NURSExpert: an integrated expert system environment for the bedside nurse

NURSExpert, a comprehensive expert system which integrates several specialized knowledge-based systems into a single tool for organizing patient care, is described. NURSExpert is composed of several highly specialized components that work together in the patient care activity. N-CAREPLAN BUILDER assists in the development of patient care plans. N-INSTRUCT is a computer-based learning system that extends nurse education to the bedside. N-INTERACTION assesses the possibility of interactions between various aspects of a patient´s course of treatment (i.e. drug-drug, drug-IV, drug-lab, and drug-food). N-ACUITY assists in determining unit staffing requirements based on required patient care needs. NURSExpert is designed to be integrated into the computing environment of the typical hospital information system. In such a design, critical patient data including admissions, discharges, transfers, laboratory test results, and pharmacy orders can be made available to NURSExpert for use in its decision-making process