Automatic identification of medical staff training needs

• US 7,384,267 B1
• Filed: 07/20/2000
• Issued: 06/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GE Medical Technology Services, Inc. (General Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: GE Medical Technology Services, Inc. (General Electric Company)
• Inventors: Jones, Michael C., Franks, Dorothy B., Jaeger, John G.
• Primary Examiner(s): MOSSER, KATHLEEN MICHELE
• Application Number:
  US09/620,520
• Time in Patent Office: 2,882 Days
• Field of Search: 434/350, 434/219, 434/323, 434/247, 434/118, 434/262
• US Class Current: 434/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/20 Education
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/28 for medicine
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/20 relating to practices or guidelines
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

Data representative of operation of biomedical equipment in a medical facility is collected and stored in a centralized database. The information may be collected manually during the life of the equipment, or automatically by connection to the equipment. The data references equipment types, manufacturer, departments, locations, and other relevant information for the equipment. Based upon the collected and stored information, parameters representative of possible training needs is analyzed and reported. The parameters may include error, breakdowns, and the like. Detailed reports delivered to the medical institution may thus provide a basis for planning training to enhance performance and utilization of the equipment.

Claims

1. A method of identifying training needs for biomedical equipment in a medical institution, the method comprising:

collecting identification and operation data associated with a plurality of biomedical equipment components;

storing the collected data in a central database;

analyzing the operation data to identify at least one operational parameter affected by operator activities with the equipment components;

identifying a training need based on the analyzed operational parameter; and

outputting a report indicating the identified training need.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the operational parameter includes operational errors for a type of equipment component.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the operational parameter includes failures for a type of equipment component.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data includes equipment type, and wherein the training need is identified by analyzing the operational parameter for a plurality of equipment components of the equipment type.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data includes data representative of individual operators utilizing the equipment components.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the medical institution includes a plurality of departments, and wherein the data includes data representative of the department to which equipment components are assigned.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the medical institution includes a plurality of geographically dispersed facility sites, and wherein the data includes data representative of the facility site at which equipment components are located.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the report is generated at a location remote from the medical institution and is transmitted to the medical institution by a configurable network link.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the network link includes the Internet.

10. The method of claim 1, comprising the further step of associating the stored data into groups by equipment type, and wherein the training need is identified for an equipment type group.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising associating the stored data into groups by equipment location, wherein the training need is identified for an equipment type group and an equipment location group.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the data further identifies an equipment manufacturer for each equipment component, and wherein the training need is identified for equipment components from a particular equipment manufacturer.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the data further includes data representative of downtime for the equipment components, and wherein the parameter includes downtime.

14. A system for identifying training needs associated with a plurality biomedical equipment components in a medical institution, the system comprising:

a central database configured to store data representative of the equipment components, the stored data including operation data and identification data identifying at least an equipment type;

a data analysis module configured to arrange the operation data into groupings and to analyze the operation data based on the groupings, the groupings including an equipment type grouping; and

a report generator configured to generate a report including an arrangement of the analyzed operation data based on the groupings, wherein a training need is identifiable based on the arrangement.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the operation data includes breakdowns associated with the equipment components, and wherein the arrangement of the analyzed operation data comprises a presentation of the breakdowns associated with a particular equipment type.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the operation data includes operator errors associated with the equipment components, and wherein the arrangement of the analyzed operation data comprises a presentation of the operator errors associated with a particular equipment type.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the arrangement of the operation data includes a first presentation of the operation data for a particular medical facility and a second presentation of the operation data for a plurality of medical facilities.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the medical facilities are at geographically diverse locations.

19. The system of claim 17, further comprising a user interface configured to provide access to the generated report.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the report is generated at a location remote from the medical institution and is transmitted to the medical institution via a communication network.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the communication network includes the Internet.

22. A method for identifying a training need associated with biomedical equipment in a medical institution, the method comprising:

storing data associated with the equipment in a central database, the stored data including equipment operation data and equipment identification data;

grouping the stored equipment operation data in accordance with the corresponding equipment identification data;

analyzing the equipment operation data based on the grouping;

generating a presentation of the analyzed equipment operation data in accordance with the grouping;

identifying a training need associated with a particular piece of equipment based on the presentation; and

outputting a report indicating the identified training need.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the grouping comprises an equipment type grouping, an equipment manufacturer grouping, and an equipment location grouping.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the equipment location grouping comprises locations of the pieces of equipment.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the location grouping references a plurality of geographically diverse medical facilities.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the operation data includes breakdowns and operator errors associated with the equipment.

27. A system for of identifying training needs for biomedical equipment in a medical facility, the system comprising:

means for collecting identification and operation data associated with a plurality of biomedical equipment components;

means for storing the collected data in a central database;

means for analyzing the operation data to identify at least one operational parameter affected by operator activities with the equipment components; and

means for identifying a training need based on the analyzed operational parameter.