Method and system for identifying and anticipating adverse drug events

Abstract

The present invention is a system and method for anticipating potential Adverse Drug Events (ADE) in a patient's medication regimen by integrating data typically located in laboratory and pharmacy information systems and filtering the data using predefined criteria. The present invention includes a system for anticipating a possible ADE through the use of a search engine that compares integrated data from laboratory and pharmacy information systems and compares it to predefined ADE rules defining normal ranges for a particular laboratory test. If an abnormal test value is received and a drug in the patient's medication regimen satisfies a drug included in an ADE rule then an alert procedure is triggered which allows for a period of time wherein the patient's lab and pharmacy data is monitored in order to determine if a proper corrective action is undertaken, and if no corrective action or an improper corrective action is taken within that period of time, the healthcare provider is warned of a potential ADE.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)[0001]This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application No. 60 / 272,019, filed Feb. 28, 2001 the contents of which are incorporated herein in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]This invention relates to a method and system for managing and anticipating adverse drug events (“ADE”). More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for integrating and using data from a medical facility's pharmacy and laboratory information systems to anticipate potential ADEs in a patient's medication regiment.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]A number of preventable patient care errors occur because the prescription of medication to a patient is done without first consulting a patient's laboratory results. Some patients have had drugs continuously administered to them for hours or days after toxic levels for that drug are recorded by the lab. Some patients have received particular medication long after the laboratory has documented ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

A number of preventable patient care errors occur because the prescription of medication to a patient is done without first consulting a patient's laboratory results.

Others have received erroneous laboratory test results because their medication interferes with the laboratory tests they are undergoing.

Still others have received medications even after the patient's lab result indicates that it is dangerous to do so.

These errors occur for many reasons.

At times, a physician is ordering certain medications at a site remote from a medical facility and so is not able to review a patient's chart.

At times, the physician isn't even aware of contraindications for certain medication because tests revealing those contraindications have not been performed or had not been recorded in a patient's chart.

In some instances, even though contraindications for certain medications are documented, the physician simply fails to detect the contraindications from the patient's chart.

However, these information systems are typically limited to detecting a potential ADE between drugs administered to a patient These pharmacy information systems are not capable of predicting an ADE based on a patient's physiological condition, because these systems typically do not monitor or have access or have the capability to process a patient's laboratory results.

However, despite this symbiotic relationship between the laboratory and the pharmacy, these two departments and their work processes, personnel, and particularly their information systems, rarely effectively communicate with each other.

In many clinical settings, there are a number of factors which prevent the integration of data from the laboratory and the pharmacy.

Compatibility issues between the separate information systems is often a major roadblock to integration.

The cost of integrating data from both information system is certainly another prohibiting factor.

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