System and method for remote monitoring of multiple healthcare patients

• US 20090054735A1
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Published: 02/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Vanderbilt University Office of Technology Transfer and Enterprise Development
• Original Assignee: Vanderbilt University Office of Technology Transfer and Enterprise Development
• Inventors: St. Jacques, Paul J., Patel, Nimesh P., Higgins, Michael S.
• Application Number:
  US11/496,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20090054735A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/002 Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building A61B5/0017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• 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 40/63 for local operation
• 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 50/70 for mining of medical data, e.g. analysing previous cases of other patients

Abstract

A method including monitoring data associated with a plurality of non-operating room patients and simultaneously displaying data associated with each of the plurality of non-operating room patients in a single display. The method further includes determining whether an alert should be generated for a patient from the plurality of non-operating room patients at least partially based on data associated with the patient, the determining being further based on a comparison of a potential priority of the alert being at least partially based on the data associated with the patient; and generating an alert in substantially real-time for the patient, if it is determined that an alert should be generated for the patient. The method still further includes displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in a single screen in response to a request for the patient'"'"'s data.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

monitoring data associated with a plurality of non-operating room patients;

simultaneously displaying data associated with each of the plurality of non-operating room patients in a single display;

determining whether an alert should be generated for a patient from the plurality of non-operating room patients at least partially based on data associated with the patient, the determining being further based on a comparison of a potential priority of the alert being at least partially based on the data associated with the patient;

generating an alert in substantially real-time for the patient, if it is determined that an alert should be generated for the patient; and

displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in a single screen in response to a request for the patient'"'"'s data.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the data associated with a plurality of non-operating room patients comprises:

data associated with vital signs of the plurality of non-operating room patients; and

data associated with administrative information.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the data associated with the administrative information comprises data on one or more of the following for each of the plurality of non-operating room patients:

patient location;

patient name;

patient chief complaint;

pending lab test status;

admission status; and

time of last check by a healthcare professional.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring data associated with a plurality of non-operating room patients comprises one of:

monitoring data associated with a plurality of non-monitored medical/surgical floor patients;

monitoring data associated with a plurality of mass casualty patients;

monitoring data associated with a plurality of labor and delivery room patients;

monitoring data associated with a plurality of intensive care unit patients; and

monitoring data associated with a plurality of emergency room patients.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating an alert in substantially real-time for the patient comprises at least one of:

generating the alert in substantially real-time for the patient as a pop-up window in the single display;

generating the alert in substantially real-time for the patient as an audio/voice alert;

generating the alert in substantially real-time for the patient as an audio/voice alert; and

generating the alert in substantially real-time for the patient as a text page or short message service (SMS) alert.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in a single screen is in response to a request for the patient'"'"'s data.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in a single screen comprises:

displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in four separate window displays in the single display.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in four separate window displays in the single display comprises:

displaying a listing of billing diagnoses and billing procedures in a first of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the patient'"'"'s vital signs in a second of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the status of the patient'"'"'s pending lab tests/x-rays and consultations in a third of the four separate window displays in the single display; and

displaying a synopsis of the patient'"'"'s known medical history in a fourth of the four separate window displays in the single display.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in four separate window displays in the single display comprises:

displaying a live video stream of the patient'"'"'s location in a first of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the patient'"'"'s vital signs in a second of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying listing of billing diagnoses and billing procedures in a third of the four separate window displays in the single display; and

displaying a synopsis of the patient'"'"'s known medical history in a fourth of the four separate window displays in the single display.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in four separate window displays in the single display comprises:

displaying a listing of billing diagnoses and billing procedures in a first of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying a live video stream of the patient'"'"'s location in a second of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the patient'"'"'s vital signs and fetal monitoring trends in a third of the four separate window displays in the single display; and

displaying a synopsis of the patient'"'"'s known medical history in a fourth of the four separate window displays in the single display.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in four separate window displays in the single display comprises:

displaying a live video stream of the patient'"'"'s location in a first of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the patient'"'"'s vital signs in a second of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the status of the patient'"'"'s pending lab tests/x-rays and consultations in a third of the four separate window displays in the single display; and

displaying a listing of billing diagnoses and billing procedures in a fourth of the four separate window displays in the single display.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in a single screen comprises:

displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data on a single screen connected to a mobile computing device.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data on a single screen connected to a mobile computing device further comprises:

displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data on a heads-up-display connected to the mobile computing device.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the simultaneously displaying data associated with each of the plurality of non-operating room patients in a single display comprises:

displaying data associated with each of the plurality of non-operating room patients on a single screen connected to a mobile computing device.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the displaying data associated with each of the plurality of non-operating room patients on a single screen connected to a mobile computing device further comprises:

displaying data associated with each of the plurality of non-operating room patients on a heads-up-display connected to the mobile computing device.

16. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of executable instructions to perform a method comprising:

monitoring data associated with a plurality of non-operating room patients;

simultaneously displaying data associated with each of the plurality of non-operating room patients in a single display;

determining whether an alert should be generated for a patient from the plurality of non-operating room patients at least partially based on data associated with the patient, the determining being further based on a comparison of a potential priority of the alert being at least partially based on the data associated with the patient;

generating an alert in substantially real-time for the patient, if it is determined that an alert should be generated for the patient; and

displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in a single screen in response to a request for the patient'"'"'s data.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 16 wherein in the method the data associated with a plurality of non-operating room patients comprises:

data associated with vital signs of the plurality of non-operating room patients; and

data associated with administrative information.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 17 wherein in the method the data associated with the administrative information comprises data on one or more of the following for each of the plurality of non-operating room patients:

patient location;

patient name;

patient chief complaint;

pending lab test status;

admission status; and

time of last check by a healthcare professional.

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 16 wherein in the method the monitoring data associated with a plurality of non-operating room patients comprises one of:

monitoring data associated with a plurality of non-monitored medical/surgical floor patients;

monitoring data associated with a plurality of mass casualty patients;

monitoring data associated with a plurality of labor and delivery room patients;

monitoring data associated with a plurality of intensive care unit patients; and

monitoring data associated with a plurality of emergency room patients.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 16 wherein in the method the generating an alert in substantially real-time for the patient comprises at least one of:

generating the alert in substantially real-time for the patient as a pop-up window in the single display;

generating the alert in substantially real-time for the patient as an audio/voice alert;

generating the alert in substantially real-time for the patient as an audio/voice alert; and

generating the alert in substantially real-time for the patient as a text page or short message service (SMS) alert.

21. The machine-readable medium of claim 16 wherein the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in a single screen is in response to a request for the patient'"'"'s data.

22. The machine-readable medium of claim 21 wherein in the method the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in a single screen comprises:

displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in four separate window displays in the single display.

23. The machine-readable medium of claim 22 wherein in the method the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in four separate window displays in the single display comprises:

displaying a listing of billing diagnoses and billing procedures in a first of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the patient'"'"'s vital signs in a second of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the status of the patient'"'"'s pending lab tests/x-rays and consultations in a third of the four separate window displays in the single display; and

displaying a synopsis of the patient'"'"'s known medical history in a fourth of the four separate window displays in the single display.

24. The machine-readable medium of claim 22 wherein in the method the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in four separate window displays in the single display comprises:

displaying a live video stream of the patient'"'"'s location in a first of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the patient'"'"'s vital signs in a second of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying listing of billing diagnoses and billing procedures in a third of the four separate window displays in the single display; and

displaying a synopsis of the patient'"'"'s known medical history in a fourth of the four separate window displays in the single display.

25. The machine-readable medium of claim 22 wherein in the method the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in four separate window displays in the single display comprises:

displaying a listing of billing diagnoses and billing procedures in a first of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying a live video stream of the patient'"'"'s location in a second of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the patient'"'"'s vital signs and fetal monitoring trends in a third of the four separate window displays in the single display; and

displaying a synopsis of the patient'"'"'s known medical history in a fourth of the four separate window displays in the single display.

26. The machine-readable medium of claim 22 wherein in the method the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in four separate window displays in the single display comprises:

displaying a live video stream of the patient'"'"'s location in a first of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the patient'"'"'s vital signs in a second of the four separate window displays in the single display;

displaying the status of the patient'"'"'s pending lab tests/x-rays and consultations in a third of the four separate window displays in the single display; and

displaying a listing of billing diagnoses and billing procedures in a fourth of the four separate window displays in the single display.

27. The machine-readable medium of claim 16 wherein in the method the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data in a single screen comprises:

displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data on a single screen connected to a mobile computing device.

28. The machine-readable medium of claim 27 wherein in the method the displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data on a single screen connected to a mobile computing device further comprises:

displaying the patient'"'"'s specific data on a heads-up-display connected to the mobile computing device.

29. The machine-readable medium of claim 16 wherein in the method the simultaneously displaying data associated with each of the plurality of non-operating room patients in a single display comprises:

displaying data associated with each of the plurality of non-operating room patients on a single screen connected to a mobile computing device.

30. The machine-readable medium of claim 29 wherein in the method the displaying data associated with each of the plurality of non-operating room patients on a single screen connected to a mobile computing device further comprises:

displaying data associated with each of the plurality of non-operating room patients on a heads-up-display connected to the mobile computing device.

31. A method comprising:

monitoring data associated with a non-operating room patient;

dynamically determining whether an alert should be generated for the non-operating room patient at least partially based on data associated with the patient, the dynamically determining being further based on at least one of historical information, situational information, and predictive information;

generating an alert in substantially real-time for the patient, if it is determined that an alert should be generated for the patient; and

displaying the alert to one or more healthcare providers caring for the patient.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the monitoring data associated with the non-operating room patient comprises one of:

monitoring data associated with a non-monitored medical/surgical floor patient;

monitoring data associated with a mass casualty patient;

monitoring data associated with a delivery room patient;

monitoring data associated with an intensive care unit patient; and

monitoring data associated with an emergency room patient.

33. The method of claim 31 wherein the dynamically determining whether an alert should be generated is based on medical history data for the patient.

34. The method of claim 31 wherein the dynamically determining whether an alert should be generated is based on historical data for a procedure performed on the patient.

35. The method of claim 31 wherein the dynamically determining whether an alert should be generated is based on scheduling data associated with a plurality of patients, which includes the patient.

36. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of executable instructions to perform a method comprising:

monitoring data associated with a non-operating room patient;

dynamically determining whether an alert should be generated for the non-operating room patient at least partially based on data associated with the patient, the dynamically determining being further based on at least one of historical information, situational information, and predictive information;

generating an alert in substantially real-time for the patient, if it is determined that an alert should be generated for the patient; and

displaying the alert to one or more healthcare providers caring for the patient.

37. The machine-readable medium of claim 36 wherein in the method the monitoring data associated with the non-operating room patient comprises one of:

monitoring data associated with a non-monitored medical/surgical floor patient;

monitoring data associated with a mass casualty patient;

monitoring data associated with a delivery room patient;

monitoring data associated with an intensive care unit patient; and

monitoring data associated with an emergency room patient.

38. The machine-readable medium of claim 36 wherein in the method the dynamically determining whether an alert should be generated is based on medical history data for the patient.

39. The machine-readable medium of claim 36 wherein in the method the dynamically determining whether an alert should be generated is based on historical data for a procedure performed on the patient.

40. The machine-readable medium of claim 36 wherein in the method the dynamically determining whether an alert should be generated is based on scheduling data associated with a plurality of patients, which includes the patient.