Patient Treatment Device Specific Configuration Output

Abstract

Reducing errors associated with configuring patient treatment devices. A patient treatment device-specific configuration output for use in configuring a patient treatment device to deliver a therapy to a patient. The configuration output may be generated based on a therapy prescription and an identified patient treatment device to be used to deliver the therapy to the patient. Generating the configuration output may include modifying information received in the prescription to correspond to a corresponding configuration procedure of the patient treatment device to be used to deliver the therapy to the patient.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Related Applications This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 755,873, entitled "PATIENT CARE DEVICE-SPECIFIC CONFIGURATION OUTPUT," filed January 23, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. [Background technology]

[0002] Communication errors remain a diverse and widespread challenge in the administration of medical therapy to patients. In particular, errors can occur when a care provider must configure a patient treatment device based on instructions related to a therapy to be administered to a patient (e.g., when the care provider must transcribe configuration inputs from one location to the patient treatment device). In the above context, errors can be introduced through multiple modes, such as data transcription errors, inefficient communication modes, and / or inaccurate data translation.

[0003] One scenario in which such errors can occur is when the configuration of a patient treatment device includes configuring a configurable infusion device for the delivery of intravenous fluids in response to administration instructions generated by a caregiver, such as a physician. Given the nature of therapies involving the delivery of intravenous fluids, errors in this context can cause long-term injury or even threaten the life of the patient. Therefore, reducing errors associated with the configuration of patient treatment devices, particularly configurable infusion devices, remains critically important. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure generally relates to the generation and / or use of patient treatment device-specific configuration outputs for use in connection with configuring a patient treatment device (e.g., a configurable infusion pump or similar device) by a care provider who administers intravenous medications. In particular, the configuration output may be based on a therapy delivery instruction and an identified patient treatment device to be used to deliver the therapy. In this regard, once the patient treatment device to be used to deliver the therapy is identified, a specific configuration procedure associated with the identified patient treatment device may be known. Thus, when generating the configuration output, the configuration output may correspond to the configuration procedure with regard to the identification of configuration data required to configure the patient treatment device, the order in which the configuration data is presented, the format in which the configuration data is presented, etc.

[0005] It will thus be appreciated that such a configuration output may be beneficial in several respects when configuring a patient treatment device. For example, by generating the configuration output based on the instructions and the identified patient treatment device to be used to administer the therapy, the configuration output may assist the administering care provider in properly configuring the patient treatment device (e.g., when transferring the information in the configuration output to the patient treatment device). First, generating the configuration output may include analyzing the instructions to determine whether information corresponding to the configuration of the patient treatment device has been provided. If not, a mechanism for obtaining such information may be utilized before generating the configuration output. This helps prevent a situation in which the administering care provider attempts to configure the patient treatment device only to discover that the configuration required for the configuration of the patient treatment device is missing or has conflicting data. Advantageously, this method provides improved human-machine interaction because the acquisition of data required for the configuration of the patient treatment device may be facilitated, e.g., in a centralized manner. Thus, configuration errors and / or inconsistencies may be reduced or even avoided. That is, the correct configuration data may be provided, thereby preventing a situation in which the administering care provider makes an error in configuring the patient treatment device by erroneously entering data that is not present in the instructions (e.g., the administering care provider uses guessed data, uses memorized data, or unilaterally attempts to overcome a lack of information). In other words, the application may relieve a user, such as an administering care provider, from the mental task of remembering the necessary configuration data or from the mental task of learning, memorizing, or understanding one or more predetermined configuration procedures.

[0006] Additionally, the configuration output described herein may assist a care provider in administering a therapy by analyzing the information in the instructions to facilitate conforming the information appearing in the instructions to a configuration protocol for an identified patient treatment device. This may include providing data corresponding to the therapy instruction information in the configuration output in a manner that conforms to the data input sequence of the configuration protocol. In this regard, the data arrangement may conform to the data input sequence such that data corresponding to each subsequent step in the data input sequence is represented consecutively in the configuration output. In this regard, a machine-generated configuration output, i.e., a configuration output that conforms to the data input sequence of a particular patient treatment device, may be provided. Thus, in accordance with the present disclosure, reliability of machine-based methods is improved. Furthermore, the information may be analyzed to determine that the instruction information conforms to the format of the configuration protocol. For example, if the units of measure for values included in the instructions are different from the units of measure for values used in the configuration protocol, the instruction information may be converted to an appropriate format (e.g., appropriate units of measure) before generating the configuration output. In this regard, it will be appreciated that the configuration output described herein may assist a care provider administering a therapy in configuring a patient treatment device. Advantageously, the caregiver may be relieved of the mental task of translating different formats into one another, particularly into one or more configuration procedures, thereby avoiding improper or incorrect use of the patient treatment device.

[0007] Thus, a first aspect includes a method for generating a patient treatment device-specific configuration output for therapy instructions corresponding to a therapy to be administered to a patient. The method includes receiving instructions including a therapy description corresponding to a therapy to be administered to the patient and identifying a patient treatment device to use to administer the therapy to the patient. The patient treatment device includes at least one predetermined configuration procedure for therapy administration. The method further includes generating a configuration output for instructions for use in configuring the patient treatment device to administer the therapy based at least in part on at least a portion of each of the corresponding therapy description and the predetermined configuration procedure.

[0008] Several characteristic refinements and additional features apply to the first aspect. These characteristic refinements and additional features may be used individually or in any combination with the features of the second aspect described below. Thus, each feature described below may, but need not, be used with any other feature or combination of features of the first aspect.

[0009] For example, in embodiments, the therapy may include administering an intravenous fluid to a patient using an infusion device (e.g., a configurable infusion pump). Further, the instructions may include administration instructions including dosage instructions corresponding to the intravenous fluid to be administered. In this regard, the configuration output may be used to configure the infusion device (e.g., by a caregiver administering the configuration output by transcribing data from the configuration output to the infusion device) to administer the intravenous fluid to the patient using the infusion device. Generally, as used herein, "configurable" may include the ability to receive input from a human user (e.g., input manually entered by the human user) of one or more operating parameters associated with controlling the operation of the patient treatment device to administer the therapy. Thus, in accordance with the present subject matter, illustratively, improved and reliable configuration of patient treatment devices, such as infusion devices, is provided. The intravenous fluid may be compounded intravenous admixtures, Premixed intravenous solutions (e.g., 5% dextrose and dopamine premixed solution), Customer-prepared non-patient-specific fluids (e.g., standard oxytocin infusions), or Any other type of intravenous fluid, without limitation It may include at least one of:

[0010] In an embodiment, the method may further include generating a label including the configuration output and applying the label to a container associated with the therapy. The predetermined configuration procedure may comprise a predetermined data input sequence for inputting a plurality of patient treatment device configuration data. In this regard, the configuration output may be represented on the label based at least in part on the predetermined data input sequence. That is, the configuration data may include a plurality of patient treatment device configuration data represented in the same order as the predetermined data input sequence of the identified patient treatment device. Thus, according to this embodiment, human-machine interaction is improved by providing a label that mitigates the risk of inconsistencies between the patient treatment device configuration data and the predetermined data input sequence.

[0011] As such, in embodiments, the method may further include inputting the corresponding plurality of patient treatment device configuration data from the configuration output displayed on the label into the patient treatment device according to a predetermined data input sequence. The inputting step may include manually entering the corresponding plurality of patient treatment device configuration data at the patient treatment device by a user. For example, the inputting step may include transferring the patient treatment device configuration data from the label to the patient treatment device (e.g., using a user interface of the patient treatment device). Further, the method may include delivering a therapy by the patient treatment device based at least in part on the inputting step. This may include operating the patient treatment device based on the patient treatment device configuration data transferred to the patient treatment device. In various embodiments, the plurality of patient treatment device configuration data is data indicating the patient's location within the patient care facility; Data indicating one of a plurality of predetermined administration types; data demonstrating at least one therapeutically effective drug; Data showing the administered concentration, Data showing the rate of administration; Data indicating dosage, and Any other suitable data that may be used to configure the patient treatment device. The data may include at least one of the following types of data:

[0012] In embodiments, the identifying step may include identifying any of a plurality of types of patient treatment devices, each having a different predetermined configuration sequence, for use in administering therapy to the patient. The identifying and / or generating steps may be completed based at least in part on the location of the patient within a patient treatment facility.

[0013] In embodiments, the method may include analyzing the therapy description in relation to at least a portion of a predetermined configuration procedure to determine whether the therapy description complies with the portion of the configuration procedure. The method may include providing an output alert at a user interface device when the therapy description does not comply with the portion of the configuration procedure, and receiving therapy information corresponding to the instructions that complies with the portion of the configuration procedure in response to the output alert, thereby improving human-machine interaction between a user interface of the patient treatment device and a user, such as a caregiver, of the patient treatment device. The therapy information may be used in the generating step. For example, the method may further include requesting receipt of therapy information that complies with the portion of the configuration procedure before completing the generating step.

[0014] In embodiments, the portion of the configuration procedure may include at least one configuration parameter. In this regard, the incompatibility of the therapy description may include the absence of at least one configuration parameter. Alternatively or additionally, the incompatibility of the therapy description may include inconsistent information regarding at least one configuration parameter. In embodiments, the method may include converting at least a portion of the therapy description from a first format that is incompatible with the portion of the configuration procedure to a second format that is compatible with the portion of the configuration procedure. In this regard, the converting may include performing a unit of measure conversion for at least one portion of the dosage description. In embodiments, the portion of the configuration procedure may include the entire configuration procedure for the identified patient treatment device. Thus, in accordance with the present application, incompatible or inconsistent data may be corrected to conform to the configuration procedure of the patient treatment device in an automatic manner, ideally without requiring intervention by a user, such as a treatment provider. Thus, the user is relieved of the mental task of identifying incompatible or inconsistent data. The user may also be relieved of the task of remembering how to correct such incompatible or inconsistent data.

[0015] In embodiments, the identifying step may be performed at least in part based on at least a portion of the instructions. That is, the method may include assigning instructions to a patient treatment device based at least in part on the instructions. For example, the portion of the administration instructions on which the identifying step is based at least in part may include: Therapy identification, and / or Patient positioning It may include at least one of the following.

[0016] That is, the identification of a patient treatment device (e.g., a configurable infusion device) can be based on data indicative of the patient's location within a patient treatment facility and data indicative of at least one medication to be administered. In this embodiment, once the values of these data are obtained, the patient treatment device can be identified and the correct configuration procedure can be known to generate a corresponding configuration output. In this regard, the configuration output can include the identification of the patient treatment device used to administer the therapy to the patient (e.g., the identification of the patient treatment device can be printed on a label).

[0017] In embodiments, at least one of the identifying and generating steps may be completed at least partially in a computer-automated manner. In this regard, the method may be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination thereof to automatically execute one or more steps of the method by a computing device. In other words, the method may be a computer-implemented method. For example, as described above, the identifying step may include automatically assigning a therapy instruction to a patient treatment device used to administer the therapy. Thus, the identification of the patient treatment device may be performed automatically by the computing device, and the generation of the configuration output may also be performed automatically after the patient treatment device is identified. Thus, a user, such as a treatment provider, need not manually identify the patient treatment device, thereby reducing the risk of erroneous identification. Other portions of the method may be performed automatically (e.g., by one or more computing devices) without limitation.

[0018] In embodiments, the method may include transmitting the configuration information to a patient treatment device. Further, the method may include displaying a configuration output on the patient treatment device. As such, the configuration output may include machine-readable data that may be manipulated, transmitted, and / or displayed by a computing device.

[0019] According to yet another aspect, there is provided a computer program product, storable on a computer-readable medium and / or embodied as a computer-processable data stream, which includes computer-processable instructions that, when read into a computer memory and executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described generally above and by way of more detailed examples below.

[0020] A second aspect includes a system for generating a patient treatment device-specific configuration output for use in configuring a patient treatment device to deliver a therapy to a patient. The system may include an instruction input interface operable to receive therapy instructions including at least a portion of a therapy description corresponding to the therapy to be delivered to the patient, and a configuration output generator. The configuration output generator may be in operative communication with the instruction input interface. Further, the configuration output generator is operable to identify a patient treatment device to be used to deliver the therapy to the patient, the patient treatment device comprising at least one predetermined configuration procedure for therapy delivery. The system may further include a configuration output generated by the configuration output generator and based at least in part on at least a portion of each of the corresponding therapy description and predetermined configuration procedure.

[0021] A number of characteristic refinements and additional features apply to the second aspect. These characteristic refinements and additional features may be used individually or in any combination with the features of the first aspect described above. Thus, each feature described below may, but need not, be used with any other feature or combination of features of the second aspect.

[0022] For example, in embodiments, the therapy may include administering an intravenous fluid to the patient using an infusion device. In this regard, the therapy instructions may include administration instructions including dosage instructions corresponding to the intravenous fluid to be administered. In various embodiments, the intravenous fluid may include any one or more of the intravenous fluids described above.

[0023] In embodiments, the instruction input interface and / or the configuration output generator may be executed by a processor in operative communication with one or more memories. In this regard, the one or more memories may store non-transitory computer-readable data corresponding to the execution of the instruction input interface and / or the configuration output generator. As can be appreciated, the instruction input interface may be executed by the same processor as the configuration output generator or a different processor. In embodiments, the instruction input interface may be executed on a device entirely separate from the configuration output generator. Furthermore, a single memory may store non-transitory computer-readable data corresponding to the execution of both the instruction input interface and the configuration output generator. In this regard, separate memories may alternatively be used. In either case, the one or more memories may be located remotely from the corresponding processor (e.g., via a network) or local to the corresponding processor.

[0024] In embodiments, the configuration output may include a label. That is, the configuration output may be printed on a label. The label may be applied to a container for use in administering the therapy. Additionally, the system may include a corresponding type of patient treatment device identified by the configuration output generator. The patient treatment device may include a user interface for configuring the patient treatment device. The user interface may correspond to a configuration procedure for the patient treatment device. As such, the label may include one or more portions of configuration data corresponding to at least a portion of the configuration procedure. In various embodiments, the one or more portions of configuration data may include: data indicative of the patient's location within a patient care facility; Data indicating one of a plurality of predetermined administration types; Data indicating at least one drug, Data showing the administered concentration, Data showing the rate of administration; Dosage data, or Any other suitable data that may be used to configure the patient treatment device. The data may include at least one of the following types of data:

[0025] In embodiments, a configuration procedure for a patient treatment device may include a predetermined data input sequence. In this regard, a label including a configuration output may include a corresponding plurality of configuration data that is displayed on the label based on the predetermined data input sequence. A user interface of the patient treatment device may be operable to receive the corresponding plurality of configuration data in the predetermined data input sequence. For example, the corresponding plurality of configuration data may be manually entered into the patient treatment device by a user (e.g., by being transcribed from a label by a human user).

[0026] In embodiments, the patient treatment device may be a configurable infusion pump. Thus, the container may contain intravenous fluid, and the container may be in operative communication with a dispensing set. The dispensing set may be operatively associated with the configurable infusion pump for controlled delivery of the intravenous fluid to the patient. Thus, the intravenous fluid may be dispensed to the patient based at least in part on a corresponding plurality of configuration data inputs at the configurable infusion pump. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a workflow for administering a prescribed therapy to a patient using a patient treatment device. [Figure 2] 1 illustrates an embodiment of a configurable patient treatment device that includes a configurable infusion device that is operatively coupled to an intravenous solution contained in a container for administration to a patient. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart corresponding to an embodiment of a method for generating a patient treatment device specific configuration output for an instruction. [Figure 4] 1A-1C depict an embodiment of dosing instructions corresponding to intravenous fluid administered to a patient. [Figure 5] 5A-5C depict an embodiment of a configuration output corresponding to the administration instructions of FIG. 4. [Figure 6]FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of a configuration output that includes a label to be applied to a container of intravenous fluid to be administered to a patient. [Figure 7A] 1A-1C illustrate an embodiment of a user interface for a configurable infusion device in different states corresponding to configuration steps for configuring the device. [Figure 7B] 1A-1C illustrate an embodiment of a user interface for a configurable infusion device in different states corresponding to configuration steps for configuring the device. [Figure 7C] 1A-1C illustrate an embodiment of a user interface for a configurable infusion device in different states corresponding to configuration steps for configuring the device. [Figure 7D] 1A-1C illustrate an embodiment of a user interface for a configurable infusion device in different states corresponding to configuration steps for configuring the device. [Figure 7E] 1A-1C illustrate an embodiment of a user interface for a configurable infusion device in different states corresponding to configuration steps for configuring the device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] The following description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the teachings, skill, and knowledge of the relevant art are within the scope of the present invention. Moreover, the embodiments described herein describe known modes for practicing the invention and are intended to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in those embodiments or in other embodiments with appropriate modifications as required by a particular application or use of the invention.

[0029] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a workflow 100 that simplifies the generation of device-specific configuration output for use in configuring a patient treatment device 140. In general, the workflow 100 may include the use of an instruction input system 110 that accepts instructions for a therapy to be administered to a patient using a configurable patient treatment device 140. The instruction input system 110 may output data corresponding to the instructions, which is received by a configuration output generator 120. The configuration output generator 120 may generate a patient treatment device-specific configuration output based on the instructions and the identified patient treatment device. The patient treatment device-specific configuration output may be provided to an administering care provider 130. The administering care provider 130 may use the configuration output received from the configuration output generator 120 to configure a patient treatment device 140 (e.g., corresponding to an identified patient treatment device) to administer the prescribed therapy to the patient. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration output generator 120 may provide the configuration output directly to the patient treatment device 140 (e.g., for display or other use of the configuration output on the patient treatment device 140). Additionally, as shown and as described in more detail below, the workflow 100 may include a feedback loop between the configuration output generator 120 and the instruction input interface 110. This feedback loop may be used to solicit additional information regarding the instruction (e.g., after the instruction has been analyzed by the configuration output generator 120).

[0030] In embodiments, instruction input interface 110 may be a computer-based instruction input system. That is, instruction input interface 110 may be implemented by a computing device and include a graphical user interface (GUI) into which a care provider can enter information corresponding to instructions for administration to a patient. For example, the computing device may be a networked computing device, such as a personal computer, a network terminal, a mobile device, or other computing device. In this regard, instruction input interface 110 may include at least one processor operable to access a memory that stores instructions that can control the execution of the processor to receive and output instructions.

[0031] In either case, instruction input interface 110 may receive information from a care provider regarding a therapy to be administered to the patient. In embodiments, the therapy may include administration of intravenous fluid to the patient using a configurable patient treatment device 140. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , configurable patient treatment device 140 may include an infusion device 200 (e.g., a configurable infusion pump). In this regard, the instruction received at instruction input interface 110 may be an administration instruction including administration information corresponding to intravenous fluid 252 to be administered to the patient. The intravenous fluid 252 to be administered to the patient may be contained in a container 250. Container 250 may include a dispensing port 254 that simplifies connection of a dispensing set 256 to container 250. Dispensing set 256 may be used to simplify fluid communication between container 250 and a patient (not shown) at a distal end 258 of dispensing set 256.

[0032] Additionally, portion 260 of delivery set 256 may be provided within pump portion 210 of infusion device 200. In this regard, pump portion 210 may include a suitable mechanism (e.g., a peristaltic pumping device) for controlling the flow of intravenous fluid 252 through delivery set 256 for administering intravenous fluid 252 to a patient. Other suitable types of infusion device 200 that allow for controlled administration of intravenous fluid 252 to a patient may be provided without limitation.

[0033] In this regard, the infusion device 200 may be configurable to control the pump component 210 to administer the intravenous fluid 252 to the patient in a controlled manner. For example, the infusion device 200 may include a graphical user interface (GUI) 220 used to receive configuration instructions from the administering care provider 130. The GUI 220 may include a display 222 and an input device 224 (e.g., including a plurality of buttons or keys, as shown in FIG. 2 ). Other input devices 224, such as a touchscreen input device, a keyboard, or other human-machine interface, may also be provided. In this regard, the administering care provider 130 may use the input device 224 to input information regarding the administration of the intravenous fluid 252 to the patient. This information is reflected on the display 222.

[0034] While one example of a patient treatment device 140 in the form of an infusion device 200 is described above and shown in Figure 2, it is understood that the disclosure contained herein may broadly extend to any configurable patient treatment device 140 that may be used in the delivery of therapy to a patient. For example, system 100 may include other configurable patient treatment devices 140, such as, without limitation, patient monitors (e.g., cardiac monitors, hemodynamic monitors, respiratory monitors, neurological monitors, blood glucose monitors, fetal monitors, temperature monitors, etc.), respiratory therapy devices, enteral feeding pumps, respiratory ventilators, dialysis machines, or other suitable configurable patient treatment devices 140.

[0035] Conventional approaches to simplifying the configuration of a patient treatment device 140 can introduce the risk of errors during configuration of the patient treatment device 140. The study by Husch et al. (Insights from the sharp end of intravenous medication errors: implications for infusion pump technology, Qual. Saf. Health Care 2005;14;80-86), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, provides a detailed explanation of the ongoing need for error prevention in this context. For example, in the example described above, administration instructions for the administration of intravenous fluid 252 are maintained separately from information regarding the preparation and identification of the intravenous fluid 252 itself. That is, the container 250 may include a label 262 that displays data regarding the intravenous fluid 252. However, instructions for the administration of the intravenous fluid 252 may be maintained separately from the intravenous fluid 252 (e.g., in a separate ordering or medical record system). As a result, the administering care provider 130 may need to consult multiple data sources when configuring the patient treatment device 130. This can lead to potential errors, such as referencing the wrong data source, transcription errors, and other types of errors.

[0036] Furthermore, even if instructional data were included on the label 262 of the container 250, there is still the possibility of the data being incorrect, missing, or misidentified. For example, the data displayed on the label 262 may require the administering care provider 130 to convert or provide additional data to obtain the necessary inputs to configure the patient treatment device 140. Thus, in addition to the errors described above, potential errors on the part of the administering care provider 130 could include mathematical errors, measurement unit conversion errors, or other errors that may occur when the administering care provider 130 configures the patient treatment device 140 according to the instructions.

[0037] Thus, embodiments of the configuration output generator 120 described herein may operate to generate patient treatment device-specific configuration outputs that are related to and correspond to both a therapy administered to a patient and a patient treatment device 140 used to administer that therapy. For example, the configuration output generator 120 may generally perform the method 300 shown in FIG. 3 . In this regard, the configuration output generator 120 may include hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, in embodiments, the configuration output generator 120 may include at least a general-purpose processor and memory. As such, instructions corresponding to the method 300 described below may be provided in the form of non-transitory, machine-readable data that the processor can access to control its operation and perform the method 300 described below. As such, the configuration output generator 120 may include or be executed on a computing device, such as a networked computing device, a network terminal, a mobile device, or other suitable computing device. Additionally or alternatively, at least a portion of method 300 may be performed by an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Gate Array (FGA), or other suitable device for performing functions as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, any or all steps of method 300 may be performed in a computer-automated manner.

[0038] Method 300 may include receiving 302 instructions for a therapy. For example, the instructions may be received via instruction input interface 110, as shown in FIG. 1 . After receiving 302, method 300 may include identifying 304 a patient treatment device to be used to administer the prescribed therapy to the patient. In this regard, identifying 304 may include identifying any of a plurality of types of devices that may be used in administering the therapy to the patient. Each type of device may have a different predetermined configuration procedure. For example, in the case of the configurable infusion device 200 shown in FIG. 2 , a facility may have multiple types of infusion devices. Each type of infusion device 200 may have a different predetermined configuration procedure than the other types of infusion devices 200. In this regard, rather than identifying a particular patient treatment device 140 at the facility to be used in administering the therapy, the type of patient treatment device 140 may be determined by determining a predetermined configuration procedure for the device to be used in administering the prescribed therapy.

[0039] In another embodiment, described in more detail below, identifying 304 may include selecting or designating a patient treatment device based at least in part on the instructions. For example, in the context of an administration instruction, designation of an appropriate infusion device 200 may be based on the type of infusion, the identity of the medication being infused, the patient to whom the intravenous fluid is to be administered, the patient's current location, or any other factor. In an embodiment, identifying 304 is based on the patient's current location and the identity of the medication being infused. Once this information is known, an appropriate infusion device 200 may be selected such that its configuration instructions are known. In any event, once a predetermined configuration instruction for the patient treatment device 140 to be used to administer the therapy has been identified in step 304, information corresponding to the instruction may be analyzed and / or processed to output a configuration output based at least in part on information regarding the therapy instruction and the identity of the patient treatment device.

[0040] For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , an embodiment of method 300 may include determining 306 that information corresponding to configuration instructions for the identified patient treatment device 140 is present in the therapy order. In particular scenarios, it may be determined that some of the information required to configure the patient treatment device 140 is not provided in the therapy order. Furthermore, the therapy order may contain conflicting information regarding the administration of the therapy. Furthermore, the information provided in the order may be defective in some way. In either case, method 300 may include requesting information from a responsible care provider 308. This may include alerting the responsible care provider (e.g., via the order input interface 110) to the problem and may include requesting additional information from the responsible care provider regarding the ordered therapy. In alternative embodiments, information may be requested from a responsible care provider (e.g., a pharmacist, nurse, etc.) via a mechanism other than the order input interface 110, such as a medication management system, an electronic medical record system, or other suitable interface.

[0041] In any event, requesting information 308 may include requesting additional information regarding the therapy prescription, requesting clarification of conflicting information, or requesting information necessary to prepare a configured output in response to the therapy prescription. Thus, method 300 may include receiving information 310 from a responsible care provider. In embodiments, receiving information 310 may need to occur before generating a configured output 316.

[0042] Additionally, the method 300 may further include a step 312 of converting data into a format compatible with the configuration procedure. The converting step 312 may include changing information in the therapy prescription into a format that directly corresponds to the configuration procedure of the identified patient treatment device 140. For example, some of the therapy information may include information written in units of measurement that differ from the units of measurement used in the configuration procedure. Traditionally, the administering care provider 130 may be required to manually perform such a conversion to correct any discrepancies between the units of measurement of the prescription and the units of measurement used in the configuration procedure of the patient treatment device 140. However, the configuration output generator 120 may operate to automatically perform the converting step 312 to conform the data included in the generated configuration output to the format of the configuration procedure.

[0043] The method 300 may further include step 314 of arranging the information in the configuration output to correspond to the data input sequence of the configuration procedure. That is, the configuration procedure may comprise a sequence of data inputs provided in a particular instruction. At least some of the information in the instructions may not be arranged to correspond to the data input sequence of the configuration procedure. Thus, in conventional approaches, the administering care provider 130 may have to search through multiple potential instruction locations to find the appropriate therapy information. As can be appreciated, this may lead to the administering care provider 130 entering incorrect values due to misreading, entering information in a sequence that does not correspond to the data input sequence of the configuration procedure, entering therapy information from memory, or other errors. However, in the method 300, because the information in the configuration output may be arranged to correspond to the data input sequence of the configuration procedure, the administering care provider 130 may sequentially enter information for the configuration procedure in a manner that simply follows the data input sequence of the configuration output. This may assist the administering care provider 130 in accurately and unambiguously transcribing the values of the configuration output to the patient treatment device 140.

[0044] Additionally, the method 300 may include generating 316 a configuration output. The generating 316 may include providing the configuration output in any suitable format. In this regard, the generating 316 may include generating the configuration output on a display (i.e., providing a softcopy of the configuration instructions), generating a hardcopy of the configuration output, and / or providing the configuration output as machine-readable data. As described above, the configuration output may be communicated to a patient treatment device 140. In this regard, a softcopy output of the configuration output may be displayed on a display of the patient treatment device 140.

[0045] In embodiments, generating 316 may include printing a label that may be associated with the subject for use in administering the prescribed therapy. For example, in the context of intravenous fluid 252 administered using infusion device 200, as described in more detail below, label 262' may be affixed to container 200 of intravenous fluid 252. Additionally, generating 316 may include preparing machine-readable data in a suitable format for distribution to and / or direct use by patient treatment device 140. In this regard, generating 316 may include generating computer-readable data that may be provided directly to patient treatment device 140 to configure patient treatment device 140.

[0046] As previously referenced, the method 300 of Figure 3 may be utilized in preparing a configuration output for the administration of intravenous fluid 252 to a patient using the infusion device 200. One such example is described below with reference to Figures 4-7E. For example, in Figure 4, administration instructions 400 may be received corresponding to a prescribed administration to be administered to a patient. As can be appreciated, administration instructions 400 may be in the form of data stored in memory. Thus, the display of administration instructions 400 in human-readable form in Figure 4 is for illustrative purposes.

[0047] As shown in Figure 4, administration instructions 400 may include multiple pieces of administration information. The portions of administration information shown in Figure 4 include an order number 402, an order date 404, a patient name 406, a medication name 410, a patient location 412, an ordering physician 414, and a dosage 416, although it may be understood that more or less information may be provided in administration instructions 400, and the specific pieces shown in Figure 4 are for illustrative purposes and not intended to be limiting.

[0048] Configuration output generator 120 may receive administration instructions 400 (e.g., in accordance with method 300) and generate configuration output 500. In this regard, it may be determined that intravenous fluid 252 corresponding to administration instructions 400 is to be dispensed by an infusion device 200 of the type shown in FIGS. 7A-7E . In this regard, FIGS. 7A-7E may illustrate an embodiment of a predetermined configuration procedure for infusion device 200. As can be appreciated, the predetermined configuration procedure for infusion device 200 may further comprise a particular data input sequence in which various parameters for configuring infusion device 200 are requested from the user. As such, in FIGS. 7A-7E , each successive view may represent a subsequent state of GUI 220 in a data input sequence for receiving configuration data in a predetermined configuration procedure for configuring infusion device 200. In this regard, the configuration output 500 shown in FIG. 5 may be generated based on the administration instruction 400 and the identification of the infusion device 200 as the patient treatment device to be used to administer the intravenous fluid 252 described by the administration instruction 400.

[0049] 6 , the configuration output 500 may include a label 262′ to be applied to the container 250 of intravenous fluid 252 to be dispensed. In this regard, the intravenous fluid 252 may be a compounded intravenous fluid mixture prepared by the pharmacy department. The pharmacy department may further include a configuration output generator 120 such that the configuration output 500 is generated substantially simultaneously with the preparation of the intravenous fluid 252. Thus, once the intravenous fluid 252 is prepared and placed in the container 250, the configuration output 500 may be applied to the container 250 of intravenous fluid 252 in the form of a label 262′. In this regard, the label 262′ may be an adhesive label that is applied to the container 250 before the container 250 is dispensed from the pharmacy department. As such, the container 250 containing the intravenous fluid 252 and the configuration output 500 may be delivered together to the dispensing care provider 130 for subsequent administration to a patient.

[0050] Thus, at the start of the configuration procedure shown in FIG. 7A , the configuration procedure may include the selection of a treatment area (which may correspond to a patient location in a treatment facility) where the intravenous fluid 252 will be administered. It will be appreciated that the administration instruction 400 includes a patient location 412. In this regard, and with further reference to FIG. 5 , information related to the patient location 412 may be modified for inclusion in the corresponding treatment area data field 512 of the configuration output 500. For example, rather than displaying it as "Location" as in the administration instruction 400, the configuration output 500 may modify the listing of the patient location information 412 to display it as "Treatment Area" in the treatment area data field 512 corresponding to the requested input, as shown in FIG. 7A . Additionally, the patient location 412 may be abbreviated as "ACC" in the administration instruction 400. In the treatment area data field 512 of the configuration output 500, the value may be converted to "Adult Critical Care" to correspond to the particular input displayed on the display 222 of the GUI 220 shown in FIG. 7A . In this regard, the administering care provider 130 may select "Adult Critical Care" using the GUI 220 of the infusion device 200. Selecting the treatment area may change the GUI 220 to the state shown in Figure 7B (e.g., proceeding through the data entry sequence of the configuration procedure).

[0051] In Figure 7B, the GUI 220 may prompt the dispensing care provider 130 to input the name of the medication to be administered. The medication name 412 of the administration instructions 400 may be included in the configuration output 500. As can be seen in Figure 5, the medication name information 512 may be displayed immediately following the patient position information 512, such that the arrangement of the treatment zone 512 and medication name 510 corresponds to the data input sequence of the configuration procedure for the infusion device 200. In this regard, the dispensing care provider 130 may use the input device 224 to enter the medication name as shown in Figure 7C based on the medication name 510 provided in the configuration output 500. Upon selecting the medication to be administered, the GUI 220 may change to the state shown in Figure 7D (e.g., the data input sequence of the configuration procedure progresses).

[0052] In FIG. 7D , a concentration of the drug to be delivered by the infusion device 200 is selected. However, as can be seen in FIG. 4 , concentration information for the drug to be delivered may not be included in the administration instruction 400. In this regard, as described in connection with method 300 in FIG. 3 , the responsible care provider may be prompted to enter information corresponding to the concentration information before generating the configuration output based on configuration output generator 120 to determine that a parameter is not present in the administration instruction 400 but is included in the configuration procedure for the infusion device 200. In this regard, the responsible care provider may be required to provide information before the configuration output 500 is generated. In this case, the responsible care provider may be a prescribing physician, pharmacist, pharmacy specialist, or other responsible care provider capable of providing the information. For example, such information may be missing because the prescribing care provider is not required to provide such information or is unaware of the available concentration options for a particular drug. For example, in this example, the drug concentration may be determined by other factors, such as the available inventory at the pharmacy dispensing the intravenous fluid 252, the method used to dispense the intravenous fluid 252, the type of infusion device 200 used to administer the intravenous fluid 252, etc. In another embodiment, the information corresponding to the dosage concentration 518 in the configuration output may be automatically populated during the preparation of the intravenous fluid 252 (e.g., a pharmacy workflow management system may be in operative communication with the configuration output generator 120 and automatically provide the information to the configuration output generator 120). In either case, the drug concentration information 518 may be provided in the configuration output 500 so that the administering care provider 130 can select the appropriate corresponding option in the GUI 220 shown in FIG. 7D.

[0053] In this regard, the GUI 220 may change to the state shown in FIG. 7E (e.g., the data entry sequence of the configuration procedure advances), and the administering care provider 130 may be prompted to enter information into fields corresponding to patient weight 608, dose 616, administration rate 620, and volume to be infused (VTBI) 622. As can be appreciated, at least a portion of the corresponding data portions (dose 616, administration rate 620, and VTBI 622) have been provided in the corresponding order in the configuration output 500. However, because information corresponding to patient weight 508 is not provided in the administration order 400, it can be appreciated that patient weight 508 may have been received in the manner described above from a responsible care provider (e.g., a doctor, nurse, or other care provider). Alternatively, the information may be provided by an electronic medical record (EMR) server containing that information. As such, the configuration output generator 120 may be in operative communication with the EMR server and may be operable to automatically receive at least a portion of the data included in the configuration output 500.

[0054] In any event, as can be seen by reviewing administration instructions 400 and configuration output 500 together, the arrangement of each portion of configuration output 500 corresponding to the values entered in FIG. 7E may be changed from the arrangement in administration instructions 400 to the arrangement in configuration output 500. Additionally, dosage information 412 included in administration instructions 400 is displayed in micrograms per kilogram per hour. However, as can be seen in FIG. 7E, the configuration procedure for infusion device 200 may require this information from care provider 130, who will administer in micrograms per kilogram per minute. Thus, the units of measure used in administration instructions 400 may not match the units of measure required to configure infusion device 200. Thus, a units of measure conversion may be performed on dosage information 412 to generate dosage information 516 in the configuration output.

[0055] As can be further appreciated, rate information 520 and VTBI 522 may not be present in administration instruction 400. These values may be provided based on calculations utilizing other values present in administration instruction 400 and / or configuration output 500, and may be provided in an appropriate adapted format in configuration output 500. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, these values may be derived after drug concentration 518 is provided or obtained by configuration output generator 120. Note that rate information 520 and VTBI 522 are presented in the appropriate order and units of measure corresponding to the data input sequence of the configuration procedure for infusion device 200.

[0056] While the present invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered exemplary and not restrictive in nature. For example, the specific embodiments described herein above may be combined with other embodiments described and / or organized in other ways (e.g., processing elements may be performed in other orders). Thus, it should be understood that only preferred embodiments and variations thereof have been shown and that protection for all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention is intended.

Claims

1. 1. A system for customizing therapy instructions, comprising: an instruction input interface (110) operable to receive a therapy instruction including at least a portion of a therapy description corresponding to a therapy to be administered to the patient; a configuration output generator (120) in operative communication with the instruction input interface (110); Including, wherein the configuration output generator (120) identifying a patient treatment device (140) that includes at least one predetermined configuration procedure for therapy delivery and that is to be used to deliver the therapy to the patient, wherein the at least one predetermined configuration procedure is specific to the patient treatment device, and the at least one predetermined configuration procedure specifies a predetermined sequence for inputting patient treatment device configuration data via a user interface of the patient treatment device; determining whether the therapy instruction complies with the predetermined configuration procedure by analyzing the therapy instruction in relation to the predetermined configuration procedure; and determining a configuration output location based on the identified type of patient treatment device and the predetermined sequence for inputting patient treatment device configuration data from a therapy prescription via a user interface of the patient treatment device; and A system characterized by:

2. a patient treatment device (140) of a corresponding type identified by said configuration output generator (120), said patient treatment device (140) having a user interface for configuring said patient treatment device (140) in response to manual input of patient treatment device configuration data; The system of claim 1 further comprising:

3. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein a label (262) includes one or more portions of configuration data corresponding to at least a portion of the configuration procedure.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the label (262) is affixed to a container associated with the therapy instructions.

5. The system of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the patient treatment device (140) is a configurable infusion pump.

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