Invented by David L. Wellons, Diane Brown Turcan, AT&T Intellectual Property I LP
The AT&T Intellectual Property I LP invention works as follows
Methods, systems and methods are disclosed to enable a telecommunications-based healthcare information (NBHIS). To control access, sharing and notification of electronic healthcare data that is being exchanged between NBHIS participants, a data connection is made with a rule-based dataserver. The rule-based dataserver is usually associated with a central offices (?CO). ), a mobile switching center (?MTSO?) ), or a combination of CO/MTSO.Background for Network-based health information systems
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The invention generally pertains to computer networks and telephony. This invention focuses on methods and systems that allow for faster and more effective communication and processing electronic healthcare data within a telecommunications network-based information system.
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In Epidemics Hippocrates wrote: The art of medicine is based on three factors: the patient, the disease and the doctor. If he were to write today, the Father Of Medicine would likely also include access to healthcare information. As a fourth factor. Why? Why? Because healthcare today is driven by rising pressure to control costs, increased consumer power, and a shift away from hospital inpatient care to primary, ambulatory, or home care. a greater level of competition and a focus on quality to ensure better patient care. Many traditional procedures are inefficient due to this constant drive to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Healthcare professionals, organizations, patients and patients have great opportunities to form new multi-institution partnerships. These include strategic alliances between physicians’ offices, hospitals, clinics and labs, diagnostic centers and medical record repositories. Insurers, patients, suppliers of pharmaceuticals and other vendors. Many different computing systems and communications technologies are used to share electronic healthcare information. The biggest obstacle to multi-institution partnerships is the creation and maintenance of an integrated delivery system (IDS). This allows for the efficient and effective information-exchange between compatible or standard data in order to ensure that all partners have access to the same information.
Every day, electronic documents, emails and proprietary information are created and shared between multi-institution partnerships. A physician may order a complicated lab test at the hospital. Instead of waiting for the results to arrive by mail, the doctor’s office can request them online via secure encrypted email. Either the hospital’s laboratory staff attaches the result to an email return, or the system automatically responds to the request and sends it to a legacy system that can be accessed by the doctor. A physician may need to admit a patient at the hospital. Instead of waiting for staff to call the admissions office, and spending up to thirty (30) minutes talking, the office electronically sends pre-admission information to the hospital via email attachments or directly to the hospital?s legacy system. The term “legacy systems” is used herein. This term refers to data processing, storage and management. It also includes information systems such as electronic patient records, patient information, demographic information and physical records. The legacy systems are typically customized for each member of the multi-institution partnership in terms of software and hardware configurations, as well as network configuration. The legacy system typically includes multiple computer systems, but it could also be an independent computer system.
In both the above cases, the shared health information can be processed in many ways. The hospital could transmit information to the doctor by connecting over a Local Area Network connection (LAN) into a database hosted on a web server. The doctor could receive the information via a data connection to their computer system, such the Internet, Intranet, Extranet, or direct connection. Push technology uses push technology to automatically broadcast the data to the physician’s system. This allows the physician to access the transmitted data with a suitable software package, such a browser. The IDS interface to an information-exchange network is intended to transform and reformat healthcare information from one legacy and make it compatible with other legacy systems. However, IDS systems so far have only been able to access very specific healthcare information and offer limited features and services between legacy systems.
In addition, to the difficulties of creating an IDS that allows electronic healthcare information exchange, many of the multi-institution partners must comply with various federal, state and local rules that protect privacy and security of patient healthcare information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA (Pub. L. 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936), includes health plans, healthcare clearinghouses and healthcare providers who perform certain financial and administrative transactions electronically (e.g. electronic billing and fund transfers). Providers (e.g., physicians, hospitals, etc.) Patients must be provided with a written explanation by their healthcare providers (e.g., doctors, hospitals, etc.) of how the covered entity will use or disclose their patient’s health information. Healthcare providers must obtain consent from patients before they share information about treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. HIPPA also requires providers to adopt privacy procedures in order to protect the confidentiality and security of healthcare information.
The above discussion shows how sharing healthcare information and technology is creating a new foundation to a virtual healthcare environment. This new virtual healthcare environment calls for improved network-based information systems to provide healthcare information that can support various organizational needs and take advantage of emerging trends in healthcare. It is necessary to have network-based information systems and components that allow multiple legacy systems to share and transfer compatible data among the participants in the multi-institution partnership. It is also necessary to improve access and notification of electronically shared healthcare information without spending millions on computer equipment, maintenance and training, as well as complying with privacy, security, authenticity and/or privacy requirements.
A telecommunications-based healthcare information system (NBHIS) can reduce the problems outlined above. NBHIS is a system and method that uses the resources of a telecommunications networks to improve access, sharing, notification and security of electronic healthcare data between and among legacy systems. NBHIS offers several advantages, including the ability for each participant to manage and categorize electronic health data exchanged with others, faster access to electronic health data, and use a local proprietary network in order to reduce or stop electronic healthcare information from entering traffic on a public data network such as the Internet.
An embodiment describes a method that involves receiving electronic health data from a sender’s legacy systems, processing the data into a receivers legacy systems, and interpreting the electronic health data using a rule-based engine. An integrated delivery system is created between the legacy system of the sender and receiver. This allows for electronic healthcare data to be exchanged between one or more networks associated with a telecommunications provider. A rule-based application dataserver is preferred to classify the electronic healthcare data. A rule-based application server allows a customer, such as a participant, to manage access, sharing and notification of electronic healthcare data that is being exchanged between or between legacy systems. The rule-based dataserver is usually associated with a central offices (?CO). ), a mobile switching center (?MTSO?) ), or a combination of CO/MTSO.
Another embodiment describes how electronic healthcare data can be communicated to a rule based application server associated with a telecoms facility. It also allows a customer (e.g. a participant) manage the rule based application dataserver which includes one or more databases associated to a rule based profile. The integrated delivery system allows for the exchange of select electronic healthcare data between the receiver’s legacy and sender’s legacy systems. This is similar to the first embodiment.
Another embodiment describes how to establish a data connection between sender legacy systems and receiver legacy systems that use a rule based application server, transmitting electronic healthcare data via this data connection and allowing customers to manage the rule based application servers, including one or more databases associated in a rule based profile. A telecommunications provider provides the rule-based app dataserver and controls access between sender legacy systems and receiver legacy systems. The electronic healthcare data typically includes an attached object, transaction reply, transaction notification, compatible object and/or any other electronic communications.
Another embodiment describes an electronic system for managing electronic health data that is shared among different legacy systems via a telecommunications link. It uses a rule-based dataserver associated to a telecommunications facility. The system includes an interconnected network of communications devices that are serviced by a telecoms provider, and a rule-based dataserver to manage the electronic healthcare data exchange between legacy systems. A program called a NBHIS management module is also included in the system. It is installed on a customer’s communication device such as a computer. The NBHIS Management module allows the customer to remotely manage NBHIS Management Services, including its rule-based application dataservers and databases.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION ABOUT THE VIEWS FROM THE DRAWINGS
The following description, taken together with the accompanying images, will help you to understand the above and other embodiments, uses, benefits, and novel features in this invention:
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FIG. FIG. 3 shows a more detailed diagram of an application dataserver that is rule-based. 2;
FIG. FIG. 4. is a more detailed diagram of the legacy system for a hospital. 2;
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