SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OBTAINING, PROCESSING AND EVALUATING PATIENT INFORMATION FOR DIAGNOSING DISEASE AND SELECTING TREATMENT

• US 20080177578A1
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Published: 07/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: David S. Zakim
• Original Assignee: David S. Zakim
• Inventors: ZAKIM, David S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,991,485 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• 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 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 70/60 relating to pathologies
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A computer-based system and method is disclosed which constructs medical histories by direct interactions between the patient and system that acquires pertinent and relevant medical information covering the complete life of a given patient. The system and method insure that a complete life long medical history is acquired from every patient interacting with the health care system. Once acquired, the facts of the patient'"'"'s life long and family medical history are analyzed automatically by databases to generate a set of the most reasonable diagnostic possibilities (the differential diagnosis) for each medical problem identified and for each risk factor for disease that is uncovered in the historical database. Further, the automatically analyzed database of historical medical information is used as the search tool for bringing to bear, on the diagnosis and treatment of each medical problem identified in each patient, the entirety of medical knowledge that relates to and can be useful for the correct and efficient diagnosis and treatment of each of every patient'"'"'s medical problems. This collection of information is analyzed to generate a final diagnosis and treatment regimen.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for acquiring and evaluating patient information, comprising the steps of:

(a) querying a patient regarding conditions of the patient'"'"'s health including symptoms and other indicia of disease or illness and processing input data that is based on responses to queries at step (a), and generating a chief complaint based on the responses to the queries and a medical history for the patient;

(b) rule-based searching the input data in the medical history for predetermined medically significant words and phrases, and generating a set of preliminary diagnoses based on the chief complaint and the identified medically significant words and phrases;

(c) rule-based searching the input data in the medical history for characteristic of the patient for a likelihood of each preliminary diagnosis generated in step (b) and generating a set of working diagnoses based on a predetermined likelihood of occurance value;

(d) selecting a set of preliminary working diagnosis from the set of working diagnoses generated at step (c) based on predetermined criteria;

(e) retrieving specific, relevant historical and up-to-date information relating to each working diagnosis of the set of preliminary working diagnoses;

(f) rule-based searching of the input data in the medical history for predetermined quality of pain words and phrases, matching identified quality of pain words and phrases with the selected set of preliminary working diagnosis selected by steps (d), and generating a second set of preliminary working diagnoses based on matching identified words and phrases with the selected set of preliminary working diagnosis;

(g) querying the patient as to one or more locations of pain and processing input data based on responses to the queries at step (g);

(h) generating a second set of preliminary working diagnosis based on the input data according to the responses to the queries at step (g);

(i) generating a list of differential diagnoses based on the second set of preliminary working diagnoses;

(j) querying the patient as to risk information associated with the differential diagnoses and processing input data based on responses to the queries at step (j);

(k) rule-based searching for guidelines based on the medical history and evaluating the differential diagnoses to confirm or exclude differential diagnoses from the list of differential diagnoses;

(l) rule-based searching for treating the differential diagnoses confirmed at step (k); and

(m) generating a report for a physician of a final diagnosis based on the confirmed differential diagnoses and including as part of the report the retrieved specific, relevant historical and up-to-date information at step (e) refined for the confirmed differential diagnoses.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the querying at step (a) includes querying an anatomical location of disease or illness for the chief complaint.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the generated preliminary diagnoses are based on the anatomical location of disease or illness for the chief complaint.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the method continuously evaluates the input data at steps (a), (g), and (j) in the medical history to determine if the selected set of preliminary working diagnosis selected at step (d), the second set of preliminary working diagnosis at step (h), or the list of differential diagnoses, respectively, are diagnoses upon which the method is to proceed.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the risk information includes patient habit information.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the risk information includes patient medication use.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the method evaluates the compatibility of the use of a plurality of medications.

8. A computer implemented method for acquiring and evaluating patient information, comprising the steps of:

(a) querying a patient regarding conditions of the patient'"'"'s health including symptoms and other indicia of disease or illness and processing input data that is based on responses to queries at step (a), and generating a chief complaint based on the responses to the queries and a medical history for the patient;

(b) rule-based searching the input data in the medical history for predetermined medically significant words and phrases, and generating a set of preliminary diagnoses based on the chief complaint and the identified medically significant words and phrases;

(c) rule-based searching the input data in the medical history for characteristic of the patient for a likelihood of each preliminary diagnosis generated in step (b) and generating a set of working diagnoses based on a predetermined likelihood of occurance value;

(d) selecting a set of preliminary working diagnosis from the set of working diagnoses generated at step (c) based on predetermined criteria;

(e) retrieving specific, relevant historical and up-to-date information relating to each working diagnosis of the set of preliminary working diagnoses;

(f) rule-based searching of the input data in the medical history for predetermined quality of pain words and phrases, matching identified quality of pain words and phrases with the selected set of preliminary working diagnosis selected by steps (d), and generating a second set of preliminary working diagnoses based on matching identified words and phrases with the selected set of preliminary working diagnosis;

(g) querying the patient as to one or more locations of pain and processing input data based on responses to the queries at step (g);

(h) generating a second set of preliminary working diagnosis based on the input data according to the responses to the queries at step (g);

(i) generating a list of differential diagnoses based on the second set of preliminary working diagnoses;

(j) querying the patient as to risk information associated with the differential diagnoses and processing input data based on responses to the queries at step (j);

(k) rule-based searching for guidelines based on the medical history and evaluating the differential diagnoses to confirm or exclude differential diagnoses from the list of differential diagnoses;

(l) rule-based searching for treating the differential diagnoses confirmed at step (k);

(m) generating a report for a physician of a final diagnosis based on the confirmed differential diagnoses and including as part of the report the retrieved specific, relevant historical and up-to-date information at step (e) refined for the confirmed differential diagnoses; and

(n) generating a report for patient of a final diagnosis based on the confirmed differential diagnoses and including as part of the report the retrieved specific, relevant historical and up-to-date information at step (e) refined for the confirmed differential diagnoses and refined for patient understanding.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the querying at step (a) includes querying an anatomical location of disease or illness for the chief complaint.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the generated preliminary diagnoses are based on the anatomical location of disease or illness for the chief complaint.

11. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the method continuously evaluates the input data at steps (a), (g), and (j) in the medical history to determine if the selected set of preliminary working diagnosis selected at step (d), the second set of preliminary working diagnosis at step (h), or the list of differential diagnoses, respectively, are diagnoses upon which the method is to proceed.

12. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the risk information includes patient habit information.

13. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the risk information includes patient medication use.

17. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the method evaluates the compatibility of the use of a plurality of medications.

14-16. -16. (canceled)

18. A system for acquiring and evaluating patient information, comprising:

a central processor controlling the processing system information;

a server that is connected to the central processor for connecting system terminals to the central processor;

a network for connecting the server to the system terminals;

at least one system terminal for patient input and retrieval of information from the system;

at least one system terminal for physician input and retrieval of information from the system;

a plurality of system databases for generating a patient medical history, generating working diagnoses, generating differential diagnoses, and generating final diagnoses; and

access control means for controlling full and limited access to database information and matching a patient with a particular medical history.

19. A computer implemented method for inputting, acquiring and evaluating patient information, comprising the steps of:

(a) querying a patient regarding conditions of the patient'"'"'s health using principles of pathophysiology that are compatible with a disease condition consistent with the patient'"'"'s specific responses to the queries, with the principles of pathophysiology including simulating at least logical processes for obtaining a medical history using up-to-date knowledge of disease, disease diagnoses, and disease treatment;

(b) the inputting data to a computer regarding the patient based on responses to the queries at step (a);

(c) acquiring a medical history for the patient including a medical history acquired using at least principles of pathophysiology;

(d) inputting to the computer the medical history acquired at step (c);

(e) generating with the computer in an automated manner a chief complaint for the patient, with generating the chief complaint including at least rule-based searching the responses to the queries input at step (b) and the medical history input at step (d) to at least determine medical problems and conditions that may affect management of any medical problem identified;

(f) generating with the computer in an automated manner a set of preliminary diagnoses according to one of the substeps of,

(1) generating the set of preliminary diagnoses based only on the chief complaint generated at step (e) or

(2) generating the set of preliminary diagnoses based on the chief complaint generated at step (e) and rule-based searching with a computer the medical history input at step (d) for predetermined medically significant words and phrases if the chief complaint alone is insufficient to generate the set of preliminary diagnoses;

(g) rule-based searching with a computer in an automated manner the medical history input at step (d) for characteristics of the patient for a likelihood of each preliminary diagnosis generated in step (f) and generating in an automated manner with a computer a set of working diagnoses based on a predetermined likelihood of occurrence value;

(h) selecting with a computer a set of preliminary working diagnoses from the set of working diagnoses generated at step (g) based on predetermined criteria;

(i) retrieving in an automated manner from at least a first source other than the medical history, specific, relevant and up-to-date medical information relating to each working diagnosis of the set of preliminary working diagnoses;

(j) rule-based searching with a computer in an automated manner the input data in the medical history for predetermined quality of pain words and phrases, matching identified quality of pain words and phrases with the selected set of preliminary working diagnosis selected by steps (h), and generating with a computer in an automated manner a second set of preliminary working diagnoses based on matching identified words and phrases with the selected set of preliminary working diagnosis;

(k) querying the patient as to one or more locations of pain and processing input data based on responses to the queries at step (k);

(l) generating with a computer in an automated manner a refined second set of preliminary working diagnosis based on the input data according to the responses to the queries at step (k); and

(m) generating with a computer in an automated manner a list of differential diagnoses based on the refined second set of preliminary working diagnoses;

(n) querying to obtain patient risk information associated with the differential diagnoses and processing with a computer input data based on responses to the queries at step (n);

(o) rule-based searching with a computer in an automated manner according to principles of pathophysiology at least the first source of relevant and up-to-date of medical information for guidelines to manage at least each differential diagnosis and associated risk based on the differential diagnoses identified in analyzing the medical history and evaluating with a computer the differential diagnoses to confirm or exclude differential diagnoses from the list of differential diagnoses;

(p) rule-based searching with a computer in an automated manner for treating the differential diagnoses confirmed at step (o); and

(q) generating with a computer in an automated manner a report for a physician of a problem-based solution in a form of at least a set of possible diagnoses based on the confirmed differential diagnoses and including as part of the report specific, relevant and up-to-date information retrieved from at least one source other than the medical history at step (i) refined for the confirmed differential diagnoses.

This invention is new, non-obvious, and useful. Consideration and allowance of the application are requested. It is respectfully requested that examination be carried out in due course.