Method, apparatus, and system for reading, processing, presenting, and/or storing electronic medical record information

Inventors

Hughes, Rexford Irving • Fitzpatrick, Daniel Charles • Denny, William Dale • Bruckner, Cale Gage • Augustine, Charles Martel • Cowsill, Jason Lloyd • Skipper, Howard Wayne

Assignees

Emergent Health Care Solutions LLC

Abstract

A method for accessing, processing, presenting, and/or storing electronic medical record (EMR) information on a touch-sensitive display includes reading EMR information, displaying at least a portion of the EMR information on a touch-sensitive sliding timeline, detecting finger swipe or similar gestures, and scrolling the sliding timeline so that a different portion of the EMR information is displayed chronologically on the touch-sensitive sliding timeline. The resolution of the timeline can be expanded or collapsed in response to pinch gestures. The timeline is divided into a columns, each column including icons representing medical related events. A second timeline having a different time resolution from the first timeline is used for navigating the medical related events. Different levels of detail regarding the medical related events can be viewed in different detail panes. An EMR access device and system are also disclosed, which are configured to access and present EMR information.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to accessing, processing, and presenting electronic medical record information on a touch-sensitive display using a chronological sliding timeline. Electronic medical records are accessed from an electronic medical record database and electronic medical record information is read and located as portions for display. The first portion is displayed in chronological order on a first touch-sensitive sliding timeline divided into a first plurality of columns associated with one day, and medical events occurring during each associated one day are represented by one or more first medical event indicators within the associated column.

The invention further scrolls the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline based on detecting a first finger swipe gesture within boundaries of the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline. A second portion of electronic medical record information is located and displayed in chronological order on the first sliding timeline by scrolling in response to the finger swipe gesture. The user interface also provides a second touch-sensitive sliding timeline proximate to the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline, divided into a second plurality of columns associated with one month, and a third portion of electronic medical record information is displayed within an associated second plurality of columns as one or more second medical event indicators representing days within the one month in which a medical event occurred.

In time-context navigation, the invention synchronizes scrolling between the two timelines to correlate in time. The second sliding timeline is scrolled in response to detecting a second finger swipe gesture within boundaries of the second touch-sensitive sliding timeline, and the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline is scrolled to correlate in time with the second touch-sensitive sliding timeline based on the first finger swipe gesture relative to the second touch-sensitive sliding timeline. The second touch-sensitive sliding timeline is scrolled to correlate in time with the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline based on the second finger swipe gesture relative to the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline.

The invention also includes supporting system-level components for EMR information presentation, including an electronic medical records database, an optional middle-tier application, and one or more portable electronic medical record access devices with a controller and a touch-sensitive display. The system uses wireless input/output interfaces and/or local storage on the portable access devices to communicate with the middle-tier application and extract electronic medical record information, and further describes cross-timeline correlation using a shadow window that corresponds to an amount of time displayed on the first touch-sensitive sliding timeline.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims explicitly cover a method, a system, an electronic medical record access apparatus, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium with corresponding instructions. Across these claims, the core inventive features are organized around two proximate touch-sensitive sliding timelines, medical event indicators, finger-swipe scrolling, and cross-timeline time correlation via synchronized scrolling.

Across the independent claims, the coverage centers on a touch-sensitive EMR interface that presents two proximate, chronologically scrolling sliding timelines with day-associated and month-associated columns, medical event indicators, finger-swipe scrolling, and synchronized scrolling to correlate time between the timelines. The system claim further requires an electronic medical records database, a middle-tier application, and portable access devices with a controller and touch-sensitive display.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications