Method and apparatus for obtaining and distributing healthcare information

• US 20040172287A1
• Filed: 02/19/2003
• Published: 09/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Midwest Heart Specialists Limited
• Original Assignee: Midwest Heart Specialists Limited
• Inventors: Goodwin, Mark, Marek, Joseph, McKeever, Louis, OʼToole, Michael, Bufalino, Vincent, Shefsky, Lloyd E.
• Application Number:
  US10/370,250
• Publication Number:
  US 20040172287A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• 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

Abstract

Patient data is collected by point-of-care terminals and uploaded to a computer where it is processed. The processed patient data can be analyzed by the computer to yield clinical information. The results of the analyses performed by the computer can be re-distributed to health care providers, patients, or other third parties.

Claims

1. A method of obtaining and providing healthcare information, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining patient data from a health care provider via a data network, said patient data identifying medical treatment provided to a patient by the healthcare provider;

processing patient data from the health care provider to form processed patient data; and

providing at least some of the processed patient data to a health care provider via the data network.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein processing patient data includes determining a health care provider'"'"'s compliance with health care treatment guidelines.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of processing patient data from the health care provider includes the step of de-identifying said patient data.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of processing patient data from the health care provider includes the step of re-identifying said patient data.

5. The method of claim 1 further including the step of obtaining patient data from a point-of-care data terminal.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the patient data is obtained and processed recursively to extract clinical information from the patient data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data regarding potential subjects for medical research.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data that is related to at least one of:

disease prevention and disease management.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data for use in obtaining regulatory approval for a medical treatment.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data used in healthcare marketing.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data regarding patient safety.

12. The method of claim 2, further including the step of combining patient data with third-party data to determine a health care provider'"'"'s compliance with health are treatment guidelines.

13. The method of claim 1 further including the step of de-identifying patient data prior to providing at least some of the processed data.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of processing patient data from the health care provider includes the step of providing healthcare consulting service to the health care provider.

15. A method of obtaining and providing healthcare information, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining patient data from a plurality of health care providers via a data network, said patient data identifying medical treatment provided to a plurality of patients who were treated by the plurality of health care providers;

processing said patient data to form processed patient data; and

providing processed patient data to at least one health care provider via the data network.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein processing patient data includes determining a health care provider'"'"'s compliance with recommended treatment guidelines.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of processing said patient data includes the step of de-identifying said patient data.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of processing said patient data includes the step of re-identifying said patient data.

19. The method of claim 15 further including the step of obtaining patient data from a point-of-care data terminal.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the point-of-care terminal is provided to a health care provider on agreement by the healthcare provider to provide patient data.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data regarding potential subjects for medical research.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data that is related to disease prevention and management.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data for use in obtaining regulatory approval for a medical treatment.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data used in healthcare marketing.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data regarding patient safety.

26. The method of claim 16 further including the step of combining third-party data with patient data to determine a health care provider'"'"'s compliance with a recommended treatment guideline.

27. The method of claim 16 further including the step of de-identifying patient data prior to the step of providing at least some of the processed data.

28. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of processing patient data from the health care provider includes the step of providing healthcare consulting service to the health care provider.

29. A method of obtaining and providing healthcare information, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining patient data from a plurality of health care providers via a data network, said patient data for medical treatment provided to a plurality of patients by the plurality of health care providers;

processing patient data from the health care provider to form processed patient data; and

providing at least some of the processed patient data to a third party via the data network.

30. The method of claim 29 further including the step of:

receiving from a third party, further-processed patient data.

31. The method claim 30 further including the step of sending the further-processed patient data to a health care provider via the data network.

32. The method of claim 31 further including the step of combining additional data with the further-processed patient data.

33. The method of claim 29 further including the step of determining a health care provider'"'"'s compliance with recommended treatment.

34. The method of claim 29 wherein the step of processing said patient data includes the step of de-identifying said patient data.

35. The method of claim 29 wherein the step of processing said patient data includes the step of re-identifying said patient data.

36. The method of claim 29 further including the step of obtaining patient data from a plurality of patients using at least one, point-of-care data terminal.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the point-of-care terminal is provided to a health care provider on agreement by the healthcare provider to provide patient data.

38. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data regarding potential subjects for medical research.

39. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data that is related to disease treatment.

40. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data for use in obtaining regulatory approval for a medical treatment.

41. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data used in healthcare marketing.

42. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data regarding patient safety.

43. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of storing patient data further comprises the step of:

de-identifying patient data prior to the step of storing.

44. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of storing patient data further comprises the step of:

de-identifying patient data prior to the step of providing at least some of the processed data.

45. The method of claim 29 wherein the step of processing patient data includes the step of providing healthcare consulting service to the third party.

46. A method of obtaining and providing healthcare information, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining at a first server via a data network, patient data from a plurality of health care providers, said patient data related to medical treatment provided to a plurality of patients by the plurality of health care providers;

processing patient data from the plurality of health care providers to form processed patient data; and

providing the processed patient data to a third party via the data network, said third party further processing said processed patient data; and

receiving via the data network at said first server from the third party, said further-processed patient data.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein processing patient data includes determining a health care provider'"'"'s compliance with recommended treatment guidelines.

48. The method of claim 46 wherein the step of processing said patient data includes the step of de-identifying said patient data.

49. The method of claim 46 wherein the step of processing said patient data includes the step of re-identifying said patient data.

50. The method of claim 46 further including the step of obtaining patient data from a plurality of patients using at least one, point-of-care data terminal.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein the point-of-care terminal is provided to a health care provider on agreement by the healthcare provider to provide patient data.

52. The method of claim 46, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data regarding potential subjects for medical research.

53. The method of claim 46, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data that is related to disease prevention and management.

54. The method of claim 46, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data for use in obtaining regulatory approval for a medical treatment.

55. The method of claim 46, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data used in healthcare marketing.

56. The method of claim 46, wherein the step of providing at least some of the processed patient data includes the step of providing processed patient data regarding patient safety.

57. The method of claim 47 further including the step of de-identifying patient data prior to storing the patient data.

58. The method of claim 47 further including the step of storing patient prior to the step of providing at least some of the processed data.

59. The method of claim 46 wherein the step of processing patient data includes the step of providing healthcare consulting service to the third party.

60. A device for collecting and distributing healthcare data comprising:

a processor;

memory, operatively coupled to said processor and storing program instructions which when executed cause the processor to;

receive patient data that relates to medical treatment provided to a patient by a healthcare service provider;

manipulate patient data to form processed patient data;

provide at least some of the processed patient data to third-party patient data consumers.

61. The device of claim 60 further comprised of memory storing program instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to store patient data in a storage device;

62. The device of claim 60 further comprised of a point-of-care terminal, operatively coupled to said processor and by which patient data is collected from a patient.

63. The device of claim 60 further including program instructions, which when executed cause the processor to manipulate patient data to de-identify a patient that is identified by said patient data.

64. The device of claim 60 wherein said processor is capable of functioning as a web server.

65. The device of claim 60 further including a point-of-care data terminal, operatively coupled to said processor.

66. The device of claim 60 wherein the memory stores program instructions which when executed, cause the processor to store data that is obtained from a health care provider on agreement by the healthcare provider to provide patient data in exchange for consideration.

67. The device of claim 60 wherein the memory stores program instructions that cause the processor to process patient data regarding potential subjects for medical research.

68. The device of claim 60 wherein the memory stores program instructions that cause the processor to process patient data that is related to disease prevention and management.

69. The device of claim 60 wherein the memory stores program instructions that cause the processor to process patient data for use in obtaining regulatory approval for a medical treatment.

70. The device of claim 60 wherein the memory stores program instructions that cause the processor to process patient data used in healthcare marketing.

71. The device of claim 60 wherein the memory stores program instructions that cause the processor to process patient data regarding patient safety.

72. A system for collecting and distributing patient healthcare data, said system comprising:

a point-of-care data terminal by which patient data is collected from a patient;

a server, operatively coupled to said point-of-care data terminal, and operatively coupled to memory wherein program instructions are stored, said server being programmed by stored program instructions to;

receive patient data from the point-of-care terminal that relates to medical treatment provided to a patient;

manipulate patient data to form processed patient data;

73. The system of claim 72 wherein said server is additionally programmed to:

store the patient data in a storage device.

74. The system of claim 72 wherein said server is additionally programmed to:

provide at least some of the processed patient data to third-party patient data consumers.

75. The system of claim 72 wherein said server is programmed to receive patient data that relates to at least one of:

disease control and disease management.

76. The system of claim 72 wherein said server is programmed to receive patient data that relates to medical research.

77. The system of claim 72 wherein said server is programmed to receive patient data that relates to regulatory approval of a medical treatment.

78. The system of claim 72 wherein the memory stores program instructions that cause the processor to process patient data that is related to disease prevention and management.

79. The system of claim 72 wherein the memory stores program instructions that cause the processor to process patient data used in healthcare marketing.

80. The system of claim 72 wherein the memory stores program instructions that cause the processor to process patient data regarding patient safety.

81. A system for collecting and distributing patient healthcare data, said system comprising:

a processor, operatively coupled to a data network and capable of receiving patient data from the network;

a memory, operatively coupled to said processor, said memory storing program instructions, which when executed cause said processor to;

receive, via said data network, patient data for a plurality of patients, said patient data originating from a plurality of point-of-care terminals, said patient data related to medical treatment provided to said patients by health care providers;

processing patient data to yield analyzed and de-identified patient data;

providing analyzed patient data to at least one of;

i) third-party patient data-consumers; and

ii) health care providers.

82. The system of claim 81 further including at least one point-of-care data terminal operatively coupled to said data network and by which patient data is collected from a patient, said point-of-care data terminal sending patient data to said first computer means via said data network.

83. A computer for collecting and distributing healthcare data, said computer comprising:

a processor, operatively coupled to a data network;

memory, operatively coupled to said processor and storing program instructions, which when executed cause the processor to;

receive via said data network, patient data that relates to medical treatment provided to a patient by a healthcare service provider;

process patient data to form processed patient data;

provide at least some of the processed patient data to at least one of;

i) third-party patient data consumers;

ii) a health care provider.

84. The computer of claim 83 further comprised of memory storing program instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to store patient data in said memory.

85. The computer of claim 83 further including program instructions, which when executed cause the processor to de-identify patient data.

86. The computer of claim 83 further including program instructions, which when executed cause the processor to re-identify patient data.

87. The computer of claim 83 wherein said computer is a web server which can distribute processed patient data via the Internet.

88. The computer of claim 83 further including a point-of-care data terminal operatively coupled to said computer via a data network.