EMBEDDED DECISION SUPPORT

• US 20070260631A1
• Filed: 03/08/2007
• Published: 11/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Iskandar, Fidrick, Feied, Craig
• Application Number:
  US11/683,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20070260631A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing automated access to embedded decision support are disclosed. More specifically, the subject innovation provides a method for encoding decision support tools and for using those tools to adaptively provide decision support. Data can be provided to an engine in real-time and, if needed or desired, can be combined with additional existing data (e.g., from a store or entered by a user). The engine can process that data using its library of decision support tools and take action based on the results of that processing. Additionally, contextual awareness of decision support for a particular user and a specific working environment can be established and employed to trigger and/or select appropriate action.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates decision support, comprising:

a support tool encoding component that facilitates coding of a plurality of decision support tools; and

a decision support engine that receives data, accesses and populates a subset of the plurality of the tools with data;

wherein the subset of tools generate outputs that trigger an appropriate action.

2. The system of claim 1, the data is health-related data.

3. The system of claim 1, the decision support engine requests additional data from a user to populate the subset of the plurality of tools.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a tool library component that maintains the plurality of coded tools for access by the decision support engine.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a unit mapping component that converts a subset of the data into units comprehendible by the subset of the tools.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a contextual awareness component that establishes a context associated with at least one of a user, patient, activity or environment;

wherein the decision support engine employs the context to trigger the appropriate action.

7. The system of claim 1, the appropriate action is at least one of an onscreen alert, wireless text-message, email, fax, voice transmission, message to another machine, message to another component, cascading alert, automated ordering command, or modification of ambient environment.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the decision support engine facilitates decision support in context of at least one of a single patient visit, all visits for a single patient, a cohort of patients, a drug, a medical procedure, or facility management.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a machine learning and reasoning component that employs at least one of a probabilistic and a statistical-based analysis that infers an action that a user desires to be automatically performed.

10. A computer-implemented method of decision support, comprising:

encoding a plurality of decision support tools;

receiving data;

accessing a plurality of decision support tools;

processing the plurality of decision support tools as function of the data; and

triggering an action based upon the processed decision support tools.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, the data is medical-related data.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

establishing a context; and

selecting the action as a function of the context.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining that additional data is necessary to process a subset of the plurality of decision support tools; and

requesting the additional data from a user;

wherein the additional data is employed in processing the subset of the plurality of decision support tools.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising mapping the data into units comprehendible by a subset of the plurality of the decision support tools.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the action is at least one of an onscreen alert, wireless text-message, email, fax, voice transmission, message to another machine, message to another component, cascading alert, automated ordering command, or modification of ambient environment.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising maintaining a library of the plurality of decision support tools, wherein the act of accessing employs the library.

17. A computer-executable system that facilitates decision support, comprising:

means for encoding a plurality of decision support tools;

means for indexing the plurality of decision support tools;

means for receiving data;

means for accessing a subset of the decision support tools; and

means for processing the subset of the decision support tools as a function of the data.

18. The computer-executable system of claim 17, further comprising means for triggering an action as a function of output of the subset of the decision support tools.

19. The computer-executable system of claim 18, further comprising means for selecting the action as a function of a context.

20. The computer-executable system of claim 19, further comprising means for establishing the context.