Medical pump with operator-authorization awareness

A programmable medical pump comprising:

• a housing;
• a pump supported by the housing to receive an IV line;
• at least one sensor supported by the housing to monitor a flow of medicament through the IV line when received within the pump;
• and
• an electronic computer communicating with the pump and at least one sensor and executing a stored program fixed in non-transitory media of a computer memory and communicating with the pump and at least one sensor to:
• (a) receive from a first individual data identifying the first individual;
• (b) apply the data identifying first individual to a data structure linking individuals to authorization levels to determine a first authorization level for the first individual, where each authorization level provides a subset of permitted operations of the programmable medical pump;
• (c) accept from the first individual commands related to operation of the programmable pump only if those commands are within the subset of permitted operations of the programmable pump of the first authorization level for the first individual;
• and
• (d) record the data identifying the individual and at least one of a time of accepting commands from the first individual and the commands accepted from the first individual.

A method of operating a programmable medical pump having:

• a housing;
• a pump supported by the housing to receive an IV line;
• at least one sensor supported by the housing to monitor a flow of medicament through the IV line when received within the pump;
• and
• an electronic computer communicating with the pump and at least one sensor and executing a stored program fixed in non-transitory media of a computer memory and communicating with the pump and at least one sensor to:
• (a) receive from a first individual data identifying the first individual;
• (b) apply the data identifying first individual to a data structure linking individuals to authorization levels to determine a first authorization level for the first individual, where each authorization level provides a subset of permitted operations of the programmable medical pump;
• (c) accept from the first individual commands related to operation of the programmable pump only if those commands are within the subset of permitted operations of the programmable pump of the first authorization level for the first individual;
• (d) record the data identifying the individual and at least one of a time of accepting commands from the first individual and the commands accepted from the first individual;
• the method comprising the steps of:
• (a) receiving from a first individual data identifying the first individual;
• (b) applying the data identifying the first individual to a data structure linking individuals to authorization levels, each authorization level providing a subset of permitted operations of the programmable medical pump to determine a first authorization level for the first individual;
• (c) accepting from the first individual commands related to operation of the programmable pump only if those commands are within the subset of permitted operations of the programmable pump of the first authorization level for the first individual;
• (d) recording the identity of the individual and at least one of a time of accepting commands from the first individual and the commands accepted from the first individual.

A programmable medical pump comprising:

• a housing;
• a pump supported by the housing to receive an IV line;
• at least one sensor supported by the housing to monitor a flow of material through the IV line when received within the pump;
• and
• an electronic computer supported by the housing and executing a stored program fixed in non-transitory media of a computer memory and communicating with the pump and at least one sensor to:
• (a) receive from a first individual data identifying the first individual;
• (b) apply the data identifying the first individual to a data structure held in a remote device linking individuals to authorization levels when that remote device can be accessed contemporaneously with the receipt of the first individual data, each authorization level providing a subset of permitted operations of the programmable medical pump to determine a first authorization level for the first individual;
• (c) apply the data identifying the first individual to a data structure held in the computer memory linking individuals to authorization levels when the remote device cannot be accessed contemporaneously with the receipt of the first individual data, each authorization level providing a subset of permitted operations of the programmable medical pump to determine a first authorization level for the first individual;
• (d) accept from the first individual commands related to operation of the programmable pump only if those commands are within the subset of permitted operations of the programmable pump of the first authorization level for the first individual;
• and
• (e) synchronize the data structure held in the computer with the data structure held in the remote device at a time after receipt of the first individual data and the acceptance from the first individual of commands when the remote device cannot be accessed contemporaneously with the receipt of the first individual data.