Analytical methods and software product for automated health care information systems

• US 20090024414A1
• Filed: 07/17/2007
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Allscripts Software LLC (Veradigm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Eclipsys Corporation (Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Incorporated)
• Inventors: Van Schaick, Michael, Ifraimov, Raisa, Brindel, Francis E., Kohlmiller, Paul, Mansour, Richard P.
• Application Number:
  US11/879,664
• Publication Number:
  US 20090024414A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/70 for mining of medical data, e.g. analysing previous cases of other patients

Abstract

A computer software application and methods for facilitating analysis of clinical data (e.g., patient or patient care information) stored in a clinical database is disclosed. The application includes a process extracting clinical data from the clinical database and loading the extracted data into an analytics database. The application further configures the analytics database in accordance with a data model that is optimized for business intelligence reporting tools, e.g., in the form of multidimensional data cubes which can be derived from tables of data. The application further includes procedures (e.g., SQL procedures) for applying clinically related logical rules to the clinical data and storing flags associated with the logical rules in the analytics database.

Claims

1. A medical records information apparatus for use with a clinical database storing clinical data comprising:

an application comprising a set of machine readable code stored on a machine readable medium and executable on a computing platform, the application performing the following processes;

extracting clinical data from a clinical database and loading the extracted data into an analytics database, the analytics database separate from the clinical database;

configuring the analytics database in accordance with a data model optimized for business intelligence reporting tools, and

applying clinically-related logical rules to the clinical data and storing flags associated with the logical rules in the analytics database.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data model includes a plurality of fact tables storing clinical data and the flags associated with the logical rules.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the data model further comprises a plurality of on line analytics processing (OLAP) multi-dimensional data cubes.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processes further comprise an update process by which clinical information in the analytics database is periodically updated from information in the clinical database.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the logical rules are applied to the clinical data using SQL procedures.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flags include one or more flags designed to profile a patient for a chronic illness.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flags include one or more flags designed to profile compliance with quality measures for care of a patient.

8. A method of facilitating analysis of clinically relevant information contained in a clinical database, comprising the steps of:

performing a backup step including creating a backup to the clinical database to thereby provide a source database for a data extraction program;

performing an extract step including executing the data extraction program and responsively creating a set of metadata tables and extracted source tables;

performing a load step including executing a plurality of procedures to move data from the extracted source tables into a plurality of tables of an analytics database;

wherein the procedures further include procedures applying clinically related logical rules to the data in the extracted source tables and storing flags associated with the logical rules in one or more of the plurality of tables of the analytics database.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of tables include a plurality of fact tables and a plurality of dimension tables, the fact tables including at least one of a patient visits table, an orders table, a clinical decision support table, and a cardiology-related table.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the procedures comprise SQL procedures.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the flags include one or more flags designed to profile a patient for a chronic illness.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the flags include one or more flags designed to profile compliance with quality measures for care of a patient.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of providing a facility by which an organization practicing the method of claim 8 may customize the clinically related logical rules.

14. A system for medical records management comprising:

a computer system including a computing platform executing a medical records information application maintaining a clinical database;

software stored on a machine readable medium accessible to the computing platform creating an analytics database separate from the clinical database;

wherein the analytics database is configured in accordance with a data model optimized for business intelligence reporting tools, and

wherein the analytics database further comprises a plurality of flags set by the application of clinically related logical rules to the clinical data.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the data model includes a plurality of fact tables storing clinical data and the flags associated with the logical rules.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the data model further comprises a plurality of on-line analytics processing (OLAP) multi-dimensional data cubes.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the software further includes instructions performing an update process by which clinical information in the analytics database is periodically updated from information in the clinical database.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the logical rules are applied to the clinical data using SQL procedures.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the flags include one or more flags designed to profile a patient for a chronic illness.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the flags include one or more flags designed to profile compliance with quality measures for care of a patient.