User station for healthcare communication system

• US 8,169,304 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2009
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Inventors: Roehl, Erik Edward, Collins, Williams F. Jr., Schuman, Richard Joseph Sr.
• Primary Examiner(s): MULLEN, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US12/369,832
• Publication Number:
  US 20090212925A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,174 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/539.11, 340/539.12, 340/539.16, 340/539.17, 340/286.07, 340/691.6, 340/692, 340/815.65, 379/106.02, 379/38, 705/3, 600300-301
• US Class Current: 340/286.07
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/002 Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building A61B5/0017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/746 Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms alarms per se G08B
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7465 Arrangements for interactive communication between patient and care services, e.g. by using a telephone network telemetry of measured physiological signal A61B5/0002
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/00 Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/222 Personal calling arrangements or devices, i.e. paging systems selective calling systems and call receivers H04W84/00, H04W68/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/06 using electric transmission , e.g. involving audible and visible signalling through the use of sound and light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

A user station configurable for use in a healthcare communication system, such as a nurse call system, is provided.

Claims

1. A user station for a patient-nurse communication system, comprising:

a housing defining an interior region, the housing being positionable in a patient room of a healthcare facility,

at least one communications port coupled to the housing and configured to operably couple the user station to a patient-nurse communication system,

a graphical display supported by the housing and including a touchscreen, and

electrical circuitry in the housing, the electrical circuitry being configured to receive calls from the patient-nurse communication system, to determine if the calls relate to the patient room, and to display information relating to the received calls on the graphical display when the calls relate to the patient room.

2. The user station of claim 1, wherein the electrical circuitry is configured to display first and second windows on the graphical display, and to display the information relating to the received calls in the first window.

3. The user station of claim 2, wherein the electrical circuitry is configured to display at least one of staff information and patient information in the second window.

4. The user station of claim 1, comprising a user control coupled to the housing and configured to enable a user to manipulate the information relating to the received calls displayed on the graphical display.

5. The user station of claim 4, wherein the user control is configured to enable a user to answer a received call.

6. The user station of claim 1, wherein the electrical circuitry comprises computer componentry configured to play pre-recorded audio files at the user station in response to a received call.

7. The user station of claim 1, wherein the graphical display is configured to display visual cues relating to at least one of the received calls.

8. The user station of claim 7, wherein the graphical display is configured to display a first visual cue relating to a first received call in a first color and display a second visual cue relating to a second received call in a second color.

9. The user station of claim 7, wherein at least one of the visual cues comprises a graphical icon.

10. The user station of claim 1, wherein the communications port comprises computer componentry configured to connect the user station to a Power over Ethernet network switch.

11. The user station of claim 1, wherein the touchscreen comprises at least one of a high resolution touch display, a Super Video Graphics Array (SVGA) display, and at least one touch actuator.

12. The user station of claim 1, wherein the electrical circuitry comprises computer componentry configured to enable a user to place calls to other users of the patient-nurse communication system and to select a preferred mode of calling other users, the preferred mode selected from a plurality of calling modes comprising at least one of voice routing to a located position, wireless telephone, and text paging to a wireless device.

13. The user station of claim 1, comprising a microphone supported by the housing.

14. The user station of claim 1, comprising a wireless locating sensor supported by the housing.

15. The user station of claim 1, wherein the electrical circuitry comprises computer componentry configured to transmit voice communications over a packet-switched network.

16. The user station of claim 1, wherein the at least one communications port is configured for two-way communication with the patient-nurse communication system, and the user station comprises a control activatable by a user to send a notification of an event relating to the patient room to the patient-nurse communication system.

17. A user station for a patient-nurse communication system installable in a healthcare facility having a plurality of locations, the user station comprising:

a housing defining an interior region, the housing being positionable adjacent a patient location of the healthcare facility,

a communications port coupled to the housing and configured to connect the user station to the patient-nurse communication system,

a graphical display supported by the housing,

a memory in the housing comprising first computer program logic and second computer program logic, the first computer program logic being configured to determine whether calls received from the patient-nurse communication system relate to a first location and format information relating to calls that relate to the first location for display on the graphical display,

the second computer program logic being configured to determine whether calls from the patient-nurse communication system relate to a second location, and format information relating to calls that relate to the second location for display on the graphical display, and

electrical circuitry in the housing operable to execute the first computer program logic and the second computer program logic to enable a user to process and manage, at the user station, calls from the patient-nurse communication system that relate to first and second locations.

18. The user station of claim 17, wherein the graphical display comprises a first window and a second window spaced from the first window, the first window is configured to display the information relating to calls that relate to the first location and the second window is configured to display the information relating to calls that relate to the second location.

19. The user station of claim 18, wherein the second location of the healthcare facility has at least one sub-area comprising a patient location and the second window of the graphical display is configured to display information relating to calls that relate to a sub-area of the second location.

20. A user station for a patient-nurse communication system, comprising:

a housing defining an interior region, the housing being positionable in a patient room of a healthcare facility,

at least one communications port coupled to the housing and configured to operably couple the user station to a patient-nurse communication system,

a graphical display supported by the housing and including a touchscreen, and

electrical circuitry in the housing, the electrical circuitry being configured to receive calls from the patient-nurse communication system that relate to the patient room and to display information relating to the received calls on the graphical display,

wherein the electrical circuitry comprises computer componentry configured to enable a user to place calls to other users of the patient-nurse communication system and to select a preferred mode of calling other users, the preferred mode selected from a plurality of calling modes comprising at least one of voice routing to a located position, wireless telephone, and text paging to a wireless device.