Clinical critical care path system and method of using same

• US 6,401,072 B1
• Filed: 11/24/1997
• Issued: 06/04/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Clini Comp International Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Clini Comp International Incorporated
• Inventors: Haudenschild, Chris A., Urquhart, Kristopher S., Lancelot, Jean Francois
• Primary Examiner(s): Poinvil, Frantzy
• Application Number:
  US08/977,522
• Time in Patent Office: 1,653 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 705/3, 707/1, 707/10, 707/100, 707/200, 707/205
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/60 for the operation of medical equipment or devices
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

A new and improved clinical critical care path system, which can be tailored readily for a given patient diagnosis for either single or combined medical and/or surgical diagnoses. The clinical information system stores critical care information for various patient diagnoses and retrieves them for a given patient. Treatment information is tailored to a given patient by enabling selected treatment information to be edited. Where multiple diagnoses are present, the prescribed or ordered treatment plans for each diagnosis are merged for a given patient, and potential conflicts are determined for any ordered activity. Upon determination of a conflict, patient treatment information is repeated on separate display lines to alert the healthcare provider to permit the healthcare provider to analyze the conflict and to determine what order or orders should be entered. Customized multiple diagnosis treatment information can then be entered and stored for a given patient.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating the management of the care of a group of patients by a health care provider, comprising:

a central computer for storing critical care information for a plurality of different patient diagnoses for different maladies for a given patient;

remote computers means coupled to said central computer for creating and storing a first active care path information corresponding to a specific one of said patient diagnoses for a given one of said patients;

said remote computers for creating and storing a second active care path information corresponding to a different specific one of said patient diagnoses for said given one of the patients;

said central computer being responsive to said remote computers means for causing said first active care path information to be added to said second active care path information to establish a customized critical care information for the given patient and for causing the customized multiple customized diagnoses critical care information to be stored to enable said customized critical care information to be retrieved by said remote computer to facilitate patient care management; and

means for arranging said first and said second active care path information adjacent to one another to facilitate determining potential conflicts between said first active care path information and said second active care path information for said given patient;

wherein said first active care path information and said second active care path information are presented adjacent to one another when said customized critical care information for said given patient is retrieved by said remote computers means for enabling the health care provider to adjust said customized multiple diagnoses critical care information for resolving any potential conflicts so that a customized multiple diagnoses treatment information can then be entered and stored for a given patient.

2. A system according to claim 1, further having bedside units including a bedside computer for retrieving the customized critical care information of the given patient, and including a data entry device for entry of patient information in accordance with said first active care path information and said second active care path information of the customized critical care information.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said central computer means includes:

processor means for selectively adding sad first active care path information to said second active care path information; and

algorithm means for enabling the user to adjust the customized critical care information to eliminate each determined conflict.

4. A system according to claim 2, wherein said remote computer means includes:

a processor for permitting a user to analyze each of the potential conflicts to determine if a conflict in patient treatment actually exists.

5. A system according to claim 4, further comprising:

means for displaying selectively patient treatment information for the retrieved care path information.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein said central computer means further includes:

order means for arranging said first active care path information and said second active care path information in a time ordered sequence;

wherein said first active care path information and said second active care path information have associated expected outcomes; and

means for causing each of the expected outcomes to be displayed in said time ordered sequence.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein said order means includes:

series means for arranging the stored customized critical care information in a plurality of predefined groups, said predefined groups each being arranged in a series of rows and columns in said time ordered sequence.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein said central computer further includes:

information means for retrieving the stored customized critical care information for a user selected individual one of said plurality of predefined groups; and

means for further customizing the retrieved individual ones of the plurality of predefined groups in said time ordered sequence relative to the response of the given patient to treatment.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein said means for further customizing includes:

sequence means for causing customized patient information to be entered at a given time in said time ordered sequence.

10. A system according to claim 9, further comprising:

means for enabling the user to determine whether the entered customized patient information should be repeated continuously in said time ordered sequence; and

means for repeating the customized patient information at a user defined frequency in said time ordered sequence.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein said means for repeating in response to the user can cause said repeated information to be discontinued anywhere in said time order sequence.

12. A system according to claim 1, wherein said first active care path information and said second active care path information include text information, and further including sorting means for arranging alphabetically said text information for said first active care path information and said second active care path information to facilitate identifying said potential conflicts.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein text information is positioned adjacent to similar text information.

14. A system according to claim 1, wherein said critical care information includes assessment information.

15. A system according to claim 14, further including means for eliminating redundant assessment information when said one active care path information is added to said another active care path information.

16. A method of using a system for facilitating the management of the care of a group of patients by a health care provider, comprising:

storing critical care information for a plurality of patient diagnoses corresponding to different maladies for a given patient;

creating a first active care path information corresponding to a specific one of said patient diagnoses for a given one of said patients;

storing said first active care path information;

creating a second active are path information corresponding to another specific one of said patient diagnoses corresponding to a different malady for said given patient;

storing said second active care path information;

adding said first active care path information to said second active care path information to establish a customized multiple diagnosis critical care information for the given patient;

storing the customized multiple diagnosis critical care information;

arranging said first and second active care path information adjacent to one another for said given patient to facilitate determining potential conflicts between said first active care path information and said second active care path information; and

presenting said first active care path information adjacent to said second active care path information for said given patient for enabling the health care provider to adjust said customized multiple diagnosis critical care path information for resolving said potential conflicts.

17. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

retrieving the customized critical care information and adding patient information to said customized critical care information.

18. A method according to claim 16, wherein the step of adding includes:

displaying selectively patient treatment information for the retrieved care path information;

adding selectively the retrieved care path information where potential conflicts between the predefined standards of care exist;

permitting a user to analyze each of the potential conflicts to determine if a conflict in patient treatment actually exists; and

enabling the user to customize the care path information to eliminate each determined conflict.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein the step of displaying includes:

displaying each of a predefined standard of care treatments in a time ordered sequence; and

displaying each of expected outcomes resulting from the predefined standard of care treatments in said time ordered sequence.

20. A method according to claim 19, further comprising:

arranging the stored customized critical care information in a plurality of predefined groups, said groups each being arranged in a series of rows and columns in said time ordered sequence.

21. A method according to claim 20, further comprising:

retrieving the stored customized critical care information for a user selected individual one of said plurality of predefined groups;

further customizing the retrieved individual ones of the plurality of predefined groups in said time ordered sequence relative to the response of the patient to treatment.

22. A method according to claim 21, wherein in the step of further customizing includes entering the customized information at a given time in said time ordered sequence.

23. A method according to claim 22, further comprising:

enabling the user to determine whether the entered customized information should be repeated continuously in said time ordered sequence; and

repeating the customized information at a user defined frequency in said time ordered sequence.

24. A method according to claim 23 wherein said step of repeating can be discontinued anywhere in said time ordered sequence at the discretion of the user.

25. A method according to claim 20, wherein each row and column intersect to define a series of data information cells arranged in said time ordered sequence.

26. A method according to claim 25, wherein a user can customize the data information in any one of the cells.

27. A method according to claim 26, wherein the customized information entered into one cell in a given row is repeated for all the remaining cells occurring thereafter in said time ordered sequence.

28. A method according to claim 27, wherein the initial cell customized with customized information is a primary cell.

29. A method according to claim 25, wherein the primary cell includes indicia to indicate that said primary cell is a primary cell.

30. A method according to claim 27, wherein the information in the remaining cells occurring thereafter in said time ordered sequence are secondary cells.

31. A method according to claim 30, wherein the user can customize an individual one of said secondary cells to transform said one of said secondary cells to said primary cell.

32. A method according to claim 30, wherein the user can discontinue the secondary cells anywhere in said time ordered sequence.

33. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

storing a plurality of predefined critical care path standards for a plurality of different types and kinds of medical surgical diagnoses;

identifying a patient diagnosed as requiring treatment for at least two of said plurality of different types and kinds of medical surgical diagnoses;

retrieving the stored predefined critical care path standards for said at least two diagnoses;

comparing flowsheets for the retrieved predefined critical care path standards for possible conflicts;

combining the flowsheets for the retrieved predefined critical care path standards into a single flowsheet; and

providing an indication that a conflict was determined, said indication being the absence of the conflicting standards from said single flowsheet.

34. A method according to claim 33, further comprising:

a providing a prompt that the conflicting standards have been deleted from said single flowsheet; and

receiving a replacement order to update said single flowsheet with replacement information for the deleted standards.

35. A system for facilitating the management of the care of a group of patients, comprising:

a group of data acquisition bedside units for each being individually associated with the patients for gathering patient management information;

a central computer including a processor and a memory unit for receiving and storing the gathered patient management information;

a plurality of remote computers means remotely located relative to the group of patients for receiving and displaying patient management information for utilization by healthcare providers;

a data bus for interconnecting said bedside units, said central computer and said remote computers to enable them to communicate with one another interactively;

said central computer processor for creating critical care information for each one of a plurality of different patient diagnoses corresponding to different maladies for a given patient, said critical care information being indicative of expected outcomes resulting from predefined standard of care treatment plans to be administered to patient to be treated;

the central computer memory unit for storing the created critical care information for a multiple of patient diagnoses corresponding to said different maladies for the given patient;

said remote computer means for retrieving the stored multiple diagnoses critical care information selectively for a given one of the patients;

means for creating and storing a first active care path plan corresponding to one of said predefined treatment plans for one of the multiple diagnoses and for creating and storing a second active care path plan corresponding to another one of said predefined treatment plans for another one of the multiple diagnoses for treating said given patient;

means for adding said first active care path plan to said second active care path plan to form a customized multiple diagnoses critical care path plan; and

means for displaying simultaneously said first active care path plan and said second active care path plan to facilitate determining potential conflicts between said first and second active care path plans for said customized multiple diagnoses critical care path plan for a given patient;

wherein said first active care path plan and said second active care path plan are presented simultaneously to enable said customized multiple diagnoses critical care path plan to be adjusted to resolved said conflicts by comparing said first and second plans.

36. A system for facilitating the management of the care of a group of patients according to claim 35, further comprising:

means for modifying the stored critical information for patients to be treated thereafter.

37. A system according to claim 36, further comprising:

means responsive to retrieved critical care information for modifying said retrieved critical care information for a given one of the patients.

38. A system according to claim 37, further comprising:

means responsive to the modified retrieved critical care Information for causing at least one customized flowsheet to be displayed to facilitate patient treatment for said given one of the patients.