MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD
A system, method and computer program for programming a medical device to administer a medication to a patient includes the medical device, a scanner that may be associated with a point of care (POC) system, and a medication management unit (MMU). A computer in the POC system can directly program the medical device with the permission of the MMU after a full “five rights” check or the “right patient” check can be delayed until after the pump program is downloaded. Other workflows are disclosed for programming the medical device in manual, semi-automatic and automatic modes, with safety checks incorporated at various points.
1 . A method for administering a medication to a patient with a medical device, comprising the steps of:
receiving at a first computer, in communication with a second computer, caregiver specific identification information from an identification receiver;
receiving at the first computer drug container specific identification information from the identification receiver, wherein the drug container specific identification information is located on a container containing the medication;
receiving at the first computer medical device specific identification information from the identification receiver;
receiving at the first computer patient specific identification information from the identification receiver;
receiving from the second computer in communication with the medical device, an availability state signal for the medical device;
retrieving medical device specific delivery information based on the drug container specific identification information; and,
if the availability state signal for the medical device indicates that the medical device is available, then transmitting the medical device specific delivery information to the medical device, and storing the medical device specific delivery information in a medical device memory for programming the medical device to deliver the medication to the patient.
2 . The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising the steps of:
comparing at least one of the received drug container specific identification information and the patient specific identification information to stored medication order information within a first memory associated with the first computer; and,
transmitting a first medication delivery initiation signal to the medical device if the received drug container specific identification information and/or the patient specific identification information matches the stored medication order information within the first memory;
wherein the last mentioned comparing and transmitting steps are only performed if the availability state signal for the medical device indicates that the medical device is available.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of, if the availability state signal for the medical device indicates that the medical device is available:
generating at the second computer first key information and second key information;
transmitting from the second computer the first key information to the first computer;
transmitting from the second computer the second key information to the medical device;
transmitting from the first computer the first key information to the medical device along with the medical device specific delivery information; and,
comparing at the medical device the first key information to the second key information.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein if a match exists between the first key information and the second key information, then displaying the medical device specific delivery information on a display of the medical device, for review by a caregiver to confirm that at least the medical device specific delivery information is correct for the patient, and then operating the medical device according to the medical device specific delivery information.
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first key information and the second key information is an encrypted security token.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the medical device comprises an IP address, and wherein the method further comprises the step of transmitting from second computer to the first computer the IP address of the medical device, if the availability state signal for the medical device indicates that the medical device is available.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the first memory associated with the first computer stores the IP address of the medical device within a MAR for the patient for tracking which medical device the medical device specific delivery information is transmitted.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of, if the availability state signal for the medical device indicates that the medical device is available:
generating at the second computer first key information and second key information, wherein the first key information comprises a time stamp;
transmitting from the second computer the first key information to the first computer;
transmitting from the second computer the second key information to the medical device; and,
comparing at the first computer the time stamp to a first actual time, wherein if the difference between the time stamp and the first actual time is less than a predetermined time criteria, then transmitting from the first computer the first key information to the medical device along with the medical device specific delivery information to the medical device.
9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising the steps of:
transmitting the time stamp to the medical device;
comparing at the medical device the time stamp to an actual time, wherein if the difference between the time stamp and a second actual time is less than the predetermined time criteria, then programming the medical device with the medical device specific delivery information.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of, if the availability state signal for the medical device indicates that the medical device is available:
generating at the second computer first key information and second key information, wherein the first key information comprises a first time stamp and the second key information comprises a second time stamp;
transmitting from the second computer the first key information to the first computer;
transmitting from the second computer the second key information to the medical device; and,
comparing at the medical device the first time stamp and the second time stamp to an actual time, wherein if the difference between the first time stamp and the actual time, and if the difference between the second time stamp and the actual time, are both less than a predetermined time criteria, then programming the medical device with the medical device specific delivery information.
11 . A method for administering a medication to a patient with a medical device, comprising the steps of:
receiving at a first computer, in communication with a second computer, caregiver specific identification information from an identification receiver;
receiving at the first computer drug container specific identification information from the identification receiver, wherein the drug container specific identification information is located on a container containing the medication;
receiving at the first computer medical device specific identification information from the identification receiver;
receiving at the first computer patient specific identification information from the identification receiver; and,
receiving from the second computer in communication with the medical device, an availability state signal for the medical device, wherein if the availability state signal for the medical device indicates that the medical device is available, then:
comparing at least one of the received drug container specific identification information and the patient specific identification information to stored medication order information stored within a first memory associated with the first computer;
if the received drug container specific identification information and/or the patient specific identification information matches the stored medication order information within the first memory associated with the first computer, retrieving at the first computer medical device specific delivery information based on the drug container specific identification information; and transmitting the medical device specific delivery information to the medical device for programming the medical device to deliver the medication to the patient.
12 . A system for administering a medication to a patient, comprising:
an identification receiver for receiving caregiver specific identification information, drug container specific identification information located on a container containing the medication, medical device specific identification information, and patient specific identification information;
a first memory for storing medication order information comprising medical device specific delivery information;
a first computer associated with the first memory, in communication with the identification receiver, for receiving the caregiver specific identification information, the drug container specific identification, and the medical device specific identification information; wherein the first computer is structured to retrieve the medical device specific delivery information based on the drug container specific identification information;
a medical device having a medical device memory, the medical device in communication with the first computer, for delivering the medication to the patient;
a second computer in communication with the first computer and the medical device, structured to transmit to the first computer an availability state signal for the medical device, wherein the first computer is structured to retrieve the medical device specific delivery information based on the drug container specific identification information, and structured to transmit the medical device specific delivery information to the medical device, if the availability state signal for the medical device indicates that the medical device is available, and wherein the medical device is structured to store the medical device specific delivery information in the medical device memory for programming the medical device to deliver the medication to the patient.
13 . A computer program product for operation within a medication management computer for assisting in administering a medication to a patient using a medical device, comprising:
a first code segment for determining an availability state of the medical device; and,
a second code segment for transmitting the availability state signal for the medical device to a point of care computer, wherein if the availability state signal for the medical device indicates that the medical device is available, then the point of care computer will transmit medical device specific delivery information to the medical device for programming the medical device to deliver the medication to the patient.