Method and system for identifying medical facilities along a travel route

• US 20040204837A1
• Filed: 02/01/2002
• Published: 10/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medaire
• Original Assignee: Medaire
• Inventors: Singleton, Timothy
• Granted Patent: US 6,944,536 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/209
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3658 Lane guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/007 using computer methods
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A system for identifying medical facilities along a travel route preferably includes an input device, a processor, Microsoft SQL server database and a memory storing various information regarding medical facilities. For on-demand determination of medical facilities along a travel route, the input device preferably includes a GPS receiver providing the current geographical coordinates of a patient requiring medical assistance to the processor. The processor compares the geographical coordinates of the patient to coordinates of medical facilities in the database to determine medical facilities near the patient. A user of the system may also input a type of medical emergency, preferred language and insurance information to refine the search for medical facilities. The processor may also calculate a projected travel route using navigational software. The identified medical facilities may be displayed to a user in any manner and/or saved in a navigational computer for reference in case of a medical emergency.

Claims

11. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of loading the computer readable file into the on-board computer of an aircraft.

20-1. The method of claim 20 wherein the person is traveling in a vehicle.

21. The method of claim 21 wherein the vehicle is selected from the group consisting of an automobile, a plane, a boat, and a train.

28. A method of identifying medical facilities along a travel route, the method comprising:

(a) comparing the travel route to a database containing medical facility information; and

(b) identifying at least one medical facility on or near the travel route based on the comparison.

29. The method of claim 28 further comprising the step of calculating the travel route.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the travel route is calculated using software.

31. The method of claim 29 that further includes the step of identifying a suitable stopping point along the travel route.

32. The method of claim 29 wherein the travel route is a flight plan.

33. The method of claim 30 wherein the travel route is a flight plan and the method further includes the step of identifying one or more suitable stopping points, wherein each of the suitable stopping points is an airport.

34. The method of claim 32 wherein the medical facility is determined by one or more of the factors selected from the group consisting of:

(a) distance of the medical facility from potential suitable stopping points, (b) type of medical services provided by the medical facility, (c) hours of operation of the medical facility, (d) available emergency equipment at the medical facility, (e) payment options available at the medical facility, and (f) cleanliness of the medical facility.

35. The method of claim 29 further comprising the step of displaying the travel route and identified medical facilities on at least one of an electronic screen and a printed document.

36. The method of claim 29 further comprising the step of displaying the identified medical facilities on at least one of an electronic screen and a printed document.

37. The method according to claim 29 further comprising the step of downloading and storing information pertaining to identified medical facilities.

38. The method according to claim 34 wherein the downloaded and stored information includes at least one of the following:

(a) types of medical services available at each identified medical facility;

(b) the location of each identified medical facility;

(c) the hours of operation for each identified medical facility;

(d) contact information for each identified medical facility; and

(e) languages spoken at each identified medical facility.

39. The method of claim 29 wherein the steps of determining, comparing and identifying are performed by a processing device reading machine-readable code.

40. The method according to claim 29 wherein the steps of comparing and identifying are performed by a processing device reading machine-readable code.

41. The method according to claim 38 wherein the downloaded and stored information includes a rating of one or more of the identified medical facilities.

42. The method according to claim 42 wherein the rating is based on at least one of the following:

(a) an overall quality of the medical facility, and (b) a medical specialty available at the medical facility.

43. A system for determining medical facilities along a travel route, the system comprising:

(a) an input device for providing location information;

(b) a memory storing a database containing information relating to a plurality of medical facilities;

(c) a processor operative to identify at least one medical facility based on the provided location information and information contained within the database; and

(d) a display operative to show the identified at least one medical facility along the travel route.

44. The system according to claim 44 wherein the provided location information comprises a starting point and a destination point and wherein the memory also stores navigational information for calculating a travel route based on the location information.

45. The system according to claim 44 wherein the input device comprises a global positioning system (GPS) receiver.

46. The system according to claim 44 wherein the display comprises one of an LCD, LED and CRT display.

47. The system according to claim 44 wherein the display comprises a printing device.

48. The system according to claim 44 wherein the input device comprises means for a user to input information relative to determining the at least one medical facility along the travel route.

49. A method of locating a medical facility for a vehicle in transit, the method comprising:

(a) determining a current location of the vehicle in transit;

(b) comparing the current location of the vehicle in transit with locations of medical facilities stored in a database;

(c) identifying at least one medical facility near the current location of the vehicle based on the comparison; and

(d) displaying the location of at least one medical facility to a user.

50. The method of claim 50 wherein the vehicle in transit is one of a train, a bus, a boat, an aircraft, an automobile and a motorcycle.

51. The method of claim 50 further comprising the step of selecting, by a user, a medical facility from the displayed at least one medical facility.

52. The method of claim 50 further comprising providing navigational instructions for the vehicle in transit to reach the selected medical facility.

53. The method of claim 50 wherein before determining the at least one medical facility, the method further comprises the step of inputting information relative to the medical emergency in order to assist in identifying the at least one medical facility.

54. The method of claim 50 wherein the inputted information includes for comparing with the database at least one of:

a type of medical emergency, a language preference, a type of insurance coverage, and a maximum distance from the current location to a medical facility.

55. A method of identifying medical facilities along a flight route, the method comprising:

(a) inputting navigational information pertaining to the flight route; and

(b) combining the navigational information with medical facility information stored in a database, the medical facility information including location and contact information of a plurality of medical facilities.

56. The method of claim 56 wherein each medical facility is a predetermined distance from airports along the flight route.

57. A database containing information related to medical facilities, the database configured to be accessed by a processor processing flight plan software to produce at least one potential emergency diversion site along a flight path.

58. A computer program having machine readable code stored on a tangible medium comprising:

(a) code for obtaining travel location information;

(b) code for accessing information in a medical facility database;

(c) code for identifying at least one medical facility based on obtained travel location information and accessed information from the medical facility database; and

(d) code for generating a display of the at least one identified medical facility.

59. A system for identifying medical facilities along a travel route, the method comprising:

(a) means for providing travel location information;

(b) means for storing a database containing information relating to a plurality of medical facilities;

(c) means for identifying at least one medical facility based on the provided travel location information and information contained within the database; and

(d) means for displaying the information related to the identified at least one medical facility.

60. The method of claim 60 wherein the steps of comparing and identifying are performed on a website server.

61. The method of claim 60 wherein directions to the medical facility are also communicated via the communications link.