Inventors:
Ralph Leonard - New Haven CT, US
Robert Robinson - Springfield IL, US
International Classification:
A61B005/00, G06F017/60
Abstract:
The process by which a clinician selects what s/he thinks is the best medication for a patient with a given disease is at best an estimation of the myriad of risks and benefits each may have, and at worst a subjective guess. Because of burgeoning classes of medications and their members, the associated risks and benefits of each class and medication, and the addition of external medical guidelines, this task is becoming very difficult and at times dangerous. We describe a process that allows one to approach this problem in a systematic, quantitatively objective manner and include any number of facts and decision rules without relying solely on complex algorithms. The process easily accommodates fact revisions without redesigning algorithms, thus updates quickly. Although intuitive, the process would be very tedious to do manually but lends itself well to automated computations and medical software.