Patent ID: 7706915
Filing Date: 2010-04-27
Classification: G06Q,G16H

Abstract:
1. A system positioned within a hospital to enhance pharmaceutical order entry and administration by medical personnel and enhanced pharmaceutical inventory control within a hospital, the system comprising: a hospital information processing and management computer including memory to store data therein to thereby define a hospital information management server; a database in communication with the hospital information management server and including a plurality of hospital patient medication profile records and a plurality of electronic medication administration records corresponding to the hospital patient medication profile records for each of a respective plurality of hospital patients, and including patient master data, a hospital drug formulary and a plurality of medication inventory records, each of the plurality of electronic medication administration records providing a single consolidated patient medication administration profile for a corresponding one of the plurality of hospital patients, the single medication profile including both hospital inpatient and outpatient prescribed medications, the electronic medication administration records also indicating unit dose-level dispensing and actual patient consumption verification of individual doses of a prescribed medication for hospital inpatient patients provided to perform clinical checks and non-clinical checks responsive to the hospital drug formulary; a hospital communications network associated with the hospital in communication with the hospital information management server; a plurality of hospital physician computers associated with at least one of a plurality of physicians and positioned in the hospital and remote from the hospital information management server, each in communication with the hospital information management server through the hospital communication network and each including memory and software stored in the memory adapted to provide access to the hospital information management server; a plurality of hospital pharmacy computers associated with at least one of a plurality of pharmacists and positioned in the hospital and remote from the hospital information management server and remote from the plurality of physicians computers, each of the plurality of hospital pharmacy computers in communication with the hospital information management server through the hospital communication network and each of the hospital pharmacy computers including memory and software stored in the memory adapted to provide access to the hospital information management server; a plurality of hospital nursing unit computers associated with at least one nursing unit member and positioned in the hospital and remote from the hospital information management server and remote from the plurality of hospital pharmacy computers and from the plurality of hospital physicians computers, each of the plurality of hospital nursing unit computers in communication with the hospital information management server through the hospital communication network, and each of the plurality of hospital nursing computers including memory and software stored in the memory and adapted to provide access to the hospital information management server; at least one hospital nursing unit video display in communication with at least one of the plurality of hospital nursing unit computers positioned at a nursing unit, remote from the hospital information management server, and in communication with the hospital information management server through the hospital communication network; a plurality of automated drug dispensing devices, each of the plurality of drug dispensing devices positioned in the hospital and in communication with the hospital information management server through the hospital communication network to store pharmaceuticals therein and to dispense the pharmaceuticals to one of the plurality of nursing unit members, pharmacists or physicians, each automated drug dispensing device including memory and software stored in the memory to provide access to the hospital information management server, to receive electronic medication administration records, and to provide an interface to modify electronic medication administration records, to thereby provide hospital personnel a tool for recording medication administered to patients, each of the plurality of automated drug dispensing devices also including an override function responsive to entry of hospital patient identification data to enable unscheduled or emergency withdrawal of medication from each of the plurality of automated drug dispensing device and positioned to provide medication removal event data and hospital patient identification data to the hospital information management server, the medication removal event data including medication identification, amount removed, and time of removal; and hospital information management software stored in the memory of the hospital information management server and including medication administration program product comprising a set of instructions that when executed by the hospital information management server cause the hospital information management server to perform a process of integrating medication order, verification and delivery within a hospital and a process of monitoring drug dispensing in the hospital, consisting of: