Use of location awareness to transfer communications sessions between terminals in a healthcare environment

• US 20060185005A1
• Filed: 02/25/2005
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Johnson, Brian, Fitchett, Jeff, Graves, Alan F., Duxbury, Guy
• Granted Patent: US 7,707,044 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/22 in combination with an identity check of the pass holder
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• 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: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• 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

According to a first broad aspect, the present invention seeks to provide a method of managing a session with an HIS. The method comprises receiving data regarding a wirelessly detectable tag associated with a first terminal; determining whether the first terminal is positioned relative to a second terminal such that a terminal proximity condition is satisfied based at least in part on the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tag, wherein one of the first terminal and the second terminal supports a session with the HIS; responsive to the terminal proximity condition being satisfied, providing an opportunity for signaling of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the session from the one of the terminals to the other of the terminals; and responsive to detection of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the session, transferring the at least a portion of the session, thereby to cause the at least a portion of the session to be supported by the other terminal.

Claims

1. A method of managing a session with a healthcare information system of a healthcare establishment communications network, said method comprising:

receiving data regarding a wirelessly detectable tag associated with a first terminal of the healthcare establishment communications network;

determining whether the first terminal is positioned relative to a second terminal of the healthcare establishment communications network such that a terminal proximity condition is satisfied based at least in part on the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tag, wherein one of the first terminal and the second terminal supports a session with the healthcare information system;

responsive to the terminal proximity condition being satisfied, providing an opportunity for signaling of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal;

responsive to detection of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal, transferring the at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal, thereby to cause the at least a portion of the session to be supported by the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tag comprises:

data indicative of an identifier of the wirelessly detectable tag; and

data indicative of a distance between the wirelessly detectable tag and a detector associated with the second terminal and operative to detect a signal provided by the wirelessly detectable tag.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein the data indicative of a distance between the wirelessly detectable tag and a detector associated with the second terminal and operative to detect a signal provided by the wirelessly detectable tag comprises data indicative of a travel time of the signal.

4. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein the data indicative of a distance between the wirelessly detectable tag and a detector associated with the second terminal and operative to detect a signal provided by the wirelessly detectable tag comprises data indicative of an intensity of the signal.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tag comprises:

data indicative of an identifier of the wirelessly detectable tag; and

data indicative of a respective distance between the wirelessly detectable tag and each one of at least three detectors spatially distributed in the healthcare establishment communications network, each one of the at least three detectors being operative to detect a signal provided by the wirelessly detectable tag.

6. A method as defined in claim 5, wherein the data indicative of a respective distance between the wirelessly detectable tag and each one of at least three detectors spatially distributed in the healthcare establishment communications network comprises data indicative of a respective travel time of the signal detected by each one of the at least three detectors.

7. A method as defined in claim 5, wherein the data indicative of a respective distance between the wirelessly detectable tag and each one of at least three detectors spatially distributed in the healthcare establishment communications network comprises data indicative of a respective intensity of the signal detected by each one of the at least three detectors.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein determining that the terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a predetermined distance from the second terminal.

9. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein determining that the terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a predetermined distance from the second terminal for a predetermined period of time.

10. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein providing an opportunity for signaling of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises being attentive to data indicative of an intent to transfer the at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

11. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein providing an opportunity for signaling of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises causing display of a greeting message on at least one of a display of the first terminal and a display of the second terminal.

12. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein detection of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises detection of a session transfer command input at one of the first terminal and the second terminal.

13. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the session transfer command is indicative of the at least a portion of the session to be transferred from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

14. A method as defined in claim 13, wherein the at least a portion of the session is at least one page of the session, the session transfer command being indicative of the at least one page of the session to be transferred from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

15. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the terminal proximity condition is a first terminal proximity condition, said method further comprising determining whether the first terminal is positioned relative to the second terminal such that a second terminal proximity condition is satisfied based at least in part on the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tag, the second terminal proximity condition being different from the first terminal proximity condition, wherein detection of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises detection of the second terminal proximity condition being satisfied.

16. A method as defined in claim 15, wherein determining that the first terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a first predetermined distance from the second terminal, and determining that the second terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a second predetermined distance from the second terminal, the second predetermined distance being less than the first predetermined distance.

17. A method as defined in claim 15, wherein determining that the first terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a first predetermined distance from the second terminal for a first predetermined period of time, and determining that the second terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a second predetermined distance from the second terminal for a second predetermined period of time, the second predetermined distance being less than the first predetermined distance.

18. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein the first predetermined period of time is different from the second predetermined period of time.

19. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein detection of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises detection of authentication data provided by a user.

20. A method as defined in claim 19, wherein the authentication data comprises data indicative of a biometric characteristic of the user.

21. A method as defined in claim 20, wherein the biometric characteristic of the user is a fingerprint of the user.

22. A method as defined in claim 21, wherein the data indicative of the biometric characteristic of the user is obtained via a fingerprint reader associated with the wirelessly detectable tag.

23. A method as defined in claim 19, wherein the authentication data comprises data indicative of a password submitted by the user.

24. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the session supported by the one of the first terminal and the second terminal is associated with a clinician and conveys information related to the clinician and contained in the healthcare information system via the one of the first terminal and the second terminal, and wherein transferring the at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises conveying at least a portion of the information related to the clinician via the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

25. A method as defined in claim 24, wherein the information related to the clinician comprises a profile of the clinician.

26. A method as defined in claim 24, wherein the information related to the clinician comprises information related to at least one patient associated with the clinician.

27. A method as defined in claim 26, wherein the information related to at least one patient associated with the clinician comprises at least a portion of an electronic health record of each one of the at least one patient associated with the clinician.

28. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the session supported by the one of the first terminal and the second terminal conveys information related to at least one patient and contained in the healthcare information system via the one of the first terminal and the second terminal, and wherein transferring the at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises conveying at least a portion of the information related to at least one patient via the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

29. A method as defined in claim 28, wherein the information related to at least one patient comprises at least a portion of an electronic health record of each one of the at least one patient.

30. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the session supported by the one of the first terminal and the second terminal conveys information via a display of the one of the first terminal and the second terminal in accordance with a display capability of the display of the one of the first terminal and the second terminal, and wherein transferring the at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises:

formatting at least a portion of the information in accordance with a display capability of a display of the other of the first terminal and the second terminal; and

conveying the at least a portion of the information via the display of the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

31. A method as defined in claim 30, further comprising, prior to formatting at least a portion of the information in accordance with a display capability of a display of the other of the first terminal and the second terminal, obtaining an indication of the display capability of the display of the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

32. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein transferring the at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises the at least a portion of the session continuing to be supported by the one of the first terminal and the second terminal.

33. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein transferring the at least a portion of the session from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises the at least a portion of the session no longer being supported by the one of the first terminal and the second terminal.

34. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising the one of the first terminal and the second terminal supporting a portion of the session not having been transferred to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

35. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the at least a portion of the session supported by the other of the first terminal and the second terminal causes information to be displayed on a display of the other of the first terminal and the second terminal, said method further comprising:

determining whether the first terminal is positioned relative to the second terminal such that a terminal remoteness condition is satisfied based at least in part on the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tag;

responsive to the terminal remoteness condition being satisfied, causing at least a portion of the information to cease to be displayed on the display of the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

36. A method as defined in claim 35, wherein determining that the terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a first predetermined distance from the second terminal, and determining that the terminal remoteness condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal not being within a second predetermined distance from the second terminal.

37. A method as defined in claim 36, wherein the first predetermined distance is different from the second predetermined distance.

38. A method as defined in claim 35, wherein determining that the terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a first predetermined distance from the second terminal for a first predetermined period of time, and determining that the terminal remoteness condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal not being within a second predetermined distance from the second terminal for a second predetermined period of time.

39. A method as defined in claim 38, wherein the first predetermined distance is different from the second predetermined distance.

40. A method as defined in claim 38, wherein the first predetermined period of time is different from the second predetermined period of time.

41. A method as defined in claim 39, wherein the first predetermined period of time is different from the second predetermined period of time.

42. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the first terminal is positioned relative to the second terminal such that a terminal remoteness condition is satisfied based at least in part on the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tag;

responsive to the terminal remoteness condition being satisfied, transferring the at least a portion of the session supported by the other of the first terminal and the second terminal back to the one of the first terminal and the second terminal, thereby to cause the at least a portion of the session to be supported by the one of the first terminal and the second terminal.

43. A method as defined in claim 42, wherein determining that the terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a first predetermined distance from the second terminal, and determining that the terminal remoteness condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal not being within a second predetermined distance from the second terminal.

44. A method as defined in claim 43, wherein the first predetermined distance is different from the second predetermined distance.

45. A method as defined in claim 42, wherein determining that the terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a first predetermined distance from the second terminal for a first predetermined period of time, and determining that the terminal remoteness condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal not being within a second predetermined distance from the second terminal for a second predetermined period of time.

46. A method as defined in claim 45, wherein the first predetermined distance is different from the second predetermined distance.

47. A method as defined in claim 45, wherein the first predetermined period of time is different from the second predetermined period of time.

48. A method as defined in claim 46, wherein the first predetermined period of time is different from the second predetermined period of time.

49. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the wirelessly detectable tag is a first wirelessly detectable tag, and wherein the session supported by the one of the first terminal and the second terminal is associated with a clinician, said method further comprising:

receiving data regarding a second wirelessly detectable tag associated with the clinician;

determining whether;

(1) the clinician is positioned relative to the one of the first terminal and the second terminal such that a first clinician-terminal remoteness condition is satisfied,

(2) the clinician is positioned relative to the other of the first terminal and the second terminal such that a second clinician-terminal remoteness condition is satisfied,

based at least in part on the data regarding the first wirelessly detectable tag and the data regarding the second wirelessly detectable tag; and

responsive to the second clinician-terminal remoteness condition being satisfied and to the first clinician-terminal remoteness condition not being satisfied, transferring the at least a portion of the session supported by the other of the first terminal and the second terminal back to the one of the first terminal and the second terminal, thereby to cause the at least a portion of the session to be supported by the one of the first terminal and the second terminal.

50. A method as defined in claim 35, wherein determining that the terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a first predetermined distance from the second terminal;

determining that the first clinician-terminal remoteness condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the clinician not being within a second predetermined distance from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal; and

determining that the second clinician-terminal remoteness condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the clinician not being within a third predetermined distance from the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

51. A method as defined in claim 50, wherein the at least two of the first predetermined distance, the second predetermined distance, and the third predetermined distance are different from each other.

52. A method as defined in claim 49, wherein determining that the terminal proximity condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the first terminal being within a first predetermined distance from the second terminal for a first predetermined period of time;

determining that the first clinician-terminal remoteness condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the clinician not being within a second predetermined distance from the one of the first terminal and the second terminal for a second predetermined period of time; and

determining that the second clinician-terminal remoteness condition is satisfied comprises obtaining an indication of the clinician not being within a third predetermined distance from the other of the first terminal and the second terminal for a third predetermined period of time.

53. A method as defined in claim 52, wherein at least two of the first predetermined distance, the second predetermined distance, and the third predetermined distance are different from each other.

54. A method as defined in claim 52, wherein at least two of the first predetermined period of time, the second predetermined period of time, and the third predetermined period of time are different from each other.

55. A method as defined in claim 53, wherein at least two of the first predetermined period of time, the second predetermined period of time, and the third predetermined period of time are different from each other.

56. A method as defined in claim 49, further comprising, responsive to the first clinician-terminal remoteness condition being satisfied and to the second clinician-terminal remoteness condition being satisfied, suspending the at least a portion of the session supported by the other of the first terminal and the second terminal and any portion of the session still supported by the one of the first terminal and the second terminal.

57. A method as defined in claim 49, further comprising, responsive to the first clinician-terminal remoteness condition being satisfied and to the second clinician-terminal remoteness condition being satisfied, terminating the at least a portion of the session supported by the other of the first terminal and the second terminal any portion of the session still supported by the one of the first terminal and the second terminal.

58. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

being attentive to signaling of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the at least a portion the session from the other of the first terminal and the second terminal back to the one of the first terminal and the second terminal;

responsive to detection of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the at least a portion of the session from the other of the first terminal and the second terminal to the one of the first terminal and the second terminal, transferring the at least a portion of the at least a portion of the session from the other of the first terminal and the second terminal to the one of the first terminal and the second terminal, thereby to cause the at least a portion of the at least a portion of the session to be supported by the one of the first terminal and the second terminal.

59. A method as defined in claim 58, wherein detection of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the at least a portion of the session from the other of the first terminal and the second terminal to the one of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises detection of a session transfer command input at one of the first terminal and the second terminal.

60. A method as defined in claim 58, wherein the terminal proximity condition is a first terminal proximity condition, said method further comprising determining whether the first terminal is positioned relative to the second terminal such that a second terminal proximity condition is satisfied based at least in part on the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tag, the second terminal proximity condition being different from the first terminal proximity condition, wherein detection of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the at least a portion of the session from the other of the first terminal and the second terminal to the one of the first terminal and the second terminal comprises detection of the second terminal proximity condition being satisfied.

61. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal is a mobile terminal.

62. A method as defined in claim 61, wherein the mobile terminal is a hand-held device.

63. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the wirelessly detectable tag is one of an active radio frequency identification tag, a semi-active radio frequency identification tag, and a passive radio frequency identification tag.

64. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the wirelessly detectable tag is an optical frequency identification tag.

65. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the wirelessly detectable tag is an ultrasonic acoustic pulsing identification tag.

66. A method as defined in claim 63, wherein the wirelessly detectable tag comprises a fingerprint reader.

67. A method as defined in claim 64, wherein the wirelessly detectable tag comprises a fingerprint reader.

68. A method as defined in claim 65, wherein the wirelessly detectable tag comprises a fingerprint reader.

69. A system for managing a session established between a healthcare information system of a healthcare establishment communications network and a first one of a plurality of terminals of the healthcare establishment communications network, said system comprising:

a first functional entity adapted to determine, based at least in part on data regarding wirelessly detectable tags associated with certain ones of the terminals, when the first terminal is positioned relative to a second one of the terminals such that a terminal proximity condition is satisfied for the first and second terminals;

a second functional entity adapted to enable detection of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the session from the first terminal to the second terminal in response to the terminal proximity condition being satisfied for the first and second terminals; and

a third functional entity adapted to transfer a given portion of the session from the first terminal to the second terminal in response to detection by the second functional entity of an intent to transfer the given portion of the session from the first terminal to the second terminal, thereby to cause the given portion of the session to be supported by the second terminal.

70. The system defined in claim 69, wherein the terminal proximity condition is satisfied when the first and second terminals are detected to be within a predetermined distance of one another.

71. The system defined in claim 69, wherein the terminal proximity condition is satisfied when the first and second terminals are detected to be within a predetermined distance of one another for a pre-determined duration.

72. The system defined in claim 69, further comprising:

a plurality of detectors adapted to receive signals from the wirelessly detectable tags associated with the certain ones of the terminals and to generate therefrom the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tags associated with the certain ones of the terminals.

73. The system defined in claim 72, wherein one of the detectors is associated one of the first terminal and the second terminal, and wherein one of the wirelessly detectable tags is associated with the other of the first and second terminal.

74. The system defined in claim 73, wherein the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tag associated with the other of the first terminal and the second terminal, and generated by the detector associated with the one of the first terminal and the second terminal, comprises a tag identifier for the other of the first terminal and the second terminal and an indication of a distance between the other of the first terminal and the second terminal and the detector associated with the one of the first terminal and the second terminal.

75. The system defined in claim 74, wherein the indication of a distance is generated on a basis of signal travel time between the detector associated with the one of the first terminal and the second terminal and the tag associated with the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

76. The system defined in claim 74, wherein the indication of a distance is generated on a basis of a signal strength being received from the wirelessly detectable tag associated with the other of the first terminal and the second terminal.

77. The system defined in claim 69, the system further comprising:

a plurality of detectors adapted to receive signals from the wirelessly detectable tags associated with the certain ones of the terminals, to detect the presence of identifiers of said tags in the received signals and to determine information indicative of a distance between said tags and individual ones of the detectors;

a location correlation engine adapted to process (1) the information indicative of a distance between the tags associated with individual ones of the certain ones of the terminals and a subset of the detectors; and

(2) location data regarding the subset of the detectors, to generate therefrom location data regarding the individual ones of the certain ones of the terminals.

78. The system defined in claim 77, wherein the first terminal is associated with one of the wirelessly detectable tags.

79. The system defined in claim 78, and wherein the location data regarding the first terminal corresponds to the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tags associated with the certain ones of the terminals on which the determination by the first functional entity is based.

80. The system defined in claim 79, wherein the first terminal is a mobile terminal.

81. The system defined in claim 79, wherein the second terminal has a pre-determined location and wherein the location data regarding the second terminal corresponds to the pre-determined location of the second terminal.

82. The system defined in claim 81, wherein the second terminal is a fixed-wire terminal.

83. The system defined in claim 78, wherein the second terminal is associated with another one of the wirelessly detectable tags.

84. The system defined in claim 83, and wherein the location data regarding the first terminal and the second terminal corresponds to the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tags associated with the certain ones of the terminals on which the determination by the first functional entity is based.

85. The system defined in claim 84, wherein the second terminal is a mobile terminal.

86. The system defined in claim 69, wherein the session conveys information related to at least one patient and contained in the healthcare information system.

87. The system defined in claim 86, wherein the information related to the at least one patient comprises at least a portion of an electronic health record for the at least one patient.

88. The system defined in claim 87, wherein the session provides access to a set of information in the healthcare information system, wherein the second terminal has certain functional characteristics, and wherein the third functional entity being adapted to transfer the given portion of the session from the first terminal to the second terminal comprises selecting from within the set of information in the healthcare system and in accordance with the functional characteristics of the second terminal, a subset of information and rendering only the subset of information accessible via the second terminal.

89. The system defined in claim 69, wherein the session conveys graphical information, wherein the second terminal has a display with a certain display capability, and wherein the third functional entity being adapted to transfer the given portion of the session from the first terminal to the second terminal comprises formatting the graphical information in accordance with the display capability of the display of the second terminal.

90. The system defined in claim 89, wherein the first terminal has a display with a certain display capability that is different from the display capability of the display of the second terminal.

91. The system defined in claim 69, wherein detection by the second functional entity of an intent to transfer the given portion of the session from the first terminal to the second terminal comprises detecting a session transfer command input at one of the first and second terminals.

92. The system defined in claim 69, wherein the terminal proximity condition is a first terminal proximity condition, wherein detection by the second functional entity of an intent to transfer the given portion of the session from the first terminal to the second terminal comprises determining, based at least in part on the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tags associated with the first and second terminals, when the first terminal is positioned relative to the second terminal such that a second terminal proximity condition is satisfied for the first and second terminals.

93. The system defined in claim 92, wherein the first terminal proximity condition is distinct from the second terminal proximity condition.

94. The system defined in claim 92, wherein the first terminal proximity condition is satisfied when the first and second terminals are detected to be within a first predetermined distance of one another, and wherein the second terminal proximity condition is satisfied when the first and second terminals are detected to be within a second predetermined distance of one another.

95. The system defined in claim 92, wherein the first terminal proximity condition is satisfied when the first and second terminals are detected to be within a first predetermined distance of one another for a first pre-determined duration, and wherein the second terminal proximity condition is satisfied when the first and second terminals are detected to be within a second predetermined distance of one another for a second pre-determined duration.

96. The system defined in claim 69, wherein the first functional entity is further adapted to determine, based at least in part on the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tags associated with the first and second terminals, when the first terminal is positioned relative to the second terminal such that a terminal remoteness condition is satisfied for the first and second terminals.

97. The system defined in claim 96, the third functional entity being further adapted to transfer the given portion of the session back from the second terminal to the first terminal in response to the terminal remoteness condition being satisfied for the first and second terminals.

98. The system defined in claim 97, wherein the session conveys graphical information, wherein the second terminal has a display, the system further comprising a functional entity for causing at least a portion of the graphical information to cease to be displayed on the display of the second terminal.

99. The system defined in claim 69, wherein the second functional entity is further adapted to detect an intent to transfer at least a second portion of the session back from the second terminal to the first terminal.

100. The system defined in claim 69, wherein the third functional entity is further adapted a to transfer the second portion of the session from the second terminal back to the first terminal in response to detection by the second functional entity of an intent to transfer the second portion of the session from the second terminal back to the first terminal.

101. The system defined in claim 100, wherein detection by the second functional entity of an intent to transfer the second portion of the session from the second terminal back to the first terminal comprises detecting a session transfer command input at one of the first and second terminals.

102. The system defined in claim 100, wherein the terminal proximity condition is a first terminal proximity condition, and wherein detection by the second functional entity of an intent to transfer the second portion of the session from the second terminal back to the first terminal comprises determining, based at least in part on the data regarding the wirelessly detectable tags associated with the first and second terminals, when the first terminal is positioned relative to the second terminal such that a second terminal proximity condition is satisfied for the first and second terminals.

103. The system defined in claim 102, wherein the first terminal proximity condition is distinct from the second terminal proximity condition.

104. A computer-readable storage medium comprising a program element for execution by a computing device to manage a session established between a healthcare information system of a healthcare establishment communications network and a first one of a plurality of terminals of the healthcare establishment communications network, the program element including:

computer-readable program code for determining, based at least in part on data regarding wirelessly detectable tags associated with certain ones of the terminals, when the first terminal is positioned relative to a second one of the terminals such that a terminal proximity condition is satisfied for the first and second terminals;

computer-readable program code for enabling detection of an intent to transfer at least a portion of the session from the first terminal to the second terminal in response to the terminal proximity condition being satisfied for the first and second terminals; and

computer-readable program code for transferring a given portion of the session from the first terminal to the second terminal in response to detection by the second functional entity of an intent to transfer the given portion of the session from the first terminal to the second terminal, thereby to cause the given portion of the session to be supported by the second terminal.