Clinical Order Set Authoring via Vendor-Neutral Intermediary

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current healthcare order set management systems are overly vendor-specific, limiting the ability of healthcare institutions to customize and share content across multiple vendor systems, which hinders the integration of evidence-based clinical content and can lead to variations in patient care.

Innovation Solution

A platform and method for reviewing, customizing, and integrating clinical content structures, such as order sets, using a common nomenclature and structure, allowing for dynamic transformation into formats compatible with various healthcare applications, enabling seamless sharing and integration across different systems while maintaining content integrity and version history.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a single-vendor proprietary system is used for order set content customization, then the system can be optimized for that specific vendor's environment, but the system becomes overly constraining and cannot share content across multiple vendor systems

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent sharing capabilityVSAvoidsystem architecture

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system separates the order set content from the vendor-specific implementation details by introducing an intermediate representation format. This segmentation allows the core clinical content to be independently defined and shared, while vendor-specific adaptations are handled separately through mapping mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

An intermediate representation format serves as a mediator between the source order set definition and target vendor systems. This intermediary layer enables content to be authored once in a vendor-neutral format and then transformed into multiple vendor-specific formats without direct coupling between systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If industry-standard format is established for order set content, then content sharing across multiple vendors is enabled, but implementation complexity increases due to lack of mature toolsets

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemulti-vendor compatibilityVSAvoidimplementation ease

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The system provides dynamic transformation capabilities that automatically convert order set content between the intermediate representation and various vendor-specific formats. This dynamic approach eliminates the need for manual re-authoring for each vendor while maintaining support for multiple target systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter representation of order set content by defining a standardized intermediate format with explicit parameters and data types. This parameterization enables systematic transformation to different vendor formats while preserving the semantic meaning of the clinical content.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Manufacturing precision

If order set content is customized for each vendor's system, then the content fits each vendor's environment well, but the customization process must be repeated for each vendor increasing time and effort

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent fit qualityVSAvoidcustomization time

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary definition of order set content in a vendor-neutral intermediate representation format. This preliminary action captures the essential clinical logic and structure once, before any vendor-specific customization is needed, thereby eliminating repetitive customization work.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates and maintains a master copy of order set content in the intermediate representation format. This master copy can be copied and transformed into multiple vendor-specific instances, ensuring consistency across all implementations while minimizing the need for original customization work.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

4Ease of operation

If vendor-specific formats are used for order sets, then integration with that vendor's applications is simplified, but integration with other vendor systems becomes difficult or impossible

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveapplication integrationVSAvoidsystem interoperability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The intermediate representation format serves multiple functions: it acts as a source definition format, a storage format, and a transformation target for multiple vendor systems. This universal format enables the same order set content to be integrated with applications from different vendors without requiring separate customization for each.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS8504381B2Structured data authoring and editing system

Publication Date: 2013.08.06 ZYNX HEALTH INC

AI summary

The present invention offers an extensive suite of tools that facilitate and enhance the capability within a healthcare institution to establish and maintain an evidence-based best practice approach to providing patient care. Using evidence, term vocabulary and default structured content (order sets) embodiments of the invention enable the localization of said content in a well structured environment.