Method and system for supporting clinical decision-making

Abstract

A method and system are provided for facilitating decision making, such as in a clinical setting. In accordance with this technique, a set of encoded guidelines are executed to identify information that may be used to generate patient management options. The information is acquired, if available. Based on the encoded guidelines and the acquired information, a set of patient management options are generated and provided to one or more reviewers for review and selection of a patient management option.

1 . A method for reviewing a decision making process, comprising:
 generating one or more patient management recommendations based on an analysis of available patient-specific information using encoded guidelines;   selecting a patient management option after reviewing the one or more patient management recommendations, wherein the act of selecting is performed by one or more reviewers;   providing commentary related to the selection of the patient management option, the commentary comprising an indication of unavailable information and an indication of a potential impact of the unavailable information on the selection of the patient management option;   electronically storing at least the one or more patient management recommendations, the selected patient management option, and the commentary; and   reviewing the selection of the patient management option based upon at least the stored patient management recommendations, the stored selected patient management option, and the stored commentary.   
     
     
         2 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the encoded guidelines comprise at least one of a set of encoded clinical guidelines or a set of encoded local preferences. 
     
     
         3 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the one or more reviewers comprise a multi-disciplinary panel of reviewers or other care-giving team. 
     
     
         4 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the commentary comprises an explanation for the selection provided by at least one of the reviewers. 
     
     
         5 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the commentary comprises a dissenting opinion to the selection provided by at least one of the reviewers. 
     
     
         6 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the commentary comprises a rationale for the selection based upon at least one of the available information or unavailable information. 
     
     
         7 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein storing at least the patient management recommendations, the selected patient management option, and the commentary further comprises storing at least one of the available information or an indication of the unavailable information. 
     
     
         8 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the act of reviewing is performed by a caregiver in a different clinical setting who reviews at least one of a transition of a patient condition, a recommended course of treatment, and/or a clinical decision history, wherein the different clinical setting comprises a different shift, an emergency room, a subsequent or alternate decision-making board, or other clinical setting where review of a comprehensive decision history is desirable. 
     
     
         9 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the available information having influence on the one or more patient management recommendations is visually emphasized. 
     
     
         10 . A computer readable storage medium including a computer program, the computer program, when executed by a processor, to implement a method comprising:
 generating one or more patient management recommendations based on an analysis of available patient-specific information using encoded guidelines;   selecting a patient management option after reviewing the one or more patient management recommendations, wherein the act of selecting is performed by one or more reviewers;   providing commentary related to the selection of the patient management option, the commentary comprising an indication of unavailable information and an indication of a potential impact of the unavailable information on the selection of the patient management option;   electronically storing at least the one or more patient management recommendations, the selected patient management option, and the commentary; and   reviewing the selection of the patient management option based upon at least the stored patient management recommendations, the stored selected patient management option, and the stored commentary.   
     
     
         11 . The computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 10 , wherein the encoded guidelines comprise at least one of a set of encoded clinical guidelines or a set of encoded local preferences. 
     
     
         12 . The computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 10 , wherein the one or more reviewers comprise a multi-disciplinary panel of reviewers or other care-giving team. 
     
     
         13 . The computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 10 , wherein the commentary comprises an explanation for the selection provided by at least one of the reviewers. 
     
     
         14 . The computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 10 , wherein the commentary comprises a dissenting opinion to the selection provided by at least one of the reviewers. 
     
     
         15 . The computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 10 , wherein the commentary comprises a rationale for the selection based upon at least one of the available information or unavailable information. 
     
     
         16 . The computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 10 , wherein storing at least the patient management recommendations, the selected patient management option, and the commentary further comprises storing at least one of the available information or an indication of the unavailable information. 
     
     
         17 . The computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 10 , wherein the act of reviewing is performed by a caregiver in a different clinical setting who reviews at least one of a transition of a patient condition, a recommended course of treatment, and/or a clinical decision history, wherein the different clinical setting comprises a different shift, an emergency room, a subsequent or alternate decision-making board, or other clinical setting where review of a comprehensive decision history is desirable. 
     
     
         18 . The computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 10 , wherein the available information having influence on the one or more patient management recommendations is visually emphasized. 
     
     
         19 . A system comprising:
 one or more memory or storage components configured to store routines, wherein the routines are configured to generate one or more patient management recommendations using a set of encoded guidelines and available patient-specific information, to provide at least the one or more patient management recommendations to one or more reviewers, to receive a selection of a patient management option from the one or more reviewers, to receive commentary related to the selection from at least one of the reviewers, the commentary comprising an indication of unavailable information and an indication of a potential impact of the unavailable information on the selection of the patient management option. to store at least the one or more patient management recommendations, the selection, and the commentary, and to audit the selection of the patient management option based upon at least the stored patient management recommendations, the stored selection, and the stored commentary;   one or more communication interfaces configured to allow communication between the processor-based system and other devices connected directly to the processor-based system or connected via one or more networks; and   one or more processors configured to execute the routines stored on the one or more memory components and to communicate with the other devices for acquiring the available information, for providing the one or more patient management recommendations to the two or more reviewers, and for receiving the selection and the commentary.   
     
     
         20 . The system as recited in  claim 19 , wherein the other devices comprise at least one of an imaging system, a monitoring system, a picture archiving and communication system, an electronic medical records system, a server, or a workstation.