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System and software of enhanced pharmacy services and related methods

  • US 7,706,915 B2
  • Filed: 07/01/2005
  • Issued: 04/27/2010
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2004
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A system positioned within a hospital to enhance pharmaceutical order entry and administration by medical personnel and enhanced pharmaceutical inventory control within a hospital, the system comprising:

  • a hospital information processing and management computer including memory to store data therein to thereby define a hospital information management server;

    a database in communication with the hospital information management server and including a plurality of hospital patient medication profile records and a plurality of electronic medication administration records corresponding to the hospital patient medication profile records for each of a respective plurality of hospital patients, and including patient master data, a hospital drug formulary and a plurality of medication inventory records, each of the plurality of electronic medication administration records providing a single consolidated patient medication administration profile for a corresponding one of the plurality of hospital patients, the single medication profile including both hospital inpatient and outpatient prescribed medications, the electronic medication administration records also indicating unit dose-level dispensing and actual patient consumption verification of individual doses of a prescribed medication for hospital inpatient patients provided to perform clinical checks and non-clinical checks responsive to the hospital drug formulary;

    a hospital communications network associated with the hospital in communication with the hospital information management server;

    a plurality of hospital physician computers associated with at least one of a plurality of physicians and positioned in the hospital and remote from the hospital information management server, each in communication with the hospital information management server through the hospital communication network and each including memory and software stored in the memory adapted to provide access to the hospital information management server;

    a plurality of hospital pharmacy computers associated with at least one of a plurality of pharmacists and positioned in the hospital and remote from the hospital information management server and remote from the plurality of physicians computers, each of the plurality of hospital pharmacy computers in communication with the hospital information management server through the hospital communication network and each of the hospital pharmacy computers including memory and software stored in the memory adapted to provide access to the hospital information management server;

    a plurality of hospital nursing unit computers associated with at least one nursing unit member and positioned in the hospital and remote from the hospital information management server and remote from the plurality of hospital pharmacy computers and from the plurality of hospital physicians computers, each of the plurality of hospital nursing unit computers in communication with the hospital information management server through the hospital communication network, and each of the plurality of hospital nursing computers including memory and software stored in the memory and adapted to provide access to the hospital information management server;

    at least one hospital nursing unit video display in communication with at least one of the plurality of hospital nursing unit computers positioned at a nursing unit, remote from the hospital information management server, and in communication with the hospital information management server through the hospital communication network;

    a plurality of automated drug dispensing devices, each of the plurality of drug dispensing devices positioned in the hospital and in communication with the hospital information management server through the hospital communication network to store pharmaceuticals therein and to dispense the pharmaceuticals to one of the plurality of nursing unit members, pharmacists or physicians, each automated drug dispensing device including memory and software stored in the memory to provide access to the hospital information management server, to receive electronic medication administration records, and to provide an interface to modify electronic medication administration records, to thereby provide hospital personnel a tool for recording medication administered to patients, each of the plurality of automated drug dispensing devices also including an override function responsive to entry of hospital patient identification data to enable unscheduled or emergency withdrawal of medication from each of the plurality of automated drug dispensing device and positioned to provide medication removal event data and hospital patient identification data to the hospital information management server, the medication removal event data including medication identification, amount removed, and time of removal; and

    hospital information management software stored in the memory of the hospital information management server and including medication administration program product comprising a set of instructions that when executed by the hospital information management server cause the hospital information management server to perform a process of integrating medication order, verification and delivery within a hospital and a process of monitoring drug dispensing in the hospital, consisting of;

    formatting at least one of the plurality of hospital patient medication profiles stored in the database, responsive to a medical records request from one of the plurality of physicians through one of the plurality of physician computers connected to the hospital information management server through the hospital communications network, to thereby enable a display of a selected hospital patient medication profile record on one of the plurality of physician computers;

    formatting the hospital drug formulary stored in the database, responsive to a drug formulary request from one of the plurality of physicians through one of the plurality of physician computers connected to the hospital information management server through the hospital communications network, to thereby enable a display of the hospital drug formulary on one of the plurality of physician computers and allow a one of the plurality of physicians to search an available selection of medication;

    creating a medication order entry form, responsive to a medication entry request, for the selected hospital patient medication profile record, the medication order entry form accessible by the one of the plurality of physicians through one of the plurality of physician computers connected through the hospital communications network to the hospital information management server, the medication order entry form allowing one of the plurality of physicians to use one of the plurality of physician computers to perform computerized order entry within the hospital, the medication order entry form having database record input fields that when supplied with input from by one of the plurality of physician computers, communicate the input through the hospital communications network to the hospital information management server;

    writing the input supplied from the record input fields to the database to create an electronic medication order accessible by a one of the plurality of pharmacists using one of the plurality of pharmacist computers located within the hospital;

    inspecting the electronic medication order, responsive to the receipt of the electronic medication order, with non-clinical checks and clinical checks using at least the hospital patient medication profile records and the single consolidated patient medication administration profile, the non-clinical checks determining at least whether the patient is post-op or pre-op and the clinical checks determining at least whether proper drug dosages for the one of the plurality of patients associated with the single consolidated patient medication administration profile are contained in the electronic medication order;

    suspending the electronic medication order, automatically, responsive to at least a determination that the patient associated with the electronic medication order is pre-op or post-op;

    notifying, responsive to suspending the electronic medication order, one of the plurality of physicians at one of the plurality of physician computers of the suspension of the medication order to thereby allow one of the plurality of physicians to override the medication order suspension;

    creating an electronic medication verification form, responsive to the receipt of the electronic medication order, the electronic medication verification form accessible by one of the plurality of pharmacists through one of the plurality of pharmacist computers within the hospital, the electronic medication verification form allowing computerized input from the one of the plurality of pharmacists at one of the plurality of pharmacist computers to electronically document the verification of electronic medication orders, the electronic medication verification form having database input fields that when supplied with verification input from the plurality of pharmacist computers, communicate the verification input through the hospital communication network to the hospital information management;

    writing the verification input into the database to store the electronic medication order with the verification input as a hospital inpatient verified medication order;

    formatting the electronic medication administration records and hospital inpatient verified medication order, responsive to a nursing unit member request for access to the database, so that the electronic medication administration records and hospital inpatient verified medication order can be graphically displayed on the nursing unit video display connected to at least one of the plurality of nursing unit computers, the electronic medication administration records being displayed with database input fields so that the nursing unit member can enter medication administration input, and the hospital inpatient verified medication order being provided so that the nursing unit member can review one of the plurality of pharmacists and one of the plurality of physicians notes and special instructions and authenticate the hospital inpatient verified medication order;

    updating the electronic medication administration records with the medication administration input, responsive to administration input from the nursing unit member computer or the drug dispensing device, the medication administration input indicating completed administration of the inpatient verified medication order and including the time of medication removal;

    creating, automatically, a patient medication order responsive to the override function indicating an unscheduled or emergency medication removal event to thereby reduce incidence of medication dispensing without an electronic medication order; and

    checking the electronic medication administration records for the plurality of hospital patients to maintain proper medication inventory for the hospital.

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