DISEASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20080052116A1
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Healthways SC, LLC (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Clinical Decision Support, LLC (Tivity Health, Inc.)
• Inventors: Iliff, Edwin
• Granted Patent: US 8,740,790 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• 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 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 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/20 relating to practices or guidelines
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/60 relating to pathologies
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/925 Neural network

Abstract

One aspect of the invention is directed to a system and method for allowing a patient to access an automated process for managing a specified health problem called a disease. The system performs disease management in a fully automated manner, using periodic interactive dialogs with the patient to obtain health state measurements from the patient, to evaluate and assess the progress of the patient'"'"'s disease, to review and adjust therapy to optimal levels, and to give the patient medical advice for administering treatment and handling symptom flare-ups and acute episodes of the disease. The medical records are updated, the progression of the disease is stored and tracked, and the patient'"'"'s preferences for treatment are stored and then used to offer medical advice based on the current state of the disease. Subjective and objective health measurements are used to determine a metric, which can be used to adjust patient therapy.

Claims

1. A computerized method for providing medical advice to a patient, the method comprising:

storing, in a memory on a computer, a plurality of values for a health parameter of the patient, wherein each value is associated with a different time;

performing a statistical analysis on the plurality of values;

determining medical advice based on the statistical analysis; and

outputting the medical advice to a user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the statistical analysis comprises comparing a characteristic value obtained from the stored plurality of values to a characteristic value obtained from a standard plurality of values.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the characteristic value comprises slope.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the characteristic value comprises a 3-point trend.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the statistic analysis results in a determination if a threshold has been met.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining medical advice is based on the determination if the threshold has been met.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the comparing results in a determination if a threshold has been met.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein determining medical advice is based on the determination if the threshold has been met.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the health parameter is an objective parameter.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the health parameter is a subjective parameter.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the medical advice includes a specific treatment.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the medical advice includes a referral to a health professional.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising plotting the plurality of values versus time.

14. A system for assessing a patient'"'"'s need for medical treatment, comprising:

a computer;

a storage, in data communication with the computer, to store a plurality of values for at least one health parameter of the patient, wherein each value is associated with a time;

a statistical analysis module executed by the computer and configured to perform a statistical analysis on the plurality of values;

a therapy module executed by the computer and configured to determine medical advice based on the statistical analysis; and

an output device to output the medical advice to a user.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the output device is a modem.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the output device is a monitor, a telephone, or a speaker.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer is a portable computing device.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer is a hand-held device having a wireless communications capability.

19. A system for assessing a patient'"'"'s need for medical treatment, comprising:

means for storing, in a memory on a computer, a plurality of values for a health parameter of the patient, wherein each value is associated with a different time;

means for performing a statistical analysis on the plurality of values;

means for determining medical advice based on the statistical analysis; and

means for outputting the medical advice to a user.

20. A computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for performing assessment of a patient'"'"'s need for medical treatment, the computer readable code comprising instructions for:

storing, in a memory on a computer, a plurality of values for a health parameter of the patient, wherein each value is associated with a different time;

performing a statistical analysis on the plurality of values;

determining medical advice based on the statistical analysis; and

outputting the medical advice to a user.