AUTOMATIC ASSOCIATION OF MEDICAL ELEMENTS

• US 20120075061A1
• Filed: 09/24/2010
• Published: 03/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carefusion 303 Incorporated (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Original Assignee: Carefusion 303 Incorporated (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Inventors: Barnes, Erik
• Granted Patent: US 8,786,402 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/5.61
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/23 Updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/22 Social work or social welfare, e.g. community support activities or counselling services
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• 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 of associating a plurality of objects is disclosed. A physical space is defined and a real-time locating system (RTLS) is used to determine objects that are within the physical space. The objects determined by the RTLS to be within the physical space are associated. The objects include at least one of a caregiver, a patient, a medical device, a medication, and a medical substance.

Claims

1. A method of associating a plurality of objects, the method comprising the steps of:

defining a physical space;

determining by use of a real-time locating system (RTLS) objects that are within the physical space; and

associating the objects determined by the RTLS to be within the physical space, wherein the objects include at least one of a caregiver, a patient, a medical device, a medication, and a medical substance.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

determining that a patient is within the physical space;

determining that a medical device is within the physical space;

associating the medical device with the patient; and

recording the assignment of the medical device to the patient in a database.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of downloading one or more operating parameters to the medical device from a database, wherein the operating parameters are associated with a procedure that has been ordered for the patient.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of uploading one or more data records from the medical device to a database, wherein the data records are associated with a procedure that has been performed for the patient.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of uploading one or more data records to an external system that comprises at least one of a Admit/Discharge/Transfer (ADT) system, a Medication Administration Record (MAR) system, a billing system, and a portable device carried by a doctor or a nurse.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of

determining that more than one patient is within the physical space;

determining a caregiver that is within the physical space;

presenting the identifications of the patients to the caregiver; and

accepting a selection from the caregiver of the patient with whom the medical device is to be associated.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

determining that a caregiver is within the physical space; and

allowing access to the medical device only when a caregiver is within the physical space.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of controlling access to the medical device according to privileges associated with the medical device assigned to the caregiver.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the access to the medical device is controlled according to the highest privileges of the caregivers when more than one caregiver is within the physical space.

10. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

identifying actions or events related to the medical device;

identifying one or more caregivers that are within the physical space when the action or event occurred; and

recording the action or event and the identities of the caregivers.

11. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

identifying a medication that is within the physical space; and

configuring the medical device to be used with the medication.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

verifying that the patient has a prescription comprising the medication; and

configuring the medical device according to the prescription.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

presenting the identifications of the patients to the caregiver when more than one patient is in the physical space; and

accepting a selection from the caregiver of the identification of the patient with whom the first medical device is to be associated.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of recording the identification of the patient, the identification of the caregiver, and the identification of the medication when the first medical device is activated.

15. A method of associating a plurality of objects, the method comprising the steps of:

defining a physical space about a first device;

determining, by use of a RTLS, objects that are within the physical space; and

associating the objects within the physical space with the first device, wherein the objects include at least one of an operator, a user, a second device, and a supply.

16. A system comprising:

a RTLS transceiver configured to define a physical space and identify objects comprising RTLS tags that are within the physical space; and

a processor coupled to the RTLS transceiver, the processor configured to receive the identification of the tagged objects and associate one or more of the objects, wherein the objects include at least one of a caregiver, a patient, a medical device, a medication, and a medical substance.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a database coupled to the processor, the database configured to store data, wherein the processor is further configured to store associations of objects in the database.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to associate a medical device identified by the RTLS transceiver to be within the physical space with a patient identified by the RTLS transceiver to be within the physical space and record this association in the database.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the database comprises at least one prescription for the patient identified by the RTLS transceiver to be within the physical space, wherein the prescription comprises one or more operating parameters associated with the medical device associated with the patient, and wherein the processor is configured to retrieve the operating parameters from the prescription and download the operating parameters to the medical device.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to associate a medication identified by the RTLS transceiver to be within the physical space with the medical device, identify a prescription in the database that comprises the medication, and retrieve the operating parameters from the identified prescription.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the processor is configured to upload one or more data records associated with a procedure that has been performed for the patient from the medical device and to store the data records in the database.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the processor is configured to upload one or more data records to an external system that comprises at least one of a Admit/Discharge/Transfer (ADT) system, a Medication Administration Record (MAR) system, a billing system, and a portable device carried by a doctor or a nurse.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the processor is further configured to present the identifications of one or more patients identified by the RTLS transceiver to be within the physical space to a caregiver identified by the RTLS transceiver to be within the physical space and to accept a selection from the caregiver of the patient with whom the medical device is to be associated.

24. The system of claim 18, wherein the processor is further configured to control the medical device to allow access according to whether a caregiver identified by the RTLS transceiver to be within the physical space.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the processor is further configured to control the medical device to allow access according to the highest privileges of the caregivers within the physical space when more than one caregiver is identified by the RTLS transceiver to be within the physical space, wherein each caregiver has been assigned one or more privileges associated with the medical device.

26. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to store in the database a data record of actions and events associated with the medical device with the identification of all caregivers identified by the RTLS transceiver to be within the physical space at the time of the action or event.

27. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon for execution by a processor to perform a method of associating a plurality of objects, the method comprising:

defining a physical space;

determining, by use of a RTLS, objects that are within the physical space; and

associating the objects determined by the RTLS to be within the physical space, wherein the objects include at least one of a caregiver, a patient, a medical device, a medication, and a medical substance.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

determining that a patient is within the physical space;

determining that a medical device is within the physical space;

associating the medical device with the patient; and

recording the assignment of the medical device to the patient in a database.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises the step of downloading one or more operating parameters to the medical device from a database, wherein the operating parameters are associated with a procedure that has been ordered for the patient.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises the step of uploading one or more data records from the medical device to a database, wherein the data records are associated with a procedure that has been performed for the patient.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

determining that one or more patients are within the physical space;

determining a caregiver that is within the physical space;

presenting the identifications of the patients to the caregiver; and

accepting a selection from the caregiver of the patient with whom the medical device is to be associated.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

determining that a caregiver is within the physical space; and

allowing access to the medical device only when a caregiver is within the physical space.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

identifying at least one caregiver that is within the physical space, each caregiver having one or more privileges associated with the medical device; and

controlling access to the medical device according to the privileges of the caregivers within the physical space.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein the access to the medical device is controlled according to the highest privileges of any caregiver that is within the physical space when more than one caregiver is within the physical space.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

identifying actions or events related to the medical device;

identifying one or more caregivers that are within the physical space when the action or event occurred; and

recording the action or event and the identities of the caregivers.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

identifying a medication that is within the physical space; and

configuring the medical device to be used with the medication.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

verifying that the patient has a prescription comprising the medication; and

configuring the medical device according to the prescription.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the method further comprises the step of recording the identification of the patient, the identification of the caregiver, and the identification of the medication when the first medical device is activated.