Methods and systems for managing distributed digital medical data
A network for mediating the peer-to-peer transfer of digital patient medical data includes a plurality of distributed agents each associated with a health care provider and connected to a central system. Periodically the agents collect local information relating to patient medical files and/or data streams, for example diagnostic images and associated reports, and process that information into metadata files acting as pointers to the original files. The metadata files are transmitted to the central system where they are parsed and the attributes are stored on the central system in patient records with records from the same patient grouped together whenever possible. Registered users can search the central system, even in the absence of a unique identifier, to identify patient records pointing to the remote patient medical files. Upon finding a patient medical file, the invention provides a streamlined process for communicating access authorization from the patient to the hospital or facility storing the medical files. Once patient authorization is received, secure processes are provided for transferring the data in its entirety to or for viewing by the user in a peer-to-peer fashion.
1. A method for managing distributed medical data, comprising the steps of:
providing a plurality of software brokers in communication with a plurality of patient medical files in a medical information system, each respective software broker generating metadata files for locally stored patient medical files; and
each said software broker performing the steps of:
identifying, periodically on a programmed basis, patient medical files each containing digital medical data relating to a patient;
creating, for each of the identified patient medical files, a metadata file containing attributes relating to the contents of the identified patient medical file and the storage location of the identified patient medical file, wherein creating said metadata file comprises parsing each of the identified patient medical files to extract said attributes relating to the contents and storage location of the identified patient medical file, standardizing a meaning and format of the attributes whereby the same attributes represent data having the same meaning and format across different medical information systems, and storing the standardized attributes in the metadata file;
packaging each of the metadata files for transmission to a remote central computer; and
transmitting, in a secure manner, each of the metadata files to the remote central computer.
2. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the software broker retrieves data from the medical information system.
3. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the software broker receives data transmitted by the medical information system.
4. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the step of transmitting includes transmitting over a digital virtual private network.
5. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the transmitting step includes securely transmitting the metadata file to the central computer over a digital physical private network.
6. A method in accordance with claim 1 and further including the step of transmitting to the central computer a summary file identifying the plurality of metadata files.
7. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of the metadata files further includes attributes relating to the identity of a patient.
8. A system for managing distributed medical data, comprising:
a plurality of software brokers in communication with a plurality of patient medical files in a medical information system, each respective software broker generating metadata files for locally stored patient medical files, each software broker comprising:
a processor;
a memory connected to the processor and storing instructions for controlling the operation of the processor;
the processor operative with the instructions in the memory to perform the steps of:
identifying, periodically on a programmed basis, patient medical files each containing digital medical data relating to a patient;
creating, for each of the identified patient medical files, a metadata file containing attributes relating to the contents of the identified patient medical file and the storage location of the identified patient medical file, wherein creating said metadata file comprises parsing each of the identified patient medical files to extract said attributes relating to the contents and storage location of the identified patient medical file, standardizing a meaning and format of the attributes whereby the same attributes represent data having the same meaning and format across different medical information systems, and storing the standardized attributes in the metadata file;
packaging each of the metadata files for transmission to a remote central computer; and
transmitting, in a secure manner, each of the metadata files to the remote central computer.
9. A system in accordance with claim 8 wherein the software broker retrieves data from the medical information system.
10. A system in accordance with claim 8 wherein the software broker receives data transmitted by the medical information system.
11. A system in accordance with claim 8 wherein the processor transmits the metadata files over a digital virtual private network.
12. A system in accordance with claim 8 wherein the processor securely transmits the metadata file to the central computer over a digital physical private network.
13. A system in accordance with claim 8 wherein the processor transmits to the central computer a summary file identifying the plurality of metadata files.
14. A system in accordance with claim 8 wherein each of the metadata files further includes attributes relating to the identity of a patient.
15. A system for managing distributed medical data, comprising:
a plurality of software brokers in communication with a plurality of patient medical files in a medical information system, each respective software broker generating metadata files for locally stored patient medical files, each software broker having a processor and a memory connected to the processor for storing instructions for controlling the operation of the processor, the instructions when processed by the processor implementing:
means for identifying, periodically on a programmed basis, patient medical files each containing digital medical data relating to a patient;
means for creating, for each of the identified patient medical files, a metadata file containing attributes relating to the contents of the identified patient medical file and the storage location of the identified patient medical file, wherein said creating means comprises parsing means for parsing each of the identified patient medical files to extract said attributes relating to the contents and storage location of the identified patient medical file, means for standardizing a meaning and format of the attributes whereby the same attributes represent data having the same meaning and format across different medical information systems, and means for storing the standardized attributes in the metadata file;
means for packaging each of the metadata files for transmission to a remote central computer; and
means for transmitting, in a secure manner, each of the metadata files to the remote central computer.
16. A nontransitory computer readable storage medium containing control instructions operative on a computer such that execution of said control instructions by said computer causes said computer to perform the steps of:
identifying, periodically on a programmed basis, locally stored patient medical files each containing digital medical data relating to a patient;
creating, for each of the identified patient medical files, a metadata file containing attributes relating to the contents of the identified patient medical file and the storage location of the identified patient medical file, wherein creating said metadata file comprises parsing each of the identified patient medical files to extract said attributes relating to the contents and storage location of the identified patient medical file, standardizing a meaning and format of the attributes whereby the same attributes represent data having the same meaning and format across different medical information systems, and storing the standardized attributes in the metadata file;
packaging each of the metadata files for transmission to a remote central computer; and
transmitting, in a secure manner, each of the metadata files to the remote central computer.