Priority-Based Communication System for Healthcare
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Solution Overview
Problem
Healthcare practitioners face challenges in effectively communicating and collaborating with caregivers remotely, which can hinder timely and efficient patient care, especially when prioritizing communications and managing requests across different medical teams.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that includes a receiver device configured to receive requests from a transmitter device, assign priorities based on both transmitter and receiver priorities, and manage notifications accordingly, allowing for streamlined communication and collaboration through a medical application that enables case creation, prioritization, and documentation with features like text, audio, video, and location tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple caregivers and practitioners communicate remotely through a communication system, then collaboration capability is improved, but communication efficiency deteriorates due to lack of prioritization
Solution Approach 1:
The communication system segments requests into different priority levels (first priority, second priority, etc.), allowing urgent patient care requests to be separated from routine communications. This segmentation enables practitioners to focus on high-priority matters first while maintaining comprehensive collaboration capabilities across all communication channels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts communication handling based on priority levels and practitioner availability. When a practitioner is overwhelmed, the system automatically routes high-priority requests to available colleagues, creating a dynamic load-balancing mechanism that maintains both collaboration efficiency and communication effectiveness.
2Device complexity
If requests are handled in chronological order without prioritization, then system simplicity is maintained, but response time to urgent matters increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transmitter device assigns priority levels to requests before they are transmitted to the receiver device. This preliminary action of prioritization ensures that urgent requests are immediately identifiable upon receipt, eliminating the need for complex real-time priority arbitration at the receiver end and maintaining system simplicity while enabling rapid response to critical matters.
3Ease of operation
If all communication requests are treated equally, then fairness is maintained, but urgent patient care needs may be delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different handling qualities to different requests based on their priority levels and the specific practitioner's workload and expertise. High-priority requests receive expedited handling, while lower-priority requests are processed in a fair, sequential manner. This local quality differentiation ensures urgent patient care needs are met promptly while maintaining overall system fairness.
4Loss of information
If practitioners are constantly notified of all requests, then no information is lost, but practitioner overload and distraction increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses visual differentiation (analogous to color changes) through priority indicators and notification levels to help practitioners quickly assess the urgency of requests. High-priority requests receive prominent notification, while lower-priority requests are indicated more subtly, allowing practitioners to mentally organize and respond to information without being overwhelmed by uniform, high-intensity notifications for all requests.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving, by a receiver device, a request sent from a transmitter device. The request is identified by a case name and at least one of a type of the request and a due date of the request. The request has a transmitter priority designated by the transmitter device. The method also includes assigning, by the receiver device, a receiver priority for the request received by the receiver device. The method also includes determining a final priority by the receiver device. The final priority is based upon a combination of the transmitter priority and the receiver priority. The method further includes handling the request within the receiver device based on the final priority.