OVERSEER: a prototype expert system for monitoring drug treatment in the psychiatric clinic

A description is presented of the development of OVERSEER, a prototype knowledge-based system that monitors the drug treatment of psychiatric patients in real time. Using treatment protocols developed by the expert clinician, OVERSEER, monitors the drug treatment process and issues alerts when standard clinical practices are not followed or when laboratory results are abnormal. Written in Prolog, OVERSEER is designed to interface directly with the hospital´s database and thereby utilizes all available pharmacy and laboratory data. Unlike the interactive expert systems developed for the psychiatric clinic, OVERSEER does not require extensive data entry by the clinician. The chief benefit of OVERSEER´s monitoring approach is the unobtrusive manner in which it evaluates psychopharmacological treatment and provides information regarding patient management to the hospital.