User station for healthcare communication system

• US 9,235,979 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2014
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• 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: Schuman, Richard J. Sr., Roehl, Erik E., Collins, Williams F. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): MULLEN, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US14/453,009
• Publication Number:
  US 20140347174A1
• Time in Patent Office: 524 Days
• Field of Search: 340/286.07, 340/691.6, 340/692
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 healthcare communication system comprising

a primary console having a first housing, a first touchscreen display coupled to the first housing, and a telephone handset adjacent the touchscreen display, and

a plurality of secondary consoles, each secondary console being located in a respective patient room of a plurality of patient rooms, each secondary console having a respective second housing and a respective second touchscreen display coupled to the second housing, each of the secondary consoles being communicatively coupled to the primary console, wherein each secondary console of the plurality of secondary consoles includes electrical circuitry in the respective second housing, the electrical circuitry being configured to receive calls from the primary console and each of the other secondary consoles of the plurality of secondary consoles and to display information relating to the received calls on the respective second touchscreen display, wherein the electrical circuitry is configured to enable a user to place calls to other users 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 the following:

voice routing to a located position, wireless telephone, or text paging to a wireless device.

2. The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein the primary console serves as a nurse call computer at a master nurse station.

3. The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein the primary console includes a desk mount and a pivot coupler that pivotably couples the first housing to the desk mount.

4. The healthcare communication system of claim 3, wherein the telephone handset pivots relative to the desk mount along with the first housing as the first housing is pivoted relative desk mount.

5. The healthcare communication system of claim 3, further comprising a back plate that is coupled to the pivot coupler for pivoting movement and the first housing being coupled to the back plate.

6. The healthcare communication system of claim 5, further comprising a handset cradle coupled to the back plate to pivot therewith, the handset cradle being configured to support the telephone handset.

7. The healthcare communication system of claim 3, wherein the pivot coupler comprises a friction hinge.

8. The healthcare communication system of claim 1, further comprising at least one Power over Ethernet (POE) switch and wherein the plurality of secondary consoles are communicatively coupled to the primary console via the at least one POE switch.

9. The healthcare communication system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of dome light assemblies that each have circuitry and wherein the plurality of secondary consoles are communicatively coupled to the primary console via the circuitry of the plurality of dome light assemblies.

10. The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second touchscreen displays each comprising one or more of the following:

a high resolution touch display, a Super Video Graphics Array (SVGA) display, and at least one touch actuator.

11. The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein the electrical circuitry is configured to display first and second windows on the respective second touchscreen display, to display the information relating to the received calls in the first window, and to display at least one of staff information and patient information in the second window.

12. The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein the second touchscreen display of each of the plurality of secondary consoles is configured to display visual cues relating to at least one of the received calls.

13. The healthcare communication system of claim 12, wherein the second touchscreen display of each of the plurality of secondary consoles 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.

14. The healthcare communication system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the visual cues comprises a graphical icon.

15. The healthcare communication system of claim 1, further comprising at least one staff console located outside the plurality of patient rooms, the at least one staff console being communicatively coupled to the primary console.

16. The healthcare communication system of claim 15, further comprising at least one Power over Ethernet (POE) switch and wherein the at least one staff console is communicatively coupled to the primary console via the at least one POE switch.