To-do lists in computerized healthcare environment

Electronic to-do lists are provided in a computerized healthcare environment for managing and documenting events during clinical care processes. A to-do list includes events that may need to be completed and, in some cases, documented during a clinical care process. The to-do list may be generated in response to a selection of a to-do macro including data associated with a number of clinical events that need to be completed during the clinical care process. As events are completed by clinicians during the process, the to-do list may be used to document the completion of the event. As such, clinicians may readily identify events that have been performed, as well as events that have yet to be performed. In some cases, a clinical event in a to-do list may include associated details, which may be used to populate information in an electronic record when the clinical event is indicated as completed.

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

To ensure patient safety and quality of care in healthcare settings, it is often important for healthcare facilities to comply with a variety of standards and protocols. For example, healthcare facilities must often comply with a variety of mandatory standards for licensure and/or accreditation. Additionally, many healthcare facilities strive to comply with voluntary standards, such as those for accreditation by the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Further, many healthcare facilities set their own internal standards that meet or exceed these mandatory and voluntary external standards. These internal and external standards are typically driven by best practices and accordingly set forth procedures with which clinicians, such as physicians and nurses, must comply. Additionally, documentation of clinicians' practices is often required to ensure compliance.

For many clinical care processes, such as in the context of anesthesia and surgical settings, standards for patient safety and quality of care are important, for instance, to reduce the chance and severity of complications. For example, standards often dictate events to be completed during an operation, as well as any required documentation of those events. Depending on the length and complexity of an operation, this may include a long list of events. Accordingly, it may be difficult for clinicians to remember each event that must be completed and documented during operations. Additionally, some operations may be extremely long, making it difficult for clinicians to remember events that occurred earlier in the operation. Some operations may be complex and involve a multitude of clinicians, further making it difficult for clinicians to remember which events have been completed and which events have yet to be completed.

Currently, some clinicians may work from memory of events that need to be performed during a clinical care process. However, such practice may be prone to error depending on the complexity of the process. In some cases, clinicians may work from a list of events to be completed during the clinical care process. However, such lists are not actionable and do not provide a convenient approach to tracking event completion. Additionally, when an event requires documentation, the clinician must manually document the event and any necessary details either during the clinical care process, which is burdensome, or after the clinical care process is completed, which is susceptible to memory error. There is currently no convenient approach to tracking and documenting event completion. Additionally, there is currently no convenient approach to timing events or providing reminders for events during a clinical care process. Further, there is currently no convenient approach to coordinating events among multiple clinicians participating in the same clinical care process.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention relate to providing electronic to-do lists in computerized healthcare environments. A to-do list in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention provides, among other things, an indication of events that need to be completed during a clinical care process. As clinicians perform events during the process, the to-do list may be used to document the completion of each event. As such, the to-do list provides a quick and convenient way for clinicians to readily identify which events have been completed, as well as which events have not yet been completed. Additionally, the to-do list provides a quick and convenient way for clinicians to document events for compliance purposes and the like.

Further embodiments of the present invention are directed to incorporating timer functionality with to-do lists. In accordance with such embodiments, users may set elapsed and/or countdown timers for events on a to-do list. Additionally, users may set alerts and reminders for events on the to-do list based on the timer functionality. In some embodiments, timer and alert/reminder functionality may be automatically provided for associated events.

In yet further embodiments of the present invention, events may be shared among two or more to-do lists. The execution of a shared event may be coordinated among the to-do lists that include the shared event.

Accordingly, in one aspect, an embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method in a clinical computing environment for providing an electronic to-do list for tracking completion of a plurality of clinical events during a clinical care process. The method includes receiving a user selection of a to-do macro for a type of clinical care process, the to-do macro including data associated with a number of clinical events to be completed for the type of clinical care process. The method also includes generating a to-do list based on the selected to-do macro, the to-do list providing an indication for at least a portion of the clinical events. The method further includes presenting the to-do list to a user via a user interface and receiving user input indicative of completion of one or more selected clinical events. The method still further includes providing an indication that the selected clinical events have been completed based on the user input.

In another aspect of the invention, an embodiment is directed to a method for documenting a clinical event performed during a clinical care process. The method includes presenting an electronic to-do list, the to-do list including an indication of a plurality of clinical events to be performed during a clinical care process, wherein at least one clinical event is associated with details regarding the clinical event. The method also includes receiving user input indicating that the clinical event has been completed. The method further includes documenting the completion of the clinical event in an electronic record based on the user input, wherein the details associated with the clinical event are used to populate information in the electronic record.

In yet another aspect, an embodiment of the invention is directed to a method in a clinical computing environment for providing an electronic to-do list for tracking completion of a number of clinical events during a clinical care process and documenting the completion of at least one of the clinical events in an electronic record. The method includes receiving a user selection of a to-do macro for a type of clinical care process, the to-do macro comprising data associated with a number of clinical events to be completed for the type of clinical care process, wherein at least one clinical event is associated with details regarding the clinical event. The method also includes generating a to-do list based on the selected to-do macro, the to-do list providing an indication for at least a portion of the clinical events. The method further includes presenting the to-do list to a user via a user interface and receiving user input indicative of completion of the clinical event that have details associated therewith. The method still further includes providing an indication that the clinical event has been completed and documenting the completion of the clinical event in an electronic record based on the user input, wherein the details associated with the clinical event are used to populate information in the electronic record.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide computerized methods and systems for providing electronic to-do lists in computerized healthcare environments. Embodiments of the present invention further provide computerized methods and systems for providing to-do lists with timer functionality. Still further, embodiments of the present invention provide computerized methods and systems for sharing events across to-do lists. Having briefly described an overview of embodiments of the present invention, an exemplary operating environment is described below.

Referring to the drawings in general, and initially toFIG. 1in particular, an exemplary computing system environment, for instance, a medical information computing system, on which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented is illustrated and designated generally as reference numeral20. It will be understood and appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the illustrated medical information computing system environment20is merely an example of one suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention. Neither should the medical information computing system environment20be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any single component or combination of components illustrated therein.

The present invention may be operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the present invention include, by way of example only, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above-mentioned systems or devices, and the like.

The present invention may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include, but are not limited to, routines, programs, objects, components, and data structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The present invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in local and/or remote computer storage media including, by way of example only, memory storage devices.

With continued reference toFIG. 1, the exemplary medical information computing system environment20includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a server22. Components of the server22may include, without limitation, a processing unit, internal system memory, and a suitable system bus for coupling various system components, including database cluster24, with the server22. The system bus may be any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus, using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronic Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, also known as Mezzanine bus.

The server22typically includes, or has access to, a variety of computer readable media, for instance, database cluster24. Computer readable media can be any available media that may be accessed by server22, and includes volatile and nonvolatile media, as well as removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may include computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media may include, without limitation, volatile and nonvolatile media, as well as removable and nonremovable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. In this regard, computer storage media may include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVDs) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which may be accessed by the server22. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media. As used herein, the term “modulated data signal” refers to a signal that has one or more of its attributes set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above also may be included within the scope of computer readable media.

The computer storage media discussed above and illustrated inFIG. 1, including database cluster24, provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for the server22.

The server22may operate in a computer network26using logical connections to one or more remote computers28. Remote computers28may be located at a variety of locations in a medical or research environment, for example, but not limited to, clinical laboratories, hospitals and other inpatient settings, veterinary environments, ambulatory settings, medical billing and financial offices, hospital administration settings, home health care environments, and clinicians' offices. Clinicians may include, but are not limited to, a treating physician or physicians, specialists such as surgeons, radiologists, cardiologists, and oncologists, emergency medical technicians, physicians' assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, nurses' aides, pharmacists, dieticians, microbiologists, laboratory experts, genetic counselors, researchers, veterinarians, students, and the like. The remote computers28may also be physically located in non-traditional medical care environments so that the entire health care community may be capable of integration on the network. The remote computers28may be personal computers, servers, routers, network PCs, peer devices, other common network nodes, or the like, and may include some or all of the components described above in relation to the server22. The devices can be personal digital assistants or other like devices.

Exemplary computer networks26may include, without limitation, local area networks (LANs) and/or wide area networks (WANs). Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet. When utilized in a WAN networking environment, the server22may include a modem or other means for establishing communications over the WAN, such as the Internet. In a networked environment, program modules or portions thereof may be stored in the server22, in the database cluster24, or on any of the remote computers28. For example, and not by way of limitation, various application programs may reside on the memory associated with any one or more of the remote computers28. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers (e.g., server22and remote computers28) may be utilized.

In operation, a user may enter commands and information into the server22or convey the commands and information to the server22via one or more of the remote computers28through input devices, such as a keyboard, a pointing device (commonly referred to as a mouse), a trackball, or a touch pad. Other input devices may include, without limitation, microphones, satellite dishes, scanners, or the like. Commands and information may also be sent directly from a remote healthcare device to the server22. In addition to a monitor, the server22and/or remote computers28may include other peripheral output devices, such as speakers and a printer.

Although many other internal components of the server22and the remote computers28are not shown, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that such components and their interconnection are well known. Accordingly, additional details concerning the internal construction of the server22and the remote computers28are not further disclosed herein.

As discussed previously, clinical care processes, such as surgical procedures, for instance, may often be long and complex, making it difficult for clinicians to remember events that need to be completed, as well as events that have already been completed. For example, it may be difficult for a clinician to remember an event that occurred during the third hour of a twelve hour operation. In some cases, the difficulty to remember events may be further compounded by the complexity of the case and the number of clinicians involved. Additionally, many of the events performed during a clinical care process need to be documented. Embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing electronic to-do lists within a computerized healthcare environment. A to-do list in accordance with embodiments of the present invention provides a quick and convenient way for a clinician to access and view events that need to be completed and/or documented for a clinical care process. Additionally, the to-do list provides a quick and convenient way for the clinician to document the completion of events as they are performed. As such, using the to-do list, a clinician may easily identify events that have been completed, as well as those events that have yet to be performed. Moreover, the to-do list allows the clinician to collect accurate documentation of events during a clinical care process for compliance purposes and the like.

To-do lists may be driven and defined by workflows comprising various events that may need to be completed and, for some events, documented during clinical care processes. For example, best practices and standards may be used by a healthcare facility to define pre-built standards of care for various clinical care processes. Each pre-built standard of care comprises a series of events that may need to be performed to ensure patient quality of care. Using the pre-built standard of care for a particular clinical care process, a “macro” may be generated. When a macro associated with a particular clinical care process is selected by a user, the macro generates a to-do list for the clinical care process and presents the to-do list to the user. The to-do list indicates those events that need to be completed during the clinical care process. Additionally, zero, one, or many of the events included in the to-do list may be events that need to be documented during the clinical care process. In some cases, separate to-do lists may be beneficial for a single clinical care process. For example, it may be desirable to have a separate to-do list for each clinician involved in the clinical care process. Accordingly, multiple macros may be defined for a particular clinical care process or a single macro, when executed, may generate multiple to-do lists.

Additionally, to-do lists may be populated using electronic “preference cards.” Surgeons often have individualized preferences that differ from surgeon to surgeon and from procedure to procedure. Traditionally, such preferences are captured manually using “preference cards” that may be pulled by a nurse, for example, before beginning a particular procedure. These preferences could be captured by the system in electronic “preference cards,” which when selected could generate a to-do list or otherwise further populate an existing to-do list (e.g., add or reorder events in a to-do list generated by a macro).

Referring toFIGS. 2 and 3, screen displays are provided illustrating the selection and execution of a macro to generate a to-do list in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring initially toFIG. 2, a macro selection dialog box200is illustrated. The macro selection dialog box200allows a user to browse available macros and select a particular macro for execution. As shown inFIG. 2, the macro selection dialog box200generally includes a number of tabs202,204,206,208,210, each tab including macros related to a particular clinical context. For instance, inFIG. 2, the user has selected the “Anesthesia Macros” tab208to view anesthesia related macros. The “Anesthesia Macros” tab208includes three user-selectable buttons, each button allowing for the selection of a particular macro and including: “Anesthesia—Initial”212, “Anesthesia—Final”214, and “Anesthesia—General”216.

When a user selects a macro, such as by selecting the “Anesthesia—General” button216, for instance, details of the selected macro may be viewed via a macro dialog box, such as the macro dialog box300illustrated inFIG. 3. The macro dialog box300indicates the events302included in the macro, as well as additional information associated with each event. For instance, each event may have associated details304. The details for a particular event may include information such as comments regarding how the event should be performed. If desired, a user may edit an event and its associated information by selecting an edit button306for the event. A user may also specify, via an execute selection box308and a to-do selection box310, whether each event should be included in a to-do list or automatically executed when the macro is executed. For instance, a user may wish to execute a macro after performing one or more events and, as such, have those events automatically indicated as performed and/or documented upon execution of the macro. In the present example shown inFIG. 3, the user has already prepped the patient and has selected the execute selection box312for the patient prep event314. Accordingly, when the user executes the macro by selecting the execute button316, a to-do list is generated including those events having a corresponding to-do selection box selected. The patient prep event, however, is automatically executed upon execution of the macro such that the event is shown as completed and/or documented as completed.

Referring now toFIG. 4A, a screen display showing an exemplary to-do list400in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The to-do list400shown inFIG. 4Amay have been generated, for instance, when a user executes the macro from the macro dialog box300ofFIG. 3. In some cases, however, a user may manually create a to-do list (e.g., in the event that a macro and/or preference card has not been prepared or is otherwise unavailable for a particular procedure).

As shown inFIG. 4A, the to-do list400is presented in a dialog box402, which includes a “To-Do” tab404and a “Completed” tab406. The “To-Do” tab404is currently selected and shown inFIG. 4Aand generally includes a list of events408to be completed and, if appropriate, documented during the clinical care process. Additional information, such as details410, may be also presented for each event in the dialog box402.

The to-do list400includes a number of selectable control buttons, including sequence buttons412, a new event button414, an edit button416, an execute button418, and a remove button420. By using the control buttons, a user may interact with the to-do list400. For example, by selecting the new event button414, a user may add an event to the to-do list400. In various embodiments of the present invention, a user may add a new event by creating a free-text event and/or by selecting an event from a list of predefined events. A user may edit an existing event and corresponding information (including details of the event) by selecting the event and clicking the edit button416. In some cases, a user may reorder the events provided in the to-do list400using the sequence buttons412. For instance, a user may select a particular event, such as the “Urine Voided” event422, and select one of the sequence buttons to move the event up or down in the list of events. In other cases, a user may reorder the events by simply clicking on an event and dragging the event to a different location in the list. A user may also remove a particular event from the to-do list400, for example, by selecting the event and clicking the remove button420.

As an event is carried out during a clinical care process, a user may use the to-do list400to show the event as completed, and if appropriate for the event, document the completion of the event. The user may do so by selecting the event and clicking the execute button418. When an event has been executed, the event is moved from the “To-Do” tab404to the “Completed” tab406. For example, when the “Urine Voided” event422inFIG. 4Ahas been completed, the user selects the event422and the execute button418. As shown inFIG. 4B, the “Urine Voided” event has been removed from the “To-Do” tab404as a result of the action. Additionally, as shown inFIG. 4C, the event is now shown on the “Completed” tab406.

As mentioned previously, the completion of some events during a clinical care process may also need to be documented in a record, such as, for example, a preoperative record, a perioperative record, or a flowsheet for the procedure. When an event that requires documentation is executed at a to-do list, the completion of the event may be automatically documented in an appropriate electronic record. In some cases, documentation required for an event includes not only information indicating that the event was performed but also details regarding how the event was performed. To-do lists in accordance with embodiments of the invention provide a convenient approach to documenting such information. In particular, as discussed previously, each event in a to-do list may be automatically pre-populated with details regarding how an event should be performed. These details may be used to automatically populate the required documentation. If a clinician deviates from the pre-populated details included in a to-do list, the clinician may simply edit the details in the to-do list, and the edited details are then used for documentation purposes when the event is executed.

Turning toFIG. 5, a flow diagram is provided illustrating a method500for generating a to-do list from a macro and using the to-do list to execute an event in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Initially, as shown at block502, a macro selection is received. The selected macro is then executed at block504. Any events indicated in the macro as events to be executed upon execution of the macro are automatically executed, as shown at block506. Additionally, a to-do list is generated based on the remaining events included in the macro, as shown at block508. The generated to-do list is presented to a user via a user interface at block510. As a clinician completes an event, the clinician may select the event in the to-do list presented via the user interface, as represented at block512. Additionally, the clinician may provide an execution command using the to-do list presented via the user interface, as shown at block514. Accordingly, at block516, the event is removed from the to-do list. Additionally, as shown at block518, the event may be added to (and shown in) a completed events list. Further, if the event is one that requires documentation, the event may be automatically documented in an appropriate electronic record, as shown at block520. Any details associated with the event may also be used to populate the electronic record.

In some embodiments of the present invention, timer functionality may be provided around events on a to-do list. As will be illustrated in further detail below, a running timer showing elapsed time for an event may be started, stopped, restarted, and/or reset. Additionally, a countdown timer may be provided for an event that may be started, stopped, restarted, and/or reset. In some cases, alerts and/or reminders may be set based on the timer functionality. It should be noted that timer functionality may be provided individually for each event. This is advantageous as a user may wish to simultaneously but independently time multiple events on a to-do list.

In some embodiments, a to-do list may provide elapsed timer functionality such that when activated, an elapsed time indication may be presented for a selected event. The elapsed timer function provides a convenient mechanism for clinicians to time individual events on a to-do list. The functionality may be useful, for instance, in cases in which a clinician wishes to know how long it takes to complete a particular event. One such embodiment may be described in further detail by referring toFIG. 6AandFIG. 6B. Referring initially toFIG. 6A, when a clinician begins to warm devices or otherwise wishes to time the “Warming Devices Used” event602, the user may select the “Warming Devices Used” event602and click on the timer button604to begin the elapsed timer. As shown inFIG. 6B, in response to the user actions, an elapsed time indication606is provided in association with the event602. A user may subsequently stop (i.e., pause) and restart the timer by repeatedly selecting the event602and clicking on the timer button604. Additionally, in some cases, the user may reset the timer for the event604.

In another embodiment providing elapsed timer functionality, an elapsed timer dialog box may be presented when a user selects the timer button604. For example, when a user selects the “Warming Devices Used” event602and clicks the timer button604inFIG. 6A, the elapsed timer dialog box700shown inFIG. 7is presented. The dialog box700allows the user to set various parameters of an elapsed timer for the selected event. For example, the user may generally select to have an elapsed time indication presented by selecting the “Calculate Elapsed Time” option702. Additionally, a user may select to have an alert704provided and may indicate a specified elapsed time at which the alert should be provided. Further, the user may set the timer to stop706after a particular event has occurred or a specified time period has elapsed. After setting the timer parameters for the event, the user may select the “Set Timer” button708, thereby starting the elapsed timer for the selected event.

Turning toFIG. 8, a flow diagram is provided illustrating a method800for timing an event in a to-do list in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Initially, as shown at block802, an event selection is received using a to-do list presented via a user interface. Additionally, a timer command is received via the to-do list, as shown at block804. Based on the event selection and timer command, a timer is started for the selected event, as shown at block806. A timer indication is also provided in the to-do list in association with the selected event, as shown at block808. In some embodiments, the timer indication may be user-selectable as an elapsed timer or a countdown timer. The timer may subsequently be selectively started and stopped by a clinician using the to-do list presented via the user interface.

In further embodiments of the present invention, a user may set reminders for one or more selected events. For instance, events may need to be completed at particular points during the case. Accordingly, a user may set reminders for any such events such that the system provides an indication at a specified time. In various embodiments, the user may either set a specific time for a reminder (e.g., 9:30 a.m.) or may set a specified countdown duration (e.g., 30 minutes) after which a reminder is provided. For example, referring toFIG. 9A, a user may wish to have a reminder to draw specimens for laboratory testing. To set a reminder, the user may select the “Labs” event902and click on the reminder button904. In response to the user selections, a dialog box, such as the reminder dialog box1000shown inFIG. 10, may be provided. The reminder dialog box1000allows the user to set a reminder to be provided: (1) after a selected duration1002; (2) at a specific time1004; or (3) after a selected event occurs1006. In the example shown inFIG. 10, the user has specified a duration of 20 minutes. After configuring a reminder, the user may select the “Set Reminder” button1008to set the reminder. In some cases, a countdown timer may be presented in the to-do list with an event showing the time remaining until a set reminder. For example, referring toFIG. 9B, in response to setting the reminder for the “Labs” event902, a time remaining indication906has been provided in association with the event902.

Alerts and reminders may be provided in any of a variety of different ways within the scope of the present invention. For example, in some embodiments, an alert/reminder may comprise some visual indicia, such as showing the event as flashing, highlighting the event, showing the event in a different color, and/or presenting a dialog box with the alert/reminder. Alternatively or additionally, an alert/reminder may comprise an audible indication to notify the user of the alert/reminder.

Turning toFIG. 11, a flow diagram is provided illustrating a method1100for receiving user settings for a reminder for an event in a to-do list and providing a reminder based on the settings in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Initially, as shown at block1102, an event selection is received. Additionally, a reminder command is received at block1104. Based on the command, a reminder dialog box is presented via a user interface, as shown at block1106. User settings for the reminder are received via the reminder dialog box, as shown at block1108. The settings may include, for instance, when to provide the reminder for the event (e.g., specific time or countdown duration) and whether to provide any timer indication in association with the selected event based on the reminder. If selected, a timer indication is provided in association with the selected event in the to-do list, as shown at block1110. A reminder is provided for the selected event based on the reminder settings, as shown at block1112.

In some cases, two or more events may be associated, such as events that include both a start event and a stop event. In such cases, clinicians may wish to track the time between the associated events. For example, best practices may dictate that the time between associated events should meet a minimum duration or, alternatively, not exceed a maximum duration. In an embodiment, when an initial event (e.g., a start event) is executed, an elapsed time and/or countdown time may be provided automatically for a subsequent associated event (e.g., a stop event). By providing such a timer, a clinician may readily identify whether a minimum duration between events has been satisfied or when a maximum duration between events expires. In some embodiments, the minimum or maximum duration between events may be hard-coded in the to-do list. In other embodiments, a user may manually set the duration. In the case of a maximum duration, an alert may be provided if the subsequent event has not been executed when the duration expires (and/or a reminder may be provided at a set time before the duration expires). In the case of a minimum duration, an alert may be provided if a clinician attempts to execute the subsequent event before the minimum duration has run.

As an example of a maximum duration, referring toFIG. 12A, a to-do list is illustrated having a “Tourniquet Up” event1202and a corresponding “Tourniquet Down” event1204. Best practices dictate that a tourniquet typically should not be up for more than 120 minutes. Accordingly, when the “Tourniquet Up” event1202is executed, a countdown time1206may be provided with the “Tourniquet Down” event1204, as shown inFIG. 12B, indicating the time until the event should be completed. In some embodiments, an elapsed time may be provided in addition to or in lieu of the countdown time1206. If the “Tourniquet Down” event1204has not been executed when the 120 minute duration expires, an alert may be provided. Additionally, a reminder may be provided before the duration expires. For example, in one embodiment, the countdown time1206may be configured to begin flashing when five minutes are remaining.

Referring now toFIG. 13, a flow diagram is provided illustrating a method1300for automatically providing timer and/or alert functionality for an event in a to-do list corresponding with an event that has been executed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Initially, as shown at block1302, an event in a to-do list is executed. In response to the event execution, it is determined that there is a corresponding event associated with the executed event, as shown at block1304. A timer is started for the associated event, as shown at block1306. Additionally, a timer indication is provided in association with the corresponding event in the to-do list, as shown at block1308. A determination may be made, such as that shown at block1310, whether the corresponding event has an associated maximum duration not to be exceeded or a minimum duration to be satisfied before execution of the event. If the corresponding event has an associated maximum duration, an alert is provided if the maximum duration is exceeded prior to the execution of the event, as shown at block1312. Alternatively, if the corresponding event has an associated minimum duration, an alert is provided if a clinician attempts to execute the event before the minimum duration has been satisfied, as shown at block1314.

As indicated previously, in some cases, multiple clinicians participating in the same clinical care process may each have a separate to-do list. In some embodiments, to-do events may be shared between two or more to-do lists. For example, when a macro is selected and executed, the macro may generate a to-do list for two or more clinicians. In some cases, one or more events may be performed by any one of those clinicians. Accordingly, the macro may automatically populate two or more to-do lists with shared events. When a shared event is executed by one of the clinicians via that clinician's to-do list, the event is shown as completed in all to-do lists in which the event was included.

As can be understood, embodiments of the present invention provide to-do lists within a computerized healthcare environment for tracking and documenting events. Embodiments of the present invention also provide timer and reminder functionality in conjunction with such to-do lists. Embodiments of the present invention further allow events to be shared among multiple to-do lists.