System and method for collecting, disseminating and managing information using a voice and data base system

• US 6,870,913 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2001
• Issued: 03/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Voxiva Incorporated (Red Intermediate Co. LLC)
• Original Assignee: Voxiva Incorporated (Red Intermediate Co. LLC)
• Inventors: Narasimhan, Anand, Meyer, Paul, Johnson, Pamela R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng, George
• Application Number:
  US09/925,557
• Publication Number:
  US 20020172335A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,321 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.13, 379/88.14, 379/88.17, 379/88.18, 379/88.22, 379/106.02, 379/110.01, 600300-301, 128903-904, 705 2- 3, 709217-219, 707 3- 6, 348/14.01
• US Class Current: 379/106.02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/50 for simulation or modelling of medical disorders
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a system, components of the system, a method and components of the method for collecting, disseminating and managing information between a data/voice base network and an end user or system. The present invention comprising: (1) an end user device; (2) a device adapter; (3) management surface interface; (4) a series of programmable tools capable of carrying out a desired function; and (5) an information source. The present invention being adaptable to collect, disseminate and manage information relating to public health, financing, banking, E-government, commercial sales, commercial distribution, and others.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring the condition of one or more individuals by one or more health care workers, the method comprising:

providing the one or more health care workers with at least one user device from among a plurality of non-identical user devices, each of the plurality of non-identical user devices being associated with at least one of a plurality of non-identical user interfaces, each of the plurality of user devices being communicatively linked to a device adapter enabling data to be adapted for use via each user device irrespective of associated user interface;

said device adapter being communicatively linked to a system by a management service interface;

said system comprising a management element for controlling one or more electronic tools within the system;

each of said one or more electronic tools programmed to perform a desired function, said system further comprising one or more information sources for processing and storing information;

connecting the one or more health care workers to said system by the device adapter communicatively linked to the management service interface;

providing the one or more health care workers with one or more requests for information by sending said one or more requests through an interactive message interface extracted from the information source depending on a particular type of user device that is used by the one or more health care workers, the one or more health care workers entering the requested information in the system by way of the particular type of user device communicatively linked to the device adapter;

forwarding the requested information to a reporting tool;

processing the request information in a desired format by the reporting tool;

forwarding the processed information from the reporting tool to the information source to form at least one database; and

providing a collaboration tool configured to enable one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one and many-to-many communications and collaborations among the one or more health care workers, the device adapter enabling use of the collaboration tool with said plurality of non-identical user devices irrespective of difference in workflow or collaborative contexts among the one or more health care workers or the plurality of non-identical user devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a communication tool programmed to authorize access into the system by the health care worker;

if the health care worker has one or more messages in the system, providing the health care worker means to retrieve said messages from the system by way of the user device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a security tool programmed to authorize access into the system by the health care worker;

presenting the health care worker with an interactive voice response menu requiring the health care worker to input a pre-assigned authorized password by way of the user device;

the health care worker entering the authorized password in the system by way of the user device linked to the device;

forwarding the password to the security tool for determining if the password is authentic;

if the password is determined to be authentic by the security tool, providing the health care worker access to the system by way of the user device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a survey tool for composing a medical survey to be forwarded to other health care workers having means to access the system;

composing a medical survey with the survey tool;

forwarding the medical survey to the user device by way of the management element to the device adapter.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a notification tool programmed to provide a predetermined notification function upon receiving a designated type of medical information pertaining to the condition of the one or more individuals;

forwarding the processed information from the reporting tool to the notification tool for determining whether such information contains any designated medical information;

if the processed information contains any designated information, delivering the designated information from the notification tool to a predetermined recipient.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a scheduling tool programmed to provide a predetermined message to the health care worker on a pre-selected date;

forwarding the predetermined message to the health care worker on the pre-selected date;

the predetermined message being forwarded to the health care worker by way of the management element to the device adapter.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a forecasting tool programmed to obtain a second set of medical information from the health care worker upon receiving a designated type of medical information pertaining to the condition of the one or more individuals;

forwarding the process information from the reporting tool to the forecasting tool for determining whether such information contain the designated medical information regarding the condition of the one or more individuals;

if the processed information contains any designated information, delivering a second set of requests for medical information from the health care worker by sending the requests to the user device by way of the management element to the device adapter.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of;

providing a telemetry tool for collecting geographical data pertaining to the location of the user device as the user device accesses the system; and

storing said geographical data in one or more information sources.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of non-identical user devices include from a group consisting of telephones, palm pilots, personal computers, pagers, fax machines, wherein each of the plurality of non-identical device having a numbered keypad and the requested information is entered into the system by pressing one or more keys on the numbered key pad.

10. A health monitoring system for monitoring an individual or group of individual'"'"'s condition by one or more health care workers, the system comprising:

a plurality of non-identical user devices, each of the plurality of non-identical devices being associated with at least one of a plurality of non-identical user interfaces, each of the plurality of user devices being communicatively linked to a device adapter enabling data to be adapted for use via each user device irrespective of associated user interface;

means for entering health information pertaining to the condition of said individual or group of individuals into at least one database depending on a particular type of user device that is used by the one or more health care workers;

means for accessing said health information pertaining to the one or more individuals represented in the at least one database;

processing means for processing said health information of at least one of said individuals with consideration of the health information in the at least one database;

means for retrieving the processed health information in a form whereby the healthcare worker practitioner is capable of identifying a condition in the individual or groups of individuals represented in the at least one database; and

a collaboration tool configured to enable one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one and many-to-many communications and collaborations among the one or more health care workers, the device adapter enabling use of the collaboration tool with said plurality of non-identical user devices irrespective of difference in workflow or collaborative contexts among the one or more health care workers or the plurality of non-identical user devices.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the means for processing the health information includes memory means for recording anatomical measurement for said individual or groups of individuals.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the means for analysis further includes comparison means for comparing the recorded anatomical measurement with measurements stored in the memory means.

13. The system claim 10, wherein said processing means comprises:

a tool to automatically perform a categorizing function with respect to the information on said individual or groups of individuals represented in the at least one database;

said categorizing function comprising categorizing said information based on the individual'"'"'s sex, age, geographic location, weight, family background, blood pressure and heart rate.

means for retrieving the categorized information based on a predetermined parameter.