CAREGIVER INTERFACE FOR ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS

• US 20110004847A1
• Filed: 06/16/2010
• Published: 01/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medicomp Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Medicomp Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Polivka, David A., Herrold, Edmund M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,396,505 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• 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 40/63 for local operation
• 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 caregiver user interface displays information from a patient'"'"'s electronic medical record. The interface associates medical records together that include a common data item. The interface also displays information about data items, such as the status of a data item in an associated historical record. Controls can be displayed in the user interface, which are linked to the historical records.

Claims

1. A method of generating a user interface, the method comprising:

receiving an input, the input identifying a physical characteristic of a patient;

in response to receiving an input, generating a data item identifying the physical characteristic of the patient;

storing the data item in a first note data record of a data storage device;

displaying a user interface having a first note data display, the first note data display displaying data items from the first note data record; and

generating a second note data display displaying data items from a second note data record, the second note data record also containing the data item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the data storage device includes more than two note data records, the method further comprising automatically searching the more than two note data records for the data item; and

wherein generating a second note data display comprises automatically generating a separate note data display for each note data record in the database containing the data item.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating a separate selectable control for each note data display.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

identifying a date each note data record was created; and

displaying the date that each note data record was created in the selectable control.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the selectable controls are selected from the group comprising:

a tab, a button, a check box, a menu item, and a link.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving an input selecting a first control of the selectable controls, the first control being linked to the second note data record; and

displaying in the user interface the second note data display including the second note data record.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein displaying in the user interface the second note data display further comprises scrolling the second note data display to display the data item.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving an input identifying the physical characteristic of the patient occurs when a new data item is entered, and wherein generating a second note data display occurs automatically after the new data item is entered.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein automatically generating a second note data display comprises:

automatically searching note data records of the patient, the note data records stored in memory;

identifying at least the second note data record having the same data item; and

generating the second note data display.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein automatically generating a second note data display comprises:

automatically searching note data records of the patient, the note data records stored in memory;

identifying at least the second note data record having the same data item;

generating a selectable control and displaying the selectable control in the user interface; and

generating the second note data display upon receipt of an input selecting the selectable control.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving an input identifying a physical characteristic of the patient comprises selecting a previously entered data item that is already displayed in the first note data display.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the data item is a finding selected from the group comprising a symptom, a medical history, a physical examination finding, a diagnosis, a test, and a therapy.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the data item has a first value in the first note data record and a second value in the second not data record.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the data item has a first value in the first note data record and the same first value in the second note data record.

15. A method of generating a user interface, the method comprising:

receiving an input of a data item;

displaying the data item in a user interface with a selectable control; and

upon actuation of the selectable control, displaying one or more additional selectable controls, each additional selectable control being associated with a historical note data record that includes the data item.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving an input comprises receiving an entry of a new data item, and wherein displaying the data item with a link is performed automatically upon entry of the new data item.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein generating the link occurs when the data item is displayed.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein generating the link occurs when a template is loaded that includes the data item as a suggested data item.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein generating the link is performed automatically.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a second input to select the selectable control; and

displaying the historical note data record including the data item in the user interface.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein displaying the selectable control further comprises displaying a date of the historical note data record associated with the selectable control.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein displaying the date further comprises:

determining a state of the data item in the historical note data record; and

visually indicating the state in the user interface.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein visually indicating the state comprises displaying the date with a font color associated with the state.

24. A method of generating a user interface, the method comprising:

displaying a first note data record containing a data item representing a physical characteristic of a patient, the data item being displayed in a first font; and

assigning a color to the font, wherein the color is indicative of the physical characteristic.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the color is selected from a group of two or more colors, each color representing a different state of the physical characteristic.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the color is selected from a first color indicative of a abnormal finding and a second color indicative of a normal finding.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising displaying a second note data record including the data item.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein a font for the data item in the first note data record is a first color, and the font for the data item in the second record is a second color.

29. A method of generating a user interface, the method comprising:

displaying a user interface having a first note data record in a first frame, the first note data record including a data item;

receiving an input identifying the data item of the first note data record, the data item representing a physical characteristic of a patient;

upon determining whether the data item is included in a second note data record, generating a selectable control linked to the second note data record; and

displaying the selectable control in the first frame while the first note data record is being displayed in the first frame.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein receiving an input comprises receiving an entry of a new data item.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein receiving an input comprises identifying a previously entered data item.

32. A method of generating a user interface, the method comprising:

generating a user interface having a first note data display corresponding to an encounter with a patient, the first note data display displaying a data item identifying the physical characteristic of the patient; and

displaying the data item with a color in the user interface, the color identifying a state of the physical characteristic of the patient.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising:

generating a second node data display in the user interface, the second note data display corresponding to a different encounter with the patient, the second note data display displaying a second data item corresponding to the same physical characteristic of the patient; and

displaying the second data item with a second color, the second color identifying a state of the physical characteristic of the patient at the different encounter.