Systems and methods for interruption workflow management

• US 9,396,307 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2014
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Hawkins, Michael, Burt, Christopher, Lopez, Kenneth, Klotzer, Jason, Olivares, Andres, Lipetskaia, Natalia
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TRAN N
• Application Number:
  US14/218,122
• Publication Number:
  US 20140200925A1
• Time in Patent Office: 854 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/65 stored on portable record carriers, e.g. on smartcards, RFID tags or CD
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• 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

Certain embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for interruption workflow management in a clinical enterprise. Certain embodiments provide an interruption workflow management system for a clinical enterprise. The system includes a worklist including a plurality of patient indicators representing patients for which tasks are to be performed by a user. The system also includes a patient panel displaying patient information associated with a patient indicator selected from the worklist. The system further includes a patient indicator shelf holding one or more patient indicators from at least one of the worklist and the patient panel for later retrieval in response to user input. The patient indicator shelf facilitates restoration of a patient indicator from the patient indicator shelf to display in the patient panel in response to user input.

Claims

1. An interruption workflow management system providing an interactive graphical interface to affect workflow operation and workstation behavior for a clinical enterprise, said system comprising:

a particularly programmed processor including computer program instructions, the instructions, when executed by the processor, to implement;

a user interface including a first area, a second area, and a third area dynamically generated and displayed by the processor, each of the first, second, and third areas of the user interface providing an output and accepting a user input,

the first area dynamically displaying, for user selection, a plurality of graphical patient indicators, each graphical patient indicator visually representing a patient task and associated with a context, each graphical patient indicator selectable and movable with respect to the user interface to facilitate execution of the associated patient task,

the second area dynamically displaying patient information associated with a first graphical patient indicator selected from the plurality of graphical patient indicators in the first area and moved from the first area to the second area by user interface manipulation to dynamically update the user interface, the second area configured to accept user input with respect to the first graphical patient indicator while the first patient indicator remains in the second area, the second area configured according to the patient task and context associated with the first patient indicator, and

the third area dynamically displaying and holding the first graphical patient indicator when the first graphical patient indicator has been moved from the second area into the third area, the third area configured to maintain pendency, context and status information for the first graphical patient indicator while a second graphical patient indicator is positioned in the second area, the second graphical patient indicator providing a second patient task and context to the second area, the third area configured to facilitate restoration of patient task and context associated with the first graphical patient indicator in the second area when the first graphical patient indicator is moved from the third area to the second area to replace the second graphical patient indicator in response to user input,

wherein the second area and third area react to the movement of at least one of the respective first and second graphical patient indicators between the second area and the third area to dynamically change content and context displayed in at least the second area based on the movement of the at least one of the respective first and second graphical patient indicators.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a fourth area, wherein positioning a graphical patient indicator in the fourth area retrieves and displays patient information in the second area.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the patient information displayed in the second area comprises a patient panel, a priors list, and a notes area for the graphical patient indicator positioned in the fourth area.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first graphical patient indicator comprises a patient card.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the second area comprises an active patient area and wherein positioning of the first graphical patient indicator in the active patient area triggers display of patient information in a patient panel, a priors list, and a notes and reports area.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the second graphical patient indicator is selected from the first area to be displayed in the second area while the first graphical patient indicator is stored in the third area.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first graphical patient indicator includes patient summary information.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first graphical patient indicator includes a patient urgency status indicator.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the first graphical patient indicator includes one or more icons indicating a source and access for patient exam information.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a history of graphical patient indicators previously examined within a predefined time period.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of tools for manipulation of the patient information.

12. A tangible machine readable storage device having a set of instructions for execution on a computing machine, which, when executed, cause the computing machine to be particularly programmed to implement an interruption workflow management system providing an interactive graphical interface to affect workflow operation and workstation behavior via a workstation in a clinical enterprise, said system comprising:

a user interface including a first area, a second area, and a third area dynamically generated and displayed by the computing machine, each of the first, second, and third areas of the user interface providing an output and accepting a user input,

the first area dynamically displaying, for user selection, a plurality of graphical patient indicators, each graphical patient indicator visually representing a patient task and associated with a context, each graphical patient indicator selectable and movable with respect to the user interface to facilitate execution of the associated patient task,

the second area dynamically displaying patient information associated with a first graphical patient indicator selected from the plurality of graphical patient indicators in the first area and moved from the first area to the second area by user interface manipulation to dynamically update the user interface, the second area configured to accept user input with respect to the first graphical patient indicator while the first patient indicator remains in the second area, the second area configured according to the patient task and context associated with the first patient indicator, and

the third area dynamically displaying and holding the first graphical patient indicator when the first graphical patient indicator has been moved from the second area into the third area, the third area configured to maintain pendency, context and status information for the first graphical patient indicator while a second graphical patient indicator is positioned in the second area, the second graphical patient indicator providing a second patient task and context to the second area, the third area configured to facilitate restoration of patient task and context associated with the first graphical patient indicator in the second area when the first graphical patient indicator is moved from the third area to the second area to replace the second graphical patient indicator in response to user input,

wherein the second area and third area react to the movement of at least one of the respective first and second graphical patient indicators between the second area and the third area to dynamically change content and context displayed in at least the second area based on the movement of the at least one of the respective first and second graphical patient indicators.

13. The device of claim 12, further comprising a fourth area, wherein positioning a graphical patient indicator in the fourth area retrieves and displays patient information in the second area.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the patient information displayed in the second area comprises a patient panel, a priors list, and a notes area for the graphical patient indicator positioned in the fourth area.

15. The device of claim 12, wherein the first graphical patient indicator comprises a patient card.

16. The device of claim 12, wherein the second area comprises an active patient area and wherein positioning of the first graphical patient indicator in the active patient area triggers display of patient information in a patient panel, a priors list, and a notes and reports area.

17. The device of claim 12, wherein the second graphical patient indicator is selected from the first area to be displayed in the second area while the first graphical patient indicator is stored in the third area.

18. The device of claim 12, wherein the first graphical patient indicator includes patient summary information.

19. The device of claim 12, wherein the first graphical patient indicator includes a patient urgency status indicator.