Methods, systems, and devices for managing medical files

• US 8,099,307 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2011
• Issued: 01/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OneMedNet Corp.
• Original Assignee: OneMedNet Corp.
• Inventors: Maresh, Guy, Yu, Jeffrey N.
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Connor, Gerald J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TRANG T
• Application Number:
  US13/151,058
• Publication Number:
  US 20110238449A1
• Time in Patent Office: 230 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 705/3
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• 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 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

The disclosure herein provides methods, systems, and devices for managing, transferring, modifying, converting and/or tracking medical files and/or medical system messages. In certain embodiments, the foregoing may generally be based on requesting medical files at a first medical facility, identifying the requested medical files at a second medical facility, initiating a secure network connection between the first and second medical facility, modifying a header portion of the medical files based on patient identification information created by the first medical facility, and other processing steps.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a database to store patient identification information; and

one or more computing devices in communication with the database, the one or more computing devices operative to;

match a first patient identifier associated with a patient in a source facility computing system with a second patient identifier associated with the patient in a destination facility computing system;

store in the database the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier such that the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier are associated with the patient;

cause transfer of an electronic medical file associated with the patient from the source facility computing system to the destination facility computing system via a secure network connection between the source facility computing system and the destination facility computing system;

cause modification of the electronic medical file by removing the first patient identifier and replacing the first patient identifier with the second patient identifier, wherein the first patient identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient, and the destination facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

process an additional request for transferring electronic medical files based at least in part on patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to process the additional request by locating requested medical files based at least in part on the patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to obtain the patient information from a transaction history database.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to obtain the patient information based on querying computer systems of one or more facilities.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to receive an authorization to transfer the electronic medical file from the patient, and wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to cause transfer of the electronic medical file in response to the authorization received from the patient.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to receive the authorization from a mobile device.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the patient provides the authorization via a website.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computing devices are further programmed to use an electronic communication to mark or cause to mark the electronic medical file as signed, so that the electronic medical file does not appear to a medical professional as unread and/or a new study.

9. A computer-implemented method comprising:

matching by a computer system a first patient identifier associated with a patient in a source facility computing system with a second patient identifier associated with the patient in a destination facility computing system;

storing in the database the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier such that the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier are associated with the patient;

transmitting a signal by the computer system to cause transfer of an electronic medical file associated with the patient from the source facility computing system to the destination facility computing system via a secure network connection between the source facility computing system and the destination facility computing system;

causing modification of the electronic medical file by removing the first patient identifier and replacing the first patient identifier with the second patient identifier, wherein the first patient identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient, and the destination facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

processing additional requests for transferring electronic medical files based at least in part on patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising processing additional requests by locating requested medical files based at least in part on the patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising obtaining the patient information from a transaction history database.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising obtaining the patient information based on querying computer systems of one or more facilities.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving an authorization to transfer the electronic medical file from the patient; and

causing transfer of the electronic medical file in response to the authorization received from the patient.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising receiving the authorization from a mobile device.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the patient provides the authorization via a website.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising using an electronic communication to mark or cause to mark the electronic medical file as signed, so that the electronic medical file does not appear to a medical professional as unread and/or a new study.

17. A system comprising:

a database to store patient identification information; and

one or more computing devices in communication with the database, the one or more computing devices operative to;

match a first patient identifier associated with a patient in a source facility computing system with a second patient identifier associated with the patient in a destination facility computing system;

store in the database the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier such that the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier are associated with the patient;

receive, via at least one of a mobile device and a website, an authorization to transfer an electronic medical file;

in response to receiving the authorization, cause transfer of the electronic medical file associated with the patient from the source facility computing system to the destination facility computing system via a secure network connection between the source facility computing system and the destination facility computing system; and

cause modification of the electronic medical file by removing the first patient identifier and replacing the first patient identifier with the second patient identifier, wherein the first patient identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient, and the destination facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to process an additional request by locating a requested medical file based at least in part on patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to obtain the patient information from a transaction history database.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to obtain the patient information based on querying computer systems of one or more medical facilities.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more computing devices are further programmed to use an electronic communication to mark or cause to mark the electronic medical file as signed, so that the electronic medical file does not appear to a medical professional as unread and/or a new study.

22. A system comprising:

a database to store patient identification information; and

one or more computing devices in communication with the database, the one or more computing devices operative to;

match a first patient identifier associated with a patient in a source facility computing system with a second patient identifier associated with the patient in a destination facility computing system;

store in the database the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier such that the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier are associated with the patient;

cause transfer of an electronic medical file associated with the patient from a central server computing system to the destination facility computing system via a secure network connection between the central server computing system and the destination facility computing system;

cause modification of the electronic medical file by removing the first patient identifier and replacing the first patient identifier with the second patient identifier, wherein the first patient identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient, and the destination facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

process an additional request for transferring electronic medical files based at least in part on patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to process the additional request by locating requested medical files based at least in part on the patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to obtain the patient information from a transaction history database.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to obtain the patient information based on querying computer systems of one or more facilities.

26. The system of claim 22, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to receive an authorization to transfer the electronic medical file from the patient, and wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to cause transfer of the electronic medical file in response to the authorization received from the patient.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to receive the authorization from a mobile device.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the patient provides the authorization via a website.

29. A system comprising:

a data store to store electronic medical files; and

one or more configured computer systems in communication with the data store, the one or more configured computer systems operative to;

obtain access to a first electronic medical file stored in a source computing system, the first electronic medical file including a first identifier;

modify the first electronic medical file by removing the first identifier and replacing the first identifier in the first electronic medical file with a second identifier, wherein the first identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first identifier for identifying a patient, and the destination facility uses the second identifier for identifying the patient; and

transmit or cause transmission of the first electronic medical file from the data store to a computing device of a destination computing system.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the source computing system includes the one or more configured computer systems, and wherein the source computing system uses a different identifier for the patient than the destination computing system.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the destination computing system is operative to modify the first electronic medical file by replacing the first identifier in the first electronic medical file with the second identifier assigned by the destination facility to identify the patient.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein a central server includes the one or more configured computer systems.

33. The system of claim 29, wherein the source computing system uses a different patient identification system than the destination computing system.

34. The system of claim 29, wherein the one or more configured computer systems are further operative to generate a list of identifiers associated with the patient at a plurality medical facilities, and wherein replacing the first identifier is based on the generated list of identifiers associated with the patient.

35. The system of claim 29, wherein electronic medical files in the source computing system are incompatible with the destination computer system, and wherein the one or more configured computer systems are further operative to modify the electronic medical files in the source computing system to make the electronic medical files compatible with the destination computer system.

36. The system of claim 29, wherein the second identifier associated with the patient stored in the destination computer system is included in a header of another electronic medical file, and wherein the another electronic medical file is in a format that is incompatible with the source computer system.

37. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed perform a method, the method comprising:

matching by a computer system a first patient identifier associated with a patient in a source facility computing system with a second patient identifier associated with the patient in a destination facility computing system;

storing in the database the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier such that the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier are associated with the patient;

transmitting a signal by the computer system to cause transfer of an electronic medical file associated with the patient from the source facility computing system to the destination facility computing system via a secure network connection between the source facility computing system and the destination facility computing system;

causing modification of the electronic medical file by removing the first patient identifier and replacing the first patient identifier with the second patient identifier, wherein the first patient identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient, and the destination facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

processing an additional request for transferring electronic medical files based at least in part on patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 37, wherein the method further comprises processing additional requests by locating requested medical files based at least in part on the patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 37, wherein the method further comprises obtaining the patient information from a transaction history database.

40. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 37, wherein the method further comprises obtaining the patient information based on querying computer systems of one or more facilities.

41. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 37, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving an authorization to transfer the electronic medical file from the patient; and

causing transfer of the electronic medical file in response to the authorization received from the patient.

42. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein the method further comprises receiving the authorization from a mobile device.

43. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein the patient provides the authorization via a website.

44. A computer-implemented method comprising:

matching by a computer system a first patient identifier associated with a patient in a source facility computing system with a second patient identifier associated with the patient in a destination facility computing system;

storing in the database the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier such that the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier are associated with the patient;

receiving, via at least one of a mobile device and a website, an authorization to transfer an electronic medical file;

in response to receiving the authorization, transmitting a signal by the computer system causing transfer of the electronic medical file associated with the patient from the source facility computing system to the destination facility computing system via a secure network connection between the source facility computing system and the destination facility computing system; and

cause modification of the electronic medical file by removing the first patient identifier and replacing the first patient identifier with the second patient identifier, wherein the first patient identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient, and the destination facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient.

45. The computer-implemented method of claim 44, further comprising processing an additional request by locating a requested medical file based at least in part on patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

46. The computer-implemented method of claim 44, further comprising obtaining the patient information from a transaction history database.

47. The computer-implemented method of claim 44, further comprising obtaining the patient information based on querying computer systems of one or more medical facilities.

48. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed perform a method, the method comprising:

matching by a computer system a first patient identifier associated with a patient in a source facility computing system with a second patient identifier associated with the patient in a destination facility computing system;

storing in the database the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier such that the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier are associated with the patient;

receiving, via at least one of a mobile device and a website, an authorization to transfer an electronic medical file;

in response to receiving the authorization, transmitting a signal by the computer system causing transfer of the electronic medical file associated with the patient from the source facility computing system to the destination facility computing system via a secure network connection between the source facility computing system and the destination facility computing system; and

causing modification of the electronic medical file by removing the first patient identifier and replacing the first patient identifier with the second patient identifier, wherein the first patient identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient, and the destination facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient.

49. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 48, wherein the method further comprises processing an additional request by locating a requested medical file based at least in part on patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

50. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 48, wherein the method further comprises obtaining the patient information from a transaction history database.

51. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 48, wherein the method further comprises obtaining the patient information based on querying computer systems of one or more medical facilities.

52. A computer-implemented method comprising:

matching by a computer system a first patient identifier associated with a patient in a source facility computing system with a second patient identifier associated with the patient in a destination facility computing system;

storing in the database the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier such that the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier are associated with the patient;

transmitting a signal by the computer system to cause transfer of an electronic medical file associated with the patient from a central server computing system to the destination facility computing system via a secure network connection between the central server computing system and the destination facility computing system;

causing modification of the electronic medical file by removing the first patient identifier and replacing the first patient identifier with the second patient identifier, wherein the first patient identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient, and the destination facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

processing additional requests for transferring electronic medical files based at least in part on patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

53. The computer-implemented method of claim 52, further comprising processing additional requests by locating requested medical files based at least in part on the patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

54. The computer-implemented method of claim 52, further comprising obtaining the patient information from a transaction history database.

55. The computer-implemented method of claim 52, further comprising obtaining the patient information based on querying computer systems of one or more facilities.

56. The computer-implemented method of claim 52, further comprising:

receiving an authorization to transfer the electronic medical file from the patient; and

causing transfer of the electronic medical file in response to the authorization received from the patient.

57. The computer-implemented method of claim 56, further comprising receiving the authorization from a mobile device.

58. The computer-implemented method of claim 56, wherein the patient provides the authorization via a website.

59. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed perform a method, the method comprising:

matching by a computer system a first patient identifier associated with a patient in a source facility computing system with a second patient identifier associated with the patient in a destination facility computing system;

storing in the database the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier such that the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier are associated with the patient;

transmitting a signal by the computer system to cause transfer of an electronic medical file associated with the patient from a central server computing system to the destination facility computing system via a secure network connection between the central server computing system and the destination facility computing system;

causing modification of the electronic medical file by removing the first patient identifier and replacing the first patient identifier with the second patient identifier, wherein the first patient identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient, and the destination facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

processing additional requests for transferring electronic medical files based at least in part on patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

60. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 59, wherein the method further comprises processing additional requests by locating requested medical files based at least in part on the patient information associated with at least one of the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.

61. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 59, wherein the method further comprises obtaining the patient information from a transaction history database.

62. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 59, wherein the method further comprises obtaining the patient information based on querying computer systems of one or more facilities.

63. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 59, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving an authorization to transfer the electronic medical file from the patient; and

causing transfer of the electronic medical file in response to the authorization received from the patient.

64. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 63, wherein the method further comprises receiving the authorization from a mobile device.

65. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 63, wherein the patient provides the authorization via a website.

66. A computer-implemented method comprising:

obtaining access by a computer system to a first electronic medical file stored in a source computing system, the first electronic medical file including a first identifier;

modifying by the computer system the first electronic medical file by removing the first identifier and replacing the first identifier in the first electronic medical file with a second identifier, wherein the first identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first identifier for identifying a patient, and the destination facility uses the second identifier for identifying the patient; and

transmitting or causing transmission of the first electronic medical file from a data store to a computing device of a destination computing system.

67. The computer-implemented method of claim 66, wherein the source computing system is operative to modify the first electronic medical file by replacing the first identifier in the first electronic medical file with the second identifier assigned by the destination facility to identify the patient.

68. The computer-implemented method of claim 66, wherein the destination computing system is operative to modify the first electronic medical file by replacing the first identifier in the first electronic medical file with the second identifier assigned by the destination facility to identify the patient.

69. The computer-implemented method of claim 66, wherein a central server is operative to modify the first electronic medical file by replacing the first identifier in the first electronic medical file with the second identifier assigned by the destination facility to identify the patient.

70. The computer-implemented method of claim 66, wherein the source computing system uses a different patient identification system than the destination computing system.

71. The computer-implemented method of claim 66, further comprising generating a list of identifiers associated with the patient at a plurality medical facilities, and wherein replacing the first identifier is based on the generated list of identifiers associated with the patient.

72. The computer-implemented method of claim 66, wherein electronic medical files in the source computing system are incompatible with the destination computer system, and wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises modifying the electronic medical files in the source computing system to make the electronic medical files compatible with the destination computer system.

73. The computer-implemented method of claim 66, wherein the second identifier associated with the patient stored in the destination computer system is included in a header of another electronic medical file, and wherein the another electronic medical file is in a format that is incompatible with the source computer system.

74. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed perform a method, the method comprising:

obtaining access by a computer system to a first electronic medical file stored in a source computing system, the first electronic medical file including a first identifier;

modifying by the computer system the first electronic medical file by removing the first identifier and replacing the first identifier in the first electronic medical file with a second identifier, wherein the first identifier is assigned by a source facility and the second identifier is assigned by a destination facility, wherein the source facility uses the first identifier for identifying a patient, and the destination facility uses the second identifier for identifying the patient; and

transmitting or causing transmission of the first electronic medical file from a data store to a computing device of a destination computing system.

75. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the source computing system is operative to modify the first electronic medical file by replacing the first identifier in the first electronic medical file with the second identifier assigned by the destination facility to identify the patient.

76. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the destination computing system is operative to modify the first electronic medical file by replacing the first identifier in the first electronic medical file with the second identifier assigned by the destination facility to identify the patient.

77. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 74, wherein a central server is operative to modify the first electronic medical file by replacing the first identifier in the first electronic medical file with the second identifier assigned by the destination facility to identify the patient.

78. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the source computing system uses a different patient identification system than the destination computing system.

79. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the method further comprises generating a list of identifiers associated with the patient at a plurality medical facilities, and wherein replacing the first identifier is based on the generated list of identifiers associated with the patient.

80. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 74, wherein electronic medical files in the source computing system are incompatible with the destination computer system, and wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises modifying the electronic medical files in the source computing system to make the electronic medical files compatible with the destination computer system.

81. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the second identifier associated with the patient stored in the destination computer system is included in a header of another electronic medical file, and wherein the another electronic medical file is in a format that is incompatible with the source computer system.