Scoring system for monitoring or measuring adherence in medical treatment

• US 8,412,542 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2008
• Issued: 04/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Peoplechart Corporation
• Original Assignee: Peoplechart Corporation
• Inventors: Mok, Megan, Rubin, Haya, Limm, Whitney
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HIEP VAN
• Application Number:
  US12/233,440
• Publication Number:
  US 20090271218A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,657 Days
• Field of Search: 705/3
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/00 ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient compliance
• 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 70/20 relating to practices or guidelines

Abstract

Particular embodiments provide a quality adherence guide. In one embodiment, a plurality of medical records from a plurality of medical providers are received. A quality adherence guideline is used to determine if a standard of care is being adhered to by various medical providers. A quality adherence guideline is then generated using the selected standard of care. The quality adherence guideline includes a set of treatment steps that are defined by the selected standard of care. Information from the medical records associated with the patient is also used to populate the guide. During treatment of the patient, input may be received from a plurality of users from health care providers regarding the treatment steps. The patient-direct system automatically analyzes the information inserted in the guideline to determine the level of adherence that various users have achieved when compared with the industry standard for quality care.

Claims

1. A method for using a quality adherence guideline for a patient, the method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, a plurality of medical records from a plurality of medical providers, the patient authorizing release of the plurality of medical records from the plurality of medical providers affiliated with different organizations, each medical provider owning a subset of medical records in the plurality of medical records for the user;

classifying medical records in the plurality of medical records with classification tags based on a category determined to be associated with each medical record and storing the classified medical records in a database;

receiving an input for a standard of care from a plurality of standards of care, the standards of care related to a medical condition associated with the patient and including different sets of treatment steps of recommended medical solutions;

generating, by the computing device, a quality adherence guideline using the selected standard of care and information from the plurality of medical records received from the plurality of medical providers, the quality adherence guideline including a set of treatment steps defined by the selected standard of care related to the medical condition, wherein information from the plurality of medical records stored in the database is automatically inserted into the guideline and associated with the set of treatment steps based on classification tags associated with the plurality of medical records that are used to match medical records to treatment steps;

assigning a plurality of users from two or more of the plurality of medical providers to one or more treatment steps in the set of treatment steps based on input by the patient;

receiving input from the plurality of users regarding one or more treatment steps in the set of treatment steps, the input from the plurality of users related to the patient'"'"'s treatment with regard to the one or more treatment steps;

analyzing, by the computing device, the quality adherence guideline to determine if the standard of care is being adhered to based on the received input from the plurality of users and based on the information from the plurality of medical records received from the plurality of medical providers, wherein analyzing comprises determining a quality adherence score based on analysis of at least a portion of the input from the plurality of users, at least a portion of the information from the plurality of medical records, and at least a portion of recommended steps specified in the quality adherence guide, the quality adherence score rating indicating whether the standard of care is being adhered to; and

outputting an alert based on the analysis regarding quality adherence to the standard of care.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of medical providers are affiliated with different organizations that create documentation about the patient using different formats or medium of documentation.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of standards of care include a standard of care not developed or previously used by one of the plurality of medical providers.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving the input for the standard of care comprises receiving the input from the patient or one of the plurality of medical providers selecting the standard of care.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving input regarding a diagnosis of a disease or medical condition in order to generate the plurality of standards of care related to the medical condition associated with the patient.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving input from the patient regarding information for a treatment step in the set of treatment steps.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the alert comprises generating a message based on analyzing the information inputted and the information from a plurality of medical records inserted into the quality adherence guide, the alert reminding the patient that a target of a treatment step has not been achieved based on the time considered due.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the two or more users comprise two or more physicians treating the patient.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a message to each of the two or more users indicating input is needed for the associated steps for the patient.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein a treatment step in the quality adherence guideline comprises a response field, target date field, and assignment to a user associated with a medical provider, the response field indicating a response is needed from the user and the target date indicating a by which that the response is needed.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the treatment step includes a field showing a plurality of information needed from a plurality of medical providers in order to evaluate appropriateness of the treatment step.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the field includes an information adequacy score measuring the amount and importance of information that has been received for the step based on an amount and importance of information that is needed from the plurality of medical providers for the information adequacy to be considered complete for evaluating appropriateness of the treatment step.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the field includes a recommended next action treatment step indicating an action the patient or assigned one or more users should perform based on the information received for the treatment step.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of standards of care are generated by medical research institutions.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving input from the patient assigning specific users to receive alerts to input information into the quality adherence guide.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein:

a treatment step is associated with a threshold,

wherein analyzing comprises determining if received input for the treatment step exceeds the threshold, and

outputting the alert when the threshold is exceeded.

17. An apparatus configured to use a quality adherence guideline for a patient, the apparatus comprising:

one or more computer processors; and

logic encoded in one or more tangible storage media for execution by the one or more computer processors and when executed operable to;

receive a plurality of medical records from a plurality of medical providers, the patient authorizing release of the plurality of medical records from the plurality of medical providers affiliated with different organizations, each medical provider owning a subset of medical records in the plurality of medical records for the user;

classify medical records in the plurality of medical records with classification tags based on a category determined to be associated with each medical record and storing the classified medical records in a database;

receive an input for a standard of care from a plurality of standards of care, the standards of care related to a medical condition associated with the patient and including different sets of treatment steps of recommended medical solutions;

generate a quality adherence guideline using the selected standard of care and information from the plurality of medical records received from the plurality of medical providers, the quality adherence guideline including a set of treatment steps defined by the selected standard of care related to the medical condition, wherein information from the plurality of medical records stored in the database is automatically inserted into the guideline and associated with the set of treatment steps based on classification tags associated with the plurality of medical records that are used to match medical records to treatment steps;

assign a plurality of users from two or more of the plurality of medical providers to one or more treatment steps in the set of treatment steps based on input by the patient;

receive input from the plurality of users regarding one or more treatment steps in the set of treatment steps, the input from the plurality of users related to the patient'"'"'s treatment with regard to the one or more treatment steps;

analyze the quality adherence guideline to determine if the standard of care is being adhered to based on the received input from the plurality of users and based on the information from the plurality of medical records received from the plurality of medical providers, wherein analyze comprises determine a quality adherence score based on analysis of at least a portion of the input from the plurality of users, at least a portion of the information from the plurality of medical records, and at least a portion of recommended steps specified in the quality adherence guide, the quality adherence score rating indicating whether the standard of care is being adhered to; and

output an alert based on the analysis regarding quality adherence to the standard of care.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the treatment step includes a field showing a plurality of information needed from a plurality of medical providers in order to evaluate appropriateness of the treatment step.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the field includes an information adequacy score measuring the amount and importance of information that has been received for the step based on an amount and importance of information that is needed from the plurality of medical providers for the information adequacy to be considered complete for evaluating appropriateness of the step.

20. A system for using a quality adherence guideline for a patient, the system comprising:

means for receiving a plurality of medical records from a plurality of medical providers, the patient authorizing release of the plurality of medical records from the plurality of medical providers affiliated with different organizations, each medical provider owning a subset of medical records in the plurality of medical records for the user;

means for classifying medical records in the plurality of medical records with classification tags based on a category determined to be associated with each medical record and storing the classified medical records in a database;

means for receiving an input for a standard of care from a plurality of standards of care, the standards of care related to a medical condition associated with the patient and including different sets of treatment steps of recommended medical solutions;

means for generating a quality adherence guideline using the selected standard of care and information from the plurality of medical records received from the plurality of medical providers, the quality adherence guideline including a set of treatment steps defined by the selected standard of care related to the medical condition, wherein information from the plurality of medical records stored in the database is automatically inserted into the guideline and associated with the set of treatment steps based on classification tags associated with the plurality of medical records that are used to match medical records to treatment steps;

means for assigning a plurality of users from two or more of the plurality of medical providers to one or more treatment steps in the set of treatment steps based on input by the patient;

means for receiving input from the plurality of users regarding one or more treatment steps in the set of treatment steps, the input from the plurality of users related to the patient'"'"'s treatment with regard to the one or more treatment steps;

means for analyzing the quality adherence guideline to determine if the standard of care is being adhered to based on the received input from the plurality of users and based on the information from the plurality of medical records received from the plurality of medical providers, wherein analyzing comprises determining a quality adherence score based on analysis of at least a portion of the input from the plurality of users, at least a portion of the information from the plurality of medical records, and at least a portion of recommended steps specified in the quality adherence guide, the quality adherence score rating indicating whether the standard of care is being adhered to; and

means for outputting an alert based on the analysis regarding quality adherence to the standard of care.