MET3-AE system to support management of pediatric asthma exacerbation in the emergency department

A decision making process behind the management of pediatric patients with asthma exacerbations in the Emergency Department includes three stages: data collection, diagnosis formulation and treatment planning. These stages are associated with activities involving different types of clinical knowledge: factual, conceptual and procedural. Effective decision support should span over the entire decision making process and facilitate the use of diversified clinical knowledge. In this paper we present MET3-AE - a point of care decision support system that satisfies this requirement. The system helps emergency physician collect data, evaluate exacerbation severity, plan corresponding treatment and retrieve clinical evidence associated with a given treatment plan. It was developed using ontology-driven and multi-agent methodologies and implemented with open source software. The system is accessible on tablet and desktop computers and smartphones, and it interacts with other hospital information systems. It was successfully verified in a simulated clinical setting and now it is undergoing testing in a teaching hospital.