System and User Interface Supporting Context Sharing Between Concurrently Operating Applications

• US 20070214495A1
• Filed: 05/15/2007
• Published: 09/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Heil, John, Royer, Barry
• Granted Patent: US 7,849,498 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/41 where a single sign-on provides access to a plurality of computers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A system and associated communication protocol enables network compatible applications to be integrated into any process involving concurrent operation of applications. A system for use in a first application concurrently operating together with a plurality of network compatible applications includes an entitlement processor. The entitlement processor enables user access to the first application in response to validation of user identification information. The system also includes a communication processor for intermittently communicating an activity indication to a managing application within a timeout window and the activity indication is communicated sufficiently often to prevent an inactivity timeout of the first application. The managing application receives activity indications from multiple concurrently operating applications sufficiently frequently to prevent an inactivity timeout of the individual applications and maintains corresponding activity monitoring indicators.

Claims

1. A system for use in healthcare for managing conveying executable application context information between concurrently operable executable applications, comprising:

an authorization processor for determining a user is authorized to access information of a particular patient; and

a central managing application responsive to user authorization, for providing centralized services to a parent and child application to coordinate operation of said parent and child application including by conveying session context information including a patient identifier from said parent application to said child application via communication without requiring child or parent application embedded programming capability to share context information in response to a user activating said child application via said parent application.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said central managing application conveys session context information including a patient identifier from said parent application to said child application via communication without requiring child or parent application embedded programming capability to alter said context information

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said central managing application conveys session context information including a patient identifier from said parent application to said child application via a URL without requiring child or parent application embedded programming capability to share context information via non-URL communication.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said central managing application conveys session context information including a patient identifier from said parent application to said child application via a URL without requiring a child or parent application configuration to share context information via non-URL communication.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said central managing application conveys session context information including a user identifier from said parent application to said child application.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said central managing application conveys session context information including a session identifier particular to a user initiated session from said parent application to said child application.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said central managing application conveys session context information including an encryption key for use by said parent application in encrypting personal record parameters conveyed in URL data from said parent application to said child application.

8. A system according to claim 1, including

an entitlement processor for authorizing user access to said parent application in response to validation of user identification information and

a communication processor for initiating generation of a session identifier particular to a user initiated session and for use by a plurality of concurrently operating applications to uniquely identify said user initiated session and

said central managing application conveys session context information including said session identifier particular to said user initiated session from said parent application to said child application.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein

said central managing application conveys session context information including an encryption key for use by said parent application in encrypting personal record parameters conveyed in URL data from said parent application to said child application.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein

said encryption key is for common use by said plurality of concurrently operating applications in encrypting data associated with a personal record.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said central managing application includes said session context information in different types of command messages communicated to applications of said plurality of concurrently operating applications.

12. A system according to claim 11, wherein

said session context information includes at least one of, (a) encrypted personal record parameters and (b) a session identifier.

13. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said session context information comprises application specific context information and

said central managing application conveys said application specific context information in a data field of a URL from said parent application to said child application of said plurality of network compatible applications in response to said user activating said child application via said parent application.

14. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said central managing application receives parameters from said parent or child application for storage, said parameters including at least one of, (a) an authentication service identifier, (b) a language identifier, (c) a URL to direct a browser to a starting application upon termination of a session, (d) a URL for use in acquiring a web page providing a logon menu to support user initiation of another session, (e) a URL to be contacted upon a predetermined event and (f) an identification of a type of said predetermined event

15. A system for use in healthcare for managing conveying executable application context information between concurrently operable executable applications, comprising,

an authorization processor for determining a user is authorized to access information of a particular patient;

and

a central managing application responsive to user authorization, for providing centralized services to a parent and child application to coordinate operation of said parent and child application including by conveying session context information including a patient identifier from said parent application to said child application via communication without requiring child or parent application embedded programming capability to alter and share said context information, in response to a user activating said child application via said parent application.

16. A system according to claim 15, including

a communication processor for initiating generation of a session identifier particular to a user initiated session and for use by a plurality of concurrently operating applications to uniquely identify said user initiated session.

17. A system for use in healthcare for managing conveying executable application context information between concurrently operable executable applications, comprising:

an authorization processor for determining a user is authorized to access information of a particular patient;

a communication processor for initiating generation of a session identifier particular to a user initiated session and for use by a plurality of concurrently operating applications to uniquely identify said user initiated session and

a central managing application responsive to user authorization, for providing centralized services to a parent and child application to coordinate operation of said parent and child application including by conveying session context information including a patient identifier and session identifier from said parent application to said child application via communication without requiring child or parent application embedded programming capability to share context information in response to a user activating said child application via said parent application.

18. A CCOW (Clinical Context Object Workgroup) standard compliant system for use in healthcare for managing conveying executable application context information between concurrently operable executable applications, comprising:

an authorization processor for determining a user is authorized to access information of a particular patient; and

a central managing application responsive to user authorization, for providing centralized services to a parent and child application to coordinate operation of said parent and child application compliant with the CCOW (Clinical Context Object Workgroup) standard including by conveying session context information including a patient identifier from said parent application to said child application via communication without requiring child or parent application embedded programming capability to share context information in response to a user activating said child application via said parent application.