Nursing assistance system

Abstract

The caregiver assistance system helps caregivers manage the care of patients and the beds that support them. The system monitors tasks associated with patients, such as caregiver rounds, decubitus ulcer assessments, and / or fall risk assessments, and forwards completed tasks to the EMR server. The system also monitors the status of the beds and determines compliance with one or more healthcare facility protocols. Over time, the system collects data from multiple beds about how often the beds comply with healthcare facility protocols and generates compliance level reports that help managers manage their healthcare facilities. The system can also monitor how quickly caregivers respond to one or more alarm conditions related to the bed and / or patient, and generate reports on response times for managers. In some embodiments, the system can also provide caregivers with operational guidelines for operating bed features and / or complying with healthcare facility protocols.

Description

[0001] Related Applications Cross-Reference

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 868,947, filed on June 30, 2019, by Thomas Durlach et al., entitled “CAREGIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEM,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 868,387, filed on June 28, 2019, by Thomas Durlach et al., entitled “CAREGIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEM,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 868,360, filed on June 28, 2019, by Thomas Durlach et al., entitled “CAREGIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEM,” the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] This application is related to and incorporates by reference the entire contents of the following applications: U.S. patent application 62 / 781,831, filed on December 19, 2018, entitled “SYSTEM FOR MANAGING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES AND CLINICAL ROUNDS”; U.S. patent application 62 / 868,387, filed on June 28, 2019, entitled “CAREGIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEM”; U.S. patent application 62 / 826,187, filed on March 29, 2019, entitled “SYSTEM FOR MANAGING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES AND PATIENT FALL RISKS”; U.S. patent application 62 / 868,360, filed on June 28, 2019, entitled “CAREGIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEM”; U.S. patent application 62 / 868,361, filed on December 19, 2018, entitled “SYSTEM FOR MANAGING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES AND PATIENT FALL RISKS” Apparatus and Clinical Rounds”; and U.S. patent application 62 / 826,195, filed on March 29, 2019, entitled “System for Managing Patient Support Apparatus and Bedsore Risks.” Background of the Invention

[0005] The present invention relates to patient support devices such as beds, hospital beds, stretchers, operating tables, recliners, etc. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems for assisting caregivers in managing the aforementioned patient support devices and performing other tasks such as, but not limited to, rounds.

[0006] Hospitals usually expect nurses and / or other nursing staff to perform a variety of different duties when taking care of patients. These duties include managing medication and / or treatment, obtaining vital sign readings, installing and removing IV drippers, collecting blood samples, ensuring that the patient complies with prescribed activities and / or medication, helping the patient to get in and out of bed, regularly visiting the patient, configuring the patient's bed to the state of need, recording one or more of these activities, and responding to the patient's needs. One of these duties includes performing the duties commonly referred to as patient rounds. Such rounds duty includes that the nursing staff personally checks the patient's health condition at certain specified intervals. Hospital managers usually specify that the nursing staff will perform the minimum frequency of these rounds duties, for example, at least once every two hours. In some cases, the rounds frequency can change based on the patient's medical condition, the wing of the hospital or the department and / or other factors.

[0007] Hospitals also typically expect nurses and / or other caregivers to help reduce patients' fall risk. In many hospitals, patients will be assigned a fall risk, and if the fall risk exceeds a certain threshold, the caregiver will take certain steps to reduce the patient's likelihood of falling while in the hospital. Such fall risk reduction steps typically include placing one or more components of the bed in one or more required states, such as arming a bed exit detection system, activating brakes, etc. Additionally, hospitals typically expect nurses and / or other caregivers to ensure that patients do not develop decubitus ulcers while in the medical facility and / or that any existing decubitus ulcers do not worsen.

[0008] In addition to the aforementioned tasks, hospitals typically also expect nurses to ensure that the patient's bed is properly configured. Proper configuration may include any one or more of the following: ensuring the bed is plugged into an outlet; ensuring the bed is properly connected to the nurse call system; ensuring the bed's exit detection system is armed; ensuring the bed's onboard monitoring system is armed; and / or ensuring one or more other aspects of the bed are in the required state.

[0009] The tasks and responsibilities of nurses and other caregivers are thus varied and numerous, creating a need for technology that assists these caregivers in meeting their responsibilities and providing high-quality health care to patients. Summary of the Invention

[0010] According to various embodiments, tools are provided to assist caregivers in completing various patient care responsibilities. According to some embodiments, tools are specifically provided to facilitate one or more of: performing decubitus ulcer risk reduction responsibilities, performing fall risk reduction responsibilities, performing bed configuration responsibilities, performing rounds responsibilities, and performing other periodic responsibilities for which reminders may be set. The tools assist caregivers in performing their responsibilities by displaying a screen showing various status data about the bed, as well as notifications and reminders associated with one or more of the caregiver's responsibilities. The status data about the bed may indicate whether the bed is operating in accordance with one or more healthcare facility protocols, such as a fall risk reduction protocol, a decubitus ulcer risk reduction protocol, a ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) reduction protocol, and / or other protocols. The status data may also include data indicating whether the bed is operating on battery power or power from an electrical outlet, the status of the bed's batteries, whether the bed is properly connected to the nurse call system, whether the bed is capable of wirelessly communicating with the hospital's network, whether the bed requires servicing, whether the bed's departure detection system is armed and, if so, at what sensitivity level, and / or other aspects of the bed.

[0011] In addition, the tool provides alerts to the caregiver for multiple different unperformed tasks. Such tasks may include setting multiple different states of the bed to desired states, assessing one or more aspects of the patient's health (e.g., whether the patient is at risk of falling and / or other undesirable conditions), documenting one or more aspects of patient care, and / or other tasks. By combining reminders and notifications for these fundamentally different tasks into a single tool, the tool eliminates the need for the caregiver to access and / or use multiple separate tools to perform the aforementioned fundamentally different patient care tasks. In some embodiments, the tool includes a server-based caregiver assistance application that communicates with the patient's bed and a mobile electronic device carried by the caregiver, as well as a stationary electronic device that displays information about beds located in pre-designated areas of the hospital.

[0012] The tool may also or alternatively inform the healthcare facility administrator of the nursing staff's response time to alarm conditions and how well the nursing staff is managing various healthcare facility protocols. Such information may be collected, averaged, graphed, and / or separated for multiple beds over different time periods according to various parameters, such as, but not limited to, nursing staff, ward, floor, etc. The tool may also enable the nursing staff to easily access operational guidelines for executing any one or more of these protocols and / or operating any one or more features of the bed.

[0013] A caregiver assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes multiple beds and a server-based caregiver assistance application. Each bed includes: a mattress; a support board supported on the mattress and configured to support a patient thereon; a memory containing an identifier uniquely identifying the bed; a nurse call cable port adapted to connect to a first end of a nurse call cable, the second end of the nurse call cable adapted to connect to a nurse call jack, thereby enabling the bed to communicate with a nurse call system; a sensor adapted to detect a state of the corresponding bed; a network transceiver; and a controller in communication with the memory, the network transceiver, and the sensor. The controller is adapted to activate an alarm when the sensor detects that the bed is in an undesirable state and to deactivate the alarm when a caregiver responds to the alarm. The controller is further adapted to forward the identifier, a first alarm message, and a second alarm message to the caregiver assistance application via the network transceiver. The first alarm message is sent in response to the alarm being activated, and the second alarm message is sent in response to the alarm being deactivated. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive an identifier, a first alarm message, and a second alarm message from a bed, and to perform the following steps: (i) for each bed, recording a time interval between receipt of the first alarm message and the second alarm message by the caregiver assistance application, wherein the time interval corresponds to an amount of time between receipt of the first alarm message and receipt of the second alarm message; (ii) forwarding the time interval to an electronic device; and (iii) displaying the time interval on a display of the electronic device.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present invention, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to average the plurality of time intervals together and display the average value of the plurality of time intervals on a display of the electronic device.

[0015] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to perform the following steps: (i) determining a first average value of a first set of multiple time intervals collected across a first time period; (ii) determining a second average value of a second set of multiple time intervals collected across a second time period; and (iii) simultaneously displaying the first average value and the second average value on the electronic device.

[0016] The first and / or second time periods may be configurable by an administrator and may include, but are not limited to, one day, one week, one month, one year, etc.

[0017] In some embodiments, the sensor is a departure detection system, and the undesirable state is a state in which the corresponding patient has departed from the corresponding bed. In some other embodiments, the sensor may also or alternatively be a member of a group of sensors monitored by a bed monitoring system. In these latter embodiments, the undesirable state may include any one or more of the following: a brake on the corresponding bed is not activated; a set of siderails on the corresponding bed is not raised; the mattress height of the corresponding bed is not at a minimum height; or the departure detection system of the corresponding bed is not activated.

[0018] In some embodiments, each bed of the plurality of beds comprises a timer, and the controller is adapted to use the timer to determine the time interval and to send the time interval to the caregiver assistance application. In other embodiments, the caregiver assistance application comprises a timer and is adapted to use the timer to determine the time interval.

[0019] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is adapted to record a plurality of time intervals and categorize each of the plurality of time intervals according to at least one of: caregiver, location, time of day, and patient type.

[0020] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to perform one or more of the following: (a) receiving decubitus ulcer risk data regarding the risk of each patient developing a decubitus ulcer from the caregiver and determining a decubitus ulcer risk assessment score from the decubitus ulcer risk data; (b) receiving fall risk data regarding the risk of each patient falling from the caregiver and determining a fall risk assessment score from the fall risk data; (c) receiving completion data from the caregiver indicating when the caregiver has completed rounds for each patient; (d) displaying a decubitus ulcer risk assessment indicator on a display of the electronic device, the decubitus ulcer risk assessment indicator indicating the patient's risk of developing a decubitus ulcer. (e) displaying a fall risk assessment indicator on a display of the electronic device, the fall risk assessment indicator indicating the risk of falling for each patient; (f) displaying a time until the next rounding task for each patient is to be completed; (g) displaying a reminder to perform the rounding task for each patient; (h) displaying a reminder to perform a pressure sore ulcer risk assessment for each patient; (i) displaying a reminder to perform a fall risk assessment for each patient; (j) activating an exit detection system integrated into each bed using the electronic device; and (k) receiving an exit alert when each patient exits his or her corresponding bed.

[0021] In some embodiments, one or more beds further include a battery and a battery sensor adapted to detect a battery status. In such embodiments, the controller is adapted to transmit the battery status to the caregiver assistance application, which is further adapted to display a battery status indicator on the display of the electronic device. The battery status indicator indicates the battery status.

[0022] In some embodiments, the bed further comprises a short-range transceiver adapted to communicate with a short-range transmitter mounted on an end wall of the location beacon. The short-range transmitter is adapted to forward location data and beacon battery status data to an adjacent bed in the plurality of beds. The location data indicates the location of the adjacent bed, and the beacon battery status data indicates the status of the battery of the location beacon. The adjacent bed is adapted to forward the beacon battery status data to a caregiver assistance application, which is further adapted to display a beacon status indicator on a display of the electronic device. The beacon status indicator indicates the current status of the battery of the location beacon.

[0023] In some embodiments, each controller is further adapted to forward signal strength data to the caregiver assistance application. The signal strength data indicates the strength of a signal between the corresponding transceiver of the healthcare facility and the wireless access point. The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a signal strength indicator on a display of the electronic device, the signal strength indicator indicating the strength of a signal between the corresponding transceiver of the healthcare facility and the wireless access point.

[0024] In some embodiments, the alarm indicates that the nurse call cable port is not communicatively connected with the nurse call system.

[0025] In some embodiments, the sensor is adapted to determine whether the corresponding bed is currently operating on power from a battery or from an electrical outlet, the alert indicating that the corresponding bed is currently operating on battery power.

[0026] In some embodiments, each controller is further adapted to determine whether the corresponding bed is due for servicing and forward servicing data to the caregiver assistance application when the corresponding bed is due for servicing. The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a bed servicing indicator on the display of the electronic device.

[0027] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display, on the electronic device, an operating guide for using features of at least one bed.

[0028] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a caregiver assistance system is disclosed, which includes multiple beds and a caregiver assistance application hosted by a server. Each of the multiple beds includes: a mattress; a support plate supported on the mattress and configured to support a corresponding patient thereon; a memory containing an identifier uniquely identifying the corresponding bed; a nurse call cable port adapted to connect to a first end of a nurse call cable, the second end of the nurse call cable adapted to connect to a nurse call jack, thereby enabling the corresponding bed to communicate with a nurse call system; an occupancy detector adapted to detect when the corresponding patient occupies the corresponding bed and when the corresponding bed is not occupied; a sensing system adapted to sense an alarm condition of the corresponding bed when enabled and not sense an alarm condition when disabled; a network transceiver; and a controller in communication with the memory, the network transceiver, and the sensing system. The controller is adapted to forward occupancy data and activation data from the corresponding bed via the network transceiver. The occupancy data indicates when the corresponding patient occupies the corresponding bed and when the corresponding patient is not occupying the corresponding bed, and the activation data indicates when the corresponding sensing system is enabled or disabled. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive the identifier, the enablement data, and the occupancy data, and to perform the following steps: (i) determining whether each bed is currently in compliance with the healthcare facility protocol based on the enablement data and the occupancy data; (ii) recording a compliance value indicating how many beds are currently in compliance with the healthcare facility protocol and how many beds are currently not in compliance with the healthcare facility protocol; and (iii) displaying the compliance value on a display of an electronic device in communication with the caregiver assistance application.

[0029] According to other aspects of the present invention, the caregiver assistance application may be further configured to generate a report presenting compliance values ​​measured over a period of time.

[0030] In some embodiments, the sensing system for each bed is an exit detection system adapted to detect when a corresponding patient exits the corresponding bed. In other embodiments, the sensing system for each bed is a bed monitoring system adapted to monitor a plurality of conditions of the corresponding bed. In other embodiments, the sensing system for each bed is a locking control adapted to prevent the pivotable head section of the support board from rotating below a threshold angle when activated. In such embodiments, the healthcare facility protocol is a ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) prevention protocol.

[0031] In other embodiments, multiple sensing systems may be included. For example, in some embodiments, each bed further comprises a second sensing system adapted to sense a second alarm condition of the corresponding bed when enabled and not sense the second alarm condition when disabled. In such an embodiment, the controller is further adapted to send second enablement data to the caregiver assistance application indicating when the second sensing system is enabled or disabled. The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to perform the following steps: (i) determining whether each bed is currently in compliance with the healthcare facility protocol based on the second enablement data and the occupancy data; (ii) recording a second compliance value indicating how many beds are currently in compliance with the healthcare facility protocol based on the second enablement data and the occupancy data and how many beds are currently not in compliance with the healthcare facility protocol based on the second enablement data and the occupancy data; and (iii) displaying the second compliance value on a display of an electronic device in communication with the caregiver assistance application.

[0032] In some embodiments, each bed is further configured to transmit an alarm to the nurse assistance application via the network transceiver and to the nurse call system via the nurse call cable port when the sensing system senses an alarm condition.

[0033] In those embodiments having a bed monitoring system, the bed monitoring system may be adapted to monitor at least: the status of a brake on the corresponding bed; the status of a set of guardrails on the corresponding bed; the height of the mattress frame of the corresponding bed; and the enable / disable status of a departure detection system on the corresponding bed.

[0034] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to generate a report of compliance values ​​for beds associated with a particular caregiver.

[0035] In some embodiments, the healthcare facility protocol defines when the sensing system of a corresponding bed is to be activated based on whether a particular patient assigned to the corresponding bed has a fall risk assessment score above a threshold. Alternatively or additionally, the healthcare facility protocol may define when the sensing system of a corresponding bed is to be activated based on whether a particular patient assigned to the corresponding bed has a decubitus ulcer risk assessment score above a threshold.

[0036] The caregiver assistance application may also be configured to receive fall risk assessment data from a mobile electronic device associated with a particular caregiver and generate a fall risk assessment score from the fall risk assessment data. Similarly, the caregiver assistance application may also be configured to receive decubitus ulcer risk assessment data from a mobile electronic device associated with a particular caregiver and generate a decubitus ulcer risk assessment score from the decubitus ulcer risk assessment data.

[0037] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to communicate with a mobile electronic device associated with a particular caregiver and display at least the following data for a particular bed associated with the particular caregiver: (a) the status of a battery integrated into the particular bed; (b) a signal strength indicator indicating the strength of a wireless signal between a network transceiver of the particular bed and a wireless access point of a local area network of the healthcare facility; (c) an indicator indicating that a nurse call cable port of the particular bed is not communicatively connected to a nurse call system; and (d) an indicator indicating whether the particular bed is currently operating on power from a battery or on power from an electrical outlet.

[0038] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to send a notification to a mobile electronic device associated with a particular caregiver when a particular bed associated with the particular caregiver is not in compliance with healthcare facility protocols.

[0039] The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display, on the electronic device, an operating guide for using features of at least one bed.

[0040] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a caregiver assistance system is provided, which includes a bed and a caregiver assistance application hosted by a server. The bed includes: a mattress; a support plate supported on the mattress and configured to support a patient thereon; a memory containing an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed; a nurse call cable port adapted to connect to a first end of a nurse call cable, the second end of the nurse call cable adapted to connect to a nurse call jack, thereby enabling the bed to communicate with a nurse call system; a sensor adapted to detect a status of the bed; a network transceiver; and a controller in communication with the memory and the network transceiver. The controller is adapted to transmit the identifier and data from the sensor from the bed via the network transceiver. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive the identifier and sensor data and perform the following steps: (i) display the sensor data on a mobile electronic device associated with a caregiver assigned to the patient; and (ii) display an operating guide for using features of the bed on the mobile electronic device.

[0041] According to other aspects of the present invention, the operating instructions may include a video stored in a memory location accessible to the caregiver assistance application. In such an embodiment, the caregiver assistance application is configured to transmit the video to the mobile electronic device.

[0042] In some embodiments, the bed further comprises a sensing system adapted to sense an alarm condition of the bed when enabled and not sense the alarm condition when disabled; and an occupancy detector adapted to detect when a patient is occupying the bed and when the bed is not occupying the bed. In such an embodiment, the controller may further be adapted to forward occupancy data and activation data from the bed to the caregiver assistance application via the network transceiver. The occupancy data indicates when the corresponding patient is occupying the bed and when the bed is not occupying the bed, and the activation data indicates when the corresponding sensing system is enabled or disabled. The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to: determine whether the bed is currently in compliance with the healthcare facility protocol based on the activation data and the occupancy data; and display data indicating non-compliance on the mobile electronic device if the bed is not currently in compliance with the healthcare facility protocol.

[0043] In some embodiments, the controller is further adapted to activate an alarm when the sensor detects that the bed is in an undesirable state and deactivate the alarm when the caregiver responds to the alarm, and to forward the first and second alarm messages to the caregiver assistance application via the network transceiver. The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to record a time interval corresponding to the amount of time between receipt of the first and second alarm messages; forward the time interval to a second mobile electronic device associated with a supervisor at the healthcare facility; and display the time interval on a display of the second mobile electronic device. The sensor may be a departure detection system, a bed monitoring system, a component of either of these systems, or another type of sensor.

[0044] In any embodiments disclosed herein, the mobile electronic device may be a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or another type of mobile electronic device.

[0045] Additionally, in any embodiments disclosed herein, the mobile electronic device may include a browser app configured to communicate with the caregiver assistance application by accessing at least one uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the server. The caregiver assistance application may be adapted to send an alert to the mobile electronic device, which is processed by an app other than the browser app, such as, but not limited to, a phone app, an email app, or a messaging app.

[0046] A caregiver assistance system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a first bed, a second bed, and a server-based caregiver assistance application. Each of the first and second beds includes: a mattress; a support plate supported on the mattress and configured to support a patient thereon; a memory containing an identifier uniquely identifying the corresponding bed; a sensor adapted to detect a status of the corresponding bed; a transceiver; and a controller. The controller is adapted to transmit the identifier and sensor data from the corresponding bed to a server on which the caregiver assistance application is located. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive first sensor data from the first bed and second sensor data from the second bed and perform the following steps: forwarding the first sensor data to a first mobile electronic device associated with a first caregiver assigned to a first patient in the first bed; forwarding the second sensor data to a second mobile electronic device associated with a second caregiver assigned to a second patient in the second bed; receiving a share request; if the caregiver assistance application receives an acceptance of the share request, forwarding the first sensor data to the second mobile electronic device; if the caregiver assistance application does not receive an acceptance of the share request, not forwarding the first sensor data to the second mobile electronic device.

[0047] According to further aspects of the present invention, the caregiver assistance application may be adapted to receive the share request from the first mobile electronic device and to receive said acceptance from the second mobile electronic device.

[0048] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive a share request and acceptance from the second mobile electronic device.

[0049] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to designate the second caregiver as the primary caregiver for the first patient upon receiving the acceptance. Thereafter, while the second caregiver is designated as the primary caregiver for the first patient, the caregiver assistance application forwards alerts from the first bed to the second mobile electronic device. While the second caregiver is designated as the primary caregiver for the first patient, the caregiver assistance application does not forward alerts from the first bed to the first mobile electronic device.

[0050] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to receive a non-sharing request and, if the caregiver assistance application receives an acceptance of the non-sharing request, stop forwarding the first sensor data to the second mobile electronic device in response to the non-sharing request.

[0051] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to forward additional data about the first patient to the second mobile electronic device when the caregiver assistance application receives an acceptance of the offload request, and not forward the additional data to the second mobile electronic device when the caregiver assistance application does not receive an acceptance of the offload request. The additional data may include a reminder to perform at least one of the following tasks: conduct a round on the first patient, assess the first patient's risk of a decubitus ulcer, assess the first patient's fall risk, initiate treatment for the first patient, and change the first bed's settings.

[0052] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to receive patient data from a second mobile electronic device after receiving acceptance of the sharing request. The patient data from the second mobile electronic device is related to a condition of the first patient, and the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to forward the patient data to an electronic medical record server for entry into a patient record corresponding to the first patient.

[0053] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is configured to obtain the location of the first mobile electronic device from a real-time location server. In such embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is adapted to display a first screen on the first mobile electronic device when the first mobile electronic device is at a first location and to display a second screen on the first mobile electronic device when the first mobile electronic device is at a second location. The caregiver assistance application may also be configured to obtain the location of the second mobile electronic device from the real-time location server, and to display a third screen on the second mobile electronic device when the second mobile electronic device is at the first location and to display a fourth screen on the second mobile electronic device when the second mobile electronic device is at the second location.

[0054] According to another aspect of the present invention, a caregiver assistance system for assisting a caregiver in performing patient care tasks is provided. The caregiver assistance system includes a plurality of beds, each bed comprising: a mattress, a support plate supported on the mattress and configured to support a patient thereon, a memory containing an identifier uniquely identifying the corresponding bed, sensors adapted to detect a status of components of the corresponding bed, a transceiver, and a controller. The controller is adapted to transmit the identifier and sensor data from the corresponding bed to a server on which a caregiver assistance application is located. The caregiver assistance application is configured to receive the sensor data and identifier and perform the following steps: communicate with a mobile electronic device carried by the caregiver; determine a group of patients assigned to the caregiver; obtain the caregiver's location; determine whether the location corresponds to any room in which a patient from the group of patients is currently staying; display a first screen on the mobile electronic device if the caregiver is in any room in which a patient from the group of patients is currently staying; and display a second screen on the mobile electronic device if the caregiver is not in any room in which a patient from the group of patients is currently staying.

[0055] According to other aspects of the present invention, the caregiver assistance application may be configured such that the first screen displays sensor data from a particular bed of a plurality of beds, wherein the particular bed of the plurality of beds is located in the same room as the caregiver.

[0056] In some embodiments, the second screen displays a room list identifying all rooms in which the caregiver's group of patients are located.

[0057] In some embodiments, the second screen displays the status of multiple beds located in a room in which the caregiver's group of patients are located.

[0058] The sensor data displayed on the first screen may include data indicating whether a bed exit system integrated with a particular bed among the plurality of beds is in an armed state or a disarmed state. Alternatively or in addition, the sensor data displayed on the first screen includes data indicating whether a bed monitoring system integrated with a particular bed among the plurality of beds is in an armed state or a disarmed state. Furthermore, the sensor data displayed on the first screen may include any one or more of the following: (a) data indicating whether a brake of a particular bed among the plurality of beds is engaged; (b) data indicating a low height state of a mattress of a particular bed among the plurality of beds; (c) data indicating whether a power cord of a particular bed among the plurality of beds is plugged into an electrical outlet; and / or (d) data indicating whether a nurse call cable of a particular bed among the plurality of beds is plugged into a nurse call jack.

[0059] A caregiver assistance system according to another embodiment of the present invention includes multiple beds and a server-based caregiver assistance application. Each bed includes a mattress, a support plate supported on the mattress and configured to support a patient thereon, a memory containing an identifier uniquely identifying the corresponding bed, multiple sensors adapted to detect the status of multiple components of the corresponding bed, a transceiver, and a controller. The controller is adapted to transmit the identifier and sensor data from the multiple sensors from the corresponding bed to a server of the caregiver assistance application. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive the sensor data and identifier and perform the following steps: communicating with a mobile electronic device carried by a caregiver; determining a group of patients assigned to the caregiver; determining room numbers for the patients in the group; determining a group of beds from the multiple beds, wherein each bed in the group is associated with a corresponding patient from the group; and displaying a first screen on the mobile electronic device. The first screen includes a list of room numbers for the patients in the group and a status indicator for at least one bed in the group, wherein the status indicator is derived from the sensor data received from the at least one bed.

[0060] According to other aspects of the present invention, a caregiver assistance application determines a group of patients assigned to a caregiver by communicating with an admission-discharge-tracking (ADT) server and a nurse call system server.

[0061] In some embodiments, the status indicator indicates whether at least one bed complies with a set of criteria. The set of criteria can be defined by a fall risk reduction protocol, a decubitus ulcer risk reduction protocol, and / or any one or more of the following: brakes of at least one bed activated, an integrated exit detection system of at least one bed activated, multiple siderails of at least one bed raised, and a mattress height of at least one bed low.

[0062] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a fall risk indicator on the first screen when any patient from the group of patients has an increased risk of falling, and / or to display a decubitus ulcer risk indicator when any patient from the group of patients has an increased risk of developing a decubitus ulcer.

[0063] A caregiver assistance system according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a bed and a server-based caregiver assistance application. The bed includes a mattress frame, a support plate supported on the mattress frame and configured to support a patient thereon, an inflatable mattress located on the support plate and adapted to allow the patient to turn over while supported thereon, sensors adapted to detect the status of bed components, a memory containing an identifier uniquely identifying the bed, a transceiver, and a controller. The controller is adapted to transmit the identifier and sensor data from the sensor from the bed to a server hosting the caregiver assistance application. The caregiver assistance application receives the identifier and sensor data and is adapted to perform the following steps: receiving login credentials from a user's mobile electronic device; determining whether the login credentials are valid; determining whether the login credentials are for a caregiver or a technician, and, if the login credentials are for a caregiver, displaying data including sensor data and patient information related to a patient assigned to the bed on a display of the user's mobile electronic device; or, if the login credentials are for a technician, displaying data including sensor data but not patient information on a display of the user's mobile electronic device.

[0064] According to other aspects of the present invention, if the login credentials correspond to a technician, the caregiver assistance application is further configured to perform the following steps: communicate with a geographically remote equipment management system; send a request for a bed's maintenance history to the geographically remote equipment management system using an identifier; receive the bed's maintenance history from the geographically remote equipment management system; and display the bed's maintenance history on a display of the user's mobile electronic device.

[0065] In some embodiments, if the login credentials correspond to a caregiver, the caregiver assistance application is configured to not display any maintenance history of the bed on the user's mobile electronic device.

[0066] In some embodiments, if the login credentials correspond to a technician, the caregiver assistance application is configured to receive maintenance information about the bed from the user's mobile electronic device and forward the maintenance information to a geographically remote equipment management system.

[0067] In some embodiments, if the login credentials correspond to a technician, the caregiver assistance application is configured to receive maintenance information and confirmation data about the bed from the user's mobile electronic device, analyze the confirmation data to confirm that a technician is present at the bedside, and send the confirmation data and maintenance information to a geographically remote equipment management system.

[0068] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to receive a bed code from the user's mobile electronic device. The bed code is captured by the user's mobile electronic device and uniquely identifies the bed. The bed may be adapted to display the bed code on a display of the bed, enabling the user's mobile electronic device to capture an image of the bed code. Alternatively, or in addition, the bed may be adapted to wirelessly transmit the bed code to a short-range transmitter integrated into the user's mobile electronic device via a short-range transmitter.

[0069] In some embodiments, if the login credentials correspond to a caregiver, the caregiver assistance application is configured to use the bed code to automatically select a screen type to display on the display of the user's mobile electronic device. The screen type can be selected from the following: a first screen displaying sensor data from the bed; and a second screen displaying sensor data from multiple beds.

[0070] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further configured to determine whether the login credentials correspond to an administrator, and if the login credentials correspond to an administrator, display all of the following: sensor data from the bed, patient information related to the patient assigned to the bed, and a maintenance history of the bed.

[0071] In some embodiments, if the login credentials correspond to a caregiver, the caregiver assistance application is further configured to receive a sharing request from the caregiver, forward the sharing request to another mobile electronic device associated with a second caregiver, and if the second caregiver accepts the sharing request, forward the sensor data and patient information from the bed to the other mobile electronic device.

[0072] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a caregiver assistance system includes a bed and a server-based caregiver assistance application. The bed includes: a mattress; a support plate supported on the mattress and configured to support a patient thereon; a memory containing an identifier uniquely identifying the bed; a nurse call cable port adapted to connect to a first end of a nurse call cable, the nurse call cable having a second end adapted to connect to a nurse call jack, thereby enabling the bed to communicate with a nurse call system; a sensor adapted to detect whether the nurse call cable port is electrically connected to the nurse call system via the nurse call cable; a transceiver; and a controller in communication with the memory, the transceiver, and the sensor. The controller is adapted to transmit the identifier and sensor data from the bed to a server hosting the caregiver assistance application. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive the identifier and sensor data from the bed and perform the following steps: forwarding the sensor data to a mobile electronic device associated with a caregiver assigned to the patient; and displaying a connection indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device. The connection indicator indicates whether the nurse call cable port is communicatively connected to the nurse call system.

[0073] According to other aspects of the present invention, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display on the mobile electronic device a time indicating when the caregiver should perform the rounds for the patient. The caregiver assistance application may also be adapted to receive completion data from the caregiver indicating that the caregiver has completed the rounds. In addition, the caregiver assistance application may be adapted to forward the completion data to an electronic medical record server for entry into a patient record corresponding to the patient. Furthermore, the mobile electronic device may be configured to obtain confirmation data confirming that the caregiver was present near the bed when the caregiver completed the rounds. The mobile electronic device forwards the confirmation data to the caregiver assistance application.

[0074] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to forward the sensor data to the stationary electronic device and to display a connection indicator on a display of the stationary electronic device.

[0075] In some embodiments, the bed further comprises a short-range transceiver adapted to communicate with an end-wall mounted short-range transmitter of the location beacon. The short-range transmitter forwards location data and beacon battery status data to the bed. The location data indicates the location of the bed, and the beacon battery status data indicates the status of the location beacon's battery. In such an embodiment, the bed is adapted to forward the beacon battery status data to a caregiver assistance application, which is further adapted to display a beacon status indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device. The beacon status indicator indicates the current status of the location beacon's battery. The current status of the location beacon's battery may refer to the current charge level of the beacon's battery, an indication of whether the location beacon's battery should be replaced, and / or another indication of the charge and / or health of the location beacon's battery.

[0076] In some embodiments, the controller is further adapted to determine whether the bed is due for servicing and forward servicing data to the caregiver assistance application when the bed is due for servicing. The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a bed servicing indicator on the display of the mobile electronic device when the bed is due for servicing.

[0077] In some embodiments, the bed controller is further adapted to forward signal strength data to the caregiver assistance application. The signal strength data indicates the strength of the signal between the healthcare facility's transceiver and the wireless access point. In such embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a signal strength indicator on the display of the mobile electronic device. The signal strength indicator indicates the strength of the signal between the healthcare facility's transceiver and the wireless access point. In at least some embodiments, the signal strength data is forwarded to the caregiver assistance application using the transceiver.

[0078] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a wireless connection indicator on the display of the mobile electronic device. The wireless connection indicator includes a first form indicating that the bed is unable to wirelessly communicate with the caregiver assistance application, and a second form indicating that the bed is able to wirelessly communicate with the caregiver assistance application.

[0079] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to query the admission-discharge-tracking server for patient-room assignment information and use the patient-room assignment information to determine if the bed is unable to wirelessly communicate with the caregiver assistance application.

[0080] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a caregiver assistance system includes a bed and a caregiver assistance application hosted by a server. The bed includes: a mattress frame; a support plate supported on the mattress frame and configured to support a patient thereon; a memory containing an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed; a short-range transceiver adapted to communicate with a short-range transmitter of a location beacon mounted to an end wall of a room in a medical facility; and a controller. The short-range transceiver is adapted to receive location data and beacon battery status data from the location beacon. The location data indicates the location of the bed, and the beacon battery status data indicates the current status of the battery of the location beacon. The controller communicates with the memory, the network transceiver, and the short-range transceiver, and is adapted to transmit the identifier, location data, and beacon battery status data from the bed to the server hosting the caregiver assistance application. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to perform the following steps: (i) determining the location of the bed using the location data; (ii) forwarding beacon battery status data to a mobile electronic device associated with a caregiver assigned to the patient; and (iii) displaying a beacon battery status indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device, the beacon battery status indicator indicating the current status of the battery of the location beacon.

[0081] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a caregiver assistance system includes a bed and a caregiver assistance application hosted by a server. The bed includes: a mattress frame; a support plate supported on the mattress frame and configured to support a patient thereon; a memory containing an identifier uniquely identifying the bed; a short-range transceiver adapted to receive location data from a short-range transmitter of a location beacon mounted to an end wall of a room in a healthcare facility; a network transceiver adapted to wirelessly communicate with a wireless access point of a healthcare facility network; and a controller in communication with the memory, the short-range transceiver, and the network transceiver. The controller is adapted to transmit the identifier and location data from the bed to the caregiver assistance application via the network transceiver. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to: (i) determine the location of the bed using the location data; (ii) forward the location to a mobile electronic device associated with a caregiver assigned to the patient; (iii) display the location on a display of the mobile electronic device; and (iv) display a wireless connection indicator on the display of the mobile electronic device. The wireless connection indicator includes a first form indicating that the bed cannot wirelessly communicate with the caregiver assistance application using the network transceiver, and a second form indicating that the bed can wirelessly communicate with the caregiver assistance application using the network transceiver.

[0082] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a caregiver assistance system includes a bed and a caregiver assistance application hosted by a server. The bed includes: a mattress frame; a support plate supported on the mattress frame and configured to support a patient thereon; a memory containing an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed; a battery; a power cord adapted to be connected to an electrical outlet; a sensor adapted to determine whether the bed is operating on power from the battery or from the power cord; a transceiver; and a controller that communicates with the memory, the transceiver, and the sensor. The controller is adapted to transmit the identifier and data from the sensor from the bed to the server hosting the caregiver assistance application. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive the identifier and sensor data from the bed and perform the following steps: (i) forwarding the sensor data to a mobile electronic device associated with a caregiver assigned to the patient; and (ii) displaying a power status indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device. The power status indicator indicates whether the bed is currently operating on power from the battery or from the power cord.

[0083] In some embodiments, the bed further comprises: a nurse call cable port adapted to connect to a first end of a nurse call cable, the nurse call cable having a second end adapted to connect to a nurse call jack, thereby enabling the bed to communicate with a nurse call system; and a sensor adapted to detect whether the nurse call cable port is electrically connected to the nurse call system via the nurse call cable. In such an embodiment, the controller may be further adapted to transmit data from the sensor to the caregiver assistance application, and the caregiver assistance application may be further adapted to display a connection indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device. The connection indicator indicates whether the nurse call cable port is communicatively connected to the nurse call system.

[0084] In some embodiments, the bed further comprises a battery and a battery sensor adapted to detect the status of the battery. In such embodiments, the controller is adapted to transmit the battery status to the caregiver assistance application, which is further adapted to display a battery status indicator on the display of the mobile electronic device. The battery status indicator indicates the status of the battery and may indicate the current charge level of the battery, whether the battery should be replaced, and / or other data regarding the charge and / or health of the location beacon battery.

[0085] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a wireless connection indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device. The wireless connection indicator includes a first form indicating that the bed is unable to wirelessly communicate with the caregiver assistance application, and a second form indicating that the bed is able to wirelessly communicate with the caregiver assistance application. In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to query an admission-discharge-tracking server for patient-room assignment information and use the patient-room assignment information to determine whether the bed is unable to wirelessly communicate with the caregiver assistance application.

[0086] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to: (a) display on a display of the mobile electronic device a time indicating when the caregiver should perform rounds on the patient; (b) receive completion data from the caregiver indicating that the caregiver has completed the rounds; and (c) forward the completion data to an electronic medical record server for entry into a patient record corresponding to the patient. In some of these embodiments, the mobile electronic device may be further adapted to obtain confirmation data confirming that the caregiver was present near the bed when the caregiver completed the rounds, and forward the confirmation data to the caregiver assistance application.

[0087] A caregiver assistance system according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a bed and a server-based caregiver assistance application. The bed includes a mattress frame; a support plate supported on the mattress frame and configured to support a patient thereon; a memory containing an identifier uniquely identifying the bed; sensors adapted to detect the status of bed components; a short-range transceiver adapted to receive location data from a short-range transmitter of a location beacon mounted to an end wall of a room in a healthcare facility; a network transceiver; and a controller in communication with the memory, the short-range transceiver, and the network transceiver. The controller is adapted to transmit the identifier, location data, and sensor data away from the bed. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive location data, sensor data, and an identifier and to perform the following steps: (i) communicating with a mobile electronic device associated with the caregiver; (ii) communicating with a stationary electronic device; (iii) using the location data to determine a room in which a bed is located; (iv) determining a group of patients assigned to the caregiver; (v) displaying the sensor data on a display of the mobile electronic device when the patient assigned to the bed is a patient from the group of patients assigned to the caregiver; (vi) not displaying the sensor data on the display of the mobile electronic device when the patient assigned to the bed is not a patient from the group of patients assigned to the caregiver; (vii) determining a group of room locations associated with the stationary electronic device; (viii) displaying the sensor data on the display of the stationary electronic device when the room in which the bed is located is from the group of room locations; and (ix) not displaying the sensor data on the display of the stationary electronic device when the room in which the bed is located is not from the group of room locations.

[0088] In some embodiments, the short-range transceiver is further adapted to receive beacon battery status data from the location beacon. The beacon battery status data indicates the status of the battery of the location beacon. In such an embodiment, the bed is adapted to forward the beacon battery status data to the caregiver assistance application, and the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to perform the following steps: (i) displaying a beacon status indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device when the patient assigned to the bed is a patient from a group of patients assigned to the caregiver; (ii) not displaying the beacon status indicator on the display of the mobile electronic device when the patient assigned to the bed is not a patient from the group of patients assigned to the caregiver; (iii) displaying the beacon status indicator on the display of the stationary electronic device when the room in which the bed is located is from the group of room locations; and (iv) not displaying the beacon status indicator on the display of the stationary electronic device when the room in which the bed is located is not from the group of room locations.

[0089] In any embodiments of the caregiver assistance system disclosed herein, the steps undertaken by the caregiver assistance application, the mobile electronic device, and / or the bed may be embodied in one or more methods for assisting a caregiver.

[0090] The foregoing detailed description of a number of different embodiments disclosed herein will be understood to be in no way limited to the operational details or construction details and arrangements of components set forth in the following description or shown in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described herein can be implemented or completed in alternative ways that are not explicitly disclosed herein. Furthermore, it will be understood that the words and terms used herein are for descriptive purposes and are not to be construed as limiting. The use of "include" and "comprising" and variations thereof is intended to include the items listed thereafter and their equivalents, as well as additional items and their equivalents. In addition, enumeration may be used in the description of a number of different embodiments. Unless expressly indicated, the use of enumeration should not be construed as limiting the invention to a particular order or number of components. The use of enumeration should also not be construed as excluding from the scope of the invention any additional steps or components that may be combined with or included in the enumerated steps or components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0091] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a patient support device that can be used in a caregiver assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0092] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the caregiver assistance system of the present invention, which shows Figure 1 a detailed set of components of a patient support device, a server-based caregiver assistance application, and a portion of a local area network in which the patient support device communicates;

[0093] Figure 3 A block diagram of a set of components for a server-based caregiver assistance application;

[0094] Figure 4 A block diagram showing a caregiver assistance system integrated within a local area network of a medical institution;

[0095] Figure 5 is a flow chart of a general algorithm that may be performed by a caregiver-assisted application;

[0096] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a caregiver assistance algorithm executable by a caregiver assistance application;

[0097] Figure 7 is a plan view of a portable electronic device that may be used with a caregiver assistance system, wherein the portable electronic device is shown displaying a login screen of a caregiver assistance application;

[0098] Figure 8 is an illustrative room list screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0099] Figure 9 is an illustrative room overview screen that can be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0100] Figure 10 is an illustrative first round question screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0101] Figure 11 is an illustrative second round question screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0102] Figure 12 is an illustrative third round question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0103] Figure 13 is an illustrative fourth rounds question screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0104] Figure 14 is an illustrative rounds completion screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0105] Figure 15 is an illustrative first visit verification screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0106] Figure 16 is an illustrative second visit verification screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0107] Figure 17 is an illustrative third visit verification screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0108] Figure 18 is a flow chart of a falls risk reduction algorithm that can be executed by a caregiver-assisted application;

[0109] Figure 19 is an illustrative first fall risk assessment question screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0110] Figure 20 is an illustrative second fall risk assessment question screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0111] Figure 21 is an illustrative third fall risk assessment question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0112] Figure 22 is an illustrative fourth fall risk assessment question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0113] Figure 23is an illustrative fifth fall risk assessment question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0114] Figure 24 is an illustrative sixth fall risk assessment question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0115] Figure 25 An illustrative fall risk assessment information screen that can be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0116] Figure 26 is an illustrative first bed departure advisory screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0117] Figure 27 is an illustrative second bed departure advisory screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0118] Figure 28 a flow chart of a patient skin care algorithm that can be performed by a caregiver-assisted application;

[0119] Figure 29 is an illustrative skin care overview screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0120] Figure 30 is an illustrative first skin assessment question screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0121] Figure 31 is an illustrative second skin assessment question screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0122] Figure 32 is an illustrative third skin assessment question screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0123] Figure 33 is an illustrative fourth skin assessment question screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0124] Figure 34 is an illustrative fifth skin assessment question screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0125] Figure 35 is an illustrative sixth skin assessment question screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0126] Figure 36 For about Figure 30 A first information screen providing additional information for a first selection made on the screen;

[0127] Figure 37 For about Figure 30 A second information screen providing additional information and illustrating the second selection of the screen;

[0128] Figure 38 For about Figure 30 A third information screen providing additional information is provided for a third selection made on the screen;

[0129] Figure 39 An illustrative skin risk assessment score screen that can be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0130] Figure 40 An illustrative general treatment screen that suggests a variety of different skin treatments and that can be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0131] Figure 41 An illustrative specific disposition screen that recommends setting the patient's mattress to a low-leak mode and that can be displayed on an electronic device of the caregiver assistance system;

[0132] Figure 42 is a flow chart of a mattress control algorithm executable by a caregiver assistance application;

[0133] Figure 43 is an illustrative first patient turn screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0134] Figure 44 is an illustrative second patient turn screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0135] Figure 45 is an illustrative record confirmation screen that can be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0136] Figure 46 is an illustrative mattress therapy status screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0137] Figure 47 selecting an illustrative first mattress parameter displayable on an electronic device of the caregiver assistance system;

[0138] Figure 48 selecting an illustrative second mattress parameter displayable on an electronic device of the caregiver assistance system;

[0139] Figure 49 an illustrative third mattress parameter selection that is displayable on an electronic device of the caregiver assistance system;

[0140] Figure 50 a flow chart documenting an algorithm for skin care that can be performed by a caregiver-assisted application;

[0141] Figure 51 is an illustrative first skin care data entry screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0142] Figure 52 providing an input screen for an illustrative skin care image displayable on an electronic device of the caregiver assistance system;

[0143] Figure 53 An illustrative skin care record confirmation screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0144] Figure 54 is an illustrative second skin care data entry screen displayable on an electronic device of the caregiver assistance system;

[0145] Figure 55 is an illustrative third skin care data entry screen displayable on an electronic device of the caregiver assistance system;

[0146] Figure 56 is an illustrative stored image review screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0147] Figure 57 a flowchart to modify the algorithm for a list of manual tasks that can be performed by the caregiver assistance system;

[0148] Figure 58 is an illustrative alternative room overview screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0149] Figure 59 is an illustrative alternative room list screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0150] Figure 60 is a flow chart of a reminder algorithm that may be executed by a caregiver assistance application;

[0151] Figure 61 is a flow chart of an alarm algorithm executable by a caregiver assistance application;

[0152] Figure 62 is a flow chart of an access algorithm executable by a caregiver assistance application;

[0153] Figure 63 a flow chart for a screen selection algorithm executable by a caregiver assistance application;

[0154] Figure 64is a flow chart of a burden-sharing algorithm that may be executed by a caregiver-assisted application;

[0155] Figure 65 is a first illustrative share request screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0156] Figure 66 is a second illustrative share request screen displayable on an electronic device of the caregiver assistance system;

[0157] Figure 67 is an illustrative no-burden request screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system;

[0158] Figure 68 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the caregiver assistance system of the present invention, showing a detailed set of elements of a patient support device that can be used therein and a portion of a local area network in which the patient support device communicates;

[0159] Figure 69 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the caregiver assistance system of the present invention, showing a detailed set of elements of a patient support device that can be used therein and a portion of a local area network in which the patient support device communicates;

[0160] Figure 70 is a block diagram of a fourth embodiment of the caregiver assistance system of the present invention, showing a detailed set of elements of a patient support device that can be used therein and a portion of a local area network in which the patient support device communicates;

[0161] Figure 71 is a block diagram of a fifth embodiment of the caregiver assistance system of the present invention, which shows a caregiver assistance application suitable for operating in conjunction with a remote device management system;

[0162] Figure 72 To be displayed in Figure 71 an illustrative bed identification screen on the electronic device of the caregiver assistance system;

[0163] Figure 73 To be displayed in Figure 71 an illustrative bed maintenance screen on the electronic device of the caregiver assistance system;

[0164] Figure 74 is another alternative room overview screen displayable on an electronic device of any caregiver assistance system disclosed herein that includes at least one bed without a bed observation monitoring feature;

[0165] Figure 75 for Figure 74 a room overview screen showing that the patient is not currently in bed;

[0166] Figure 76 for Figure 74 a room overview screen showing a graphical representation of a first sensitivity level of the departure detection system;

[0167] Figure 77 for Figure 74 a room overview screen showing a graphical representation of a second sensitivity level of the departure detection system;

[0168] Figure 78 for Figure 74 a room overview screen showing a graphical representation of a third sensitivity level of the departure detection system;

[0169] Figure 79 A room overview screen for another instruction sheet that may be displayed on an electronic device of any caregiver assistance system disclosed herein upon issuance of an absence detection alarm;

[0170] Figure 80 is another illustrative room overview screen that may be displayed on the electronic device of any caregiver assistance system disclosed herein, showing additional status information about the bed;

[0171] Figure 81 is another illustrative room overview screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of any of the caregiver assistance systems disclosed herein, showing other information about the patient and bed;

[0172] Figure 82 is a flow chart of a detection algorithm for detecting the absence of a communication connection between a patient support device and a caregiver assistance application;

[0173] Figure 83 is an illustrative room overview screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of any caregiver assistance system disclosed herein, showing the absence of a communication connection;

[0174] Figure 84 is an illustrative room list screen that may be displayed on a stationary electronic device of any of the caregiver assistance systems disclosed herein;

[0175] Figure 85 is another illustrative room overview screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of any caregiver assistance system disclosed herein, showing instructions for using features of a particular bed located in a corresponding room;

[0176] Figure 86 is another illustrative room overview screen displayable on an electronic device of any caregiver assistance system disclosed herein, showing a video explaining the use of one or more features of a particular bed located in a corresponding room;

[0177] Figure 87 shows a first type of report that may be generated by any of the caregiver assistance systems disclosed herein, which shows a pie chart of bed leave on-call compliance;

[0178] Figure 88 shows a second type of report that may be generated by any of the caregiver assistance systems disclosed herein, which shows a pie chart of bed monitoring on-call compliance;

[0179] Figure 89 shows a third type of report that may be generated by any of the caregiver assistance systems disclosed herein, which shows a graph of response time between an alarm and a caregiver's disposition;

[0180] Figure 90 shows a fourth type of report that may be generated by any of the caregiver assistance systems disclosed herein, which shows a plurality of statistics regarding beds in a healthcare facility;

[0181] Figure 91 is another illustrative room list screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of any of the caregiver assistance systems disclosed herein that includes information in addition to information included by some other room list screens, such as the amount of time a patient has spent out of bed;

[0182] Figure 92

[0026] Another illustrative room overview screen that may be displayed on the electronic device of any of the caregiver assistance systems disclosed herein shows a notification when a bed with a local, built-in monitoring system has activated its monitoring system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0183] An illustrative patient support device 20 that may be used in a caregiver assistance system according to the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 1 Although Figure 1 While the particular form of patient support device 20 shown in the drawings is a bed suitable for use in a hospital or other medical facility, it should be understood that in various embodiments, the patient support device 20 may be a hospital bed, a stretcher, a recliner, or any other structure capable of supporting a patient while in a medical facility, such as, but not limited to, a hospital. For purposes of the following written description, the patient support device 20 will be primarily described as a bed, with the understanding that the following written description is equally applicable to other types of patient support devices.

[0184] Generally, the patient support device 20 includes a base 22 having a plurality of wheels 24, a lifting subsystem including a pair of lifting mechanisms 26 supported on the base, a pad 28 supported on the lifting mechanisms 26, and a support plate 30 supported on the pad 28. The patient support device 20 also includes a headboard 32, a footboard 34, and a plurality of siderails 36. The siderails 36 are arranged on the Figure 1 36, but each siderail can be individually moved to a lowered position in which entry into and exit from the patient support apparatus 20 is not obstructed by the lowered siderail 36. In some embodiments, the siderails 36 can also be moved to one or more intermediate positions.

[0185] The lift mechanism 26 is configured to raise and lower the cushion 28 relative to the base 22. The lift mechanism 26 may be a hydraulic actuator, an electric actuator, or any other suitable device for raising and lowering the cushion 28 relative to the base 22. In the illustrated embodiment, the lift mechanisms 26 are independently operable, so that the tilt of the cushion 28 relative to the base 22 can also be adjusted. That is, the cushion 28 includes a head end and a foot end, and the height of each of the head end and the foot end can be independently adjusted by the nearest lift mechanism 26. The patient support device 20 is designed so that when an occupant lies thereon, his or her head will be located adjacent to the head end and his or her feet will be located adjacent to the foot end.

[0186] The frame 28 provides a structure for supporting a support panel 30, a head panel 32, a foot panel 34, and side rails 36. The support panel 30 provides a support surface for a mattress 38 or other cushion so that a person can lie and / or sit on it. The support panel 30 is composed of multiple sections, some of which can be rotated about a generally horizontal pivot axis. Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the support plate 30 includes a head section 40, which is sometimes referred to as a Fowler section or a backrest section. The head section 40 is pivotable about a generally horizontal pivot axis in a generally horizontal orientation (not shown). Figure 1 ) with multiple standing positions (one of the standing positions is in Figure 1 The support plate 30 may include additional segments that are rotatable about one or more horizontal pivots, such as a thigh or thigh segment and / or a calf or foot segment (not labeled).

[0187] The patient support device 20 also includes a plurality of control panels 42 that enable a user of the patient support device 20, such as the patient and / or associated caregiver, to control one or more aspects of the patient support device 20. Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment, the patient support device 20 includes a footplate control panel 42a, a pair of inner siderail control panels 42b (only one of which is visible), and a pair of outer siderail control panels 42c (only one of which is visible). The footplate control panel 42a and the outer siderail control panel 42c are intended for use by a caregiver or other authorized personnel, while the inner siderail control panel 42b is intended for use by a patient associated with the patient support device 20. Not all control panels 42 include the same controls and / or functionality. In the illustrated embodiment, the footplate control panel 42a includes a substantially complete set of controls for controlling the patient support device 20, while the control panels 42b and 42c include a selected subset of those controls. One or more of any of the control panels 42a, 42b, and / or 42c may include a height adjustment control that, when activated, changes the height of the cushion frame 28 relative to the base 22.

[0188] Control panels 42a and / or 42c may include controls for enabling a user to perform one or more of the following: activate and deactivate the brakes on wheels 24, arm the departure detection system 46, obtain a patient weight reading, activate and deactivate the propulsion system, and communicate with a healthcare facility computer network installed in the healthcare facility in which the patient support device 20 is located. The inner siderail control panel 42b may also include a nurse call control that enables a patient to call a nurse. A speaker and microphone may be included on or adjacent to the inner siderail control panel 42b to enable a patient to communicate aurally with a remotely located nurse.

[0189] Foot control panel 42a Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, a touchscreen display 70 is implemented with a plurality of controls 72 located adjacent to the touchscreen display 70. The controls 72 may be implemented as buttons, dials, switches, or other devices. Either or both of the control panels 42b and 42c may also include a display for displaying information about the patient support device 20. In some embodiments, such a display may be a touchscreen. Alternatively, any one or more of the control panels 42a-c may omit the touchscreen display and instead include only dedicated controls 72 or some other form of non-display controls.

[0190] The mechanical construction of those aspects of the patient support device 20 not expressly described herein may be the same or nearly the same as the mechanical construction of the InTouch Critical Care bed, Model FL27, manufactured and sold by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Mich. This mechanical construction is described in greater detail in the Stryker Maintenance Manual for the InTouch Critical Care bed, Model FL27, published by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Mich. (Version 2.4; 2131-409-002 REV B), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, as an alternative, aspects of the patient support device 20 not expressly described herein may be designed with other types of mechanical configurations, such as, but not limited to, the mechanical configurations described in U.S. Patent No. 7,690,059 to Lemire et al., entitled “HOSPITAL BED” and / or U.S. Patent Application No. 2007 / 0163045 to Becker et al., entitled “PATIENT HANDLING DEVICE INCLUDING LOCAL STATUS INDICATION, ONE-TOUCH FOWLER ANGLE ADJUSTMENT, AND POWER-ON ALARM CONFIGURATION,” the entire disclosures of which are also incorporated herein by reference. The mechanical configurations of aspects of the patient support device 20 not expressly described herein may also take forms other than those disclosed in the aforementioned references.

[0191] Figure 2 A first embodiment of a caregiver assistance system 106 according to the present invention is shown. The caregiver assistance system 106 includes a patient support device 20 that communicates with a caregiver assistance server 90 and one or more electronic devices 104 adapted to communicate with the caregiver assistance server 90. The caregiver assistance system 106 may also include a patient support device server 86 separate from the caregiver assistance server 90, or the functionality of the caregiver assistance server 90 may be modified to include the functionality of the patient support device server 86, thereby enabling the patient support device server 86 to be omitted. As will be described below in conjunction with Figure 4 As described in more detail, the caregiver assistance system 106 communicates with a plurality of conventional servers on the healthcare facility's local area network 74 and uses those communications to obtain some of the information it needs to perform its caregiver assistance functions.

[0192] Figure 21 and 2. The patient support device 20 is shown in greater detail. As shown therein, the patient support device 20 includes a controller 48, a memory 50, a first lift actuator 52a, a second lift actuator 52b, a brake sensor 54, a scale / exit detection system 46, an AC (A / C) power input 56, an A / C power sensor 58, one or more control panels 42, an off-board network transceiver 60 having a signal strength detector 75, a nurse call cable interface 62, a plurality of siderail sensors 63, a position transceiver 64, a head-of-bed (HOB) angle sensor 69, a battery 71, and a battery monitor 73. Additionally, the patient support device 20 includes a first lift sensor 66a, a second lift sensor 66b, a cable sensor 68, a display 70, and one or more controls 72 contained within the one or more control panels 42. Furthermore, the patient support device 20 includes a mattress 38 having at least one mattress sensor 39 located therein. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the patient support device 20 may be modified to include other components not described herein. Figure 2 The additional elements shown in FIG. 1 may also be modified to include Figure 2 Fewer components are shown.

[0193] Controller 48( Figure 2 ) is comprised of any electrical component or group of electrical components capable of performing the functions described herein. In many embodiments, controller 48 is a conventional microcontroller or a group of conventional microcontrollers, although not all such embodiments include a microcontroller. Generally, as known to those skilled in the art, controller 48 includes any one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a field programmable gate array, a system on a chip, volatile or non-volatile memory, discrete circuitry, and / or other hardware, software, or firmware capable of performing the functions described herein. These components can be physically configured in any suitable manner, such as by mounting them to one or more circuit boards or otherwise arranging them, combining them into a single unit or distributing them across multiple units as part of an embedded network. When implemented to include an embedded network, the embedded network can include multiple nodes communicating using one or more of the following: a controller area network (CAN); a local interconnect network (LIN); an I²C serial communication bus; a serial peripheral interface (SPI) communication bus; any of RS-232, RS-422, and / or RS-485 communication interfaces; a LonWorks network; and / or Ethernet. The instructions that controller 48 follows in performing the functions described herein, as well as the data required to perform these functions, are stored in memory 50 and / or in one or more other memories accessible to one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, or other programmable elements of controller 48. Memory 50 also includes a unique identifier 186 that uniquely identifies the specific patient support device in which it is contained, such as, but not limited to, a serial number.

[0194] When controller 48 is implemented to communicate using on-board Ethernet, the on-board Ethernet can be designed according to any of the patient support devices with Ethernet described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 622,221, filed on February 13, 2015, by Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled “COMMUNICATION METHODS FOR PATIENT HANDLING DEVICES,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, controller 48 can be implemented to include multiple nodes that communicate with each other using different communication protocols. In such embodiments, controller 48 can be implemented according to any of the embodiments disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 903,477, filed on February 23, 2018, by Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled “PATIENTCARE DEVICES WITH ON-BOARD NETWORK COMMUNICATION,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0195] Controller 48 Figure 2 4 and 5. The controller 48 is shown as including a usage monitor 77. The usage monitor 77 monitors the usage of the various components of the patient support device 20 and determines whether maintenance should be performed on any of the components. In some embodiments, the usage monitor 77 is implemented entirely within the controller 48 based on input from the various components of the patient support device 20. In other embodiments, the usage monitor 77 may include one or more circuits and / or devices separate from the controller 48 that operate in conjunction with the controller 48 to monitor the usage and maintenance of the various components of the patient support device 20.

[0196] In at least one embodiment, the usage monitor 77 includes a data logger that tracks the number of times each usable component (e.g., any component that moves, such as the guardrail 36, the actuator 52, etc.) is moved, activated, or used. Once the number reaches a threshold, the controller 48 issues a notification and / or alarm if maintenance has not been performed. As will be described below in conjunction with Figure 80 As described in more detail, a notification / alert may be sent to the electronic device 104 so that the caregiver is informed that one or more components of the patient support device 20 need to be serviced. Figures 71-73 As described, such maintenance may be recorded using the caregiver assistance application 124 (described below), either alone or in conjunction with the standalone device management system 918. The maintenance record is forwarded to the controller 48, which then resets the appropriate counters and / or other usage parameters.

[0197] In some embodiments, the usage monitor 77 is implemented to perform the functions of the data logger disclosed in U.S. Patent 7,690,059, entitled “HOSPITAL BED,” issued to Lemire et al. on April 6, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, alternatively or in addition, the usage monitor 77 performs any of the functions of the diagnostic and control system disclosed in the aforementioned '059 patent. In some embodiments, the usage monitor 77, either alone or in addition to other structures, also performs the maintenance, monitoring and / or event detection functions of the equipment management system disclosed in PCT patent application filed by the inventors et al. on July 12, 2017, entitled “HOSPITAL BED,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively or in addition, the usage monitor 77 may also perform other usage and / or diagnostic monitoring.

[0198] The first and second lifting actuators 52a and 52b ( Figure 2 ) is a component of the lifting mechanism 26 and is configured to raise and lower the cushion frame 28 relative to the base 22. The first lifting actuator 52a powers the first lifting mechanism 26 located adjacent to the head end of the patient support device 20, and the second lifting actuator 52b powers the second lifting mechanism 26 located adjacent to the foot end of the patient support device 20. The lifting actuators 52a and 52b can be conventional linear actuators having electric motors therein, which, when driven, extend or retract the length of the linear actuators, thereby moving the cushion frame upward or downward and changing its height H ( Figure 1 ).

[0199] Each lift actuator 52a and 52b includes a corresponding lift sensor 66a and 66b, respectively. Each sensor 66a, 66b detects the position and / or angle of the associated actuator 52a, 52b and feeds the sensed position / angle to the controller 48. The controller 48 uses the output from the sensors 66 as input to a closed-loop feedback system for controlling the movement of the actuators 52a, 52b and the backing plate. The controller 48 also uses the output from the sensors 66a, 66b to determine the height H of the backing plate 28 above the ground. In some embodiments, the actuator 52 is constructed in the same manner as the actuator 34 disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 449,277, filed on March 3, 2017, by inventors Anish Paul et al., entitled “PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH ACTUATOR FEEDBACK,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In such embodiments, the sensors 66a and 66b may be constructed to include any of the encoders and / or switch sensors disclosed in the aforementioned '277 application.

[0200] The scale / exit detection system 46 is configured to determine the weight of a patient positioned on the support plate 30 and / or when the patient moves and may exit the patient support device 20. The specific structural details of the exit detection system may vary widely. In some embodiments, the scale / exit detection system 46 includes a plurality of load cells arranged to detect the weight applied to the pad 28. By summing the output from each load cell, the total weight of the patient is determined (after subtracting the tare weight). In addition, by using the known position of each load cell, the controller 48 determines the patient's center of gravity and monitors for movement of the center of gravity exceeding one or more threshold values. One method of calculating the patient's center of gravity from the output of the aforementioned load cells is described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 5,276,432 to Travis, entitled "PATIENT EXIT DETECTION MECHANISM FOR HOSPITAL BED," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other methods of determining the weight of a patient and / or a non-patient object supported on the support frame 28 are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 776,842, filed on Sep. 15, 2015, by inventors Michael Hayes et al., entitled “PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH PATIENT INFORMATION SENSORS,” and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 873,734, filed on Oct. 2, 2015, by inventors Marko Kostic et al., entitled “PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH MOTION MONITORING,” the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, other systems for determining the weight of a patient and / or detecting a patient's departure from the patient support device 20 may be used.

[0201] In many embodiments, mattress 38 is an inflatable mattress. In some embodiments, mattress 38 includes its own internal controller (not shown) that, under the direction of controller 48, controls the inflation and deflation of a plurality of different air cells contained within the mattress. It should be understood that control of mattress 38 by controller 48 may include direct control of the blowers, pumps, valves, and other components of mattress 38, or indirect control of an onboard mattress controller, which itself directly controls the blowers, pumps, valves, and other components of mattress 38. In either case, controller 48 may communicate with mattress 38 using a serial cable or other cable extending between patient support device 20 and mattress 38. In at least one alternative embodiment, communication between patient support device 20 and mattress 38 may occur wirelessly, such as in any of the manners disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 9,289,336 to Lambarth et al., entitled “PATIENT SUPPORT WITH ENERGY TRANSFER,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Of course, other wireless communication methods may also be used.

[0202] In some embodiments, mattress 38 is constructed in accordance with any of the mattresses disclosed in U.S. Patent 9,468,307 to Lafleche et al., entitled "Inflatable Mattress and Control Methods," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In other embodiments, mattress 38 is constructed in accordance with any of the mattresses disclosed in U.S. Patent 8,413,271 to Blanchard, entitled "Patient Support Apparatus," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other mattresses may also be used. Regardless of the specific configuration of mattress 38, mattress 38 may be configured to perform one or more different therapeutic programs for the patient supported thereon. Such therapeutic programs may include, but are not limited to, any of the following: rotation, percussion, vibration, maximum inflation, and turning assistance. Mattress 38 may also be capable of being inflated to different settings to alter the pressure distribution on the patient's skin while supported on the mattress. These various treatments and / or settings are often used to reduce the likelihood of a patient developing a decubitus ulcer or exacerbating an existing decubitus ulcer. The caregiver assistance system 106 is adapted to recommend, encourage, and / or enforce the use of one or more of these treatments and / or conditions when the patient's skin assessment score is above a threshold, as will be described in detail below in conjunction with the decubitus ulcer risk reduction algorithm 141 (see Figure 28 ).

[0203] Controller 48 and network transceiver 60 ( Figure 2) communication, in at least one embodiment, the network transceiver is a Wi-Fi radio communication module configured to wirelessly communicate with the wireless access point 76 of the local area network 74. In such an embodiment, the network transceiver 60 can operate according to any of a number of different IEEE 802.11 standards (e.g., 802.11b, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11ac, 802.11ah, etc.). In other embodiments, either in addition to or in lieu of the Wi-Fi radio communication module, the network transceiver 60 can include a wired port for connecting a network cable to the patient support device 20. In some embodiments, the wired port accepts Category 5e cable (Cat-5e), Category 6 or 6a cable (Cat-6 or Cat-6a), Category 7 (Cat-7), or some similar network cable, and the transceiver 60 is an Ethernet transceiver. In other embodiments, the network transceiver 60 may be configured to include the functionality of the communication module 56 disclosed in U.S. patent application 15 / 831,466, filed by inventors Michael Hayes et al. on December 5, 2017, entitled “NETWORK COMMUNICATION FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0204] Regardless of the specific structure included in the network transceiver 60, the controller 48 is capable of communicating with the local area network 74 (LAN) of the medical facility in which the patient support device is located. Figure 2 ) communication. When the network transceiver 60 is a wireless transceiver, it communicates with the local area network 74 via one or more wireless access points 76. When the network transceiver 60 is a wired transceiver, it communicates directly via a cable connected between the patient support device 20 and a network socket located in a room in the medical institution. Figure 4 As described in more detail, the local area network 74 includes a plurality of servers that are used in various manners by the caregiver assistance system disclosed herein, with the patient support device 20 communicating with one or more of these servers via the transceiver 60 that is part of the caregiver assistance system.

[0205] When the network transceiver 60 is implemented as a wireless transceiver, it may include a signal strength detector 75 that detects the signal strength of a wireless signal received from a wireless access point 76 with which the wireless transceiver communicates. In some embodiments, such as embodiments where the network transceiver 60 is a WiFi transceiver, the signal strength detector 75 may be part of conventional WiFi circuitry that determines a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), in which case the signal strength may be measured as an RSSI value. In other embodiments, the signal strength may be measured as an actual value in milliwatts (or other units), and the signal strength detector 75 may include any conventional circuitry configured to measure signal strength in this manner. In other embodiments, the signal strength detector 75 and / or the patient support device 20 may have spectrum analysis functionality built into either or both, as disclosed in U.S. patent application 15 / 236,452, filed by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al. on September 29, 2016, entitled “PERSON SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH COMMUNICATION CHANNEL MONITORING,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0206] Regardless of whether the signal strength detector 75 measures the signal using a relative RSSI value or an actual milliwatt value (e.g., −dBm), the signal strength detector 75 is configured to forward its result to the controller 48, which then displays the value on the display 70 and forwards the value to the caregiver assistance application 124 via the network transceiver 60. Figure 80 In more detail, the caregiver assistance application 124 may forward the signal strength value to one or more electronic devices 104 for display on their displays.

[0207] The nurse call cable interface 62 is adapted to connect to a nurse call cable 78 ( Figure 4 The other end of the nurse call cable 78 is connected to the nurse call jack 82 ( Figure 4), a nurse call jack is typically built into each end wall of each patient room in a healthcare facility. In many embodiments, the nurse call jack 82 is a 37-pin jack to which the cable 78 is connected, thereby enabling the patient support device 20 to communicate directly with a conventional nurse call system 80. In some embodiments, the nurse call cable interface 62 is constructed according to any of the cable interfaces 92 disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 945,437, filed April 4, 2018, by Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled “PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH RECONFIGURABLE COMMUNICATION,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0208] In other embodiments, the nurse call cable interface 62 can be replaced with a wireless nurse call communication system that wirelessly communicates with the nurse call jack 82. For example, in some embodiments, the nurse call cable interface 62 is replaced with a radio module, such as the radio module 60 disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 819,844, filed on August 6, 2015, by Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled “PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH WIRELESS HEADWALL COMMUNICATION,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In such wireless headwall embodiments, a headwall module, such as the headwall module 38 disclosed in the aforementioned '844 application, is included that is connected to the nurse call jack 82. Such a headwall module can replace and / or supplement the functionality of the locator beacon 84, described below. Other types of wireless communication between the patient support device and the nurse call jack 82 can also be implemented.

[0209] Regardless of whether the nurse call interface 62 is connected to a nurse call jack on the end wall of a hospital room using a wired cable or using a wireless connection, the nurse call interface 62 may also or alternatively perform any of the functions of the nurse call interface disclosed in U.S. patent application 62 / 833,943, “PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH NURSECALL AUDIO MANAGEMENT,” filed by inventors Alexander Bodurka et al. on April 15, 2019, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0210] The guardrail sensor 63, which may be a conventional guardrail sensor, is configured to detect when the guardrail 36 is in the raised or lowered position. In most embodiments, a single guardrail sensor 63 is included for each guardrail 36. Figure 1 In the preferred embodiment, the patient support device 20 includes four siderail sensors 63, each for detecting the position of a corresponding siderail 36. In alternative embodiments, more than one siderail sensor 63 may be included for each siderail 36, such as a first siderail sensor 63 that detects when a siderail 36 is raised and / or locked in the raised position, and a second siderail sensor 63 that detects when a siderail 36 is in the lowered position and / or locked in the lowered position. Generally, any switch or other type of sensor capable of detecting when a corresponding siderail 36 is in the raised and / or locked orientation may be used with the patient support device 20. The output of the siderail sensors 63 is fed to the controller 48 and periodically sent to the caregiver assistance server 90 as part of a patient support device status update, which will be described in more detail below. Furthermore, as will be described in more detail below, the position of one or more siderails 36 is monitored for compliance with a desired state, such as, but not limited to, a desired state defined by a fall risk reduction protocol 93, described in more detail below.

[0211] Position transceiver 64 ( Figure 2 ) is adapted to detect proximity beacons 84 located at fixed and known locations within a medical facility ( Figure 4 ) is a wireless signal. Figure 4Only one such location beacon 84 is shown, and it should be understood that a particular healthcare facility includes many such location beacons 84 installed throughout the facility. Each location beacon 84 includes a wireless short-range transmitter (not shown) that broadcasts a wireless short-range signal containing a unique identifier. In some embodiments, the short-range signal is broadcast via an infrared transmitter and can only be detected by a receiver (such as the location transceiver 64) located within a few feet of the location beacon 84. Therefore, the location transceiver 64 adapted to detect signals transmitted from the location beacons 84 can only detect these signals when the patient support device 20 is located in the vicinity of one of these location beacons 84 (e.g., within a few feet). If the location transceiver 64 is able to detect a unique signal from a particular location beacon 84, the corresponding patient support device 20 can therefore be inferred to be currently located in the vicinity of that particular location beacon 84. This enables identification of the current location of the patient support device 20. In some healthcare facilities, one or more patient rooms may not be completely private rooms, but may be shared with one or more other patients. In such a situation, two or more position beacons 84 are typically installed in such a room, one on the end wall of the compartment where the first patient support device 20 is typically located, and another on the end wall of the compartment where the second patient support device 20 is typically located (and more if the room is shared by more than two patients).

[0212] When the position transceiver 64 receives a signal from an adjacent position beacon 84, the controller 48 forwards the received signal (including the unique ID of the beacon 84) to the patient support device server 86 ( Figure 2 ), which is sometimes referred to herein interchangeably as a bed server 86. The patient support device server 86 includes a position table 88 ( Figure 4 ), or has access to such a table 88, which associates beacon IDs with locations within the medical facility. The patient support device server 86 is thus able to determine the location of each patient support device 20 within the medical facility (at least all patient support devices 20 that are adjacent to a location beacon 84).

[0213] In some embodiments, the location beacon 84 ( Figure 2 ) serves as both a locator and a wireless link to the nurse call jack 82 integrated into the adjacent end wall. When equipped with this dual functionality, the patient support device 20 can omit the nurse call cable interface 62 and still be able to communicate with the nurse call system server 62b. However, in Figure 4In the illustrated embodiment, the patient support device 20 includes a nurse call cable 78 that communicatively connects the patient support device 20 to a nurse call jack 82 , thereby enabling the patient support device 20 to communicate directly with the nurse call system 80 . Further details regarding the functionality of the location beacon 84, whether used solely as a locator or as both a locator and a wireless portal to the nurse call system jack 82, can be found in the following U.S. patent documents: U.S. Patent No. 8,102,254, entitled “LOCATION DETECTION SYSTEM FOR A PATIENT HANDLING DEVICE,” issued to Becker et al. on January 24, 2012; U.S. Patent Application No. 14 / 819,844, entitled “PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH WIRELESS HEADWALL COMMUNICATION,” filed by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al.; U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 600,000, entitled “SMART HOSPITAL HEADWALL SYSTEM,” filed by inventors Alex Bodurka on December 18, 2017; and U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 600,000, entitled “SMART HOSPITAL HEADWALL SYSTEM,” filed by inventors Alex Bodurka on December 18, 2017. Bodurka et al., U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 598,787, filed on December 14, 2017, entitled “HOSPITAL HEADWALL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM”; the entire disclosures of all of these patent documents are incorporated herein by reference.

[0214] In at least some embodiments, the location beacon 84 also includes a beacon battery 79 and a beacon battery monitor 81. The beacon battery 79 provides power to the location beacon 84, either exclusively or, in at least some embodiments, when the location beacon 84 is not plugged into an outlet or when no power is available from an outlet. The beacon battery monitor 81 monitors the charge state of the beacon battery 79 and reports the charge measurement to the patient support device 20. That is, the measurements taken by the beacon battery monitor 81 are wirelessly forwarded to the patient support device 20 by the location beacon 84 via the built-in transmitter of the location beacon 84. These measurements are received by the on-board position transceiver 64 of the patient support device 20 and forwarded to the controller 48. The controller 48 then displays these measurements on the display 70 and / or forwards them to the caregiver assistance application 124 via the network transceiver 60. As described below (specifically in conjunction with Figure 80 ) will be described in more detail, the caregiver assistance application 124 can forward these battery charge measurements to one or more electronic devices 104.

[0215] In some embodiments, the beacon battery monitor 81 can monitor one or more additional factors about the beacon battery 79, such as, but not limited to, the overall health of the beacon battery 79. Such overall health can be measured based on the charge capacity of the battery, the number of times the battery has been recharged, the battery discharge rate, the battery recharge rate, and / or other means. In some embodiments, the beacon battery monitor 81 can be implemented and / or configured to monitor and measure any one or more of the same battery parameters as the battery monitor disclosed in the following patent application: U.S. patent application 2016 / 0331614, filed on November 17, 2016, by inventors Aaron Furman et al., entitled "BATTERY MANAGEMENT FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0216] In some embodiments, the location beacon 84 may be included in a wireless end wall module that communicates with the patient support device 20 via multiple communication channels. In such embodiments, a first communication channel between the location beacon 84 and the patient support device 20 may be a short-range channel (e.g., infrared), and a second communication channel may be a longer-range channel (e.g., Bluetooth). In such embodiments, data transmission from the beacon battery monitor 81 to the patient support device 20 and transmission of the location identifier of the location beacon 84 to the patient support device 20 may occur via either or both of the two communication channels.

[0217] The controller 48 of the patient support device 20 ( Figure 2 ) communicates with the A / C power sensor 58, which connects the A / C power line 102 ( Figure 4 ) is connected between the patient support device 20 and a conventional A / C power outlet 44. In other words, the A / C power sensor 58 lets the controller 48 know whether the patient support device 20 is receiving power from an off-board power source (e.g., the power outlet 44). In some cases, the patient support device 20 includes one or more batteries that can power the patient support device 20 (including the controller 48) when the patient support device 20 is not connected to a power source. As will be described in more detail below, the status of the A / C power line 102 (e.g., whether the patient support device 20 is operating on battery power or on power from the A / C outlet) is communicated from the A / C power sensor 58 to the controller 48, which then forwards the status to the patient support device server 86 and / or the caregiver assistance server 90 via the network transceiver 60.

[0218] The controller 48 also communicates with the brake sensor 54 ( Figure 2). The brake sensor 54 notifies the controller 48 whether the brakes have been applied to the patient support device 20. When the brakes are applied, one or more wheels 24 are braked to prevent rotation. When the brakes are not applied, the wheels 24 are free to rotate. As with the data from the A / C power sensor 58, the data from the brake sensor 54 is forwarded by the controller 48 via the network transceiver 60 to the patient support device server 86 and / or the caregiver assistance server 90. The caregiver assistance server 90 shares this information with the caregiver via one or more electronic devices in communication with the server 90, as will be described in more detail below.

[0219] The controller 48 also communicates with a headrest angle sensor 69. The headrest angle sensor 69 measures the angular orientation of the head section 40 of the patient support device 20 relative to the horizontal or relative to the general plane of the bed frame 28. In some embodiments, the headrest angle sensor 69 is implemented as one or more accelerometers mounted to the head section 40. In other embodiments, the headrest angle sensor 69 may be implemented as an encoder counter or other type of counter that monitors the extension and retraction of the actuator that pivots the head section 40. Other types of sensors may also be used to measure the angle of the head section 40.

[0220] Regardless of the specific sensor type used for the HOB sensor 69, the HOB sensor 69 reports its readings to the controller 48, which in turn displays them on the display 70 and / or forwards them to the caregiver assistance application 124 via the network transceiver 60. Figures 74-77 ) As described in more detail, the caregiver assistance application 124 can forward the HOB angle reading to one or more electronic devices 104 for display thereon, thereby enabling a caregiver to remotely view the current angle of the head segment 40 of the patient support device 20.

[0221] In some embodiments, the patient support device 20 may include one or more batteries 71 for providing power to the patient support device 20 or certain components when the patient support device 20 is not electrically connected to a conventional electrical outlet. For example, in some embodiments, the patient support device 20 may include a first battery (or a first set of batteries) for all bed functions except powering the onboard propulsion system, and a second battery (or a second set of batteries) for powering the onboard propulsion system. An example of such a patient support device 20 is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62 / 823,324, filed March 25, 2019, by inventors Zane Shami et al., entitled “PATIENT CARE SYSTEM WITH POWER MANAGEMENT,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In other embodiments, the patient support device 20 includes only a single battery 71 (or a single set of batteries 71) for powering all electrical functions of the patient support device 20. In many cases, whether one or more batteries 71 are included, the batteries 71 are typically rechargeable batteries.

[0222] exist Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the patient support device 20 also includes a battery monitor 73 adapted to monitor the state of charge (and / or other parameters) of the battery 71, or each battery 71 (if there is more than one battery), of the patient support device 20. In addition to monitoring the state of charge of one or more batteries 71, the battery monitor 73 may also monitor any of the same parameters of the battery 71 that the beacon battery monitor 81 described above for the beacon battery 79 may monitor. To this end, the battery monitor 73 may be implemented in any of the same manner and / or perform any of the same functions as the battery monitor disclosed in U.S. patent application 2016 / 0331614, entitled “BATTERY MANAGEMENT FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES,” filed by inventors Aaron Furman et al., and published on November 17, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0223] Regardless of the specific condition of one or more batteries 71 of the patient support device 20 monitored by the battery monitor 73, the battery monitor 73 reports the results to the controller 48. The controller 48 then displays one or more results on the display 70 and / or forwards one or more results to the caregiver assistance application 124. The caregiver assistance application 124 then forwards these results to one or more mobile electronic devices 104a, as described in more detail below. The electronic device 104 includes a display and is adapted to display information regarding the monitored condition of the battery 71. If the patient support device 20 includes more than one battery, the controller 48 forwards the monitoring data for each battery (or each group of batteries) to the caregiver assistance application 124, which in turn forwards the data to the one or more electronic devices 104. The receiving electronic device 104 displays the received data separately for each group of batteries. In this way, a caregiver who is remote from the patient support device 20 can understand the status of each onboard battery of the patient support device 20.

[0224] Each control panel 42 includes one or more controls 72 ( Figure 2 ). For example, the one or more control panels 42 include motion controls 72 for controlling the movement of the lift actuators 52a and 52b. Additional controls 72 may be provided for activating and deactivating the braking of the wheels 24, arming and disarming the departure detection function of the scale / exit detection system 46, taking a patient weight reading using the scale function of the scale / exit detection system 46, activating and deactivating the propulsion system (if included), and communicating with one or more servers on the local area network 74. It should be understood that in some embodiments, one or more controls 72 may be integrated into a touch screen display, such as the display 70. In such embodiments, the one or more controls 72 may appear only when the user navigates to a particular screen displayed on the touch screen.

[0225] The patient support device 20 communicates with the caregiver assistance server 90 of the local area network 74 ( Figure 2 The caregiver assistance server 90 is adapted to assist a caregiver in performing a number of tasks. Generally, the caregiver assistance server 90 includes software, namely a caregiver assistance application 124, which, when executed, assists a caregiver in ensuring that the patient support device 20 is maintained in the desired state while the caregiver performs their duties, assists the caregiver in performing their rounds, assists the caregiver in performing falls and / or skin assessments, assists the caregiver in setting reminders and receiving notifications of reminders, and assists the caregiver in receiving alerts and / or status information regarding the patients they are caring for.

[0226] The caregiver assistance server 90 includes memory 91 that stores a variety of data used by the caregiver assistance application 124 (and, in some cases, executable instructions for the caregiver assistance application 124). The memory 91 stores such items as, but not limited to, a fall risk reduction protocol 93 and a decubitus ulcer risk reduction protocol 95. The memory 91 may be physically included within the server 90 and / or it may be distributed across one or more other physical locations accessible to the server 90.

[0227] The caregiver assistance application 124 uses the fall risk reduction protocol 93 when the application 124 executes the patient fall risk reduction algorithm 143, as will be described in more detail below. Generally, the patient fall risk reduction algorithm 143 enables a caregiver to use one or more electronic devices 104 to assess a patient's fall risk and subsequently ensure that the patient support device 20 is in a state specified by the healthcare facility for the patient's particular fall risk. The fall risk reduction protocol 93 specifies the desired state of the patient support device 20 for one or more fall risk levels. The fall risk reduction algorithm 143 is described below in conjunction with Figure 18-27 Describe in more detail.

[0228] The caregiver assistance application 124 uses the decubitus ulcer risk reduction protocol 95 when the application 124 executes the patient decubitus ulcer risk reduction algorithm 141. Generally, the patient decubitus ulcer risk reduction algorithm 141 enables a caregiver to assess a patient's decubitus ulcer risk and perform monitoring, compliance, and implementation of appropriate decubitus ulcer risk reduction steps using the same electronic equipment used by the fall risk reduction algorithm 143 (and other algorithms discussed herein). In some instances, specific decubitus ulcer risk reduction steps for a particular patient are automatically suggested by the caregiver assistance application 124 based on a decubitus ulcer risk score determined for that particular patient. The decubitus ulcer risk reduction algorithm 141 is described below in conjunction with Figure 28-58 Describe in more detail.

[0229] Figure 3Some of the specific functions and components of the caregiver assistance server 90 are shown in greater detail. The caregiver assistance server 90 is adapted to host and execute a caregiver assistance application 124, which executes a number of algorithms and utilizes a number of components. These algorithms include: a screen selection algorithm 139, a caregiver rounds algorithm 140, a decubitus ulcer risk reduction algorithm 141, a patient fall risk reduction algorithm 143, a reminder algorithm 145, a status / command algorithm 147, an alarm algorithm 149, a manual task list modification algorithm 151, an assessment algorithm 153, a sharing algorithm 175, a mattress control algorithm 700, a logging algorithm 800, and a wireless connection loss detection algorithm 990. The caregiver assistance application 124 can be modified to execute only some of these algorithms and / or can be modified to execute other algorithms. Furthermore, the content and functionality of each of these algorithms can be modified from the specific content and functionality described in more detail below.

[0230] The screen selection algorithm 139 automatically selects the type of screen to be displayed on one or more mobile electronic devices 104a based on the location of the caregiver and their associated mobile electronic devices. Further details about the algorithm 139 are provided below in conjunction with Figure 63 Provide a description.

[0231] The nurse rounds algorithm 140 assists the nurse in performing their rounds duties and in ensuring that the patient support device 20 is properly configured according to the policies of the particular healthcare facility that employs the nurse and operates the patient support device 20. Generally, the nurse rounds algorithm 140 enables the nurse to record their individual rounds while reminding the nurse of any actions that need to be taken to properly configure the patient support device 20. Such patient support device configuration includes, but is not limited to, setting the brakes, moving the skid to its minimum height (or within a specified range of its minimum height), positioning the siderails in the correct position, arming the departure detection system, plugging in the nurse call cable, plugging in the A / C power cable, and / or arming the patient support device monitoring system.

[0232] The decubitus ulcer risk reduction algorithm 141 assists a caregiver in assessing a particular patient's risk of developing a decubitus ulcer and / or managing the care of a patient's existing decubitus ulcer. The fall risk reduction algorithm 143 assists a caregiver in assessing a particular patient's risk of falling and / or ensuring that the patient support device 20 is in the necessary state to reduce the patient's risk of falling. The reminder algorithm 145 assists a caregiver in tracking any or all deadline-bound tasks to be completed by the caregiver, including providing reminders to the caregiver when those tasks are due and / or approaching their due dates. The status / command algorithm 147 is used to provide the caregiver with updated information on the status of each patient support device 20 assigned to the caregiver's patient and to enable the caregiver to remotely control one or more aspects of those patient support devices 20. The alert algorithm 149 provides alerts to the caregiver when the status of a patient support device 20 changes to a non-compliant state, when a reminder deadline is approaching or reached, and / or when any information from any of the other algorithms 140, 141, 143, 145, and / or 147 generates information that the caregiver should be alerted to.

[0233] The manual task list modification algorithm 151 enables a caregiver to manually add tasks and / or remove tasks from a task list maintained by the caregiver assistance application 124, as well as change the reminders (timing, frequency, recipients, etc.) associated with any of those tasks. Many of the tasks on the task list are automatically entered by one or more other algorithms executed by the caregiver assistance application 124 (e.g., the decubitus ulcer risk reduction algorithm 141, the fall risk reduction algorithm 143, etc.), but the algorithm 151 enables a caregiver to manually modify the list, including tasks on the list that have been automatically entered by the caregiver assistance application 124. Further details of one embodiment of the manual task list modification algorithm 151 are provided below in conjunction with Figure 57 Provide a description.

[0234] The evaluation algorithm 153 controls which individuals are allowed to use the caregiver assistance system 106 and what information can be viewed by authorized users of the caregiver assistance system 106. Further details of an embodiment of the evaluation algorithm 153 that can be executed by the caregiver assistance system 106 are described below in conjunction with Figure 62 Discussion provided.

[0235] The sharing algorithm 175 enables caregivers to share and unshare their responsibilities with each other, so that, for example, if a first caregiver is temporarily unavailable, a second caregiver will receive alerts, updates, and other information on their mobile electronic device 104a regarding the patient for whom the first caregiver is temporarily unavailable. Further details of the sharing algorithm 175 are provided below in conjunction with Figures 64-67 supply.

[0236] The mattress control algorithm 700 enables a caregiver to remotely control one or more aspects of the mattress 38, including, but not limited to, sending mattress parameters to the mattress, which are stored by the mattress 38 and used during mattress therapy or at other times. In some embodiments, the mattress control algorithm 700 is also configured to ensure that the mattress settings and / or therapy used by the caregiver comply with the healthcare institution's decubitus ulcer reduction protocol. The mattress control algorithm 700 is incorporated below in conjunction with Figures 42-49 Describe in more detail.

[0237] The recording algorithm 800 enables a caregiver to use the caregiver assistance application 124 to record a plurality of different tasks and / or patient data into the patient's corresponding electronic medical record. Such tasks and data include, but are not limited to, tasks and data related to the patient's risk of developing a decubitus ulcer, existing decubitus ulcers, and / or other information related to the patient's skin condition and / or treatment. The recording algorithm 800 is described below in conjunction with Figures 50-56 Describe in more detail.

[0238] The wireless disconnect detection algorithm 990 is adapted to detect when one or more patient support devices 20 loses its communication connection to the local area network 74 and / or the caregiver assistance application 124. In some embodiments, as will be described below in conjunction with Figure 82 In more detail, the wireless disconnect detection algorithm 990 is adapted to determine not only which patient support devices 20 are not communicating with the caregiver assistance application 124, but also which (if any) of those non-communicating patient support devices 20 are assigned to a patient and which (if any) are not assigned to a patient. By determining this information, the wireless disconnect detection algorithm 990 can avoid sending alarms or notifications regarding patient support devices 20 that are disconnected, may be in storage, may not be in use, or have not yet been assigned to a patient. By avoiding alarms and / or notifications that are not related to relevant safety conditions, this helps reduce alarm fatigue for caregivers.

[0239] The non-algorithmic components of the caregiver assistance application 124 include a set of local rules 126, a data repository 128, a communication interface 130, and a World Wide Web Application Programming Interface 132 ( Figure 3 ). The set of local rules 126 is initially defined before the caregiver assistance application 124 is installed within a particular healthcare facility, in at least some embodiments. In other embodiments, the set of local rules 126 is defined during or after installation of the caregiver assistance application 124. However, in all embodiments discussed herein, the local rules 126 can be modified by authorized personnel from the healthcare facility. Such modifications can be made with the aid of one or more computers 134 in communication with the local area network 74 ( Figure 4 ). Authorized individual 136( Figure 4) uses the computer 134 to communicate with the caregiver assistance application 124 and add, delete or modify one or more local rules 126.

[0240] Local Rule 126( Figure 3 ) include, but are not limited to: rules specifying how frequently a caregiver should perform their rounding duties (e.g., once every two hours, once every three hours, etc.); rules specifying in what state the patient support device 20 should be placed (e.g., one or more of the fall risk reduction protocols 93, the decubitus ulcer risk reduction protocol 95, the VAP protocol, etc.); rules specifying who is to be notified and when if rounding duties are not performed within a desired time period; rules specifying who is to be notified and when if a patient support device is not placed in a required state and / or is moved out of a required state; rules specifying how the aforementioned notifications are to be transmitted (e.g., email, phone call, text, etc.); rules specifying who within the healthcare facility is authorized to view what data using the caregiver assistance application 124; and rules specifying whether and / or how rounding duties are verified and / or recorded in the EMR server 98. The rules for both the frequency of caregiver assistance and the required state of the patient support device 20 can be configured by the authorized individual 136 to change based on one or more factors. For example, the frequency of caregiver assistance and the status of the need for patient support devices 20 may vary for different wings of the healthcare facility, different units of the healthcare facility, different times of day and / or different shifts, different models of patient support devices, different patient health conditions, different patient treatments, different data stored in the EMR server 98, etc.

[0241] Local Rule 126( Figure 3 ) also includes additional administrative data stored on the nurse assistance server 90 or in memory accessible to the nurse assistance application 124. Such administrative data includes, but is not limited to, the IP address or other network address of each server with which the nurse assistance application 124 communicates (e.g., the EMR server 98, the ADT server 94, the patient support device server 86, the RTLS server 100, and the nurse call server 96), and / or the IP address or other configuration data required for the nurse assistance application 124 to communicate with one or more middleware software applications that serve as gateways to one or more of these servers. The administrative data may also include email addresses, passwords, telephone numbers, user names, access levels, and other information about hospital personnel who have been authorized to use the nurse assistance application 124. In some embodiments of the alarm algorithm 149, the email address and / or telephone number are used so that the nurse assistance application 124 can contact the mobile electronic device 104a (carried by the nurse) when there is an alarm or other information that is desired to be brought to the nurse's attention. Figure 4 ).

[0242] Data repository 128 ( Figure 3 ) stores data received by the caregiver assistance application 124 during its operation. This data includes patient support device status data sent from the patient support device 20 (in some embodiments via the patient support device server 86, in other embodiments directly), alarm data (e.g., when an alarm occurs, the reason, remedy, notification, etc.), round completion / incomplete data, verification data to verify the caregiver assistance (described in detail below), patient data from the decubitus ulcer risk reduction algorithm 141 and the fall risk reduction algorithm 143, and other data. The data repository 128 can be physically located on the server 90 (or another server), or can be cloud-based, or can be a combination of cloud-based storage and local storage maintained at the healthcare facility.

[0243] Communication interface 130 ( Figure 3 ) controls communications between the caregiver assistance application 124 and the electronic devices 104 with which it communicates. The communication interface 130 also controls communications between the caregiver assistance application 124 and the servers with which it communicates. In at least one embodiment, all of these communications are accomplished using conventional Internet packet routing. That is, the patient support device 20 sends data in packets having an IP address corresponding to the patient support device server 86 and / or the caregiver assistance server 90, and the servers 86 and / or 90 send message packets back to the patient support device 20 that include the IP address corresponding to the particular patient support device 20 to which the message is intended. In some embodiments, each patient support device 20 includes a static IP address stored on the patient support device 20, while in other embodiments, the patient support device 20 consults a local Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server (not shown) on the local area network 74, which assigns a network address to the patient support device.

[0244] When communicating with other servers within the healthcare institution, the communication interface 130 may use different communication interfaces, such as, but not limited to, Link Layer Protocol (LLP), Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS), and / or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), etc. To facilitate communication between the caregiver assistance server 90 and other servers on the local area network 74, the communication interface 130 may use a conventional interface engine, such as, but not limited to, the Redox cloud platform commercially available from Redox, Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin. Alternatively or in addition, the communication interface 130 may use the iGUANA conventional interface engine (or other engines) available from iNTERFACEWARE, Inc. of Toronto, Ontario. These interfaces enable the caregiver assistance application 124 to communicate with different types and / or brands of electronic health record (EHR) systems, such as, but not limited to, those sold by Cerner corporation, Epic Corporation, Allscripts, etc.

[0245] The Web API 132 provides a portal for authorized devices, software applications, and / or servers to access the data of the caregiver assistance application 124. In some embodiments, the electronic device 104 communicates with the caregiver assistance application 124 via the Web API 132 using its built-in web browser, which accesses one or more uniform resource locators (URLs) that direct it to the caregiver assistance application 124. In some embodiments, the Web API 132 communicates with the web browser of the electronic device 104 using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). In other embodiments, the Web API 132 communicates with the web browser of the electronic device 104 using Extensible Markup Language (XML). Other types of communication may also be used.

[0246] The Web API 132 can be configured to communicate with the electronic device 104 using the traditional GET, POST, DELETE, and UPDATE verbs of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). These verbs are used to provide REST (i.e., Representational State Transfer) services between the Web API and the electronic device 104. For those aspects of the caregiver assistance application 124 that utilize two-way interactive communication, traditional World Wide Web socket protocols (such as the WebSocket API in IETF RFC 6455 or Web IDL (Interface Description Language) standardized by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)) can be used for communication between the Web API 132 and the electronic device 104. Alternatively or in addition, traditional push and pull requests can be used for this communication as well as, but not limited to, server-sent events and / or long queries. Other communication technologies may also be used. In some embodiments, the aforementioned communications are encrypted so that at least those messages containing patient data are secure and anti-eavesdropping. In at least one embodiment, such encryption is provided as part of a RESTful Web Service (RWS).

[0247] The Web API 132 may also be used to accomplish additional communications with any server on the network 74 and / or for communicating with other software applications that are cloud-based (e.g., the device management system 918 described below) and / or unrelated to the caregiver assistance application 124.

[0248] In general, the caregiver rounds algorithm 140, the status / command algorithm 147, and the alert algorithm 149 of the caregiver assistance application 124 perform the following functions: collect data from the patient support devices 20 regarding their current status; transmit the patient support device data to the electronic device 104 remote from the caregiver assistance server 90; cause the electronic device 104 to display the patient support device status data thereon; cause the electronic device 104 to display reminders and / or other information on their displays to assist the caregivers in performing their rounds, fall prevention, skin care, and other tasks; receive patient data (rounds, skin, falls, etc.) which is received by the caregiver while performing multiple different input to the electronic device 104 during or after the rounds; transmit an alert to the caregiver when the patient support device status data indicates that the patient support device 20 is not in a required state or when a timer associated with the patient or the patient support device 20 has expired; forward patient support device commands received from the caregiver (via the electronic device 104) to the patient support device 20; receive verification data from the electronic device 104 and / or the patient support device 20 that verifies that the caregiver was present in the vicinity of the patient support device 20 when performing the rounds task; record the successful completion of the caregiver's task and the current state of the patient support device status data at the time the task was completed to the electronic medical record server 98 ( Figure 4); confirming that the caregiver is following the protocols of one or more healthcare institutions; automatically displaying screens on electronic devices selected based on the caregiver's location; temporarily sharing bed data, alarms, and reminders with other caregivers; communicating with and using the functionality of a remote equipment maintenance system that monitors the bed's usage and service history, as well as other information. The caregiver assistance application 124 also provides other functions and features. However, it should be understood that in some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 can be modified so that one or more of these functions and / or algorithms are modified, supplemented, and / or omitted. That is, in one embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 includes only a single algorithm and / or feature disclosed herein, in another embodiment, it includes all of the algorithms and / or features disclosed herein, and in other embodiments, it includes any combination of two or more of these algorithms / features but less than all of them.

[0249] The patient support device 20 is Figure 2 is shown in room 92 of an example representative medical facility. Figure 2 The patient support device 20 is also shown in communication with the medical facility's local area network 74. It should be understood that the exact structure and content of the local area network 74 will vary from medical facility to medical facility. Figure 4 The contents of a typical hospital's local area network 74 are shown in more detail, along with the other components of the caregiver assistance server 90 and the caregiver assistance system 106 .

[0250] like Figure 4 As shown in FIG, a local area network 74 includes a plurality of servers, including a conventional admission, discharge, and tracking (ADT) server, a conventional nurse call system server 96, a conventional electronic medical record server 98, a conventional real-time location system (RTLS) server 100, and a plurality of conventional wireless access points 76. The local area network 74 also includes a caregiver assistance server 90, which, along with one or more patient support devices 20 and one or more electronic devices (e.g., a mobile electronic device 104a or a stationary electronic device 104b), implements an embodiment of a caregiver assistance system 106 according to the present invention. Furthermore, the network 74 includes a conventional Internet gateway 108 that connects the local area network 74 to the Internet 110, thereby enabling the server and / or patient support device 20 to communicate with computers outside the healthcare facility, such as, but not limited to, a geographically remote server 112. In some embodiments, all or a portion of the functions of the caregiver assistance server 90 are performed by the geographically remote server 112, while in other embodiments, the caregiver assistance server 90 is configured to perform all of its functions without accessing the geographically remote server 112.

[0251] The ADT server 94 stores patient information, including the patient's identity and the corresponding room 92 and / or compartment within the room assigned to the patient. Specifically, the ADT server 94 includes a patient room assignment table 114 or equivalent functionality. The patient room assignment table associates rooms, and compartments within a multi-patient room, with the names of individual patients within the healthcare facility. Whenever a patient arrives and registers at the healthcare facility and is assigned to a specific room within the healthcare facility, the patient's name is entered into the ADT server 94 by one or more healthcare facility staff members. If and / or when a patient is transferred to a different room and / or discharged from the healthcare facility, the healthcare facility staff updates the ADT server 94. Thus, the ADT server 94 maintains an updated table 114 associating patient names with their assigned rooms. The ADT server 94 may be a conventional server sold by Cerner Corporation of North Kansas City, Missouri, EPIC Systems of Madison, Wisconsin, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, and / or other companies. Of course, other types of ADT servers 94 may also be used.

[0252] EMR Server 98 Figure 4 ) stores individual patient records. Such patient records identify the patient by name and medical information associated with the patient. The aforementioned medical information may include all medical information generated from the patient's current stay in the medical facility as well as medical information from previous visits. EMR table 116 shows a simplified example of two types of medical information items commonly found within a patient's medical record: a fall risk item that indicates whether the patient is at risk for falling, and a decubitus ulcer risk item that indicates whether the patient is at risk for developing a decubitus ulcer. Although Figure 4 While the data for these items will be expressed as text, it should be understood that the data may be stored in a numerical format within the medical record. For example, fall risk data may be stored as a numerical value generated from a traditional fall risk assessment tool such as, but not limited to, the Morse Fall Risk Scale or the Hester-Davis Fall Risk Scale. Similarly, decubitus ulcer data may be stored as a numerical value generated from a traditional decubitus ulcer risk assessment tool such as, but not limited to, a scale. As noted, the EMR server 98 includes in each patient's medical record a table containing information about the patient's medical history. Figure 4116, some of which, for example, visit data, are described in more detail below. It should be understood that the term "EMR server" as used herein also includes an electronic health record server, or simply an EHR server, and the present invention does not distinguish between electronic medical records and electronic health records. The EMR server 98 can be a conventional server sold by Cerner Corporation of North Kansas City, Missouri, EPIC Systems of Madison, Wisconsin, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, and / or other companies. Of course, other types of EMR servers 98 can also be used.

[0253] RTLS server 100( Figure 4 ) is a traditional server that may exist within a given medical institution. When present, the RTLS server 100 tracks the current location of people and devices within the medical institution. In many cases, the RTLS server tracks one or more tags 120 ( Figure 4 )'s current location. Such a tag 120 may be an RF ID tag or other type of tag. The RTLS table 118 provides examples of the types of location data that the RTLS server 100 may contain for a caregiver. As shown therein, table 118 shows the current location of two caregivers, one shown by a room number (e.g., room 400) and the other shown by a general location (e.g., a hallway). Other types of location data may also be included. Furthermore, as noted, some healthcare facilities may not include the aforementioned RTLS server 100, and the caregiver assistance system 106 may be fully functional without such a server. The RTLS server 100 may be a conventional Centrak server sold by Halma plc of Amersham, United Kingdom, or it may be a conventional RTLS server sold by Stanley Healthcare of Waltham, Massachusetts. Of course, other types of RTLS servers 100 may also be used.

[0254] Nurse Call Server 96 Figure 41 and 2. The nurse call system 80 is shown as including a caregiver assignment table 122 that matches caregivers to specific rooms and / or cubicles within the healthcare facility. Although the table 122 only shows caregivers assigned to a single room, it should be understood that each caregiver is typically assigned to multiple rooms. In some nurse call systems 80, caregivers are assigned to specific patients rather than specific rooms. The caregiver assistance system 106 is configured to work with both types of nurse call systems 80. The caregiver assistance system 106 is also suitable for working with healthcare facilities that use a separate caregiver assignment server (not shown) rather than the nurse call server 96 to assign caregivers to rooms and / or patients. The nurse call server 96 can be a traditional server sold by Rauland (now owned by Ametek, Inc. of Berwyn, Pennsylvania), by West-Com Nurse Call System, Inc. of Fairfield, California, and / or by other companies.

[0255] Regardless of whether the caregiver assignment table 122 is stored within the nurse call server 96 or some other server on the network 74, the nurse call server 96 is configured to communicate with the caregiver and the patient. That is, whenever the patient on the patient support device 20 presses or initiates a nurse call, a nurse call signal is transmitted via the nurse call cable 78 to the nurse call jack 82. The nurse call jack 82 is wired to the nurse call server 96 and / or another structure of the nurse call system 80, which then routes the call to the appropriate nurse. This allows the nurse to communicate with the patient from a remote location. In some nurse call systems 80, the nurse call server 96 can also forward alarms and / or other communications to a portable wireless device carried by the caregiver and / or an audio station located in the patient's room 92. In at least one embodiment, the portable wireless device is the same as the mobile electronic device 104a described herein.

[0256] The local area network 74 may include Figure 4 Additional structures shown in the FIGURE include, but are not limited to, one or more conventional workflow servers and / or chart servers for monitoring and / or planning patient-related tasks for a particular caregiver, and / or one or more conventional communication servers for forwarding communications to specific individuals within the healthcare facility, such as via one or more portable devices (smartphones, pagers, paging devices, laptops, etc.). The forwarded communications may include data and / or alerts originating from the patient support device 20 and data and / or alerts originating from the caregiver assistance server 90.

[0257] In at least some embodiments, the wireless access point 76 is configured to operate in accordance with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards (802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ah, etc.). Thus, patient support devices 20 and electronic devices 104a, 104b equipped with Wi-Fi capabilities and having appropriate authorization credentials (e.g., password, SSID, etc.) can access the local area network 74 and the servers hosted thereon. This enables the patient support device 20 to send and receive messages to and from the patient support device server 86 and / or the caregiver assistance server 90. This also enables the electronic device 104 to send and receive messages to and from the patient support device server 86 and / or the caregiver assistance server 90. As previously noted, alternatively or additionally, the patient support device 20 can include a wired port for connecting a wired cable (e.g., Category 5, Category 5e, etc.) between the patient support device 20 and one or more routers / gateways / switches, etc., of the network 74, thereby enabling the patient support device 20 to communicate with the servers 86 and / or 90 via wired communication.

[0258] In other embodiments, one or more patient support devices 20 are equipped with alternative wireless transceivers, enabling them to communicate directly with the patient support device server 86 and / or the caregiver assistance server 90 via an antenna and transceiver directly connected to the server 86 and / or 90 and separate from the LAN 74, thereby enabling the patient support device 20 to bypass the LAN 74 when communicating with the server 86 and / or 90. An example of a patient support device configured to communicate directly with a server on a healthcare facility's local area network without using a LAN is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 831,466, filed Dec. 5, 2017, by inventor Michael Hayes, entitled "NETWORK COMMUNICATION FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the patient support device 20 includes a communication module, such as the communication module 66 disclosed in the aforementioned '466 application, and the server 86 and / or 90 is directly connected to a receiver, such as the enterprise receiver 90 disclosed in the aforementioned '466 application. In such an embodiment, the patient support device 20 can send and receive messages directly to and from the servers 86 and / or 90 without using the access point 76 or any hardware of the network 74 other than the servers 86 and / or 90 .

[0259] The caregiver assistance server 90 constructs a table 218 ( Figure 4 ).like Figure 4As shown in FIG, table 218 associates the various patient support devices 20 and their current status with the caregivers specifically assigned to those patient support devices 20. Although not shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown in FIG21 , table 218 can also associate caregivers and their patient support devices 20 with specific rooms within a healthcare facility. To construct table 218, the caregiver assistance application 124 receives unique patient support device identifiers 186 from the patient support device server 86, along with the current status of the patient support devices 20. The caregiver assistance application 124 determines which caregivers are associated with each of these patient support devices 20 based on the caregiver-room assignment data (i.e., data from table 122) it receives from the nurse call server 96 and the room-patient support device data (i.e., data from table 88) it receives from the patient support device server 86. The caregiver assistance server 90 is thus provided with sufficient data to understand the current status of each patient support device 20, the room to which each patient support device 20 is assigned, the caregiver assigned to the room and / or patient support device 20, the patient assigned to each patient support device 20, and each patient's fall risk and / or decubitus ulcer risk (if known). Furthermore, in those embodiments that include an RTLS server 100, the caregiver assistance server 90 is also provided with sufficient data to know the current location of each caregiver.

[0260] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to determine patient-room, patient-bed, patient-bed compartment, patient-caregiver, caregiver-room, caregiver-patient support device, and / or caregiver-bed compartment associations in any manner disclosed in U.S. patent application 62 / 826,097, filed on March 29, 2019, by inventors Thomas Durlach et al., entitled “PATIENT CARE SYSTEM,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 can be further modified to implement any staffing error and other error notification functions, as disclosed in the aforementioned '097 application.

[0261] Figure 5 1 shows a main algorithm 226 executed by the caregiver assistance application 124 in at least one embodiment of the present invention. The main algorithm 226 is executed by one or more processors of the caregiver assistance server 90 while the caregiver assistance server 90 is executing the caregiver assistance application 124. The main algorithm 226 begins at an initial access step 142, where a user accesses the caregiver assistance application 124. The initial step 142 is executed at Figure 5The dashed line is presented to indicate that step 142 is performed by the user rather than the caregiver assistance application 124 itself. The remaining steps of the algorithm 226 are performed by the caregiver assistance application 124.

[0262] Initial step 142 is performed by a user operating one of the electronic devices 104 used in conjunction with the caregiver assistance application 124. The caregiver assistance system 106 includes one or more electronic devices 104 that communicate with the caregiver assistance server 90 and its caregiver assistance application 124. These electronic devices 104 utilize the caregiver assistance application 124 to receive status data from the patient support device 20 and to send and receive caregiver assistance data. In other words, the caregiver assistance application 124 acts as an intermediary between the electronic devices 104 and the patient support device 20, as well as between the electronic devices 104 and other servers, such as the EMR server 98 and / or the nurse call server 96. The caregiver assistance application 124 also performs other functions, as described below.

[0263] The electronic device 104 has many different forms. Figure 4 As shown in , some electronic devices 104a are mobile electronic devices intended to be carried by users (e.g., caregivers), while other electronic devices 104b are stationary electronic devices that are typically kept in one location. The mobile electronic devices 104a can take different forms, such as, but not limited to, smartphones, tablet computers, laptops, computers on wheels (COWs), and other electronic devices. The stationary electronic devices 104b can also take different forms, such as, but not limited to, televisions, monitors, personal computers (PCs), and other electronic devices. For the purposes of the following written description, the caregiver assistance system 106 will be described in conjunction with an electronic device 104 that accesses the caregiver assistance system 106 via a traditional web browser. However, it should be understood that in other embodiments, the electronic device 104 can be modified to run specialized software applications that are downloaded to the electronic device 104 and adjusted to be suitable for running by a specific operating system (e.g., Android, iOS, Windows, etc.) of the electronic device. The specialized software applications are run by the microcontroller of the electronic device 104 and perform the functions of the caregiver assistance system 106.

[0264] In order for a caregiver with an electronic device 104 to access the caregiver assistance system 106, the caregiver uses a web browsing application contained in the electronic device 104 to go to a web page or other URL associated with the caregiver assistance application 124. Any conventional web browsing application can be used for this purpose, including but not limited to Microsoft's Bing or Internet Explorer web browsers, Google's Chrome web browser, Apple's Safari web browser, Mozilla's Firefox web browser, etc. The specific URL accessed with the web browser may vary from one medical institution to another and may be customized by authorized IT personnel of the medical institution. In some embodiments, a domain name (e.g., www.caregiver-assistance-app.com) may be associated with the caregiver assistance application 124, which is resolved to the IP address of the caregiver assistance server 90 by a local DNS server. In other embodiments, access to the caregiver assistance system 106 may be achieved in other ways.

[0265] Once at the initial webpage corresponding to the caregiver assistance application 124 , the caregiver assistance application 124 instructs the web browser of the electronic device 104 to display a login screen on the display of the electronic device 104 . Figure 7 An example of such a login screen 144 is shown. The login screen 144 is Figure 7 104a. This is merely illustrative of one specific type of electronic device 104 with which the caregiver assistance system 106 may be used. Other types of electronic devices 104 may also be used, and a number of different figures show illustrative screens of the caregiver assistance system 106 that do not show the specific type of electronic device 104 on which they are displayed (other than Figure 7 and 65 -67), which serves to re-emphasize the device-agnostic nature of the caregiver assistance system 106.

[0266] Login screen 144 includes a username field 146 in which the user is asked to enter his or her username and a password field 148 in which the user is asked to enter his or her password. To allow the user to enter this information, he or she uses conventional input features of electronic device 104. Thus, for example, when electronic device 104 includes a touchscreen display and the user touches or selects either field 146, 148, in some embodiments, electronic device 104 displays an image of an alphanumeric keyboard on its display that the user can use to enter his or her username and password. After entering this information into fields 146, 148, the user presses the "enter" or "return" button, or touches the login icon 150 shown on login screen 144. If electronic device 104 does not include a touchscreen display, the user can use a conventional keyboard, a mouse or other pointer, or other methods to enter the username and login information.

[0267] The caregiver assistance application 124 receives the user's username and password at step 152 of the main algorithm 226 ( Figure 5 That is, the username and password entered by the user into the electronic device 104 are transmitted by the electronic device 104 to the caregiver assistance server 90. As mentioned, this can be done in a conventional manner using the WiFi or other network communication capabilities of the electronic device 104. Once the caregiver assistance application 124 receives the username and password, it proceeds to step 171 to determine the level of access (if any) that is authorized to the user. In many embodiments, this determination is based on Figure 62 , as described in the description of the access algorithm 153, the caregiver assistance application 124 can use the rule base 126 to see if the username and password match an authorized user. The local rule base 126 contains information entered into the application 124 by authorized representatives of the medical institution in which the caregiver assistance application 124 is installed. This information includes a list of those individuals who are authorized to use the caregiver assistance application 124, including the username and password (and other data such as their authorization level, email address, phone number, etc.) and what level of access is authorized for each such individual.

[0268] If the username and password match the authorization items in the local rule base 126, the caregiver assistance application 124 determines at step 171 (via algorithm 153) what level of access the user is authorized to. For the purposes of the following description of the main algorithm 226, it will be assumed that the user is a caregiver, although Figure 62 As mentioned in the description of FIG, the user may also be an administrator or technician (and other classifications are also possible). After determining that the user is an authorized caregiver, the algorithm 226 proceeds to step 173 to determine which screen to display on the user's electronic device 104. In step 173, the selection of the display screen is performed. In some embodiments, it is based on the following combination of Figure 63 The screen selection algorithm 139 described further is performed. Figure 5 In the example shown, the algorithm 226 is configured to select between two basic screen types: a room list screen and a room overview screen. Figure 8 、 59 , 84 and 91 show four examples of room list screens 156, 156a, 156b and 156c, while several figures show examples of room overview screens (e.g. Figure 9 Room overview screen 162, Figure 58 If the caregiver assistance application 124 determines at step 173 to display the room list screen, it proceeds to step 154. If the caregiver assistance application 124 determines at step 173 to display the room overview screen, it proceeds to step 157.

[0269] If you can Figure 8 As can be seen, the room list screen 156 displays a plurality of rows, each row including a room identifier 158 that identifies a particular room 92 within the healthcare facility in which the caregiver assistance system 106 is installed. In the illustrated embodiment, a specific selection is made of which rooms are listed in the room list screen 156 corresponding to the particular person who has just logged into the caregiver assistance application 124. That is, each caregiver is assigned an administrative access level to the data contained within the caregiver assistance application 124 (see algorithms 153, Figure 62 ). This assignment is made by one or more authorized individuals 136 who initially set up the caregiver assistance application 124. In at least one embodiment, caregivers are assigned an access level that only allows them to view the rooms assigned to them. Caregiver managers can be granted a higher access level, allowing them to view all rooms for all caregivers they supervise. Administrators can be granted an even higher access level, allowing them to view all rooms in the entire healthcare facility. Other types of access levels can also be used and / or created, with the rules defining the access level architecture stored in the local rule base 126.

[0270] The caregiver assistance application 124 automatically determines which rooms a particular caregiver has been assigned to by communicating with a server on the local area network 74 that maintains the caregiver's room assignments. Figure 4In the example shown, the nurse call server 96 is shown as including a nurse-room assignment table 122 that stores the room assignments for the nurses within the healthcare facility. As previously mentioned, the nurse-room assignment table 122 may be stored on a different server. During installation of the nurse assist application 124, an authorized administrator enters the IP address of the server containing the nurse-room assignment table 122 (and / or other data required to access the nurse-room assignment table 122). Similar data is entered for all other servers and tables discussed herein. After the user successfully logs in at step 152 of the algorithm 140, the nurse assist application 124 sends a message to the server with the nurse-room assignment table 122. The message requests an updated list of rooms that are assigned to the nurse who just logged in. Upon receiving this information, the nurse assist application 124 displays those rooms on the display of the electronic device 104 (or, more precisely, causes the web browser to display those rooms on the display of the electronic device 104). Thus, in Figure 8 In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the caregiver assistance application 124 displays rooms 7090 - 7096 , which correspond to the rooms assigned to the particular caregiver who is using the caregiver assistance application 124 .

[0271] In some medical facilities, caregivers may be assigned to specific patients rather than specific rooms. In such a situation, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured in at least two alternative ways. In a first way, the caregiver assistance application 124 continues to display the room list, e.g. Figure 8 In a second mode, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a patient list screen that displays each patient assigned to the caregiver instead of the rooms assigned to the caregiver. When configured in either mode, the caregiver assistance application 124 determines the data to display by sending a request to a specific server within the healthcare organization that maintains data sufficient to associate a specific caregiver with a specific patient. Figure 4 In the particular embodiment shown, there is no server that associates patients with caregivers. However, by using the patient-room assignment table 114 in conjunction with another server that stores caregiver-room assignments (such as table 122), the caregiver assistance application 124 is able to determine which specific patients are assigned to specific caregivers and which rooms 92 within the medical facility those specific patients are located in.

[0272] For example, if the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to display a room list screen 156 ( Figure 8), the caregiver assistance application 124 sends a first request message and a second request message. The first request message is sent to a server that maintains a table associating caregivers with the specific patients they have been assigned to care for. The second request is sent to the ADT server 94 and requests a list of specific rooms in which the patients assigned to the caregiver are located. By using the data retrieved from these two requests, the caregiver assistance application 124 is able to determine which specific patients the caregiver has been assigned to and which rooms those patients have been assigned to. Thus, the caregiver assistance application 124 is able to display the room list screen 156 in a manner that is tailored to the specific caregiver who is using the caregiver assistance application 124.

[0273] In those embodiments where the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to display the patients assigned to a particular caregiver instead of the patient room list screen 156, the caregiver assistance application 124 need not send the first request message mentioned above. Instead, it can send a single request message to a specific server that stores a table (or other data structure) that associates caregivers with specific patients. The caregiver assistance application 124 then displays a list of those patients assigned to the particular caregiver on the display screen of the electronic device used by the particular caregiver.

[0274] Furthermore, in some embodiments, a particular healthcare facility may assign rooms to specific caregivers but may wish to have the room list screen 156 replaced by a patient list screen that identifies specific patients assigned to a specific caregiver. The caregiver assistance application 124 can be configured to accommodate this desire. To do so, the caregiver assistance application 124 sends a message to the nurse call server 96 requesting room assignment for that specific caregiver and a message to the ADT server 94 requesting patient assignment for a specific room. Using data from these requests, the caregiver assistance application 124 can determine which patients are assigned to which caregivers and, therefore, can display the patient list screen in place of or in addition to the room list screen 156. This can be configured by authorized individuals 136 and stored in the rules repository 126.

[0275] It should be noted that while most electronic devices 104 are associated with a specific caregiver, this is not always the case, particularly for stationary electronic devices 104b. Stationary electronic devices 104b, which may include large-screen smart TVs, may be associated with a specific department, a specific nurses' station, a wing, a floor, and / or other division within the healthcare facility. For these devices, login credentials may be tailored to the specific location and / or intended function of that particular electronic device 104b. For example, a stationary electronic device 104b may be associated with the Oncology Department, the East Wing, nurses' station XYZ, the second floor, room AG, and so on. In such scenarios, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to assign a device-specific username and password to each such electronic device 104. Thus, for example, if a particular electronic device 104 is located at a nurses' station within the pediatric oncology department, that electronic device 104 may be assigned the username "Pediatric Oncology Display" and have its own specific password. Once an authorized user has logged into the caregiver assistance application 124 on the device, the caregiver assistance application displays room and / or patient data corresponding to the pediatric oncology department on that particular device. The room and / or patient data may include rooms and / or patients assigned to multiple caregivers, thereby enabling the electronic device 104 to display more than the information associated with a single caregiver.

[0276] Regardless of whether the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the room list screen 156 or the patient list screen ( Figure 5 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 is further configured to display a status indicator 160 ( Figure 8 The status summary 160 provides additional information regarding the status of the patient in the room and / or the patient support device 20 assigned to the room. Thus, for example, the status indicator 160 may indicate that the patient is at risk for a fall or a decubitus ulcer, that the patient support device 20 is currently vacant, that the patient support device 20 is in compliance or non-compliance, and / or that one or more tasks (e.g., a fall risk assessment, a skin care assessment, a round, etc.) are pending for that particular patient and / or room.

[0277] The caregiver assistance application 124 receives the data needed to display the status summary 160 by communicating with one or more servers on the local area network 74. In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 receives all patient support device data from a patient support device server 86, which can be a commercially available bed status server, such as, but not limited to, the iBed server available from Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Further details of the iBed server can be found in the Stryker Installation / Configuration Manual for iBedServer 2.0, published May 2016 by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan (Document 5212-209-001 REV A), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In other embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to receive patient support device status data directly from the patient support device 20 itself, rather than through an intermediary server such as the iBed server mentioned above.

[0278] The caregiver assistance application 124 receives patient data and protocol data from the EMR server 98 and / or the ADT server 94. In addition to patient room assignments, the ADT server 94 may also contain requirement data that identifies one or more protocols that the healthcare facility requires its caregivers to follow when caring for one or more patients. These requirement data may, for example, specify what assessments should be performed on a patient, such as an assessment of the patient's fall risk and / or decubitus ulcer risk. Alternatively, these requirement data may be stored elsewhere, such as, but not limited to, a local rule base 126. In some embodiments, the requirement data specifying which assessments (falls, skin, etc.) should be performed on a given patient may depend on the patient's location within the healthcare facility. For example, some healthcare facilities may configure the local rule base 126 so that all patients in a particular wing, floor, or other section receive a fall risk assessment and a skin assessment, while patients in a different location receive only one of these assessments or none of these assessments. When a new patient is admitted to the healthcare facility (as determined from communications with the ADT server 94), the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically checks these local rules and, if an assessment is not already recorded in the EMR server 98 (which may have been sent there by the caregiver assistance application 124 itself or another device), displays a reminder on a number of different screens associated with that patient that the aforementioned assessment is required.

[0279] Thus, when a new patient enters the healthcare facility, the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically determines from the server 94 and / or the rules repository 126 (or another location) whether the particular patient is supposed to undergo a fall assessment, a decubitus ulcer assessment, or other assessment. If so, the caregiver assistance application 124 further sends a query to the EMR server 98 to determine whether such an assessment has been completed for the particular patient. If not, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the status indicator 160 as "Not Completed" ( Figure 8 ).exist Figure 8 In the example shown in , the patient in room 7092 has not yet undergone a fall risk assessment, which information is shown in the status indicator 160 corresponding to room 7092.

[0280] Now more specifically turn to Figure 8 In the example shown in FIG, the caregiver assistance application 124 receives the data required to indicate that the patient in room 7093 is at risk of falling from the EMR server 98 or data repository 128. The caregiver assistance application 124 requests and receives data from the patient support device server 86 indicating that the rooms 7090 and 7091 are "safety beds." Figure 8 The term "Safe Bed" displayed in the status indicator 160 for rooms 7090 and 7091 means that the patient support devices 20 in these rooms are currently configured in their desired state. The "desired state" may be a preprogrammed part of the caregiver assistance system 106, may be defined by the fall risk reduction protocol 93, the decubitus ulcer risk reduction protocol 95, or another healthcare facility protocol, and / or it may be modified and / or customized by the authorized individual 136. In any of these situations, the definition of the desired state or "Safe Bed" is stored in the local rule base 126. In some embodiments, a particular patient support device 20 is considered to be in the "Safe Bed" state if all of the following conditions are true: the departure detection system 46 is armed, the brakes are activated, the mattress 28 is at its lowest height (or within a specified range of its lowest height), and at least three of the siderails 36 are in the raised position. As mentioned, the "Safe Bed" state can be modified to also include one or more of the following: a requirement that the A / C cable 102 be plugged into an A / C power outlet; a requirement that the nurse call cable 78 be plugged into the nurse call jack 82; a requirement that the monitoring function of the patient support device 20 be armed; and / or other requirements. Furthermore, the "Safe Bed" state can be modified to remove one or more of the above-mentioned conditions.

[0281] As previously mentioned, the caregiver assistance application 124 determines whether a patient in a particular room requires an assessment by checking the EMR server 98, the data repository 128, and / or one or more other servers on the local area network that define what assessments will be performed, when they will be performed, and whether they will be re-performed (and if so, when). In some embodiments, in addition to or in lieu of sending the completion of one or more of these assessments to the EMR server 98, the caregiver assistance application 124 also records this data in the data repository 128. As will be described in more detail below, in at least some embodiments, one or more of these assessments may be completed using the electronic device 104 and / or the patient support device 20 and sent from either or both of these devices to the EMR server 98. Alternatively, the aforementioned assessments may be performed by other devices that forward their results to the EMR server 98. Figure 8 In the specific example shown in , the caregiver assistance application 124 has determined that the patient in room 7092 has not yet undergone a fall risk assessment and, therefore, displays “Fall Risk Assessment” in the status indicator 160 associated with room 7092.

[0282] Similarly, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to display the results of any patient assessments that the caregiver should be aware of in the status indicator 160. Figure 8 In the example shown in FIG709 , the caregiver assistance application 124 displays “Fall Risk Patient” for the status indicator 160 associated with room 7094. This indicates that a fall risk assessment has been performed on the patient in room 7094 and that the assessment indicates that this particular patient is at a higher risk of falling. The results of this fall risk assessment are typically stored in the EMR server 98 and / or the data repository 128, and the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to request these results from either or both locations and display them in the status indicator 160 when a fall risk (or decubitus ulcer risk, or other risk) has been detected.

[0283] The caregiver assistance application 124 is also configured to display in a status indicator 160 whether the patient support device 20 is currently occupied by a patient. This information is obtained from a weight sensor, such as a load cell, included within the scale / exit detection system 46 of each patient support device 20. Each patient support device 20 periodically transmits its weight reading to the patient support device server 86. These weight readings are forwarded to the caregiver assistance server 90. If the weight reading is less than a threshold value (e.g., 50 pounds), the caregiver assistance application 124 infers that the patient support device 20 is not occupied and may display this information in the status indicator 160 (or it may display other information configured to have a higher priority, such as, but not limited to, any assessments that need to be performed for this particular patient). The aforementioned information may be displayed in the status indicator 160 using the words "No weight detected" or "Patient not in bed" or some other text indicating that the patient support device 20 has not detected a patient.

[0284] exist Figure 8 In the example shown, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the word "Empty" for rooms 7095 and 7096. This indicates that no patient is currently assigned to those rooms. The caregiver assistance application 124 determines this information by sending a request to the ADT server 94 asking for patient information for those rooms 92 assigned to the particular caregiver currently using the caregiver assistance system 106. In this example, the ADT server 94 instructs the caregiver assistance application 124 that rooms 7095 and 7096 are not assigned to any patients. Therefore, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays "Empty" in the status indicators 160 for those rooms.

[0285] It should be understood that Figure 8 The examples of information displayed in the status indicator 160 shown are only a few examples of the types of information that may be displayed on the room list screen 156. The caregiver assistance application 124 may be modified to display less, more, and / or different information in the status summary 160, and / or eliminate it entirely. Furthermore, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to display the status summary 160 in different colors depending on the information content of the status indicator 160. Thus, for example, tasks that require completion may be highlighted in a different color (e.g., orange); information indicating that tasks have not been completed within a specified time period and / or that patient support devices 20 do not meet the required status may be highlighted in another color (e.g., red); and information indicating that no tasks or non-compliant statuses exist may be highlighted in yet another color (e.g., green). Alerts may be indicated in the status summary by flashing text or by other means.

[0286] Returning to the main algorithm 226 of the caregiver assistance system 106 ( Figure 5), the main algorithm 226 proceeds from step 154 ​​to step 155. At step 155 of the main algorithm 226, the caregiver assistance application 124 determines whether the caregiver has manually selected a particular room from the rooms listed on the room list screen 156. If the caregiver has not manually selected a particular room, the algorithm 226 returns to step 173 and re-executes algorithm 139 to determine whether to change the currently displayed screen. As a result of re-execution of algorithm 139, the caregiver assistance application 124 will either continue to display the room list screen 156 (by returning to step 154 ​​after re-execution of algorithm 139 at step 173) or it will automatically begin displaying the room overview screen at step 157. The trigger for this automatic display of the room overview screen is further described below in conjunction with algorithm 139.

[0287] Regardless of whether the caregiver assistance application 124 reaches step 157 from step 155 or step 173, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the room overview screen 162 on the screen of the electronic device 104, e.g. Figure 9 Room overview screen 162 (or Figure 58 Thus, if the user manually navigates to (or is automatically taken to) the room listing screen 156 at any point while using the caregiver assistance application 124, he or she can press (or select) a particular room listed on the room listing screen 156. The caregiver assistance application 124 responds to that selection by displaying the room overview screen 162 corresponding to the particular room 92 selected by the user. Figure 9 The particular room overview screen 162 shown in FIG is therefore displayed by the caregiver assistance application 124 when the user specifically selects room 7093 from the room list screen 156. The caregiver assistance application 124 may also include other tools for enabling the user to navigate to the room overview screen 162, such as, but not limited to, a search function in which a room number may be entered / searched.

[0288] Room Overview Screen 162 ( Figure 9 ) displays information about a specific room 92 within the healthcare facility and the patients associated with that room 92. It should be understood that the room overview screen 162 can be changed to a stall overview screen or other type of overview screen if the specific room that the caregiver has selected is a semi-private room that contains more than one patient support device 20 or patient. In such an embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a stall overview screen (not shown) similar to the room overview screen 162 for the specific stall that the caregiver has selected within the semi-private room (or displays an overview screen listing a combination of rooms and stalls).

[0289] The room overview screen 162 (or similar cubicle overview screen) includes a bed icon 164, an absence detection system status indicator 166, a bed monitoring status indicator 168, a bed status bar 170, a summary area 172, and a task menu 174 ( Figure 9 ). The bed icon 164 includes a plurality of guardrail icons 176 positioned along the sides of the bed icon 164. Within each guardrail icon 176 is an indicator (not labeled) including the word "up" or "down." The caregiver assistance application 124 selectively displays the "up" or "down" designation within the guardrail icons 176 based on the current state of the guardrails 36 of the patient support device 20 in the room 7093. The caregiver assistance application 124 receives the raised / lowered state of each siderail 36 from the patient support device server 86 and displays "up" or "down" to match the current siderail state of the patient support device 20. In at least some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 is also configured to display the guardrail icons 176 in a different color, such as, but not limited to, amber, when the siderails are in the lowered state. This distinguishes these guardrail icons 176 from those guardrail icons corresponding to the siderails 36 being in the raised position (which may be displayed in green or some other color).

[0290] Leave detection system status indicator 166 ( Figure 9 ) indicates the current status of the scale / exit detection system 46 of the corresponding patient support device 20 (e.g., the patient support device 20 located in room 7093). That is, the status indicator 166 indicates whether the exit detection system 46 is currently armed. It also indicates what zone of the exit detection system the user has selected, if the exit detection system is armed and includes multiple zones. Many exit detection systems are configured to enable the user to select different zones of permitted movement. Different zones allow the patient to move different amounts before the exit detection system issues an alarm. In Figure 9 In the example shown in FIG. 4 , the patient support device 20 includes a departure detection system 46 having three regions, the second region being highlighted. Figure 9 , is marked as disarmed (off). The caregiver assistance application 124 displays an "armed" or "on" indicator when the exit detection system 46 is armed and highlights the selected zone (1, 2, or 3). Further information regarding the operation of the zones and / or the exit detection system that may be included in the patient support device 20 and used in the caregiver assistance system 106 can be found in U.S. patent application 14 / 918,003, filed October 20, 2015, by inventors Marko Kostic et al., entitled "EXIT DETECTION SYSTEM WITH COMPENSATION," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0291] Bed monitoring status indicator 168 ( Figure 9) indicates whether the bed monitoring system of the patient support device 20 is on or off. The bed monitoring system is a monitoring feature included in some embodiments of the patient support device 20, but may be omitted in other embodiments. Generally, the bed monitoring system, when enabled, causes the controller 48 to monitor the status of various components of the patient support device 20 to issue an alarm if any of these components changes from a desired state to an undesirable state. In several embodiments, the specific characteristics monitored by the bed monitoring system are defined by the patient fall risk reduction protocol 93 ( Figure 2 ). The patient fall risk reduction protocol 93 also defines what the required status is for each specific component monitored by the bed monitoring system.

[0292] For example, if the bed monitoring system is enabled and includes monitoring of the siderails 36 of the patient support device 20, the controller 48 of the patient support device 20 will issue an alarm if one or more siderails are lowered or moved to an undesirable position. Generally speaking, when the bed monitoring system is included in a particular patient support device 20, the bed monitoring system, when enabled, will monitor and issue an alarm upon detecting any of the following changes to the patient support device 20: the departure detection system 46 being disengaged; the siderails 36 being lowered; the patient leaving the patient support device 20; the brakes being deactivated; the bed height being raised beyond a specified level; the A / C power cord 102 being unplugged; and / or the nurse call cable 78 being unplugged. The specific components of the patient support device 20 that the bed monitoring system monitors and triggers an alarm upon a change can be selected by an authorized user, such as the authorized individual 136. This selection can be made via one of the control panels 42 of the patient support device 20, one of the electronic devices 104, and / or a computer in communication with the caregiver assistance server 90. The alarm issued by the patient support device 20 in response to the bed monitoring system detecting an undesirable condition can be a local alarm (at the patient support device 20), a remote alarm (e.g., sent to the patient support device server 86 and / or the caregiver assistance application 124), or a combination of local and remote alarms. The user can select from these different types of alarms via the patient support device 20, the electronic device 104, and / or a computer in communication with the server 90.

[0293] The bed status bar 170 provides additional information about the current status of the patient support device 20 ( Figure 9). This includes: an indication of whether the brakes on the patient support device 20 are engaged; information indicating whether the pad 28 is at its lowest height; information indicating whether the nurse call cable 78 is plugged into the nurse call jack 82; and information indicating whether the A / C power cord 102 is plugged into the A / C jack. All information shown in the status bar 170 (as well as all patient support device 20 data displayed by the caregiver assistance application 124) is sent by the patient support device 20 (via the transceiver 60) to the patient support device server 86, which in turn forwards this information to the caregiver assistance server 90 and the caregiver assistance application 124. However, in some modified embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 and the caregiver assistance server 90 are configured to receive information directly from the patient support device 20, thereby avoiding the need for a separate patient support device server 86.

[0294] Bed status bar 170( Figure 9 ) is updated in real time or near real time. In most embodiments of the patient support device 20, the patient support devices 20 are configured to automatically (and near immediately) transmit their status to the patient support device server 86 when their status changes. Thus, for example, if the nurse call cable 78 is unplugged from the nurse call jack 82, the patient support device 20 automatically and near immediately thereafter sends a message to the patient support device server 86. The patient support device server 86 automatically and near immediately forwards this status update to the caregiver assistance application 124. The caregiver assistance application 124, in turn, updates the information displayed in the bed status bar 170 to indicate that the nurse call cable has been unplugged. A caregiver who may be remote from a particular room 92 and / or a particular patient support device 20 thus receives real time or near real time updates on the status of the patient support device 20 while using the caregiver assistance application 124.

[0295] The summary area 172 ( Figure 9 ) lists one or more information about the patient, the patient support device 20 of the patient, the room assigned to that particular patient, and / or any data generated from the reminder algorithm 145. Figure 9 In the example shown in FIG, the summary area 172 includes a reminder to set or arm the departure detection system 46, and more specifically, a reminder to select zone 2 when arming it. This data comes from the task list 886 (described below) input by any one or more of the algorithms 140, 141, and 143 and / or by the manual task list modification algorithm 151. Figure 57The manual task list modification algorithm 151 enables a caregiver to select one or more tasks associated with a patient and / or patient support device 20 , schedule those tasks, cause reminders to be issued via the caregiver assistance application 124 , and display data regarding those reminders in the summary area 172 .

[0296] The summary area 172 also includes an item reiterating the fact that the nurse call cable 78 has been disconnected. In addition, the summary area 172 includes an item reminding the caregiver of any upcoming tasks scheduled for that particular patient, room, and / or patient support device 20. Figure 7 In a specific example, the summary area 172 of the room overview screen 162 includes a reminder to turn the patient in room 7093 in 33 minutes. This task data is automatically input into the caregiver assistance application 124 by the caregiver and / or authorized individual 136 using the manual task list modification algorithm 151 and / or by one or more of the multiple different algorithms 140, 141, and / or 143. Automatically input reminders include, but are not limited to, reminders to perform a fall risk assessment, perform a decubitus ulcer risk assessment, perform rounding duties, administer one or more treatments, configure the patient support device 20 and / or its multiple different components to a desired state, etc. In some embodiments, the reminder itself includes an indication of the amount of time until the task is assumed to be completed (e.g., the time until the next patient turn or the next rounding task) and / or the amount of time that has elapsed since the task was last completed (e.g., the amount of time since the patient was last turned or the amount of time since rounding duties were last performed).

[0297] The task menu 174 of the room overview screen 162 ( Figure 9 ) determines a number of different tasks that can be undertaken by a caregiver using the caregiver assistance application 124. Figure 9 and elsewhere (e.g. Figure 10-17 ), the task menu 174 includes four separate task icons: a fall risk icon 178, a rounds task icon 180, a skin task icon 182, and a reminder task icon 184. If the caregiver selects one of these task icons 178-184 at step 159, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the corresponding algorithms 140, 141, 143, and 151 at step 161 ( Figure 5 More specifically, if the caregiver selects the fall risk icon 178 at step 159, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the fall risk reduction algorithm 143 at step 161. If the caregiver selects the rounds task icon 180 at step 159, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the rounds algorithm 140 at step 161 ( Figure 6If the caregiver selects the skin task icon 182 at step 159, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the skin care algorithm 141 (also referred to herein as the decubitus ulcer risk reduction algorithm) at step 161. Finally, if the caregiver selects the reminder task icon 184 at step 159, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the manual task list modification algorithm 151 at step 161.

[0298] Selection of these multiple different icons and their associated algorithms causes the caregiver assistance application 124 to present different screens corresponding to the selected task. The different screens enable the user to perform one or more tasks with respect to that particular patient. If the user selects the fall risk icon 178, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the fall risk reduction algorithm 143 and causes the display of the electronic device 104 to display one or more screens that enable the caregiver to perform one or more fall risk reduction steps associated with reducing the likelihood of a patient falling, such as, but not limited to, Figure 19-27 . These steps include, but are not limited to, performing a fall risk assessment and configuring the patient support device 20 according to a fall risk reduction protocol (e.g., in a manner that helps reduce or minimize the patient's risk of falling). The particular screen displayed by the caregiver assistance application 124 in response to the user selecting the fall risk icon 178 (or any other task icon of the task menu 174) may be an initial screen that is part of a larger set of screens that may be displayed by the caregiver assistance application 124 to assist the caregiver in performing the selected task. In some embodiments, the initial screen is Figure 19 , but other screens may also be shown initially.

[0299] If the caregiver steps 159 ( Figure 5 )Select skin task 182( Figure 9 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to execute the skin care algorithm 141, which results in the display of an initial skin care screen (not shown) that assists the caregiver in performing a decubitus ulcer risk assessment, documenting one or more existing skin states or conditions, and / or setting one or more reminders or configurations on the patient support device 20 to help prevent the patient from developing a decubitus ulcer and / or worsening their decubitus ulcer. As with the fall risk icon 178, selection of the skin task icon 182 causes the caregiver assistance application 124 to display an initial screen associated with caring for the patient's skin, which initial screen is part of a larger set of screens suitable for assisting the caregiver in caring for the patient's skin. Additional screens within the larger set of screens may be accessed through the initial screen, or through one or more other screens accessible from the initial screen.

[0300] If the caregiver steps 159 ( Figure 5) Selecting the reminder task icon 184, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to execute the task list modification algorithm 151 and displays an initial screen showing existing reminders, such as the room overview screen 162 ( Figure 9 ) or the room list screen 156 ( Figure 8 ). Thereafter, the algorithm 151 enables the caregiver to set, edit, and / or cancel reminders associated with the care of a particular patient or room. Such reminders include, but are not limited to: a reminder to turn the patient; a reminder to administer one or more treatments to the patient (e.g., tap therapy or maximum inflation therapy using the mattress 38); a reminder to perform a caregiver round; and other reminders. Regardless of the specific reminder, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to display the reminder in the summary area 172 of the room overview screen 162, in the status indicator 160 of the room list screen 156, and / or on other screens of the caregiver assistance application 124. The display may include not only an indication of the reminder, but also the time remaining until the reminder deadline is met (or, if the reminder deadline has expired, the amount of time that has elapsed since the reminder deadline expired). Furthermore, in some embodiments of the caregiver assistance system 106, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to send a notification to the caregiver when the reminder deadline is reached (or one or more configurable times before the reminder deadline and / or one or more configurable times after the reminder deadline if the task remains uncompleted). In some embodiments, the notification includes an email, a text, a phone call, or some other type of notification, as described in more detail below.

[0301] During the execution of any of the tasks identified in the task menu 174, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to continue to display the task menu 174 on the screens specifically associated with those tasks. If the user selects a task icon corresponding to a task different from the one currently being executed, the caregiver assistance application 124 switches to executing the algorithm associated with that particular task. In the specific case of the rounds algorithm 140, if the caregiver selects the rounds task icon 180 from one of the screens associated with the task icons 178, 182, or 184, the caregiver assistance application switches to step 192 ( Figure 6 ), as will be described in more detail below.

[0302] If the caregiver does not select any task from the task menu 174, the main algorithm 226 ( Figure 5) proceeds to step 163 to determine whether the caregiver has entered a command to control one or more aspects of the patient support device 20. If the caregiver has entered such a command, the algorithm 226 proceeds to step 165 to send the command to the patient support device 20. In at least one embodiment, the command is routed through the caregiver assistance server 90. That is, the command to control one or more aspects of the patient support device 20 is sent from the electronic device 104 (via one or more wireless access points 76) to the caregiver assistance application 124. Upon receipt, the caregiver assistance application 124 either forwards the command directly to the corresponding patient support device 20 using the wireless access point 76, or forwards the command to the patient support device server 86, which then forwards the command to the patient support device 20 using one or more wireless access points 76. When the command is received at the patient support device 20, the controller 48 checks to see if the command is an authorized command and, if so, implements the command.

[0303] In the main algorithm 226 ( Figure 5 ) After steps 163 and 165, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 167 to check to see if the caregiver has manually entered a command to change the currently displayed room overview screen 162 back to Figure 8 The room list screen 156 is displayed. If so, the algorithm 226 returns to step 154 ​​and proceeds as previously described. If not, the algorithm returns to step 173 and either continues to display the room list screen or automatically changes the screen to the room overview screen.

[0304] It should be noted that the display of the different screens within the caregiver assistance application 124 is controlled not only by the area pressed / selected by the user on a particular screen, but also by the caregiver's use of the traditional "back" and "forward" functions of the web browser used to access the caregiver assistance application 124. Thus, for example, if the user is viewing Figure 9 Room Overview Screen 162 and want to return to view Figure 8 Room List Screen 156, he or she can simply press or activate the "back" function of the web browser used by the caregiver. These and other navigation features (such as a "home" icon, menu icon, etc.) are not in Figure 5 , but is included in at least some embodiments of the caregiver assistance application 124.

[0305] It should also be noted that the main algorithm 226 can be Figure 5 Such modifications include: adding unbound Figure 5In one embodiment, the main algorithm 226 omits the automatic screen selection feature of step 173. In another embodiment, the main algorithm 226 includes a function on one or more displayed screens that enables the user to perform the following steps in conjunction with Figures 64-67 One or more icons of the described shared and non-shared functions. Other modifications are also possible.

[0306] If the caregiver in step 159 ( Figure 5 )Select patrol task icon 180( Figure 9 ), the nursing assistant application 124 starts executing Figure 6 The tour algorithm 140 begins at step 192 where the caregiver assistance application 124 receives and / or verifies a room selection or a bed selection. In response to the aforementioned room selection or bed selection, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to display a first tour screen 190, e.g. Figure 10 The caregiver's selection of a specific room or patient support device is used by the caregiver assistance application 124 so that the caregiver assistance application 124 knows what patient and / or room tour information to display on screen 190 (and subsequent tour screens thereof). Figure 9 The screen 162 of the caregiver is navigated to the screen 190, and the caregiver assistance application displays information corresponding to the bed and / or room selected in the screen 162 on the screen 190. Figure 9 The middle screen 162 displays the information of room 7093. If the user presses Figure 9 The patrol task icon 180 and navigate to Figure 10 190 , the nursing assistant application will automatically display the patrol information corresponding to room 7093 on screen 190 .

[0307] However, there may be situations in which the first tour screen 190 is invoked by a caregiver but a specific room and / or patient has not been previously selected, or there may be situations in which the caregiver wants to use the first tour screen 190 for a room or patient different from the one selected on the previously displayed screen. In those situations, the first tour screen 190 may be modified and / or supplemented with a screen or input field in which the caregiver can select a specific room and / or patient to complete the tour task associated with the first tour screen 190. In some embodiments, the specific patient support device 20 may be selected at step 192 by the user manually entering the room number of the patient for whom the user intends to collect tour information. In other embodiments, the patient support device 20 may have a short-range wireless transmitter (e.g., one or more near-field transmitters and / or Bluetooth transmitters) that automatically communicates with the mobile electronic device 104a and tells the device 104a which patient support device 20 it is. In response, the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically associates the first tour screen 190 with the patient support device 20 identified in the wireless communication received from the patient support device 20. In other embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to automatically associate the first tour screen 190 with a particular room or patient based on the current location of the mobile electronic device 104a when the first tour screen 190 is first accessed. Such current location information may be received from the RTLS server 100.

[0308] Regardless of the specific manner in which a room is selected for the first tour screen 190, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the room identifier in the room identifier location 198 ( Figure 10 ) displays the selected room. The caregiver assistance application 124 may also display the same content of the status indicator 160 (of the room list screen 156) in the status position 200 adjacent to the room identifier position 198. The first tour screen 190 also includes a top portion 202 and a bottom portion 204. The top portion 202 includes the contents of the room overview screen 162 ( Figure 9 ) is displayed on the top half of the algorithm 140. Specifically, it includes the bed icon 164, the departure detection system status indicator 166, the bed monitoring status indicator 168, and the bed status bar 170. However, the bottom portion 204 does not include the summary area 172 of the room overview screen 162, but instead includes a first rounding question 206. The first rounding question is equivalent to the question that the patient's caregiver is scheduled to ask while the caregiver is performing his or her rounding duties. The caregiver assistance application 124 displays this first question 206 ( Figure 6 ).

[0309] The specific first tour question 206 (in step 208 of the algorithm 140) is shown Figure 10) is a question about the patient's pain level. Specifically, it is a question about the patient's current pain level on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being the lowest pain level and 10 being the highest pain level. It should be understood that although the first question 206 is described herein as the "first" question displayed after the rounds task icon 180 is selected, the specific order of the questions displayed by the caregiver assistance application 124 may vary, and the term "first" in the phrase "first rounds question" is used only to distinguish this question from the other rounds questions and is not used to represent any particular importance in terms of their order.

[0310] First Tour Question Screen 190 ( Figure 10 ) includes a plus icon 210, a minus icon 212, a next icon 214, and a current pain level indicator 216. The plus icon 210 and the minus icon 212 are pressed by the caregiver to increase or decrease the patient's pain level, as indicated by the current pain level indicator 216, until the corresponding pain level shown by the indicator 216 matches the pain level expressed by the patient. For example, if the user indicates that their pain level is 6, the caregiver presses the plus icon 212 six times until the current pain level indicator reads 6. The caregiver then presses the next icon 214, and the caregiver assistance application 124 saves the pain level data and proceeds to display the second round of questions screen, e.g. Figure 11 The second tour question screen 220 is shown in FIG.

[0311] In other embodiments, the first tour question screen 190 ( Figure 10 ) is modified to enable the user to input the patient's current pain level in one or more alternative and / or additional ways. For example, in another embodiment, the plus and minus signs 210 and 212 are replaced by numeric keypad icons, and the user simply presses a number on the keypad to directly input the patient's pain level. In yet another embodiment, a slider icon is displayed on screen 190, and the user touches the slider while moving the slider portion of the slider to a position corresponding to the numerical value of the patient's pain level. Other ways of enabling the user to input the patient's pain level are also possible.

[0312] The second tour question screen 220 includes all of the same elements of the first tour question screen 190, except for the specific tour question displayed at the bottom portion 204. That is, the second tour question screen 220 displays the room identifier in the room identifier location 298, the room status in the room status location 200, and all of the same icons found at the top portion 202 of the first tour screen 190 at the top portion 202. However, the bottom portion 204 differs from the bottom portion 204 of screen 190 in that it leads to different tour questions. Specifically, the bottom portion 204 of the second tour question screen 220 includes a tour question 222 asking whether the patient is currently in a comfortable position. If not, the caregiver assists the patient in assuming a more comfortable position and records the patient's movement or turning by pressing a "Patient Turn" icon 224 displayed on screen 220. In response to pressing the Turn icon 224, the caregiver assistance application 124 records the fact that the patient has been turned, along with the identity of the specific caregiver associated with the mobile electronic device 104a from which the turn instruction was received. The caregiver assistance application 124 also timestamps the record, as described further below, and includes it with other rounds information that is transmitted to the EMR server 98 .

[0313] If the patient does not need to be turned or repositioned, the caregiver presses the next icon 214 ( Figure 11 ). Pressing the next icon 214 on the screen 220 causes the caregiver assistance application 124 to display a third rounds question screen 230, an example of which is shown in FIG. Figure 12 . The third tour question screen 230 includes a top portion 202 and a bottom portion 204. The top portion 202 includes all of the same information as the top portion 202 of the first and second tour question screens 190 and 220. The bottom portion 204 differs from these screens in that it includes a third tour question 232, which in this example asks whether the patient needs to use the restroom. If the patient needs to use the restroom, the caregiver assists the patient or enables the patient to use the restroom. In some embodiments, the third tour question screen 230 may include an enter button that, when pressed by the caregiver, sends a message to the caregiver assistance application 124 indicating that the patient has used the restroom, which saves the information for entry into the electronic medical record for that particular patient. If the patient does not need to use the restroom or has completed using the restroom, the caregiver presses the next icon 214.

[0314] In response to pressing the next icon 214 on the third rounds question screen 230, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a fourth rounds question screen 240, an example of which is shown in FIG. Figure 13. The fourth round-about question screen 240 includes a top portion 202 and a bottom portion 204. The top portion 202 includes all of the same information as the top portions 202 of the first, second, and third round-about question screens 190, 220, and 230. The bottom portion 204 differs from these screens in that it includes a fourth round-about question 242, which in this example asks if the patient needs any property. If the patient needs property, the caregiver retrieves it for the patient or moves it to a location within the room 92 where the patient can access it without leaving the patient support device 20. After ensuring that the patient has access to any of their property, the caregiver presses the next icon 214 again.

[0315] from Figure 6 It can be seen that entering tour information using the tour screens 190, 220, 230, and 240 corresponds to steps 246, 248, and 250 of the algorithm 140. That is, in step 208 ( Figure 4 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the first tour question. This step is completed by displaying the first tour question screen 190 and its associated first tour question 206. After displaying this information, the caregiver assistance application 124 waits for a response from the caregiver in step 248. After waiting for the response, the algorithm 140 receives data from the caregiver in step 148. This data input corresponds to, for example, the caregiver entering the patient's pain level via screen 190, or repositioning the patient using the patient turn icon 224 on screen 220 and recording the repositioning steps. For some screens, such as screens 230 and 240, the data input includes pressing the next icon 214, which indicates that the corresponding question has been asked by the caregiver.

[0316] After receiving the caregiver assistance data at step 248 ( Figure 6 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 moves to step 250 to determine if there are more caregiver assistance questions to ask. Thus, after displaying the first, second, and third tour question screens 190, 220, and 230, respectively, the caregiver assistance application 124 returns to step 208 and displays another tour question screen. However, before displaying the fourth tour question screen 240 ( Figure 13 ) Thereafter, the caregiver assistance application 124 moves from step 250 to step 252 to await verification data to be entered by the caregiver verifying the completion of the round task, as will be described in more detail below.

[0317] Before describing step 252, it is worth noting that the specific number and content of the caregiver assistance questions displayed by the caregiver assistance application 124 on the electronic device 104 can be obtained from Figure 10-13The caregiver assistance application 124 includes an administrative portal accessible by authorized individuals 136 to change the number of questions asked, the content of the questions, the order of the questions, and the content of the data that will be entered into the application 124 in response to the patient's responses received.

[0318] In step 252 ( Figure 6 ), the nurse assistant application 124 displays the rounds completion screen 260 ( Figure 14 ). The rounds completed screen 260 includes a rounds record window 262 that indicates the time (and date) that the caregiver completed his or her rounds associated with the particular room (or more specifically, the patient in that room) shown in the room identifier location 198, as well as verification that the information entered by the caregiver (e.g., pain level) has been sent to the caregiver assistance server 90 and recorded by the caregiver assistance application 124. In some embodiments, as will be described in more detail below, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to automatically forward this rounds information to the EMR server 98 for storage in the patient's electronic medical record. In embodiments following the algorithm 140, as Figure 6 As shown in , the caregiver assistance application 124 does not send the rounds data to the EMR server 98 until it receives verification data verifying that the caregiver was actually present at the patient's bedside when accessing and using the rounds screens 190 , 220 , 230 , and 240 .

[0319] More specifically, in Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment of the algorithm 140, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds from step 250 (if there are no more rounding questions) to step 252, seeking to capture verification data. As mentioned, verification data refers to data used to verify that the caregiver actually entered the patient's room and performed his or her rounding duties in that room. The specific verification data captured in step 252 may vary widely between embodiments. Figure 15 、 16 17 show three different verification screens that can be used by the caregiver assistance application 124 to collect verification data. Each of these three screens is used to collect different verification data. In practice, the caregiver assistance application 124 will typically only use Figure 15-17 A single screen of the screens shown in . Includes Figure 15-17 The multiple screens in FIG. 1 are used to illustrate different types of variations of verification data that may be collected by the caregiver assistance application 124. Of course, it should also be understood that, in addition to Figure 15-17 In addition to the three examples shown in , the caregiver assistance application 124 can collect other types of authentication data.

[0320] Verification Screen 270 ( Figure 15) includes a bottom portion 204 having an image window 272 and a capture icon 274. The image window 272 displays the image currently being sensed by the camera built into the mobile electronic device 104a. The capture icon 274 is touched by the caregiver when ready to take a picture. Figure 15 272 in the image window specifically illustrates a quick response (QR) code because, in the embodiment shown here, each patient support device 20 is configured to display a QR code on its display 70 in response to a caregiver pressing a particular control or series of controls. The controller 48 of the patient support device 20 generates the QR code in a manner that embeds at least two pieces of information in the QR code: a unique identifier corresponding to that particular patient support device 20 (e.g., identifier 186) and the current time (and day).

[0321] The caregiver assistance application 124 is adapted to analyze the QR code to determine the specific patient support device 20 identified in the code and the time when the picture was captured by the mobile electronic device 104a. The caregiver assistance application 124 compares the specific patient support device 20 identified in the QR code with the identity of the patient support device 20 located in the room identified in the room identifier location 198 to ensure that they match. If they do not match, then the image captured by the caregiver using the capture icon 274 is not an image of the patient support device 20 associated with the patient for whom the caregiver just asked the rounds question. In this case, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays an error message and does not proceed to step 254 ( Figure 6 If the patient support device 20 identifier matches, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 254 .

[0322] The caregiver assistance application 124 receives a patient support device identifier 186 ( Figure 4 ). When each patient support device 20 sends these identifiers 186 to the patient support device server 86, the patient support device 20 also sends a location identifier 138 that uniquely identifies the location beacon 84 in that room. This information is shared with the caregiver assistance application 124. Thus, the caregiver assistance application 124 receives not only the unique ID corresponding to each patient support device 20, but also the location of those patient support devices 20. Alternatively, it receives the unique ID of the patient support device 20 and the bed location table 88. In either case, the caregiver assistance application 124 receives enough information to know the specific patient support device ID of each patient support device 20 and the specific room in which each patient support device is located. This is the information that the caregiver assistance application 124 uses to compare with the patient support device identifier contained within the QR code.

[0323] For example, if the caregiver uses the verification screen 270 and the capture icon 274 to take a picture of the QR code and the picture is taken in room 7093 ( Figure 15 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 compares the patient support device 20 ID contained in the QR code with the location record it maintains for that particular patient support device 20. If the record also indicates that the particular patient support device 20 is located in room 7093, the caregiver assistance application 124 accepts the QR code as verification that the caregiver was physically present in that room while performing rounds. If the records do not match, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays an error message and does not accept the picture of the QR code as verification that the caregiver was physically present during the rounds.

[0324] Suitable for Figure 15 The verification method used in conjunction with the verification screen 270 includes a clock that tracks the current time and a controller 48 that is configured to embed the current time and the unique ID of the patient support device 20 within a QR code. Figure 15 Some examples of patient support devices 20 used in conjunction with the verification process of the present invention are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 642,621, filed by Anuj Sidhu et al. on July 6, 2017, entitled “PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH CLOCKS,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Of course, other types of patient support devices 20 may also be used as alternatives.

[0325] and Figure 15 The patient support devices 20 used in conjunction with the authentication process are configured to display a QR code somewhere on their display screens 70. The display of the QR code can be constant, but with repeated updates to include the current time (e.g., every minute, etc.); or the display can be intermittent in response to the caregiver pressing or activating one or more controls on the patient support device 20. In the latter case, one of the controls 72 can be dedicated to causing the patient support device 20 to display the QR code, or the code can be displayed in response to the caregiver navigating to a specific screen on which the QR code is displayed. Other ways of causing the patient support device 20 to display the QR code can also be used.

[0326] It should also be noted that there is no requirement that the patient support device 20 specifically use a QR code. That is, other codes, such as, but not limited to, barcodes, may also be used. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the patient support device 20 is configured to not encode any information at all. In such embodiments, the patient support device 20 displays, or is operable by the caregiver (e.g., using controls 72), a screen displaying both the current time and the unique identifier of the patient support device 20. The caregiver captures an image of this display using the camera function of a mobile electronic device (e.g., a smartphone, tablet, etc.) and forwards the image to the caregiver assistance application 124. The caregiver assistance application 124 processes the image to extract the patient support device ID and time from the captured image. The extracted patient support device ID is then matched against the recorded data for that particular room, as described above. If the captured patient support device ID data matches the data contained in the caregiver assistance application 124's records (data repository 128), the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 254, which will now be described.

[0327] In step 254 ( Figure 6 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 determines whether the patient support device 20 is in a compliant or non-compliant state. The definition of compliance state may be determined during installation of the caregiver assistance application 124 (or modified thereafter) according to the specific requirements of the healthcare facility in which the caregiver assistance application 124 is installed, or may be predefined by the vendor of the caregiver assistance application 124. Alternatively or in addition, compliance state may be defined based on whether a fall risk reduction protocol is currently being implemented for the patient assigned to that particular patient support device 20, as will be described below in conjunction with Figure 18-27 106 . In any embodiment, the definition of the compliance state may also be defined or alternatively modified by the authorized individual 136 after the system 106 is installed. In many embodiments, the compliance state includes the same criteria as those monitored by the bed monitoring system described above. That is, in many cases, a healthcare facility will define the compliance state of the patient support device as a state in which all of the following conditions are true: the brake is engaged, the pad 28 is at its lowest height, the departure detection system 46 is armed, the monitoring feature is armed, at least three of the guardrails 36 are raised (and / or specific guardrails are raised), the A / C power cord 102 is plugged into a wall outlet, and the nurse call cable 78 is plugged into the nurse call jack 82. Of course, other definitions of the compliance state may also be used.

[0328] The caregiver assistance application 124 checks to see if the patient support device 20 is in a compliant state at step 254. The caregiver assistance application 124 performs this step by querying the patient support device server 86 for the current state data of the patient support device 20 when the user reaches step 254. The current state data for each patient support device 20 is maintained by the patient support device server 86 in a table 88 ( Figure 4 ). As already mentioned, the patient support devices 20 send their status data to the patient support device server 86 whenever they sense a change in their status (or upon a specific request from the patient support device server 86). After the caregiver assistance application 124 receives the current status data of the patient support device 20 from the patient support device server 86, it checks to see if the current status data matches the compliance status criteria described above. If the caregiver assistance application 124 determines that the patient support device 20 is currently in compliance, it proceeds to step 256 ( Figure 6 If the caregiver assistance application 124 determines that the patient support device 20 is not currently in a compliant state, it proceeds to follow the first control path 280 (in one embodiment) or to follow the second control path 282 (in another embodiment).

[0329] In step 256 ( Figure 6 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 sends a number of different data to the EMR server 98 for recording in the electronic medical record of the patient for whom the caregiver just completed their rounds. This transmission occurs without the caregiver having to perform any additional steps beyond those previously described. The specific data sent to the EMR server 98 includes: (a) rounds data entered by the caregiver into the mobile electronic device 104a during the rounds (e.g., pain level, whether the patient used the restroom, etc.); (b) verification data captured during step 252 (or data indicating that the rounds were verified); (c) whether the patient support device 20 is in compliance (or, alternatively, the current status of the patient support device 20 with respect to its brakes, siderails, pallet height, exit detection system, nurse call cable, and / or power cord); (d) a time and date stamp; and (e) data sufficient to identify the caregiver currently logged into the particular mobile electronic device 104a from which the caregiver assistance application 124 receives rounds data.

[0330] The time and date stamp may include the time and date when the caregiver assistance application 124 receives the data from the corresponding mobile electronic device 104a, as well as the time and date encoded in the verification data presented on the display 70 of the patient support device 20 and captured by the caregiver in the communication window 272. Alternatively or additionally, the time and date stamp may refer to the time when the data is sent by the caregiver assistance application 124 to the EMR server 98. Upon receipt of the data, the EMR server 98 updates the patient's electronic medical record with the new data, and the caregiver assistance application 124 returns to step 154, allowing the caregiver to complete another rounds task and / or another task associated with the task menu 174.

[0331] After completing step 256 ( Figure 6 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured, in at least some embodiments, to update any timers associated with the just-completed round task. In other words, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to update the task list 886 to reflect one of the round tasks that the caregiver just listed. Therefore, the reminder algorithm 145 resets the reminder timer for that particular round task according to the cadence specified for re-completing round tasks. Thus, for example, if it is assumed that the caregiver performs round tasks every two hours and the caregiver has just completed the round of room 1703, the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically resets the timer for room 1703 to two hours after step 256 is completed. Therefore, the corresponding time information displayed on the screen of the mobile electronic device 104a is also automatically reset, thereby providing the caregiver with an updated indication of how much time remains until the next round task is performed. The reminder algorithm 145 of the caregiver assistance application 124 maintains and updates timers for round tasks associated with each room and / or patient, as well as timers for other tasks.

[0332] Return to step 254 of algorithm 140 ( Figure 6 ), if the patient support device 20 is not in a compliant state as determined by the caregiver assistance application 124 at this step, the first control path 280 or the second control path 282 is followed, depending on the specific embodiment of the caregiver assistance application 124. Turning first to the embodiment in which the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to the first control path 280, the caregiver assistance application 124 implements the state / command algorithm 147. That is, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 258 and waits to receive a command from the caregiver that will remotely change the patient support device 20 to a compliant state. As previously mentioned, the state / command algorithm 147 enables the caregiver assistance application 124 to receive patient support device commands from the caregiver and relay those commands to the corresponding patient support device 20. This enables the caregiver to remotely change the state of the patient support device 20 to a compliant state.

[0333] For example, if the caregiver assistance application 124 determines at step 254 that the patient support device 20 is not in compliance because the absence detection system 46 is not currently armed, the caregiver assistance application 124 will display an indication notifying the caregiver of the reason for the non-compliance. It will also display a control that enables the caregiver to arm the absence detection system using the mobile electronic device 104a. In some embodiments, this control is simply the display of an absence detection system status indicator 166, where tapping on this indicator 166 toggles between arming and disarming the absence detection system 46. Other types of controls may also be displayed. In response to the user tapping on the control to arm the absence detection system 46, the mobile electronic device 104a sends a message to the caregiver assistance server 90 instructing the caregiver assistance application 124 to send a command to the patient support device 20 to arm the absence detection system 46. This message is sent at step 266 of the algorithm 140.

[0334] In response to this message, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 268 ( Figure 6 ), which sends a command directly to the corresponding patient support device 20 to arm the departure detection system 46, or it sends a command to the patient support device server 86, which in turn relays the command to the appropriate patient support device 20. In either case, the command is received by the patient support device 20, and the controller 48 responds by arming the departure detection system.

[0335] The leaving detection system 46 being armed by the controller 48 also prompts the controller 48 to send a new status message to the patient support device server 86, which updates the current status of the patient support device 20. The updated status includes the fact that the leaving detection system 46 is now armed. The patient support device server 86 forwards the updated status to the caregiver assistance application 124, which receives the updated status at step 276 ( Figure 6 Using this updated status data, the caregiver assistance application 124 returns to step 254, where it again checks to see if the patient support device 20 is in compliance. If so, it proceeds to step 256, where the actions associated with step 256, previously described, are taken. If the patient support device 20 is still not in compliance, the caregiver assistance application 124 returns to the first control path 280 and step 258, awaiting another command from the caregiver to change the status of the patient support device 20.

[0336] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to only enable a caregiver to remotely change the state of the patient support device 20 that does not involve any movement. That is, the caregiver is only allowed to use his or her mobile electronic device 104a to send non-movement commands to the patient support device 20 in step 266. This is done to avoid situations where the patient support device 20 may be moved while the caregiver is not in the room, where such movement could startle the patient and / or be blocked by obstacles, such as, but not limited to, the patient himself or herself. Thus, such unattended movement could result in injury. Therefore, in some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 only forwards non-movement commands, such as, but not limited to, commands to arm / disarm the departure detection system 46, commands to arm / disarm the bed monitoring system, and commands to open / close brakes.

[0337] The caregiver assistance application 124 follows the second control path 282 ( Figure 6 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 264 after determining in step 254 that the patient support device 20 is not in a compliant state. In step 264, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a screen (not shown) on the mobile electronic device 104a that includes a confirmation input. The confirmation input is an input that the caregiver must actively touch or initiate and includes a message indicating that the patient support device 20 is not in a compliant state. After the caregiver confirms in step 264 that the patient support device 20 is not in a compliant state, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 256 and takes the actions previously described in association with step 256. In addition to those actions, the caregiver assistance application 124 also sends data to the EMR server 98 indicating that the non-compliant state of the patient support device 20 was actively confirmed (and in some embodiments, the time and date of the confirmation). The caregiver assistance application 124 may also send the identity of the caregiver who performed the confirmation to the EMR server 98.

[0338] From the first and second control paths 280 and 282 ( Figure 6 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 can be configured to not allow the caregiver to upload inspection data to the EMR server 98 when the patient support device 20 is not in a compliant state (first path 280), or to allow the caregiver to upload inspection data of a non-compliant patient support device 20 to the EMR server 98 if the caregiver proactively confirms (at step 264) that the patient support device 20 is not in a compliant state (second path 282). Therefore, either control path 280 or 282 encourages the caregiver to ensure that the patient support device 20 is in a compliant state, thereby helping the healthcare institution achieve a higher patient support device compliance rate.

[0339] It should be understood that in other embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 can be modified to include alternative pathways to the control pathways 280 and 282, and / or include modifications to these control pathways. For example, in at least one embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 follows a third alternative pathway (not shown), wherein the caregiver has access to an "update status" control on the mobile electronic device 104a. The "update status" control, when activated by the caregiver, causes the mobile electronic device 104a to send a message to the caregiver assistance application 124 instructing the caregiver assistance application 124 to request an updated status of the patient support device 20 from the patient support device server 86. Including the "update status" control enables a caregiver located at the patient support device 20 to directly use the controls 72 on the patient support device 20 to change the patient support device 20 to a compliant state. Once in a compliant state, pressing the "update status" control causes the now compliant status of the patient support device 20 to be communicated to the caregiver assistance application 124, which then proceeds to step 256 of the rounds algorithm 140, thereby enabling rounds data to be uploaded to the EMR server 98.

[0340] One modification that can be implemented to this alternative third control path is to configure the caregiver assistance application 124 to repeatedly and / or automatically request updated status from the patient support device 20. In this modified embodiment, the caregiver does not have to press or activate an "update status" control. Instead, the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically receives patient support device status updates. Thus, in this embodiment, once the caregiver assistance application 124 receives a status update from the patient support device 20 indicating that the patient support device 20 is in compliance, it automatically proceeds to step 256 without requiring the caregiver to manually operate any controls on the mobile electronic device 104a.

[0341] In other embodiments, any features of the control paths 280, 282, or the third alternative control path described above may be combined. For example, in some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to present three options to the caregiver after determining that the patient support device 20 is non-compliant in step 254: (a) a patient support device command input; (b) a confirmation input; and (c) an "update status" input. The caregiver may then decide whether to use the mobile electronic device 104a to change the patient support device status (option a), confirm the non-compliant status of the patient support device 20 without correcting it (option b), or use the controls 72 on the patient support device 20 itself to change the patient support device 20 status and request that the updated status be transmitted to the caregiver assistance application 124 (option c). Other variations may also be implemented.

[0342] Returning now to step 252 of the nursing staff rounds algorithm 140 ( Figure 6), the caregiver assistance system 106 may be modified to perform step 252 in a manner different from that previously described in conjunction with steps 252 and Figure 15 The variations in the way authentication data is captured are described. Two of these different ways are Figure 16 and 17 As shown in. The nursing staff has completed Figure 10-13 Following the caregiver assistance questions and steps 208, 246, 248, and 250, in some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application may be configured to perform step 252 by having the caregiver take a photo of the QR code or other code on the patient support device 20 itself rather than on the display 70 of the patient support device 20. An example of this type of verification is Figure 16 , which shows a first alternative verification screen 290.

[0343] and Figure 15 Similar to the verification screen 270 of FIG, the first alternative verification screen 290 includes a camera image window 272 that shows the image currently being detected by the camera built into the mobile electronic device 104a. In order for the caregiver to properly verify that he or she has completed the rounds associated with a particular patient, he or she aims the camera of the mobile electronic device 104a so that the camera is pointing at a designated portion of the patient support device 20. Figure 16 In the example shown, the designated portion includes the foot end of the patient support device 20. Depending on the specific patient support device 20, the designated portion may vary but should include a portion of the patient support device 20 that contains information sufficient to uniquely identify the patient support device 20 and distinguish it from other patient support devices 20 within the healthcare facility. This identifying information may include an adhesive-backed label with a serial number, an engraved serial number, a label or other structure attached to the patient support device 20, and / or any other type of image information that identifies the specific patient support device 20. Once the portion of the patient support device 20 is within the field of view of the camera of the mobile electronic device 104a, the caregiver presses the image capture icon 274, and the mobile electronic device 104a takes a picture of the portion of the patient support device 20. The mobile electronic device 104a also sends the captured image to the caregiver assistance application 124, where the image is analyzed to verify that the patient support device 20 in the image matches the patient support device assigned to the patient for whom the caregiver just completed their rounds, as previously described. If there is a match, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 256 and uploads the rounds data and other data (including the captured images) to the EMR server 98 .

[0344] In an alternative embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to enable the caregiver to use the camera of the mobile electronic device 104a to capture an image of the patient support device 20, without regard to the specific portion of the patient support device 20 that is captured. In this modified embodiment, the caregiver turns on the positioning feature (GPS, WiFi triangulation, etc.) of the mobile electronic device 104a and causes the mobile electronic device to automatically attach the geographic location to the photo captured using the image window 272. The mobile electronic device 104a forwards the image data (i.e., the photo) to the caregiver assistance application 124, along with the location data and, in some cases, the time and date the photo was taken. The caregiver assistance application 124 uses its knowledge of the geographic location of each room in the healthcare facility (stored in the data repository 128 or elsewhere) to determine whether the location where the photo was taken matches the room in which the corresponding patient is located. If so, the process proceeds to step 256 of the algorithm 140. If not, an error message is displayed.

[0345] The nursing staff has completed Figure 10-13 After the caregiver assistance question and steps 208, 246, 248, and 250, in some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to display Figure 17 The second alternative verification screen 300, instead of Figure 16 First alternative verification screen 290 (or Figure 15 Verification screen 270 of the mobile electronic device 104a). In such an embodiment, the caregiver is instructed to capture images (take a photo) not only using the camera function of the mobile electronic device 104a, but also using a selfie feature built into the camera of the mobile electronic device 104a that enables the mobile electronic device to capture both a forward-looking photo and a rearward-looking photo of the caregiver himself. In other words, the caregiver assistance application 124 instructs the caregiver to take a photo using both the forward-facing camera of the mobile electronic device 104a and the rearward-facing camera of the mobile electronic device 104a. The rearward-facing camera is used to capture an image of the caregiver, and the forward-facing camera is used to capture an image of all or a portion of the patient support device 20. An example is in Figure 17 , which includes a forward image 304 and a rearward image 306. The forward image 304 captures a portion of the patient support device and the rearward image 306 captures an image of the caregiver.

[0346] The purpose of the caregiver's rearward camera image is to document that the caregiver is physically present at the patient's bedside having completed the rounds associated with the patient. As with other verification processes, the caregiver assistance application 124 processes the image data from the forward and rearward cameras to identify the patient support device 20 within the forward image 304. The image can be an identifier of the patient support device 20, a QR or other code, or any portion of the patient support device 20. In at least one embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 also processes the rearward image 306 using conventional facial recognition technology to determine the identity of the caregiver captured therein. In other embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 does not process the caregiver image data, but rather forwards it to the EMR server 98 without analysis at step 256.

[0347] In another embodiment, the mobile electronic device 104a includes onboard native software that performs facial recognition. In this embodiment, the controller of the mobile electronic device 104a is configured to compare an image of the caregiver (e.g., captured using the mobile electronic device's digital camera function) to a previously captured baseline image of the caregiver and determine whether there is a match. In other words, in this embodiment, the mobile electronic device 104a is programmed to perform facial recognition on a selfie captured by the mobile electronic device 104a and, if the selfie is determined to match an authorized caregiver, forward the captured data to the caregiver assistance application 124. However, in this embodiment, the data forwarded to the caregiver assistance application 124 may omit the actual image data of the caregiver, thereby reducing bandwidth consumption and avoiding duplicate storage of the caregiver's face. Instead of this image data, the mobile electronic device 104a is programmed to send a message confirming that the selfie image captured by the mobile electronic device 104a belongs to an authorized caregiver (and, in some embodiments, the identity of the authorized caregiver). The caregiver assistance application 124 in this embodiment (and other embodiments) may be configured to omit any facial recognition software.

[0348] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other ways of verifying the caregiver's presence at the patient's bedside during a rounds assignment may be used by the caregiver assistance application 124, including verification techniques that do not use a camera. For example, in some embodiments, the patient support device 20 includes a near-field transceiver and / or a short-range RF transceiver (e.g., Bluetooth or infrared) that can be detected by the mobile electronic device 104a. By bringing the mobile electronic device 104a sufficiently close to the transceiver, the mobile electronic device 104a is able to wirelessly receive a signal from the patient support device 20 that identifies the particular patient support device 20 and, in some embodiments, also indicates the time. The caregiver assistance application 124 uses the receipt of the signal as verification that the caregiver was physically present at the patient's bedside during the rounds assignment. The detected signal and / or the fact that the detected signal was received may be forwarded to the EMR server 98 ( at step 256 ). Figure 6 ).

[0349] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that a variety of other modifications may be made to patrol algorithm 140. These modifications include, but are not limited to: skipping compliance step 254 entirely (along with control paths 280 and / or 282); skipping capture verification data step 252 and instead proceeding directly from step 250 to step 254; changing the order of one or more steps (e.g., step 192 being moved before step 188 or 154); and / or a combination of one or more of these modifications.

[0350] Turning now to the Patient Fall Risk Reduction Algorithm 143 of the Caregiver Assist System 106, if the caregiver Figure 5 )Select the fall risk icon 178( Figure 9-17 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the fall risk reduction algorithm 143. An example of a fall risk reduction algorithm 143 is Figure 18. The fall risk reduction algorithm 143 begins at step 340, where the caregiver assistance application 124 receives or verifies a room selection or bed selection. In response to such a room selection or bed selection, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 342 to determine whether a fall risk assessment has been performed for the particular patient assigned to the selected room and / or selected bed. Step 342 can be accomplished in several ways. In one embodiment, the caregiver assistance application sends a request to the EMR server 98 requesting a fall risk assessment for the patient assigned to the room or bed determined in step 340. If the EMR server 98 responds that no such fall risk assessment is currently on file for the patient, the fall risk reduction algorithm 143 checks to see if the fall risk assessment is stored elsewhere, such as, but not limited to, the data storage 128. If the aforementioned fall risk assessment is not stored there, the caregiver assistance application 124 can be configured by the healthcare facility administrator to search other locations. If no location contains a fall risk assessment for the particular patient, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 346. If a fall risk assessment is located for the particular patient, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 344 .

[0351] When a fall risk assessment has not yet been performed for the patient, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds from step 342 to step 346. At step 346, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a first fall risk assessment screen 400 for performing a fall risk assessment for the patient assigned to the room or bed determined in step 340. An example of such an initial fall risk assessment screen 400 is shown in FIG. Figure 19 Shown in. Figure 19 Six fall risk assessment question screens ( Figure 19-24 ) in the first screen. These six screens are designed to implement the Morse Fall Risk Assessment, which is sometimes also referred to as the Morse Fall Scale. The Morse Fall Risk Assessment is a numerically scored fall risk assessment that classifies patients into a number of different categories (e.g., no fall risk, low fall risk, and high fall risk). It should be understood that the caregiver assistance application 124 can be configured to implement other fall risk assessments (e.g., the Hendrich Fall Risk Assessment, the Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment, etc.), including the Morse Fall Risk Assessment, and / or it can be supplemented and / or partially modified with other questions. Authorized personnel 136 of the healthcare facility can also make other changes to the fall risk assessment, such as by accessing and reconfiguring the settings of the caregiver assistance application 124 using the computer 134.

[0352] The screen 400 includes many of the same elements found in the other screens discussed herein, such as, but not limited to, the room identifier location 198, the top portion 202, the bottom portion 204, the task menu 174, the bed status bar 170, the departure detection system status indicator 166, the bed monitoring system status indicator 168, and the bed icon 164. The bottom portion 204 differs from the previously described bottom portions in that it includes a first fall risk assessment question 402. The first fall risk question is a question that is intended to be asked by a patient's caregiver when the caregiver is determining what level of fall risk the patient has. The caregiver assistance application 124 displays this first question 402 ( Figure 18 ).

[0353] The specific first fall risk question 402 displayed at step 346 of the algorithm 143 is a question about the patient's fall history. Specifically, it is a question about whether the patient has fallen recently (e.g., within the past three months, although other time periods may be used). If the patient answers yes, the user touches the "yes" icon 404. If the patient answers no, the user touches the "no" icon. In addition, the caregiver assistance application 124 assigns each answer a total score. If the patient answers "yes," the application 124 assigns the patient a score of 25. If the patient answers no, the application 124 assigns the patient a score of 0. As the caregiver continues through all fall risk assessment screens associated with the Morse fall assessment (e.g., Figure 19-24 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 sums these scores. The total score after completing all questions is used by the caregiver assistance application 124 to determine the patient's qualitative fall risk, as further described below.

[0354] It should be understood that although the first question 402 is described herein as the “first” question displayed after the falls task icon 178 is selected, the specific order of the questions displayed by the caregiver assistance application 124 may vary, and the term “first” in the phrase “first fall risk assessment question” is used only to distinguish this question from other fall risk assessment questions and is not intended to represent any particular importance in terms of its order.

[0355] Return to Figure 18In the fall risk reduction algorithm 143 of FIGURE 143, after displaying the first fall risk assessment screen 400 at step 346, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 348 and waits for the caregiver to provide an answer to the first fall risk question (e.g., question 402). When the user answers "yes" or "no," touching the "yes" icon 404 or the "no" icon 406 corresponds to step 350 of the algorithm 143. That is, touching the icon 404 or 406 inputs the fall risk answer into the electronic device 104, which forwards this data to the caregiver assistance application 124. After completing step 350 of the algorithm 143, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 352 to determine whether any more fall risk assessment questions need to be completed as part of the fall risk assessment. Since the example described herein uses the Morse fall risk assessment, which includes six questions, the caregiver assistance application 124 returns to step 346 at step 352 and displays the next fall risk question (and repeats four additional times).

[0356] Figure 20 A second fall risk assessment question screen 410 is shown. The second fall risk assessment question screen 410 includes a second fall risk assessment question 412 to be answered by the caregiver. The second fall risk assessment question 412 asks whether the patient has received more than one medical diagnosis. This can be determined by the caregiver by reviewing the patient's chart or other medical records. If the patient has been given more than two medical diagnoses, the caregiver presses the "Yes" icon 404. If the patient has only been given a single medical diagnosis, the caregiver presses the "No" icon 406. The caregiver assistance application assigns a score of 15 to a "Yes" answer and a score of 0 to a "No" answer. After answering the second fall risk assessment question 412, the caregiver presses the "Next" icon 214, which causes a third fall risk assessment screen 416 ( Figure 21 Entering an answer to the second fall risk assessment question 412 corresponds to step 350 of the algorithm 143 ; pressing the next icon 214 corresponds to selecting the “yes” option at step 352 of the algorithm 143 , and displaying the third fall risk assessment screen 416 after pressing the next icon 214 corresponds to step 346 of the algorithm 143 .

[0357] Third Fall Risk Assessment Question 418 ( Figure 21 ) consists of three separate sub-problems, all part of the Morse fall risk assessment. In the first sub-problem, the caregiver determines whether the patient has been designated bedridden or whether the patient is able to walk (even with nurse assistance). If either of these conditions is true, the caregiver presses Figure 21In response to pressing the upper icon 420, the caregiver assistance application 124 adds a value of zero to the patient's fall risk score (which is the sum of the scores previously assigned to the responses to the first and second fall risk questions 402 and 412). If neither of these conditions is true, the caregiver determines whether the patient requires crutches, a cane, or a walker in order to walk. If the patient requires any of these devices, the caregiver presses the middle icon 422 on the screen 416. The middle icon 422 is in the Figure 21 In response to pressing the middle icon 422, the caregiver assistance application 124 adds a value of 15 to the patient's fall risk score. If the patient does not need a cane, crutches, or walker to walk, the caregiver determines whether the patient uses furniture or other stable objects when walking. If the patient does, the caregiver presses the bottom icon 424 on the screen 416, which Figure 21 In response to pressing the bottom icon 424, the caregiver assistance application 124 adds a value of 30 to the patient's fall risk score. After selecting one of the upper, middle, or bottom icons 420, 422, or 424, the caregiver presses the next icon 214, which causes the caregiver assistance application 124 to display a fourth fall risk assessment question screen 430, an example of which is shown in FIG. Figure 22 Shown in.

[0358] The fourth fall risk assessment question screen 430 includes a fourth fall risk question 432 displayed at the bottom portion 204. The fourth fall risk question 432 asks whether the patient has an intravenous (IV) set or heparin lock inserted. If yes, the caregiver presses the “yes” icon 404. If no, the caregiver presses the “no” icon 406. If the caregiver answers “yes”, the caregiver assistance application 124 adds a value of 20 to the patient's fall risk score (if the caregiver answers no, a value of 0 is added). When the caregiver presses the next icon 214 on the screen 430, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a fifth fall risk assessment question screen 440, an example of which is shown in FIG. Figure 23 Shown in.

[0359] The fifth fall risk assessment question screen 440 includes a fifth fall risk question 442 displayed at the bottom portion 204. The fifth fall risk question 442 asks the caregiver to assess the patient's gait while walking. More specifically, the fifth fall risk question 442 asks the caregiver to characterize the patient's walking gait as "normal," "impaired," or "disabled." If the patient walks with their head upright, arms swinging freely, and striding without pausing, the caregiver describes the patient's gait as normal. If the patient hunches over while walking but is able to hold their head up without losing balance, the caregiver describes the patient's gait as "impaired." If the patient has difficulty rising from a chair, their head tilts downward, and / or they look at the ground while walking, the caregiver describes the patient's gait as "disabled." If the patient's balance is poor or they cling to furniture, another person, or some type of walker, they may also be assigned a "disabled" assessment. Once the caregiver has determined the appropriate description, they press the corresponding upper icon 444, middle icon 446, or bottom icon 448. If the caregiver selects "Normal" (upper icon 444), the caregiver assistance application 124 adds a value of 0 to the patient's fall risk score, if the caregiver selects "Weak" (middle icon 446), a value of 10 is added, and if the caregiver selects "Disabled" (bottom icon 448), a value of 20 is added. When the caregiver subsequently presses the next icon 214, the caregiver assistance application displays a sixth fall risk assessment question screen 450, an example of which is shown in FIG. Figure 24 Shown in.

[0360] The sixth fall risk assessment question screen 450 includes a sixth fall risk question 452. The sixth fall risk question 452 asks the patient to assess his or her own walking ability (e.g., "Do you need help walking to the restroom?"). If the patient's response does not match what the caregiver has observed and determined from the previous questions, the caregiver selects the bottom icon 456 ( Figure 24 If the patient's responses are consistent with what the caregiver has observed and determined from the previous questions, the caregiver selects the upper icon 454 (labeled "Focus on Self-Ability"). If he or she selects the upper icon 454, the caregiver assistance application 124 adds a value of 0 to the patient's fall risk score, and if he or she selects the bottom icon 456, a value of 15 is added.

[0361] After the caregiver provides the answer to the sixth fall risk assessment question 452 to the caregiver assistance application 124, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 354 of the algorithm 143 and analyzes the results of the six questions to determine the patient's degree of fall risk. The application 124 makes this determination by adding together all the values ​​from the six questions on screens 400, 410, 416, 430, 440, and 450. The result is a numerical fall risk score for the patient. Although different scoring methods may be used (and / or may be customized by a particular healthcare institution), in some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 converts the numerical fall risk score into a qualitative rating, such as zero risk, low risk, medium risk, and high risk. In one such embodiment, the caregiver assistance application assigns a zero risk rating when the numerical fall risk score is zero; a low risk rating when the numerical fall risk score is greater than zero but less than 25; a medium risk rating when the numerical fall risk score is greater than 25 but less than 45; and a high risk rating when the numerical fall risk score is greater than 45. In an alternative embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 assigns a no-risk rating when the numerical score is between 0 and 25; a low-risk rating when the numerical score is between 25 and 50; and a high-risk rating when the numerical score is greater than 50. Other qualitative ratings may also be used and / or other score ranges may be selected for matching quantitative scores with qualitative ratings. Furthermore, the score assigned to each individual question may also vary from that described above.

[0362] After determining the patient's qualitative fall risk rating, the caregiver assistance application sends either or both of the qualitative and quantitative fall risk ratings to the EMR server 98. The fall risk rating is sent by the caregiver assistance application 124 along with one or more identifiers that identify the specific patient to whom the fall risk rating just completed corresponds. The specific patient to whom the fall risk rating is assigned may be determined in any of the ways previously described, such as by associating the patient's room number with the patient's ID, associating the identifier 186 of the patient support device with the room and / or patient ID, and / or by making other associations. As such, it should be noted that the caregiver assistance application 124 may be used to identify the patient's room number and / or patient ID in the EMR server 98. Figure 19-24During the display of the screens shown, the room number (and specific bed compartment identifier, if the room is a shared room) of the patient to whom the fall risk level applies is displayed. In the specific example shown, the room number is "7093," and all responses to the fall risk questions shown in these screens are attributed to the patient assigned to room 7093. Thus, during the fall risk assessment process, the caregiver is provided with a reminder of the room (and ultimately, the specific patient) for which the fall risk assessment is applicable. In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 can be configured to retrieve the actual patient name from the ADT server 94 and display it during the fall risk assessment process, so that the caregiver is informed of the specific patient for whom they are assessing fall risk. Regardless of whether a specific patient name or a specific room number is displayed, the caregiver ensures that the fall risk assessment is attributed to the correct individual by ensuring that the room number or patient name displayed on screens 400, 410, 416, 430, 440, and 450 corresponds to the patient (or patient's room) for whom the caregiver is performing the fall risk assessment.

[0363] After sending the fall risk assessment and the corresponding patient name to the EMR server 98 at step 354, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the qualitative risk level ( Figure 18 An example of a way to display qualitative fall risk levels is in Figure 25 460. The fall risk screen 460 includes a fall risk alert added to the status location 200. The fall risk screen 460 also includes a summary window 466 that displays a number of pieces of information as a result of the fall risk assessment that was just completed. More specifically, the summary window 466 includes a qualitative fall risk level identifier 468 and a patient fall risk reduction protocol summary 470. The qualitative fall risk level identifier 468 corresponds to the fall risk level that was assigned to the patient upon receipt of the fall risk assessment. Figure 19-24 The qualitative fall risk level is determined by answering the six questions shown in . Figure 25 In the particular example shown, the qualitative fall risk level identifier 468 is a "high" level, indicating that the patient has a high risk of falling.

[0364] The fall risk reduction protocol summary 470 summarizes the steps that will be performed to reduce the patient's risk of falling. That is, the fall risk reduction protocol summary 470 briefly summarizes the fall risk reduction steps ( Figure 2In some embodiments, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 is initially set by the manufacturer of the caregiver assistance system 106 but can be modified by an authorized individual 136 of the healthcare facility to meet the needs of the healthcare workers of the specific healthcare facility in which the system 106 is installed. In other embodiments, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 may be set by the manufacturer and not customizable, while in still other embodiments, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 may not be defined until its contents are determined by healthcare facility administrators.

[0365] Generally, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 determines what steps the caregiver will take with the patient support device 20 to reduce the patient's risk of falling. Generally speaking, these steps typically include one or more of the following: ensuring the brakes on the patient support device 20 are engaged; placing at least three siderails 36 of the patient support device 20 in an upright position; arming the departure detection system 46 of the patient support device 20 (including arming specific areas of the departure detection system 46); lowering the height of the bed frame 28 to its lowest height or to a height no higher than a specified threshold; and, in some cases, arming a monitoring system (e.g., the bed monitoring system identified in the bed monitoring state indicator 168) that issues an alarm if any condition of the fall risk reduction protocol 93 changes to an undesirable state. All of these steps are steps taken with respect to fall risk components of the patient support device 20. Fall risk components are those components of the patient support device 20 that have two different states, at least one of which is more likely to reduce the risk of a fall. Thus, the fall risk components include at least the following components of the patient support device 20: the siderails 36, the brakes, the skid 28, the exit detection system 46, and the bed monitoring system. The fall risk reduction protocol 93 specifies the required states of these fall risk components when the patient has a non-zero fall risk. In most cases, the required states are those specified above (e.g., brakes applied, at least three siderails raised, skid lowered, exit detection system armed, and bed monitoring system (if included) armed).

[0366] In those embodiments where the qualitative fall risk level has more than two categories (e.g., more than high risk and low risk), the fall risk reduction protocol 93 can include different definitions, one for each different fall risk level category. For example, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 can specify that for a high fall risk patient, a first set of fall risk components must be in a desired state; and for a moderate fall risk patient, a second set of fall risk components must be in a desired state, with the second set being either a subset of the first set or having some other variation relative to the first set. In other embodiments, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 can be the same for all patients who do not have a zero fall risk level (e.g., the protocol 93 can be the same for both high and moderate fall risk patients).

[0367] The fall risk reduction protocol summary 470 summarizes the required status of the fall risk component of the fall risk reduction protocol 93. Figure 25 As shown in FIG, fall risk reduction protocol summary 470 specifies "low bed height," "three siderails raised," "bed exit: zone 2," and "brakes set." This means that the particular fall risk reduction protocol 93 shown in this example has identified the mat 28, siderails 36, exit detection system 46, and brakes as fall risk components, and their required states are: for mat 28, a lowered height or minimum height; for at least three siderails 36, an raised position; for exit detection system 46 set to zone 2, an armed state; and brakes activated. Thus, fall risk reduction protocol summary 470 serves as a reminder for the caregiver to ensure all of these fall risk components are set to their required states before leaving the room in which the patient support device 20 and its associated patient are located.

[0368] To enable the nursing assistant application 124 Figure 25 In the summary window 466 of the application 124, the fall risk reduction protocol summary 470 is displayed. The application 124 first retrieves the fall risk reduction protocol 93. This is performed in step 356 of the algorithm 143. Figure 2 As indicated in FIG. 1 , the fall risk reduction protocol 93 can be stored in the memory 91. In other embodiments, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 can be stored elsewhere. Furthermore, in at least one embodiment, the patient support device 20 is configured to enable a user to change the fall risk reduction protocol 93 using one of the control panels 42. As already mentioned, one or more authorized individuals 136 can modify or store the fall risk reduction protocol 93 using a computer (e.g., 134) in communication with the network 74 and the caregiver assistance server 90.

[0369] Return to Figure 18Once the caregiver assistance application 124 retrieves the fall risk reduction protocol 93, it determines what the desired state is for each fall risk component. This is accomplished in step 358 of the algorithm 143. As already mentioned, the desired states are defined in the fall risk reduction protocol 93. After determining these desired states in step 358, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 360 to determine if any current states are not their corresponding desired states. The caregiver assistance application 124 continuously monitors the states of the fall risk components of the patient support devices 20 within the healthcare facility and uses this repeatedly updated state data to determine in step 360 whether any fall risk component is not in, or has moved out of, its corresponding desired state. Updated state data is received from the patient support devices 20, which transmit their state data to the caregiver assistance application 124, either directly or, as previously mentioned, indirectly via the patient support device server 86. Alternatively, this state data is referred to herein as condition data and includes, for example, the current state of the guardrails, brakes, bed rest, exit detection system, bed monitoring system, and the like.

[0370] If the caregiver assistance application 124 determines at step 360 that any fall risk components of the patient support device 20 are not in their desired state according to the patient fall risk reduction protocol 93, it proceeds to step 364 to issue an alarm, as will be described in more detail below. If it is determined at step 360 that all fall risk components of the patient support device 20 are in their desired state, it proceeds to step 362 to continue monitoring the fall risk components and check to see if they remain in their desired state. From step 362, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 380 to return to the main algorithm 226 ( Figure 5 ) and enables the caregiver to use other functions of the caregiver assistance application 124 and / or display other screens not directly related to the patient's fall risk. It should be noted that returning to the main algorithm 226 does not terminate the continued monitoring of the fall risk components of the patient support device, but rather enables the monitoring process to continue in the background. Thus, for example, if the caregiver switches to using the patient rounding function of the caregiver assistance application 124 (e.g., by pressing the rounding task icon 180) and one of the fall risk components of the patient support device 20 of a patient with a high fall risk becomes in an undesirable state, the caregiver assistance application 124 will still provide the caregiver with the alert of step 364, even though the application 124 may be executing a different algorithm at that particular time.

[0371] The alarm issued at step 364 follows the alarm algorithm 149. The alarm algorithm 149 is combined with Figure 61As described in more detail, the alert algorithm 149 typically sends an alert to those electronic devices 104 that have been configured to be notified (as defined in local rules 126) when a fall risk component of a particular patient support device 20 changes to an undesirable state. This alert is sent to the caregiver's mobile device 104a (and / or stationary device 104b), regardless of whether the caregiver is in the same room or ward as the patient support device 20 that generated the alert. That is, the alert algorithm 149 provides an alert to the caregiver when one or more fall risk components of any patient support device 20 assigned to the caregiver's patient change from a corresponding desired state. Thus, for example, if the caregiver is currently in room 7030 and the caregiver is assigned to patients in rooms 7031, 7032, and 7033, all of whom are at high fall risk, the caregiver will receive an alert on their mobile electronic device 104a if one or more fall risk components of any patient support device 20 in rooms 7031, 7032, or 7033 change to a state that is not their corresponding desired state while the caregiver is in room 7030. Furthermore, the caregiver assistance application 124 performs the aforementioned actions for each caregiver with a mobile electronic device 104a (and for all stationary electronic devices 104b). Thus, each caregiver is notified of changes to the fall risk components of the patient support device 20 used for the particular patient that caregiver is assigned to care for.

[0372] Returning to step 364 of the algorithm 143, the alert algorithm 149 issues an alert in one or more different ways at this step, depending on how the caregiver assistance application 124 has been customized by an authorized administrator of the healthcare facility and on the specific embodiment of the caregiver assistance application 124. In some embodiments of the application 124, the caregiver accesses the caregiver assistance application 124 on their mobile electronic device 104a by accessing a specific URL using a conventional web browser. In these embodiments of the application 124, the alert algorithm 149 may not always provide the alert to the caregiver via the web browser, as the caregiver may have closed the web browser, may be viewing a different web page, and / or may not be currently logged into the application 124 via the web browser. Furthermore, even if the caregiver is currently logged into the caregiver assistance application 124 via the web browser, it may be difficult to guarantee that the caregiver receives the alert, as the caregiver may have turned down the volume on the mobile electronic device 104a and / or may not be looking at the screen when the alert is issued.

[0373] To account for these and other possibilities, in some embodiments, the alarm algorithm 149 may be configured to sound an alarm by sending a text, email, or phone message to the mobile electronic device 104a of the caregiver to whom the alarm is directed. Since the mobile electronic device 104a is typically a smartphone or tablet, the text, email, or phone message is transmitted to another application (e.g., a text app, email app, or phone app) being run by the device 104a. In addition, the mobile electronic device 104a can be easily set to emit a specific noise, sound, and / or vibration in response to an incoming text, phone call, and / or email. In addition, even if the web browser on the mobile electronic device 104a is closed, or the caregiver is not logged into the application 124, or the volume of the sound played by the device 104a from the website (e.g., the media volume on a smartphone) has been turned off or set to low, the aforementioned specific noise, sound, and / or vibration still occurs. Thus, the alert algorithm 149 may issue an alert using a separate mobile app on the device 104 that is independent of the web browsing app on the device 104 to ensure that the alert is delivered to the caregiver even if the web browsing app used to access the application 124 is closed on the device 104 or the caregiver is not logged into the application 124.

[0374] As previously mentioned, in some alternative embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 is divided into two specific applications: a server application and a mobile device application. In such embodiments, the caregiver accesses the caregiver assistance application 124 not through a web browser installed on their mobile electronic device 104a, but rather by opening the caregiver assistance application 124's mobile device application. The mobile device application is a specialized app downloaded to the mobile electronic device 104a and specifically designed to work in conjunction with the server application. In this embodiment, the mobile device application is customized to run on the specific operating system of the mobile electronic device 104a. Therefore, there may be different versions of the mobile device application written for different operating systems (e.g., Android, iOS, etc.). Such a native application offers the advantage of being able to run in the background and cause the mobile electronic device 104a to emit a sound, vibrate, illuminate one or more lights, etc. in response to an incoming alert, even if the user has not manually opened the native application.

[0375] Regardless of the specific manner in which the caregiver assistance application 124 issues the alert at step 364 ( Figure 18), the algorithm 143 branches to different pathways after step 365: a first pathway 366 and a second pathway 368. The first pathway 366 enables the user to remotely or locally change the state of the fall risk component on the patient support device 20 that caused the alarm to be issued. The second pathway 368 enables the user to acknowledge the alarm without changing the state of the fall risk component. If the caregiver selects the second pathway 368, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 378 and waits for the caregiver to acknowledge the alarm without making any changes to the fall risk component that is not in its required state. The caregiver assistance application 124 can be configured to accept this acknowledgement in several different ways, such as, but not limited to, displaying an "acknowledge" or "ignore" icon that must be touched by the caregiver to acknowledge the alarm, or requiring the caregiver to take some active action using the mobile electronic device 104a that indicates that the caregiver received and is aware of the alarm. Once the alarm is received by the caregiver assistance application 124, the algorithm 143 proceeds to step 362 and operates in the manner previously discussed.

[0376] If the caregiver wishes to change the state of a fall risk component that is no longer in the state it requires, the caregiver may choose to follow the first pathway 366 ( Figure 18 ). The first pathway 366 enables a caregiver to change the state of the fall risk component to its desired state locally or, in some cases, remotely. To change the state locally, the caregiver must be present in the room where the patient support device 20 corresponding to the alarm is located. The caregiver uses one or more control panels 42 of the patient support device 20 to make the change locally. To make the change remotely, the caregiver uses the mobile electronic device 104a to send a command to the patient support device 20 to change the fall risk component back to its desired state. In many embodiments, only commands that do not involve physical movement on the patient support device 20 are allowed to be executed remotely, such as arming the departure detection system, arming the bed monitoring monitoring system, etc.

[0377] To remotely change the state of the fall risk component using the mobile electronic device 104a (or the stationary electronic device 104b), the caregiver assistance application 124 waits at step 370 to receive a command for the patient support device ( Figure 18). Once the command is received, the command is sent by the electronic device 104a to the caregiver assistance server 90 at step 372. When it is received by the caregiver assistance application 124 running on the server 90, the application 124 forwards the command to the appropriate patient support device 20 at step 374. Thereafter, the patient support device 20 implements the command and sends an updated data set regarding its fall risk components, which is received by the caregiver assistance application 124 at step 376. Using this updated data set, the caregiver assistance application 124 returns to step 360 to check to see if all fall risk components of the patient support device 20 are in their required states. From step 360, the caregiver assistance application 124 continues in the manner previously described.

[0378] When the mobile electronic device 104a is used to send a command to change the state of the fall risk component of the patient support device 20, it knows which specific patient support device 20 to send the command to based on the room number (and / or patient name) displayed in the status location 200. That is, the room number, bed compartment identifier, and / or patient identifier displayed in the status location 200 when the command is sent determines where the command will be sent. When the caregiver assistance application 124 receives the command at the server 90, it knows which patient support device 20 to send the command to based on its knowledge of which patient support devices 20 are assigned to which rooms, bed compartments, and / or patients.

[0379] It should be noted that the monitoring of the status of the fall risk components of the patient support device 20 occurring in steps 360 and 362 of the algorithm 143 may include more monitoring than that performed by the bed monitoring system. That is, in at least one embodiment, the patient fall risk reduction protocol 93 may specify that the bed monitoring system be turned on for high-fall-risk patients. In this case, the algorithm 143 automatically monitors whether the bed monitoring system is on or off for those patient support devices 20 to which the high-fall-risk patient has been assigned, and if off, the algorithm 143 issues an alarm. Thus, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 may provide an additional layer of monitoring beyond that provided by the bed monitoring system: it may monitor the bed monitoring system itself (the bed monitoring system does not monitor itself).

[0380] It should also be noted that the caregiver assistance application 124 also passively monitors the status of all of the various components of the patient support device 20, regardless of whether the patient is at high risk for falls and regardless of whether the patient has been assessed for fall risk (also regardless of whether the bed monitoring system is armed or disarmed). The results of this passive monitoring are displayed at the top 202 of the screen shown here (e.g., Figure 19-26). This monitoring provides information about the current status of the patient support device 20 to the caregiver, allowing the caregiver to remotely understand the status of all patient support devices 20 being used by their assigned patients. In addition, this passive monitoring may include monitoring a set of components other than the fall risk components described above, such as, but not limited to, whether the patient support device 20 is currently plugged into an electrical outlet, whether the nurse call system cable between the patient support device 20 and the nurse call system is connected or disconnected, etc.

[0381] In some embodiments, when the caregiver assistance application 124 issues an alert because a fall risk component of the patient support device 20 has changed to an undesirable state, the alert may include a graphic representation of the fall risk component that has changed to the undesirable state. Figure 19-27 In all of the screens shown, the caregiver assistance application 124 includes a bed icon 164. If any siderail changes to an undesirable state, the caregiver assistance application 124 may illustrate this change by changing the color or visual appearance of the siderail icon 176 corresponding to the siderail 36 that changed to the undesirable state. Additionally, if the height of the bed frame 28 changes to a higher than desired height, the caregiver assistance application 124 may change the color or appearance of the top of the bed frame shown in the bed icon 164 (e.g., the top of the bed icon 164 surrounding the patient icon). If the departure detection system 46 or the bed monitoring system changes to an undesirable state, the caregiver assistance application 124 may illustrate this change by highlighting the departure detection system status indicator 166 or the bed monitoring status indicator 168 or changing its appearance. If the brakes move out of their desired state, the portion of the bed status bar 170 indicating the brake status may be highlighted and / or visually altered. Other graphical changes may be made for alerts related to fall risk components moving out of their desired state.

[0382] In at least one embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 enables a user to modify the patient's exit detection system aspects of the patient fall risk reduction protocol 93 for a specific patient. More specifically, in at least one embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 enables a caregiver to override the exit detection system zones specified by the fall risk reduction protocol 93. For example, in many embodiments, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 specifies that the exit detection system 46 be armed for high fall risk patients and that zone 2 (a medium sensitivity zone) be selected. However, if a caregiver wishes to arm a different zone, the caregiver assistance application 124 enables the caregiver to do so without causing an alarm if the application 124 detects that the wrong zone was armed at step 360 of the algorithm 143.

[0383] Two examples of this custom region selection are Figure 26 and 27 In Figure 26In screenshot 480 of FIGURE 4, the caregiver has selected Zone 1 of the exit detection system 46, upon which the caregiver assistance application 124 has displayed an alert window 482. Alert window 482 informs the caregiver that Zone 2, not Zone 1, is the designated zone for the patient's fall risk reduction protocol 93. However, if the user wishes to select Zone 1 instead of Zone 2, the user is free to do so by pressing confirmation icon 484. If the user presses confirmation icon 484, in at least one embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 updates the fall risk reduction protocol 93 only for that particular patient, such that no alert is issued in step 364 because Zone 1 was placed on standby instead of Zone 2. In this embodiment, if a new patient is assigned to that particular patient support device 20, or if the user subsequently switches the exit detection system 46 from Zone 1 back to Zone 2 for that particular patient support device 20, the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically changes the fall risk reduction protocol 93 back to Zone 2.

[0384] Figure 27 A similar situation is shown where the caregiver wishes to standby zone 3 of the exit detection system 46 instead of zone 2. Figure 26 , the caregiver assistance application 124 displays an alert window 492 on screen 490 informing the caregiver that zone 2 is the designated zone for the fall risk reduction protocol 93. However, if the user wishes to override this zone selection, the user is free to press the confirmation icon 494, in which case the caregiver assistance application 124 updates the fall risk reduction protocol 93 for this particular patient and no longer issues an alert due to the selection of zone 3 instead of zone 2. If a new patient is assigned to this particular patient support device 20 or the caregiver switches the departure detection system 46 from zone 3 back to zone 2 on this particular patient support device 20, the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically switches the protocol 93 back to zone 2 for this particular patient support device 20.

[0385] In addition to the alerts discussed above in conjunction with the rounds algorithm 140 and the fall risk reduction algorithm 143, the alert algorithm 149 is also configured to alert the caregiver when the status of any patient support device 20 assigned to the caregiver changes and the bed monitoring system is armed. The caregiver assistance application 124 can also be configured to alert the corresponding caregiver when any patient support device 20 alert is issued by any patient support device 20 to which the caregiver is assigned (e.g., a patient-away alert, a cable-unplugged alert, etc.). Such alerts can occur while the caregiver is using the caregiver assistance application 124 for other purposes, such as one of the other tasks identified in the task menu 174, or while the caregiver is engaged in other tasks that do not involve the use of the electronic device 104. As mentioned, such alerts are communicated to the caregiver, in at least one embodiment, by sending a text message, email, and / or automated phone call to the specific caregiver associated with the patient support device 20 issuing the alert. Furthermore, in at least some embodiments, the alert algorithm 149 is configured to enable the user to select how these alerts are issued. Thus, for example, if the departure detection system 46 of the patient support device 20 detects that the patient has left, or if the nurse call cable is unplugged, or any other change in state that is the basis for an alarm, the caregiver can receive a text s...

Claims

1. A caregiver assistance system for assisting a caregiver in performing patient care tasks, the caregiver assistance system comprising: (a) a plurality of beds, each of the plurality of beds comprising: mat rack; a support plate supported on the cushion frame and adapted to support a corresponding patient thereon; a memory containing an identifier that uniquely identifies a corresponding bed; a nurse call cable port adapted to connect to a first end of a nurse call cable, a second end of the nurse call cable adapted to connect to a nurse call jack, thereby enabling the corresponding bed to communicate with the nurse call system; an occupancy detector adapted to detect when a respective patient occupies a respective bed and when the respective bed is not occupied; a sensing system adapted to sense an alarm condition of a corresponding bed when activated and not sense the alarm condition when deactivated; Network transceivers; and a controller in communication with the memory, the network transceiver, and the sensing system, the controller being adapted to forward occupancy data and activation data from the corresponding bed via the network transceiver, the occupancy data indicating when the corresponding patient is occupying the corresponding bed and when the corresponding bed is not occupying the corresponding bed, and the activation data indicating when the corresponding sensing system is activated or deactivated; (b) a caregiver assistance application adapted to run on the server, the caregiver assistance application adapted to receive the identifier, the enabling data and the occupancy data, the caregiver assistance application further adapted to perform the following steps: (i) determining whether each bed is currently in compliance with the healthcare facility's protocol based on the activation data and the occupancy data; (ii) record compliance values ​​indicating how many beds are currently in compliance with the facility's agreement and how many beds are currently not in compliance with the facility's agreement; and (iii) displaying the compliance value on a display of an electronic device in communication with the caregiver assistance application.

2. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to generate a report showing compliance values ​​measured over a period of time.

3. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: The sensing system for each bed is an exit detection system adapted to detect when the respective patient exits the respective bed.

4. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: The sensing system for each bed is a bed monitoring system adapted to monitor a plurality of conditions of the respective bed.

5. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 4, wherein: The bed monitoring system is adapted to monitor at least: the status of a brake on the corresponding bed; the status of a set of guardrails on the corresponding bed; the height of the mattress of the corresponding bed; and the activation / deactivation status of a departure detection system on the corresponding bed.

6. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to generate a report of compliance values ​​for beds associated with a particular caregiver.

7. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: The healthcare facility protocol defines when the sensing system of a corresponding bed is to be enabled based on whether a particular patient assigned to the corresponding bed has a fall risk assessment score above a threshold.

8. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: The healthcare facility protocol defines when the sensing system of a corresponding bed is to be activated based on whether a particular patient assigned to the corresponding bed has a decubitus ulcer risk assessment score above a threshold.

9. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 7, wherein: The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to receive fall risk assessment data from a mobile electronic device associated with the particular caregiver and to generate a fall risk assessment score from the fall risk assessment data.

10. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 8, wherein: The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to receive decubitus ulcer risk assessment data from a mobile electronic device associated with the particular caregiver and to generate a decubitus ulcer risk assessment score from the decubitus ulcer risk assessment data.

11. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to perform at least two of the following: (a) receiving decubitus ulcer risk data from a caregiver regarding each patient's risk of developing a decubitus ulcer and determining a decubitus ulcer risk assessment score from the decubitus ulcer risk data; (b) receiving fall risk data regarding the fall risk of each patient from a caregiver and determining a fall risk assessment score from the fall risk data; (c) receiving completion data from the nursing staff indicating when the nursing staff has completed rounds for each patient; (d) displaying a decubitus ulcer risk assessment indicator on a display of the electronic device, the decubitus ulcer risk assessment indicator indicating the risk of each patient developing a decubitus ulcer; (e) displaying a fall risk assessment indicator on a display of the electronic device, the fall risk assessment indicator indicating the fall risk of each patient; (f) displaying the time until the next round of each patient's task will be completed; (g) Displaying a reminder to perform rounds on each patient; (h) displaying a reminder to perform a decubitus ulcer risk assessment for each patient; (i) displaying a reminder to perform a fall risk assessment for each patient; (j) electronically activated departure detection systems integrated into each bed; and (k) Receive an exit alert when each patient leaves his or her corresponding bed.

12. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 11, wherein: The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to communicate with a mobile electronic device associated with a particular caregiver and display at least the following data for a particular bed associated with the particular caregiver: (a) a status of a battery integrated with the particular bed; (b) a signal strength indicator indicating the strength of a wireless signal between a network transceiver of the particular bed and a wireless access point of a local area network of the healthcare facility; (c) an indicator indicating that a nurse call cable port of the particular bed is not communicatively connected to the nurse call system; and (d) an indicator indicating whether the particular bed is currently operating on power from batteries or from an electrical outlet.

13. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 12, wherein: The mobile electronic device is a smart phone or a tablet computer.

14. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 13, wherein: The electronic device includes a browser app that communicates with the caregiver assistance application by accessing at least one uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the server using the browser app.

15. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: Each bed further comprises a second sensing system adapted to sense a second alarm condition of the corresponding bed when activated and not sense the second alarm condition when deactivated, wherein the controller is further adapted to send second activation data to the caregiver assistance application, the second activation data indicating when the second sensing system is activated or deactivated, wherein the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to perform the following steps: (i) determining whether each bed currently complies with the healthcare facility protocol based on the second activation data and the occupancy data; (ii) recording a second compliance value indicating how many beds are currently compliant with the healthcare facility protocol based on the second activation data and the occupancy data and how many beds are currently not compliant with the healthcare facility protocol based on the second activation data and the occupancy data; and (iii) displaying the second compliance value on a display of an electronic device in communication with the caregiver assistance application.

16. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: Each bed is further adapted to transmit an alarm to the nurse assistance application via the network transceiver and to the nurse call system via the nurse call cable port when the sensing system senses an alarm condition.

17. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: The sensing system for each bed is a locking control adapted to prevent the pivotable head section of the support board from rotating below a threshold angle when activated.

18. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 17, wherein: The medical institution protocol is the ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) prevention protocol.

19. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to send a notification to a mobile electronic device associated with a particular caregiver when a particular bed associated with the particular caregiver is not in compliance with healthcare facility protocols.

20. The caregiver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein: The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display, on the electronic device, an operating guide for using features of at least one bed.

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