System for monitoring health data collection devices - Patents.com

Abstract

A system for monitoring health data collection devices including a device database and a processing unit. The device database stores, for each health data collection device, a health data collection device connection status having a first value indicating that health data is being obtained from the health data collection device or a second value indicating that health data is not being obtained from the health data collection device, and patient contact information. The processing unit is configured to monitor the connection status of each health data collection device and, if a change in the connection status from the first value to the second value is detected, to send a notification to at least one patient contact associated with a respective patient using the patient contact information.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a monitoring system for monitoring at least one health data collection device, each health data collection device being associated with a respective patient.

[0002] The present invention also relates to a method for monitoring a health data collection device and a corresponding computer readable storage medium.

[0003] The present invention relates to the field of patient health monitoring. [Background technology]

[0004] It is known to perform remote monitoring of patients. For example, such remote monitoring aims to ensure that a patient's health data collection device is connected, i.e., able to transmit collected patient health data periodically. Thus, if a given health data collection device is detected to be disconnected, the healthcare provider contacts the corresponding patient and tracks follow-up actions with the patient until the health data collection device is "connected" again.

[0005] In this case, a "disconnected health data collection device" means a health data collection device that is not connected, which corresponds to a situation where health data of a patient having said health data collection device is not acquired (or at least not acquired regularly) for one or more reasons, and as a result action may be required to overcome this situation.

[0006] However, known monitoring techniques are not satisfactory.

[0007] Indeed, such techniques rely heavily on healthcare providers, who must check the corresponding databases of each health data collection device manufacturer to identify disconnected health data collection devices and then contact each corresponding patient to assess the situation.

[0008] This places an unacceptable burden on healthcare providers who must focus solely on health data collection devices that are disconnected due to anomalies.

[0009] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a monitoring system for monitoring health data collection devices that is less time consuming for healthcare providers. Summary of the Invention

[0010] To this end, the invention is a monitoring system of the aforementioned type, comprising at least one device database and a processing unit, each device database storing, for each health data collection device: - a connectivity status of the health data collection device having a first value indicating that health data has been acquired from the health data collection device within a predetermined time period prior to the current data acquisition date or a second value indicating that health data has not been acquired from the health data collection device within a predetermined time period prior to the current data acquisition date; and - Patient contact information for each patient; configured to store The processing unit, for each health data collection device: - Monitor the connection status of health data collection devices; - if a corresponding connectivity state change from a first value to a second value is detected, sending a notification to at least one patient contact associated with the respective patient using the corresponding patient contact information; It is structured as follows.

[0011] Indeed, according to the present invention, the processing unit monitors the connection status of each health data collection device and automatically sends notifications to the corresponding patients, thereby eliminating the need for the healthcare provider to manually verify the connection status of each health data collection device. Furthermore, the device database is a collection of information retrieved from the manufacturer database of each health data collection device manufacturer, thereby providing a unique interface for potential further follow-up by the healthcare provider.

[0012] According to other advantageous aspects of the invention, the monitoring system comprises one or more of the following features, taken alone or in any possible combination:

[0013] For each health data collection device, the processing unit is further configured to send at least one further notification to at least one patient contact of the respective patient using the corresponding patient contact information while the connection status has the second value;

[0014] For each health data collection device, the patient contact information for each patient includes a plurality of patient contacts each having a corresponding rank, and for a given patient, the processing unit is configured to send an i th notification to each patient contact having rank i ;

[0015] For each health data collection device, the patient contact information for the respective patient further includes, for each patient contact, an indication of a respective communication system for sending notifications to the patient contact;

[0016] Each health data collection device includes at least one of a connected implant, a cardiac implantable electronic device, a wearable device, or an electronic device configured to run a dedicated health data collection app or provide access to a web interface for inputting health data;

[0017] The notification may include a short message service (SMS) message, an email, and / or a voice message;

[0018] the health data collection device includes a sensor configured to collect health data and a transceiver configured to output the health data collected by the sensor, and the notification includes an indication that the health data is not being obtained from the health data collection device due to the corresponding sensor or the corresponding transceiver;

[0019] Notifications are - Customer support contact information for patient health data collection devices; - technical information regarding patient health data collection devices; - a first interactive interface element for reporting the occurrence of a predetermined normal situation in which health data cannot be obtained from the health data collection device; - a field for entering the expiration date before which notifications should not be sent, and - a second interactive interface element for reporting the end of the inability to obtain health data from the health data collection device; including a hyperlink to a patient interface comprising at least one of:

[0020] The patient interface is a secure interface that requires authentication for access;

[0021] Authentication involves entering the patient's date of birth;

[0022] The patient interface is a web interface or an app interface;

[0023] For each health data collection device associated with a connection state having the second value, the processing unit is configured to change the connection state from the second value to the first value when acquisition of health data from the health data collection device is detected;

[0024] For each health data collection device, the processing unit is configured to determine a corresponding connection status based on availability of health data from the health data collection device in a manufacturer database of a manufacturer of the health data collection device;

[0025] The processing unit is configured to enable, for each health data collection device associated with a connection state having a second value, a disconnection alert on the health care provider interface;

[0026] the health data collection device includes a sensor configured to collect health data and a transceiver configured to output the health data collected by the sensor, and the disconnection alert includes an indication that health data is not being obtained from the health data collection device due to the corresponding sensor or the corresponding transceiver;

[0027] For each health data collection device, the processing unit is configured to enable a disconnection alert when the connection status still has a second value after a predetermined alert duration has elapsed from the notification date when the notification was sent;

[0028] For the at least one health data collection device, the processing unit is configured to disable a disconnection warning if a current date is before a corresponding disablement deadline;

[0029] The healthcare provider interface is a web interface or an app interface;

[0030] The processing unit is configured to output, on the healthcare provider interface, a disconnected patient list including identifiers of at least some of the health data collection devices associated with a connection status having the second value.

[0031] The present invention also provides a method for monitoring at least one health data collection device, each health data collection device associated with a respective patient, each health data collection device further comprising: - a connectivity status of the health data collection device having a first value indicating that health data has been acquired from the health data collection device within a predetermined time period prior to the current data acquisition date or a second value indicating that health data has not been acquired from the health data collection device within a predetermined time period prior to the current data acquisition date; and - Patient contact information for each patient; is associated with The method includes, for each health data collection device: - monitoring the connectivity status of health data collection devices; - if a corresponding connection state change from a first value to a second value is detected, sending a notification to at least one patient contact associated with the respective patient using the corresponding patient contact information; The present invention relates to a method comprising:

[0032] The invention also relates to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the steps of the aforementioned method.

[0033] The invention will be better understood with the aid of the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0034] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic representation of a surveillance system according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a flowchart of a monitoring method according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0035] A surveillance system 2 according to the present invention is shown in FIG.

[0036] The monitoring system 2 is designed to monitor at least one health data collection device 4 .

[0037] More precisely, each health data collection device 4 is associated with a patient 3 and is configured to collect health data relating to said respective patient 3 .

[0038] For example, the health data collection device 4 includes a connected implant, a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED), or a wearable device. The health data collection device 4 may also be an electronic device configured to run a dedicated app or to manually input health data related to the patient (e.g., by filling in a dedicated form). The health data collection device 4 may also be configured to display a web interface that allows the patient or his / her relatives to input the corresponding health data.

[0039] The monitoring system 2 comprises at least one device database 6 and a processing unit 8 as previously mentioned.

[0040] Device Database 6

[0041] Each device database 6 is configured to store, for each health data collection device 4, a connection status 10 of said health data collection device 4.

[0042] The connection status 10 has a first value or a second value. More precisely, the first value indicates that health data has been acquired from the health data collection device 4 within a predetermined time period prior to the current data acquisition date. Furthermore, the second value indicates that health data has not been acquired from the health data collection device 4 within a predetermined time period prior to the current data acquisition date.

[0043] For example, for a given health data collection device 4A, the associated current capture date corresponds to the last date that the processing unit 8 attempted to collect health data from said health data collection device 4A at a given point in time.

[0044] Alternatively or additionally, for a given health data collection device 4B, the associated current acquisition date corresponds to the last date that, at a given time, the manufacturer database 12 (mentioned above) of the manufacturer of the health data collection device 4B attempted to collect health data from said health data collection device 4B. In this case, for each health data collection device 4B, the processing unit 8 is configured to determine the corresponding connection state based on the availability in the manufacturer database 12 of health data from the health data collection device 4B since the current acquisition date of the manufacturer database 12. More precisely, in this case, for a given health data collection device 4B, the processing unit 8 is configured to search the manufacturer database 12 using the unique identifier of the health data collection device 4B to determine the availability of the corresponding health data in the manufacturer database 12.

[0045] In addition, for each health data collection device 4 , the device database 6 is also configured to store patient contact information 14 for the respective patient 3 .

[0046] Preferably, for each health data collection device 4, the patient contact information 14 for each patient includes a plurality of patient contacts, each with a corresponding rank.

[0047] Preferably, for each health data collection device 4, the patient contact information for the respective patient further includes, for each patient contact, an indication of a respective communication system for sending a notification 15 (described below) to the patient contact. For example, such an indication could be a short message service (SMS) message for sending the notification 15 to the patient himself / herself, an email for sending the notification 15 to the patient's nurse, a phone call for sending the notification 15 to the patient's doctor, etc.

[0048] Processing Unit 8

[0049] According to the present invention, the expression "processing unit" should not be construed as being limited to hardware capable of executing software, but generally refers to a processing device that may include, for example, a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, or a programmable logic device (PLD). The processing unit may also encompass one or more graphics processing units (GPUs) or tensor processing units (TSUs), whether used for computer graphics and image processing or other functions. In addition, the instructions and / or data enabling the execution of the relevant and / or resulting functions may be stored on any processor-readable medium, such as, for example, an integrated circuit, a hard disk, an optical disk such as a CD (compact disk), a DVD (digital versatile disk), a RAM (random access memory), or a ROM (read only memory). The instructions may in particular be stored in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.

[0050] For each health data collection device 4 , the processing unit 8 is configured to monitor the corresponding connection status 10 stored in the device database 6 .

[0051] Further, for each health data collection device 4, the processing unit 8 is configured to send the aforementioned notification 15 to at least one patient contact associated with the respective patient 3 using the corresponding patient contact information if a change in the corresponding connection status from a first value to a second value is detected.

[0052] Preferably, for each health data collection device 4, while the respective connection status 10 has the second value, the processing unit 8 is configured to send at least one further notification 15 to at least one patient contact of the respective patient 3 using the corresponding patient contact information 14.

[0053] Furthermore, in cases where the patient contact information 14 includes multiple patient contacts each having a corresponding rank, the processing unit 8 is preferably configured to send, for a given patient 3, the i-th notification 15 to each corresponding patient contact having rank i, where i is an integer.

[0054] Preferably, for each health data collection device 4 associated with a connection status having the second value, the processing unit 8 is configured to change the connection status 10 from the second value to the first value when acquisition of health data from said health data collection device 4 is detected. This prevents the sending of unnecessary notifications.

[0055] As previously mentioned, the notification 15 may include a short message service (SMS) message, an email, a voice message, etc. The notification 15 may also include a call from an interactive voice response (IVR) server.

[0056] For example, in instances where the notification 15 comprises an SMS message or email (or more generally a written message), the notification 15 may include a hyperlink to a patient interface 16. Such a patient interface 16 may be a web interface or an app interface, as shown in FIG.

[0057] Preferably, to enhance data privacy, the patient interface 16 is a secure interface that requires authentication for access. For example, such authentication may include entering the patient's 3 date of birth. This provides limited access to potentially sensitive data without the need to remember a password.

[0058] The patient interface 16 may include customer support contact information for the health data collection device 4 of the patient 3. The patient interface 16 may also include technical information for the health data collection device 4 of the patient 3. Such technical information may be directed, for example, to troubleshooting, e.g., instructions to enable the patient 3 to determine why they are unable to obtain health data from the health data collection device 4.

[0059] Alternatively or additionally, the patient interface 16 comprises a first interactive interface element 18 for reporting the occurrence of a predefined situation in which health data cannot be obtained from the health data collection device 4. Such a situation, considered as a "normal situation", may for example correspond to the patient being on vacation or in hospital. In this case, the processing unit 8 may be configured to cease sending notifications.

[0060] In this case, the patient interface 16 advantageously further comprises a field 22 for entering a corresponding override deadline until which the notification 15 should not be sent by the monitoring system 2. This override deadline may for example correspond to a patient's holiday or to the last day of hospitalization. The processing unit 8 may therefore further be configured to write the entered override deadline in the patient database 6 and to cease sending notifications while the current date is before the override deadline.

[0061] Preferably, the patient interface 16 also comprises a second interactive interface element 20 for reporting the end of the situation of not being able to obtain health data from the health data collection device 4. In this case, the processing unit 8 may be configured to resume sending the notification 15 when the connection status of the health data collection device 4 has a second value, i.e. when no obtaining of health data from said health data collection device 4 can be accomplished.

[0062] Furthermore, the processing unit 8 is preferably configured to enable a disconnection warning 26 on the healthcare provider interface 24 for each health data collection device 4 associated with a connection status having the second value. The healthcare provider interface 24 may be a web interface or an app interface.

[0063] Such a disconnection warning 26 may be a one-time warning, such as a message, or a persistent warning, such as a predefined icon that appears next to the names of patients whose health data collection devices 4 could not obtain health data.

[0064] Preferably, the processing unit 8 is configured to activate said connection loss warning 26 when the connection status of a given health data collection device 4 still has the second value after a predetermined warning duration has elapsed from the notification date of sending the first notification 15.

[0065] Preferably, the processing unit 8 is configured to disable the connection loss warning if the current date is earlier than said disable deadline.

[0066] In addition, the processing unit 8 may be configured to output, on the healthcare provider interface 24, a disconnected patient list including identifiers of at least some of the health data collection devices associated with a connection status having the second value, said identifiers being names of the corresponding patients 3.

[0067] operation

[0068] Here, the operation of the monitoring system 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0069] During a monitoring step 50 , the processing unit 8 monitors, for each health data collection device 4 , the connection status 10 stored in the device database 6 .

[0070] For each health data collection device 4, if the processing unit 8 detects during step 51 a change in the corresponding connection state 10 from a first value to a second value, the processing unit 8 sends a notification 15 to at least one patient contact 3 associated with the respective patient during a notification sending step 52. More precisely, for a given health data collection device 4, the processing unit 8 sends the notification 15 using the corresponding patient contact information.

[0071] Preferably, for each health data collection device 4 associated with a connectivity status having the second value, the processing unit 8 further enables a disconnection alert 26 on the health care provider interface 24 during an alert enabling step 54. In this case, the processing unit 8 preferably enables said disconnection alert 26 when the connectivity status of a given health data collection device 4 still has the second value after a predefined alert duration has elapsed from the notification date of sending the first notification 15.

[0072] In addition, the processing unit 8 may output, on the healthcare provider interface 24, a disconnected patient list including identifiers of at least some of the health data collection devices associated with a connection status having the second value.

[0073] Preferably, while the connection state 10 has the second value, for example if the processing unit 8 detects in step 55 that the connection state 10 still has the second value (for example after a predefined time has elapsed since the previous notification sending step 52), the processing unit 8 performs at least one further sending step 52 in order to send at least one further notification 15. Preferably, two successive repetitions of the sending step 52 are performed with said predefined time between them.

[0074] For example, in the case where the patient contact information 14 includes multiple patient contacts each having a corresponding rank, the processing unit 8 sends the corresponding i-th notification 15 to each patient contact having rank i during the i-th iteration of the sending step 52.

[0075] Preferably, if the processing unit 8 detects that the patient or his / her relative has responded to the notification 15 by entering through the patient interface 16 an invalidation deadline until which the notification 15 should not be sent by the monitoring system 2, then during the waiting step 56 the processing unit 8 stops sending the notification in step 57 if the current date is before the invalidation deadline.

[0076] In this case, the processing unit 8 preferably disables the connection loss warning if the current date is before the disablement deadline.

[0077] Preferably, at any time, for each health data collection device 4 associated with a connection state having the second value, if the processing unit 8 detects that health data is being obtained from said health data collection device 4, the processing unit 8 changes the connection state 10 from the second value to the first value.

[0078] Preferably, if the processing unit 8 detects at any time after the notification 15 that the patient or his / her relative reports the occurrence of a predetermined situation in which health data cannot be obtained from the health data collection device 4 through the patient interface 16 accessed by the notification 15, the processing unit 8 stops sending notifications regarding the corresponding health data collection device 4.

[0079] Preferably, in this case, the processing unit 8 performs the monitoring step 50 when it detects that the patient or his / her relative reports through the patient interface 16 the end of the aforementioned situation in which health data cannot be obtained from the health data collection device 4.

[0080] alternative

[0081] In some embodiments, particularly in cases where the health data collection device 4 comprises a connected implant, the health data collection device 4 includes a sensor configured to collect health data and a transceiver configured to receive the health data collected by the sensor and transmit the received health data to a processing unit 8 of the monitoring system 2 or to a manufacturer database 12 of the manufacturer of the health data collection device 4.

[0082] In this case, the second value stored in the device database 6 further indicates that no health data has been acquired from the health data collection device 4 due to the corresponding sensor or the corresponding transceiver. For example, in the case where no health data has been acquired from the health data collection device 4, if the transceiver is able to send an echo reply following receipt of an echo request (typically via a ping utility, using the Internet Control Message Protocol, ICPM), this is determined to be due to the sensor.

[0083] Preferably, the notification 15 and / or the patient interface 16 accessed by the notification 15 includes an indication that health data is not being acquired from the health data collection device 4 due to a corresponding sensor or a corresponding transceiver. Such an indication may provide the patient with insight for more efficient troubleshooting.

[0084] Preferably, the disconnection warning 26 includes an indication that health data is not being acquired from the health data collection device 4 due to the corresponding sensor or the corresponding transceiver. Such an indication, particularly if health data is not being acquired due to a sensor, provides an indication as to a potential malfunction of said sensor so that a healthcare provider can take appropriate action.

Claims

1. 1. A monitoring system for monitoring at least one health data collection device, each health data collection device associated with a respective patient, the monitoring system comprising at least one device database and a processing unit, each device database comprising, for each health data collection device: a connectivity status of the health data collection device having a first value indicating that health data has been acquired from the health data collection device within a predetermined time period prior to the current data acquisition date or a second value indicating that health data has not been acquired from the health data collection device within a predetermined time period prior to the current data acquisition date; and Patient contact information for each patient; configured to store The processing unit, for each health data collection device: Monitor the connection status of health data collection devices, if a change in the corresponding connection state from a first value to a second value is detected, sending a notification to at least one patient contact associated with the respective patient using the corresponding patient contact information; A monitoring system configured to:

2. 10. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein for each health data collection device, the processing unit is further configured to send at least one further notification to at least one patient contact of the respective patient using corresponding patient contact information while the connection status has a second value.

3. 3. The monitoring system of claim 2, wherein for each health data collection device, the patient contact information for the respective patient includes a plurality of patient contacts each having a corresponding rank, and wherein for a given patient, the processing unit is configured to send an i-th notification to each patient contact having rank i.

4. 10. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein, for each health data collection device, the patient contact information for a respective patient further includes, for each patient contact, an indication of a respective communication system for sending notifications to the patient contact.

5. 10. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein each health data collection device comprises at least one of a connected implant, a cardiac implantable electronic device, a wearable device, or an electronic device configured to run a dedicated health data collection app or provide access to a web interface for inputting health data.

6. The monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the notification comprises a Short Message Service (SMS) message, an email, and / or a voice message.

7. 2. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the health data collection device includes a sensor configured to collect health data and a transceiver configured to output health data collected by the sensor, and the notification includes an indication that health data is not being obtained from the health data collection device due to a corresponding sensor or a corresponding transceiver.

8. The notification may be: Customer support contact information for patient health data collection devices; technical information regarding patient health data collection devices; a first interactive interface element for reporting the occurrence of a predefined common situation in which health data cannot be obtained from the health data collection device; A field for entering an invalidation date, before which notifications should not be sent, and a second interactive interface element for reporting the end of the inability to obtain health data from the health data collection device; 10. The monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising a hyperlink to a patient interface comprising at least one of:

9. The monitoring system of claim 7 , wherein the patient interface is a secure interface that requires authentication for access.

10. The monitoring system of claim 8 , wherein the authentication includes entering the patient's date of birth.

11. The monitoring system of claim 7 , wherein the patient interface is a web interface or an app interface.

12. 2. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein for each health data collection device associated with a connection state having a second value, the processing unit is configured to change the connection state from the second value to the first value when acquisition of health data from the health data collection device is detected.

13. 2. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein for each health data collection device, the processing unit is configured to determine a corresponding connection status based on availability of health data from the health data collection device in a manufacturer database of a manufacturer of the health data collection device.

14. 2. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit is configured to enable a disconnection alert on a healthcare provider interface for each health data collection device associated with a connection state having a second value.

15. 15. The monitoring system of claim 14, wherein the health data collection device includes a sensor configured to collect health data and a transceiver configured to output health data collected by the sensor, and the loss of connection warning includes an indication that health data is not being obtained from the health data collection device due to a corresponding sensor or a corresponding transceiver.

16. 15. The monitoring system of claim 14, wherein for each health data collection device, the processing unit is configured to enable a disconnection alert when the connection status still has a second value after a predetermined alert duration has elapsed from a notification date when the notification was sent.

17. 15. The monitoring system of claim 14, wherein for at least one health data collection device, the processing unit is configured to disable a disconnection warning if a current date is before a corresponding disablement deadline.

18. The monitoring system of claim 14 , wherein the healthcare provider interface is a web interface or an app interface.

19. 2. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit is configured to output, on a healthcare provider interface, a list of disconnected patients including identifiers of at least some of the health data collection devices associated with a connection status having a second value.

20. 1. A method for monitoring at least one health data collection device, each health data collection device associated with a respective patient, each health data collection device further comprising: a connectivity status of the health data collection device having a first value indicating that health data has been acquired from the health data collection device within a predetermined time period prior to the current data acquisition date or a second value indicating that health data has not been acquired from the health data collection device within a predetermined time period prior to the current data acquisition date; and Patient contact information for each patient; is associated with The method includes, for each health data collection device: Monitoring a connection status of a health data collection device; sending a notification to at least one patient contact associated with the respective patient using the corresponding patient contact information when a change in the corresponding connection status from a first value to a second value is detected; A method comprising:

21. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps of the method of claim 20.

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