Evidence-based healthcare information management protocols
Structures and protocols are presented for signaling a decision (processing or transmitting a medical record or other resource, e.g.) conditionally, at least partly based on one or more performance indicia (excess hospital readmissions, e.g.) or therapeutic determinants (prior success, e.g.) or privacy considerations (patient consent, e.g.).
1 . A healthcare information management system comprising:
circuitry for obtaining an association between a particular condition and a first protocol;
circuitry for causing a comparison between a threshold and a prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol after the association between the particular condition and the first protocol is obtained; and
circuitry for signaling a decision whether to caution a caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol.
2 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a device containing the circuitry for obtaining the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and containing the circuitry for causing the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol after the association between the particular condition and the first protocol is obtained and containing the circuitry for signaling the decision whether to caution the caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol.
3 - 4 . (canceled)
5 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for obtaining an indication whether an individual is compliant with a health regimen that includes the first protocol as a treatment of the particular condition.
6 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for detecting a passive wireless transponder within a vicinity of a vehicle, the passive wireless transponder being associated with a specific patient who has the particular condition.
7 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for determining whether a portable device is in a vicinity of another device, the portable device being associated with a specific patient who has the particular condition; and
circuitry for transmitting an identifier of the specific patient to the other device in response to the portable device being detected in the vicinity of the other device.
8 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for causing a locally-resident subscriber registry to be updated in response to a movement of a patient having the particular condition.
9 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for obtaining an explicit indication whether a record of treating a medical condition in a particular person with a particular protocol contains any extrinsic evidence that treating the medical condition with the particular protocol has precedent, the medical condition being the particular condition, the first protocol being the particular protocol.
10 . (canceled)
11 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for detecting a wireless device within an effective range of a stationary device, the wireless device being associated with a specific patient who has the particular condition; and
circuitry for transmitting an identifier of the specific patient to the stationary device in response to the wireless device being detected within an effective range of the stationary device.
12 . (canceled)
13 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for obtaining an indication that a specific pathology in a particular individual has been treated at a first hospital and an indication that the specific pathology in the particular individual has been treated at a second hospital, the particular condition comprising the specific pathology.
14 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for obtaining an indication that a specific pathology in a particular individual has been treated at a first hospital and an indication that the specific pathology in the particular individual has been treated at a second hospital, the particular condition comprising the specific pathology, the specific pathology including at least one of an addiction or chronic pain.
15 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for updating a locally-resident subscriber registry in response to an individual entering a service zone, the individual being a patient of the caregiver.
16 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for looking up a communication delay as a function of a therapeutic protocol, the therapeutic protocol being the first protocol; and
circuitry for transmitting a query as an automatic response to an expiration of the communication delay.
17 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for receiving a communication delay as data entered by a user, the user not being the caregiver;
circuitry for transmitting a query to the user as an automatic response to an expiration of the communication delay; and
circuitry for updating the prominence indication in response to an effectiveness indication received from the user after the expiration of the communication delay.
18 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for causing an individual to be contacted by a fallback mode of communication as a conditional response to receiving no reply from the individual by a prior mode of communication, the prior mode of communication being telephonic, the individual being the caregiver, the prior mode of communication having been used in cautioning the caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol.
19 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for contacting an individual by a fallback mode of communication as an automatic and conditional response to receiving no reply from the individual by a prior mode of communication, the fallback mode of communication being telephonic, the individual being the caregiver, the prior mode of communication having been used in cautioning the caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol.
20 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for retrieving a medical treatment record of one individual selectively in response to an explicit indication of a payment reduction that identifies the one individual, the medical treatment record indicating that the caregiver treated the particular condition in the one individual with the first protocol.
21 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for retrieving a medical treatment record of one individual selectively in response to an explicit indication of a payment reduction that identifies the one individual, the medical treatment record indicating that the caregiver treated the particular condition in the one individual with the first protocol, the explicit indication of the payment reduction comprising a quantitative expression having a magnitude larger than 0.1% of an actual cost of an actual stay of the one individual at a specific institution.
22 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for retrieving a medical treatment record relating to a set of one or more pathologies selectively in response to an explicit indication of a payment reduction that identifies the set, the one or more pathologies including the particular condition, the medical treatment record indicating the particular condition having been treated with the first protocol.
23 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for retrieving a medical treatment record relating to a set of one or more pathologies selectively in response to an explicit indication of a payment reduction that identifies the set, the one or more pathologies including the particular condition, the medical treatment record indicating the particular condition having been treated with the first protocol, the particular condition including at least one of an addiction or chronic pain.
24 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for initiating a telephone call between a first individual and a second individual as an automatic response to the first individual not being compliant with a health regimen and to an indication that the second individual is available, the second individual being the caregiver, the health regimen comprising the first protocol.
25 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for initiating a telephone call between a first individual and a second individual as an automatic response to the first individual not being compliant with a health regimen and to an indication that the second individual is available, the second individual being the caregiver, the health regimen comprising the first protocol, the first individual not being compliant with the health regimen being manifested as a sensor activation indicative of noncompliance with the regimen.
26 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for signaling a decision whether to transfer a resource to a first individual partly based on an indication that the first individual is not compliant with a health regimen and partly based on an indication that the first individual has accepted a telephone call, the first individual being a patient of the caregiver, the health regimen comprising the first protocol.
27 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for signaling a decision whether to transfer a resource to a first individual partly based on an indication that the first individual is not compliant with a health regimen and partly based on an indication that the first individual has accepted a telephone call, the first individual being a patient of the caregiver, the health regimen comprising the first protocol, the resource being a product, the decision whether to transfer the resource to the first individual being manifested as a signal to a dispenser of the product.
28 - 31 . (canceled)
32 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for responding to a payment-reduction event relating to a first medical treatment by causing a selective retrieval of one or more records that lack any prominence indication relating to the first medical treatment from an archive that includes at least one prominence indication relating to a second medical treatment, the first protocol being the second medical treatment, the at least one prominence indication relating to the second medical treatment comprising the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol.
33 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for triggering a search of a particular records archive by providing a selective search criterion, one that results in an exclusion of a first element in the particular records archive and an inclusion of a second element in the particular records archive, the caregiver being identified either by the first element in the particular records archive or by the second element in the particular records archive.
34 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for triggering a search of a particular records archive by providing a selective search criterion, one that results in an exclusion of a first element in the particular records archive and an inclusion of a second element in the particular records archive, the caregiver being identified either by the first element in the particular records archive or by the second element in the particular records archive, the first element in the particular records archive comprising at least one of the decision whether to caution the caregiver or the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol.
35 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for transmitting a real-time notification to a first person as an automatic response to an interface in a vicinity of a second person detecting a particular event relating to the second person, the second person being the caregiver.
36 . (canceled)
37 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for implementing a failsafe preventing medical equipment from operating until an order associating the medical equipment with a patient is received and until an indication is received that the patient is in a vicinity of the medical equipment, the first protocol including a usage of the medical equipment.
38 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for implementing a failsafe preventing medical equipment from operating until an order associating the medical equipment with a patient is received and until an indication is received that the patient is in a vicinity of the medical equipment, the first protocol including a usage of the medical equipment as a diagnostic component, the medical equipment comprising an imaging device.
39 . A healthcare information management system comprising:
means for obtaining an association between a particular condition and a first protocol;
means for causing a comparison between a threshold and a prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol after the association between the particular condition and the first protocol is obtained; and
means for signaling a decision whether to caution a caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol.
40 - 59 . (canceled)
60 . A healthcare information management method comprising:
obtaining an association between a particular condition and a first protocol;
causing a comparison between a threshold and a prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol after the association between the particular condition and the first protocol is obtained; and
invoking circuitry for signaling a decision whether to caution a caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol.
61 . (canceled)
62 . The healthcare information management method of claim 60 , further comprising:
obtaining an indication whether an individual is compliant with a health regimen that includes the first protocol as a treatment of the particular condition.
63 . The healthcare information management method of claim 60 , further comprising:
detecting a passive wireless transponder within a vicinity of a vehicle, the passive wireless transponder being associated with a specific patient who has the particular condition.
64 - 70 . (canceled)
71 . An article of manufacture for healthcare information management comprising:
one or more physical media configured to bear a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least
obtaining an association between a particular condition and a first protocol;
causing a comparison between a threshold and a prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol after the association between the particular condition and the first protocol is obtained; and
signaling a decision whether to caution a caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol.
72 - 91 . (canceled)
92 . An article of manufacture for healthcare information management comprising:
one or more physical media bearing a device-detectable output indicating an occurrence of
obtaining an association between a particular condition and a first protocol;
causing a comparison between a threshold and a prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol after the association between the particular condition and the first protocol is obtained; and
signaling a decision whether to caution a caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol.
93 - 112 . (canceled)
113 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a device containing the circuitry for obtaining the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and containing the circuitry for causing the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol after the association between the particular condition and the first protocol is obtained and containing the circuitry for signaling the decision whether to caution the caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol;
circuitry for detecting a passive wireless transponder within a vicinity of a vehicle, the passive wireless transponder being associated with a specific patient of the caregiver;
circuitry for causing a locally-resident subscriber registry to be updated in response to a movement of the specific patient of the caregiver;
circuitry for causing the caregiver to be contacted by a fallback mode of communication as a conditional response to receiving no reply from the caregiver by a prior mode of communication, the prior mode of communication being telephonic, the prior mode of communication having been used in cautioning the caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol; and
circuitry for signaling a decision whether to transfer a resource to the specific patient of the caregiver partly based on an indication that the specific patient of the caregiver is not compliant with a health regimen and partly based on an indication that the specific patient of the caregiver has accepted a telephone call, the health regimen comprising the first protocol, the resource being a product, the decision whether to transfer the resource to the specific patient of the caregiver being manifested as a signal to a dispenser of the product.
114 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for receiving a communication delay as data entered by a user, the user not being the caregiver;
circuitry for transmitting a query to the user as an automatic response to an expiration of the communication delay;
circuitry for updating the prominence indication in response to an effectiveness indication received from the user after the expiration of the communication delay;
circuitry for triggering a search of a particular records archive by providing a selective search criterion, one that results in an exclusion of a first element in the particular records archive and an inclusion of a second element in the particular records archive, the caregiver being identified either by the first element in the particular records archive or by the second element in the particular records archive, the first element in the particular records archive comprising at least one of the decision whether to caution the caregiver or the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol; and
circuitry for updating a locally-resident subscriber registry in response to a patient of the caregiver entering a service zone.
115 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for determining whether a portable device is in a vicinity of another device, the portable device being associated with a specific patient of the caregiver who has the particular condition;
circuitry for transmitting an identifier of the specific patient of the caregiver to the other device in response to the portable device being detected in the vicinity of the other device;
circuitry for obtaining an indication whether the specific patient of the caregiver is compliant with a health regimen that includes the first protocol as a treatment of the particular condition; and
circuitry for transmitting a real-time notification to a first person as an automatic response to an interface in a vicinity of a second person detecting a particular event relating to the second person, the first person not being the specific patient of the caregiver, the second person being the caregiver, the interface not being the portable device or the other device, the interface being associated with the second person, the decision whether to caution the caregiver being an affirmative decision, the particular event relating to the second person comprising the affirmative decision being signaled via the interface.
116 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for looking up a communication delay as a function of a therapeutic protocol, the therapeutic protocol being the first protocol;
circuitry for transmitting a query as an automatic response to an expiration of the communication delay;
circuitry for implementing a failsafe preventing medical equipment from operating until an order associating the medical equipment with a patient of the caregiver is received and until an indication is received that the patient of the caregiver is in a vicinity of the medical equipment, the first protocol including a usage of the medical equipment as a diagnostic component, the medical equipment comprising an imaging device and containing the circuitry for obtaining the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and containing the circuitry for causing the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol after the association between the particular condition and the first protocol is obtained and containing the circuitry for signaling the decision whether to caution the caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol;
circuitry for contacting the caregiver by a fallback mode of communication as an automatic and conditional response to receiving no reply from the caregiver by a prior mode of communication, the fallback mode of communication being telephonic, the prior mode of communication having been used in cautioning the caregiver partly based on the association between the particular condition and the first protocol and partly based on the comparison between the threshold and the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol;
circuitry for initiating a telephone call between a first individual and a second individual as an automatic response to the first individual not being compliant with a health regimen and to an indication that the second individual is available, the first individual not being the patient, the second individual being the caregiver, the health regimen comprising the first protocol, the first individual not being compliant with the health regimen being manifested as a sensor activation indicative of noncompliance with the health regimen;
circuitry for obtaining an indication that a specific pathology in the patient of the caregiver has been treated at a first hospital and an indication that the specific pathology in the patient of the caregiver has been treated at a second hospital, the particular condition comprising the specific pathology, the specific pathology including at least one of an addiction or chronic pain; and
circuitry for obtaining an explicit indication whether a record of treating the particular condition in the patient of the caregiver with the first protocol contains any extrinsic evidence that treating the particular condition with the first protocol has precedent.
117 . The healthcare information management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry for detecting a wireless device within an effective range of a stationary device, the wireless device being associated with a specific patient of the caregiver who has the particular condition;
circuitry for transmitting an identifier of the specific patient of the caregiver to the stationary device in response to the wireless device being detected within an effective range of the stationary device;
circuitry for signaling a decision whether to transfer a resource to the specific patient of the caregiver partly based on an indication that the specific patient of the caregiver is not compliant with a health regimen and partly based on an indication that the specific patient of the caregiver has accepted a telephone call, the health regimen comprising the first protocol;
circuitry for retrieving a medical treatment record of the specific patient of the caregiver selectively in response to an explicit indication of a payment reduction that identifies the specific patient of the caregiver, the medical treatment record indicating that the caregiver treated the particular condition in the specific patient of the caregiver with the first protocol, the explicit indication of the payment reduction comprising a quantitative expression having a magnitude larger than 0.1% of an actual cost of an actual stay of the specific patient of the caregiver at a specific institution; and
circuitry for responding to a payment-reduction event relating to a first medical treatment by causing a selective retrieval of one or more records that lack any prominence indication relating to the first medical treatment from an archive that includes at least one prominence indication relating to a second medical treatment, the first protocol being the second medical treatment, the at least one prominence indication relating to the second medical treatment comprising the prominence indication of treating the particular condition with the first protocol.