System and method for testing autoverification rules

• US 8,868,353 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2007
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Beckman Coulter Incorporated (Danaher Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Beckman Coulter Incorporated (Danaher Corporation)
• Inventors: Parkhurst, Jason, Payne, Kathleen M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kundu, Sujoy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ngon, Ricky
• Application Number:
  US11/701,708
• Publication Number:
  US 20080186134A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,818 Days
• Field of Search: 600/300, 705/2, 705/3, 702/22, 702/182
• US Class Current: 702/22
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/40 for data related to laboratory analysis, e.g. patient specimen analysis

Abstract

A method of testing an autoverification rule comprises providing a rule check including a example test result. After the rule check is provided, the autoverification rule is automatically performed on the rule check. Performance of the autoverification rule on the rule check provides a rule check output. It is then determined whether the rule check output is an expected output. A system for testing the autoverification rules comprises a graphical user interface configured to display an autoverification rule and receive the rule check for the autoverification rule. The system further includes a processor configured to automatically perform the autoverification rule on the rule check and provide a rule check output. The processor is further configured to receive an input indicating whether the rule check output is an approved output for the autoverification rule.

Claims

1. A system for testing the performance of an autoverification rule, the system comprising:

an output device that displays a graphical user interface configured to display the autoverification rule as a flowchart comprising a plurality of nodes and edges, the plurality of nodes including a start node and one or more output nodes, wherein the flowchart further comprises a plurality of paths, each path being a different node-to-node progression through the flowchart from the start node to one of the one or more output nodes, wherein the progression includes the nodes used in the path and the edges connecting such nodes, the output nodes comprising at least one of a validate node and a hold node; and

a processor configured to perform the autoverification rule on rule check data, the autoverification rule being configured to automatically evaluate laboratory test results, the rule check data including an example test result,

wherein the processor is further configured to identify on the graphical user interface which one of the plurality of paths was taken by the processor in performing the autoverification rule on the rule check data.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to automatically perform the autoverification rule on the rule check data whenever the autoverification rule is modified.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to:

perform the autoverification rule on a plurality of sets of rule check data;

determine whether the paths taken by the processor in performing the autoverification rule on each of the sets of rule check data account for each possible path through the flowchart representation of the autoverification rule; and

indicate a path on the graphical user interface that is not accounted for in performing the autoverification rule on each of the sets of rule check data.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to automatically perform the autoverification rule on each of the plurality of sets of rule check data whenever the autoverification rule is modified.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the rule check data further includes at least one of an exemplary demographic information and an exemplary prior test result.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the nodes and edges of the identified path are presented in a different color than other nodes and edges in the flowchart.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor produces rule check output when the processor performs the autoverification rule on the rule check data, the rule check output comprising at least one of validating the example test result, holding the example test result for manual review, ordering a further test, rerunning a prior test, cancelling an existing test, adding a comment, and modifying the test result.

8. A method of testing an autoverification rule, the method comprising:

displaying the autoverification rule as a flowchart including a plurality of nodes and edges on a graphical user interface, the nodes comprising at least one of a validate node and a hold node, wherein the autoverification rule is configured to automatically evaluate laboratory test results;

receiving an example laboratory test result as input to test the autoverification rule;

performing, by a processor, the autoverification rule on the example laboratory test result to determine an autoverification output; and

identifying, by the processor, a path through the displayed plurality of nodes and edges representing actions of the autoverification rule performed by the processor to determine the autoverification output, wherein the identified path is one of a plurality of different paths from input to output through the displayed plurality of nodes and edges.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of receiving a user input approving the autoverification output and storing an indication that the autoverification output has been approved.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of displaying a table including a listing of the example laboratory test result and the indication that the autoverification output has been approved.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of saving the indication that the autoverification output has been approved as proof of testing of the autoverification rule.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein after the autoverification rule is modified, the processor automatically performs the modified autoverification rule on the example laboratory test result to determine if the autoverification output has changed for the example laboratory test result.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the processor automatically indicates whether the modification to the autoverification rule results in a changed autoverification output.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the processor automatically indicates whether the modification to the autoverification rule results in a changed autoverification output by simultaneously displaying the autoverification outputs from the modified and unmodified autoverification rules for the example laboratory test result.

15. The method of claim 8 wherein the nodes and edges of the identified path are displayed in a different color from other nodes and edges in the flowchart.

16. The method of claim 8 further comprising the steps of:

(i) receiving one or more additional example laboratory test results;

(ii) performing by the processor the autoverification rule on each of the additional example laboratory test results; and

(iii) highlighting by the processor a missing path through the plurality of nodes and edges, wherein the missing path comprises a path not in performing the autoverification rule on all of the example laboratory test results.

17. A system for testing the performance of an autoverification rule, the system comprising:

an output device that displays a graphical user interface configured to display the autoverification rule as a flowchart comprising a plurality of nodes and edges, the plurality of nodes including a start node and one or more selectable nodes, wherein there are a plurality of paths through the flowchart, each of the paths being a different node-to-node progression through the flowchart of the autoverification rule from the start node to one of the one or more selectable nodes, the selectable nodes comprising at least one of;

an order test node that directs a laboratory analyzer to perform a test on the patient sample;

a rerun node that directs the laboratory analyzer to automatically rerun the test on the patient sample;

a range check node that determines if a value of a laboratory test result is inside, below, or above a validation range provided by the user based on the test and the laboratory analyzer; and

a delta check node that retrieves a prior laboratory test result of the patient and compares the laboratory test result and the retrieved prior laboratory test result; and

a processor configured to;

perform the autoverification rule on a plurality of sets of rule check data, wherein the autoverification rule is configured to automatically evaluate laboratory test results,

determine if the paths followed by the processor in performing the autoverification rule on each of the sets of rule check data include each of the paths through the flowchart; and

identify, on the graphical user interface, a missing path through the flowchart, wherein the missing path comprises a path not followed by the processor in performing the autoverification rule on each of the sets of rule check data.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the processor is further configured to identify the missing path by displaying the nodes and edges of the missing path in a different color from other nodes and edges in the flowchart.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the processor is further configured to identify the path followed by the processor in performing the autoverification rule on one of the sets of rule check data.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the processor is further configured to provide a plurality of environments through the graphical user interface, the plurality of environments comprising:

i) an editor environment configured to edit the autoverification rule;

ii) a rule check environment configured to test the performance of the autoverification rule; and

iii) a laboratory environment configured to perform the autoverification rule on clinical test results.