Location-based healthcare collaboration, data management and access control

• US 10,606,451 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2017
• Issued: 03/31/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Imprivata Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Imprivata Incorporated
• Inventors: Saulnier, Michael S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhang, Xiang
• Application Number:
  US15/838,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20180113582A1
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/04 using triggered events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

The locations of electronic devices in an institutional facility are determined based on interaction with the wireless mobile devices of users who roam though the facility and interact with (or are detected by) the devices.

Claims

1. A server for managing locations of movable electronic devices, the server comprising:

a processor;

a network interface for communicating with movable electronic devices that are incapable of receiving GPS signals;

a location database comprising records each specifying a movable electronic device and its location;

a computer memory storing instructions for execution by the processor, the instructions, when executed, (i) determining update intervals for movable electronic devices, (ii) in accordance with each determined update interval, instructing a movable electronic device to (a) interrogate a portable wireless mobile device for GPS coordinates only upon occurrence of a proximity event when the portable wireless mobile device is moved into proximity to the movable electronic device, and (b) report the GPS coordinates as a location of the movable electronic device, and (iii) storing the reported location in the location database.

2. The server of claim 1, wherein each update interval corresponds to an adaptive time period based on a frequency with which the location of the movable device changes.

3. The server of claim 1, wherein the location database is a remote database accessible via the network interface.

4. The server of claim 1, further comprising non-volatile storage for local storage of the location database.

15. The server of claim 1, wherein the movable electronic devices lack GPS chipsets.

5. A system for tracking and updating a location of movable electronic devices, the system comprising:

a location database comprising records each specifying a movable electronic device and its location;

a location server comprising;

a first processor,

a network interface for communicating with a movable electronic device, and

a first computer memory storing instructions for execution by the first processor, the instructions, when executed, (i) determining an update interval for the movable electronic device, (ii) in accordance with the determined update interval, requesting an updated location from the movable electronic device, and (iii) storing the updated location in the location database; and

a movable electronic device that is incapable of receiving GPS signals, the movable electronic device comprising;

a wireless interface for interaction with portable wireless mobile devices of users,

an input device for receiving input from the users,

a second processor, and

a second computer memory storing agent instructions that, when executed by the second processor, cause the movable electronic device to (i) opportunistically trigger a communication session with a portable wireless mobile device only upon occurrence of a proximity event when the portable wireless mobile device is moved into proximity to the movable electronic device, (ii) interrogate the portable wireless mobile device via the wireless interface during the session for local GPS coordinates of the portable wireless device and obtained by a GPS chipset of the portable wireless mobile device, and (iii) electronically communicate the local GPS coordinates to the location server as the updated location of the movable electronic device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the update interval corresponds to an adaptive time period based on a frequency with which the location of the movable electronic device changes.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the location database is a remote database accessible by the location server via the network interface.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the location server comprises non-volatile storage for local storage of the location database.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the agent instructions further cause the movable electronic device to obtain from the portable wireless mobile device, via the wireless interface, at least one authentication credential of a user.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one authentication credential is a biometric indicium.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein the wireless interface implements a short-range wireless protocol, thereby ensuring co-location of the portable wireless mobile device and the movable electronic device.

12. The system of claim 5, wherein the movable electronic device is configured to wake up when the portable wireless mobile device enters a communication range of the movable electronic device.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the communication range is an NFC range.

14. The system of claim 5, wherein the movable electronic device comprises a display.

16. The system of claim 5, wherein the movable electronic device lacks a GPS chipset.