1. Follow one patient journey
Use a synthetic patient from registration through consultation, a test request and a prescription. If inpatient care is in scope, include admission, a bed transfer and discharge.
Observe how each team finds the next task, what needs to be entered twice and what remains connected to the patient. Ask the demonstrator to return to the record at the end and find the completed work.
2. Inspect the patient-facing touchpoints
Review appointment check-in, queue displays and the information visible on public screens. Confirm that a display does not expose the private clinical record.
If a patient app or portal is proposed, verify its release status, identity-linking process and what patients can actually see. Do not treat a prototype, app-store screenshot or future roadmap item as an available service.
3. Test each team’s access
Ask for separate reception, clinician, pharmacy and administrator roles. Sign in with the intended role and inspect both what is visible and what actions are available.
Review staff activation, password reset, organisation hierarchy and the access review process when someone changes roles or leaves. Keep ownership of these decisions with the organisation.
4. Follow stock and money
Record a medicine delivery, dispense against a prescription and inspect the invoice. Review the remaining stock, expiry information and purchasing history.
Then follow a payment record into the relevant report. Ask where the boundary lies between operational billing, online collection, accounting and insurance claims. These are different capabilities.
5. Test records and recovery
Upload a multi-page synthetic report. Open it from the order and the patient record. Confirm the team can download an authorised copy and find the history of the work.
Ask about export formats, backup arrangements, recovery tests and deletion handling. Agree what evidence your organisation needs rather than accepting a generic security badge.
6. Define a rollout you can accept
List the first departments, expected users, peak activity and integrations. Identify who approves clinical workflows and who owns training and support.
Set concrete acceptance criteria: the workflows must pass, permissions must match responsibilities, data handling must be agreed and capacity must be tested for the intended use. A demonstration is the beginning of this evaluation, not the end.