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Date May 2018 Marks available 6 Reference code 18M.1.SL.TZ0.1
Level SL Paper 1 Time zone no time zone
Command term Explain Question number 1 Adapted from N/A

Question

Medical centre budgets

Dr Schultz is the head doctor and manager at the Okavango Medical Centre in the Republic of Botswana. This medical centre is located eight hours away from the capital city, Gaborone. The medical centre is able to cope with routine cases, but when the doctors at the centre encounter an unusual case, they have to communicate with specialists at the main hospital in Gaborone using either a cellphone or voice over internet protocol (VOIP).

Currently, the Okavango Medical Centre does not have any medical equipment connected to the information technology (IT) systems at the hospital in Gaborone in real time. This makes it hard to give the necessary information to specialists in Gaborone when there are unexpected changes in a patient’s condition. Because of this, at times Dr Schultz has to ask a specialist doctor from Gaborone to visit the Okavango Medical Centre to carry out treatment.

The area is becoming popular with tourists, and Dr Schultz is concerned that the doctors and nurses at the Okavango Medical Centre will be unable to treat the increasing number of patients. He believes Okavango Medical Centre needs better equipment in order to improve patient care.

The IT staff at the Okavango Medical Centre created a database of the treatments carried out by the centre. Figure 1 shows an example of the form used to enter data.  

Figure 1: Example of a form used to enter patient data 

Identify two characteristics of voice over internet protocol (VOIP).

[2]
a.i.

Identify two reasons why staff at the Okavango Medical Centre would use a form to enter patient data into the database.

[2]
a.ii.

Outline one reason why the Okavango Medical Centre would use a relational database for the patients’ records.

[2]
a.iii.

Dr Schultz has arranged to speak to the local authority in an attempt to get more funding for the medical centre. He intends to use presentation software to create a multimedia presentation to support this speech. Dr Schultz is aware that many people in the audience are annoyed when slideshows are poorly designed.

Explain three design errors Dr Schultz should avoid when creating his multimedia presentation slideshow for the local authority.

[6]
b.

The Okavango Medical Centre has received additional funding from the local authority. The centre is investigating the possibility of using these funds to purchase IT equipment that would allow surgeons in Gaborone to carry out surgery remotely.

Evaluate the impact of the purchase of this IT equipment on the medical centre and its patients.

[8]
c.

Markscheme

Answers may include:


Award [1] mark for identifying each characteristic of voice over internet protocol (VOIP) up to a maximum of [2] marks.

a.i.

Answers may include:


Award [1] mark for identifying each reason why staff at the Okavango Medical Centre would use a form to enter patient data into the database up to a maximum of [2] marks.

a.ii.

Answers may include:


Award [1] mark for identifying a reason why the Okavango Medical Centre would use a relational database and [1] mark for an explanation why it is a problem up to a maximum of [2] marks.

a.iii.

Answers may include:

Small font size

Excessive/inappropriate transitions

Too many slides

Poor choice of colours

Inappropriate language

Inappropriate or overuse of multimedia

Inconsistent formatting throughout the presentation

 

N.B.: The response requires an identification of a common design error followed by an explanation of why it is a problem. If no design error is mentioned but from the explanation it can be determined this should be credited.

Award [1] mark for identifying a common design error and [1] mark for an explanation why it is a problem up to a maximum of [2] marks.

Mark as [2] + [2] + [2].

b.

Answers may include:

Advantages of purchasing more IT equipment so that operations can be carried out remotely:

Disadvantages of purchasing more IT equipment so that operations can be carried out remotely:

 

In part (c) of this question it is expected there will be a balance between the terminology related to digital systems and the terminology related to social and ethical impacts.

Keywords: health, medical care, training, trust, privacy, network, bandwidth, change, systems, values


Refer to SL/HL paper 1, part c markbands when awarding marks. These can be found under the "Your tests" tab > supplemental materials > Digital society markbands and guidance document.

c.

Examiners report

[N/A]
a.i.
[N/A]
a.ii.
[N/A]
a.iii.
[N/A]
b.
[N/A]
c.

Syllabus sections

Topic 3: Content » 3.1 Data
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