QUANTIFICATION OF RESPONSES RECEIVED DURING MEDICAL TRIAGE

• US 20100250286A1
• Filed: 05/17/2010
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medcor Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Medcor Incorporated
• Inventors: Zoiss, Joyce H., Biggerstaff, Wendy K., Kinch, Diane M., Glimp, Thomas H., Victorson, Troyt M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,346,573 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• 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 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

A method of determining a medical triage disposition for a person includes providing to a triage operator through a graphical user interface (GUI) of the computer: (i) a plurality of triage categories each including yes/no questions grouped into tiers that are ranked according to urgency and corresponding to a triage disposition; (ii) a selection of a relevant triage category based on a medical condition of the person; (iii) a quantification tool including follow-up questions related to symptoms, observations, and/or injury mechanisms, to enable the triage operator to quantify a level of severity of a symptom or injury related to yes/no questions of a subjective nature; wherein the triage operator determines a triage disposition for the person by providing triage to the person including: (i) asking, sequentially, the yes/no questions for the relevant triage category as displayed in the GUI; and (ii) asking follow-up questions from the quantification tool to determine whether a response to a yes/no question is properly considered “yes” or “no,” as stated in a response by the person.

Claims

1. A method of determining a medical triage disposition for a person, comprising:

(a) providing, by a computer, to a triage operator through a graphical user interface (GUI) of the computer;

(i) a plurality of triage categories comprising symptoms and injuries, wherein each of the plurality of triage categories comprises a plurality of yes/no questions grouped into a plurality of tiers that are ranked according to urgency, and wherein each of the plurality of tiers corresponds to a triage disposition;

(ii) a selection of a relevant triage category from the plurality of triage categories based on an answer received from the person in response to an initial inquiry into a medical condition of the person;

(iii) a quantification tool comprising follow-up questions related to one or more selected from the group consisting of symptoms, observations, and injury mechanisms, to enable the triage operator to quantify a level of severity of a symptom or injury related to yes/no questions of a subjective nature;

(b) wherein the triage operator determines a triage disposition for the person by providing triage to the person comprising;

(i) asking, sequentially, the yes/no questions for the relevant triage category as displayed in the GUI; and

(ii) asking follow-up questions from the quantification tool to determine whether a response to a yes/no question is properly considered “

yes”

or “

no,”

as stated in a response by the person.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of triage categories further comprise body parts.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the yes/no question being quantified is selected from the group consisting of:

severity of bleeding, amount of pain, depth of a wound, and extent of burns.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the quantification tool is provided through a selectable icon near a yes/no question displayed on the GUI.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

launching a document in response to selection of the icon by the triage operator, the document containing quantifying information about the yes/no question from which the triage operator may form the follow-up questions.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing at least one database supported by the computer for storing the follow-up questions in relation to the one or more yes/no questions of a subjective nature.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein asking the follow-up questions comprises having a conversation with the person.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting the follow-up questions to the triage operator in the user interface through a grid display that differentiates between symptom or observation and injury mechanism.

9. A system for enabling a triage operator using a computer to determine a triage disposition of a person, comprising:

(a) a computer having a processor and system storage, wherein stored in the storage comprises a database populated with a plurality of triage categories comprising symptoms and injuries, wherein each of the plurality of triage categories comprises a plurality of yes/no questions grouped into a plurality of tiers that are ranked according to urgency, and wherein each of the plurality of tiers corresponds to a triage disposition stored in relation thereto;

(b) wherein the processor provides to a triage operator, through a graphical user interface (GUI) of the computer;

(i) a plurality of triage categories comprising symptoms and injuries, wherein each of the plurality of triage categories comprises a plurality of yes/no questions grouped into a plurality of tiers that are ranked according to urgency, and wherein each of the plurality of tiers corresponds to a triage disposition;

(ii) a selection of a relevant triage category from the plurality of triage categories based on an answer received from the person in response to an initial inquiry into a medical condition of the person;

(iii) a quantification tool comprising follow-up questions related to one or more selected from the group consisting of symptoms, observations, and injury mechanisms, to enable the triage operator to quantify a level of severity of a symptom or injury related to yes/no questions of a subjective nature;

(c) wherein the triage operator determines a triage disposition for the person by providing triage to the person comprising;

(i) asking, sequentially, the yes/no questions for the relevant triage category as displayed in the GUI; and

(ii) asking follow-up questions from the quantification tool to determine whether a response to a yes/no question is properly considered “

yes”

or “

no,”

as stated in a response by the person.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of triage categories further comprise body parts.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the yes/no question being quantified is selected from the group consisting of:

severity of bleeding, amount of pain, depth of a wound, and extent of burns.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the quantification tool is provided through a selectable icon near a yes/no question displayed on the GUI.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor:

launches a document in response to selection of the icon by the triage operator, the document containing quantifying information about the yes/no question from which the triage operator may form the follow-up questions.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor

presents the follow-up questions to the triage operator in the user interface through a grid display that differentiates between symptom or observation and injury mechanism.

15. A computer-readable storage medium comprising a set of instructions for executing a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables a triage operator to determine a triage disposition for a person, the instructions executable by a computer having a processor and memory, the set of instructions to direct the processor to perform the acts of:

(a) providing, by the computer, to the triage operator;

(i) a plurality of triage categories comprising symptoms and injuries, wherein each of the plurality of triage categories comprises a plurality of yes/no questions grouped into a plurality of tiers that are ranked according to urgency, and wherein each of the plurality of tiers corresponds to a triage disposition;

(ii) a selection of a relevant triage category from the plurality of triage categories based on an answer received from the person in response to an initial inquiry into a medical condition of the person;

(iii) a quantification tool comprising follow-up questions related to one or more selected from the group consisting of symptoms, observations, and injury mechanisms, to enable the triage operator to quantify a level of severity of a symptom or injury related to yes/no questions of a subjective nature;

(b) wherein the triage operator determines a triage disposition for the person by providing triage to the person comprising;

(i) asking, sequentially, the yes/no questions for the relevant triage category as displayed in the GUI; and

(ii) asking follow-up questions from the quantification tool to determine whether a response to a yes/no question is properly considered “

yes”

or “

no,”

as stated in a response by the person.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the plurality of triage categories further comprise body parts.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the yes/no question being quantified is selected from the group consisting of:

severity of bleeding, amount of pain, depth of a wound, and extent of burns.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the quantification tool is provided through a selectable icon near a yes/no question displayed on the GUI.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, the set of instructions further to direct the processor to perform the act of:

launching a document in response to selection of the icon by the triage operator, the document containing quantifying information about the yes/no question from which the triage operator may form the follow-up questions.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, the set of instructions further to direct the processor to perform the act of:

presenting the follow-up questions to the triage operator in the user interface through a grid display that differentiates between symptom or observation and injury mechanism.