System and method to manage a workflow in delivering healthcare

• US 8,706,516 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2008
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Warner, Adrian, Sievenpiper, Crispian, Solliday-McRoy, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Holcomb, Mark
• Application Number:
  US11/972,888
• Publication Number:
  US 20090182576A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,293 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2/3, 705 2- 4, 705 712- 727
• 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: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A system and method to manage progression of patients through a workflow of events that employs at least one resource in delivering healthcare is provided. The system comprises a sensor operable to track at least one property of the plurality of patients, and at least one processor in communication with the sensor. The processor is operable to execute computer readable program instructions generally representative of the steps of calculating a bid of the more than one of the series of patients relative to one another directed to a slot in a schedule of utilization of the at least one resource dependent on tracked data of the at least one property of the more than one of the series of patients, and assigning one of the patients to the slot in the schedule of the at least one resource dependent on a comparison of the bids.

Claims

1. A method to manage progress of a plurality of patients, including a first patient and a second patient, through a workflow of events in delivering healthcare, the method comprising:

tracking at least one property of the first patient, the at least one property including an intrinsic physiological property of the first patient or a clinically-induced property of the first patient, wherein the clinically-induced property includes a time relative to receiving a biophysical marker;

calculating, using a processor, a bid for the first patient, the bid based on the at least one property of the first patient and indicative of a priority status of the first patient with respect to the plurality of patients, wherein the bid is based on the at least one property relative to a threshold;

adjusting the bid of the first patient relative to a bid of the second patient based on at least one tracked property of the second patient to obtain an adjusted bid;

assigning the first patient to a slot in a schedule of at least one resource based on the adjusted bid, wherein the at least one resource includes a medical diagnostic system, and further comprising tracking at least one property of the medical diagnostic system, the at least one property including at least one of a patient handling capacity, a current status of use, or a failure condition of the medical diagnostic system;

continually monitoring the at least one property of the first patient during progression of the first patient through the workflow of events, including continually monitoring the intrinsic physiological property or the clinically-induced property of the first patient with a physiological monitoring device during the workflow of events;

detecting a change in the at least one property of the first patient during the workflow of events;

dynamically updating the adjusted bid of the first patient based on the change in the at least one property to obtain an updated bid; and

assigning the first patient to the slot or an additional slot in the schedule of the at least one resource based on a comparison of the adjusted bid and the updated bid.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the clinically-induced property includes a time prior to image acquisition relative to a time of receiving a contrast or nuclear agent operable to enhance image acquisition.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the bid of the first patient is updated based on a change in a value of the at least one property at any point in time of the workflow.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the bid of the first patient or the adjusted bid of the first patient is represented by an identifier in a display.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the bid is representative of a risk of the first patient in waiting to utilize the at least one resource, and wherein the bid is based on a wait time to utilize the at least one resource.

6. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

creating an agent to track the at least one property of the first patient during progression of the first patient through the workflow; and

creating an agent to track at least one property of the second patient during progression of the second patient through the workflow, wherein the agents are to collaborate to identify the priority status of the first patient and a priority status of the second patient.

7. The method as in claim 1, wherein the at least one property includes a time of progression of the first patient through the workflow relative to the second patient.

8. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a patient identifier in a display, the patient identifier representative of the first patient, wherein the patient identifier is arranged according to a value of the adjusted bid with respect to a value of at least one of a bid or an adjusted bid of the second patient.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the intrinsic physiological property of the first patient is at least one of blood pressure, an injury, or a pre-assessment of the first patient.

10. A method to manage progress of a plurality of patients, including a first patient and a second patient, through a workflow of events in delivering healthcare, the method comprising:

tracking at least one property of the first patient, wherein the at least one property includes a classification of the first patient as critical or non-critical, an intrinsic physiological property of the first patient, or a clinically-induced property of the first patient, and wherein the clinically-induced property includes a time relative to receiving a biophysical marker;

calculating, using a processor, a bid for the first patient, the bid based on the at least one property of the first patient and indicative of a priority status of the first patient with respect to the plurality of patients, wherein the bid is based on the at least one property relative to a threshold;

adjusting the bid of the first patient relative to a bid of the second patient based on at least one tracked property of the second patient to obtain an adjusted bid;

assigning the first patient to a slot in a schedule of at least one resource based on the adjusted bid, wherein the at least one resource includes a medical diagnostic system, and further comprising tracking at least one property of the medical diagnostic system, the at least one property including at least one of a patient handling capacity, a current status of use, or a failure condition of the medical diagnostic system;

continually monitoring the at least one property of the first patient during progression of the first patient through the workflow of events, including continually monitoring the intrinsic physiological property or the clinically-induced property of the first patient with a physiological monitoring device during the workflow of events;

detecting a change in the at least one property of the first patient;

dynamically updating the adjusted bid based on the change in the at least one tracked property to obtain an updated bid; and

assigning the first patient to the slot or an additional slot in the schedule of the at least one resource based on a comparison of the adjusted bid and the updated bid.

11. A system to manage progression of a plurality of patients, including a first patient and a second patient, through a workflow of events that employs at least one resource in delivering healthcare, the system comprising:

a sensor operable to track at least one property of the first patient, the sensor including at least one physiological monitoring device to detect a physiological property of the first patient, the at least one property including an intrinsic physiological property of the first patient or a clinically-induced property of the first patient, wherein the clinically-induced property includes a time relative to receiving a biophysical marker;

a processor in communication with the sensor, the processor operable to execute a plurality of computer readable program instructions in a non-transitory memory to;

calculate a bid for the first patient the bid based on the at least one property of the first patient and indicative of a priority status of the first patient with respect to the plurality of patients, wherein the bid is based on the at least one property relative to a threshold;

adjust the bid of the first patient relative to a bid of the second patient based on at least one tracked property of the second patient to obtain an adjusted bid;

assign the first patient to a slot in a schedule of at least one resource based on the adjusted bid, wherein the at least one resource includes a medical diagnostic system, and further comprising tracking at least one property of the medical diagnostic system, the at least one property including at least one of a patient handling capacity, a current status of use, or a failure condition of the medical diagnostic system;

continually monitor the at least one property of the first patient during progression of the first patient through the workflow of events, including continually monitoring the intrinsic physiological property or the clinically-induced property of the first patient with the physiological monitoring device during the workflow of events;

detect a change in the at least one property of the first patient during the workflow of events;

dynamically update the adjusted bid of the first patient based on the detected change in the at least one tracked property to obtain an updated bid; and

assign the first patient to the slot or an additional slot in the schedule of the at least one resource based on a comparison of the adjusted bid and the updated bid.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one resource includes a medical imaging system.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one property of the first patient includes a wait time to utilize the at least one resource.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the bid of the first patient and the bid of the second patient is respectively based on at least one of a measured wait time of the first patient and the second patient to utilize the at least one resource, a valuation of a critical condition of the first patient and the second patient as critical or non-critical, or a degree of progression of the first patient and the second patient through the workflow.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is operable to further execute the plurality of computer readable program instructions to:

create an agent to track each the at least one property of the first patient and the second patient, wherein the agents are to collaborate to identify the priority status of the first patient relative to the second patient at any particular time of the workflow, and wherein the adjusted bid of the first patient is based on the priority status of the second patient.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one property includes a classification of the first patient need as at least one of critical or non-critical directed to utilization of the at least one resource.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the clinically-induced property includes a time prior to image acquisition relative to a time of receiving a contrast or nuclear agent operable to enhance image acquisition, and wherein the bid is based on the at least one tracked property of the first patient relative to a threshold.