PATIENT COMMUNICATION METHOD AND SYSTEM

• US 20080015900A1
• Filed: 07/20/2007
• Published: 01/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Denholm Enterprises, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Denholm Enterprises, Inc.
• Inventors: Denholm, Diana
• Granted Patent: US 7,769,598 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets
• 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 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring

Abstract

A healthcare communication system can include a patient terminal having a keyboard unit with message keys for transmitting different ones of one or more programmed messages, and alphanumeric keys for composing messages. The patient terminal can be communicatively linked to a patient terminal display for presenting the programmed messages and composed messages. Each of the message keys can include identifying indicia associated with a programmed message transmitted upon selection of the message key. The patient terminal keyboard also can include one or more destination keys for specifying one of multiple destination addresses within the healthcare communication system for delivering individual ones of the messages.

Claims

1. In a care-taking facility having a healthcare communication system comprising a plurality of communicatively linked healthcare stations, a method of determining the effectiveness of healthcare comprising:

logging, within an electronic data store, message transmission information specifying a transmission date and time of messages initiated by a patient terminal and identifiers indicating said healthcare stations receiving said messages;

logging, within said electronic data store, message response information specifying a transmission date and time of messages generated by said receiving healthcare stations in response to said patient terminal initiated messages;

comparing said message transmission information and said message response information to determine performance metrics for said healthcare stations; and

generating a report specifying said performance metrics.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each said healthcare station is associated with a department of said care-taking facility, and said report is categorized according to said care-taking facility departments.

3. A machine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:

logging, within an electronic data store, message transmission information specifying a transmission date and time of messages initiated by a patient terminal and identifiers indicating other ones of a plurality of healthcare stations receiving said messages as part of a healthcare communication system;

logging, within said electronic data store, message response information specifying a transmission date and time of messages generated by said receiving healthcare stations in response to said patient terminal initiated messages;

comparing said message transmission information and said message response information to determine performance metrics for said healthcare stations; and

generating a report specifying said performance metrics.

4. The machine-readable storage of claim 3, wherein each said healthcare station is associated with a department of said care-taking facility, and said report is categorized according to said care-taking facility departments.