Method for facilitating cooperative interaction between software applications

• US 9,342,320 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2008
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Change Healthcare Holdings, LLC (UnitedHealth Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mckesson Technologies Incorporated (UnitedHealth Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Lawton, Kyle, Heath, Erik
• Primary Examiner(s): Pan, Yongjia
• Application Number:
  US12/122,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20090288037A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,923 Days
• Field of Search: 715/700, 715/733, 715/748, 715/751, 715/764, 715/769, 715/770, 715/804, 715/808, 715/866
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• 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 software system is disclosed for single step coordination between software applications. A monitoring application automatically identifies a target application and presents a prompting window, such that if possible (but not necessarily) it appears to be attached to a side of the target window. Clicking a control in the prompting window automatically activates a secondary application, and automatically transfers information from the target application to the secondary application. Target desktop windows can be identified by their window captions and target HTML windows by their URL addresses. Controls on prompting windows can activate multiple secondary applications and/or different secondary application modes. Information can be obtained from a target application by reading a file stored for that purpose by the target application, by interprocess communication, or by screen scraping. In one general aspect, a medical test result viewing application is coordinated with a medical test result processing application.

Claims

1. A computer software system having a set of instructions for controlling a computer to facilitate interaction between two software applications operable on the computer, the set of instructions stored on non-transitory computer-readable media that are executed by the computer to carry out a method comprising:

monitoring the computer to identify an active target window of a target application from among all currently open windows, wherein at least some of the windows currently open on the computer are associated with an alphanumeric identifier in a form of a caption or an address, and wherein monitoring the computer comprises identifying the active target window at least partly by matching some or all of its caption or address with a target alphanumeric string;

in response to the identification of an active target window, displaying a prompting window in a visible location cooperative with the identified active target window, the prompting window including one or more selectable controls; and

in response to selection of one of the one or more controls;

activating a coordinating application associated with the selected control;

obtaining information from the target application of the identified active target window, wherein the information existed in the target application at the time at which the one or more controls were selected;

providing the information to the coordinating application; and

inactivating the target application,

wherein monitoring the computer comprises determining a size and placement of the active target window, and wherein displaying the prompting window comprises displaying the prompting window in a manner dependent upon the size and placement of the active target window by displaying the prompting window so as to have an edge aligned with an edge of the active target window and to extend outward from the active target window in an instance in which the active target window does not occupy the entire display or to otherwise overlap the active target window.

2. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein the alphanumeric identifier of each open window is compared at regular intervals of time with the target alphanumeric string.

3. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein the caption is displayed as part of the window.

4. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein the identified target window is a URL window displayed by an HTML browsing application and the alphanumeric identifier associated with the target URL window is a URL address.

5. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controls includes at least two controls, each of which corresponding to a different software application, such that the application corresponding to the selected one of the controls is activated to become the coordinating application.

6. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controls includes at least two controls, each of which corresponding to a different, alternative operational mode of the same software application, such that the application is activated as the coordinating application in the operational mode of the coordinating application corresponding to the selected one of the controls.

7. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein the prompting window can be displayed with an edge substantially coincident with an edge of the target window, so as to cause the prompting window to appear to be attached to the target window.

8. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein the information is extracted from a file created by the target application.

9. The computer software system of claim 8, wherein the format of the file is one of:

XML and ASCII text.

10. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein the information is obtained from the target application through an interprocess communication protocol.

11. The computer software system of claim 10, wherein the interprocess communication protocol is a COM (Component Object Module) protocol.

12. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein the information is obtained from the target application by extracting it from the target window.

13. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein said monitoring is initiated in response to booting up the computer.

14. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein, in response to selection of one of the one or more controls, the method further comprises removing the prompting window.

15. The computer software system of claim 1, wherein obtaining information from the target application of the identified active target window comprises obtaining information from the target application by screen scraping.

16. A computer software system having a set of instructions for controlling a computer to facilitate interaction between a medical test result viewing application and a secondary medical test result processing application, the set of instructions stored on non-transitory computer-readable media that are executed by the computer to carry out a method comprising:

continuously monitoring the computer to identify an active target window of the medical test result viewing application from among windows currently displayed by the computer, wherein at least some of the windows currently open on the computer are associated with an alphanumeric identifier in a form of a caption or an address, and wherein monitoring the computer comprises identifying the active target window at least partly by matching some or all of its caption or address with a target alphanumeric string;

in response to the identification of the active target window, displaying a prompting window in a visible location cooperative with the identified active target window, the prompting window including at least one selectable control; and

in response to selection of the at least one control;

activating the secondary medical test result processing application associated with the selected at least one control;

obtaining information pertaining to a selected test result from the medical test result viewing application, wherein the information existed in the medical test result viewing application at the time at which the at least one control was selected; and

providing the information to the secondary medical test result processing application; and

inactivating the medical test result viewing application,

wherein monitoring the computer comprises determining a size and placement of the active target window, and wherein displaying the prompting window comprises displaying the prompting window in a manner dependent upon the size and placement of the active target window by displaying the prompting window so as to have an edge aligned with an edge of the active target window and to extend outward from the active target window in an instance in which the active target window does not occupy the entire display or to otherwise overlap the active target window.

17. The computer software system of claim 16, wherein the prompting window can be displayed with an edge substantially coincident with an edge of the target window, so as to cause the prompting window to appear to be attached to the target window.