WO2000078374A1

WO2000078374A1 - Method and apparatus for internet-based activity management

Info

Publication number: WO2000078374A1
Application number: PCT/US2000/016973
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rebecca Abeyta; Mark Cacciapouti; Katerina Dobes; David Dudek; John Esielionis; Lawrence Hodgeman; Keith Jensen; Barbara Katzenberg; Leonard Kierstead; Lynn Klokman; Nancy Lelievre; Regina Marksteiner; John Mcdermott; Charles Olejarz; Fred Pickard; Gregg Yost
Original assignee: Ellora Software, Inc.
Priority date: 1999-06-21
Filing date: 2000-06-21
Publication date: 2000-12-28
Also published as: AU5880400A

Abstract

Described are software applications which operate in combination with hardware and use the Internet as a transport to manage medical treatment services. Tasks involved in treating a patient are coordinated by assigning a care treatment plan to each patient. Patient information is first collected from patients, care providers, and other sources. The software then permits a cooperating group to select and create a care treatment plan. By selecting an appropriate care plan template and selecting appropriate care options within that template (7), a care plan specific to the patient's situation can be created which sets forth the care options that typically need to be performed (4). Specific care options and tasks for further treatment can be dependent on the results of prior tests or examinations, or additional information collected from various sources. The software application includes a template instantiation (3) and transaction engine which is able to simultaneously manage the activity templates for thousands of activity instances.

Claims

etc. Once a diagnosis for an illness has been made, a physician generally prescribes treatment by marking on a paper chart, or writing a note to an assistant. There are several steps involved in following up with the treatment, such as ordering lab tests, reviewing results, ordering additional tests, prescribing medications, checking the results of medications, scheduling additional visits, providing educational material. These tasks can multiply significantly when a number of patients with different illnesses are involved.

When prior art methods are used, substantial time can be wasted in keeping track of what needs to be done for whom. There is no consistent method of communicating between the various care providers. Information can be misinterpreted, a note could be misplaced or lost, resulting in inappropriate care or no care, which could be costly.

In prior art systems for care management, the treatment plan for a patient usually consists of a paper with a high level prescription or a list of common tasks or responses to be carried out. The information is typically vague and not specific to a patient's specific, changing medical conditions. Prior art systems lack an automated process for selecting the right set of care options and associated tasks, and assigning them to a patient based on the patient's specific condition. As a result, it is not possible to effectively and efficiently create a treatment plan specific to each individual patient, and share it with all the care providers. The care treatment plan documentation that exists is generally in the form of a flat document listing all possible treatment variations. It is difficult to create, act upon and manage a patient treatment plan from such a flat document in each instance.

Evaluation of next steps has been based upon additional paper-based information, which may not be up-to-date or accurate. To properly prescribe the next treatment option, information from several sources, including the patient, needs to be collected and evaluated. Previously, such information was collected from patients and other providers via telephone, personal visits, or paper. This collection process is time- consuming, and inconsistent, which delays the treatment.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved system and method for activity management.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved system for managing evidence-based medical treatment services.

In accordance with the invention in its preferred embodiment, a set of software applications are provided which operate in combination with hardware and use the internet as a transport to manage medical treatment services. Tasks involved in treating a patient are coordinated by assigning a care treatment plan to each patient.

Patient information is first collected from patients, care providers, and other sources.

The software then permits a cooperating group to select and create a care treatment plan from a hierarchical treatment plan template library consisting of a large collection of care plan templates, each specific to a particular illness type or subtype. Each care plan template consists of a different combination of care options. Each care option consists of a different combination of tasks (e.g., Office Visit, EKG, blood test, medication, etc.). By selecting an appropriate care plan template and selecting appropriate care options within that template, a care plan (i.e. a collection of tasks) specific to the patient's situation can be created which sets forth the care options that typically need to be performed, when those tasks need to be performed, and by whom, to achieve each goal variant. The software in its preferred embodiment provides a management system which permits individuals within the cooperating group to further specify, in very little time, the activity template and activity instances therein so that they are aligned with a goal variant. While an activity is being performed, tasks whose relevance to the goal variant could not be predetermined can be dynamically evaluated to determine whether or not they need to be performed. Specific care options and tasks for further treatment can be dependent on the results of prior tests or examinations, or additional information collected from various sources. The software application includes a template instantiation and transaction engine which is able to simultaneously manage the activity templates for thousands of activity instances.

Access to the system by users is preferably provided via a web browser. In this respect, members of the cooperating group have access to the software application no matter where they are - without any special infrastructure requirements. Access to the system by each member of the cooperating group can be limited to those pieces of information (e.g. , tasks) that are relevant to that member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the various views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical task list in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.