Method and apparatus for the management of data files

• US 6,775,670 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2000
• Issued: 08/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Luc Bessette
• Original Assignee: Luc Bessette
• Inventors: Bessette, Luc
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEWIS, CHERYL RENEA
• Application Number:
  US09/735,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20010016822A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,336 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/10, 707/100, 707/2, 707/3, 707/4, 707/9, 709/203, 705/2, 705/3, 705/4
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 90/00 Systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial or supervisory purposes, not involving significant data processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/40 for data related to laboratory analysis, e.g. patient specimen analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

The present invention provides a network system for storage of medical records. The records are stored in a database on a server. Each record includes two main parts, namely a collection of data elements containing information of medical nature for the certain individual, and a plurality of pointers providing addresses or remote locations where reside other medical data for that particular individual. Each record also includes a data element indicative of the basic type of medical data found at the location pointed Lo by a particular pointer. This arrangement permits a client workstation to download the record along with the set of pointers which link the client Lo the remotely stored files. The identification of the basic type of information that each pointer points to allows the physician to select the ones of interest and thus avoid downloading massive amounts of data where only part of that data is needed at that time. In addition, this record structure allows statistical queries to be effected without the necessity of accessing the data behind the pointers. For instance, a query can be built based on keys, one of which is the type of data that a pointer points to. The query can thus be performed solely on the basis of the pointers and the remaining information held in the record.

Claims

1. A mobile communications system for accessing a network system managing medical information, the network system including a server storing a plurality of summary medical records associated with respective individuals, each summary medical record containing the most recently available medical information for the respective individual, said mobile communications system comprising:

an interface for exchanging data with a user;

a processor;

a memory storing a program element including individual instructions for execution by said processor, said program element being responsive to one or more commands input by the user via said interface to;

a) establish a data communications pathway between said mobile communications system and the server of the network system;

b) generate a request associated with a particular summary medical record stored in the server of the network system;

c) transmit said request to the server over the data communications pathway;

d) receive at least a portion of the medical information contained in the particular summary medical record from the server over the data communications pathway; and

e) transmit said at least a portion of the medical information contained in the particular summary medical record to the user via said interface.

2. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 1, wherein the network system implements a validation procedure for validating users attempting to access the server, said program element being further operative to execute the validation procedure once said data communications pathway has been established by sending to the server unique identification data associated with said mobile communications system.

3. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 2, wherein said unique identification data includes an identifier and a password.

4. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 3, wherein at least one of said identifier and said password is selected from the group consisting of a medical insurance number, a social insurance number, a Smart Card, a network attributed identifier and a digital print of the user.

5. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 3, wherein said identifier and said password are obtained from the user of said mobile communications system via said interface.

6. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 2, wherein said unique identification data is an authentication key of said mobile communications system.

7. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 6, wherein said authentication key is a unique signature of said mobile communications system.

8. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 7, wherein said unique signature is accompanied by a pin number obtained from the user of said mobile communications system via said interface.

9. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 6, wherein said authentication key is a unique signature of a microchip in said mobile communications system.

10. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 1, wherein said memory of said mobile communications system is capable of storing locally medical information specific to a particular individual.

11. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 10, wherein said medical information stored locally in said memory includes at least a portion of the summary medical record associated with the particular individual in the server of the network system.

12. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 10, wherein said memory stores nominative information specific to the particular individual.

13. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 10, wherein said mobile communications system is operative to access the server of the network system in order to update the medical information stored locally in said memory.

14. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 13, wherein said mobile communications system is operative to transmit a request to the server of the network system to update the medical information stored locally in said memory.

15. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 10, wherein the medical information stored locally in said memory is updated automatically by the network system when new medical information specific to the particular individual is archived on the server of the network system.

16. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 1, wherein said mobile communications system is a personal communications system.

17. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 16, wherein said personal communications system includes a display.

18. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 17, wherein said interface is provided by the server of the network system to the display of said personal communications system.

19. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 18, wherein said interface permits the user to provide a plurality of different commands directly to the server of the network system.

20. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 19, wherein the different commands are selected from the group consisting of data request, search or query on the network system, and keyword-based Internet search.

21. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 22, wherein said display is the screen of the cellular phone.

22. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 17, wherein said personal communications system is a cellular phone.

23. The mobile communications system as defined in claim 16, wherein said personal communications system is selected from the group consisting of a web phone, a cellular notepad, and an Internet Protocol television or monitor.

24. In combination:

a network system including a server storing a plurality of summary medical records associated with respective individuals, each summary medical record containing the most recently available medical information for the respective individual; and

a mobile communications system comprising;

a) an interface for exchanging data with a user,

b) a processor, and

c) a memory storing a program element including individual instructions for execution by said processor, said program element being responsive to one or more commands input by the user via said interface to;

i) establish a data communications pathway between said mobile communications system and said server,

ii) generate a request associated with a particular summary medical record stored in said server,

iii) transmit said request to said server over the data communications pathway,

iv) receive at least a portion of the medical information contained in the particular summary medical record from said server over the data communications pathway, and

v) transmit said at least a portion of the medical information contained in the particular summary medical record to the user via said interface.

25. A method for using a mobile communications system to access a network system managing medical information, the network system including a server storing a plurality of summary medical records associated with respective individuals, each summary medical record containing the most recently available medical information for the respective individual, said method comprising:

establishing a data communications pathway between the mobile communications system and the server of the network system;

generating a request associated with at least one summary medical record stored in the server of the network system;

transmitting said request to the server over the data communications pathway;

receiving at least a portion of the medical information contained in the at least one summary medical record from the server over the data communications pathway; and

transmitting said at least a portion of the medical information contained in the at least one summary medical record received from the server to a user of the mobile communications system.