Drug Library Standardization for Medication Error Reduction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Patient care is often marred by errors in administering fluids or medications due to miscommunication and inconsistencies among healthcare professionals, leading to inaccurate dosages and potential harm to patients.

Innovation Solution

A medical error reduction system that includes software for creating and revising drug libraries for medical devices, providing user privileges to manage software functionality, and utilizing a client-server model for communication between editor computers and servers, thereby ensuring accurate and standardized medication administration.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If manual communication and coordination among healthcare professionals is used, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but medical errors occur due to miscommunication and inconsistencies

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of medication administrationVSAvoidcomplexity of medication management system

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a centralized drug library as an intermediary that standardizes medication information and serves as a common reference for all healthcare professionals. This mediator eliminates miscommunication by providing a single source of truth for drug dosages, formulations, and administration parameters, thereby improving reliability without requiring complex inter-professional coordination protocols

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces manual mechanical communication processes (verbal orders, handwritten prescriptions, phone calls) with an electronic drug library system that automatically provides standardized medication information. This substitution eliminates human error in communication while maintaining system accessibility through user-friendly interfaces

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Manufacturing precision

If standardized drug libraries are implemented, then medication accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases due to software functionality and privilege management

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprecision of medication dosageVSAvoidcomplexity of software system

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the drug library system into distinct functional modules with specific privilege levels (e.g., view-only, edit, approve, delete). This segmentation allows the system to provide comprehensive medication precision tools while organizing complexity into manageable, role-based access tiers that users can navigate based on their specific needs and authorization levels

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements preliminary standardization of all medication parameters in the drug library before clinical use. Drug dosages, formulations, and administration parameters are pre-validated and standardized in advance, eliminating the need for complex real-time calculations or adjustments during patient care and simplifying the user interface

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If multiple users can edit the drug library, then system adaptability is improved, but risk of errors and inconsistencies increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to update medication informationVSAvoidconsistency of drug library data

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where changes to the drug library are tracked, reviewed, and approved through a structured process. When users modify medication information, the system provides feedback loops including validation checks, peer review capabilities, and audit trails that ensure consistency is maintained while allowing necessary updates to be made

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS20250140128A1Computer-implemented method, system, and apparatus or electronic patient care

Publication Date: 2025.05.01 DEKA PRODUCTS LP

AI summary

A medical error reduction system may include a medical error reduction software for use in creating and revising at least one drug library. The software configured to provide one of a plurality of sets of privileges to each of a plurality of sets of users. Each of the plurality of sets of privileges arranged to allocate a degree of software functionality to one of the plurality of sets of users. The degree of software functionality configured to define the ability of a user to alter the at least one drug library. The medical error reduction system may include at least one server. The medical error reduction system may include at least one editor computer each of the at least one editor computer comprising a processor in communication with a display. The at least one editor computer and at least one server may be configured to communicate via a network in a client-server based model. Each of the at least one drug library may be for use in at least one medical device.