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.

1 . A method of anticipating adverse drug episodes comprising: 
 defining a plurality of ADE rules each having data fields and at least one drug/lab linkage parameter relating to the ADE rules; and    filtering a patient's lab data and pharmacy data using the plurality of definitions.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , and further comprising the additional step of creating a normalized drug table from the patient's pharmacy data, the pharmacy table having data fields for each drug administered, a dosage, and a time administered.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , and further comprising the additional step of creating a normalized lab table from the patient's lab data, the lab table having data fields for a patient id, time of test, name of test, and a test result.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the step of filtering includes the steps of extracting a lab name, a result of the lab from the lab table and a drug from the drug table and matching it to a lab name, lab result and drug within an ADE rule.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , and further comprising the additional step of importing laboratory data and pharmacy data from a healthcare facility.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , and further comprising the additional step of verifying imported lab data or pharmacy data is formatted in accordance with a predefined format.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , and further comprising the additional steps of computing a cumulative dosage for a drug within a 24 hour period from a date of administration.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the ADE rules also includes a data field containing a waiting period for a proper corrective action.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , and further comprising the additional steps of filtering subsequent lab data or pharmacy data to determine if a proper corrective action has occurred.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , and further comprising the additional step of alerting a health care provider when a waiting period for a proper corrective action has expired without a proper corrective action occurring.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , and further comprising the additional step of adjusting a waiting period based on a test lab value.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8  and further comprising the additional step of adjusting a waiting period based on previous lab test values.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the lab/data definition includes data fields for associated drugs.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising the additional step of filtering a patient's previous pharmacy data for an associated drug.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the lab/data definition includes data fields for an associated test lab and result.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising the additional step of filtering a patient's lab data for an associated test lab and result.  
     
     
         17 . A system for anticipating adverse drug events comprising: 
 a central processor having a search engine therein; and    an ADE rule database in communication with the central processor, a plurality of ADE rules having data fields and at least one drug/lab linkage parameter relating to the ADE rules.    
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the central processor is in communication with a computer network.  
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the computer network is an intranet.  
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , and further comprising a laboratory database and a pharmacy database.  
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the central processor includes a web server hosting a web site therein and in communication with an intranet.  
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the central processor is in communication with a pharmacy information system and a laboratory information system.  
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the central processor is in communication with a nursing station at a medical facility.  
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the central processor is in communication with a paging system.  
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the central processor includes a web server, an application server, a database server, and a directory server.  
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 17  wherein the central processor includes an application for reformatting and integrating pharmacy data and lab data.  
     
     
         27 - 33 . (canceled)