System and Method for Problem List Reconciliation with Care Plan Generation in an Electronic Medical Record

Abstract

A method for generating orders for a care plan through a problem list in an electronic medical record or an electronic health record includes the steps of mapping, using a computer, entries in a problem list with a respective concept in an interface terminology, analyzing, by a computer, each mapped entry to determine related problem list entries, grouping related entries into one or more categories, and aggregating a plurality of care plans relevant to one of the categories. Care plans may include medications and labs, and each care plan entry also may be coded with an external terminology, such as RxNorm or LOINC.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for generating orders for a care plan through a problem list in an electronic medical record or an electronic health record, comprising:
 mapping, using a computer, entries in a problem list with a respective concept in an interface terminology;   analyzing, by a computer, each mapped entry to determine related problem list entries;   grouping related entries into one or more categories; and   aggregating a plurality of care plans relevant to one of the categories.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of care plans comprises one or more medications. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein each medication is encoded with an RxNorm code. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of care plans comprises one or more laboratory tests. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein each laboratory test is encoded with a Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes code. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 ranking each of the plurality of care plans; and   displaying a ranked list of the plurality of care plans.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the ranking is based on at least one of: severity, timeliness, and alphabetical order. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, prior to the aggregating step, each care plan is pre-mapped to a respective one or more problem list entries. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the pre-mapping step involves mapping each care plan to a respective concept in the interface terminology and cross-checking those mapped concepts with the interface terminology concepts to which the problem list entries are mapped. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the grouping step includes analyzing semantic distances between concepts mapped to the problem list entries. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein, based on the semantic distances, certain problem list entries are clustered as a subset within a parent entry. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein clustered entries are stored as a list of elements in a flat file database, with each element pointing to the parent entry. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein clustered entries are stored as a tree in a hierarchical database structure underneath a respective parent entry element. 
     
     
         14 . A method for generating orders for a care plan through a problem list in an electronic medical record or an electronic health record, comprising:
 mapping, using a computer, entries in a problem list with a respective concept in an interface terminology;   analyzing, by a computer, each mapped entry to determine related problem list entries;   grouping related problem list entries into one or more categories;   mapping, using a computer, a plurality of care plans to at least one respective concept in the interface terminology; and   linking care plans to problem list entries via matching interface terminology concepts.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 aggregating all care plans linked to problem list entries that are grouped into one of the categories.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 upon selection of a problem list entry, displaying all care plans aggregated for the category to which the problem list entry is grouped.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of care plans comprises one or more medications. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein each medication is encoded with an RxNorm code. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of care plans comprises one or more laboratory tests. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein each laboratory test is encoded with a Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes code.