Extensibility for Manipulation of Medical Data

• US 20140040429A1
• Filed: 10/10/2013
• Published: 02/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Welch Allyn Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Welch Allyn Incorporated
• Inventors: Irwin, John H., Magee, Marshall W., Pingel, Mark E., Arnold, Gary L., Gamble, David D., Rynkiewicz, David E., Robinson, James M., Bobowski, Matthew J., Hoch, Michael D.
• Granted Patent: US 9,641,589 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44526 Plug-ins; Add-ons
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A method for extending a functionality of a computing device programmed to obtain physiological measurements from a patient includes: registering, at the computing device, a plug-in module, the plug-in module providing additional functionality for the computing device; using the plug-in module to communicate with a medical device; commanding the medical device to obtain physiological information from a patient; receiving data associated with the physiological information from the medical device; and transferring the data to a central repository.

Claims

1. A method for extending a functionality of a computing device programmed to obtain physiological measurements from a patient, the method comprising:

registering, at the computing device, a plug-in module, the plug-in module providing additional functionality for the computing device;

using the plug-in module to communicate with a medical device;

commanding the medical device to obtain physiological information from a patient;

receiving data associated with the physiological information from the medical device; and

transferring the data to a central repository.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the data associated with the physiological information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein displaying the data associated with the physiological information further comprises incorporating the data in a report.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein incorporating the data in a report further comprises incorporating the data in a report template defined by the plug-in module.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a user interface, the user interface being provided by the plug-in module.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user interface element is configured to facilitate acquiring data.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the user interface element is configured to facilitate reviewing data.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising editing the data associated with the physiological information.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plug-in module is a vitals plug-in, the vitals plug-in facilitating vitals measurement acquisition and allowing entering data manually when device data is not available.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising operating within a workflow, wherein the workflow is provided by the plug-in module.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein operating within a workflow further comprises operating within a monitoring workflow, wherein the monitoring workflow includes obtaining a series of measurements of one or more physiological parameters of the patient.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising authenticating with the central repository.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from the central repository, data associated with past measurements of a physiological parameter of the patient.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing settings, the settings being associated with the plug-in module.

15. A computer-readable storage medium encoding instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform steps comprising:

registering, at a computing device, a plug-in module, the plug-in module providing additional functionality for the computing device;

using the plug-in module to communicate with a medical device;

commanding the medical device to obtain physiological information from a patient;

receiving data associated with the physiological information from the medical device; and

displaying the data associated with the physiological information.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the plug-in module is a vitals plug-in module, the vitals plug-in module facilitating vitals measurement acquisition.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, encoding instructions that, when executed by a processor, further cause the processor to perform the step of operating within a workflow, the workflow being defined by the plug-in module.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, encoding instructions that, when executed by a processor, further cause the processor to perform the step of displaying a user interface, the user interface being provided by the plug-in module.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, encoding instructions that, when executed by a processor, further cause the processor to perform the steps of authenticating with a central repository and transferring the data to the central repository.

20. A method for extending a functionality of a computing device programmed to obtain physiological measurements from a patient, the method comprising:

registering, at the computing device, a plug-in module, the plug-in module providing additional functionality for the computing device;

displaying a user interface, the user interface being provided by the plug-in module, the user interface being configured to facilitate acquiring data;

operating within a monitoring workflow, the workflow being provided by the plug-in module, wherein the monitoring workflow obtains a series of measurements of one or more physiological parameters of the patient;

using the plug-in module to communicate with a medical device;

commanding the medical device to obtain physiological information from a patient;

receiving data associated with the physiological information from the medical device;

displaying a user interface, the user interface being provided by the plug-in module, the user interface being configured to facilitate reviewing data;

displaying a report, the report incorporating the data, the report being generated from a report template defined by the plug-in module; and

transferring the data to a central repository.