Approach to computer-based medication planning and coordination support in intensive care units

Abstract

Due to more and more complex diagnosis and therapy measures, the critical care of patients requires an extensive work organisation which comprises patient, doctors, nurses and external services (e.g., central laboratory). In this organisation, the documentation plays a major role for the planning and coordination of work procedures and information flow within the medical staff. Various studies in intensive care units (ICU) reveal that the complex work organisation and the related information flow are faulty. Breakdowns are often caused by a lack of coordination between doctors and nurses and by poor transparency of work procedures. A typical example is the incorrect application of a doctor's medication orders by a nurse because she might have overseen a plan modification. This intransparency increases the strain on the medical staff and might result in critical effects on the patient. One approach to design a computer support for medication planning as well as the coordination when executing medication plans is given by work flow models. This paper shows that work flow models could be used to improve deficiencies in medication planning and coordination. Furthermore, it is demonstrated how such a support can be mediated to the user through an appropriately designed user interface.