System for communication of health care data

• US 8,229,760 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2010
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Healthtrio LLC (Spok Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Healthtrio LLC (Spok Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hasan, Malik M., Wallen, J. Dominic, Peterson, John C., Post, Cindy A., Korpman, Ralph A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Morgan, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fuelling, Michael
• Application Number:
  US12/688,380
• Publication Number:
  US 20100145732A1
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2- 3
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring

Abstract

A computer system configured to extract and integrate health care data from a plurality of health care payors. The computer system includes a computer configured to communicate with payor computer systems from two or more payors. The computer is also configured to receive health care data of a type related to claims information. A staging database is in communication with the computer and configured to receive the claims information from each of the payor computer systems. The claims information is converted into a normalized format by a normalization system. A rules engine of the normalization system establishes the predefined format, predetermines how each of the plurality of health care data is to appear in its respective field, and remodels any of the health care data that is not expressed as predetermined by the normalized format into the normalized format. Normalized data expressing information having the same meaning will be expressed in the same format.

Claims

1. A computer system to extract and integrate health care data from a health care payor, the computer system comprising:

a computer configured to communicate with one or more payor computer systems from one or more payors;

wherein the computer is configured to communicate with each of the one or more payor computer systems of a type that includes one or more databases storing records of health care data of a type that are displayed in separate fields;

wherein the computer is configured to receive the health care data also of a type related to claims information from at least one payor computer system from the one or more payors;

wherein the computer is configured to receive the claim information of a type that is organized for use by the one or more payors;

wherein a normalized format is of a type that displays health care data from one or more sources such that any health care data associated with a health care record having the same meaning will be expressed in the same format despite any prior formatting; and

a staging database in communication with the computer;

wherein the staging database is configured to receive the claims information from each of the payor computer systems;

wherein the claims information from each of the one or more payor computer systems are configured to convert into the normalized format by a normalization system comprising;

a rules engine that establishes the predefined format, predetermines how each of the plurality of health care data is to appear in its respective field, and remodels any of the health care data that is not expressed as predetermined by the normalized format into the normalized format becoming normalized data such that all normalized data expressing information having the same meaning now expresses that meaning in the same format.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer is configured to transfer the normalized data over a data network.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the normalized data is configured to be transferable to a participant computer system.

4. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the participant computer system is a disease management organization or the payor conducting a disease management program.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the claims information in the normalized format is usable for practice and disease management.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the health care data in the normalized format is usable for care management.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the health care data in the normalized format is usable for case management.

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the health care data in the normalized format is usable by providers in their health care records.

9. A computer system to extract and integrate health care information from a health care payor, the computer system comprising:

a computer configured to communicate with a one or more payor computer systems from the payor, each payor computer system stores medical records containing health care data of a type where the health care data is displayed in separate fields;

wherein the computer is configured to receive the health care data from the one or more payor computer systems where the health care data is of a type that is organized for use by the payor; and

wherein a normalized format is of a type that displays health care data from one or more sources such that any health care data associated with a health care record having the same meaning will be expressed in the same format despite any prior formatting;

a staging database in communication with the computer;

wherein the staging database is configured to receive the health care data from the one or more payor computer systems;

wherein the health care data from the one or more payor computer systems is configured to be converted into the normalized format by a normalization system comprising;

a rules engine that establishes the predefined format and predetermines how each of the health care data is to appear in its respective field, and remodels any of the health care data that is not expressed as predetermined by the normalized format into the normalized format becoming normalized data such that all normalized data expressing information having the same meaning now expresses that meaning in the same format; and

wherein the computer is configured to transfer the normalized data over a data network to a disease management organization or the payor conducting a disease management program.

10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the computer is configured to transfer the normalized data over the data network.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the normalized data is transferable to a participant computer system.

12. A computer system to extract and integrate health care information from a health care payor, the computer system comprising:

a computer configured to communicate with a one or more payor computer systems from the payor, each of the one or more payor computer systems stores medical records containing patient health care data of a type where each of the health care data is displayed in a separate field; and

a staging database in communication with the computer;

wherein the staging database is configured to receive the health care data from the one or more payor computer systems;

wherein the health care data from each of the payor computer systems is configured to convert into a normalized format by a normalization system;

wherein the normalized format is of a type that displays health care data from one or more sources such that any health care data associated with a health care record having the same meaning will be expressed in the same format despite any prior formatting; and

wherein the normalization system comprises;

a rules engine that establishes the predefined format and predetermines how each of the health care data is to appear in its respective field, and remodels any of the health care data that is not expressed as predetermined by the normalized format into the normalized format becoming normalized data such that all normalized data expressing information having the same meaning now expresses that meaning in the same format.

13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the health care data in the normalized format is usable for care management.

14. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the health care data in the normalized format is usable for case management.

15. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the health care data in the normalized format is usable by providers in their health care records.