Generation and data management of a medical study using instruments in an integrated media and medical system

• US 8,756,072 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2010
• Issued: 06/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Research Solutions, LLC
• Original Assignee: Universal Research Solutions, LLC
• Inventors: Hussam, Ali Adel
• Primary Examiner(s): BURGESS, JOSEPH D
• Application Number:
  US12/774,696
• Publication Number:
  US 20110093292A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,504 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2- 3
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

In general, a computer-implemented method is described for receiving one or more requests to generate a medical study, retrieving from one or more data repositories one or more medical study instruments, receiving a selection of a particular medical study instrument to use in the medical study, generating by one or more computers a list of one or more research collaborators invited to review the medical study, and generating by one or more computers a list of one of more participants invited to join the medical study. Additionally, the computer-implemented method receives from a patient one or more responses to one or more medical assessment questions; and causes one or more computer systems to associate one or more medical study instruments with the patient, with the association based on the one or more responses of the patient to the one or more medical assessment questions.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprises:

transmitting, to a device used by a physician, information for a graphical user interface for enabling the physician to define custom medical assessment questions for a customized medical study instrument of the physician, wherein rendering of the graphical user interface on the device used by the physician displays;

a first portion for the physician to select a type of question to be added to the medical study instrument; and

a second portion for the physician to enter text associated with the question;

receiving, from the device used by the physician in response to transmittal of the information for the graphical user interface, request messages including data indicative of custom questions to be included in the medical study instrument of the physician;

generating, based on the request messages, the customized medical study instrument of the physician;

associating a particular custom medical assessment question with an alert feature for causing the physician to be notified of an answer to the particular custom medical assessment questions;

receiving, from device used by the physician, an answer threshold value for the particular custom medical assessment question, with the answer threshold value specifying a range of values that causes the one or more computer systems to execute the alert feature;

receiving from a patient, through one or more computer systems, one or more responses to one or more instrument selection questions;

assigning the customized medical study instrument of the physician to the patient, with assigning based on the one or more responses of the patient to the one or more instrument selection questions;

receiving, from the patient, answers to the custom medical assessment questions for the customized medical study instrument of the physician;

detecting that a value in the answer to the particular custom medical assessment question associated with the alert feature exceeds the answer threshold value;

generating, in response to detecting based on the alert feature, a notification message to alert the physician that the patient has answered the particular custom medical assessment question with the value that exceeds the answer threshold value, wherein the notification message differs from the alert feature; and

sending, to the device used by the physician, the notification message for display in a dashboard graphical user interface for providing the physician with a view of the particular custom medical assessment question and the value that exceeds the answer threshold value.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

generating one or more instrument selection rules, with the one or more instrument selection rules indicating a correspondence between the one or more responses to the one or more instrument selection questions and medical study instruments.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

applying the one or more instrument selection rules to the one or more responses to the one or more instrument selection questions; and

generating, based on application of the one or more instrument selection rules to the one or more responses, a list of medical study instruments to be associated with the patient, with the list including the customized medical study instrument of the physician.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

retrieving from the one or more computer systems the one or more instrument selection questions.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating, from the answers, de-identified data by removing from the answers information that identifies the patient;

generating an encrypted identifier that is associated with the patient;

generating an association between the de-identified data and the encrypted identifier; and

providing the encrypted identifier to the physician to enable the physician to access fields in the medical study instrument that the physician has permission to access.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the custom medical assessment questions in the customized medical study instrument of the physician relate to an efficacy of a medical device.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the custom medical assessment questions in the customized medical study instrument of the physician relate to an efficacy of a medical technique.

4. A computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium, the computer program product comprising instructions for causing a computer to perform operations comprising:

transmitting, to a device used by a physician, information for a graphical user interface for enabling the physician to define custom medical assessment questions for a customized medical study instrument of the physician, wherein rendering of the graphical user interface on the device used by the physician displays;

a first portion for the physician to select a type of question to be added to the medical study instrument; and

a second portion for the physician to enter text associated with the question;

receiving, from the device used by the physician in response to transmittal of the information for the graphical user interface, request messages including data indicative of custom questions to be included in the medical study instrument of the physician;

generating, based on the request messages, the customized medical study instrument of the physician;

associating a particular custom medical assessment question with an alert feature for causing the physician to be notified of an answer to the particular custom medical assessment questions;

receiving, from device used by the physician, an answer threshold value for the particular custom medical assessment question, with the answer threshold value specifying a range of values that causes the one or more computer systems to execute the alert feature;

receiving from a patient, through one or more computer systems, one or more responses to one or more instrument selection questions;

assigning the customized medical study instrument of the physician to the patient, with assigning based on the one or more responses of the patient to the one or more instrument selection questions;

receiving, from the patient, answers to the custom medical assessment questions for the customized medical study instrument of the physician;

detecting that a value in the answer to the particular custom medical assessment question associated with the alert feature exceeds the answer threshold value;

generating, in response to detecting based on the alert feature, a notification message to alert the physician that the patient has answered the particular custom medical assessment question with the value that exceeds the answer threshold value, wherein the notification message differs from the alert feature; and

sending, to the device used by the physician, the notification message for display in a dashboard graphical user interface for providing the physician with a view of the particular custom medical assessment question and the value that exceeds the answer threshold value.

5. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating one or more instrument selection rules, with the one or more instrument selection rules indicating a correspondence between the one or more responses to the one or more instrument selection questions and medical study instruments.

6. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise:

applying the one or more instrument selection rules to the one or more responses to the one or more instrument selection questions; and

generating, based on application of the one or more instrument selection rules to the one or more responses, a list of medical study instruments to be associated with the patient, with the list including the customized medical study instrument of the physician.

17. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating, from the answers, de-identified data by removing from the answers information that identifies the patient;

generating an encrypted identifier that is associated with the patient;

generating an association between the de-identified data and the encrypted identifier; and

providing the encrypted identifier to the physician to enable the physician to access fields in the medical study instrument that the physician has permission to access.

18. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the custom medical assessment questions in the customized medical study instrument of the physician relate to an efficacy of a medical device.

19. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the custom medical assessment questions in the customized medical study instrument of the physician relate to an efficacy of a medical technique.

7. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium, the computer program product comprising instructions for causing the processor to perform operations comprising;

transmitting, to a device used by a physician, information for a graphical user interface for enabling the physician to define custom medical assessment questions for a customized medical study instrument of the physician, wherein rendering of the graphical user interface on the device used by the physician displays;

a first portion for the physician to select a type of question to be added to the medical study instrument; and

a second portion for the physician to enter text associated with the question;

receiving, from the device used by the physician in response to transmittal of the information for the graphical user interface, request messages including data indicative of custom questions to be included in the medical study instrument of the physician;

generating, based on the request messages, the customized medical study instrument of the physician;

associating a particular custom medical assessment question with an alert feature for causing the physician to be notified of an answer to the particular custom medical assessment questions;

receiving, from device used by the physician, an answer threshold value for the particular custom medical assessment question, with the answer threshold value specifying a range of values that causes the one or more computer systems to execute the alert feature;

receiving from a patient, through one or more computer systems, one or more responses to one or more instrument selection questions;

assigning the customized medical study instrument of the physician to the patient, with assigning based on the one or more responses of the patient to the one or more instrument selection questions;

receiving, from the patient, answers to the custom medical assessment questions for the customized medical study instrument of the physician;

detecting that a value in the answer to the particular custom medical assessment question associated with the alert feature exceeds the answer threshold value;

generating, in response to detecting based on the alert feature, a notification message to alert the physician that the patient has answered the particular custom medical assessment question with the value that exceeds the answer threshold value, wherein the notification message differs from the alert feature; and

sending, to the device used by the physician, the notification message for display in a dashboard graphical user interface for providing the physician with a view of the particular custom medical assessment question and the value that exceeds the answer threshold value.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating one or more instrument selection rules, with the one or more instrument selection rules indicating a correspondence between the one or more responses to the one or more instrument selection questions and medical study instruments.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

applying the one or more instrument selection rules to the one or more responses to the one or more instrument selection questions; and

generating, based on application of the one or more instrument selection rules to the one or more responses, a list of medical study instruments to be associated with the patient, with the list including the customized medical study instrument of the physician.

14. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating, from the answers, de-identified data by removing from the answers information that identifies the patient;

generating an encrypted identifier that is associated with the patient;

generating an association between the de-identified data and the encrypted identifier; and

providing the encrypted identifier to the physician to enable the physician to access fields in the medical study instrument that the physician has permission to access.

15. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the custom medical assessment questions in the customized medical study instrument of the physician relate to an efficacy of a medical device.

16. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the custom medical assessment questions in the customized medical study instrument of the physician relate to an efficacy of a medical technique.