Patent ID: 7938796

Claim:
A method for administrating a substance to a subject, said method comprising the steps of: A) providing a system that comprises i) a pump, ii) a controller that is in communication with the pump and issues control signals to the pump, iii) a substance administering conduit for delivering the substance to the subject's body, iv) a subject database containing information on at least one subject, v) a substance reference library, and vi) a user interface; and B) creating a new infusion protocol or selecting an infusion protocol that is stored in the subject database and loading the infusion protocol into the controller; C) querying the subject on whether the subject is experiencing an adverse reaction and enabling the subject to respond to the query via the user interface; D) determining whether the subject's response to the query indicates the subject is experiencing an adverse reaction stored in the substance reference library in association with the substance; and E) comparing the infusion protocol loaded into the controller with infusion protocol limits stored in the subject database and; i) when a parameter of the infusion protocol is outside of the protocol limits stored in the subject database, taking at least one remedial action selected from the group consisting of: a) preventing execution of the infusion protocol, b) notifying the operator that the protocol loaded into the controller is outside of the subject's limits and c) recording a record of the event in a history database, ii) when the subject's response to the query indicates the subject is experiencing the adverse reaction stored in the substance reference library in association with the substance, the controller automatically causes the pump to stop or modify the rate of infusion, and iii) when no parameter of the infusion protocol is outside of the protocol limits stored in the subject database, causing the pump to administer the substance through the conduit and into the subject's body in accordance with the infusion protocol.