Integrated order and scheduling in a healthcare administration system

• US 7,689,441 B1
• Filed: 07/18/2002
• Issued: 03/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Craft, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Connor; Gerald J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Najarian; Lena
• Application Number:
  US10/197,925
• Time in Patent Office: 2,812 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 705/3, 705/8, 600/300
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• 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

A healthcare administration system integrates the entry of an order for a medical service for a patient with the scheduling of an appointment for performing the service. The system incorporates receiving service order information for a medical service for a patient from a user; generating an order for the medical service based upon the service order information; and enabling the user to perform one or more tasks selected from the group consisting of (a) scheduling an appointment with a provider of the medical service, (b) storing the order information in a queued waitlist, and (c) automatically rescheduling the appointment based upon the queued waitlist.

Claims

1. A system for use in healthcare administration for integrating entry of an order for a medical service for a patient with the scheduling of a patient appointment for performing said medical service comprising:

a user interface providing at least one display image enabling a user to enter service order information for a medical service to be provided to a patient;

an interface for receiving data representing service order information for said medical service to be provided to said patient; and

an integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system for generating data representing an order for said medical service to be provided to said patient in response to said receiving said service order information and in response to said generating data representing an order, automatically initiating generation of data representing a display image element enabling a user to schedule an appointment for said medical service to be provided to said patient using service order information.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system automatically determines whether said user is authorized to schedule an appointment for said medical service using said user information and inhibits said user from scheduling an appointment if said user is unauthorized and

automatically prompts said user to schedule said appointment.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said integrated order cement and appointment scheduling system presents appointment availability information to said user in response to said user initiating scheduling of an appointment.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein said appointment availability information comprises data for presentation to said user in an appointment finder display image for scheduling an appointment for at least one of a plurality of different medical services.

5. A system according to claim 4, wherein said plurality of different medical services are administered to said patient at a plurality of different locations associated with one or more buildings.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said display image element enabling a user to schedule an appointment for said medical service enables a user to launch a display image window to find an appointment and is populated with service order information and

said medical service includes one or more selected from the group consisting of (a) radiology, (b) MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), (c) laboratory sample acquisition and testing, (d) surgery, (e) X-ray, (f) physical therapy, and (g) a medication administration.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein said integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system presents a candidate appointment to said user derived by examining clinical requirements for receiving said medical service indicated in said service order information in order to accomplish at least one of (a) avoiding a conflict with clinical requirements of another scheduled appointment, and (b) scheduling an appointment compatible with clinical requirements of another appointment.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein said integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system presents a candidate appointment to said user derived by considering at least one of (a) a physical location for administering said medical service, and (b) a scheduled time and date of a prior or subsequent appointment.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein said integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system presents enables said user to schedule said appointment after identifying for said user a priority of said order in relation to other orders.

10. A method system according to claim 1, wherein said integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system presents enables said user to schedule said appointment after identifying for said user a preferred provider of said medical service.

11. A method system according to claim 1, further

wherein said integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system,

receives clinical information for said patient for use by said provider in providing said medical service, and

communicates said received clinical information to enable said provider to use said clinical information in providing said medical service.

12. A method system according to claim 1, wherein said display image element comprises a display image window enabling a user to find an appointment and is populated with service order information.

13. A system according to claim 1, wherein said integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system updates an appointment schedule for said provider of said medical service to indicate said scheduled appointment.

14. A system according to claim 1, wherein said integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system determines whether a desired appointment with said provider of said medical service is available and in response to said determination, performs at least one of, (a) adding a request for said desired appointment to a waitlist, (b) indicating a first available appointment is to be scheduled for said patient and (c) canceling a search request for an appointment.

15. A system according to claim 1, wherein said integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system,

receives user identification information from said user;

and

determines whether said user is authorized to schedule an appointment for said medical service using said user information;

wherein said system determines said user is authorized to perform one or more tasks selected from the group consisting of (a) scheduling an appointment with a provider of said medical service, (b) storing said order information in a queued waitlist, and (c) automatically rescheduling said appointment based upon said queued waitlist.

16. A method for scheduling a patient appointment for receiving a medical service comprising the steps of:

enabling user entry of data representing an order for a patient to receive said medical service via a user interface;

using an integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system for generating data representing an order for said medical service to be provided to said patient in response to said entry of data and in response to generation of data representing an order, automatically initiating generation of data representing an appointment finder display image enabling a user to schedule an appointment for said medical service to be provided to said patient using service order information;

providing appointment availability information from a data source to said user interface in said appointment finder display image; and

enabling a user to use said user interface to schedule an appointment with a provider of said medical service for said patient to receive said medical service in response to said data representing an order.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein said appointment availability information is provided in response to at least one of (a) user command, and (b) said entered data and said appointment finder display image enables a user to find an appointment and is automatically populated with service order information.

18. An apparatus for integrating entry of an order for a medical service for a patient with the scheduling of an appointment for performing said medical service in a healthcare system, said apparatus comprising:

a user interface for submitting service order information for said medical service for said patient from a user; and

an integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system for generating data representing an order for said medical service to be provided to said patient in response to said submitting said service order information and in response to said generating data representing an order, automatically initiating generation of data representing a display image element enabling a user to schedule an appointment for said medical service to be provided to said patient using service order information, said integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system including,

an interface processor programmed to generate an order for said medical service based upon said service order information; and

to enable said user to perform one or more tasks selected from the group consisting of (a) scheduling an appointment with a provider of said medical service, (b) storing said order information in a queued waitlist, and (c) automatically rescheduling said appointment based upon said queued waitlist using said user interface; and

a data source programmed for storing one or more of (i) said service order information, (ii) said order, (iii) said scheduled appointment, (iv) said queued waitlist and (v) said rescheduled appointment.

19. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said interface processor is further programmed to automatically prompt said user to schedule said appointment using a computer system.

20. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said data source is further programmed to store appointment availability information, and wherein said interface processor is further programmed to present said appointment availability information to said user in response to said user initiating scheduling of an appointment through said user interface.

21. An apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said appointment availability information comprises data for presentation to said user in an appointment finder display image on said user interface for scheduling an appointment for at least one of a plurality of different medical services.

22. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said plurality of different medical services are administered to said patient at a plurality of different locations associated with one or more buildings.

23. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said medical service includes one or more selected from the group consisting of (a) radiology, (b) MRI (Magnetic Resonance imaging), (c) laboratory sample acquisition and testing, (d) surgery, (e) X-ray, (f) physical therapy, and (g) a medication administration.

24. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said interface processor is further programmed to present a candidate appointment to said user on said user interface derived by examining clinical requirements for receiving said medical service in order to accomplish at least one of (a) avoiding a conflict with clinical requirements of another scheduled appointment, and (b) scheduling an appointment compatible with clinical requirements of another appointment.

25. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said interface processor is further programmed to present a candidate appointment to said user derived by considering at least one of (a) a physical location for administering said medical service, and (b) a scheduled time and date of a prior or subsequent appointment.

26. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said interface processor is further programmed to enable said user to schedule said appointment after identifying for said user a priority of said order in relation to other orders using said user interface.

27. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said interface processor is further programmed to enable said user to schedule said appointment after identifying for said user a preferred provider of said medical service.

28. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said interface processor is further programmed to receive clinical information for said patient for use by said provider in providing said medical service, and communicating said received clinical information to enable said provider to use said clinical information in providing said medical service.

29. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said interface processor is further programmed to generate an order for a patient to receive said medical service.

30. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said interface processor is further programmed to update an appointment schedule for said provider of said medical service to indicate said scheduled appointment.

31. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said interface processor is further programmed to determine whether a desired appointment with said provider of said medical service is available and in response to said determination, programmed to perform at least one of (a) adding a request for said desired appointment to a waitlist, (b) indicating a first available appointment is to be scheduled for said patient, and (c) canceling a search request for an appointment.

32. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said integrated order placement and appointment scheduling system,

receives user identification information from said user;

and

determines whether said user is authorized to schedule an appointment for said medical service using said user information;

wherein said system determines whether said user is authorized to perform one or more tasks selected from the group consisting of (a) scheduling an appointment with a provider of said medical service, (b) storing said order information in a queued waitlist, and (c) automatically rescheduling said appointment based upon said queued waitlist.