Proximity-based healthcare management system with automatic access to private information
A healthcare management system and method provide efficient and secure access to private information. A portable physical device, referred to herein as a Personal Digital Key or “PDK”, stores one or more profiles in memory. The biometric profile is acquired in a secure trusted process and is uniquely associated with an individual that is authorized to use and is associated with the PDK. The PDK can wirelessly transmit the identification information including a unique PDK identification number and the biometric profile over a secure wireless channel for use in an authentication process. The PDK is configured to wirelessly communicate with a reader. A provider interface coupled to the reader, and the reader is further configured to receive profile information from the PDK. The healthcare management system also includes an auto login server configured to communicate with the provider interface to allow access to information in a patient database.
1. A system comprising:
a first reader configured to wirelessly communicate within a proximity zone of the first reader;
a first personal digital key configured to wirelessly communicate with the first reader within the proximity zone of the first reader, the first personal digital key having a first unique identifier, the first personal digital key uniquely associated with a patient, the first personal digital key configured to send the first unique identifier wirelessly to the first reader;
a second personal digital key configured to wirelessly communicate with the first reader within the proximity zone of the first reader, the second personal digital key having a second unique identifier, the second personal digital key uniquely associated with a healthcare provider, the second personal digital key configured to send authentication data to the first reader subsequent to the second personal digital key entering the proximity zone of the first reader; and
a server having an input for receiving data and an output for providing data, the input of the server coupled to the first reader to receive the authentication data from the first reader, the server using the authentication data to access private healthcare information associated with the patient from a personal health record system, the access restricted to a set of authorized users including the healthcare provider, the access permitting retrieval of the private healthcare information and annotation of the private healthcare information, and wherein the access is temporary in that the private healthcare information is accessible to the healthcare provider as long as the first personal digital key and the second personal digital key are within the proximity zone of the first reader.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the private healthcare information is stored in the personal health record system, and the personal health record system is remote from the first personal digital key and the second personal digital key.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the private healthcare information is stored in the first personal digital key and the server provides the access to the private healthcare information stored on the first personal digital key by wirelessly communicating with the first personal digital key.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first reader, the first personal digital key and the second personal digital key further comprise:
a biometric reader configured to obtain a representation of a physical or a behavioral characteristic derived from one of the patient and the healthcare provider.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the biometric reader is at least one of a fingerprint scanner, a retinal scanner, an iris scanner, a face scanner, a palm scanner, a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analyzer, a signature analyzer, and a voice analyzer.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first personal digital key is configured to transmit profile information uniquely associated with the patient and the first reader is configured to store data from the first personal digital key after the first personal digital key has been within the proximity zone of the first reader for a predetermined period of time.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the server modifies the private healthcare information based on input received from the healthcare provider when the first personal digital key and the second personal digital key are within the proximity zone of the first reader.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the authentication data includes profile information, and the server compares the profile information received from the second personal digital key with data stored in a credentials database.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the access is provided responsive to a match between the profile information and data stored in the credentials database.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first reader is further adapted to detect the first personal digital key when the first personal digital key enters the proximity zone of the first reader and accumulate personal digital key data a predetermined time after the first personal digital key enters the proximity zone of the first reader.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first personal digital key and the second personal digital key are integrated into a cell phone.
12. A method comprising:
establishing a wireless connection between a first reader and both a first personal digital key having a first unique identifier and a second personal digital key having a second unique identifier, when the first personal digital key and the second personal digital key are within a proximity zone of the first reader;
receiving at the first reader the first unique identifier from the first personal digital key and the second unique identifier from the second personal digital key;
differentiating between the first personal digital key and the second personal digital key within the proximity zone of the first reader using the first unique identifier and the second unique identifier;
reading authentication data from the second personal digital key subsequent to the second personal digital key entering the proximity zone of the first reader;
sending the authentication data from the first reader to a server; and
using the authentication data to access private healthcare information associated with a patient, the private healthcare information accessed from a personal health record system, the patient associated with the first personal digital key, wherein the access to the private healthcare information is restricted to a set of users including a healthcare provider, the access permitting retrieval of the private healthcare information and annotation of the private healthcare information, the healthcare provider associated with the second personal digital key, wherein the access is temporary in that the private healthcare information is accessible to the healthcare provider as long as the first personal digital key and second personal digital key are within the proximity zone of the first reader.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the private healthcare information is stored in and accessed from the personal health record system, and the personal health record system is remote from the first personal digital key and the second personal digital key.
14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the private healthcare information is stored on the first personal digital key and accessed by wirelessly receiving the private healthcare information from the first personal digital key.
15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
performing a biometric authentication at one or more of the first personal digital key and the second personal digital key.
16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
obtaining, at the second personal digital key, a representation of one or more of a physical characteristic and a behavioral characteristic derived from the healthcare provider.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the representation of the one or more of the physical characteristic and behavioral characteristic is received from at least one of a fingerprint scanner, a retinal scanner, an iris scanner, a face scanner, a palm scanner, a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analyzer, a signature analyzer, and a voice analyzer.
18. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
detecting the first personal digital key in response to the first personal digital key entering the proximity zone of the first reader, and requesting that the first personal digital key transmit profile information uniquely associated with the patient; and
storing personal digital key data from the first personal digital key after the first personal digital key has been within the proximity zone of the first reader for a predetermined period of time.
19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the access is provided responsive to a successful authentication.
20. The method of claim 12 , wherein one or more of the first personal digital key and the second personal digital key are integrated into a cell phone.