Controlling and optimizing patient pathways within and across health care facilities

• US 8,121,859 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2008
• Issued: 02/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Haider, Sultan, Huber, Peter, Becker, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Connor, Gerald J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAULS, JOHN A
• Application Number:
  US12/060,428
• Publication Number:
  US 20090248439A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• Field of Search: 396/310, 455/39, 600/300, 705/2, 705/3, 705/8, 342/357.07
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• 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: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system to control and optimize clinical pathways of a plurality of patients within a medical facility as well as across several medical facilities. The method of controlling and optimizing pathways uses real-time localization devices for patients, resources, such as clinical images and employees of the medical facility (e.g. a service technician, a senior consultant or the like). Based on the local position of patients, staff members and/or resources, the system proposes a medical system that generates clinical pathways for patients, is adapted to change clinical pathways and to provide schedules for patients as well as the use of resources.

The invention provides further means of real-time information of patients about changes in their schedule. The method provided enables a medical facility to streamline their processes and to increase patient throughput.

Claims

1. Computerized method for controlling a clinical pathway for a patient in a medical facility, comprising the steps of:

Defining at least one clinical pathway with a pathway generation module, the pathway generation module defining for at least one patient a plurality of necessary process steps out of a plurality of all possible process steps;

Determining resources for carrying out the necessary process steps including at least one human medical resource and/or at least one equipment resource for carrying out the necessary process steps;

Tracking in real time with a plurality of localization devices a position of said at least one patient as the patient advances along said at least one clinical pathway;

Tracking in real time with the plurality of localization devices a position of said at least one human medical resource and/or equipment resource for carrying out the necessary process steps;

Identifying a respective real time local position of the patient and said at least one human medical resource, wherein the identifying of the respective real time local position of said at least one patient and said at least one human medical resource is each performed at a selectable rate;

relating an expected level of traffic in said at least one clinical pathway to a respective present local position of the patient and a respective present local position of said at least one human medical resource;

Selecting the respective rate for the identifying of the respective real time local position of said at least one patient and for the identifying of the respective real time local position of said at least one human medical resource based on the expected level of traffic related to the respective present local position of the patient and the respective present local position of said at least one human medical resource;

Identifying a respective real time local position of said at least one equipment resource;

Controlling the clinical pathway by way of a controller configured to determine a schedule for the necessary process steps, the controlling based on the respective identified local position of the patient, the respective identified local position of said at least one human medical resource, and/or the respective identified local position of said at least one equipment resource.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein providing a clinical pathway comprises generating at least one new clinical pathway and/or modifying a plurality of existing clinical pathways.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises:

Receiving relevant parameters;

Determining necessary process steps for the clinical pathway, comprising determining at least one medical modality;

Considering relevant parameters, time-related parameters, position-related parameters and the necessary process steps for the clinical pathway.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein equipment resources may comprise mobile resources and/or resources that normally do not change their location.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the local position is based on RFID technology, wherein at least one patient and/or at least one resource being determined are equipped with an RFID transponder and the medical facility is equipped with at least one RFID reader.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein the identification of the local position is based on WLAN.

7. Method according to claim 1, wherein the identification of the local position is based on optical determination by means of a camera.

8. Method according to claim 1, wherein the controlling is done in real time.

9. Method according to claim 1, wherein all of the necessary process steps or a selection of the necessary process steps are carried out automatically.

10. Method according to claim 1, wherein a result of the controlling comprises:

Determining alternative process steps;

Generating a forecast for the clinical pathway or for separate necessary process steps, comprising notifying about possible delays.

11. Method according to claim 10, wherein the result of the controlling is displayed graphically, comprising a time schedule of each of the necessary process steps and/or the clinical pathway as a whole.

12. Method according to claim 1, wherein personalized information comprising schedule information related to a clinical pathway for at least one patient or at least one staff member is automatically communicated only to the person'"'"'s location by a telecommunicative device comprising at least one of a loudspeaker and a graphical display.

13. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises:

assigning a unique electronic patient identification to at least one of the patients and/or assigning a unique electronic resource identification to at least one of the resources;

assigning a time stamp to each of the identified local positions.

14. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method and particularly the steps of identifying and/or controlling are carried out for a given point in time.

15. Method according to claim 1, further comprising tracking data indicative of clinical pathways of patients and associating said clinical pathways to respective medical conditions of the patients, and processing said data indicative of clinical pathways of patients to evaluate a respective clinical protocol for treating a respective medical condition.

16. Clinical system for a medical facility, comprising:

a controller configured to control a plurality of clinical pathways for at least one patient in the medical facility;

a clinical pathway generation module configured to provide a plurality of clinical pathways with a plurality of necessary process steps out of all possible process steps;

a resource determination module configured to determine resources for carrying out the necessary process steps including at least one human medical resource and/or at least one equipment resource for carrying out the necessary process steps;

a plurality of localization devices arranged to track a real time position of said at least one patient as the patient advances along one of the plurality of clinical pathways, the plurality of localization devices further arranged to track a real time position of said at least one human medical resource, wherein the plurality of localization devices is configured to identify a respective local position of said at least one patient and to identify a respective local position of said at least one human medical resource, wherein the controller relates an expected level of traffic in said at least one clinical pathway to a respective present local position of the patient and a respective present local position of said at least one human medical resource, wherein the identification of the respective real time local position of said at least one patient and said at least one human medical resource is each performed at a selectable rate based on the expected level of traffic related to the respective present local position of the patient and the respective present local position of said at least one human medical resource, wherein the plurality of localization devices is further configured to identify a respective local position of said least one equipment resource;

wherein the controller is adapted to control the clinical pathway for said at least one patient by way of a determination of a schedule for the plurality of necessary process steps, based on the respective identified local position of said at least one patient, the respective identified local position of said at least one human medical resource and/or on the respective identified local position of said least one equipment resource.

17. Clinical system according to claim 16, wherein the local position identifier is an RFID transponder and wherein the system further comprises at least one RFID reader for reading and/or processing local position information, provided by the RFID transponders.

18. Clinical system for a medical facility, comprising:

a controller configured to control a plurality of clinical pathways for at least one patient in the medical facility;

a clinical pathway generation module configured to provide a plurality of clinical pathways with a plurality of necessary process steps out of all possible process steps;

a resource determination module configured to determine resources for carrying out the necessary process steps including at least one human medical resource and/or at least one equipment resource for carrying out the necessary process steps;

a plurality of localization devices arranged to track a real time position of said at least one patient as the patient advances along one of the plurality of clinical pathways, the plurality of localization devices further arranged to track a real time position of said at least one human medical resource, wherein the plurality of localization devices is configured to identify a respective local position of said at least one patient and to identify a respective local position of said at least one human medical resource, wherein the controller relates an expected level of traffic in said at least one clinical pathway to a respective present local position of the patient and a respective present local position of said at least one human medical resource, wherein the plurality of localization devices is further configured to identify a respective local position of said least one equipment resource;

wherein the controller is adapted to control the clinical pathway for said at least one patient by way of a determination of a schedule for the plurality of necessary process steps, based on the respective identified local position of said at least one patient, the respective identified local position of said at least one human medical resource and/or on the respective identified local position of said least one equipment resource; and

a database configured to track data indicative of clinical pathways of patients and to associate said clinical pathways to respective medical conditions of the patients, wherein said data indicative of clinical pathways of patients are processed to evaluate a respective clinical protocol for treating a respective medical condition.