Combining medical information captured in structured and unstructured data formats for use or display in a user application, interface, or view

• US 8,250,026 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2009
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Peoplechart Corporation
• Original Assignee: Peoplechart Corporation
• Inventors: Mok, Megan, Holvey, R. David
• Primary Examiner(s): Timblin, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOWEN, RICHARD L
• Application Number:
  US12/399,894
• Publication Number:
  US 20100228721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,264 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/602
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/70 for mining of medical data, e.g. analysing previous cases of other patients

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method receives a plurality of documents. The documents may be received from different medical providers. Also, the documents may be medical record documents generated or captured in a first format and a second format. The first format may be an unstructured data format and the second format may be a structured data format. The first and second documents are then converted to a common format. For example, a common format may emerge as the most restrictive or constrained denominator of the first format and the second format. A schema is determined that provides an organizational structure with categories that can be used to index the content of the first and second documents while they are being converted to the common format. The schema and indexing enable the different formats of documents to be combined and organized simultaneously into a single view for a comprehensive review.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a plurality of medical documents from multiple medical providers using disparate formats, wherein the plurality of medical documents include first medical documents in a paper-based format and second medical documents in a structured data-based format, and wherein the structured data format is non-image text data organized by fields and respective values;

converting the first medical documents having the paper-based format into images of the first medical documents in an image-based unstructured data-based format;

determining a schema, the schema including a plurality of categories determined based on an expected structural content in the first medical documents or second medical documents;

determining indices from the plurality of categories to be used for tagging the first medical documents and the second medical documents when converted into the image-based unstructured format based on a review of an organizing principle to which a common set of descriptors can be identified to tag and organize images of the first medical documents and the second medical documents;

converting the text data of the second medical documents having the structured data-based format into images for the second medical documents in the image-based unstructured format based on the determined indices, wherein the structured data-based format is removed in the conversion and the content included in each image is determined based on the determined indices applying to the fields and respective values;

indexing the images of the first medical documents and the images of the second medical documents in the image-based unstructured format by associating the determined indices based on the schema with the first and second medical documents;

storing the images of first medical documents and the second medical documents in the image-based unstructured format with the indices to allow searching of both the first medical documents and the second medical documents together based on a search query; and

storing the second medical documents with an active link to view specific data in the structured data based format provided by the second medical documents for enabling access to the structured data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the search query; and

determining search results for the search query using the indices associated with the first and second medical documents, wherein the search results include a subset of medical documents from the first and second medical documents that are determined to match the search query.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising displaying the search results in an interface, wherein the subset of medical documents is displayed in the image-based unstructured data-based format.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the subset of medical documents from the first and second medical documents are displayed simultaneously in a directory, file, folder, single page or a grouped set of multiple pages.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising encoded for execution by one or more processors, the logic when executed configured to:

receive a plurality of medical documents from multiple medical providers using disparate formats, wherein the plurality of medical documents include first medical documents in a paper-based format and second medical documents in a structured data-based format, and wherein the structured data format is non-image text data organized by fields and respective values;

convert the first medical documents having the paper-based format into images of the first medical documents in an image-based unstructured data-based format;

determine a schema, the schema including a plurality of categories determined based on an expected structural content in the first medical documents or second medical documents;

determine indices from the plurality of categories to be used for tagging the first medical documents and the second medical documents when converted into the image-based unstructured format based on a review of an organizing principle to which a common set of descriptors can be identified to tag and organize images of the first medical documents and the second medical documents;

convert the text data of the second medical documents having the structured data-based format into images for the second medical documents in the image-based unstructured format based on the determined indices, wherein the structured data-based format is removed in the conversion and the content included in each image is determined based on the determined indices applying to the fields and respective values;

index the images of the first medical documents and the images of the second medical documents in the image-based unstructured format by associating the determined indices based on the schema with the first and second medical documents;

store the images of first medical documents and the second medical documents in the image-based unstructured format with the indices to allow searching of both the first medical documents and the second medical documents together based on a search query; and

store the second medical documents with an active link to view specific data in the structured data based format provided by the second medical documents for enabling access to the structured data.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 5, wherein the logic is further configured to:

receive the search query; and

determine search results for the search query using the indices associated with the first and second medical documents, wherein the search results include a subset of medical documents from the first and second medical documents that are determined to match the search query.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the logic further configured to:

display the search results in an interface, wherein the subset of medical documents is displayed in the image-based unstructured data-based format.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the subset of medical documents from the first and second medical documents are displayed simultaneously in a directory, file, folder, single page or a grouped set of multiple pages.

9. An apparatus comprising:

one or more computer processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for controlling the one or more computer processors to be configured to;

receiving a plurality of medical documents from multiple medical providers using disparate formats, wherein the plurality of medical documents include first medical documents in a paper-based format and second medical documents in a structured data-based format, and wherein the structured data format is non-image text data organized by fields and respective values;

converting the first medical documents having the paper-based format into images of the first medical documents in an image-based unstructured data-based format;

determining a schema, the schema including a plurality of categories determined based on an expected structural content in the first medical documents or second medical documents;

determining indices from the plurality of categories to be used for tagging the first medical documents and the second medical documents when converted into the image-based unstructured format based on a review of an organizing principle to which a common set of descriptors can be identified to tag and organize images of the first medical documents and the second medical documents;

converting the text data of the second medical documents having the structured data-based format into images for the second medical documents in the image-based unstructured format based on the determined indices, wherein the structured data-based format is removed in the conversion and the content included in each image is determined based on the determined indices applying to the fields and respective values;

indexing the images of the first medical documents and the images of the second medical documents in the image-based unstructured format by associating the determined indices based on the schema with the first and second medical documents;

storing the images of first medical documents and the second medical documents in the image-based unstructured format with the indices to allow searching of both the first medical documents and the second medical documents together based on a search query; and

storing the second medical documents with an active link to view specific data in the structured data based format provided by the second medical documents for enabling access to the structured data.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further configured to:

receiving the search query; and

determining search results for the search query using the indices associated with the first and second medical documents, wherein the search results include a subset of medical documents from the first and second medical documents that are determined to match the search query.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further configured to displaying the search results in an interface, wherein the subset of medical documents is displayed in the image-based unstructured data-based format.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the subset of medical documents from the first and second medical documents are displayed simultaneously in a directory, file, folder, single page or a grouped set of multiple pages.