Emma Nodine

Daily Summaries 

Tuesday – 03/31/2026

On this day, I developed a “mock-report” to present to Larissa, the Clinical Informatics Analyst for the UHC, in order to show my ideas for the types of reports needed for this project. To create this, I continued analyzing patient appointment data from the past three months, organizing each visit into both insurance-based and clinical scheduling classifications. I applied the procedure code categorizations I developed last week to classify each service by insurance category, and then further categorized each procedure according to the clinic’s scheduling classifications with input from stakeholders. I completed this process across all providers, including two dentists and three hygienists, to ensure consistency and comprehensive representation of clinic activity.

After compiling the mock-report, I met with Larissa to walk through the data and explain the meaning and relevance of each procedure category to support her understanding of the report structure. I then organized each provider’s procedures by frequency, ranking scheduling categories from highest to lowest occurrence. This allowed for clearer visualization of provider-specific trends and will help guide future report development and data extraction to support project goals.

Thursday – 04/02/2026

On this day, I revisited the procedure sheet I had previously shared with Larissa and further clarified the dental terminology by replacing clinical language with simpler, more accessible explanations. This was done to improve her ability to interpret the report we are working to develop together. I also created a structured guideline outlining how I will continue to review the data and work toward scheduling improvements once the finalized report is returned. In the afternoon, I continued sorting through appointment timing data pulled from Reports → Clinical Facility Reports → Appointment Reports → Time between Appointment Checkout and Scheduled End, beginning the process of identifying patterns in appointment scheduling and provider time utilization.

Summary of Week 11 with Competencies 

• 1.2: Obtain primary data, secondary data, and other evidence-informed sources
  • 1.2.2: Establish collaborative relationships and agreements that facilitate access to data
    • During this week, I strengthened my collaboration with new key stakeholders, the UHC Clinical Informatics Analyst, to facilitate access to and understanding of clinic data systems. By creating and presenting a mock-report, I communicated the data and proposed structure I aim to include in the report she will make. Engaging stakeholders through meeting in person in this process helped us establish a shared understanding of how and why the targeted data will be used for the final program. 
  • 1.2.7: Determine primary data collection needs, instruments, methods, and procedures
  • 1.2.9: Develop a data analysis plan
    • I further refined my data collection approach before meeting with Larisa by identifying the specific types of appointment and corresponding insurance code and appointment scheduling classifications. By organizing patient visits from the past three months into both insurance classifications and scheduling categories, I clarified which data elements are most important for evaluating service utilization and provider trends in the report Larissa will create. By categorizing procedures and organizing them by frequency for each provider, I established a framework for identifying trends in service utilization and clinical workflow.
• 6.3 Develop message(s) using communication theories and/or models
  • 6.3.3 Tailor message(s) for the audience
    • This week, a central focus was tailoring complex dental and clinical information for a non-clinical audience. When presenting the mock-report to Larissa, I carefully explained each procedure in context and later revised the procedure sheet to replace dental terminology with plain-language descriptions. This ensured that the data and its implications were clearly understood by a stakeholder without a clinical background, improving cross-functional collaboration on the scheduling project.
• 1.2 Obtain primary data, secondary data, and other evidence-informed sources
  • 1.2.8 Adhere to established procedures to collect data
    • This week, I continued systematically collecting and organizing appointment data from the clinic’s reporting system following established data protocols. I sorted three months of patient appointments by insurance classification codes, clinical scheduling categories, and provider, using the clinic’s existing classification systems to ensure consistency and accuracy in the data I was preparing for analysis.
• 1.4 Synthesize assessment findings to inform the planning process
  • 1.4.4 Develop recommendations based on findings
    • By organizing the mock-report and beginning to examine appointment timing data, I began the early stages of synthesizing collected information into actionable insights. Presenting the mock-report to Larissa and creating a structured guideline for next steps reflects the process of translating raw data into a framework for scheduling improvement recommendations.
• 7.1 Coordinate relationships with partners and stakeholders
  • 7.1.3 Involve partners and stakeholders throughout the health education and promotion process
    • This week I actively engaged Larissa as a key stakeholder throughout the development of the mock-report. Rather than presenting a finalized product, I involved her in the review process, walked her through the data, and adapted the materials based on her level of understanding. This collaborative approach ensured that the report will be meaningful and usable for the informatics team going forward.

Week 11 Summaries 

During my eleventh week with the UGA UHC Dental Clinic, I focused on developing and presenting a mock-report to Larissa, the Clinical Informatics Analyst, as a foundational step in the scheduling improvement project. At the start of the week, I completed the categorization of all patient appointments from the past three months, classifying each procedure by both insurance code and clinical scheduling category for all five providers. This organizational work was essential to building a clear and structured mock-report that could communicate the scope of the project to a non-clinical collaborator.

After presenting the mock-report to Larissa, I walked her through each procedure and its category, then reorganized the data by frequency of occurrence per provider to highlight the most commonly performed procedures. This made the report more understandable to encourage productive collaboration on the final report format between the needs and interests of the dental clinic and abilities of the IT team. Later in the week, I continued refining the shared materials by simplifying dental terminology into plain-language explanations and developed a structured guideline outlining my approach to reviewing the data and implementing scheduling improvements once the report is finalized.

To end the week, I began pulling and sorting appointment timing data from the clinic’s reporting system, specifically examining the time between appointment checkout and scheduled end time. This marked the beginning of a deeper data analysis phase aimed at identifying patterns and inefficiencies in provider scheduling. Overall, Week 11 was centered on stakeholder communication, data organization, and laying the analytical groundwork for evidence-based scheduling improvement recommendations.