System and method for a seamless user interface for an integrated electronic health care information system

• US 20020083075A1
• Filed: 12/05/2001
• Published: 06/27/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Epic Systems Corporation
• Original Assignee: Epic Systems Corporation
• Inventors: Brummel, Tony, Ma, Andrew, Seow, Khiang, Larsen, Steve, Dvorak, Carl D., Bormann, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 7,275,220 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/102
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/00 ICT specially adapted for the handling or processing of medical references
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

An electronic health care system includes a modular framework and a display in communication with the modular framework for providing a graphical user interface to a system user. The modular framework includes a plurality of activities, each activity providing an aspect of patient care, where the framework is adaptable for accepting additional activities forming a single integrated system. The graphical user interface is adaptable for displaying information corresponding to one or more of the activities, and includes a common menu format for communicating available operations in the graphical user interface, and common visual components for displaying information to a system user.

Claims

1. An electronic health care system comprising:

a modular framework including a plurality of activities, each activity providing an aspect of patient care, the framework adaptable for accepting additional activities forming a single integrated system; and

a display in communication with the modular framework for providing a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface adaptable for displaying information corresponding to one or more of the activities and including

a common menu format utilized by the graphical user interface for communicating available operations in the graphical user interface, and

common visual components utilized by the graphical user interface for displaying information to a system user.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a single information database in communication with the modular framework, the information database including data accessible by the plurality of activities of the modular framework.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the single information database includes patient records.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the single information database includes system user security information.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the graphical user interface is adaptable for displaying at least one workspace, wherein the information corresponding to one or more of the activities is displayed in the at least one workspace.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the at least one workspace includes an activities toolbar listing available activities within the workspace, and an activity display area for displaying information related to at least one selected activity.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the activities toolbar may be defined by the system user.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the information corresponding to the activities may be defined by the system user.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a security management system in communication with the modular framework and the graphical user interface for controlling access to the activities.

10. The system of claim 9 further comprising a single information database including system user security access information, the single information database in communication with the security management system, wherein the security management system controls system user access to activities responsive to the system user security access information.

11. The system of claim 1 further comprising an information management system in communication with the modular framework and the graphical user interface for determining the information necessary for launching an activity, and providing the necessary information to the modular framework and the graphical user interface for launching the activity.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the information management system comprises:

an activities database including program identifications and data requirements for building the graphical user interface for each activity; and

an information provider for acquiring data to fulfill the data requirements for each activity;

wherein upon launching a particular activity, the activities database is queried to determine program identifications and the data requirements for the particular activity, the information provider is queried for the data corresponding to the data requirements for that particular activity, and the program identifications and the data are utilized to create the graphical user interface for the particular activity.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising a single information database including data corresponding to the data requirements for the plurality of activities, wherein the information provider searches the single information database for the data, and

provides the data where the data is present in the single information database, and

queries the system user for the data where the data is not present in the single information database.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the modular framework comprises an activity installer for installing additional activities in the system, wherein the system maintains the common menu format and the common visual components in the graphical user interface for installed additional activities.

15. The system of claim 1 further comprising an alert system in communication with the modular framework for alerting the system user responsive to information provided by the system user in an activity.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the alert system'"'"'s alert includes providing an alert message to the system user in the graphical user interface in response to information provided by the system user in an activity.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the alert system'"'"'s alert includes displaying information corresponding to another activity on the graphical user interface in response to information provided by the system user in an activity.

19. The graphical user interface of claim 18 wherein the workspace is one of a home, workbench, patient call, patient admission, case, log, report, administrative, and patient encounter workspace.

20. The graphical user interface of claim 18 wherein the workspace is a patient encounter workspace, and the available activities listed in the activities toolbar include at least one of order entry, charts and graphs, chart review, results review, registration, flowsheets, patient alerts, snapshot, visit navigator, patient history, patient demographics, and an enterprise added activity, and wherein information corresponding to at least one of the listed activities may be displayed in the activities display area.

18. A graphical user interface for an electronic health care system which provides a system user a plurality of activities, comprising:

a common menu format utilized by the graphical user interface for communicating available operations in the graphical user interface; and

a workspace including common visual components utilized by the graphical user interface for displaying information to a system user upon selection of an available option by the system user, the workspace having

an activities toolbar listing available activities within the workspace, and

an activities display area for displaying information corresponding to at least one selected activity.

21. A method of providing a health care system having an integrated graphical user interface, comprising:

within the health care system, providing a plurality of activities in a modular framework, each activity providing an aspect of patient care;

displaying a menu in a common menu format on the graphical user interface, the menu communicating available operations to a system user; and

displaying common visual components for the activities on the graphical user interface, the common visual components providing information to the system user.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the health care system further comprises a single information database, and further comprising accessing data for the plurality of activities from the single information database.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the accessing data includes accessing patient records from the single information database.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the accessing data includes accessing system user security information from the single information database.

25. The method of claim 21 wherein the displaying the menu in a common menu format includes displaying at least one workspace, each workspace providing an operation to the system user, wherein the information corresponding to the one or more activities is displayed in the at least one workspace.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the displaying the at least one workspace includes:

generating an activities toolbar listing activities available within the workspace;

displaying the activities toolbar in the workspace; and

displaying information related to at least one selected activity in an activities display area of the workspace.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising defining content of the activities toolbar.

28. The method of claim 26 further comprising defining the information related to the at least one selected activity displayed in the activities display area.

29. The method of claim 21 wherein displaying the menu includes determining security access for the system user, and displaying only the options accessible to the system user responsive to the determining.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the determining security access for the system user includes searching a single information database having security access information for security access information for the system user.

31. The method of claim 21 further comprising launching an activity from the plurality of activities.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the launching an activity from the plurality of activities includes:

determining program identifications and data requirements necessary for launching the activity from an activities database;

acquiring the data corresponding to the data requirements from an information provider; and

launching the activity using the determined program identifications and acquired data.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the acquiring the data corresponding to the data requirements includes searching a single information database for the data, and

providing the data where the data is present in the single information database, and

requesting the information from the system user where the information is not present in the single information database.

34. The method of claim 21 further comprising installing additional activities in the health care system while continuing to provide the common menu format and the common visual components on the graphical user interface.

35. The method of claim 21 further comprising alerting the system user responsive to information provided by the system user in an activity.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein the alerting includes providing an alert message to the system user on the graphical user interface.

37. The method of claim 35 wherein the alerting includes displaying information related to another activity on the graphical user interface.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein the displaying of a workspace includes displaying one of a home, workbench, patient call, patient admission, case, log, report, administrative, and patient encounter workspace.

40. The method of claim 38 wherein the displaying of a workspace comprises displaying a patient encounter workspace, and the providing an activities toolbar listing further comprises listing at least one of order entry, graphs, chart review, results review, registration, flowsheets, patient alerts, snapshot, visit navigator, patient history, patient demographics, and an enterprise added activity, as available activities, and displaying information corresponding to at least one of the listed activities in the activities display area.

38. A method of providing an integrated graphical user interface for a system user of a health care system, comprising:

displaying a menu in a common menu format on the graphical user interface for communicating available options to the system user; and

displaying a workspace including common visual components utilized by the graphical user interface for displaying information to the system user upon selection of an available option by the system user, including

providing an activities toolbar listing available activities within the workspace, and

providing an activities display area for displaying information corresponding to at least one selected activity.