courses.
Books and online resources: Books, articles, and online resources pertaining to terms, laws, and procedures in the healthcare industry.
Spending time seeing and learning from healthcare professionals in their regular work setting is known as “shadowing” them.
Networking with healthcare professionals involves connecting with them through industry events, conferences, and online groups, as well as by learning from their experiences.
QA engineers may greatly increase their efficacy in guaranteeing the quality, safety, and compliance of healthcare software by actively obtaining and using domain expertise in the healthcare industry. In the end, this results in enhanced patient care and better healthcare outcomes.
References
Healthcare Domain Knowledge:
Reddy, G. C. (2021, February 11). Domain Knowledge for Software Testers. https://www.gcreddy.com/2021/08/healthcare-domain-knowledge.html
Hossain, Sajzat. (2020, September 17). Domain knowledge for QA Tester. LinkedIn. https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/how-domain-knowledge-is-important-for-testers/
Guru99. (2023, February 10). HealthCare Domain Testing with Sample Test Cases. https://www.guru99.com/healthcare-application-testing-with-sample-test-cases.html
Indeed. (2023, March 29). 6 Health Care QA Testing Interview Questions (With Sample Answers). https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/healthcare-testing-interview-questions
Healthcare Standards and Regulations:
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/index.html
Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM): https://www.dicomstandard.org/current
Health Level Seven (HL7): https://www.hl7.org/
Healthcare Terminology and Resources:
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): https://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html
RxNav: https://lhncbc.nlm.nih.gov/RxNav/
ICD-10 Codes: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/coding-billing/icd-10-codes
CPT Codes: https://www.ama-assn.org/amaone/cpt-current-procedural-terminology
Software Functionality and Testing:
International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB): https://www.istqb.org/
Association for Software Testing (AST): https://associationforsoftwaretesting.org/
American Society for Quality (ASQ): https://asq.org/
Risk Management:
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): https://www.nist.gov/itl/smallbusinesscyber/nist-cybersecurity-framework-0
International Organization for Standardization (ISO): https://www.iso.org/home.html
Additional Resources:
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS): https://www.himss.org/membership-types/organizational-affiliate
American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA): https://amia.org/