ITUB20159140A1 - METHOD FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF DRUGS - Google Patents

Description

METHOD FOR DRUG MANAGEMENT

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a method for managing drugs, in particular in a health facility, and to a trolley for carrying out this method. State of the art

In hospitals, drugs are usually stored in warehouses, for example in large cupboards. When nurses have to administer drugs to patients undergoing drug therapy, they take the drugs from the warehouse and place them in a trolley. For example, if a certain number of therapies are to be administered to the respective patients in a day, the nurse picks up the drugs needed for all patients and places them in the cart. At the time of administration to a specific patient, the nurse selects the drugs for that patient from among the drugs placed in the cart and performs the administration. It is clear that this management system can lead to inevitable human errors, especially if a large amount of drugs is placed in the cart and / or if therapies have to be administered to a large number of patients. For example, it may occur that the nurse inadvertently exchanges a drug to be administered to a patient with a drug intended for another patient.

A further disadvantage of drug management systems currently used in hospitals is the inadequate or too onerous control of drug inventory. In fact, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to obtain precise information in a short time on which and how many drugs are available in storage and on how many and which drugs have been administered to a specific patient undergoing therapy.

The need is therefore felt to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of the state of the art.

Summary of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for the management of drugs, in particular in a hospital or a nursing home, which allows to guarantee the administration of drugs associated with a specific therapy of a patient, preventing the risk of accidental exchange with different medications.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method which allows to quickly have, for example in real time, precise information on which and how many drugs are withdrawn from a warehouse, also allowing information on the availability of stocks in deposit to be obtained.

The present invention achieves these and other objects which will be apparent in the light of the present description, by providing a method for the management of drugs, in particular in a hospital or nursing home, in which, according to claim 1, a series of first identification codes, each first identification code being suitable for identifying a respective patient, and a code reader suitable for reading the first identification codes,

in which there is a trolley equipped with:

- a plurality of drawers;

- a plurality of locks adapted to be electrically locked and unlocked;

- a plurality of sensors;

- a computer with user interface (MMI) equipped with resident software; - a management software adapted to interact with said resident software;

- an electronic communication card;

in which each drawer is equipped with

a lock of said plurality of locks,

a sensor of said plurality of sensors, able to detect the opening and / or closing of the relative drawer;

wherein the electronic communication card is adapted to electronically connect the computer with said plurality of locks and with said plurality of sensors,

the method includes the following steps:

a) univocal assignment of a first drawer of said plurality of drawers exclusively to a first therapy associated with a first patient by means of the management software;

b) if the sensors detect that all the drawers are closed, the resident software unlocks the lock of the first drawer;

c) opening of the first drawer and insertion in said first drawer of drugs associated with said first therapy for the first patient;

d) closing of the first drawer and locking of the lock of the first drawer using the resident software.

According to one aspect, according to claim 9, the invention also provides a trolley to perform this method, equipped with:

- a code reader;

- a plurality of drawers;

- a plurality of locks adapted to be electrically locked and unlocked;

- a plurality of sensors;

- a computer with a user interface equipped with resident software;

- an electronic communication card;

in which each drawer is equipped with

a lock of said plurality of locks,

a sensor of said plurality of sensors, able to detect the opening and / or closing of the relative drawer;

wherein the electronic communication card is able to electronically connect the computer with said plurality of locks and with said plurality of sensors.

Advantageously, by providing that each drawer is assigned exclusively to a therapy for the respective patient, that it is possible to open only one specific drawer at a time, and by controlling the lock / unlock of the drawers through the resident software, an optimized management of drugs is provided. in a hospital facility. In particular, the risk of accidental drug exchange is avoided. In addition, the method of the invention allows you to keep inventory of specific warehouses under control in real time and allows you to check which and how many drugs have been taken, helping to ensure that the right drugs are administered to the patient.

The dependent claims describe preferred embodiments of the invention.

Brief description of the figures

Further features and advantages of the invention will become more evident in the light of the detailed description of preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the method for managing drugs. An example of a cart with which this method can be performed is also described. The description is provided by way of non-limiting example, referring to the attached drawing tables, also provided by way of non-limiting example, in which: Fig. 1 illustrates a trolley that can be used to perform the method of the invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates an operating diagram of the invention;

Fig. 3 illustrates a drawer management diagram according to the invention;

Fig. 4 illustrates a diagram of a deactivation procedure according to the invention;

Fig. 5 illustrates a diagram of an activation procedure according to the invention.

The same reference numbers in the figures identify the same elements or components.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention With reference to the Figures, a trolley 1 suitable for carrying out the method of the invention is shown. The trolley and the method of the invention are particularly suitable for being used in association with the identification codes provided to patients. For example, bracelets with barcode or RFID tag, of a known type, which each patient is possibly provided with.

The trolley 1 is provided with a plurality of drawers 2. Each drawer 2 is equipped with a respective lock adapted to be electrically locked and unlocked. Preferably, the lock is an electromagnetic or electromechanical lock. Furthermore, each drawer is equipped with a respective sensor adapted to detect whether the drawer is open or closed, that is to say if the drawer is respectively in the extracted or not extracted position.

Cart 1 also includes a computer with a user interface, or MMI (Acronym for Man-Machine Interface), for example a tablet or a computer with a touch-screen and wi-fi network connectivity. The MMI has software, or application, installed, also called resident software.

An electronic communication card is also provided to electronically connect the MMI with the locks and sensors, so that the MMI can manage the individual drawers, the battery and any acoustic and / or visual alarm devices. Preferably, the MMI is connected to the electronic communication card by means of a USB connection or by means of a wireless connection, for example Bluetooth or Zigbee. Preferably, the electronic communication card is of the USB-2-GPIO type with an electronic interface towards the sensors (for opening / closing the drawers) and the actuators (ie the locks). The parts that need to be powered electrically, for example the MMI, the locks and the sensors, are preferably powered by a rechargeable battery with which the trolley 1 is provided.

The MMI interacts with management software that can be installed on the MMI itself, or it can be installed on a remote computer. This management software can, by way of example only, be a Hospital Information System (HIS) or it can be a module integrated in an HIS.

One of the functions of the management software is to request the unlocking of the locks on the basis of the information received from the sensors through the resident software, specifically for each of the drawers of the trolley 1. Furthermore, the therapies are entered through the management software, and the related list of drugs associated with respective patients. If the software is installed on a remote computer, the MMI is able to interface with the remote computer, for example via the wi-fi network and via the resident software. In particular, the list of all therapies and related details can be viewed on the MMI display. The resident software is able to send the electronic output signal for locking and unlocking the locks on the basis of the commands received from the management software. Preferably, a bar code reader is provided, integrated in the trolley, or portable and connected to the trolley, which interacts with the MMI. The barcode reader is able to scan the code of the patient identification bracelet. In addition, the barcode reader (possibly two-dimensional) is also used to read the barcodes of the drugs. Thanks to the barcode reader it is possible to identify a patient, and to record when a drug is withdrawn from the warehouse, in order to have a verification tool with which to make sure that you have taken the right drug and to keep inventory under control. The barcode reader can also be used to detect the barcode that identifies the depot from which drugs are taken, when required.

Preferably, the trolley is equipped with an RFID reader, for example portable RFID HF. The RFID reader can be supplied combined with the barcode reader, and can be integrated or not in the cart. As with the barcode reader, the RFID reader can be used to identify a patient equipped with an RFID tag bracelet and, when required, to record the use of any RFID-equipped drugs or medical devices and to identify their deposit. .

In particular, the barcode and / or RFID reader can possibly also be used when a drug is removed from drawer 2, before its administration to the patient to verify that the right drug has been withdrawn from drawer 2.

Preferably, the trolley is also provided with an acoustic and / or luminous alarm device or this alarm device can be simulated by the MMI. In addition, it is preferable that the cart is equipped with a barcode label printer. This device is especially useful in cases where infusion preparations and therapies have to be set up. Since these are essentially new preparations, these preparations must be provided with new barcodes, making it essential to be able to uniquely identify them by means of a label provided by the label printer.

According to an embodiment, the method of the invention, which can for example be carried out with a trolley 1 as described above, is particularly suitable for a user, for example a nurse, who has to take drugs from a cabinet, place them in the trolley 1 and then administer the drugs directly to the patient's bed. The description of the method is carried out with particular reference to a therapy for one patient, it being understood that the method can be performed for more than one therapy, and for more than one patient.

By way of example only, let us consider a condition in which the trolley 1 is partially filled, in the sense that part of the drawers 2 are full and part of the drawers are empty.

According to this embodiment, the nurse enters a code in the MMI. The insertion can be manual, or it can be done by reading with a barcode or RFID reader. The code entered can alternatively be from the rarmad / storage of drugs or from the patient's identification bracelet. When the code entered is of the cabinet / deposit, a preparation procedure is started (method steps a) to d)). When the code entered belongs to the patient, an administration procedure is started (method steps e) to i)).

In particular, the nurse who has to withdraw drugs from the deposit, for example from a cabinet, can view the list of therapies to be prepared on the MMI and, once a patient's therapy has been identified, can view the list of associated drugs to such therapy to be taken from the closet. The list of drugs may include one or more drugs. In other words, the drugs associated with a patient's therapy can be one or more than one.

When the nurse enters the cabinet identification code in the MMI, the preparation procedure is started. This procedure requires the nurse to register, using the barcode reader or RFID reader, each drug that is taken from the cabinet. In this way it can be verified, for example through the management software, that the right drugs have been taken. Advantageously, the nurse takes only the doses necessary to administer the therapy to the patient. In this way, it is also possible to keep track of the drugs taken from a specific cabinet and check the warehouse stocks.

After the previous step, the management software identifies an empty drawer 2 and assigns it univocally and exclusively to the therapy of a certain patient (Phase a). The management software commands the resident software to unlock the lock of the drawer 2 identified (Phase b). The method assumes that no more than one drawer can be opened at a time.

If the sensors detect that another drawer is already open, the detected drawer cannot be opened and, preferably, a message appears on the display of the MMI of carriage 1 notifying that another drawer is already open.

If, on the other hand, the sensors detect that all the drawers are closed, the resident software proceeds to the lock outlet of the identified drawer. Preferably, if the drawer 2 is not opened, ie it is not extracted, within a preset maximum unlocking time, for example 30 seconds, the resident software commands the lock of the identified drawer 2. If, on the other hand, the identified drawer 2 is opened before the maximum unlocking time has elapsed, the nurse can insert the drugs associated with the therapy for the patient in this drawer 2 (Phase c). Preferably, if drawer 2 remains open for a time exceeding a preset maximum opening time, for example 120 seconds, the resident software commands the activation of the alarm device, for example acoustic and / or luminous. Once the drugs associated with the therapy have been inserted into the drawer, in Phase d) the nurse closes drawer 2 and the resident software automatically controls the lock of the drawer.

If necessary, the operation can be repeated several times until the preparation phase of the therapy is completed.

If necessary, the operation can be repeated for one or more other therapies and for one or more other patients.

After having transported the trolley 1 near the patients, when the nurse enters the identification code of a first patient, for example by reading the identification code from a bracelet via a reader, the patient is identified (Phase e), and the procedure is started of administration. The management software checks if there is a drawer associated with the first patient's therapy. If there is already a drawer 2 associated with the patient, i.e. where drugs for the therapy of the first patient have been inserted, the management software identifies this drawer 2 (Phase f) and commands its release. If the sensors detect that all the drawers are closed, the resident software proceeds with the unlocking of the lock of the identified drawer 2 (Phase g). Preferably, if the drawer is not opened, ie it is not extracted, within the preset maximum unlocking time, the resident software commands the lock of the identified drawer 2 lock. As long as the maximum unlocking time is not exceeded, the lock remains unlocked and, in Phase h), the identified drawer 2 can be opened by the nurse who extracts the drugs associated with the therapy for the patient from this drawer 2. Preferably, if drawer 2 remains open for a time exceeding a preset maximum opening time, the resident software commands the activation of the alarm device, for example acoustic and / or luminous. Once all or part of the drugs have been taken from drawer 2 for administration, the nurse closes drawer 2 and the resident software automatically locks the lock of drawer 2 (Phase i). Eventually, when the nurse withdraws the drugs from the drawer, he identifies them using the code reader, or confirms the quantity and route of administration.

If the nurse withdraws and administers all the medications in a drawer, it sends a notification to the management software. The management software keeps track of all the drugs identified and, therefore, arranged in each drawer and then also of those administered and, therefore, withdrawn from the drawer. Therefore, if for a given drawer all the drugs identified and arranged are withdrawn and administered, the management software considers the drawer completely emptied and therefore can be reassigned to another therapy.

If a patient is identified, for example by reading the code of his bracelet with the reader, without first identifying the cabinet, and the management software verifies that no drawer is assigned to the patient, the nurse takes the drugs and arranges them on a trolley shelf or in one of the unlocked drawers described below. The latter is a procedure used mainly in emergency situations, and is particularly useful when it is necessary to promptly withdraw one or more drugs to administer them directly to the patient.

Preferably, the resident software can manage the drawers so that some drawers always have the lock unlocked. In particular, the resident software can manage the drawer configuration by drawer, allowing the user to choose which drawers are configured so as to always have the lock unlocked, and which drawers can have the lock locked and be controlled by the management software and assigned by this to patient therapies. The drawers configured to always have the lock unlocked can, if necessary, be converted so that they can be controlled by the management software, and vice versa. In this way it is possible to provide greater flexibility of use to the trolley.

Preferably, the method also provides a specific procedure for deactivating the check of the drawers carried out by the management software. This deactivation procedure, illustrated by way of example in Figure 4, is particularly useful for example when the resident software detects that the battery charge level is below a certain predefined charge value. In this case, the deactivation procedure starts automatically. Alternatively, a user can voluntarily activate this deactivation procedure. In any case, a notification of loss of control of the drawers is sent to the management software. The resident software sends a notification to the user who, for example, displays it on the MMI. At this point the resident software commands the unlocking of the locks of all the drawers. The MMI informs the user that the trolley has been deactivated, that is, the management software loses control of the drawers, until it is reactivated with the appropriate procedure.

Preferably, a specific procedure is also provided for reactivating the drawer control carried out by the management software. This procedure is used to guide the user to completely empty the drawers before the management software takes back control. Thanks to this procedure, it is avoided that if a drug remains in a drawer, it is administered by mistake to the patient who has been assigned the drawer for another therapy, without the management software being able to notice. As shown in Figure 5, the user commands the reactivation of the trolley, in the sense that the management software resumes control of the drawers. The resident software checks the battery charge percentage. If the battery charge level is below the default charge value, a message is shown on the MMI display indicating that the battery is low and the truck will not wake up. If the battery charge level is equal to or above the default charge value, a password is required. If the entered password is incorrect, you will be asked again. When the password entered is correct, you are notified that all drawers must be emptied. For each drawer, the resident software guides the user through the MMI to follow the correct procedure, described below. The user opens and empties the drawer. Then the user closes the drawer. The resident software commands the lock of the drawer once closed. At the end, a message is displayed on the MMI asking the user if he has emptied all the drawers. If the user answers in the affirmative, the user is notified of the resumption of activity, and the management software is notified.

It should be noted that a method in which a cabinet provided with an identification code is not provided does not go beyond the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS 1. Method for the management of drugs, in particular in a hospital or nursing home, in which a series of first identification codes are provided, each first identification code being able to identify a respective patient, and a code reader able to read the first identification codes, in which there is a trolley (1) equipped with: - a plurality of drawers (2); - a plurality of locks adapted to be electrically locked and unlocked; - a plurality of sensors; - a computer with user interface (MMI) equipped with resident software; - a management software adapted to interact with said resident software; - an electronic communication card; in which each drawer (2) is provided with a lock of said plurality of locks, a sensor of said plurality of sensors, able to detect the opening and / or closing of the relative drawer; wherein the electronic communication card is able to electronically connect the computer with said plurality of locks and with said plurality of sensors, where the method includes the following steps: a) univocal assignment of a first drawer (2) of said plurality of drawers exclusively to a first therapy associated with a first patient by means of the management software; b) if the sensors detect that all the drawers are closed, the resident software unlocks the lock of the first drawer (2); c) opening of the first drawer (2) and insertion in said first drawer (2) of drugs associated with said first therapy for the first patient; d) closing of the first drawer (2) and locking of the lock of the first drawer (2) by means of the resident software. Method according to claim 1, wherein when it is desired to administer said drugs to the first patient, after step d) the following steps are envisaged: e) identification of the first patient by reading the relative first identification code by means of the code reader; f) identification of the first drawer (2) using the management software; g) if the sensors detect that all the drawers are closed, the resident software unlocks the lock of the first drawer (2); h) opening of the first drawer (2) and extraction of said drugs associated with the first therapy; i) closing of the first drawer and locking of the lock of the first drawer using the resident software. Method according to claim 2, in which before step a) the drugs are stored in a deposit provided with a second identification code and said second identification code is entered into the computer with user interface, directly through the user interface or by reading the second identification code by means of said code reader. 4. Method according to claim 3, wherein each drug is provided with a respective third identification code, and in which, before the insertion of step c), a reading of each third identification code is provided by means of the code reader. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a maximum lock release time is preset, so when the lock of the first drawer (2) is unlocked in phase b) or g), if the maximum unlocking time is exceeded, the resident software blocks the lock of the first drawer (2). Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the truck is provided with an alarm device, and in which a maximum drawer opening time is preset, so when the first drawer (2) is opened in phase c) or h), if the maximum opening time is exceeded, the resident software commands an activation of the alarm device. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the computer is adapted to display lists of drugs, each drug list being associated with a therapy for the respective patient, so that it is possible to select the list by means of the computer user interface of drugs of a patient to be associated with a respective drawer. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said management software is installed on the computer with the user interface of the trolley (1) or on a remote computer, preferably provided with a Hospital Information System (HIS), said remote computer being adapted to be connected with a wireless connection to the cart UI computer (1). 9. Trolley (1) for carrying out the method according to any one of the preceding claims, provided with: - a code reader; - a plurality of drawers (2); - a plurality of locks adapted to be electrically locked and unlocked; - a plurality of sensors; - a computer with a user interface equipped with resident software; - an electronic communication card; in which each drawer (2) is provided with a lock of said plurality of locks, a sensor of said plurality of sensors, able to detect the opening and / or closing of the relative drawer; wherein the electronic communication card is adapted to electronically connect the computer with said plurality of locks and with said plurality of sensors. Carriage (1) according to claim 9, wherein said code reader is a barcode reader and / or an RFID reader.