A computer program written by Brian Sweigard, Class of '03, when he was an undergraduate at University Park is receiving national attention for improving the care of patients with life-threatening conditions.
The Web-based software, known as webINR, helps physicians better track the blood levels of patients who are taking Coumadin, a blood thinner prescribed to prevent and reduce blood clots. Abington Memorial Hospital outside Philadelphia uses the system as do about a dozen other hospitals across the country.
On Tuesday, July 27, webINR received the 2004 Most Wired Innovator award from an American Hospital Association publication. Earlier in the year, WebINR was selected for a patient safety award from the national organization that accredits hospitals.
"The program creates a virtual Coumadin clinic," said Sweigard, who collaborated on the software with his father, Keith Sweigard, a physican and medical director of the Abington Physician Network.
The software offers physicians and patients two improvements. Not only does the Web-based application do away with hand-written charts, but it also advises physicians on dosage levels to keep patients' blood levels in the correct range. If patients' blood is too thin, then there is the risk of fatal hemorrhaging. If the Coumadin levels are too low, patients may suffer strokes.
Studies conducted at Abington Memorial Hospital show more patients in the optimum blood-level range with WebINR than with former tracking methods, Brian Sweigard said.
"The system allows physicians to enter patients' blood conditions and based on that number, it gives advice on how to change the dosage," Sweigard said. "It provides decision support."
Sweigard worked on the system for about a year, talking with his father to learn the necessary medical science after classes and after working for a local online higher ed job service. For the programming side, he taught himself ColdFusion.
"It was extracurricular, but going through all the programming practices of IST helped," he said.
With his graduation from IST, Sweigard gave up healthcare programming and today works as a systems analyst with Deloitte Consulting office in Pittsburgh. His current project involves computerizing Pennsylvania's Medicaid system.
