Surgery – Diagnostic testing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-19
2001-06-19
Gilbert, Samuel G. (Department: 3736)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Reexamination Certificate
active
06248065
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to remote monitoring systems, and in particular to a monitoring system and method for remotely querying individuals.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In recent years, an increasing number of healthcare providers have initiated outpatient or home healthcare programs for their patients. The potential benefits of these home healthcare programs are particularly great for chronically ill patients who must treat their diseases on a daily basis. However, the success of these programs is currently limited by the ability of healthcare providers to monitor the patients remotely to avert medical problems before they become complicated and costly. Unfortunately, no convenient and cost effective monitoring system exists for the patients who have the greatest need for monitoring, the poor and the elderly.
Prior attempts to solve the problem of remotely monitoring patients have included the use of personal computers and modems to establish communication between patients and healthcare providers. However, computers are too expensive to give away and the patients who already own computers are only a small fraction of the total population. Further, patients who own computers are typically young, well educated, and have good healthcare coverage. Thus, these patients do not have the greatest unmet medical needs. The patients who have the greatest unmet medical needs are the poor and elderly who do not own computers or who are unfamiliar with their use.
Similar attempts to establish communication between patients and healthcare providers have included the use of the internet and internet terminals. Although internet terminals are somewhat less costly than personal computers, they are still not sufficiently inexpensive to give away to patients. Moreover, monthly on-line access charges are prohibitive for poor patients.
Prior attempts to solve the problem of remotely monitoring patients have also included the use of interactive telephone or video response systems. Such interactive systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,390,238 issued to Kirk et al. on Feb. 14, 1995, 5,434,611 issued to Tamura on Jul. 18, 1995, and 5,441,047 issued to David et al. on Aug. 15, 1995. A disadvantage of these systems is that they either require a patient to call in to a central facility to be monitored or require the central facility to call the patient according to a rigid monitoring schedule.
If the patients are required to call the central facility, only the compliant patients will actually call regularly to be monitored. However, it is the non-compliant patients who have the greatest need for monitoring to avert medical problems before they become complicated and costly. If the central facility calls each patient according to a monitoring schedule, it is intrusive to the patient's life and resistance to the monitoring grows over time. Further, it is difficult to identify each patient uniquely using these conventional interactive response systems. Additionally, these systems are generally incapable of transmitting medical data collected in monitoring devices, such as blood glucose meters or peak flow meters.
It is also known to use monitoring devices with modems to monitor patients remotely. Unfortunately, these monitoring devices do not allow flexible and dynamic querying of patients for other information, such as quality of life measures or psycho-social variables of illness.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive system for remotely querying patients and for collecting data relating to the health status of the patients. It is another object of the invention to provide a monitoring system which allows flexible and dynamic updating of the queries from a central computer system. It is a further object of the invention to provide a monitoring system which incurs lower telecommunications charges than those incurred by conventional monitoring systems. Another object of the invention is to provide a monitoring system which may be used at any time convenient for a patient. A further object of the invention is to provide a monitoring system which combines querying of patients with medical device monitoring in the same monitoring session.
These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent after consideration of the ensuing description and the accompanying drawings.
SUMMARY
The invention presents a monitoring system and method for remotely querying an individual. The monitoring system includes a central computer system and a remote apparatus. The central computer system preferably includes a server and a workstation networked to the server. The workstation is for entering in the server a set of queries to be answered by the individual and corresponding response choices for each of the queries.
The server includes a script generator for generating a script program to be executed by the apparatus. The script program includes display commands to display the queries and response choices. The script program also includes input commands to receive responses to the queries. The server also includes a database connected to the script generator and the workstation for storing the script program and the responses.
The remote apparatus includes a communication device, such as a modem, for establishing communication links between the apparatus and the central computer system through a communication network, for receiving the script program from the central computer system through a first communication link, and for transmitting the responses to the central computer system through a subsequent communication link. The script program further includes a connection command to establish the subsequent communication link at a prescribed connection time and a transmit command to transmit the responses from the apparatus to the central computer system through the subsequent communication link.
The apparatus also includes a display for displaying the queries and the response choices to the individual, input buttons for entering the responses in the apparatus, and a memory for storing the script program and the responses. A processor is connected to the communication device, the display, the memory, and the input buttons. The processor executes the script program to display the queries and the response choices, to receive the responses, to establish the subsequent communication link at the prescribed connection time, and to transmit the responses to the central computer system.
The monitoring system preferably includes a number of remote apparatuses in communication with the server for remotely querying a corresponding number of individuals. Each of the individuals is associated with a respective one of the apparatuses. In the preferred embodiment, a number of sets of queries and corresponding response choices are entered through the workstation and the script generator generates a corresponding number of script programs from the sets of queries and response choices. Each of the script programs corresponds to a respective one of the sets of queries and response choices.
Also in the preferred embodiment, the server includes a script assignor for assigning to each of the individuals at least one of the script programs. The database stores the script programs, a list of the individuals, and for each of the individuals, a respective pointer to the script program assigned to the individual. The server is designed to transmit to each of the apparatuses the script program assigned to the individual associated with the apparatus.
A preferred method for using the monitoring system to remotely monitor individuals includes the steps of providing the individuals with a number of remote apparatuses such that each of the individuals is associated with a respective one of the apparatuses. The method also includes the steps of entering in the central computer system sets of queries and corresponding response choices and generating in the central computer system the script programs, wher
Black Lowe & Graham PLLC
Gilbert Samuel G.
Health Hero Network, Inc.
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