Electronic patient monitoring system

Abstract

An electronic patient monitoring system comprising a monitoring client module configured to receive real time data from monitoring devices connected to a patient, and historical information pertaining to the patient's physical characteristics, past medical history, current medications, drug allergies, among other information; the monitoring client capable of processing this information to determine whether a treatment ordered by a health care provider is appropriate under the circumstances. The monitoring client module may communicate with a communications module having a user interface, through which orders, such as medication orders, may be entered and transmitted to the monitoring client module. The monitoring client module, in turn, may transmit warnings or recommendations to the communications module for review by the provider. The original order may be confirmed by the provider, or a modified order may be entered in the communications module, which may then be transmitted to the monitoring client module for further processing of the order.

1 . An electronic patient monitoring system comprising:
 a first module configured to receive and store information pertaining to a patient, said information including data related to a first parameter of the patient measured by a device connected to the patient, and data related to a second parameter of the patient received from a first database containing information about the patient; and   a second module configured to receive a medication order from a user via a user interface associated with the second module, said second module being further configured to transmit said treatment order to the first module, wherein   said first module is further configured to:   a) obtain medication information about said medication or other drugs from a second database, the medication information including data providing limitations under which such medication is generally administered;   b) determine whether the medication order must be confirmed by the second module based on the medication information, the value of the first parameter and the value of the second parameter, and   c) transmit a pre-established message from the first module to the second module for display on the user interface, said message confirming or warning about the acceptability of said medication order.   
     
     
         2 . The electronic patient monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the medication information includes drug interactions information, drug allergies information, blood pressure effects information, heart rate effects information, heart rhythm effects information, or respiration effects information, and wherein the first parameter or the second parameter include data about the patient's currently administered drugs, known drug allergies, current blood pressure, current pulse rate, current heart rhythm, current respiratory rate or current ventilation. 
     
     
         3 . The electronic patient monitoring system of  claim 2 , wherein the pre-established message includes a warning about the potential effects of the ordered medication, said warning including measured data about the first parameter, received data about the second parameter, or medication information obtained by the first module. 
     
     
         4 . The electronic patient monitoring system of  claim 3 , wherein the first module is configured to generate a signal that the medication order or a modified medication order is to be processed after the pre-established message has been transmitted and upon receipt of a confirmation signal from the second module, the confirmation signal being triggered by an input signal from the user interface.