E/Point Clinical Knowledge Base
A Solid Foundation of Clinical Expertise
The foundation of LYNX Medical Systems' clinical software products is a problem-oriented clinical knowledge database. LYNX began developing this database in 1994, work with a group of academic physicians to define the initial problem list and establish a beta version of the clinical content database. Since that time, LYNX has continually expanded and refined its database to reflect changing clinical and coding standards, ongoing LYNX coding and reimbursement experience, and user feedback.
Database Description
Today, LYNX's problem-oriented clinical database reflects the unique perspectives of the many clinical groups and client users at all points in the healthcare delivery process. We believe the significant interest shown in the LYNX database by teaching institutions, payers and clinical and financial government agencies confirm the value of this comprehensive tool.
The LYNX database contains clinical information and coding information. The clinical information includes patient- and problem-specific prompts for physicians and nurses treating patients. For example, the clinical information in the database for chest pain in a 40- to 55-year-old male is different from the clinical information for chest pain in a 17- to 40-year old male. The coding information includes an assessment of the relative value of services provided based on the primary presenting problem and the associated clinical work and resources treatment minimally requires.
Database Application
LYNX's clinical knowledge database is an invaluable source of information for use in standardizing clinical care, for documenting and coding, and as a point of comparison for benchmarking. For each unique combination of presenting problem, age and gender, the database includes:
- Information commonly accumulated in the process of evaluating and managing the selected presenting problem (covering history, examination and medical decision-making)
- Procedures commonly performed in association with the selected presenting problem
- Diagnoses commonly associated with the selected presenting problem
- The typical E/M visit level associated with the presenting problem, as determined by a panel of clinical and coding experts and validated by LYNX coding and auditing experience
LYNX has developed a software application called Guideline Builder to assist in the development and maintenance of the clinical knowledge database, including the problem list, clinical documentation content, and coding elements.
Clinical Knowledge Database in Use
Several LYNX software products rely on the Clinical Knowledge Database.