Automated Interpretation Of Medical Prescription Text

• US 20090099870A1
• Filed: 10/12/2007
• Published: 04/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Southwest Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Southwest Research Institute
• Inventors: ARENSMAN, William, MADRID, John, PRICE, Nathan, PICKENS, Keith, WILKINSON, Jeff
• Granted Patent: US 7,979,288 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a device, system and method of automated interpretation of medical prescription text. Prescription text may be entered into a user interface that may be analogous to a paper prescription entry such as manually written text. The system may then provide parsing, prompts and/or hints along with validity feedback as the prescription information is entered by the user.

Claims

1. A method for creating a prescription on a computer having a screen display comprising:

inputting at least a portion of medical prescription text into a single interface field on said screen display wherein said text is provided as continuous text and includes information regarding at least two of the following;

medication name, dosage, route, frequency or quantity;

parsing the received portion of medical prescription text;

providing prompts and/or hints for completing the medical prescription text as said text is input into said computer;

validating the medical prescription text with respect to at least one of the dosage, route, frequency or quantity.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said single interface field comprises a single input text box on a graphical user interface.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said continuous text includes information comprising at least three of the following:

medication name, dosage, route, frequency or quantity.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said continuous text includes information comprising at least four of the following:

medication name, dosage, route, frequency or quantity.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said continuous text includes information comprising the following:

medication name, dosage, route, frequency and quantity.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of validation of said prescription text comprises comparing said medical prescription text with information stored in a database regarding a patient or information stored in a database regarding said medication.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein an additional interface field regarding at least one of a medication name, dosage, route, frequency or quantity is identified on said screen display subsequent to parsing of said medical prescription text in said single interface field.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein parsing the received portion of medical prescription text is performed by scanning said medical prescription text, configuring said medical prescription text into tokens, characterizing said tokens and parsing said medical prescription text.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said prescription text comprises a plurality of characters and said parsing the received portion of the medical prescription text takes place upon inputting of each character of said prescription text.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein providing prompts comprises providing fields for additional medical prescription text.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein providing hints comprises providing drop down or auto-completion text.

12. An article comprising a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the following operations:

receiving at least a portion of medical prescription text into a single interface field on a screen display wherein said text is provided as continuous text and includes information regarding at least two of the following;

medication name, dosage, route, frequency or quantity;

parsing the received portion of medical prescription text;

providing prompts and/or hints for completing the medical prescription text as said text is input into said computer;

validating the medical prescription text with respect to at least one of the dosage, route, frequency or quantity.

13. The article of claim 12 wherein said step of validation of said prescription text comprises comparing said medical prescription text with information stored in a database regarding a patient or information stored in a database regarding a medication.

14. The article of claim 12, wherein parsing the received portion of medical prescription text is performed by scanning said medical prescription text, configuring said medical prescription text into tokens, characterizing said tokens and parsing said medical prescription text.

15. The article of claim 12 wherein said prescription text comprises a plurality of characters and said parsing the received portion of the medical prescription text takes place upon inputting of each character of said prescription text.

16. The article of claim 12 wherein an additional interface field regarding at least one of a medication name, dosage, route, frequency or quantity is identified on said screen display subsequent to parsing of said medical prescription text in said single interface field.

17. A system for processing orders from medical prescription text comprising:

a user interface capable of receiving at least a portion of medical prescription text into a single interface field on a screen display wherein said text is provided as continuous text and includes information regarding at least two of the following;

medication name, dosage, route, frequency or quantity;

a processor capable of communicating with said user interface and parsing the received portion of medical prescription text;

said processor further capable of accessing at least one database and providing auto-completion prompts and/or hints from said database to said user interface for completing the medical prescription text;

said processor further capable of validating the medical prescription text by comparing said medical prescription text with information from at least one database.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein said single interface field comprises a single input text box on a graphical user interface.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein said processor is capable of parsing the received portion of medical prescription text by scanning said medical prescription text, breaking said medical prescription text into tokens, characterizing said tokens and parsing said medical prescription text.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein said step of validation of said prescription text comprises comparing said medical prescription text with information stored in a database regarding a patient or in a database regarding said medication.