System for communication of health care data

• US 20070203753A1
• Filed: 11/22/2006
• Published: 08/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Healthtrio LLC (Spok Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Healthtrio LLC (Spok Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Peterson, John, Korpman, Ralph, Hasan, Malik, Wallen, J., Post, Cindy
• Granted Patent: US 8,626,534 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• 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 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring

Abstract

An apparatus for communicating health care data from a sender to a receiver is provided. The apparatus has a first computer system, a second computer system, and a rules engine. The first computer system has health care data stored therein. The second computer system is in operable communication with, and is configured to extract the health care data from, the first computer system. The rules engine normalizes the extracted health care data to a predefined format. The rules engine defines a plurality of health care data fields in the predefined format, as well as a plurality of relationships between fields of normalized data.

Claims

1-29. -29. (canceled)

30. A method for facilitating an exchange of information between a patient and a health care provider, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a database having provider data generated by a health care provider of a patient, wherein the provider data is indicative of at least one health related parameter of the patient;

providing a patient web portal from which a patient can access the database over the Internet;

receiving a request for information from the database from the patient via the patient web portal;

retrieving provider data from the database responsive to the request;

generating a personalized web page responsive to the request, wherein the personalized web page contains content that is based at least in part on the provider data; and

transmitting the personalized web page to the patient.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the provider data includes clinical data corresponding to the patient and wherein the personalized web page includes content based on the clinical data.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the provider data includes a test result from laboratory testing of the patient and wherein the personalized web page includes content based on the test result.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of detecting whether the health care provider has released the test result and including content based on the test result in the personalized web page responsive to the detecting step.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the provider data includes a radiology test result from radiological testing of the patient and wherein the personalized web page includes content based on the radiology test result.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising the step of detecting whether the health care provider has released the radiology test result and including content based on the radiology test result in the personalized web page responsive to the detecting step.

36. The method of claim 30, wherein the personalized web page includes content indicative of insurance claims corresponding to the patient.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein the personalized web page includes content indicative of insurance claims corresponding to the patient.

38. The method of claim 31, wherein the personalized web page includes content indicative of a health record derived from insurance claims of the patient.

39. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of selecting an information article with a topic based on the provider data and including at least one of the following in the personalized web page:

the information article and a link to the information article.

40. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of determining whether the patient is in at least one at risk group and wherein the personalized web page includes content indicating that the patient is in the at risk group.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising the steps of selecting an information article corresponding to the at risk group responsive to the determining step, and including at least one of the following in the personalized web page:

the information article and a link to the information article.

42. The method of claim 40, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to enroll in at least one of a care management program and a disease management program associated with the at risk group via the patient web portal.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising the steps of enabling the patient to track progress of participation in at least one of a care management program and a disease management program via the patient web portal.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to grant the health care provider access to data regarding participation in at least one of a care management program and a disease management program via the patient web portal.

45. The method of claim 30, wherein the personalized web page includes content indicative of medications prescribed to the patient by the health care provider.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to reorder a prescription via the patient web portal.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein the personalized web page includes drug warnings corresponding to medications prescribed to the patient by the health care provider.

48. The method of claim 30, wherein the database includes administrative data generated by the health care provider and wherein the personalized web page includes content based on the administrative data.

49. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to enter patient data via the patient web portal and storing the patient data into the database.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the patient data is indicative of at least one health related parameter of the patient.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein the patient data is selected from the group consisting of family health history of the patient and over-the-counter medications taken by the patient.

52. The method of claim 50, further comprising the step of receiving an access list indicative of access rights for at least a selected portion of the patient data from the patient via the patient web portal.

53. The method of claim 52, further comprising the step of detecting whether the health care provider has been granted authorization to view the patient data based on the access list and transmitting the patient data responsive to the detecting step.

54. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database via the patient web portal search to a health care provider directory.

55. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database to obtain personalized health information based on a profile of the patient.

56. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database via the patient web portal to access diagnosis information corresponding to the patient.

57. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database via the patient web portal to access clinical information corresponding to the patient.

58. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database via the patient web portal to access lab testing results corresponding to the patient.

59. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database via the patient web portal to access radiology testing results corresponding to the patient.

60. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database via the patient web portal to schedule appointments with the health care provider.

61. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database via the patient web portal to obtain a status as to a referral.

62. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database via the patient web portal to order prescription refills.

63. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database via the patient web portal to maintain a personal health record that is available to the health care provider via the Internet.

64. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database via the patient web portal to obtain eligibility/benefit information.

65. The method of claim 30, wherein the database includes insurer data indicative of a health care plan corresponding to the patient and further comprising the step of enabling the patient to interact with the database via the patient web portal to obtain information on health plan wellness programs corresponding to the patient.

66. The method of claim 30, wherein the provider data is developed by extracting health care data from a separate database and normalizing the extracted data to a predefined format in accordance with a rules engine that defines a plurality of health care data fields in a predefined format and a plurality of relationships between fields of normalized data.

67. A method for facilitating an exchange of information between a patient and a health care provider, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a patient web portal from which a patient can enter personal health data;

storing the personal health data entered via the patient web portal into a database;

receiving an access list from the patient via the patient web portal, wherein the access list is indicative of access rights to a selected portion of the personal health data;

receiving a request for the selected portion of the personal health data from a health care provider of the patient;

detecting whether the health care provider has been granted access to the personal health data based on the access list; and

transmitting the personal health data responsive to the detecting step.

68. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of storing provider data generated by the health care provider in the database, wherein the provider data is indicative of at least one health related parameter of the patient.

69. The method of claim 68, further comprising the step of enabling the patient to access at least a portion of the provider data via the patient web portal.

70. The method of claim 67, wherein the patient data is selected from the group consisting of family health history of the patient and over-the-counter medications taken by the patient.

71. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of auditing access to the personal health data.

72. The method of claim 67, wherein the access list includes a first set of access rights associated with the health care provider, a second set of access rights associated with an insurer of the patient and a third set of access rights associated with an employer of the patent.

73. A method for maintaining a personal health record, the method comprising the steps of:

interacting with a patient web portal to access a database over the Internet;

entering patient data indicative of at least one health related parameter of a patient, wherein the patient enters the patient data using the patient web portal;

storing entered patient data in the database;

wherein the patient data includes at least one of;

family health history of the patient and over-the-counter medications taken by the patient.

74. The method of claim 73, wherein the database is accessible by a health care provider of the patient.

75. The method of claim 74, further comprising entering a security list respective to access rights to patient data in the database, wherein the patient enters the security list using the patient web portal.

76. The method of claim 75, further comprising the steps of receiving a request from the health care provider for access to a requested portion of the patient data, detecting whether the health care provider has been granted access to the requested portion of the patient data using the security list, and allowing the health care provider to view the requested portion of the patient data responsive to the detecting step.

77. The method of claim 75, further comprising the steps of receiving a request from an employer of the patient for access to a requested portion of the patient data, detecting whether the employer has been granted access to the requested portion of the patient data using the security list, and allowing the employer to view the requested portion of the patient data responsive to the detecting step.

78. The method of claim 75, wherein the database includes information provided by a health care provider of the patient.

79. The method of claim 78, wherein the database further includes information provided by at least one outpatient facility.

80. The method of claim 79, wherein the outpatient facility is selected from the group consisting of a laboratory, radiology, and pharmacy.

81. The method of claim 79, wherein the database further includes information provided by at least one inpatient facility.

82. The method of claim 79, wherein the information provided by the health care provider is developed by extracting health care data from a separate database and normalizing the extracted data to a predefined format in accordance with a rules engine that defines a plurality of health care data fields in a predefined format and a plurality of relationships between fields of normalized data.

83. The method of claim 79, further comprising the step of accessing at least a portion of the information provided by the health care provider, wherein the patient accesses the information provided by the health care provider using the patient web portal.

84. The method of claim 83, wherein the information provided by the health care provider includes at least one of:

laboratory test results, radiography test results, medication profile, and referral information.

85. The method of claim 83, wherein the patient accesses at least one of the following types of information provided by the health care provider using the patient web portal:

laboratory test results, radiography test results, medication profile, and referral information.

86. The method of claim 85, further comprising the steps of:

receiving an electronic application requesting access to at least a portion of the database, wherein the application includes a requested access list and profile and determining whether to grant the application.

87. The method of claim 73, wherein the database includes provider data provided by least two health care providers, patient data entered by the patient via the patient web portal, and employer data provided by the employer of the patient.