U.S. patent application number 13/865774 was filed with the patent office on 2013-09-05 for method of providing web based access to clinical records.
The applicant listed for this patent is Farzad D. Buxey, Neil A. Martin, Vesselin Zlatev. Invention is credited to Farzad D. Buxey, Neil A. Martin, Vesselin Zlatev.
Application Number | 20130231961 13/865774 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41202474 |
Filed Date | 2013-09-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130231961 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Martin; Neil A. ; et
al. |
September 5, 2013 |
Method of Providing Web Based Access To Clinical Records
Abstract
A system and method for providing access to clinical data over
the Internet. The system includes a server, and a database in
communication with the server. The database stores clinical data
sets. The system further includes a thin client, a communication
link between the server and the Internet, and a communication link
between the thin client and the Internet. Software executing on the
server receives a request for one or more clinical data sets,
retrieves the requested clinical data sets, and transmits the
clinical data sets to the thin client.
Inventors: |
Martin; Neil A.; (Encino,
CA) ; Buxey; Farzad D.; (Marina Del Rey, CA) ;
Zlatev; Vesselin; (Aliso Viejo, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Martin; Neil A.
Buxey; Farzad D.
Zlatev; Vesselin |
Encino
Marina Del Rey
Aliso Viejo |
CA
CA
CA |
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
41202474 |
Appl. No.: |
13/865774 |
Filed: |
April 18, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12495285 |
Jun 30, 2009 |
8443428 |
|
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13865774 |
|
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61077159 |
Jun 30, 2008 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G16H 40/67 20180101;
G16H 10/60 20180101; G16H 15/00 20180101; H04L 67/02 20130101; G16H
40/63 20180101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/3 |
International
Class: |
G06F 19/00 20060101
G06F019/00 |
Claims
1. A method of providing web access to clinical data to one or more
hospitals, the method comprising: providing a central server
facility, comprising one or more servers; providing at least one
database in communication with said server facility, said database
comprising a plurality of clinical data sets; providing a network
communication link between said server facility and one or more
hospital networks; processing said one or more clinical data sets
at said server facility in response to a request from said one or
more hospital networks; determining if a client that sent the
request is authorized to access the one or more clinical data sets
requested based on one or more unique identifiers; transmitting
said processed one or more clinical data sets to said one or more
hospital networks if said authorization is allowed; transmitting a
notice of unauthorized request and blocking access to said one or
more clinical data sets if the client is unauthorized to access the
one or more clinical data sets; and charging said one or more
hospitals on a subscription basis for providing web-based access to
clinical records over the Internet.
2. A method of providing web access to clinical data to one or more
hospitals: providing a central server facility, comprising one or
more servers; providing at least one database in communication with
said server facility, said database comprising a plurality of
clinical data sets; providing a network communication link between
said server facility and one or more hospital networks; processing
said one or more clinical data sets at said server facility in
response to a request from said one or more hospital networks;
determining access to said processed clinical data set; and
transmitting said processed clinical data to said one or more
hospital networks if access is granted to said processed clinical
data set.
3. The method of claim 2, further including the step of: charging
said one or more hospitals on a subscription basis for providing
web-based access to clinical records over the Internet.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the server facility is hosted
remote from the one or more hospital networks.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the central server facility
serves multiple hospitals in multiple geographic locations.
6. The method of claim 2, further comprising transmitting said
processed clinical data to an electronic device connected to said
one or more hospital networks.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein said electronic device is
provided to a patient or to a physician.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein said electronic device provided
to said physician is limited to accessing processed clinical data
related to one or more patients of the physician.
9. The method of claim 5, further comprising displaying said
processed clinical data on said electronic device.
10. The method of claim 5, wherein said processed clinical data is
displayed on a dashboard on the electronic device.
11. The method of claim 2, further comprising software executing on
said server facility to retrieve the requested clinical data from
said at least one database in response to the request.
12. The method of claim 2, wherein said processed clinical data is
transmitted via the network communication link.
13. The method of claim 2, wherein the request is generated by an
electronic device connected to said one or more hospital
networks.
14. The method of claim 2, wherein software executing on the one or
more servers provides a web browser in a window pane of a dashboard
of an electronic device connected to said one or more hospital
networks.
15. The method of claim 2, wherein the request is associated with a
unique identifier.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein software executing on the one
or more servers determines whether the electronic device is
authorized to access the processed clinical data based upon the
unique identifier.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein software executing on the one
or more servers determines whether the user is authorized to access
the processed clinical data based upon the unique identifier.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to the access of clinical data.
Specifically, the invention relates to systems and methods for
accessing clinical data and records via the web using a thin
client.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Clinical data in hospitals and other medical facilities is
often stored in a central server or set of servers located on-site
at the facility. The central server is primarily accessed via
computer terminals at the facility. These computer terminals are
referred to a thick clients because data retrieved from the central
server is processed on the computer terminal. The data stored on
the system is acquired from a multitude of sources, such as the
hospital's information system, billing system, and other, more
specialized, data repositories.
[0003] A disadvantage of such known systems is that it is
inconvenient for physicians and other medical staff working at the
hospital to access clinical data stored on the central server or
servers because they must log on to an on-site computer terminal to
view the clinical data.
[0004] Another disadvantage of such known systems is that software
for processing and receiving the clinical data executes on each
on-site computer terminal. Such a system is expensive to maintain
because each computer terminal must be addressed individually.
[0005] Another disadvantage of such known systems is that they do
not enable a person outside the medical staff to access clinical
data stored on the system. Patients, for example, cannot access
their own clinical data.
[0006] Another disadvantage of such known systems is that they do
not allow a physician who has referred a patient to the hospital
where the patient's data is stored to access the data stored on the
system.
[0007] There is a desire therefore for a system and method for
providing access to clinical data that overcomes the limitations of
the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is accordingly an object of the present invention to
provide a system and method that that overcomes the limitations of
the prior art.
[0009] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
system and method that provides hospital staff and physicians
access to medical data from any electronic device connected to the
Internet, or other network.
[0010] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
a web-based client to allow for the external viewing of medical
data located on a hospital server.
[0011] It is another object or the present invention to provide a
system and method that provides patient access to clinical data
from any electronic device connected to the Internet, or other
network. In some embodiments of the present invention patient
access is limited to clinical data related to the patient.
[0012] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
a system and method that allows a physician, for example a
referring physician, to access clinical data stored on the hospital
server, thereby providing wide access to the system. In some
embodiments of the present invention physician access is limited to
clinical data related to one or more patients of the physician.
[0013] It is yet another embodiment of the present invention to
employ tailored limitations and restrictions of access to
individual patients or groups of patients based on patient
permissions. In such embodiments, the central data server is no
longer an insulated intramural closed system that neither patients
nor referring physicians have access to.
[0014] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
a system and method that displays clinical data stored on a central
hospital server to a thin client (e.g., desktop, notebook, tablet
PC, handheld device, etc.). A thin client in some embodiments is a
device that primarily handles input (e.g., user interaction) and
output (e.g., displaying), while data processing is done on a
separate server remote from the thin client. This is as opposed to
a thick client, in which processing is done on the thick client
device itself. While some of the devices listed above (desktop,
notebook, etc.) can also act as thick clients, in some embodiments
these devices act as thin clients.
[0015] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
a system and method for access to centrally stored clinical data
wherein maintenance of the data processing software need only be
implemented on software executing on the server.
[0016] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
a system and method for the display clinical data stored on a
central hospital server on a browser on a thin client, wherein the
interface within the browser allows the creation of multiple
windows or panes which can be individually sized and individually
positioned within the browser. In some embodiments, the number of
individual panes can vary from one or two up to eight or more. The
panes are variably sized in some embodiments, and multiple windows
can have differing sizes.
[0017] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
a central server facility that servers multiple hospitals in
multiple geographic locations, thereby improving the efficiency of
server maintenance and upgrading, and application upgrading at both
the server level and the client level.
[0018] It is yet another object of the present invention to employ
remote hosting to hospitals on a subscription basis that allows
hospitals to forego the high costs of hardware installation and
on-site maintenance.
[0019] These and other objects of the present invention are
achieved by a system and method for providing web access to
clinical data including a server, a database in communication with
the server, the database having a plurality clinical data sets. The
system further includes a thin client, a communication link between
the server and the Internet, and a communication link between the
thin client and the Internet. Software executing on the server
receives a request for one or more clinical data sets, retrieves
the requested clinical data sets, and transmits the clinical data
sets to the thin client.
[0020] In some embodiments of the present invention, software
executing on the server generates a dashboard for display on the
thin client. The dashboard comprises one of more window panes for
displaying the clinical data sets on the thin client.
[0021] In some embodiments, because the application that is
provided to the thin client runs on the server, modifications to
the application need only be implemented in the central location
rather than on each thin client device. This greatly simplifies the
updating and maintenance of the application. Some embodiments do
not permit caching of any data on the thin client. Other
embodiments only permit the standard sort of caching that is
associated with typical web applications and allowed by standard
web browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer.
[0022] In some embodiments, the web-based application allows
patients to see their own records without being required to
download software onto their computer. Such embodiments are
restricted such that the patient (in contrast to healthcare workers
associated with the hospital or other facility) will have access
only to their own personal medical record and not to the entire
list of patients in the hospital. Some embodiments associate a
particular patient's password with that particular patient's
medical record, and only allow the patient to view that particular
record. In such embodiments, patients do not have the ability to
browse other medical records within the facility. This security
step is critical for privacy and HIPAA (Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act) compliance.
[0023] In some embodiments, the web access similarly facilitates
the reviewing of patient records by referring physicians who are
not on-site in the hospital or even on the medical staff of the
hospital. Such physicians might want to easily access the records
of patients who they referred to the hospital. Some embodiments
restrict access of a particular physician to only patients that
have given permission for that particular physician to view their
records. Accordingly, physicians who are not on the medical staff
will not have the ability to view all of the medical records within
the facility at will in such embodiments, but rather only those of
the patients who have granted them permission to see their records.
The ability of patients and referring physicians to easily view
pertinent medical records within a hospital system is an extension
of that system that will bring the healthcare infrastructure a step
closer to being universally accessible.
[0024] In some embodiments, the server that runs the web-based
application is hosted remotely rather than installed in the
hospital. In such embodiments, all that is required is a network
(e.g., Internet) link between the central server facility and the
client hospital, which can be geographically distant. In some
embodiments, the central server facility serves multiple hospitals
in multiple geographic locations, thereby improving the efficiency
of server maintenance and upgrading, and application upgrading at
both the server level and the client level. Some embodiments that
employ remote hosting provide the remote hosting to hospitals on a
subscription basis that allows the hospitals to forego the high
costs of hardware installation and on-site maintenance.
[0025] Some embodiments allow patients and referring physicians to
view patient hospital records, thereby providing wide access to the
system. Some embodiments employ tailored limitations and
restriction of access to individual patients or a group of patients
based on patient permissions. In such embodiments, the central data
server is no longer an insulated intramural closed system that
neither patients nor referring physicians have access to.
[0026] These and other objects and advantages of the present
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description considered with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] FIG. 1 illustrates a system and method for providing web
based access to clinical records according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0028] FIG. 2 illustrates a system for providing web based access
to clinical records according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates a method according to one embodiment of
the present invention.
[0030] FIG. 4 illustrates a system for providing web based access
to clinical records according to one embodiment of the present
invention, wherein a central server provides clinical data access
over the Internet to one or more hospitals in a geographical
location distinct from the server.
[0031] FIG. 5A illustrates a dashboard for display on a thin client
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0032] FIG. 5B illustrates a dashboard for display on a thin client
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 5C illustrates a dashboard for display on a thin client
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] FIG. 5D illustrates a dashboard for display on a thin client
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0035] This Application is related to U.S. Patent Application
entitled "Drill Down Clinical Information Dashboard," filed on Feb.
24, 2008 and having application Ser. No. 12/036,281. That
application is incorporated by reference herein.
[0036] This Application is related to U.S. Patent Application
entitled "Intelligent Dashboard," filed on Feb. 24, 2008 and having
application Ser. No. 12/036,287. That application is incorporated
by reference herein.
[0037] FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 for providing access to
clinical data over a network according to one embodiment of the
present invention. The system 10 includes a server 20 accessible by
one or more thin clients 50 via a communication network 30. In some
embodiments, the server 20 may be a personal computer that is
accessible (via the communications network 30 or directly) by one
or more thin clients 50. In other embodiments the server 20 may be
a plurality of servers 20 connected together. In some embodiments
the communication network 30 is a communication link over the
Internet, and in other embodiments the communication network 30 may
be a communication link over a private or closed network.
[0038] The system 10 further includes one or more databases 12 for
storing clinical data. Clinical data may include any data related
to the treatment and care of a patient, for example data related to
the condition of a patient, billing and payment history, and a
patient's medical history. For the purposes of this application
clinical data also refers to severity scores, and data trends
calculated to monitor and evaluate one or more patients. Clinical
data is collected through a variety of systems and methods and
stored in the database 12 connected to the server 20. The database
12 provides the system 10 with clinical data for a number of
patients.
[0039] In reference to FIG. 2 an embodiment of the present
invention is shown. A thin client 50 may include, but is not
limited to, a desktop computer 152, a notebook computer 164, a
tablet computer 154, a personal digital assistant 162, and a mobile
phone 166. A thin client 50 in some embodiments is a device that
primarily handles input (e.g., user interaction) and output (e.g.,
displaying), while processing is done on a separate server. This is
as opposed to a thick client, in which processing is done on the
client device itself. While some of the devices listed above
(desktop, notebook, etc.) can also act as thick clients, in some
embodiments these devices act as thin clients 50. Thin clients 152,
154 are in communication with the server 120 via private
communication networks 132, 134 respectively. Thin clients 162,
164, 166 are in communication with the server 120 via public
communication networks 142, 144, 146 respectively, for example the
Internet.
[0040] In further reference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 the
thin client 50 is in communication with the server 20 via a
communication network 30. In some embodiments the thin client 50 is
connected to the Internet via a communication link. The thin client
50 may include a web browser for communicating with said server 20
via said communication network 30. It should be understood that in
some embodiments of the present invention the thin client 50 is in
communication with the server 20 via a private network. It should
further be understood that in some embodiments of the present
invention one or more thin clients 50 are in communication with the
server 20 via a wireless network.
[0041] The server 20 includes software for processing clinical data
stored in the database 12. In reference to FIG. 1 the software
executing on the server 20 is referred to as a Medical Data Manager
Application 22. It should be understood that the Medical Data
Manager Application 22 includes a plurality of software modules for
processing clinical data stored in the database 12, and that the
Medical Data Manager Application 22 may be referred to throughout
this description as software 22.
[0042] In further reference to FIG. 1, software 22 executing on the
server 20 receives a command 42 from said thin client 50. In the
embodiments shown in FIG. 1 the command 42 is a request for
clinical data 44. It should be understood that the server 20 may
receive many different commands, for example a command to process
clinical data, or a command to present clinical data in a different
manner. Software 22 executing on the server 20 retrieves the
requested clinical data 44 from the database 12 in response to the
command 42. Software 22 executing on the server 20 transmits the
requested clinical data 44 to the thin client 50 via the network
communication link 30. The requested clinical data 44 is displayed
on a user interface on the thin client 50.
[0043] In some embodiments of the present invention the system
includes software 22 executing on the server 20 for generating a
user interface (or dashboard). In reference to FIGS. 5A-D various
examples of the user dashboards 500, 600, 700, 800 are shown. The
thin client 50 displays the dashboard 500 generated by software 22
executing on the sever 20. The dashboard 500 is typically displayed
in the user interface of the thin client 50. For example the
dashboard 500 may be displayed inside a web browser running on the
thin client 50. Each dashboard 500, 600, 700, 800 includes multiple
window panes, such as the window panes 510, 520, 530, 540 shown on
dashboard 500 in FIG. 5A. The various window panes of the
dashboards display clinical data. For instance, the window pane 520
shows clinical data regarding a first patient.
[0044] In some embodiments, the dashboard includes a patient list
window, such as the patient list window 540 of dashboard 500. The
patient list window 540 provides a list of the patients, recorded
clinical data regarding each patient, computed scores generated
from patient clinical data, and trends associated with the recorded
data and generated scores. In some embodiments, the patient list
window 540 is editable, selectable, or clickable.
[0045] In reference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5A, the
dashboard 500 further includes a menu bar 550. The menu bar 550 has
one or more menu options, for example vitals, labs, scans, and
nursing. When a menu bar option is selected (via appropriate input
on the thin client 50), the menu "pulls down", revealing a list of
menu items or options. These options enable the user to perform
various actions within the dashboard 500 and allow the user to
request one or more clinical data sets. In some embodiments, a user
can configure a dashboard 500. For example, the user can configure
one or more of a size of a window pane, the number of window panes,
and the type of data displayed in a window pane. The system 10 can
further save a dashboard configuration for later use.
[0046] In reference to FIG. 1 software 22 executing on the server
20 generates a first dashboard 500 having a first plurality of
window panes 510, 520, 530, 540. Software 22 executing on the
server 20 transmits the first dashboard 500 to a thin client 50 for
display on the thin client 50. In some embodiments of the present
invention software executing 22 on the server 20 displays the
clinical data 44 in one or more of the first plurality of window
panes 520 of the first dashboard 500. For example, in reference to
FIG. 5A the system 10 displays the dashboard 500 on a thin client
50. A user of the thin client 50 may request clinical data, for
example, by selecting a patient name on the patient list window
pane 540. The software 22 executing on the server 20 receives the
request 42 for the clinical data, retrieves the requested clinical
data 44 from the database 12, and transmits the requested clinical
data 22 to the thin client 50 for display in a window pane 520 of
the dashboard 500.
[0047] In some embodiments of the present invention a first
dashboard 500 generated by software 22 executing on the server 20
is displayed on the thin client 50. The user of the thin client 50
requests clinical data via an input on the first dashboard 500.
Software 22 executing on the server 20 receives the request, and
retrieves the requested clinical data 44. Software 22 executing on
the server 20 then generates a second dashboard 600 having a second
plurality of window panes and transmits the second dashboard 600 to
the thin client 50 for display on the thin client 50. In some
embodiments the first dashboard 500 includes a link 542, for
example a patient name in the patent list window pane 540. When the
link 542 is activated, for example by a user input at the thin
client 50, software 22 executing on the server 20 generates a
second dashboard 600, and includes clinical data 44 in one or more
window panes on the second dashboard 600, wherein the clinical data
44 is related to the patient associated with the link 542. In this
way the user of a thin client 50 can toggle between a general
dashboard 500 in which clinical information related to a plurality
of patients is displayed, to a more specialized dashboard 600 in
which additional patient specific clinical information is
displayed.
[0048] In other embodiments of the present invention a first
dashboard having a first set of window panes displays a first set
of clinical data related to a first aspect of a patient, for
example general clinical data associated with the patient. A second
a second dashboard having a second set of plurality of windows
displays clinical data related to a second aspect of a patient, for
example clinical data related to a specific condition for which
medical staff intends to treat. It should be understood that in
some embodiments the first and second dashboards may display
identical clinical data, while in other embodiments the first and
second dashboards display different clinical data.
[0049] In some embodiments software executing the server 20
provides a web browser in a window pane 530 of the dashboard 500. A
user of the thin client 50 can access the World Wide Web through
the browser provided in the window pane 530. For example, a user
accessing the system through a thin client 50 connected to a
private network or closed network can access the World Wide Web via
the browser window pane 530.
[0050] In some embodiments, the web-based application allows
doctors, patients, and other individuals located outside of a
hospital to access clinical data sets stored on the system. In such
embodiments it is preferred that access to clinical data is
restricted to persons with authorization to access such clinical
data. For example, a patient is authorized to access her own
clinical data, but is restricted from accessing clinical data of
other patients. Such embodiments are restricted such that the
patient (in contrast to healthcare workers associated with the
hospital) have access only to their own personal clinical data and
not to the entire list of patients in the hospital. In other
embodiments a referring doctor will have access only to patients of
the doctor. This security step is critical for privacy and HIPAA
(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
compliance.
[0051] In reference to FIG. 3, a method for restricting access to
clinical data is illustrated. First, the server receives a clinical
data request from a thin client 202. Each clinical data request is
associated with a unique identifier related to the one or more of
thin client through which the request was made, or the user making
the request through the thin client. Further, the clinical data
stored in the database 12 is also associated with one or more
identifies. Software 22 executing on the server 20 receives the
clinical data request from the thin client. Software 22 executing
on the server 20 determines whether one or more of the thin client
50 and thin client user are authorized to access the clinical data
requested based on one or more of the unique identifiers. If the
system determines that it is an authorized request, software
executing on the server will retrieve the requested data 212, and
transmit the clinical data to the thin client 214. If the system
determines that it is an unauthorized request, software executing
on the server will generate a notice of unauthorized request,
transmit the notice of unauthorized request to the thin client 210,
and block access to the requested data. It should be understood
that many different variations of determining clinical data access
are possible, and the above description is intended for
illustration purposes only. For example, a data authorization
protocol may vary depending on the system, the number of users, the
type of user, and the location of the user among others.
[0052] In reference to FIG. 4, an alternative embodiment of the
present invention is illustrated wherein the server that runs the
web-based application is in a geographic location remote from one
more medical care facilities. For example the server location may
in a different city, county, state or country. In this embodiment
the server 320 is located in a geographical location remote from
the hospital 354, 344, 334. The server 320 and associated database
312 fulfill data storage and processing for a plurality of
hospitals. A user at a hospital accesses data stored on the server.
The server processes the data and transmits the data to the
hospital. In some embodiments, a hospital may also maintain a local
network. Some embodiments that employ remote hosting provide the
remote hosting to hospitals on a subscription basis that allows the
hospitals to forego the high costs of hardware installation and
on-site maintenance.
[0053] Although the invention has been described with reference to
a particular arrangement of parts, features and the like, these are
not intended to exhaust all possible arrangements or features, and
indeed many modifications and variations will be ascertainable to
those of skill in the art.
* * * * *