Electronic Patient Care System Hub Protocol Translation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current patient care systems face challenges in efficiently ordering and administering medications due to issues like miscommunication, user errors, and inefficiencies in medication preparation and delivery, particularly with infusion pumps, leading to potential adverse events.
Innovation Solution
An electronic patient care system comprising a monitoring client and patient-care devices that communicate through a hub, utilizing a communication interface to translate signals and facilitate seamless communication, enabling central storage of patient data and reducing errors by integrating with diverse devices and protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual medication ordering and administration processes are used, then flexibility in handling diverse medication types is maintained, but user errors and miscommunication increase leading to medication errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a communication interface as an intermediary component that translates between different communication protocols used by various patient care devices and the central system. This mediator eliminates direct complex interactions between diverse devices and the central system, reducing user errors while maintaining system flexibility. The communication interface handles protocol translation, error checking, and data validation, thereby improving medication accuracy without significantly increasing operational complexity for end users.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple different patient care devices with diverse protocols are integrated, then system versatility and adaptability improve, but communication complexity and potential for errors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication architecture into distinct layers: individual patient care devices communicate with local communication interfaces using device-specific protocols, and the central system communicates with each device through its dedicated interface using that device's native protocol. This segmentation isolates protocol complexity to specific interface modules rather than requiring the entire system to handle all protocol variations simultaneously, thereby maintaining high device compatibility while managing communication complexity in manageable, modular units.
3Measurement precision
If centralized patient data storage is implemented, then data accuracy and accessibility improve, but system vulnerability to communication failures and errors increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the communication interface continuously monitors data transmission between the centralized storage system and patient care devices. The interface validates incoming data against expected formats and ranges, requests retransmission of corrupted data, and notifies the central system of communication errors. This feedback loop ensures high data accuracy by detecting and correcting errors before they affect clinical decisions, while the localized error handling prevents communication failures from propagating system-wide.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, related system and apparatus are disclosed. The method is implemented by an operative set of processor executable instructions configured for execution by a processor. The method includes the acts of: determining if a monitoring client is connected to a base through a physical connection; establishing a first communications link between the monitoring client and the base through the physical connection; updating, if necessary, the interface program on the monitoring client and the base through the first communications link; establishing a second communications link between the monitoring client and the base using the first communications link; and communicating data from the base to the monitoring client using the second communications link.