HOSPITAL DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM

• US 3,872,448 A
• Filed: 12/11/1972
• Issued: 03/18/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Baker A. Mitchell Jr
• Original Assignee: Baker A. Mitchell Jr
• Inventors: Mitchell, Baker A. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zache, Raulfe B.
• Application Number:
  US05/313,684
• Time in Patent Office: 827 Days
• Field of Search: 340/172.5 444/1
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• 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: Y10S 283/90 Medical record
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A system for automatically handling and processing hospital data, such as patient information and pathological test information, on an inline basis is disclosed as including a central data processing apparatus for storing and processing such data, a storage area in said data processing apparatus for providing for storage of information to be acted on, and providing for storage of new information, and a plurality of remote stations providing for data collection and inputting to said storage area, and readout of stored data from said storage area. The storage area in said data processing apparatus includes separately addressed files for relatively long term storage of patient description information, test library information, and past test results, and a transaction file for relatively short term storage of daily transaction data.

Claims

1. An automatic data processing system for handling medical and patient records on an in-line basis during daily functioning of a hospital comprising:

a central station including data processing apparatus for storage and processing of medical and patient records, said data processing apparatus providing for storage of separate files which may be individually accessed for record storage or retrieval, said separate files including a Patient Description File for storing descriptive data on patients of said hospital, a Test Library File for storing data concerning pathological tests available at said hospital, a Transaction File for relatively short term storing of patient and test data being acted on, and a Past Results File for storing past patient test data;

at least one test request station including a test request device for permitting an operator to enter a test request into said Transaction File for a particular test on a particular patient specimen, and a readout device for providing readout of data in said Transaction File, interface means connecting the test request device and the readout device to said Transaction File, at least one data collection station including at least one analytical device for performing a test, and interface means for permitting data collected at said data collection station to be transferred to said Transaction File and means for automatically transferring completed transaction data in said Transaction File into said Past Result File at preselected intervals of time.

2. A method of storing and retrieving pathological data in a hospital or clinic by use of a data processing machine, comprising the steps of storing information concerning a plurality of a pathological tests in said processing machine to comprise a Test Library File, including storage of an identification number for each such test;

providing for readout of such information from said data processing machine for a specific test in response to a request to the machine by test number of a specific test;

temporarily storing on line in a Transaction File in said data processing machine, data concerning a specific patient test, including storing a test accession number, test number, and patient number for each said test;

providing for readout of data in said Transaction File of a specific patient test in response to a request including one of said test accession number, or patient number;

Storing in a Patient Description File in said data processing machine specific patient description information and storing a patient number for each patient, providing for readout of storage information concerning a particular patient in response to a request including the assigned patient number;

providing a Past Result File for storage for a preselected relatively long period of time of test data concerning the patients described in said Patient Description File, which test data is periodically collected from said Transaction File over said period of time; and

at preselected short intervals of time transferring test data stored in said Transaction File to said Past Result File for storage for said preselected relatively long period of time.