Methods, systems, and devices for transferring medical files

• US 8,108,228 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2011
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• 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:
  US13/149,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20110231209A1
• Time in Patent Office: 245 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 computer-implemented method for preventing data loss of medical files at a medical facility, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving by a computing system an electronic notification that or determining by the computing system that a medical file has been at least created or modified in at least one of a radiology information system, a hospital information system, a picture archiving and communication system, an image server, and other medical system of the medical facility;

modifying or causing modification by the computing system of the medical file by removing a first patient identifier associated with a patient and replacing the first patient identifier with a second patient identifier, wherein the medical facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient and a storage facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

transferring or causing transfer automatically by the computing system the medical file from the medical facility to the storage facility,

wherein the computing system comprises at least a computer processor and an electronic storage device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising accessing a secure network connection between the medical facility and the storage facility using paired encryption keys, wherein the paired encryption keys are obtained from a common server, and wherein the paired encryption keys are different for the medical facility and the storage facility.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the paired encryption keys expire at a predetermined time.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the paired encryption keys are only valid for a single use.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the transferring is in response to the notification or determining.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the storage facility is off-site from the medical facility.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the storage facility is operated by a third party service provider.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising using an electronic communication to mark or cause to mark the medical file as signed, so that the medical file does not appear to a medical professional as unread and/or a new study.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computing system comprises of one or more computer systems.

10. A computer-implemented method for transferring and managing medical files at a medical facility to enable teleradiology, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving by a computing system an electronic notification that or determining by the computing system that a medical file has been at least created or modified in at least one of a radiology information system, a hospital information system, a picture archiving and communication system, an image server, and other medical system of the medical facility;

analyzing by the computing system the medical file to determine based on criteria whether to transfer the medical file to a destination facility that provides at least one of outsourced radiology film interpretation, analysis, and other medical services;

modifying or causing modification by the computing system of the medical file by removing a first patient identifier associated with a patient and replacing the first patient identifier with a second patient identifier, wherein a 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

transferring or causing transfer of by the computing system the medical file from the source facility to the destination facility based on the analyzing,

wherein the computing system comprises at least a computer processor and an electronic storage device.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising storing said medical file on a client server at the destination facility based on storage rules.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the criteria comprises at least one of a time period for transferring all medical files to the destination facility, a time period for storing said medical file at the destination facility, a medical expertise required to review the medical file, and an availability of medical professionals at the source facility and/or destination facility.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the criteria comprises information related to an availability of one or more medical professionals at the source facility and/or a destination facility.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the criteria comprises information related to a specialty of one or more medical professionals at the source facility and/or destination facility.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

identifying one or more other medical files related to the medical file; and

transferring the one or more other medical files to the destination facility.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising causing the medical file to be flagged at the destination facility.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising causing a notification to be sent to a medical professional at the destination facility.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising receiving a signed report associated with the medical file from the destination facility.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the medical file includes information identifying a status of the medical file.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising using an electronic communication to mark or cause to mark the medical file as signed, so that the medical file does not appear to a medical professional as unread and/or a new study.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the computing system comprises of one or more computer systems.

22. A computer system comprising:

a computer processor configured to execute modules comprising at least;

a determination module programmed to receive a notification that or determine that a medical file has been at least created or modified in an electronic medical records system of a source facility;

an analysis module programmed to analyze the medical file to determine based on criteria whether to transfer the medical file to a destination facility;

a modification module programmed to modify or cause modification of the medical file by removing a first patient identifier associated with a patient and replacing the first patient identifier with a second patient identifier, 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

a transfer module programmed to transfer or cause transfer of the medical file from the source facility to the destination facility based on the analyzing.

23. The computer system of claim 22, further comprising a storing module programmed to store the medical file on a client server at the destination facility based on storage rules.

24. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the criteria comprises at least one of a time period for transferring the medical file to the destination facility, a time period for storing the medical file at the destination facility, a medical expertise associated with reviewing the medical file, and an availability of medical professionals at the source facility and/or destination facility.

25. The computer system of claim 22, further comprising a marking module programmed to use an electronic communication to mark or cause to mark the medical file as signed, so that the medical file does not appear to a medical professional as unread and/or a new study.

26. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the criteria comprises information related to an availability of one or more medical professionals at the source facility and/or destination facility.

27. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the criteria comprises information related to a specialty of one or more medical professionals at the source facility and/or destination facility.

28. The computer system of claim 22, further comprising:

an identifying module programmed to identify one or more other medical files related to the medical file; and

the transfer module programmed to transfer the one or more other medical files to the destination facility.

29. The computer system of claim 22, further comprising a labeling module programmed to cause the medical file to be flagged at the destination facility.

30. The computer system of claim 22, further comprising a notification module programmed to cause a notification to be sent to a medical professional at the destination facility.

31. The computer system of claim 22, further comprising a collecting module programmed to receive a signed report associated with the medical file from the destination facility.

32. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the medical file includes information identifying a status of the medical file.

33. A computer system comprising:

a computer processor configured to execute modules comprising at least;

a determination module programmed to receive an electronic notification that or determine that a medical file has been at least created or modified in at least one of a radiology information system, a hospital information system, a picture archiving and communication system, an image server, and other medical system of a medical facility;

a modification module programmed to modify or cause modification of the medical file by removing a first patient identifier associated with a patient and replacing the first patient identifier with a second patient identifier, wherein the medical facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient and a storage facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

a transfer module programmed to transfer or cause transfer automatically the medical file from the medical facility to the storage facility.

34. The computer system of claim 33, further comprising a connection module programmed to access a secure network connection between the medical facility and the storage facility using paired encryption keys, wherein the paired encryption keys are obtained from a common server, and wherein the paired encryption keys are different for the medical facility and the storage facility.

35. The computer system of claim 34, wherein the paired encryption keys expire at a predetermined time.

36. The computer system of claim 34, wherein the paired encryption keys are only valid for a single use.

37. The computer system of claim 33, wherein the transferring is in response to the notification or determination.

38. The computer system of claim 33, wherein the storage facility is off-site from the medical facility.

39. The computer system of claim 33, wherein the storage facility is operated by a third party service provider.

40. The computer system of claim 33, further comprising a marking module programmed to use an electronic communication to mark or cause to mark the medical file as signed, so that the medical file does not appear to a medical professional as unread and/or a new study.

41. A computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium having a computer program stored thereon for causing a suitably programmed computing system to process by one or more computer processors computer-program code by performing a method when the computer program is executed on the suitably programmed computing system, the method comprising:

receiving by the computing system an electronic notification that or determining by the computing system that a medical file has been at least created or modified in at least one of a radiology information system, a hospital information system, a picture archiving and communication system, an image server, and other medical system of a medical facility;

modifying or causing modification by the computing system of the medical file by removing a first patient identifier associated with a patient and replacing the first patient identifier with a second patient identifier, wherein the medical facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient and a storage facility uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

transferring or causing transfer automatically by the computing system the medical file from the medical facility to the storage facility.

42. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 41, further comprising accessing a secure network connection between the medical facility and the storage facility using paired encryption keys, wherein the paired encryption keys are obtained from a common server, and wherein the paired encryption keys are different for the medical facility and the storage facility.

43. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 42, wherein the paired encryption keys expire at a predetermined time.

44. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 42, wherein the paired encryption keys are only valid for a single use.

45. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 41, wherein the transferring is in response to the notification or determining.

46. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 41, wherein the storage facility is off-site from the medical facility.

47. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 41, wherein the storage facility is operated by a third party service provider.

48. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 41, further comprising using an electronic communication to mark or cause to mark the medical file as signed, so that the medical file does not appear to a medical professional as unread and/or a new study.

49. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 41, wherein the computing system comprises of one or more computer systems.

50. A computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium having a computer program stored thereon for causing a suitably programmed computing system to process by one or more computer processors computer-program code by performing a method when the computer program is executed on the suitably programmed computing system, the method comprising:

receiving by the computing system an electronic notification that or determining by the computing system that a medical file has been at least created or modified in an electronic medical records system of a source facility;

analyzing by the computing system the medical file to determine based on criteria whether to transfer the medical file to a destination facility;

modifying or causing modification by the computing system of the medical file by removing a first patient identifier associated with a patient and replacing the first patient identifier with a second patient identifier, 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

transferring or causing transfer by the computing system the medical file from the source facility to the destination facility based on the analyzing.

51. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, further comprising storing said medical file on a client server at the destination facility based on storage rules.

52. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, wherein the criteria comprises at least one of a time period for transferring all medical files to the destination facility, a time period for storing said medical file at the destination facility, a medical expertise required to review the medical file, and an availability of medical professionals at the source facility and/or destination facility.

53. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, wherein the criteria comprises information related to an availability of one or more medical professionals at the source facility and/or destination facility.

54. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, wherein the criteria comprises information related to a specialty of one or more medical professionals at the source facility and/or destination facility.

55. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, further comprising:

identifying one or more other medical files related to the medical file; and

transferring the one or more other medical files to the destination facility.

56. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, further comprising causing the medical file to be flagged at the destination facility.

57. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, further comprising causing a notification to be sent to a medical professional at the destination facility.

58. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, further comprising receiving a signed report associated with the medical file from the destination facility.

59. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, wherein the medical file includes information identifying a status of the medical file.

60. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, further comprising using an electronic communication to mark or cause to mark the medical file as signed, so that the medical file does not appear to a medical professional as unread and/or a new study.

61. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, wherein the computing system comprises of one or more computer systems.

62. A computer-implemented method for preventing data loss of medical files at a medical facility, the computer-implemented method comprising:

accessing or receiving by a storage computing system a medical file associated with a patient,

wherein the medical file has been at least created or modified in at least one of a radiology information system, a hospital information system, a picture archiving and communication system, an image server, and other medical system of the medical facility,

wherein the accessed or received medical file is to be stored in the storage computing system to prevent data loss of the medical file;

modifying or causing modification by the storage computing system of the medical file by replacing or associating a first patient identifier with a second patient identifier, wherein the medical facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient and the storage computing system uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

storing the modified medical file in the storage computing system to prevent data loss of the medical file,

wherein the storage computing system comprises at least a computer processor and an electronic storage device.

63. The computer-implemented method of claim 62, further comprising providing the medical facility access to the stored modified medical file in the storage computing system.

64. The computer-implemented method of claim 62, wherein the accessing or receiving is in response to a notification or determination that the medical file has been at least created or modified.

65. The computer-implemented method of claim 62, wherein the storage computing system is off-site from the medical facility.

66. The computer-implemented method of claim 62, wherein the storage computing system is operated by a third party service provider.

67. The computer-implemented method of claim 62, wherein the storage computing system comprises of one or more computer systems.

68. A computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium having a computer program stored thereon for causing a suitably programmed computing system to process by one or more computer processors computer-program code by performing a method when the computer program is executed on the suitably programmed computing system, the method comprising:

accessing or receiving by the computing system a medical file associated with a patient,

wherein the medical file has been at least created or modified in at least one of a radiology information system, a hospital information system, a picture archiving and communication system, an image server, and other medical system of a medical facility,

wherein the accessed or received medical file is to be stored in the computing system to prevent data loss of the medical file;

modifying or causing modification by the computing system of the medical file by replacing or associating a first patient identifier with a second patient identifier, wherein the medical facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient and the computing system uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

storing the modified medical file in the computing system to prevent data loss of the medical file.

69. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 68, further comprising providing the medical facility access to the stored modified medical file in the computing system.

70. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 68, wherein the accessing or receiving is in response to a notification or determination that the medical file has been at least created or modified.

71. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 68, wherein the computing system is off-site from the medical facility.

72. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 68, wherein the computing system is operated by a third party service provider.

73. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 68, wherein the computing system comprises of one or more computer systems.

74. A storage computer system comprising:

a computer processor configured to execute modules comprising at least;

a receiving module programmed to access or receive a medical file associated with a patient,

wherein the medical file has been at least created or modified in at least one of a radiology information system, a hospital information system, a picture archiving and communication system, an image server, and other medical system of a medical facility,

wherein the accessed or received medical file is to be stored in the storage computer system to prevent data loss of the medical file;

a modification module programmed to modify or cause modification of the medical file, by replacing or associating a first patient identifier with a second patient identifier, wherein the medical facility uses the first patient identifier for identifying the patient and the storage computer system uses the second patient identifier for identifying the patient; and

a storing module programmed to store the modified medical file in the storage computer system to prevent data loss of the medical file.

75. The computer system of claim 74, further comprising an access module programmed to provide the medical facility access to the stored modified medical file in the storage computer system.

76. The computer system of claim 74, wherein the receiving module is programmed to access or receive the medical file in response to a notification or determination that the medical file has been at least created or modified.

77. The computer system of claim 74, wherein the storage computer system is off-site from the medical facility.

78. The computer system of claim 74, wherein the storage computer system is operated by a third party service provider.