Care Plan Scheduler Content Substitution

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Solution Overview

Problem

Healthcare professionals face challenges in efficiently updating care plans for patients with chronic conditions without disrupting their ongoing treatment or requiring new hardware, as new medical knowledge and strategies emerge, necessitating a seamless integration of new content into existing care plans.

Innovation Solution

A healthcare network system that includes a server connected to a communications network, allowing user interface devices to periodically communicate and update care plans by substituting new content elements for existing ones, while maintaining patient interaction and feedback, without interrupting the existing care plan experience, and utilizing a scheduler to manage content replacements and additions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If care plans are updated with new content elements, then medical knowledge and treatment strategies are improved, but disruption to existing care plan experience and patient interaction occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecare plan content updatesVSAvoidcare plan experience continuity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by scheduling content substitutions in advance and marking them as future events. The care plan scheduler identifies appropriate content substitutions before they are needed and schedules them to occur at specific future times, ensuring that updates are prepared and organized before impacting the patient's care experience.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces dynamics by allowing care plans to evolve over time through scheduled content substitutions. The care plan is not static but dynamically updates its content elements based on scheduled substitutions, enabling the system to adapt to new medical knowledge while maintaining a structured approach to changes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Adaptability or versatility

If care plans are restarted from scratch to incorporate new information, then new medical strategies are implemented, but time loss and interruption of treatment occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenew treatment strategiesVSAvoidcare plan implementation time

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the care plan into individual content elements that can be updated independently. Instead of restarting the entire care plan, the scheduler identifies and substitutes only the specific content elements that need updating, leaving the rest of the care plan intact and continuing from the patient's current progress point.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies local quality changes by updating only specific portions of the care plan rather than the entire plan. The scheduler identifies which content elements require substitution and applies changes locally to those elements, maintaining the overall structure and progress of the care plan while incorporating new strategies where needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If content substitutions are implemented seamlessly, then care experience disruption is avoided, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecare experience continuityVSAvoidcontent substitution management

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements self-service through automated scheduling and execution of content substitutions. The care plan scheduler automatically identifies substitutions, schedules them, and executes them without requiring manual intervention or complex user management. The system serves itself by handling the complexity of content substitution internally while presenting a simple, continuous care experience to patients.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

4Adaptability or versatility

If existing care plans are interrupted for updates, then new medical information is delivered, but patient engagement and feedback are disrupted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedical information updatesVSAvoidpatient interaction efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system employs periodic action by scheduling content substitutions to occur at specific future times rather than interrupting them immediately. This allows the system to maintain regular, predictable interaction patterns with patients while still delivering updates at appropriate moments, preserving the rhythm and efficiency of patient engagement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Data Source

PatentUS8700431B2Care plan change propagation

Publication Date: 2014.04.15 KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS NV

AI summary

In a medical health care network (10) for providing individualized health care programming to many patients, a method and apparatus for updating the programming is described. When a patient is new to the system, a health care professional takes a generic care plan template (26) and fills it in with the patient's specific health information. A care plan scheduler (36), using a completed template (26), assigns content for the patient to experience. When new content becomes available, the health care professional notes it on the template (26). The scheduler (36) then looks for all instances of the old content and replaces it with the new content in the most seamless way possible. A content replacement database (40) interprets old data in light of the new content so that the old data does not become misleading or obsolete.