METHOD OF FACILITATING MEDICAL CONSULTATIONS

• US 20080307039A1
• Filed: 11/16/2007
• Published: 12/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Union Hospital Incorporated (Cleveland Clinic Foundation)
• Original Assignee: Union Hospital Incorporated (Cleveland Clinic Foundation)
• Inventors: Buechler, James, Farmer, Evan, Smaka, Todd
• Granted Patent: US 7,885,998 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/20 relating to practices or guidelines
• 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 method for a first healthcare provider to consult a second healthcare provider regarding at least one of diagnosis of a patient and treatment of a patient includes the first healthcare provider submitting a request for consultation on a machine, and the second healthcare provider submitting a consultation response on a machine.

Claims

1. A method for a first healthcare provider to consult a second healthcare provider regarding at least one of diagnosis and treatment of a patient, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a consultation over a network submitted by the first healthcare provider via a first machine, the request including consult data;

storing the consult data in a database;

transmitting a notification over the network to the second healthcare provider in response to receiving the request for a consultation, the notification informing the second healthcare provider that a request for a consultation has been received;

receiving a request for the consult data over the network from the second healthcare provider;

transmitting the consult data over the network to a second machine in response to the request for the consult data; and

receiving a consultation over the network submitted by the second healthcare provider, the consultation including the second healthcare provider'"'"'s assessment and/or diagnosis based on the consult data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the consult data includes at least one of textual queries and textual statements.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the consult data includes at least one of still images and moving images.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the consult data includes sounds.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the notification over the network to the second healthcare provider comprises generating an e-mail to the second healthcare provider, the e-mail informing the second healthcare provider that a request for a consultation has been received.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the consultation in the database; and

transmitting a notification over the network to the first healthcare provider in response to receiving the consultation from the second healthcare provider, the notification informing the first healthcare provider that a consultation has been received.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein transmitting the notification over the network to the first healthcare provider comprises generating an e-mail to the first healthcare provider, the e-mail informing the first healthcare provider that a consultation has been received.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein storing the consultation in the database comprises storing at least one of textual queries and textual statements in the database.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein storing the consultation in the database comprises storing at least one of still images and moving images in the database.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein storing the consultation in the database comprises storing sounds in the database.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving a request to view the consultation over the network from the first healthcare provider; and

transmitting the consultation over the network to the first machine in response to the request to view the consultation.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting a request for approval to use the consultation for medical educational purposes over the network to the first healthcare provider.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising electronically identifying the request for a consultation as pending until the second healthcare provider submits the consultation.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising electronically identifying the request for a consultation as completed in response to receiving the consultation.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a notification over the network to a third healthcare provider in response to receiving the request for a consultation, the notification informing the third healthcare provider that a request for a consultation has been received.

16. A method for a first healthcare provider to consult a second healthcare provider regarding at least one of diagnosis and treatment of a patient, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a consultation over a network submitted by the first healthcare provider via a first machine, the request including consult data;

storing the consult data in a database;

generating an e-mail to the second healthcare provider in response to receiving the request for a consultation, the e-mail informing the second healthcare provider that a request for a consultation has been received;

receiving a request for the consult data over the network from the second healthcare provider;

transmitting the consult data over the network to a second machine in response to the request for the consult data;

receiving a consultation over the network submitted by the second healthcare provider, the consultation including the second healthcare provider'"'"'s assessment and/or diagnosis based on the consult data;

generating an e-mail to the first healthcare provider in response to receiving the consultation from the second healthcare provider, the e-mail informing the first healthcare provider that a consultation has been received;

receiving a request to view the consultation over the network from the first healthcare provider; and

transmitting the consultation over the network to the first machine in response to the request to view the consultation.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving an approval to use the consultation for medical educational purposes over the network from the first healthcare provider; and

electronically identifying the consultation as usable for medical education purposes in response to the approval received from the first healthcare provider.

18. The method claim 16, further comprising:

receiving a request for medical education over a network submitted by a third healthcare provider via a third machine;

determining a number of consultations electronically identified as usable for medical educational purposes; and

transmitting data over the network to the third machine, the data including a list of the consultations electronically identified as usable for medical educational purposes.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining a selected consultation from the list of consultations electronically identified as usable for medical educational purposes based on a selection made by the third healthcare provider;

retrieving the selected consultation from the database; and

transmitting the selected consultation over the network to the third machine.

20. A method for providing medical education, the method comprising:

receiving a number of consultations submitted by a plurality of healthcare providers over a network, the consultations being based on consult data reviewed by the plurality of healthcare providers;

storing the number of consultations in a database;

receiving a request for medical education over the network submitted by a user via a first machine;

generating a list of consultations that have been previously identified as usable for medical education;

determining a selected consultation from the list of consultations based on a selection made by the user; and

retrieving the selected consultation from the database; and

transmitting the selected consultation over the network to the first machine.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the consultations comprise at least one of textual queries and textual statements.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the consultations comprise at least one of still images and moving images.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the consultations comprise sounds.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein storing the number of consultations comprises storing at least one of textual queries and textual statements in the database.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein storing the number of consultations comprises storing at least one of still images and moving images.

26. The method of claim 20, wherein storing the number of consultations comprises storing sounds in the database.