Method of providing care to a patient
First Claim
1. A method of providing care to a patient, comprising:
- activating a configuration database from a plurality of configuration databases stored in a memory of a patient care device, said patient care device capable of providing patient therapies or monitoring the condition of a patient in accordance with the activated configuration database, wherein said configuration database comprises at least one protocol defining parameter for operating said patient care device, said at least one protocol comprising a plurality of fields of default operating parameters;
configuring said patient care device to operate in accordance with said activated configuration database;
selecting the patient care protocol from said activated configuration database; and
operating said patient care device in accordance with the operating parameters defined by the selected protocol to provide care to the patient.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a system and method for providing care to a patient, comprising a patient care device having a number of configuration databases stored in a memory in the device. Each configuration database preferably includes protocols, operating limits, rule sets and/or operating features that collectively define an operating environment, or personality, of the device. Selection of a specific configuration database preferably is based at least in part upon patient-specific information obtained from any location in a distributed hospital network. Examples of such patient-specific information include patient age or size, patient medical characteristics, a location of the patient or a location of the care device. In a preferred embodiment, programming a patient care device to deliver a drug to a patient entails activating a configuration database and scanning a machine-readable drug label identifying a particular protocol stored in the activated database. The selected protocol includes default parameters for delivering the drug, and the label optionally includes instructions for deviating from the default protocol.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method of providing care to a patient, comprising:
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activating a configuration database from a plurality of configuration databases stored in a memory of a patient care device, said patient care device capable of providing patient therapies or monitoring the condition of a patient in accordance with the activated configuration database, wherein said configuration database comprises at least one protocol defining parameter for operating said patient care device, said at least one protocol comprising a plurality of fields of default operating parameters; configuring said patient care device to operate in accordance with said activated configuration database; selecting the patient care protocol from said activated configuration database; and operating said patient care device in accordance with the operating parameters defined by the selected protocol to provide care to the patient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification