Interactive method and system for managing physical exams, diagnosis and treatment protocols in a health care practice

• US 6,047,259 A
• Filed: 12/30/1997
• Issued: 04/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Medical Management International Incorporated (Mars Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Medical Management International Incorporated (Mars Incorporated)
• Inventors: Howard, Mark, Campbell, Scott Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): Myhre, James W.
• Application Number:
  US09/001,379
• Time in Patent Office: 826 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 705/3
• US Class Current: 705/3
• 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 40/20 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 70/20 relating to practices or guidelines

Abstract

A software system for managing a health care practice includes interactive software tools for conducting a physical exam, suggesting tentative diagnosis, and managing a treatment protocol. The physical exam software guides the user through a physical exam, prompting the user for input and dynamically generating context sensitive questions based on prior input. The diagnosis software generates a list of possible diagnoses based on the observations recorded from the physical exam. The user can interactively select a diagnosis by selecting a diagnosis from a rule out list and watching the display as the system dynamic updates the status of unresolved symptoms. The user can also select a treatment protocol, which is integrated with future physical exams. The treatment protocol is integrated such that future exam sessions reflect the status of the treatment protocol and remind the user which services need to be performed and when they should be performed.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for managing a medical exam, diagnosis, and treatment protocol of a patient, the method comprising:

displaying an interactive physical exam user interface on a display device;

in response to user selection during an interactive physical exam, displaying user interface screens that each guide the user through a part of the physical exam;

prompting a user to enter medical observations by displaying medical observations in the user interface screens and enabling the user to select from among the medical observations;

recording medical observations entered by the user in response to the user selecting from among the medical observations displayed in the user interface screens on the display device;

after receiving input indicating that the physical exam is complete, determining one or more possible diagnoses by matching the recorded observations with one or more ailments;

displaying possible diagnoses associated with the one or more ailments;

in response to the user selecting one of the displayed diagnoses, generating a treatment protocol for the diagnoses, and displaying the treatment protocol.

2. The method of claim 1 further including:

integrating the treatment protocol in subsequent patient visits by modifying user prompts presented to the user in a subsequent exam session to prompt the user to answer questions or enter medical observations related to the treatment protocol.

3. The method of claim 1 further including:

integrating the treatment protocol in subsequent patient visits by displaying status of scheduled therapy items in the interactive physical exam user interface along with a cost estimate of the scheduled therapy items.

4. The method of claim 1 further including:

scheduling therapy service items in the treatment protocol; and

in subsequent exam sessions, determined by user login, displaying the scheduled therapy service items and associated status.

5. The method of claim 1 further including:

displaying a graphical representation of anatomy of the patient;

in response to cursor input on the graphical representation of the anatomy, recording location of an abnormal medical observation and type of the abnormal medical observation.

6. The method of claim 1 further including:

presenting an interactive user interface to record medical attributes of a patient;

searching a list of patient education videos to find a video that corresponds to one or more of the medical attributes of the patient; and

playing the video corresponding to the medical attribute of the patient without explicit selection of a video by a user.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the user interface screens guide the user through a complete physical exam before displaying a diagnoses by requiring the user to enter input acknowledging that the part of the physical exam associated with each user interface screen is complete.

8. A computer-implemented method for managing workflow in a medical facility, the method comprising:

displaying a plurality of different user interfaces on a display, where the user interfaces prompt a user for input about a patient and are associated with a stage in a visit of a patient to a medical facility;

guiding a user from one stage in the visit to a subsequent stage by requiring the user to enter patient data indicating that patient data has been observed before proceeding to a subsequent stage;

in response to user selection during an interactive physical exam, displaying user interface screens that each guide the user through a part of the physical exam;

recording the patient data in a medical record for the patient;

recording medical observations entered by the user in response to prompts for input displayed in the user interface screens on the display device;

after receiving input indicating that the physical exam is complete, determining one or more possible diagnoses by matching the recorded observations with one or more ailments;

displaying possible diagnoses associated with the one or more ailments;

updating patient status for the patient based on user input indicating that the patient has completed a stage in the visit; and

displaying an indicator of current patient status.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the stages include awaiting a medical exam, undergoing a medical exam, and checking out;

and further including;

prompting a user for medical observations while the patient is undergoing the medical exam; and

requiring an authorized user to complete the medical exam before allowing a user to check the patient out of the medical exam.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein patient status is represented as awaiting medical exam when the patient is checked into the medical facility;

and

wherein the patient status changes to undergoing a medical exam when the patient is checked into an exam room.

11. The method of claim 10 further including:

displaying a reception user interface screen to check a patient into a medical facility;

updating the status of the patient in response to receiving input sufficient to check the patient into the medical facility via the reception user interface.

12. A computer system for managing a medical practice in a medical facility comprising:

a computer network;

one or more reception computers in communication with the computer network, each programmed to check patients into and out of the medical facility; and

one or more exam room computers in communication with the computer network, each programmed to display an interactive user interface for guiding personnel through a medical examination, to record medical observations, to evaluate the recorded observations and to generate possible diagnoses dependent on the recorded observations, and to generate a treatment protocol for a selected diagnosis;

wherein the one or more exam room computers are programmed to display user interface screens that each guide the user through a part of a physical exam, to record medical observations entered by the user in response to prompts for input displayed in the user interface screens on the display device;

to determine one or more possible diagnoses by matching the recorded observations with one or more ailments after receiving input indicating that the physical exam is complete, and to display possible diagnoses associated with the one or more ailments.

13. The computer system of claim 12 further including:

a treatment computer in communication with the computer network, wherein the treatment computer is programmed to record a treatment record for a patient when the treatment is provided to the patient.

14. The computer system of claim 12 further including:

a lab computer in communication with the computer network, wherein the lab computer is programmed to record lab results for a patient.

15. The computer system of claim 12 wherein the reception computer is programmed to update status of a patient when the patient is checked into an exam room to reflect that the patient has moved from one part of the facility to the next;

and wherein the exam room computer is programmed to update status of the patient when the medical examination is complete to reflect that the patient has completed the medical examination.

16. The computer system of claim 15 including a server computer connected to the network, wherein the server computer is operable to store a list of patients checked into the medical facility, along with a status parameter indicating status of each patient in the medical facility;

and

wherein the reception computer is programmed to query the server to obtain the status of each patient in the medical facility.

17. The computer system of claim 12 further including a server computer for storing a list of product or service items scheduled for patients, wherein each of the computers is programmed to access the server to update status of a specified product or service item in response to input indicating that the specified product or service item has been provided to a specified patient.

18. The computer system of claim 12 wherein the exam room computers are programmed to track identity of a provider who provides a product or service item to a patient by recording an indicator of a provider in response to input indicating that the product or service item has been provided to the patient.

19. The computer system of claim 12 further including:

a lab computer in communication with the computer network, wherein the lab computer is programmed to record lab results for a patient;

a treatment computer in communication with the computer network, wherein the treatment computer is programmed to record a treatment record for a patient when the treatment is provided to the patient; and

a server computer in communication with the computer network, wherein the server computer is programmed to respond to the reception, exam room, lab, and treatment computers to maintain and update medical records, including the lab results and treatment records for patients of the medical facility.

20. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the server computer is programmed to update status of patients in the medical facility in response to messages from other computers on the computer network indicating a change in patient status.

21. A computer readable medium having software for managing a medical exam, the software, when executed on a computer, performing the steps of:

displaying an interactive physical exam user interface on a display device;

in response to user selection during an interactive physical exam, displaying user interface screens that each guide the user through a part of the physical exam;

prompting a user to enter medical observations by displaying medical observations in the user interface screens and enabling the user to select from among the medical observations;

recording medical observations entered by the user in response to the user selecting from among the medical observations displayed in the user interface screens on the display device;

determining one or more possible diagnoses by matching the recorded observations with one or more ailments;

displaying possible diagnoses associated with the one or more ailments;

in response to the user selecting one of the displayed diagnoses, generating a treatment protocol for the diagnoses, and displaying the treatment protocol.

22. A computer-implemented method for managing a medical exam and diagnosis of a patient, the method comprising:

displaying an interactive physical exam user interface on a display device;

in response to user selection during an interactive physical exam, displaying user interface screens that each guide the user through a part of the physical exam;

prompting a user to enter medical observations by displaying medical observations in the user interface screens and enabling the user to select from among the medical observations;

recording medical observations entered by the user in response to the user selecting from among the medical observations displayed in the user interface screens on the display device;

after receiving input indicating that the physical exam is complete, determining one or more possible diagnoses by matching the recorded observations with one or more ailments; and

displaying possible diagnoses associated with the one or more ailments.