Intelligent prompting of protocols
A method of generating a user interface for use in documenting a patient encounter comprises: automatically identifying, with a computing device, at least one documentation protocol based on at least one element of the patient's medical record; and generating a user interface including at least one of the identified documentation protocols, the at least one identified documentation protocol identifying at least one medical finding. A system comprises a data store encoded on a memory device, the data store comprising documentation protocols. The system further comprises an input apparatus. A computing device is in data communication with the data store and the input apparatus. The computing device is programmed to receive findings input through the input apparatus, identify a documentation protocol based on the finding input through the input apparatus, and generate a user interface. The user interface comprising the identified documentation protocol.
1. A method of generating a user interface for use in documenting a patient encounter, the method comprising:
identifying at least one medical finding;
automatically identifying, with a computing device, two or more documentation protocols based on the at least one medical finding;
merging the identified document protocols; and
automatically generating a user interface including the merged documentation protocols, the merged documentation protocols corresponding to the identified at least one medical finding, and at least one of the identified document protocols having a score equal to or greater than a determined value.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein each score assigned to a documentation protocol identified in the act of identifying documentation protocols is based the number of medical findings identified by the medical finding data entered through the user interface that are linked to the documentation protocol in the database.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:
displaying on the user interface the documentation protocol having the highest score.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the user interface displays the medical findings for each identified documentation protocol, the method further comprising:
upon identifying two or more documentation protocols, merging the identified documentation protocols;
filtering duplicate medical findings from the merged documentation protocols; and
displaying the documentation protocol, the displayed documentation protocol comprising only one entry for a medical finding linked to two or more of the merged documentation protocols.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the predetermined score is the highest score assigned to the identified documentation protocols.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the processor is programmed to:
upon identifying two or more documentation protocols, merge the identified documentation protocols;
filter duplicate medical findings from the merged documentation protocols; and
display the documentation protocol in the user interface, the displayed documentation protocol comprising only one entry for a medical finding linked to two or more of the merged documentation protocols.
7. An apparatus for generating a user interface for use in documenting a patient encounter, the apparatus comprising:
a processor in data communication with a memory and a display; and
the processor programmed to identify at least one medical finding, automatically identify two or more documentation protocols based on the at least one medical finding, merging the identified document protocols, and automatically generate a user interface including the merged documentation protocols, the documentation protocols corresponding to the identified at least one medical finding, at least one of the identified documentation protocols having a score equal to or greater than a determined value.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the memory is located remotely from the processor.
9. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a display in data communication with the processor, and wherein the display displays the user interface.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the processor and display form a single computing device.
11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the processor is programmed to display the protocol having the highest score in the user interface.
12. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the predetermined score is the highest score assigned to the identified documentation protocols.