TREATMENT PROTOCOL TEMPLATE GENERATION AND BRANCHING LOGIC SYSTEM

• US 20110120470A1
• Filed: 11/22/2010
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Healthcare Clinical Consultants Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Healthcare Clinical Consultants Incorporated
• Inventors: Bowerbank, Jonathan William
• Application Number:
  US12/952,062
• Publication Number:
  US 20110120470A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 128/204.23
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/40 relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/20 relating to practices or guidelines

Abstract

A method for determining a next protocol step in a patient treatment protocol upon completion of a current treatment protocol step. The method includes accessing a treatment protocol template associated with a treatment protocol step. The treatment protocol step includes rules that determine when the protocol step is passed or failed and includes a first clinical decision point that specifies a second protocol step that is be performed next when the rules are passed and a second clinical decision point that specifies a third protocol step that is to be performed next when the rules are not passed. The method includes receiving input into parameter fields of the treatment protocol template, determining if the rules associated with the parameter fields of the treatment protocol template have been passed or not passed, and automatically determining which of the second or third protocol steps is to be performed next.

Claims

1. A method for determining a next protocol step that is to be performed in a patient treatment protocol upon completion of a current treatment protocol step, the method comprising:

accessing a treatment protocol template, the treatment protocol template being associated with a treatment protocol step of an underlying patient treatment protocol, the treatment protocol step including rules that determine when the protocol step is passed or not passed, the treatment protocol step including a first clinical decision point that specifies a second protocol step that is be performed next when the rules are passed and including a second clinical decision point that specifies a third protocol step that is to be performed next when the rules are not passed, the treatment protocol template including one or more parameter fields that are associated with at least one of the rules of the treatment protocol step;

receiving input into the parameter fields of the treatment protocol template;

determining, based on the received input, if the rules associated with the parameter fields of the treatment protocol template have been successfully passed or unsuccessfully not passed; and

in response to determining if the rules associated with the parameter fields have passed or not passed, automatically determining which of the second or third protocol steps is to be performed next.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing a second treatment protocol template associated with the second treatment protocol step, the second treatment protocol step including rules that determine when the second protocol step is passed or failed, the second treatment protocol step specifying a fourth protocol step that is be performed when the second rules are passed and a fifth protocol step that is to be performed when the rules are not passed, the second treatment protocol template including one or more parameter fields that are associated with at least one of the rules of the second treatment protocol step;

receiving input into the parameter fields of the second treatment protocol template;

determining, based on the received input, if the rules associated with the parameter fields of the second treatment protocol template have been successfully passed or unsuccessfully not passed; and

in response to determining if the rules associated with the parameter fields have passed or not passed, automatically determining which of the fourth or fifth protocol steps is to be performed next.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the input received into the parameter fields is at least one of clinical patient information related to a patient connected to a medical device that is associated with the underlying treatment protocol, information related to the medical device, other clinical or diagnostic information related to the underlying treatment protocol, wherein the input is received automatically into the parameter fields or is input manually into the parameter fields.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the medical device is a ventilator and the underlying treatment protocol is a ventilator weaning protocol.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter fields of the treatment protocol template includes one or more user input blocks that are configured to manually receive user input that is indicative of clinical and diagnostic information related to the underlying treatment protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the third treatment protocol step is the same as the treatment protocol step such that the treatment protocol step and its associated treatment protocol templates are repeated when the rules are not passed.

7. Computer readable storage media having stored thereon computer readable instructions that when executed by a processor, cause a computing system to perform the method of claim 1.

8. A method linking a next treatment protocol step with a protocol treatment template of a current treatment protocol step the method comprising:

accessing a treatment protocol step of an underlying patient treatment protocol for patient treatment using a medical device, the treatment protocol step including one or more rules that are to be complied with in order to successfully perform the treatment protocol step;

generating a treatment protocol template for the treatment protocol step, the treatment protocol template including parameter fields associated with the one or more rules of the treatment protocol step;

linking the treatment protocol step and the generated treatment protocol template to a first clinical decision point that specifies a second protocol step that is to be performed next when the one or more rules are successfully passed and

linking the treatment protocol step and the generated treatment protocol template to a second clinical decision point that specifies a third protocol step that is to be performed next when the one or more rules are not successfully passed.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

associating a first time interval with the generated treatment protocol template that indicates the time amount that should pass before the second treatment protocol step is accessed when the rules associated with the parameter fields of the generated treatment protocol templates are successfully passed; and

associating a second time interval with the generated treatment protocol template that indicates the time amount that should pass before the third treatment protocol step is accessed when the rules associated with the parameter fields of the generated treatment protocol templates are not successfully passed.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the medical device is a ventilator and the treatment protocol is a ventilator weaning protocol.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

accessing generated treatment protocol template;

receiving diagnostic information related to the medical device;

receiving clinical patient information related to a patient connected to the medical device; and

based on the received diagnostic information and clinical patient information, determining which of the second or third treatment protocol steps and their respective protocol treatment templates are to accessed next.

12. The method in accordance with claim 8, wherein the second treatment protocol step and the third protocol treatment step each are associated with a treatment protocol template that includes one or more parameter fields associated with one or more rules of the second or third treatment protocol step.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the second or third protocol treatment steps specify a next clinical decision point in the same treatment protocol as the treatment protocol of the treatment protocol step associated with the generated treatment protocol template or specify a clinical decision point in a different treatment protocol.

14. Computer readable physical storage media having stored thereon computer readable instructions that when executed by a processor, cause a computing system to perform the method of claim 8.

15. A computer system comprising:

a first module configured to access a patient treatment protocol, the patient treatment protocol including a plurality of clinical decision points that include one or more rules that are to be complied with in order to successfully treat a patient using a medical device that is associated with the patient treatment protocol;

a treatment protocol template generation module configured to generate a treatment protocol template for each of the clinical decision points, each treatment protocol template specifying the one or more rules of the corresponding clinical decision point;

a next step logic module configured to determine a second protocol template that is to be accessed and followed when the one or more rules of a specific generated treatment protocol template are successfully passed and to determine a third protocol template that is to be accessed and followed when the one or more rules of the specific generated treatment protocol template are not successfully passed; and

one or more input modules for receiving information related to the specific generated treatment protocol template.

16. The computer system in accordance with claim 15, wherein the medical device is a ventilator.

17. The computing system in accordance with claim 15, further comprising:

an alarm module configured to provide an alarm when the received information is below a predetermined acceptable level.

18. The computing system in accordance with claim 15 further comprising:

a waveform generator configured to generate a real time waveform that looks at a mechanics of at least some of the received information.

19. The computing system in accordance with claim 15, further comprising:

a report module configured to track input received from user into the generated treatment protocol template and to report if there is a deviation from the rules specified in the generated treatment protocol template.

20. The computing system in accordance with claim 15, wherein the received information is at least one of patient information related to a patient connected to the medical device that is associated with the treatment protocol or information related to the medical device.