Method and apparatus for obtaining and storing medical history records

• US 7,290,016 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2003
• Issued: 10/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Frank Hugh Byers
• Original Assignee: Frank Hugh Byers
• Inventors: Byers, Frank Hugh
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong; Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): Black; Linh
• Application Number:
  US10/445,788
• Publication Number:
  US 20040243586A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,617 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1-1041, 707/203, 705 1- 3, 600300-301, 600/481, 600/513, 600508-509, 235/380, 235/375, 283/56, 283/116, 283/900, 706/902, 706/924, 713/193, 713/189, 715/530, 128920-923, 128/897
• US Class Current: 707/759
• 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: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

A system and method for taking a medical history uses a questionnaire database in which answers to questions are correlated with subsequent questions. The answers given for the medical history provide a path through the database and a compact form for storage of the medical history. A computerized system is used to access the database for creating or retrieving a medical history.

Claims

1. A method of producing and utilizing a medical history, comprising:

presenting a user with a questionnaire including questions with each of the questions including question text;

receiving selections from the user corresponding to the questions, wherein the selections are stored in a medical history without the question text;

storing, in the medical history, questionnaire version information including a questionnaire version identifier and a question sub-version identifier for each question presented to the user;

storing at least one medical history processing algorithm, wherein the questionnaire version information is necessary for the execution of the medical history processing algorithm;

producing a medical history report from a combination of at least one of the selections in the medical history and the at least one medical history processing algorithm.

2. The method of producing and utilizing a medical history according to claim 1, wherein the selections are ordered;

and wherein storing the selection includes storing order information corresponding to the order of the selections from the user.

3. The method of producing and utilizing a medical history according to claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving the selections stored in the medical history; and

determining the questionnaire and the question text associated with the selections in the medical history.

4. The method of producing and utilizing a medical history according to claim 1, further comprising:

linking at least one of the selections from the user with additional information; and

providing the additional information to the user in response to the at least one selection being made.

5. The method of producing and utilizing a medical history according to claim 4, further comprising determining a category for the user;

and wherein the additional information is applicable to the category of the user.

6. The method of producing and utilizing a medical history according to claim 1, further comprising:

associating at least one physical test with at least one of the selections from the user; and

recommending that a patient have the at least one physical test done in response to the at least one of the selections from the user being made.

9. The method of producing and utilizing a medical history according to claim 1, further comprising presenting subsequent questions based upon the previous selections.

7. A method of storing information, comprising:

presenting a user with a questionnaire having a plurality of questions and associated available responses, wherein each of the associated responses dictates a subsequent question and each of the questions includes question text;

receiving actual responses, from the available responses, from the user;

presenting subsequent questions based upon the actual responses;

storing a set of values representing the actual responses, without storing the associated question text with the set of values;

storing a version value representing the particular questionnaire;

storing a sub-version value for each question presented to the user;

storing a medical report generator; and

initiating the medical report generator, wherein the medical report generator receives as an input the version value representing the particular questionnaire, the sub-version value for each question presented to the user, and at least one value in the set of values representing the actual responses, and outputs a medical report.

8. The method of storing information according to claim 7, wherein the responses associated with each of the plurality of questions are ordered;

and wherein the set of values corresponds to the order of the responses.