Patient Medical Data Access System

• US 20140330582A1
• Filed: 01/28/2014
• Published: 11/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sierra Nevada Co. LLC
• Original Assignee: Sierra Nevada Corporation
• Inventors: Streng, Brian K., Pillers, Russell B., Tong, Kitty, Moss, Richard J., Moghaddam, Ashkan, Rowe, James, Sanford, Joseph T., Andersen, Roger, Howard, David M., Uhrig, David C., Hancock, Samuel
• Granted Patent: US 10,032,003 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A medical data point of care device is configured to collect, access, store, and distribute patient medical data. The device is particularly suited for use in a mobile environment and may be particularly useful in an urgent care mobile environment, such as a battlefield or disaster area. In such environments, data transmission services may be intermittent and the bandwidth of such services may be low. The device is configured to adjust the flow of data transmission from a point of care location to a remote location so as to maximize or otherwise increase the likelihood of successful transmission of the data. The device is further configured to collect data from both a care provider and a medical device.

Claims

1. A device for collecting, transmitting, and storing medical data from a point of care location to a remote location, the device comprising:

a housing;

a communication component coupled to the housing and configured to;

(a) identify two or more data elements to be transmitted, wherein the patient data element is a piece of information that is relevant to patient care;

(b) assign a priority to each of the patient data elements to be transferred;

(c) attempt to transfer the patient data element with the highest priority;

(d) cease the attempt to transfer upon passage of a predetermined period of time.

2. A device as in claim 1, further comprising starting a timer that runs for the predetermined period of time.

3. A device as in claim 1, wherein the device accepts data from a medical device.

4. A device as in claim 3, wherein the device further autonomously collects data from a user device and combines the autonomously collected data with the data from the medical device.

5. A device as in claim 1, wherein the medical device is at least one of a EKG monitor, blood pressure monitor, heart rate monitor, ventilator, defibrillator, IV pump, EEG device, oxygen sensor or cardiovascular reserve index monitor.

6. A device as in claim 1, further comprising an inlet port on the housing.

7. A device as in claim 6, wherein the inlet port connects to a user input device.

8. A device as in claim 7, wherein the user input device is a computer.

9. A device as in claim 1, further comprising a radio.

10. A device as in claim 9, wherein the radio is internal to the housing.

11. A device as in claim 9, wherein the radio is external to the housing.

12. A device as in claim 1, wherein the remote location is at least several miles from the point of care location.

13. A device as in claim 1, wherein the housing is sized to be carried by a user.

14. A device as in claim 1, wherein the housing is sized to fit in a vehicle or in a building.

15. A device as in claim 1, wherein the device connects to a user input device via a wired or wireless connection.

16. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing computer program code, the at least one processor, the at least one memory, and the computer program code configured to cause the apparatus to at least;

(a) identify two or more data elements to be transmitted, wherein the patient data element is a piece of information that is relevant to patient care;

(b) assign a priority to each of the patient data elements to be transferred;

(c) attempt to transfer the patient data element with the highest priority;

(d) cease the attempt to transfer upon passage of a predetermined period of time.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, perform at least the following:

(a) identify two or more data elements to be transmitted, wherein the patient data element is a piece of information that is relevant to patient care;

(b) assign a priority to each of the patient data elements to be transferred;

(c) attempt to transfer the patient data element with the highest priority;

(d) cease the attempt to transfer upon passage of a predetermined period of time.

18. A computer-implemented method comprising:

(a) identify two or more data elements to be transmitted, wherein the patient data element is a piece of information that is relevant to patient care;

(b) assign a priority to each of the patient data elements to be transferred;

(c) attempt to transfer the patient data element with the highest priority;

(d) cease the attempt to transfer upon passage of a predetermined period of time.

19. A method of transmitting medical data from a point of care location to a remote location, comprising:

carrying a transmission device, the transmission device comprising;

a housing sized and shaped to be carried by a user and a communication component configured to (a) identify two or more data elements to be transmitted, wherein the patient data element is a piece of information that is relevant to patient care, (b) assign a priority to each of the patient data elements to be transferred, (c) attempt to transfer the patient data element with the highest priority and, (d) cease the attempt to transfer upon passage of a predetermined period of time.

20. A method as in claim 19, wherein carrying a transmission device comprises a user carrying the transmission device.

21. A method as in claim 19, wherein carrying a transmission device comprises a vehicle carrying the transmission device.

22. A method as in claim 19, wherein the vehicle is a ground transport vehicle.

23. A method as in claim 19, wherein the vehicle is an aircraft.