System and Method for Clinical Practice and Health Risk Reduction Monitoring

• US 20110257997A1
• Filed: 10/15/2010
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2008
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Baker Scott Holdings, LLC
• Original Assignee: Baker Scott Holdings, LLC
• Inventors: Gale, Brian
• Application Number:
  US12/905,980
• Publication Number:
  US 20110257997A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/40 for data related to laboratory analysis, e.g. patient specimen analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• 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 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades

Abstract

A System and Method for monitoring risk reduction activities in one or more medical practice settings and environments is described. The system automatically monitors communications and equipment to verify proper clinical treatment processes and activities that reduce the risk of poor clinical outcomes or increased risk to health. The system can also automatically monitor out-patient activities. Clinical activities are monitored and various rules and risk reduction metrics calculated from the data. Real-time monitoring further permits alarms to be triggered if certain clinical steps considered proper are not followed in a particular case.

Claims

1. A system comprising a diagnostic or therapeutic device comprising a computer processor, operatively connected to a database, where the diagnostic or therapeutic device transmits usage data to the database and the database stores the usage data in association with a patient identifier value, where the computer processor is adapted to check the usage data against a pre-determined standard value of usage associated with the type of diagnostic or therapeutic device.

2. A method of measuring risk reduction activities comprised of receiving data containing patient encounter information, storing said data, calculating one or more metrics for the frequency, quantity, quality, or any other relevant aspect of one or more corresponding risk reduction activities that are documented in the data, and storing the one or more calculated metrics.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising comparing the calculated metrics to one or more corresponding pre-determined standard values associated with such corresponding one or more risk reduction activities.

4. A method of measuring risk reduction activities comprised of receiving data associated with one or more reportable medical result notifications, storing said data, calculating a metric for the frequency, quantity, quality, or any other relevant aspect of one or more risk reduction activities that are documented in the data, storing the one or more metrics.

5. The method of measuring risk reduction activities of claim 4 further comprising:

where the metric is an integrity test to verify that the actions of users of a medical report result notification monitoring system meet a pre-determined rule.

6. The method of claim 5 where the rule is a test that sufficient percentage of notifications were retrieved by the intended recipient within a pre-determined amount of time.

7. A method of measuring risk reduction activities comprising the steps of:

Retrieving from data storage data representing medical communication messages;

Converting the received data into data representing reportable medical reportable result communication messages;

Calculating the proportion of the reportable result messages that the reporting physician communicated to the referring clinician; and

Storing the calculation result.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of generating a report that indicates for each reporting physician, the proportion of reportable result messages containing notification documentation.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising generating a data file embodying a report that indicates for each referring clinician, the proportion of reportable result messages that they retrieved.

10. The method of claim 7 further comprising generating a data file embodying a report that indicates for each referring clinician, the proportion of reportable result messages sent that they acted upon.

20. A system comprised of one or more computers operatively connected over a data network adapted to perform any of the methods of claims 2 through 19.

21. A computer readable medium comprising data, where said data represent executable code that when executed on a computer causes the computer to execute any of claims 2 through 19.

11. A method of measuring risk reduction activities comprising the steps of:

Storing a database record representing each admission, transfer or discharge and a patient identifier associated therewith;

Calculating for a predetermined set of such database records the proportion that had medication reconciliation performed by the caregiver.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of comparing the calculated proportion is to a predetermined rate.

13. A method of measuring risk reduction activities comprising the steps of:

Creating a database comprised of data records that correspond to a plurality of patient encounters;

Determining which of the data records document one or more pre-determined risk reduction activities;

Calculating from the determined data records one or more metrics corresponding to the pre-determined risk reduction activities.

14. The method of claim 13 where the metric is one of:

frequency, quantity or quality of the risk reduction activity.

15. A method of measuring risk reduction activities comprising:

Receiving data representing communication activity regarding reportable medical result notification between two of a referring physician, a diagnostic physician and a patient;

Determining at least one message condition for each notification;

Storing said message condition.

16. The method of claim 15 where the message condition is one of:

the number of repeat notifications, a notification escalation, the time to retrieve the notification, the time to complete retrieval and review of the notification, a read back occurred, a return message was sent.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

Checking the message condition data to determine if a pre-determined integrity test has failed.

18. The method of claim 17 where the integrity test is a test for one of:

A delayed test order, a delayed test interpretation, a delayed notification of abnormal result, fabricated documentation, delayed retrieval of a message, corruption of EMR data, sequence rule compliance.

19. The method of claim 18 where the integrity test is a statistical result for a plurality of communications that is compared to a predetermined normative value.