SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTERRUPTION WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT

• US 20100131292A1
• Filed: 11/25/2008
• Published: 05/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Hawkins, Michael, Klotzer, Jason, Lopez, Kenneth, Lipetskaia, Natalia, Burt, Christopher, Olivares, Andres
• Granted Patent: US 8,719,046 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/65 stored on portable record carriers, e.g. on smartcards, RFID tags or CD
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

Certain embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for interruption workflow management in a clinical enterprise. Certain embodiments provide an interruption workflow management system for a clinical enterprise. The system includes a worklist including a plurality of patient indicators representing patients for which tasks are to be performed by a user. The system also includes a patient panel displaying patient information associated with a patient indicator selected from the worklist. The system further includes a patient indicator shelf holding one or more patient indicators from at least one of the worklist and the patient panel for later retrieval in response to user input. The patient indicator shelf facilitates restoration of a patient indicator from the patient indicator shelf to display in the patient panel in response to user input.

Claims

1. A method for interruption workflow management via a workstation in a clinical enterprise, said method comprising:

generating a worklist for a user including a plurality of patient tasks to be performed by that user, the patients represented in the worklist using patient indicators;

displaying patient information associated with a patient indicator selected from the worklist in an active patient area;

moving the patient indicator from the active patient area to a patient indicator shelf for later retrieval in response to user input; and

restoring the patient indicator from the patient indicator shelf to the active patient area in response to user input.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the patient indicator comprises a patient card.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein positioning of the patient indicator in the active patient area triggers display of the patient information in a patient panel, a priors list, and a notes and reports area.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a second patient indicator from the worklist to be displayed in the active patient area while the first patient indicator is on the patient indicator shelf.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising saving modified patient information for later retrieval.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the patient indicator on the patient indicator shelf maintains context and status information for the patient indicator.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the patient indicator includes patient summary information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the patient indicator includes a patient urgency status indicator.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the patient indicator includes one or more icons indicating a source and access for patient exam information.

10. An interruption workflow management system for a clinical enterprise, said system comprising:

a worklist including a plurality of patient indicators representing patients for which tasks are to be performed by a user;

a patient panel displaying patient information associated with a patient indicator selected from the worklist; and

a patient indicator shelf holding one or more patient indicators from at least one of the worklist and the patient panel for later retrieval in response to user input, the patient indicator shelf facilitating restoration of a patient indicator from the patient indicator shelf to display in the patient panel in response to user input.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising an active patient indicator area, wherein positioning a patient indicator in the active patient indicator area retrieves and displays patient information in the patient panel, a priors list, and a notes area, for example.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the patient indicator comprises a patient card.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein positioning of the patient indicator in the active patient area triggers display of the patient information in a patient panel, a priors list, and a notes and reports area.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein a second patient indicator is selected from the worklist to be displayed in the active patient area while the first patient indicator is stored on the patient indicator shelf.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the patient indicator shelf maintains context and status information for the patient indicator.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the patient indicator includes patient summary information.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the patient indicator includes a patient urgency status indicator.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the patient indicator includes one or more icons indicating a source and access for patient exam information.

19. The system of claim 10, further comprising a history of patient indicators previously examined within a predefined time period.

20. The system of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of tools for manipulation of the patient information.

21. A machine readable medium having a set of instructions for execution on a computing machine, which, when executed, cause the computing machine to execute a method for interruption workflow management via a workstation in a clinical enterprise, said method comprising:

generating a worklist for a user including a plurality of patient tasks to be performed by that user, the patients represented in the worklist using patient indicators;

displaying patient information associated with a patient indicator selected from the worklist in an active patient area;

moving the patient indicator from the active patient area to a patient indicator shelf for later retrieval in response to user input; and

restoring the patient indicator from the patient indicator shelf to the active patient area in response to user input.