Caregiver Support System

Abstract

The caregiver support system assists caregivers in managing patient care and the beds supporting the patients. The system monitors caregivers' patient-related tasks, such as caregiver rounding tasks, bedsore assessments, and / or fall risk assessments, and forwards completed tasks to an EMR server. The system also monitors bed status, determines compliance with one or more healthcare facility protocols, and generates compliance level reports to assist administrators in managing the healthcare facility. The system also monitors how quickly caregivers respond to one or more alert conditions related to the beds and / or patients, and generates reports for administrators related to such response times.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,868,947, filed June 30, 2019, entitled "Caregiver Support System," by inventors Thomas Durlach et al.; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,868,387, filed June 28, 2019, entitled "Caregiver Support System," by inventors Thomas Durlach et al.; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,868,360, filed June 28, 2019, entitled "Caregiver Support System," by inventors Thomas Durlach et al., the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This application is related to the following applications, which are incorporated by reference in their entireties: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62 / 781,831, filed December 19, 2018, entitled "System for Managing Patient Support Devices and Clinical Rounds," U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62,868,387, filed June 28, 2019, entitled "Caregiver Support System," U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62,826,187, filed March 29, 2019, entitled "Patient Support Devices and Systems for Managing Patient Fall Risk," U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62,868,360, filed June 28, 2019, entitled "Caregiver Support System," U.S. patent application Ser. No. 6,281,879, filed December 19, 2018, entitled "System for Managing Patient Support Devices and Clinical Rounds," and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62,826,195, filed March 29, 2019, entitled "Patient Support Devices and Systems for Managing Pressure Sore Risk."

[0003] The present disclosure relates to patient support devices such as beds, cots, stretchers, operating tables, recliners, etc. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system for assisting caregivers in both managing such patient support devices and performing other tasks, such as, but not limited to, patrolling the same. [Background technology]

[0004] Hospitals typically expect nurses and / or other caregivers to perform a variety of different duties when caring for patients. These duties include administering medications and / or treatments, reading vital signs, placing and removing IVs, taking blood samples, ensuring patients comply with prescribed activities and / or medications, assisting patients in and out of bed, visiting patients periodically, setting patients' beds to desired conditions, documenting one or more of these activities, and generally attending to the patient's needs. One of these duties involves performing what is commonly known as patient rounds. Such rounding duties involve the caregiver personally checking the patient's health at specific, designated intervals. Hospital administrators typically specify a minimum frequency with which caregivers must perform these rounding duties, such as at least once every two hours. In some circumstances, the frequency of rounds may be modified based on the patient's medical condition, the ward or section of the hospital, and / or other factors.

[0005] Hospitals also typically expect nurses and / or other caregivers to help reduce a patient's risk of falling. In many hospitals, patients are assigned a fall risk, and if the fall risk exceeds a certain threshold, caregivers are required to take certain steps to reduce the patient's likelihood of falling during their stay. Such fall risk reduction steps often involve placing one or more components of the hospital bed in one or more desired states, such as, for example, arming an exit detection system, activating brakes, etc. Hospitals typically expect nurses and / or other caregivers to ensure that patients do not develop pressure sores and / or that existing pressure sores do not worsen while in the medical facility. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In addition to the above tasks, hospitals typically expect nurses to ensure that a patient's bed is properly configured. Proper configuration may include any one or more of the following: ensuring the bed is plugged in, ensuring the bed is properly connected to a nurse call system, ensuring an exit detection system is equipped, ensuring a bed monitoring system is equipped, and / or ensuring one or more other aspects of the bed are in a desired state.

[0007] Thus, the tasks and responsibilities of nurses and other caregivers are numerous and varied, and technology to assist these caregivers in fulfilling their responsibilities and providing quality medical care to patients is desirable. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] According to various embodiments, tools are provided herein to assist caregivers in performing multiple patient care tasks. According to some embodiments, tools are specifically provided to facilitate one or more of performing pressure sore risk reduction tasks, performing fall risk reduction tasks, performing bed configuration tasks, performing patrol tasks, and performing other routine tasks for which reminders may be set. The tools may assist the caregiver in their tasks by displaying screens that display various status data associated with the bed and notifications and reminders associated with one or more of the caregiver's tasks. The status data associated with the bed may indicate whether the bed is operating in accordance with one or more healthcare facility protocols, such as a protocol for reducing fall risk, a protocol for reducing pressure sore risk, a protocol for reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and / or other protocols. The status data may indicate whether the bed is operating on battery power or outlet power, the status of the bed's battery, whether the bed is properly coupled to a nurse call system, whether the bed can wirelessly communicate with the hospital network, whether the bed requires service, whether the bed is equipped with a bed exit detection system, and if so, at what detection level, and / or other aspects of the bed.

[0009] Additionally, the tool provides alerts to the caregiver about various pending tasks. Such tasks may include setting various bed conditions to desired states, assessing one or more aspects of the patient's health (e.g., whether the patient is at risk for falls and / or other undesirable conditions), and recording one or more aspects of the patient's care and / or other tasks. By combining reminders and notifications for these disparate tasks into a single tool, the tool eliminates the need for the caregiver to access and / or utilize separate tools to perform such disparate patient care tasks. In some embodiments, the tool comprises 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 fixed electronic device that displays information about beds located in pre-designated areas of the hospital.

[0010] The tool may additionally or alternatively provide information to healthcare facility administrators about caregiver response times to alert conditions and how well caregivers are managing various healthcare facility protocols. Such information may be collected for multiple beds over different time periods, averaged, graphed, and / or separated according to various parameters such as, but not limited to, caregiver, ward, floor, etc. The tool may allow caregivers to easily view instructions for executing any one or more of these protocols and / or for operating any one or more functions of the bed.

[0011] A caregiver support system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of beds and a server-based caregiver support application. Each bed includes a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support a patient, a memory including an identifier uniquely identifying the bed, a nurse call cable port adapted to couple to a first end of a nurse call cable and having a second end adapted to couple to a nurse call outlet, thereby enabling the bed to communicate with the nurse call system, sensors adapted to detect a state of each 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 alert when the sensor detects an undesirable state of the bed and to deactivate the alert when a caregiver responds to the alert. The controller is adapted to forward the identifier, a first alert message, and a second alert message to the caregiver support application via the network transceiver. The first alert message is transmitted in response to the alert being activated, and the second alert message is transmitted in response to the alert being deactivated. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive the identifier, the first alert message, and the second alert message from the bed, and is adapted to: (i) record a time interval for each of the beds for which the caregiver assistance application receives the first alert message and the second alert message, the time interval corresponding to the time from receiving the first alert message to receiving the second alert message; (ii) transfer the time interval to the electronic device; and (iii) display the time interval on a display of the electronic device.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to average a plurality of time intervals and display the average of the plurality of time intervals on a display of the electronic device.

[0013] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to: (i) determine a first average of a first set of multiple time intervals collected over a first period of time; (ii) determine a second average of a second set of multiple time intervals collected over a second period of time; and (iii) display both the first average and the second average simultaneously on the electronic device.

[0014] The first period and / or the second period may be configurable by an administrator and may include, but are not limited to, days, weeks, months, years, and the like.

[0015] In some embodiments, the sensor is an exit detection system and the undesired condition is each of the patients exiting each of the beds. In some embodiments, the sensor may additionally or alternatively be a series of sensors monitored by a bed monitoring system. In these latter embodiments, the undesired condition may include one or more of the brakes of each of the beds not being active, the set of side rails of each of the beds not being raised, the height of the litter frame of each of the beds not being at a minimum height, or the exit detection system of each of the beds not being activated.

[0016] In some embodiments, each of the plurality of beds has a timer and the controller is adapted to utilize the timer to determine the time interval and send the time interval to the caregiver assistance application, hi other embodiments, the caregiver assistance application has a timer and is adapted to utilize the timer to determine the time interval.

[0017] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is adapted to record a plurality of time intervals and classify each of the plurality of time intervals according to at least one of caregiver, location, time of day, and patient type.

[0018] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application (a) receives bedsore risk data from the caregiver regarding a risk of each of the patients developing a bedsore and determines a bedsore risk assessment score from the bedsore risk data; (b) receives fall risk data from the caregiver regarding a risk of a fall of each of the patients and determines a fall risk assessment score from the fall risk data; (c) receives completion data from the caregiver indicating when the caregiver has completed a round task for each of the patients; (d) displays a bedsore risk assessment indicator on a display of the electronic device, the bedsore risk assessment indicator indicating a risk of developing a bedsore for each of the patients; and (e) displays the fall risk assessment indicator on the electronic device. and displaying on a display of the chair, the fall risk assessment indicator indicating the fall risk of each of the patients; (f) displaying the time until the next round task for each of the patients is completed; (g) displaying a reminder to perform the round task for each of the patients; (h) displaying a reminder to perform a bedsore risk assessment for each of the patients; (i) displaying a reminder to perform a fall risk assessment for each of the patients; (j) activating an exit detection system mounted on each of the beds using the electronic device; and (k) receiving an exit alert when each of the patients exits each of the beds.

[0019] In some embodiments, the one or more beds further comprise a battery and a battery sensor adapted to detect a status of the battery. In such embodiments, the controller is adapted to send a status of each of the batteries to a caregiver assistance application, and the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a battery status indicator on the electronic device, the battery status indicator indicating a status of each of the batteries.

[0020] In some embodiments, the bed further comprises a short-range transceiver adapted to communicate with a short-range transmitter mounted on the headwall of the location beacon. The short-range transceiver is adapted to transfer location data and beacon battery status data to an adjacent bed of 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 transfer the beacon battery status data to a caregiver assistance application, which is further adapted to display a beacon status indicator on the display of the electronic device. The beacon status indicator indicates the current status of the battery of the location beacon.

[0021] In some embodiments, each of the controllers is further adapted to forward signal strength data to a caregiver assistance application, the signal strength data indicating a strength of a signal between each of the transceivers and a wireless access point at the medical facility, and the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a signal strength indicator on the display of the electronic device, the signal strength indicator indicating a strength of a signal between each of the transceivers and the wireless access point at the medical facility.

[0022] In some embodiments, the alert indicates that the nurse call cable port is not communicatively coupled to the nurse call system.

[0023] In some embodiments, the sensors are adapted to determine whether each of the beds is currently operating on power from a battery or power from an electrical wall outlet, and the alert indicates that each of the beds is currently operating on battery power.

[0024] In some embodiments, each of the controllers is further adapted to determine whether each of the beds should be serviced and to forward service data to a caregiver assistance application when each of the beds should be serviced, and the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a bed service indicator on a display of the electronic device.

[0025] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display instructions on the electronic device for using at least one function of the bed.

[0026] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there is disclosed a caregiver support system having a plurality of beds and a server-hosted caregiver support application, each of the plurality of beds including a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support each of the patients, a memory including an identifier uniquely identifying each of the beds, a nurse call cable port adapted to couple to a first end of a nurse call cable and having a second end adapted to couple to a nurse call outlet, thereby enabling each of the beds to communicate with the nurse call system, an occupancy detector adapted to detect when each of the patients occupies each of the beds and when each of the patients is not occupying each of the beds, a detection system adapted to detect an alert state of each of the beds when activated and not detect the alert state when deactivated, a network transceiver, and a controller in communication with the memory, the network transceiver, and the detection system, the controller adapted to transfer occupancy data and activation data from each of the beds via the network transceiver. The occupancy data indicates when each of the beds is occupied by a patient and when each of the beds is not occupied by a patient, and the activation data indicates when each of the detection systems is active and when each of the detection systems is inactive. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive the identifiers, the activation data, and the occupancy data, and is further adapted to: (i) determine whether each of the beds is currently compliant with a healthcare facility protocol based on the activation data and the occupancy data, (ii) record a compliance value indicating the number of beds that are currently compliant with the healthcare facility protocol and the number of beds that are not currently compliant with the healthcare facility protocol, and (iii) display the compliance value on a display of an electronic device in communication with the caregiver assistance application.

[0027] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the caregiver assistance application may be further configured to generate a report showing the fitness values ​​measured over a period of time.

[0028] In some embodiments, the detection system for each of the beds is an exit detection system adapted to detect when each of the patients exits each of the beds. In other embodiments, the detection system for each of the beds is a bed monitoring system adapted to monitor a plurality of conditions for each of the beds. In yet another embodiment, the detection system for each of the beds is a lockout control adapted, when activated, to prevent a pivotable head section of the support deck from pivoting below a threshold angle. In such an embodiment, the healthcare facility protocol is a ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) prevention protocol.

[0029] In yet another embodiment, the bed system may include multiple detection systems. For example, in some embodiments, each of the beds further comprises a second detection system adapted to detect a second alert condition of each of the beds when activated and not detect the second alert condition when deactivated. In such embodiments, the controller is further adapted to send second activation data to the caregiver assistance application indicating when the second detection system is activated and when the second detection system is deactivated. The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to (i) determine whether each of the beds is currently compliant with the healthcare facility protocol based on the second activation data and the occupancy data, (ii) record a second compliance value indicating the number of beds currently compliant with the healthcare facility protocol based on the second activation data and the occupancy data and the number of beds not currently compliant with the healthcare facility protocol based on the second activation data and the occupancy data, and (iii) display the second compliance value on a display of an electronic device in communication with the caregiver assistance application.

[0030] In some embodiments, each of the beds is further adapted to communicate an alert to a caregiver assistance application via the network transceiver and to a nurse call system via the nurse call cable port when the detection system detects an alert condition.

[0031] In those embodiments having a bed monitoring system, the bed monitoring system is adapted to monitor at least the status of the brakes on each of the beds, the status of the set of side rails on each of the beds, the height of the litter frame on each of the beds, and the active / inactive status of the exit detection system on each of the beds.

[0032] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to generate a report of the bed fit values ​​associated with the particular caregiver.

[0033] In some embodiments, the healthcare facility protocols define when the detection system of each of the beds is activated based on whether a particular patient assigned to each of the beds has a fall risk assessment score that exceeds a threshold. Alternatively or additionally, the healthcare facility protocols may define when the detection system of each of the beds is activated based on whether a particular patient assigned to each of the beds has a pressure sore risk assessment score that exceeds a threshold.

[0034] The caregiver assistance application may be further configured to receive fall risk assessment data from the mobile electronic device associated with the particular caregiver and generate a fall risk assessment score from the fall risk assessment data. Similarly, the caregiver assistance application may be further configured to receive pressure sore risk assessment data from the mobile electronic device associated with the particular caregiver and generate a pressure sore risk assessment score from the pressure sore risk assessment data.

[0035] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to communicate with a mobile electronic device associated with a particular caregiver and display data for a particular bed associated with the particular caregiver, including at least (a) the status of a battery installed in the particular bed, (b) a signal strength indicator indicative of the strength of a wireless signal between the network transceiver of the particular bed and a wireless access point of a local area network of a healthcare facility, (c) an indicator indicative of whether the nurse call cable port of the particular bed is communicatively coupled to a nurse call system, and (d) an indicator indicative of whether the particular bed is currently operating on battery power or wall power.

[0036] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to send a notification to a mobile electronic device associated with a particular caregiver if a particular bed associated with the particular caregiver does not comply with a healthcare facility protocol.

[0037] The caregiver assistance application may be further adapted to display instructions for using at least one function of the bed of the electronic device.

[0038] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a caregiver support system including a bed and a server-hosted caregiver support application. The bed includes a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support a patient, a memory including an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed, a nurse call cable port adapted to couple to a first end of a nurse call cable and having a second end adapted to couple to a nurse call outlet, thereby enabling communication with the nurse call system, a sensor adapted to detect a state 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 bed sensor via the network transceiver. The caregiver support application is adapted to receive the identifier and the sensor data and (i) display the sensor data on a mobile electronic device associated with a caregiver assigned to the patient and (ii) display instructions for using the bed's functions on the mobile electronic device.

[0039] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the 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 deliver the video to the mobile electronic device.

[0040] In some embodiments, the bed further comprises a detection system adapted to detect an alert state of the bed when activated and not detect an alert state when deactivated, and an occupancy detector adapted to detect when a patient occupies the bed and when the patient is not occupying the bed. In such embodiments, the controller is adapted to transfer bed occupancy data and activation data to a caregiver assistance application via the network transceiver. The occupancy data indicates when a patient occupies the bed and when the patient is not occupying the bed, and the activation data indicates when each of the detection systems is active and when each of the detection systems is inactive. The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to determine whether the bed is currently compliant with a healthcare facility protocol based on the activation data and the occupancy data, and to display data indicative of non-compliance on the mobile electronic device if the bed is not currently compliant with the healthcare facility protocol.

[0041] In some embodiments, the controller is adapted to activate an alert when each of the sensors detects that each of the beds is in an undesirable state and to deactivate the alert when a caregiver responds to the alert, and to forward the first alert message and the second alert message to a caregiver assistance application via the network transceiver. The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to record a time interval corresponding to a time from receipt of the first alert message to receipt of the second alert message, 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.

[0042] In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, the mobile electronic device may be one of a smartphone or a tablet computer.

[0043] Further, in any of the embodiments disclosed herein, the mobile electronic device may include a browser app, and the mobile electronic device may communicate with the caregiver assistance application using the browser app to access at least one uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the server. The caregiver assistance application may be adapted to send alerts that are processed by an app executed by the electronic device other than the browser app, such as, but not limited to, a phone app, an email app, or a messaging app.

[0044] A caregiver support system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first bed, a second bed, and a server-based caregiver support application. Each of the first bed and the second bed includes a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support a patient, a memory including an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed, a sensor adapted to detect a state of the bed, a network transceiver, and a controller. The controller is adapted to transmit data from the identifier and the sensors of each of the beds to a server on which the caregiver support application is hosted. The caregiver support application receives first sensor data from the first bed and second sensor data from the second bed, and associates the first sensor data with a first caregiver assigned to a first patient in the first bed. 1 the second sensor data to a second mobile electronic device associated with a second caregiver assigned to a second patient in a second bed; if the caregiver assistance application receives an acceptance of the sharing request, forwarding the first sensor data to the second mobile electronic device; and if the caregiver assistance application does not receive an acceptance of the sharing request, not forwarding the first sensor data to the second mobile electronic device.

[0045] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the caregiver assistance application can be adapted to receive a sharing request from a first mobile electronic device and an acceptance from a second mobile electronic device.

[0046] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive a sharing request and acceptance from the second mobile electronic device.

[0047] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to designate the second caregiver as the first caregiver for the first patient after receiving the acceptance. Thereafter, the caregiver assistance application forwards an alert from the first bed to the second mobile electronic device, and the second caregiver is designated as the first caregiver for the first patient. Alternatively, the caregiver assistance application does not forward the alert from the first bed to the first mobile electronic device, and the second caregiver is designated as the first caregiver for the first patient.

[0048] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to receive a non-sharing request and, in response to the non-sharing request, stop forwarding the first sensor data to the second mobile electronic device if the caregiver assistance application receives acceptance of the non-sharing request.

[0049] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to transfer the additional data related to the first patient to the second mobile electronic device if the caregiver assistance application receives an acceptance of the sharing request, and not transfer the additional data to the second mobile electronic device if the caregiver assistance application does not receive an acceptance of the sharing request. The additional data may comprise a reminder to perform at least one of the following tasks: make a round visit to the first patient, assess the first patient's risk of a pressure sore, assess the first patient's risk of a fall, start treatment for the first patient, and change settings on the first bed.

[0050] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to receive patient data from the second mobile electronic device after receiving acceptance of the sharing request, the patient data from the second mobile electronic device relating 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.

[0051] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is configured to obtain a 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 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 be further configured to obtain a 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 a fourth screen on the second mobile electronic device when the second mobile electronic device is at the second location.

[0052] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a caregiver support system for assisting a caregiver in performing patient care tasks. The caregiver support system includes a plurality of beds, each of which includes a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support a patient, a memory including an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed, sensors adapted to detect the status of each component of the bed, a network transceiver, and a controller. The controller is adapted to transmit the identifier and sensor data from each of the beds to a server hosting a caregiver support application. The caregiver support application is configured to receive the sensor data and the identifier and communicate with a mobile electronic device carried by the caregiver, determine a set of patients assigned to the caregiver, obtain the location of the caregiver, determine whether the location corresponds to a room where a patient from the set of patients is staying, display a first screen on the mobile electronic device if the caregiver is present in the room where a patient from the set of patients is staying, and display a second screen on the mobile electronic device if the caregiver is not present in the room where a patient from the set of patients is staying.

[0053] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the caregiver assistance application may be configured such that a first screen displays sensor data from a particular one of a plurality of beds, the particular one of the plurality of beds being located in the same room as the caregiver.

[0054] In some embodiments, the second screen displays a room list identifying all rooms in which the caregiver's patient set is located.

[0055] In some embodiments, the second screen displays the status of multiple beds located in a room in which the caregiver's set of patients are located.

[0056] The sensor data displayed on the first screen may include data indicating whether a specific one of the plurality of beds is equipped with a bed exit system. Alternatively or additionally, the sensor data displayed on the first screen may include data indicating whether a specific one of the plurality of beds is equipped with a bed monitoring system. Furthermore, the sensor data displayed on the first screen may include one or more of: (a) data indicating whether a brake mounted on the specific one of the plurality of beds is activated; (b) data indicating a low height state of a litter frame on the specific one of the plurality of beds; (c) data indicating whether a power cable mounted on the specific one of the plurality of beds is plugged into an outlet; and / or (d) data indicating whether a nurse call cable mounted on the specific one of the plurality of beds is connected to a nurse call outlet.

[0057] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a caregiver assistance application includes a plurality of beds and a server-based caregiver assistance application. Each bed includes a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support a patient, a memory including an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed, sensors adapted to detect the status of each component of the bed, a network transceiver, and a controller. The controller transmits the identifier and the plurality of sensor data of each bed to a server of the caregiver assistance application. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive the sensor data and the identifier and communicate with a mobile electronic device carried by the caregiver, determine a set of patients assigned to the caregiver, determine a room number of the set of patients, determine whether the location corresponds to a room where a patient from the set of patients is staying, identify the set of beds from the plurality of beds, each bed in the set of beds being associated with a corresponding patient from the set of patients, and display a first screen on the mobile electronic device. The first screen has a list of room numbers of a set of patients and a status indicator of at least one bed from the set of beds, the status indicator being derived from sensor data received from the at least one bed.

[0058] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the caregiver assistance application determines the set of patients assigned to the caregiver by communicating with both an Admission, Discharge and Tracking (ADT) server and a nurse call system server.

[0059] In some embodiments, the status indicator indicates whether the at least one bed meets a set of criteria, which may be defined by a fall risk reduction protocol, a pressure sore risk reduction protocol, and / or any one or more of an active brake mounted on the at least one bed, an active exit detection system mounted on the at least one bed, a plurality of elevated side rails mounted on the at least one bed, and a low-profile litter frame mounted on the at least one bed.

[0060] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a fall risk indicator on the first screen if any patient from the set of patients has a high fall risk and / or display a bedsore risk indicator on the first screen if any patient from the set of patients has a high bedsore risk.

[0061] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a caregiver assistance application includes beds and a server-based caregiver assistance application. Each bed includes a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support a patient, an inflatable mattress positioned on the support deck and adapted to change the patient's orientation while the patient is supported, sensors adapted to detect the status of each component of the bed, a network transceiver, and a controller. The controller transmits the identifier and data from the bed's sensors to a server hosting the caregiver assistance application. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive the sensor data and the identifier and login credentials from a user's mobile electronic device, determine whether the login credentials are valid, determine whether the login credentials correspond to a caregiver or a technician, and display data having sensor data and patient information related to a patient assigned to the bed on a display of the user's mobile electronic device if the login credentials correspond to a caregiver, or display data having sensor data and no patient information on a display of the user's mobile electronic device if the login credentials correspond to a technician.

[0062] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, if the login credentials correspond to a technician, the caregiver assistance application is further configured to communicate with the geographically remote device management system; send a request for a service history of the bed to the geographically remote device management system using the identifier; receive the service history of the bed from the geographically remote device management system; and display the service history of the bed on a display of the user's mobile electronic device.

[0063] In some embodiments, if the login credentials correspond to a caregiver, the caregiver assistance application is configured to not display the service history of the bed on the user's mobile electronic device.

[0064] In some embodiments, if the login credentials correspond to a technician, the caregiver assistance application is configured to receive maintenance information related to the bed from the user's mobile electronic device and forward the maintenance information to a geographically remote device management system.

[0065] In some embodiments, if the login credentials correspond to a technician, the caregiver assistance application is configured to receive both maintenance information related to the bed and confirmation data from the user's mobile electronic device, analyze the confirmation data to confirm the presence of the technician at the bed, and transmit the confirmation data and maintenance information to a geographically remote device management system.

[0066] 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 acquired 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 so that the user's mobile electronic device can acquire an image of the bed code. Alternatively or additionally, the bed may be adapted to wirelessly transmit the bed code via a short-range transmitter to a short-range transmitter mounted on the user's mobile electronic device.

[0067] 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 type of screen to display on the display of the user's mobile electronic device. The type of screen may be selected from a first screen displaying sensor data from the bed and a second screen displaying sensor data from multiple beds.

[0068] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further configured to determine whether the login credentials correspond to an administrator and to display all of the patient information associated with the patient assigned to the bed and the service history of the bed.

[0069] 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 forward the sensor data from the bed and the patient information to the other mobile electronic device if the second caregiver accepts the sharing request.

[0070] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a caregiver support system includes a bed and a server-based caregiver support application. The bed includes a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support a patient, a memory including an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed, a nurse call cable port adapted to couple to a first end of a nurse call cable and having a second end adapted to couple to a nurse call outlet, thereby enabling each bed to communicate with the nurse call system, a sensor adapted to detect whether the nurse call cable port is electrically coupled to the nurse call system via the nurse call cable, a network transceiver, and a controller in communication with the memory, the network transceiver, and the sensor. The controller transmits the identifier and data from the bed sensor to a server on which the caregiver support application is hosted. The caregiver support application is adapted to receive the sensor data and the identifier, forward the sensor data to a mobile electronic device associated with a caregiver assigned to the patient, and 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.

[0071] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display on the mobile electronic device a time indicating when the caregiver should perform the round task for the patient. The caregiver assistance application may be further adapted to receive completion data from the caregiver indicating when the caregiver has completed the round task. Furthermore, 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 the presence of the caregiver adjacent to the bed when the caregiver has completed the round task. The mobile electronic device forwards the confirmation data to the caregiver assistance application.

[0072] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is adapted to transfer the sensor data to the fixed electronic device and to display a connection indicator on a display of the fixed electronic device.

[0073] In some embodiments, the bed further comprises a short-range transceiver adapted to communicate with a short-range transmitter mounted on the headwall of the location beacon. The short-range transceiver transmits 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 battery of the location beacon. In such embodiments, the bed transmits 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. The current status of the battery of the location beacon may refer to the current charge of the beacon battery, an indication of whether the location beacon battery needs to be replaced, and / or another indication related to the charge and / or health of the battery of the location beacon.

[0074] In some embodiments, the controller is further adapted to determine whether the bed requires service and to forward service data to a caregiver assistance application when the bed requires service, and the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a bed service indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device when the bed requires service.

[0075] In some embodiments, the bed controller is further adapted to transfer signal strength data to the caregiver assistance application. The signal strength data indicates the strength of the signal between the transceiver and a wireless access point at the medical facility. In such embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a signal strength indicator on a display of the electronic device. The signal strength indicator indicates the strength of the signal between the transceiver and the wireless access point at the medical facility. The signal strength data is, in at least some embodiments, transferred to the caregiver assistance application using the transceiver.

[0076] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a wireless connectivity indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device, the wireless connectivity indicator having a first form indicating that the bed is not in wireless communication with the caregiver assistance application and a second form indicating that the bed is in wireless communication with the caregiver assistance application.

[0077] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to query the admission, discharge and tracking server for room assignment information and use the room assignment information to determine if a bed is not capable of wireless communication with the caregiver assistance application.

[0078] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a caregiver assistance system includes a bed and a server-hosted caregiver assistance application. The bed includes a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support a patient, a memory including an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed, a short-range transceiver adapted to communicate with a short-range transmitter attached to the headwall of a location beacon, a network transceiver, 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 is adapted to communicate with the memory, the network transceiver, and the short-range transceiver, and to transmit the identifier, location data, and beacon battery status data from the bed to a server on which the caregiver assistance application is hosted. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to (i) determine the location of the bed using the location data; (ii) transfer the beacon battery status data to a mobile electronic device associated with a caregiver assigned to the patient; and (iii) display 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.

[0079] According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a caregiver assistance application includes a bed and a server-hosted caregiver assistance application. The bed includes a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support a patient, a memory including an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed, a short-range transceiver adapted to communicate with a short-range transmitter mounted on the headwall of a location beacon, a network transceiver adapted to wirelessly communicate with a wireless access point of a medical facility network, and a controller in communication with the memory, the network transceiver, and the short-range 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 a location of the bed using the location data, (ii) transfer 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 connectivity indicator has a first form indicating that the bed is not capable of wireless communication with the caregiver assistance application using the network transceiver, and a second form indicating that the bed is capable of wireless communication with the caregiver assistance application using the network transceiver.

[0080] According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a caregiver assistance application includes a bed and a server-hosted caregiver assistance application. The bed includes a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support a patient, a memory including an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed, a battery, a power cable adapted to connect to an electrical outlet, a sensor adapted to determine whether the bed is operating on power from the battery or the power cable, a transceiver, and a controller in communication with the memory, the transceiver, and the sensor. The controller transmits the identifier and data from the bed sensor to a server on which the caregiver assistance application is hosted. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive the sensor data and the identifier and (i) forward the sensor data to a mobile electronic device associated with a caregiver assigned to the patient, and (ii) display 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 the power cable.

[0081] In some embodiments, the bed further comprises a nurse call cable port adapted to couple to a first end of a nurse call cable and having a second end adapted to couple to a nurse call outlet, 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 coupled to the nurse call system via the nurse call cable. In such embodiments, the controller may be further adapted to transmit data from the sensor to a 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.

[0082] 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 send the status of the battery to a caregiver assistance application, which is further adapted to display a battery status indicator on the electronic device. The battery status indicator indicates the status of the battery and may indicate the current charge of the battery, whether the battery needs to be replaced, and / or other data related to the charge and / or health of the battery.

[0083] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display a wireless connectivity indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device. The wireless connectivity indicator comprises a first form indicating that the bed is not in wireless communication with the caregiver assistance application and a second form indicating that the bed is in wireless communication with the caregiver assistance application. In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to query the admission, discharge and tracking server for room assignment information and use the room assignment information to determine if the bed is not in wireless communication with the caregiver assistance application.

[0084] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to: (a) display on the mobile electronic device a time indicating when the caregiver should perform an inspection task for the patient; (b) receive completion data from the caregiver indicating when the caregiver has completed the inspection task; 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 the presence of the caregiver adjacent to the bed when the caregiver has completed the inspection task, and forward the confirmation data to the caregiver assistance application.

[0085] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a caregiver support system including a bed and a server-based caregiver support application. The bed includes a litter frame, a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support a patient, a memory including an identifier that uniquely identifies the bed, sensors adapted to detect the status of components of the bed, a short-range transceiver adapted to communicate with a short-range transmitter mounted on a headwall of a room in a medical 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 from the bed. The caregiver assistance application is adapted to receive the location data, the sensor data, and the identifier and to (i) communicate with a mobile electronic device associated with the caregiver, (ii) communicate with the fixed electronic device, (iii) determine a room in which the bed is located using the location data, (iv) determine a set of patients assigned to the caregiver, (v) display the sensor data on a display of the mobile electronic device if the patient assigned to the bed is a patient in the set of patients assigned to the caregiver, (vi) not display the sensor data on a display of the mobile electronic device if the patient assigned to the bed is not a patient in the set of patients assigned to the caregiver, (vii) determine a set of room locations associated with the fixed electronic device, (viii) display the sensor data on a display of the fixed electronic device if the room in which the bed is located is from the set of room locations, and (ix) not display the sensor data on a display of the fixed electronic device if the room in which the bed is located is not from the set of room locations.

[0086] In some embodiments, the short-range transceiver is adapted to receive beacon battery status data from the location beacon. The beacon battery status data indicates a status of the battery of the location beacon. In such embodiments, the bed is adapted to transfer the beacon battery status data to a caregiver assistance application, and the caregiver assistance application is adapted to: (i) display a beacon status indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device if a patient assigned to the bed is a patient from a set of patients assigned to the caregiver; (ii) not display the beacon status indicator on a display of the mobile electronic device if the patient assigned to the bed is not a patient from the set of patients assigned to the caregiver; (iii) display the beacon status indicator on a display of the fixed electronic device if a room in which the bed is located is from the set of room locations; and (iv) not display the beacon status indicator on a display of the fixed electronic device if the room in which the bed is located is away from the set of room locations.

[0087] In any of the embodiments of the caregiver assistance system disclosed herein, the steps performed by the caregiver assistance application, the mobile electronic device, and / or the bed may be implemented in one or more ways to assist the caregiver.

[0088] Before describing in detail the various embodiments disclosed herein, it should be understood that the claims are not limited to the details of operation and the details of construction and arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The embodiments described herein may be practiced or realized in alternative ways not expressly disclosed herein. It should also be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "having" and "comprising" and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items described thereafter and their equivalents, as well as additional items and their equivalents. Furthermore, enumerations may be used in describing various embodiments. Unless specifically stated, the use of enumerations should not be construed as limiting the claims to a particular order or number of components. Nor should the use of enumerations be construed as excluding from the claims additional steps or components that may be combined with or with the recited steps or components. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0089] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a patient support device that can be used in a caregiver support system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the caregiver support system of the present disclosure showing a detailed set of components of the patient support device of FIG. 1, a server-based caregiver support application, and a portion of a local area network through which the patient support device communicates. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a set of components of a server-based caregiver assistance application. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a caregiver support system shown integrated into a local area network of a healthcare facility. [Figure 5] 1 is a flow diagram of a general algorithm that may be performed by a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 6] 3 is a flow diagram of a caregiver assistance algorithm that may be performed by a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 7] 1 is a plan view of a portable electronic device usable with a caregiver assistance system, showing the portable electronic device displaying a login screen for a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 8] 1 is an exemplary room list screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 9] 1 is an exemplary room overview screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 10] 10 is an exemplary first inspection question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 11] 10 is an exemplary second inspection question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 12] 10 is an exemplary third inspection question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 13] 10 is an exemplary fourth inspection question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 14] 10 is an exemplary tour completion screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 15] 10 is an exemplary first tour confirmation screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 16] 10 is an exemplary second tour confirmation screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of the caregiver support system. [Figure 17] 10 is an exemplary second tour confirmation screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of the caregiver support system. [Figure 18] 1 is a flow diagram of a fall risk reduction algorithm that may be performed by a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 19] 1 is an exemplary first risk assessment questionnaire screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 20] 10 is an exemplary second risk assessment questionnaire screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 21]10 is an exemplary third risk assessment questionnaire screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 22] 10 is an exemplary fourth risk assessment question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 23] 10 is an exemplary fifth risk assessment question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 24] 10 is an exemplary sixth risk assessment question screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 25] 10 is an exemplary fall risk assessment information screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 26] 10 is an exemplary first bed exit notification screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 27] 10 is an exemplary second bed exit notification screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 28] 1 is a flow diagram of a patient skin care algorithm that may be performed by a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 29] 1 is an exemplary skin care summary screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 30] 1 is an exemplary first skin assessment questionnaire screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 31] 10 is an exemplary second skin assessment questionnaire screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 32] 10 is an exemplary third skin assessment questionnaire screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 33] 10 is an exemplary fourth skin assessment questionnaire screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 34] 10 is an exemplary fifth skin assessment questionnaire screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 35] 10 is an exemplary sixth skin assessment questionnaire screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 36] 31 is an illustrative first information screen providing additional information related to a first selection made from the screen of FIG. 30. [Figure 37] 31 is an illustrative first information screen providing additional information related to a second selection made from the screen of FIG. 30. [Figure 38] 31 is an illustrative first information screen providing additional information related to the third selection made from the screen of FIG. 30. [Figure 39] 10 is an exemplary skin risk assessment score screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 40] 10 is an exemplary generic intervention screen that suggests various skin interventions and that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 41] 10 is an exemplary specific intervention screen that suggests setting the patient's mattress to a low air loss mode and that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system. [Figure 42] 10 is a flow diagram of a mattress control algorithm that may be executed by a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 43] 10 is an exemplary first patient orientation change screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system. [Figure 44] 10 is an exemplary second patient orientation change screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system. [Figure 45] 10 is an exemplary record review screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 46] 10 is an exemplary mattress treatment status screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system. [Figure 47] 10 is an exemplary first mattress parameter selection that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 48] 10 is an exemplary second mattress parameter selection that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system. [Figure 49]10 is an exemplary third mattress parameter selection that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver assistance system. [Figure 50] 1 is a flow diagram of a skin care recording algorithm that may be performed by a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 51] 1 is an exemplary first skin care data entry screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 52] 1 is an exemplary skin care image entry screen displayable on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 53] 10 is an exemplary skin care record review screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of the caregiver support system. [Figure 54] 10 is an exemplary second skin care data entry screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 55] 10 is an exemplary third skin care data entry screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 56] 10 is an exemplary saved image summary screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 57] 1 is a flow diagram of a manual task list modification algorithm that may be performed by the caregiver support system. [Figure 58] 10 is an exemplary alternative room overview screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 59] 10 is an exemplary alternative room list screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 60] 1 is a flow diagram of a reminder algorithm that may be performed by a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 61] 1 is a flow diagram of an alert algorithm that may be performed by a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 62] 1 is a flow diagram of an access algorithm that may be performed by a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 63]1 is a flow diagram of a screen selection algorithm that may be performed by a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 64] 1 is a flow diagram of a sharing algorithm that may be performed by a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 65] 1 is a first exemplary share request screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 66] 10 is a second exemplary share request screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 67] 10 is an exemplary non-shared request screen that may be displayed on an electronic device of a caregiver support system. [Figure 68] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the caregiver support system of the present disclosure showing a detailed set of components of available patient support devices and a portion of the local area network through which the patient support devices communicate. [Figure 69] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the caregiver support system of the present disclosure showing a detailed set of components of available patient support devices and a portion of the local area network with which the patient support devices communicate. [Figure 70] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a fourth embodiment of the caregiver support system of the present disclosure showing a detailed set of components of available patient support devices and a portion of the local area network through which the patient support devices communicate. [Figure 71] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a fifth embodiment of the caregiver support system of the present disclosure showing a caregiver support application adapted to interface with a remote device management system. [Figure 72] 72 is an exemplary bed identification screen that may be displayed on the electronic device of the caregiver support system of FIG. 71. [Figure 73] 72 is an exemplary bed maintenance screen that may be displayed on the electronic device of the caregiver support system of FIG. 71. [Figure 74] 10 is another alternative room overview screen that may be displayed on any electronic device of the caregiver support system disclosed herein having at least one bed that does not have BedWatch monitoring functionality. [Figure 75] 75 is the room overview screen of FIG. 74 showing that no patient is currently in bed. [Figure 76] FIG. 75 is the room summary screen of FIG. 74 showing a graphical representation of the first sensitivity level of the exit detection system. [Figure 77] FIG. 75 is the room summary screen of FIG. 74 showing a graphical representation of the second sensitivity level of the exit detection system. [Figure 78] FIG. 75 is the room summary screen of FIG. 74 showing a graphical representation of the third sensitivity level of the exit detection system. [Figure 79] 10 is another exemplary room overview screen that may be displayed on any electronic device of the caregiver support system disclosed herein upon issuing an exit detection alert. [Figure 80] 10 is another exemplary room overview screen that may be displayed on any electronic device of the caregiver assistance system disclosed herein, showing additional status information related to the bed. [Figure 81] 10 is another exemplary room overview screen that may be displayed on any electronic device of the caregiver assistance system disclosed herein, showing further information related to the patient and bed. [Figure 82] 10 is a flow diagram of a detection algorithm for detecting a non-existent communication connection between a patient assistance device and a caregiver assistance application. [Figure 83] 10 is a room overview screen that may be displayed on any electronic device of the caregiver support system disclosed herein showing a non-existent communication connection. [Figure 84] 1 is an exemplary room list screen that may be displayed on any fixed electronic device of the caregiver support system disclosed herein. [Figure 85] 10 is another exemplary room overview screen that may be displayed on any electronic device of the caregiver assistance system disclosed herein showing instructions for using the features of a particular bed located within the corresponding room. [Figure 86]10 is another exemplary room overview screen that may be displayed on any electronic device of the caregiver support system disclosed herein, showing a video illustrating the use of one or more features of a particular bed located within the corresponding room. [Figure 87] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a first type of report that can be generated by any of the caregiver support systems disclosed herein showing a pie chart of bed exit equipment fitment. [Figure 88] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a second type of report that can be generated by any of the caregiver support systems disclosed herein showing a pie chart of bed monitoring equipment fitment. [Figure 89] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a third type of report that can be generated by any of the caregiver support systems disclosed herein showing a graph of response time between alerts and caregiver intervention. [Figure 90] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a fourth type of report that may be generated by any of the caregiver support systems disclosed herein that shows multiple statistics related to beds in a healthcare facility. [Figure 91] 10 is another exemplary room list screen that may be displayed on any electronic device of the caregiver support system disclosed herein that has information beyond that included in some of the other room list screens, such as the time the patient spends out of bed. [Figure 92] 10 is another exemplary room overview screen that may be displayed on any electronic device of the caregiver assistance system disclosed herein showing a notification when a bed with a local built-in monitoring system activates its monitoring system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0090] An exemplary patient support device 20 that can be used in a caregiver support system according to the present disclosure is shown in Figure 1. The particular form of patient support device 20 shown in Figure 1 is a bed adapted for use in a hospital or other medical environment, although it is understood that in different embodiments, patient support device 20 can be a cot, a stretcher, a recliner, or any other structure capable of supporting a patient while the patient is in a medical facility, such as, but not limited to, a hospital. For purposes of the following written description, patient support device 20 will be described primarily as a bed, with the understanding that the following written description applies to these other types of patient support devices.

[0091] Generally, the patient assist apparatus 20 includes a base 22 having a plurality of wheels 24, a lift subsystem including a pair of lifts 26 supported on the base, a litter frame 28 supported on the lifts 26, and a support deck 30 supported on the litter frame 28. The patient assist apparatus 20 also includes a headboard 32, a footboard 34, and a plurality of side rails 36. While all of the side rails 36 are shown in a raised position in FIG. 1, they are each independently movable to lower positions to access the patient assist apparatus 20 without obstructing the patient assist apparatus 20 with the side rails 36 lowered. In some embodiments, the side rails 36 may be movable to one or more intermediate positions.

[0092] The lifts 26 are configured to raise and lower the litter frame 28 relative to the base 22. The lifts 26 may be hydraulic actuators, electric actuators, or any other suitable device for raising and lowering the litter frame 28 relative to the base 22. In the illustrated embodiment, the lifts 26 are independently operable to also adjust the inclination of the litter frame 28 relative to the base 22. That is, the litter frame 28 has a head end and a foot end, the height of each of which can be independently adjusted by the nearest lift 26. The patient support apparatus 20 is designed so that when an occupant lies on it, the occupant's head is positioned adjacent the head end and the occupant's feet are positioned adjacent the foot end.

[0093] The litter frame 28 provides structure for supporting the support deck 30, headboard 32, footboard 34, and side rails 36. The support deck 30 provides a support surface for a mattress 38 or other soft cushion on which a person can lie and / or sit. The support deck 30 is composed of multiple sections, some of which are pivotable about generally horizontal pivot axes. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the support deck 30 includes a head section 40, also referred to as a Fowler section or backrest section. The head section 40 is pivotable about a generally horizontal pivot axis between a generally horizontal orientation (not shown in FIG. 1) and multiple elevated positions (one of which is shown in FIG. 1). The support deck 30 may have additional sections (not labeled) that are pivotable about one or more horizontal pivot axes, such as upper leg or thigh and / or lower leg or foot sections.

[0094] The patient support apparatus 20 also includes multiple control panels 42 that allow a user of the patient support apparatus 20, such as a patient and / or associated caregiver, to control one or more aspects of the patient support apparatus 20. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the patient support apparatus 20 includes a footboard 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 footboard 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 apparatus 20. Not all control panels 42 have identical controls and / or functionality. In the illustrated embodiment, the footboard control panel 42a has a substantially complete set of controls for controlling the patient support apparatus 20, while the control panels 42b and 42c have selected subsets of those controls. Any one or more of the control panels 42 a, b and / or c may include a height adjustment control that, when activated, changes the height of the litter frame 28 relative to the base 22 .

[0095] Control panels 42a and / or 42c may have controls to allow a user to activate and deactivate the brakes on wheels 24, arm exit detection system 46, read the patient's weight, activate and deactivate the propulsion system, and communicate with a medical facility computer network located at the medical facility where patient assist device 20 is located. Inner siderail control panel 42b may also have a nurse call control that allows the patient to call a nurse. A speaker and microphone may be included on or adjacent to inner siderail control panel 42b to allow the patient to audibly communicate with a remotely located nurse.

[0096] Footboard control panel 42a is implemented in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 as a touchscreen display 70 with a plurality of controls 72 disposed alongside the touchscreen display 70. Controls 72 may be implemented as buttons, dials, switches, or other devices. Either or both of control panels 42b or 42c may have a display for displaying information related to patient assist device 20, and such a display may be a touchscreen in some embodiments. Alternatively, one or more of control panels 42a-c may omit the touchscreen display and instead have only dedicated controls 72 or other forms of non-display controls.

[0097] The mechanical structure of those aspects of patient support device 20 not explicitly described herein may be the same as or substantially the same as the mechanical structure of the Model FL27 InTouch Critical Care Bed manufactured and sold by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan, which mechanical structure is described in detail in the Stryker Maintenance Manual for the Model FL27 InTouch Critical Care Bed (Version 2.4; 2131409-002 REV B) published by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that those aspects of patient assist apparatus 20 not explicitly described herein may alternatively be designed with other types of mechanical structures, such as, but not limited to, those described in commonly assigned U.S. Patient Assist Device 20A, U.S. Patient Assist Device 20B, ...

[0098] 2 illustrates a first embodiment of a caregiver support system 106 according to the present disclosure. The caregiver support system 106 includes a patient support device 20 in communication with a caregiver support server 90 and one or more electronic devices 104 adapted to communicate with the caregiver support server 90. The caregiver support system 106 may include a conventional patient support device server 86 separate from the caregiver support server 90, or the functionality of the caregiver support server 90 may be modified to include the functionality of the patient support device server 86, thereby eliminating the patient support device server 86. As will be described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4, the caregiver support system 106 communicates with multiple conventional servers on the healthcare facility's local area network 74 and uses those communications to obtain some of the information necessary to perform the caregiver support functions.

[0099] 2 illustrates in more detail some of the internal components of the patient assist apparatus 20. As shown therein, the patient assist apparatus 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 alternating current (A / C) power input 56, an A / C power sensor 58, one or more control panels 42, an off-board network transceiver 60 with 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 assist apparatus 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 integrated into the one or more control panels 42. Additionally, patient assist apparatus 20 includes a mattress 38 having at least one mattress sensor 39 disposed thereon. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that patient assist apparatus 20 can be modified to include additional components not shown in FIG. 2 and can be modified to include fewer components than those shown in FIG.

[0100] Controller 48 (FIG. 2) may be 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 group of conventional microcontrollers, although not all such embodiments need include a microcontroller. Generally, controller 48 may include any one or more microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays, systems on a chip, volatile or non-volatile memory, discrete circuits, and / or other hardware, software, or firmware capable of performing the functions described herein as known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Such components may be physically configured in any suitable manner, for example, by mounting or otherwise arranging them on one or more circuit boards, whether combined in a single unit or distributed across multiple units as part of an embedded network. When implemented with an embedded network, the embedded network may include multiple nodes communicating using one or more of a Controller Area Network (CAN), a Local Interconnect Network (LIN), an I-squared-C serial communication bus, any of RS-232, RS-422, and / or RS-485 communication interfaces, a LonWorks network, and / or Ethernet. The instructions followed by controller 48 in performing the functions described herein, and the data necessary to perform those functions, are stored in memory 50 and / or one or more other memories accessible to one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, or other programmable components of controller 48. Memory 50 also contains a unique identifier 186, such as, but not limited to, a serial number, that uniquely identifies the particular patient assist device into which it is incorporated.

[0101] If the controller 48 is implemented to communicate using an onboard Ethernet, the onboard Ethernet may be designed according to any of the Ethernet-carrying patient assistance devices disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14,622,221, filed February 13, 2015, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled "Communication Method for a Patient Handling Device," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the controller 48 may be implemented to have multiple nodes communicating with each other utilizing different communication protocols. In such embodiments, the controller 48 may be implemented according to any of the embodiments disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 903,477, filed February 23, 2018, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled "Patient Care Device with Onboard Network Communication," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0102] The controller 48 is shown in FIG. 2 as including a usage monitor 77. The usage monitor 77 monitors the use of the various components of the patient assist apparatus 20 and determines whether servicing of any of these components should be performed. In some embodiments, the usage monitor 77 runs purely within the controller 48 based on inputs from the various components of the patient assist apparatus 20. In other embodiments, the usage monitor 77 may include one or more electrical circuits and / or devices separate from the controller 48 that interface with the controller 48 to monitor the use and servicing of the various components of the patient assist apparatus 20.

[0103] In at least one embodiment, the usage monitor 77 includes a data logger that tracks the number of times each serviceable component (e.g., any component that moves, such as the siderails 36, the actuators 52, etc.) is moved, activated, or used. When a threshold number of times is reached—without servicing—the controller 48 generates a notification and / or alert. As discussed in more detail below in connection with FIG. 80 , a notification / alert may be sent to the electronic device 104 to notify the caregiver of the need to service one or more components of the patient support device 20. As discussed in more detail below in connection with FIGS. 71-73 , such servicing may be recorded using the caregiver assistance application 124 (as described below), alone or in combination with the stand-alone device management system 918. The record of service is forwarded to the controller 48, which resets the appropriate counter(s) and / or other usage parameters.

[0104] In some embodiments, usage monitor 77 is implemented to perform the functions of a data logger disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,690,059, issued April 6, 2017, by inventors Lemire et al., entitled "Hospital Bed," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, usage monitor 77 may alternatively or additionally perform any of the functions of a diagnostic and control system disclosed in the '059 patent. In some embodiments, usage monitor 77 may, alone or in addition to other structures, perform any of the service, monitoring, and / or event detection functions of a device management system disclosed in commonly owned International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2018 / 013666, filed July 12, 2017, by inventors David Becker et al., entitled "Device Management System," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Usage monitor 77 may alternatively or additionally perform further usage and / or diagnostic monitoring.

[0105] First and second lift actuators 52a and 52b (FIG. 2) are components of lift 26 and are configured to raise and lower litter frame 28 relative to base 22. A first one of lift actuators 52a provides power to a first one of lifts 26 located adjacent the head end of patient assist apparatus 20, and a second one of lift actuators 52b provides power to a second one of lifts 26 located adjacent the foot end of patient assist apparatus 20. Lift actuators 52a and 52b may be conventional linear actuators having electric motors that, when actuated, expand or contract their length to raise or lower the litter frame and change its height H (FIG. 1) relative to the floor.

[0106] Each of the lift actuators 52a and 52b has a corresponding lift sensor 66a and 66b, respectively. Each of the sensors 66a, 66b detects the position and / or angle of the associated actuator 52a, 52b and provides the detected position / angle to the controller 48. The controller 48 uses the output from the sensor 66a as an input to a closed-loop feedback system for controlling the movement of the actuators 52a, 52b and the litter deck. The controller 48 also uses the output from the sensors 66a, 66b to determine the height H of the litter frame 28 above the floor. In some embodiments, the actuator 52 is constructed in any manner similar to the actuator 34 disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 449,277, filed March 3, 2017, entitled "Patient Assist Device with Actuator Feedback," inventors Anish Paul et al., the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In such an embodiment, sensors 66a and 66b may be constructed to include any of the encoder and / or switch sensors disclosed in the '277 application.

[0107] The scale / exit detection system 46 is configured to determine the weight of a patient placed on the support deck 30 and / or when the patient is likely to move and exit the patient support apparatus 20. The specific construction details of the exit detection system can vary widely. In some embodiments, the scale / exit detection system 46 includes multiple load cells positioned to detect weight applied to the litter frame 28. By summing the outputs from each of the load cells, the total patient weight is determined (after subtracting the tare weight). Furthermore, using the known positions of each of the load cells, the controller 48 determines the patient's center of gravity and monitors the center of gravity for movement above one or more thresholds. One method of calculating the patient's center of gravity from such load cell outputs is described in more detail in commonly assigned U.S. Patient Exit Detection Mechanism for a Hospital Bed by Travis, U.S. Patient Exit Detection Mechanism for a Hospital Bed, U.S. Patient Exit Detection Mechanism for a Hospital Bed, U.S. Patient Exit Detection Mechanism for a Hospital Bed by Travis ... Other methods for determining the weight of a patient and / or the weight of a non-patient object supported by litter frame 28 are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 776,842, filed September 15, 2015, by inventors Micheal Hayes et al., entitled "Patient Assistance Device with Patient Information Sensors," and commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 873,734, filed October 2, 2015, by inventors Marko Kostic et al., entitled "Patient Assistance Device with Motion Monitoring," the entire disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference. Other systems for determining the patient's weight and / or detecting the patient's exit from patient assist device 20 may alternatively be used.

[0108] The mattress 38 is an inflatable mattress in many embodiments. In some embodiments, the mattress 38 has its own internal controller (not shown) that controls the inflation and deflation of various bladders included in the mattress under the direction of the controller 48. It is therefore understood that control of the mattress 38 exercised by the controller 48 may include both direct control of the blower(s), pump(s), valve(s), and other components of the mattress 38, or indirect control of an on-board mattress controller that exercises direct control of the blower(s), pump(s), valve(s), and other components of the mattress 38. In either situation, the controller 48 may communicate with the mattress 38 using a serial or other cable extending between the patient assist apparatus 20 and the mattress 38. In at least one alternative embodiment, communication between the patient assist apparatus 20 and the mattress 38 may be performed wirelessly, such as in any of the methods disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 9,289,336, entitled "Patient Assistance With Energy Transfer," by Lambath et al., the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Of course, other techniques for wireless communication may also be used.

[0109] In some embodiments, the mattress 38 may be constructed in accordance with any of the mattresses disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. Patient Support Device (U.S. Patent No. 9,468,307) by Lafleche et al., entitled "Inflatable Mattress and Control Method," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In other embodiments, the mattress 38 may be constructed in accordance with any of the mattresses disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. Patent No. 8,413,271 by Blanchard et al., entitled "Patient Support Device," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other mattresses may also be used. Regardless of the specific construction of the mattress 38, the mattress 38 may be configured to perform one or more different treatment protocols for a patient supported thereon. Such treatment protocols may include, but are not limited to, any of rotation, percussion, vibration, maximum inflation, and reorientation assistance. The mattress 38 may be inflatable to different states, thereby altering the distribution of pressure on the patient's skin while supported. These various treatments and / or conditions are often used to reduce the likelihood that a patient will develop a pressure sore or worsen an existing pressure sore. The caregiver support system 106 is adapted to suggest, encourage and / or implement the use of one or more of these treatments and / or conditions when the patient's skin assessment score is above a threshold, as discussed in more detail below in connection with the bedsore risk reduction algorithm 141 (see FIG. 28).

[0110] The controller 48 communicates with a network transceiver 60 (FIG. 2), which in at least one embodiment is a Wi-Fi® wireless communication module configured to wirelessly communicate with a wireless access point 76 of a local area network 74. In such embodiments, the network transceiver 60 may operate according to any of the various IEEE 802.11 standards (e.g., 802.11b, 802.11h, 802.11g, 802.11ac, 802.11ah, etc.). In other embodiments, the network transceiver 60 may include a wired port for connecting a network wire to the patient assistance device 20 in addition to or instead of the Wi-Fi® wireless and communication module. In some such embodiments, the wired port accepts Category 5e cable (Cat-5e), Category 6 or 6a (Cat-6 or Cat-63), Category 7 (Cat-7) cable, or some similar network cable, and the transceiver 60 is an Ethernet transceiver. In yet another embodiment, the network transceiver 60 may be configured to have the functionality of the communications module 56 disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 831,466, filed December 5, 2017, entitled "Network Communications for Patient Assistance Devices," by Michael Hayes et al., the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0111] Regardless of the particular structure included in the network transceiver 60, the controller 48 can communicate with a local area network 74 (FIG. 2) of the healthcare facility in which the patient support device is located. When the network transceiver 60 is a wireless transceiver, it communicates with the local area network 74 through one or more wireless access points 76. When the network transceiver 60 is a wired transceiver, it communicates directly through a cable coupled between the patient support device 20 and a network outlet located in the healthcare facility room in which the patient support device 20 is located. As discussed in more detail below in connection with FIG. 4, the local area network 74 includes multiple servers that are utilized in different ways by the caregiver support system disclosed herein, and the patient support device 20 communicates with one or more of these servers via the transceiver 60 as part of the caregiver support system.

[0112] When network transceiver 60 is implemented as a wireless transceiver, it may have a signal strength detector 75 that detects the signal strength of wireless signals it receives from a wireless access point 76 with which it is communicating. In some embodiments, such as those in which network transceiver 60 is a Wi-Fi® transceiver, signal strength detector 75 may be part of conventional Wi-Fi® circuitry that determines a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), in which case signal strength may be measured as an RSSI value. In other embodiments, signal strength may be measured as an actual value in milliwatts (or other units), and signal strength detector 75 may comprise any conventional circuitry configured to measure signal strength in this manner. In yet another embodiment, the signal strength detector 75 and / or the patient assistance device 20 may have any of the spectrum analysis capabilities incorporated into either or both of the signal strength detector 75 and the patient assistance device 20 as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 236,452, filed Sep. 29, 2016, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled "Personnel Assistance Device with Communication Channel Monitoring," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0113] 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 forwards the result to the controller 48, which is configured to display the value on the display 70 and forward the value via the network transceiver 60 to the caregiver assistance application 124. As discussed in more detail below, particularly in connection with FIG. 80 , the caregiver assistance application 124 may forward this signal strength value to one or more electronic devices 104 for display.

[0114] The nurse call cable interface 62 is an interface adapted to couple to one end of a nurse call cable 78 (FIG. 4). The other end of the nurse call cable 78 couples to a nurse call outlet 82 (FIG. 4) that is typically built into each headwall of each patient room in a healthcare facility. In many embodiments, the nurse call outlet 82 is a 37-pin outlet to which the cable 78 couples, thereby allowing 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 in accordance with one of the cable interfaces 92 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 945,437, filed April 4, 2018, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled "Patient Support Device with Reconfigurable Communication," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0115] In other embodiments, the nurse call cable interface 62 may be replaced with a wireless nurse call communication system that communicates wirelessly with the nurse call outlet 82. For example, in some embodiments, the nurse call cable interface 62 may be replaced with a wireless module such as the wireless module 60 disclosed in commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 819,844, filed Aug. 6, 2015, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled "Patient Assistance Device with Wireless Headwall Communication," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Such wireless headwall embodiments include a headwall module, such as the headwall module 38 disclosed in the '844 application, coupled to the nurse call outlet 82. Such a headwall module may replace and / or supplement the functionality of the location beacon 84, described below. Still other types of wireless communication between the patient assistance device and the nurse call outlet 82 may also be implemented.

[0116] Regardless of whether the nurse call interface 62 uses a wired cable connection to a nurse call outlet in the headwall of the patient's room or a wireless connection, the nurse call interface 62 may alternatively perform any of the nurse call functions disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application No. 62,833,943, filed April 15, 2019, by inventors Alexander Bodurka et al., entitled "Patient Assistance Device with Nurse Call Audio Management," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0117] The siderail sensors 63, which may be conventional siderail sensors, are configured to detect when the siderails are in the raised or lowered position. In most embodiments, a single siderail sensor 63 is included for each siderail 36. Thus, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the patient support apparatus 20 has four siderail sensors 63, one for detecting the position of each of the four siderails 36, as shown in FIG. 1. In alternative embodiments, more than one siderail 36 may be included for each siderail 36, such as a first siderail sensor 63 for detecting when the siderail is raised and / or locked in the raised position and a second siderail sensor 63 for detecting when the siderail is lowered and / or locked in the lowered position. In general, any switch or other type of sensor capable of detecting when each of the siderails 36 is in the raised and / or locked orientation can be used with the patient support apparatus 20. The outputs of the siderail sensors 63 are provided to the controller 48 and periodically transmitted to the caregiver support server 90 as part of a patient support apparatus status update, which is described in more detail below. Additionally, as described in more detail below, the position of one or more side rails 36 is monitored for conformance with desired conditions, such as, but not limited to, desired conditions defined by a fall risk reduction protocol 93, described in more detail below.

[0118] The location transceiver 64 (FIG. 2) is adapted to detect wireless signals emanating from nearby location beacons (FIG. 4) located at fixed, known locations within the healthcare facility. While FIG. 4 shows only one of these location beacons 84, it is understood that a particular healthcare facility may have many of these location beacons 84 installed throughout the healthcare facility. Each location beacon 84 has a wireless, short-range transmitter (not shown) that transmits a wireless, short-range signal having a unique identifier. The short-range signal, in some embodiments, is transmitted via an infrared transmitter and is only detectable by a receiver (e.g., the location transceiver 64) located within a few feet of the location beacon 84. As a result, a location transceiver 64 adapted to detect signals transmitted from location beacons 84 can only detect these signals when the patient assistance device 20 is located adjacent to (e.g., within a few feet of) one of these location beacons 84. Thus, when / if the location transceiver 64 is able to detect a unique signal from a particular location beacon 84, it can be concluded that the corresponding patient support device 20 is currently located adjacent to that particular location beacon 84. This allows the current location of the patient support device 20 to be determined. In some medical facilities, one or more patient rooms may not be entirely private but may be shared with one or more other patients. In such situations, it is common for such a room to have two or more location beacons 84 mounted—one on the headwall of the bay where the first patient support device 20 would normally be located, another on the headwall of the bay where the second patient support device 20 would normally be located (and possibly more if the room is shared by three or more patients).

[0119] When the location transceiver 64 receives a signal from a neighboring location beacon 84, the controller 48 forwards the received signal, which includes the unique ID of the beacon 84, to a patient support device server 86 (FIG. 2), sometimes alternatively referred to herein as a bed server 86. The patient support device server 86 has a location table 88 (FIG. 4) or has access to such a table 88 that correlates beacon IDs to locations within the healthcare facility. This enables the patient support device server 86 to determine the location of each patient support device 20 within the healthcare facility (at least all of those located adjacent to a location beacon 84).

[0120] In some embodiments, the location beacon 84 (FIG. 2) functions both as a locator and as a wireless link to a nurse call outlet 82 integrated into an adjacent headwall. When equipped with this dual function, the patient support device 20 can communicate with the nurse call system server 62b without the nurse call cable interface 62. However, in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 4, the patient support device 20 includes a nurse call cable 78 that communicatively couples the patient support device 20 to the nurse call outlet 82, thereby enabling the patient support device 20 to communicate directly with the nurse call system 80. Details regarding the functionality of the location beacon 84, whether it operates solely as a locator or as both a locator and a wireless portal to the nurse call system outlet 82, can be found in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 8,102,254, issued January 24, 2012, by inventors Becker et al., and entitled "Location Detection System for Patient Processing Device," U.S. Patent Application No. 14 / 819,844, filed August 6, 2015, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., and entitled "Patient Support Device with Wireless Headwall Communication," U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 600,000, filed December 18, 2017, by inventors Alex Bodurka et al., and U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 598,787, filed December 14, 2017, by inventors Alex Bodurka et al., and entitled "Hospital Headwall Communication System," the entire disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0121] The location beacon 84, in at least some embodiments, further includes a beacon battery 79 and a beacon battery monitor 81. The beacon battery 79 powers the location beacon 84 either exclusively or, in at least some embodiments, when the location beacon 84 is not plugged in or power is not otherwise available from an outlet. The beacon battery monitor 81 monitors the charge status of the beacon battery 79 and reports measurements of this charge to the patient assistance device 20. That is, measurements taken by the beacon battery monitor 81 are wirelessly transmitted to the patient assistance device 20 by the locator beacon 84 via the location beacon 84's built-in transmitter. These measurements are received by the location transceiver 64 on board the patient assistance device 20 and transmitted to the controller 48. The controller 48 then displays these measurements on the display 70 and / or transmits the measurements to the caregiver assistance application 124 via the network transceiver 60. As discussed in more detail below (particularly in relation to FIG. 80), the caregiver assistance application 124 may forward these battery charge measurements to one or more electronic devices 104.

[0122] In some embodiments, the beacon battery monitor 81 may monitor one or more additional factors related to the beacon battery 79, such as, but not limited to, the overall health of the beacon battery 79. Such overall health may be measured in relation to the charge capacity of the battery, the number of times the battery has been recharged, the rate at which the battery discharges, the rate at which the battery recharges, and / or other methods. In some embodiments, the beacon battery monitor 81 may be implemented in the same manner and / or configured to monitor and measure one or more of the same parameters as the battery monitor disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 0331614, published November 17, 2016, by inventors Aaron Furman et al., and entitled "Battery Management for a Patient Assist Device," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0123] In some embodiments, the locator beacon 84 may be incorporated into a wireless headwall module that communicates with the patient assistance device 20 over multiple communication channels. In such embodiments, a first communication channel between the location beacon 84 and the patient assistance device 20 may be a short-range channel (e.g., infrared) and a second communication channel may be a long-range channel (e.g., Bluetooth). In such embodiments, transmission of data from the beacon battery monitor 81 to the patient assistance device 20 and transmission of the location identifier of the locator beacon 84 to the patient assistance device 20 may occur over either or both of the two communication channels.

[0124] The controller 48 of the patient support device 20 (FIG. 2) communicates with an A / C power sensor 58, which provides the controller 48 with information about whether an A / C power cable 102 (FIG. 4) is coupled between the patient support device 20 and a conventional A / C power outlet 44. In other words, the A / C power sensor 58 informs the controller 48 whether the patient support device 20 receives 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 coupled to a power source. As explained further below, the status of the A / C power cord 102 (e.g., whether the patient support device 20 is operating on battery power or power from an A / C outlet) is communicated from the A / C power sensor 58 to the controller. The status is then forwarded to the patient support device server 86 and / or the caregiver support server 90 via the network transceiver 60.

[0125] The controller 48 also communicates with a brake sensor 54 (FIG. 2). The brake sensor 54 provides the controller 48 with information about whether the brakes are applied to the patient support apparatus 20. When the brakes are applied, one or more wheels 24 are braked to resist rolling. When the brakes are not applied, the wheels 24 are free to roll. Data from the brake sensor 54, as well as data from the A / C power cord sensor 58, is forwarded by the controller 48 via the network transceiver 60 to the patient support apparatus server 86 and / or the caregiver assistance server 90. The caregiver assistance server 90 shares this information with caregivers via one or more electronic devices in communication with the server 90, as discussed in more detail below.

[0126] The controller 48 also communicates with a head-of-bed angle sensor 69. The head-of-bed angle sensor 69 measures the angular orientation of the head section 40 of the patient support apparatus 20 relative to either the horizontal or the general plane of the litter frame 28. In some embodiments, the head-of-bed angle sensor 69 is implemented as one or more accelerometers attached to the head section 40. In other embodiments, the head-of-bed angle sensor 69 may be implemented as an encoder counter or other type of counter that monitors the extension and contraction of an actuator that pivots the head section 40. Still other types of sensors may be used to measure the angle of the head section 40.

[0127] Regardless of the particular type of sensor used for the HOB sensor 69, the HOB sensor 69 reports its reading to the controller 48, which displays it on the display 70 and / or forwards it via the network transceiver 60 to the caregiver assistance application 124. As described in more detail below (particularly in connection with FIGS. 74-77), the caregiver assistance application 124 can forward the HOB angle reading to one or more electronic devices 104 for display, thereby allowing a caregiver to remotely view the current angle of the head section 40 of the patient assistance apparatus 20.

[0128] In some embodiments, the patient assist device 20 may have one or more batteries 71 that are used to power the patient assist device 20 or certain components thereof when the patient assist device 20 is not electrically coupled to a conventional power outlet. For example, in some embodiments, the patient assist device 20 may have a first battery (or a first set of batteries) that is used for all functions of the bed except for powering the on-board propulsion system, and a second battery (or a second set of batteries) that is used to power the on-board propulsion system. One example of such a patient assist device 20 is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application 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 assist device 20 has only a single battery 71 (or a single set of batteries 71) that is used to power all electrical functions of the patient assist device 20. In many cases, whether or not the patient assist device 20 has one or more batteries 71, such a battery 71 is typically a rechargeable battery 71.

[0129] 2, the patient assistance device 20 further includes a battery monitor 73 adapted to monitor the state of charge (and / or other parameters) of the battery 71 or each (if multiple) of the patient assistance device 20's batteries 71. In addition to monitoring the state of charge of one or more batteries 71, the battery monitor 73 may monitor any of the same parameters of the batteries 71 that the beacon battery monitor 81 may monitor in connection with the beacon battery 79, as described above. To that end, the battery monitor 73 may be implemented in a manner similar to and / or perform any of the same functions as the battery monitor disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 0331614, published November 17, 2016, by inventors Aaron Furman et al., and entitled "Battery Management for Patient Assistance Devices," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0130] Regardless of which particular reference battery monitor 73 monitors one or more of the batteries 71 of the patient support apparatus 20, the battery monitor 73 reports the results to the controller 48. The controller 48 then displays the one or more results on the display 70 and / or forwards the 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 discussed in more detail below. The electronic devices 104 have displays and are adapted to display information about the monitored status(es) of the battery(ies) 71. If the patient support apparatus 20 has more than one battery, the controller 48 forwards the monitoring data for each battery (or set of batteries) to the caregiver assistance application 124, which then forwards this data to one or more electronic devices 104. The recipient electronic devices 104 display the received data for each set of batteries separately. In this manner, a caregiver remote from the patient support device 20 can check the status of each of the batteries installed in the patient support device 20.

[0131] Each of the control panels 42 includes one or more controls 72 used to control various functions of the patient assist device 20 ( FIG. 2 ). For example, one or more of the control panels 42 includes a motion control 72 for controlling the movement of the lift actuators 52 a and 52 b. Additional controls 72 may be provided for activating and deactivating the brakes on the wheels 24, activating and deactivating the exit detection function of the scale / exit detection system 46, reading the patient's weight 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 will be appreciated that in some embodiments, one or more of the controls 72 may be integrated into a touchscreen display, such as the display 70. In such embodiments, one or more controls may only appear when the user navigates to a particular screen displayed on the touchscreen.

[0132] The patient support device 20 communicates with a caregiver support server 90 on the local area network 74. The caregiver support server 90 is adapted to assist a caregiver in performing multiple tasks. Generally, the caregiver support server 90 includes software—caregiver support applications 124—that, when executed, assist the caregiver in ensuring that the patient support device 20 is maintained in a desired condition, assist the caregiver in performing patrol tasks, assist the caregiver in performing fall and / or skin assessments, assist the caregiver in setting and receiving reminder notifications, and assist the caregiver in receiving alerts and / or status information about the patient under their care while performing their duties.

[0133] The caregiver support server 90 has a memory 91 that stores various data used by the caregiver support application 124 (and, in some cases, stores executable instructions for the caregiver support application 124). The memory 91 stores items such as, but not limited to, a fall risk reduction protocol 93 and a bedsore risk reduction protocol 95. The memory 91 may be physically contained within the server 90 and / or may be distributed at one or more other physical locations accessible to the server 90.

[0134] The caregiver assistance application 124 uses the fall risk reduction protocol 93 when the application 124 executes a patient fall risk reduction algorithm 143, as discussed in more detail below. Generally, the patient fall risk reduction algorithm 143 enables a caregiver to utilize one or more electronic devices 104 to assess a patient's fall risk and then ensure that the patient support device 20 is in a state specified by a medical facility for that 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 discussed in more detail below in connection with FIGS. 18-27.

[0135] The caregiver assistance application 124 uses the pressure sore risk reduction protocol 95 when the application 124 executes the patient's pressure sore risk reduction algorithm 141. In general, the patient's pressure sore risk reduction algorithm 141 enables a caregiver to use the same electronic device used by the fall risk reduction algorithm 143 (and other algorithms discussed herein) to assess the patient's pressure sore risk and to monitor, adapt, and implement appropriate pressure sore risk reduction steps. Specific pressure sore risk reduction steps for a particular patient are, in some cases, automatically suggested by the caregiver assistance application 124 based on the pressure sore risk score determined for that particular patient. The pressure sore risk reduction algorithm 141 is discussed in further detail below in connection with FIGS. 28-58.

[0136] 3 illustrates in more detail some of the specific functions and components of the caregiver support server 90. The caregiver support server 90 is adapted to host and execute a caregiver support application 124 that executes multiple algorithms and utilizes multiple components. The algorithms include a screen selection algorithm 139, a caregiver rounding algorithm 140, a pressure sore risk reduction algorithm 141, a patient fall risk reduction algorithm 143, a reminder algorithm 145, a status / command algorithm 147, an alert algorithm 149, a manual task list change algorithm 151, an access algorithm 153, a sharing algorithm 175, a mattress control algorithm 700, a recording algorithm 800, and a wireless disconnection detection algorithm 990. The caregiver support application 124 may be modified to execute only a subset of these algorithms and / or may be modified to execute additional algorithms. Furthermore, the content and functionality of each of these algorithms may vary from the specific content and functionality described in more detail below.

[0137] The screen selection algorithm 139 automatically selects the type of screen to display on one or more mobile electronic devices 104a based on the location of the caregiver and the caregiver's associated mobile electronic device. Further details related to the algorithm 139 are described below in connection with FIG. 63.

[0138] The caregiver rounding algorithm 140 assists the caregiver in performing caregiver rounding tasks and in ensuring that the patient support apparatus 20 is properly configured in accordance with the policies of the particular healthcare facility that employs the caregiver and operates the patient support apparatus 20. Generally, the caregiver rounding algorithm 140 allows the caregiver to record each caregiver round action while simultaneously reminding the caregiver of actions that need to be taken to properly configure the patient support apparatus 20. Such patient support apparatus configurations include, but are not limited to, setting the brakes, moving the litter frame to a minimum height (or within a specified range of the minimum height), placing the side rails in the correct position, arming an exit detection system, connecting a nurse call cable, connecting an A / C power cable, and / or arming a patient support apparatus monitoring system.

[0139] The pressure sore risk reduction algorithm 141 assists the caregiver in assessing a particular patient's risk of developing a pressure sore and / or managing the care of the patient's existing pressure sore. The fall risk reduction algorithm 143 assists the caregiver in assessing a particular patient's fall risk and / or ensuring the patient support device 20 is in a desired state to reduce the patient's risk of falling. The reminder algorithm 145 assists the caregiver by tracking any or all tasks the caregiver completes that have deadlines, including issuing reminders to the caregiver when a task is due and / or is approaching its deadline. The status / command algorithm 147 functions to provide the caregiver with updated status information for each patient support device 20 with the patient assigned to the caregiver and to allow the caregiver to remotely control one or more aspects of these patient support devices 20. The alert algorithm 149 provides alerts to the caregiver when the state of the patient support device 20 changes to a non-compliant state, when a reminder deadline is approached or reached, and / or when information from any of the other algorithms 140, 141, 143, 145 and / or 147 produces information that requires the caregiver to be alerted.

[0140] The manual task list modification algorithm 151 allows a caregiver to manually add and / or remove tasks from the task list maintained by the caregiver assistance application 124, as well as modify reminders (timing, frequency, recipient, etc.) associated with any of these tasks. While many of the tasks on the task list are automatically added by one or more other algorithms executed by the caregiver assistance algorithm 124 (e.g., bedsore risk reduction algorithm 141, fall risk reduction algorithm 143, etc.), the algorithm 151 allows a caregiver to manually modify the list, including tasks on the list that were automatically entered by the caregiver assistance application 124. Further details of one embodiment of the manual task list modification algorithm 151 are discussed below in connection with FIG. 57.

[0141] The access algorithm 153 controls which individuals are authorized to use the caregiver support system 106 and what information is viewable to authorized users of the caregiver support system 106. Further details of one embodiment of the access algorithm 153 that may be executed by the caregiver support system 106 are provided below in conjunction with the description of FIG.

[0142] The sharing algorithm 175 allows caregivers to share and not share responsibilities with each other, for example, while a first caregiver is temporarily unavailable, a second caregiver receives alerts, updates, and other information on his or her mobile electronic device 104a related to the patient(s) for whom the first caregiver is temporarily unavailable. Further description of the sharing algorithm 175 is provided below in connection with Figures 64-67.

[0143] The mattress control algorithm 700 allows the caregiver to remotely control one or more aspects of the mattress 38, including, but not limited to, transmitting mattress parameters to the mattress 38 to be subsequently stored and utilized by the mattress 38 during a mattress treatment session or utilized at other times. In some embodiments, the mattress control algorithm 700 is configured to ensure that the mattress settings and / or treatment utilized by the caregiver comply with the healthcare facility's pressure sore reduction protocols. The mattress control algorithm 700 is described in further detail below in connection with Figures 42-49.

[0144] The recording algorithm 800 allows a caregiver to utilize the caregiver assistance application 124 to record various tasks and / or patient data in 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 bed sores, existing bed sores, and / or other information related to the patient's skin condition and / or treatment. The recording algorithm 800 is discussed in further detail below in connection with FIGS. 50-56.

[0145] The wireless disconnection detection algorithm 990 is adapted to detect when one or more patient support devices 20 have lost their communication connection to the local area network 74 and / or the caregiver assistance application 124. In some embodiments, as discussed in more detail below in connection with FIG. 82 , the wireless disconnection 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, optionally, which of those non-communicating patient support devices 20 are assigned to a patient and, optionally, which of those non-communicating patient support devices 20 are not assigned to a patient. By determining this information, the wireless disconnection detection algorithm 990 can avoid sending alerts or notifications related to disconnected patient support devices 20 that may be stored, unused, or not assigned to a patient. This helps reduce caregiver alert fatigue by avoiding alerts and / or notifications unrelated to the relevant safety condition.

[0146] Non-algorithmic components of the caregiver support application 124 include a local rule set 126, a data repository 128, a communication interface 130, and a web application programming interface 132 (FIG. 3). The local rule set 126, in at least some embodiments, is initially defined prior to installation of the caregiver support application 124 within a particular healthcare facility. In other embodiments, the local rule set 126 is defined during or after installation of the caregiver support application 124. However, in all embodiments discussed herein, the local rules 126 are modifiable by authorized personnel from the healthcare facility. Such modifications are made via one or more computers 344 in communication with the local area network 74 (FIG. 4). Authorized individuals 136 (FIG. 4) utilize the computers 134 to communicate with the caregiver support application 124 and to add, delete, or modify one or more of the local rules 126.

[0147] The local rules 126 (FIG. 3) include, but are not limited to, rules indicating how often caregivers are to perform round duties (e.g., every two hours, every three hours, etc.), rules indicating in what state the patient support device 20 should be placed (e.g., one or more of the fall risk reduction protocol 93, the pressure sore risk reduction protocol 95, the VAP protocol, etc.), rules specifying who and when to notify if round duties are not performed within a desired time period, rules specifying who and when to notify if the patient support device is not placed in a desired state and / or moved from a desired state, rules specifying how such notifications are communicated (e.g., email, phone, text, etc.), rules specifying which personnel within the healthcare facility are authorized to use the caregiver assistance application 124 and view which data, and rules specifying whether and / or how round duties are reviewed and / or logged in the EMR server 98. Both the caregiver assistance frequency rules and the desired state rules for the patient support device 20 are configured by authorized individuals 136 to modify the rules based on one or more factors. For example, both the frequency of caregiver assistance and the desired state of the patient assistance device may vary depending on different wings of the healthcare facility, different units of the healthcare facility, different times of day and / or different shifts, different models of patient assistance devices, different patient health conditions, different patient treatments, different data stored on the EMR server 98, etc.

[0148] The local rules 126 (FIG. 3) also include additional administrative data stored on the caregiver assistance server 90 or in memory otherwise accessible to the caregiver assistance applications 124. Such administrative data may include, but is not limited to, the IP addresses or other network addresses of each of the servers with which the caregiver assistance applications 124 communicate (e.g., the EMR server 98, the ADT server 94, the patient assistance device server 86, the RTLS server 100, and the nurse call server 96), and / or IP addresses or other configuration data necessary for the caregiver assistance applications 124 to communicate with one or more middleware software applications that act as gateways to one or more of these servers. The administrative data may also include email addresses, passwords, phone numbers, usernames, access levels, and other information related to hospital personnel authorized to use the caregiver assistance applications 124. The email address and / or phone number are used in some embodiments of the alert algorithm 149 to cause the caregiver assistance application 124 to contact the mobile electronic device 104a (FIG. 4) carried by the caregiver when there is an alert or information that should be brought to the caregiver's attention.

[0149] The data repository 128 (FIG. 3) stores data received by the caregiver assistance application 124 in the course of its operation. This data includes patient assistance device status data sent from the patient assistance device 20 (in some embodiments via the patient assistance device server 86, and in other embodiments directly), alert data (e.g., when the alert occurred, its cause, remediation, notification, etc.), inspection completion / incomplete data, confirmation data confirming caregiver assistance (discussed further below), patient data from the pressure sore risk reduction algorithm 141 and the fall risk reduction algorithm 143, and other data. The data repository 128 may be physically located on the server 90 (or a separate server), may be cloud-based, or may be a combination of both cloud-based storage and local storage maintained at the healthcare facility.

[0150] The communications interface 130 (FIG. 3) controls communications between the caregiver assistance application 124 and the electronic device 104 with which it communicates. The communications interface 130 also controls communications between the caregiver assistance application 124 and the server with which it communicates. All of these communications, in at least one embodiment, are performed using conventional Internet packet routing. That is, the patient assistance device 20 sends data in packets with IP addresses corresponding to the patient assistance device server 86 and / or the caregiver assistance server 90, and the server 86 and / or 90 sends message packets back to the patient assistance device 20 with IP addresses corresponding to the particular patient assistance device 20 for which the message is intended. In some embodiments, each patient assistance device 20 has a fixed IP address stored on the patient assistance device 20; in other embodiments, the patient assistance device 20 consults a local Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHPC) server (not shown) on the local area network 74, which assigns network addresses to the patient assistance devices.

[0151] When communicating with other servers within the healthcare facility, the communication interface 130 may utilize different communication protocols, such as Link Layer Protocol (LLP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), and / or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). To facilitate communication between the caregiver assistance server 90 and other servers on the local area network 74, the communication interface 130 may utilize a conventional interface engine, such as, but not limited to, the Redox Cloud Platform, commercially available from Redox, Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin. Alternatively or additionally, the communication interface 130 may utilize a conventional iGUANA interface engine (HL-7 or otherwise), commercially available from iNTERFACEWARE, Inc. of Toronto, Ontario. Such 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 commercially available from Cerner, Inc., Epic, Allscripts, etc.

[0152] The web API 132 (FIG. 3) provides a portal for authorized devices, software applications, and / or servers to access data in the caregiver assistance application 124. In some embodiments, the electronic device 104 communicates with the caregiver assistance application 124 through the web API 132 by using a web browser embedded in the device 104 to access one or more uniform resource locators (URLs) that point the web browser to the caregiver assistance application 124. In some embodiments, the web API 132 uses Java Script Object Notation (JSON) to communicate with the web browser of the electronic device 104. In other embodiments, the web API 132 uses Extensible Markup Language (XML) to communicate with the web browser of the electronic device 104. Still other types of communication may be used.

[0153] The Web AP 1132 may be configured to communicate with the electronic device 104 using conventional HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) GET, POST, DELETE, and UPDATE verbs, which are used to provide RESTful services (i.e., representational state transfer) between the API and the electronic device 104. For those aspects of the caregiver assistance application 124 that utilize two-way communication, conventional Web Sockets protocols (e.g., IETF RFC 6455 or the Web Sockets API in the Web IDL (Interface Description Language) standardized by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)) may be used for communication between the Web AP 1132 and the electronic device 104. Alternatively or additionally, conventional pull and push requests may be used for this communication, including, but not limited to, server-sent events and / or long polling. Still other communication techniques may be used. In some embodiments, such communications are encrypted so that at least those messages containing patient data are protected from interception. Such encryption, in at least one embodiment, is performed as part of RES Tulf Web Services (RWS).

[0154] The Web AP 1132 may be utilized to perform additional communications with any server on the network 74 and / or to communicate 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.

[0155] In general, the caregiver monitoring algorithm 140, status / command algorithm 147, and alert algorithm 149 of the caregiver assistance application 124 function to collect data related to the current status from the patient assistance device 20, transmit the patient assistance device data to an electronic device 104 remote from the caregiver assistance server 90, cause the electronic device 104 to display the patient assistance device status data, cause the electronic device 104 to display reminders and / or other information on a display to assist the caregiver in performing monitoring tasks, fall prevention tasks, skin care tasks, and other tasks, receive patient data (such as monitoring, skin, falls, etc.) entered into the electronic device 104 by the caregiver during or after the performance of various tasks, communicate an alarm to the caregiver when the patient assistance device status data indicates that the patient assistance device 20 is not in a desired state or when a timer associated with the patient or the patient assistance device 20 has expired, and receive patient data received from the caregiver (via the electronic device 104). didThe electronic device 104 also functions to: forward patient support device commands to the patient support device 20; receive confirmation data from the electronic device 104 and / or the patient support device 20 confirming the caregiver's presence adjacent to the patient support device 20 when performing round tasks; record the caregiver's successful completion of tasks and the current state of the patient support device's status data upon task completion in the electronic medical record server 98 (FIG. 4); confirm that the caregiver is following one or more medical facility protocols; automatically display selected screens on the electronic device based on the caregiver's location; temporarily share bed data, alerts, and reminders with other caregivers; and communicate with and utilize the capabilities of a remote device management system that monitors bed usage and service history and other information. Additional functions and features are provided by the caregiver assistance application 124. However, it is understood that in some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be modified to alter, supplement, and / or omit one or more of these functions and / or algorithms. That is, in one embodiment, the caregiver support application 124 includes only one of the algorithms and / or functions disclosed herein, in another embodiment, it includes all of the algorithms and / or functions disclosed herein, and in yet another embodiment, it includes any combination of two or more but less than all of these algorithms / functions.

[0156] FIGURE 2 shows a patient assistance device 20 located in a room 92 in a representative example of a healthcare facility. FIGURE 2 also shows the patient assistance device 20 in communication with the healthcare facility's local area network 74. It is understood that the exact structure and contents of the local area network 74 will vary from healthcare facility to healthcare facility. FIGURE 4 shows in more detail the contents of a typical hospital's local area network 74, along with the caregiver assistance server 90 and other components of the caregiver assistance system 106.

[0157] figureAs shown in FIG. 4, the local area network 74 includes a conventional admission, discharge, and tracking (ADT) server 94, 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 that implements an embodiment of a caregiver assistance system 106 in accordance with the present disclosure along with one or more patient assistance devices 20 and one or more electronic devices (e.g., mobile electronic devices 104a or fixed electronic devices 104b). Additionally, the network 74 includes a conventional internet gateway 108 that couples the local area network 74 to the internet 110, thereby enabling the server and / or patient assistance devices 20 to communicate with computers outside the healthcare facility, such as, but not limited to, a geographically distant server 112. In some embodiments, all or some of the functions of the caregiver support server 90 are performed by the geographically remote server 112, and in other embodiments, the caregiver support server 90 is configured to perform all functions without accessing the geographically remote server 112.

[0158] The ADT server 94 stores patient information, including patient IDs and the corresponding rooms 92 and / or bays within the rooms to which the patient is assigned. That is, the ADT server 94 has the functionality equivalent to a room assignment table 114 or such a table. The room assignment table correlates rooms and bays within multiple rooms with the names of individual patients within the medical facility. Patient names are entered into the ADT server 94 by one or more medical facility staff members each time a patient checks into the medical facility and is assigned to a specific room within the medical facility. Medical facility staff update the ADT server 94 when and / or if a patient is transferred to another room and / or discharged from the medical facility. Thus, the ADT server 94 maintains an up-to-date table 114 correlating patient names with 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.

[0159] The EMR server 98 (FIG. 4) stores individual patient records. Such patient records identify patients by name and medical information associated with that patient. Such medical information may include all medical information generated from the patient's current stay at a medical facility as well as medical information from previous visits. EMR table 116 shows simplified examples of two types of medical information entries typically found in a patient's medical record: a fall risk entry indicating whether the patient is a fall risk and a pressure sore risk entry indicating whether the patient will develop a pressure sore. While FIG. 4 shows the data for these entries represented as text, it is understood that this data may also 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 conventional fall risk assessment tool, such as, but not limited to, the Morse Fall Risk Scale or the Hester-Davis Fall Risk Scale. Similarly, pressure sore data may be stored as a numerical value generated from a conventional pressure sore risk assessment tool, such as, but not limited to, the Braden Scale. As noted above, the EMR server 98 contains significantly more additional information in the patient's medical record than is shown in table 116 of FIG. 4 , and some of this additional data, such as visit data, is discussed in more detail below. It is understood that the term "EMR server" as used herein also includes an electronic health record server, or EHR server for short, and that this disclosure does not distinguish between electronic medical records and electronic health records. The EMR server 98 may be a conventional server commercially available from Cerner Corporation of North Kansas City, Missouri, EPIC Systems of Madison, Wisconsin, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions of Chicago, Illinois, or other companies. Of course, other types of EMR servers 98 may also be used.

[0160] The RTLS server 100 (FIG. 4) is a typical server that may exist within a given healthcare facility. If present, the RTLS server 100 tracks the current locations of people and equipment within the healthcare facility. Often, the RTLS server tracks the current locations of one or more tags 120 (FIG. 4) worn by personnel and / or attached to equipment. Such tags 120 may be RF ID tags or other types of tags. The RTLS table 118 provides an example of the type of location data the RTLS server 100 may contain in relation to caregivers. As shown therein, the table 118 indicates the current locations of two caregivers, one by room number (e.g., room 400) and the other by general location (e.g., "hallway"). Other types of location data may also be included. Additionally, as noted above, some healthcare facilities may not have such an 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 Centrac server commercially available from Halma plc of Amersham, UK, or a conventional RTLS server commercially available from Stanley Healthcare of Waltham, Massachusetts. Of course, still other types of RTLS server 100 may be used.

[0161] FIG. 4 shows the nurse call server 96 with a caregiver assignment table 122 that matches caregivers to specific rooms and / or bays within the healthcare facility. While the table 122 only shows caregivers assigned to a single room, it is 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 support system 106 is configured to interface with both types of nurse call systems 80. The caregiver support system 106 is adapted to interface with allocating healthcare facilities that utilize 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 may be a conventional server commercially available from companies such as Rauland (now owned by Ametek, Inc. of Berwyn, Pennsylvania), West-Com Nurse Call Systems, Inc. of Fairfield, California, and / or others.

[0162] Whether the caregiver assignment table 122 is stored on the nurse call server 96 or on another server in the network 74, the nurse call system server 96 is configured to communicate with the caregiver and the patient. That is, whenever a patient on a patient support device 20 presses or activates a nurse call button, the nurse call signal is passed over the nurse call cable 78 to the nurse call outlet 82. The nurse call outlet 82 is connected via wires to the nurse call server 96 and / or another structure in the nurse call system 80 that routes the call to the appropriate nurse. to This allows nurses to communicate with patients from remote locations. In some nurse call systems 80, the nurse call server 96 can also forward alerts and / or other communications to a handheld wireless device carried by the caregiver and / or an audio station located in the patient room 92. Such handheld wireless devices, in at least one embodiment, are identical to the electronic device 104a discussed herein.

[0163] The local area network 74 may include one or more regular network devices that monitor and / or schedule patient-related tasks for specific caregivers. of A workflow server and / or a chart server, and / or one or more conventional servers that forward communications to specific individuals within the healthcare facility, for example, via one or more portable devices (e.g., smart phones, pagers, beepers, laptops, etc.). of 4, such as, but not limited to, a communications server. 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 support server 90.

[0164] The wireless access point 76, in at least some embodiments, is configured to operate according to one or more of the IEEE 802.1 standards (e.g., 8021g, 802.11n, 8021ah, etc.). Accordingly, patient assistance devices 20 and electronic devices 104a, 104b with Wi-Fi® capabilities and the appropriate authentication information (e.g., password, SSID, etc.) can access the local area network 74 and the servers hosted thereon. This allows the patient assistance device 20 to send and receive messages to and from the patient assistance device server 86 and / or the caregiver assistance server 90. This also allows the electronic device 104 to send and receive messages to and from the patient assistance device server 86. As noted above, alternatively or additionally, the patient assistance device 20 may include a wired port for coupling a wired cable (e.g., Category 5, Category 5e, etc.) between the patient assistance device 20 and one or more routers / gateways / switches, etc. of the network 74, thereby enabling the patient assistance device 20 to communicate with the servers 86 and / or 90 via wired communications.

[0165] In yet another embodiment, one or more patient assistance devices 20 are equipped with an alternative wireless transceiver that allows them to communicate directly with the patient assistance device server 86 and / or caregiver assistance server 90 via an antenna and transceiver directly coupled to the server 86 and / or 90 that is separate from the LAN 74, thereby allowing the patient assistance device 20 to bypass the LAN 74 in communicating with the server 86 and / or 90. kicked One example of a patient assistance device is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 831,466, filed December 5, 2017, by inventors Michael Hayes et al., entitled "Network Communications for a Patient Assist Device," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the patient assistance device 20 includes a communications module, such as the communications module 66 disclosed in the aforementioned '466 application, and the servers 86 and / or 90 are directly coupled to a receiver, such as the enterprise receiver 90 disclosed in the aforementioned '466 application. In such embodiments, the patient assistance device 20 can send and receive messages directly between the servers 86 and / or 90 without utilizing an access point 76 or network 74 hardware (other than the servers 86 and / or 90).

[0166] The caregiver assistance server 90 builds a table 218 (FIG. 4) that correlates specific caregivers with the patient support devices 20 assigned to them, as shown in FIG. 4. The table 218 correlates individual patient support devices 20 and their current status with the specific caregivers assigned to the patient support devices 20. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the table 218 may also correlate the caregivers and their patient support devices 20 with specific rooms within the healthcare facility. To build the table 218, the caregiver assistance application 124 receives the 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 received from the nurse call server 96 (i.e., the data in table 122) and the room-patient support device data received from the patient support device server 86 (i.e., the data in table 88). Thus, the caregiver support server 90 is provided with sufficient data to know the current status of each of the patient support devices 20, the room to which each of the patient support devices 20 is assigned, the caregiver assigned to that room and / or patient support device 20, the patient assigned to each of the patient support devices 20, and each patient's fall risk and / or pressure sore risk (if known). Additionally, in those embodiments that include an RTLS server 100, the caregiver support server 90 is also provided with sufficient data to know the current location of each of the caregivers.

[0167] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to determine patient-room correlations, patient-bed correlations, patient-bed bay correlations, patient-caregiver correlations, caregiver-room correlations, and / or caregiver-bed bay correlations in any of the manners disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application No. 62,826,097, filed 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 may be further modified to perform any of the staffing error and other error notification functions disclosed in the above-referenced '097 application.

[0168] 5 illustrates a main algorithm 226 executed by the caregiver support application 124 in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The main algorithm 226 is executed by one or more processors of the caregiver support server 90 when the caregiver support server 90 executes the caregiver support application 124. The main algorithm 226 begins with an initial access step 142, in which a user accesses the caregiver support application 124. The initial access step 142 shown in FIG. 5 is illustrated as a dashed window. The dashed line is included to indicate that step 142 is executed by the user and not by the caregiver support application 124 itself. The remaining steps of the algorithm 226 are executed by the caregiver support application 124.

[0169] The first step 142 is performed by a user by operating one of the electronic devices 104 used 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. These electronic devices 104 utilize the caregiver assistance application 124 to receive status data from the patient assistance 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 device 104 and the patient assistance device 20, as well as between the electronic device 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.

[0170] The electronic devices 104 come in a variety of different forms, as shown in Figure 4. Some electronic devices 104a are mobile electronic devices intended to be held by a user (e.g., a caregiver), while other electronic devices 104b are fixed electronic devices that generally remain in one location. The mobile electronic devices 104a can take various forms, such as, but not limited to, smartphones, tables, laptop computers, computers-on-wheels (COWs), etc. The fixed electronic devices 104b can be fixed electronic devices such as televisions, displays, personal computers (PCs), and others. toThe caregiver support system 106 may take a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, for purposes of the following written description, the caregiver support system 106 will be described with reference to an electronic device 104 accessing the caregiver support system 106 via a conventional web browser. However, it will be understood that in other embodiments, the electronic device 104 may be modified to run specialized software applications that are downloaded to the electronic device 104 and tailored to run by the electronic device's particular operating system (e.g., Android®, iOS®, Windows®, etc.). The specialized software applications are executed by the microcontroller of the electronic device 104 and perform the functions of the caregiver support system 106.

[0171] To access the caregiver assistance system 106, a caregiver associated with the electronic device 104 utilizes a web browsing application included on the electronic device 104 to navigate to a particular web page or other URL associated with the caregiver assistance application 124. Conventional web browsing software may be used for this purpose, including, but not limited to, Microsoft® Bing® or Internet Explorer® web browsers, Google® Chrome® web browser, Apple® Safari® web browser, Mozilla® Firefox® web browser, etc. The particular URL accessed by the web browser may vary by healthcare facility and can be customized by authorized IT personnel at the healthcare facility. In some embodiments, a domain name may be associated with the caregiver assistance application 124 that is resolved by a local DNS server to the IP address of the caregiver assistance server 90 (e.g., www.caregiver-assistance-app.com). In other embodiments, access to the caregiver assistance system 106 may be achieved in other ways.

[0172] Upon arriving at the initial web page corresponding to the caregiver support application 124, the caregiver support application 124 instructs the web browser of the electronic device 104 to display a login screen on the display of the electronic device 104. FIG. 7 shows an example of such a login screen 144. The login screen 144 is shown in FIG. 7 as it would appear on a mobile electronic device (smartphone) 104a. This is done solely to illustrate one particular type of electronic device 104 with which the caregiver support system 106 can be utilized. Other types of devices 104 may also be used, and various figures (other than FIG. 7 and FIGS. 65-67) show example screens of the caregiver support system 106 without indicating the particular type of electronic device 104 they display, intended to reemphasize the device-agnostic nature of the caregiver support system 106.

[0173] Login screen 144 includes a username field 146 where the user is prompted to enter their username and a password field 148 where the user is prompted to enter their password. To enter this information, the user utilizes the normal input features of electronic device 104. Thus, for example, if electronic device 104 has a touchscreen display, and the user touches or selects either of fields 146, 148, electronic device 104, in some embodiments, displays an image of an alphanumeric keyboard that the user can use to enter the user's username and password on the display of electronic device 104. After this information is entered into fields 146, 148, the user presses an "Enter" or "Return" button or touches login icon 150 shown on login screen 144. If electronic device 104 does not have a touchscreen display, the user may enter the username and login information using a normal keyboard, mouse, other pointer, or other method.

[0174] The caregiver support application 124 receives the user's username and password in step 152 of the main algorithm 226 (FIG. 5). That is, entry of the user's username and password into the electronic device 104 is communicated by the electronic device 104 to the caregiver support server 90. As noted above, this may be done in the usual manner using Wi-Fi or other network communication capabilities. Once the caregiver support application 124 receives the username and password, it proceeds to step 171, where it determines the level of access (if any) to be granted to the user. In many embodiments, this determination is performed according to the steps described in the access algorithm 153 shown in FIG. 62. As discussed in the description of the access algorithm 153, the caregiver support application 124 may utilize the rules repository 126 to verify whether the username and password match an authorized user. The local rules repository 126 contains information entered into the caregiver support application 124 by authorized representatives of the healthcare facility where the caregiver support application 124 is installed. This information includes a list of individuals authorized to use the caregiver support application 124, including usernames and passwords (and other data such as permission levels, email addresses, phone numbers, etc.) and the level of access granted to each such individual.

[0175] If the user's username and password match an authorized entry in the local rules repository 126, the caregiver assistance application 124 determines (via algorithm 153) in step 171 the level of access to be granted to the user. For purposes of the following description of the main algorithm 226, it is assumed that the user is a caregiver, as described in the discussion of FIG. 62, although the user may also be an administrator or technician (and additional categories are possible). After determining that the user is an authorized caregiver, the algorithm 226 proceeds to step 173, where it determines a screen to display on the user's electronic device 104. The selection of the screen to display in step 173 is, in some embodiments, performed in accordance with the screen selection algorithm 139, as described above and further described below in connection with FIG. 63. As shown in FIG. 5, the algorithm 226 is configured to select between two basic screen types: a room list screen and a room overview screen. 8, 59, 84, and 91 show four examples of room list screens 156, 156a, 156b, and 156c, and most of the figures show examples of room overview screens (e.g., room overview screen 162 in FIG. 9, room overview screen 162a in FIG. 58, etc.). If the caregiver support application 124 determines in step 173 to display the room list screen, the process proceeds to step 154. If the caregiver support application 124 determines in step 173 to display the room overview screen, the process proceeds to step 157.

[0176] As can be seen in FIG. 8 , the room list screen 156 displays multiple rows, each row including a room identifier 158 that identifies a particular room 92 within the healthcare facility in which the caregiver support system 106 is installed. In the illustrated embodiment, the specific selection of rooms listed on the room list screen 156 corresponds to the particular person who just logged into the caregiver support application 124. That is, each caregiver is assigned a level of administrative access to the data contained within the caregiver support application 124 (algorithm 153; see FIG. 62 ). This assignment is performed by one or more authorized individuals 136 who initially configured the caregiver support application 124. In at least one embodiment, caregivers are assigned an access level that allows them to view only their assigned rooms. Caregiver managers may be granted a higher access level that allows them to view all rooms for all caregivers they supervise. Managers may be granted an even higher access level that allows them to view all rooms throughout the healthcare facility. Additional types of access levels may be used and / or created, and rules defining the access level architecture are stored in the local rules repository 126.

[0177] The caregiver assistance application 124 automatically determines the room to which a particular caregiver is assigned by communicating with a server on the local area network 74 that maintains room assignments for caregivers. The example shown in FIG. 4 illustrates a nurse call server 96 that includes a caregiver-room assignment table 122 that stores room assignments for caregivers within a healthcare facility. As noted above, the caregiver-room assignment table 122 may be stored on various servers. During installation of the caregiver assistance application 124, an authorized administrator enters the IP address of the server containing the caregiver-room assignment table 122 (and / or other data necessary to gain access to the caregiver-room assignment table 122). Similar data is entered for all other servers and tables discussed herein. After a user successfully logs in at step 152 of the algorithm 140, the caregiver assistance application 124 sends a message to the server containing the caregiver-room assignment table 122. The message requests an updated list of rooms assigned to the caregiver. After receiving this information, the caregiver assistance 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 the example of Figure 8, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays rooms 7090-7096 that correspond to the rooms assigned to the particular caregiver using the caregiver assistance application 124.

[0178] In some healthcare facilities, caregivers may be assigned to specific patients instead of specific rooms. In such cases, the caregiver support application 124 may be configured in at least two alternative ways. In a first way, the caregiver support application 124 continues to display a room list, such as the room list screen 156 of FIG. 8 . In a second way, the caregiver support application 124 displays a patient list screen that displays a row for each patient assigned to a caregiver, instead of a row for the room to which the caregiver is assigned. When configured in either way, the caregiver support application 124 determines the data to display by sending a request to a particular server(s) within the healthcare facility that maintains sufficient data to correlate a particular caregiver to a particular patient. In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , there is no server that correlates caregivers to particular patients. However, by utilizing the room assignment table 114 in combination with another server that stores caregiver-room assignments (e.g., table 122), the caregiver support application 124 can determine the particular patient assigned to a particular caregiver and the room 92 in which that particular patient is located within the healthcare facility.

[0179] For example, if the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to display a medical facility room list screen 156 (FIG. 8) that assigns caregivers to specific patients rather than specific rooms, 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 correlating caregivers to the specific patients for whom they are assigned to care. The second request is sent to the ADT server 94, requesting a list of the specific rooms in which the patients assigned to the caregiver are located. Using the data retrieved from these two requests, the caregiver assistance application 124 can list the specific patients to whom the caregiver is assigned, along with the rooms to which those patients are assigned. to This allows the caregiver assistance application 124 to display the room list screen 156 in a manner tailored to the particular caregiver using the caregiver assistance application 124.

[0180] In those embodiments in which the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to display rows for patients assigned to a particular caregiver rather than the room list screen 156, the caregiver assistance application 124 need not send the first request message described above. Instead, the caregiver assistance application 124 can send a single request message to a particular server that stores a table (or other data structure) correlating caregivers to particular patients. In this case, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a list of patients assigned to a particular caregiver on the display screen of the electronic device used by that particular caregiver.

[0181] Additionally, in some embodiments, a particular medical facility may assign rooms to specific caregivers, but may desire to replace the room list screen 156 with a patient list screen that identifies the specific patients assigned to the specific caregivers. The caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to accommodate this desire. To do so, the caregiver assistance application 124 sends a message to the nurse call server 96 requesting the assignment of a room to a specific caregiver, and sends a message to the ADT server 94 requesting the assignment of a patient to a specific room. Using data from both of these requests, the caregiver assistance application 124 can determine which patients are assigned to which caregivers and, therefore, can display a patient list screen instead of or in addition to the room list screen 156. This is configurable by authorized individuals 136 and stored in the rules repository 126.

[0182] It should be noted that while most electronic devices 104 are associated with a particular caregiver, this is not always the case, particularly for fixed electronic devices 104b. A fixed electronic device 104b, which may include a large-screen smart TV, may be associated with a particular unit of a healthcare facility, a particular nurse's station, wing, floor, and / or other section of a healthcare facility. For these devices, login credentials may be tailored to the particular location and / or intended function of that particular electronic device 104b. For example, a fixed electronic device 104b may be associated with the oncology unit, the east wing, nurse's station XYZ, the second floor, rooms A-G, or others. In such cases, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to assign a username and password to each such electronic device 104 that is customized to that particular device. Thus, for example, if a particular electronic device 104 is located at a nurse's station in a pediatric oncology unit, the device 104 may be assigned a username of "pediatric oncology display" and have its own specific password. When an authorized user logs into the caregiver assistance application 124 via that device, the caregiver assistance application displays room and / or patient data corresponding to the pediatric oncology unit for that particular device. The room and / or patient data may have rooms and / or patients assigned to multiple caregivers, thereby allowing the electronic device 104 to display information beyond that associated with a single caregiver.

[0183] Regardless of whether the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the room list screen 156 in step 154 ​​or the patient list screen in step 154 ​​(FIG. 5), the caregiver assistance application 124 is also configured to display a status indicator 160 (FIG. 8). The status summary 160 provides additional information about the status of the patient in the room and / or the patient assistance device 20 assigned to that room to the screen selected in step 154. Thus, for example, the status indicator 160 may indicate that the patient is a fall risk or a pressure sore risk, that the patient assistance device 20 is currently empty, that the patient assistance device 20 is in a compliant or non-compliant state, and / or that one or more tasks (e.g., a fall risk assessment, a skin care assessment, an inspection, etc.) are waiting to be performed for that particular patient and / or room.

[0184] The caregiver assistance application 124 receives the data necessary 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 assistance device data from the patient assistance device server 86. The device server 86 may be a commercially available bed status server, such as, but not limited to, the iBed server available from Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Details of the iBed server are described in the Stryker Installation / Configuration Manual for the iBed Server 20 (Document 5212-209-001 REV A), published by Stryker, Inc. of Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 2016, and incorporated herein by reference. In other embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to receive patient assistance device status data directly from the patient assistance device 20 itself, rather than through an intermediate server such as the iBed server described above.

[0185] The caregiver assistance application 124 receives patient data and protocol data from the EMR server 98 and / or the ADT server 94. The ADT server 94 may have requirements data that identify one or more protocols that the healthcare facility requires caregivers to follow when caring for one or more patients, in addition to room assignments. Such requirements data may specify assessments to perform on patients, such as, for example, assessments of the patient's fall risk and pressure sore risk. Alternatively, such requirements data may be stored in other locations, such as, but not limited to, the local rules repository 126. In some embodiments, the requirements data specifying which assessments (fall, skin, etc.) to perform on a given patient may depend on the patient's location within the healthcare facility. For example, some healthcare facilities may configure the local rules repository 126 so that all patients in a particular wing, floor, or other section receive both a fall risk assessment and a skin assessment, while patients in different locations receive only one or neither of these assessments. The caregiver assistance application 124 automatically checks these local rules when a new patient is admitted to the medical facility (as determined from communications with the ADT server 94) and when an assessment (which may be sent to the caregiver assistance application 124 or other devices) has not been recorded in the EMR server 98, and displays reminders on various screens associated with the patient that such an assessment should be performed.

[0186] Thus, when a new patient enters the healthcare facility, the caregiver assistance application 124 may determine whether the particular patient is undergoing a fall assessment, bedsore assessment, or other assessment. ofAutomatically determine whether it has from the server 94 and / or the rule repository 126 (or another location). If so, the caregiver support application 124 further sends a query to the EMR server 98 to determine whether such an evaluation has been completed for a specific patient. If not, the caregiver support application 124 displays such lack of completion on the status indicator 160 (Figure 8). In the example shown in Figure 8, the patient in room 7092 has not yet had a fall risk assessment performed, and this information is shown on the status indicator 160 corresponding to room 7092.

[0187] More specifically, looking at the example shown in Figure 8, the caregiver support application 124 receives from either the EMR server 98 or the data repository 128 the data necessary to indicate that the patient in room 7093 is at risk of falling. The caregiver support application 124 requests and receives from the patient support device server 86 data indicating a "safe bed" in room 7090. The term "safe bed" displayed on the status indicators 160 for rooms 7090 and 7091 in Figure 8 means that the patient support device 20 in those rooms is currently configured in their desired state. The "desired state" may be a pre-programmed part of the caregiver support system 106, may be defined by the fall risk reduction protocol 93, the bed shift risk reduction protocol 95 or another medical facility protocol, and / or may be changed and / or customized by an authorized individual 136. In any of these situations, the definition of the desired state or "safe bed" is stored in the local rule repository 126. In some embodiments, being in the "safe bed" state: the egress detection system 46 is equipped, the brakes are activated, the retur frame 28 is at the lowest height (or within a specified range of the lowest height), and at least three of the side rails 36 butA particular patient support apparatus 20 is considered to be in a "safe bed" state when in the raised position. As noted above, this "safe bed" state may be modified to include, among other requirements, one or more of: the A / C cable 102 being plugged into an A / C power outlet; the nurse call cable 78 being plugged into a nurse call outlet 82; the patient support apparatus 20 being equipped with monitoring capabilities; and / or other requirements. Additionally, the "safe bed" state may be modified to remove one or more of the above criteria.

[0188] As described above, the caregiver assistance application 124 determines whether a patient in a particular room needs to have an assessment performed by checking the EMR server 98, the data repository 128, and / or one or more other servers on the local area network, which defines which assessments to perform, when to perform them, and whether (and if so, when) to re-perform them. In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 records the completion of one or more of these assessments in the data repository 128, in addition to or instead of transmitting this data to the EMR server 98. As discussed in more detail below, one or more of these assessments, in at least some embodiments, may be completed using the electronic device 104 and / or the patient assistance apparatus 20 and transmitted from either or both of these devices to the EMR server 98. Alternatively, such assessments may be performed by other devices that forward their results to the EMR server 98. In the particular example shown in FIG. 8 , the caregiver assistance application 124 determines that the patient in room 7092 has not yet performed a fall risk assessment and, therefore, displays “Fall Risk Assessment” on the status indicator 160 associated with room 7092.

[0189] Similarly, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to display in the status indicator 160 the results of any patient assessments that the caregiver should be aware of. Thus, in the example of FIG. 8 , the caregiver assistance application 124 displays "Fall Risk Patient" for the status indicator 160 associated with room 7094, indicating that a fall risk assessment has been conducted on the patient in room 7094 and that the assessment indicated that the particular patient is at high risk for falling. The results of this fall risk assessment are typically stored in the EMR server 98 and / or 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 if a fall risk (or pressure sore risk, or other risk) is detected.

[0190] The caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to display on the status indicator 160 whether the patient assistance device 20 is currently occupied by a patient. This information is obtained from a weight sensor, such as a load cell, included in the scale / exit detection system 46 of each patient assistance device 20. Each patient assistance device 20 periodically transmits its weight reading to the patient assistance device server 86. The weight reading is forwarded to the caregiver assistance server 90. If the weight reading is below a threshold value (e.g., 50 pounds), the caregiver assistance application 124 may conclude that the patient assistance device 20 is not in use and display this information on the status indicator 160 (or may display other information configured to have a higher priority, such as, but not limited to, an assessment that needs to be performed for a particular patient). Such information may be displayed on the status indicator 160 along with the words "weight not detected" or "patient out of bed" or other text indicating that the patient assistance device 20 is not detecting a patient.

[0191] In the example shown in FIG. 8 , the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the word “empty” for rooms 7095 and 7096, indicating that no patients are currently assigned to these rooms. The caregiver assistance application 124 determines this information by sending a request to the ADT server 94 for patient information for rooms 92 assigned to a particular caregiver using the caregiver assistance system 106. In this example, the ADT server 94 has instructed 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 these rooms.

[0192] It will be understood that the example information displayed in the status indicator 160 shown in FIG. 8 are merely some examples of the type of information that may be displayed on the room list screen 156. The caregiver assistance application 124 may modify the status summary 160 to display less, more, and / or different information, and / or to eliminate it entirely. Additionally, 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 need to be completed may be highlighted in a different color (e.g., orange), patient assistance devices 20 that have not completed a task within a specified time period and / or that do not comply with a desired status may be highlighted in yet another color (e.g., red), and information indicating the absence of a task or non-compliance status may be shown in yet another color (e.g., green). Alerts may be displayed in the status summary using flashing text or in other ways.

[0193] Returning to the main algorithm 226 of the caregiver support system 106 (FIG. 5), the main algorithm 226 proceeds from step 154 ​​to step 155. In step 155 of the main algorithm 226, the caregiver support application 124 determines whether a manual selection of a caregiver for a particular room has occurred from among the rooms listed on the room list screen 156. If a manual selection of a caregiver has not occurred, the algorithm 226 returns to step 173 to determine whether to re-execute algorithm 139 and change the currently displayed screen. Depending on the result of re-executing algorithm 139, either the caregiver support application 124 continues to display the room list screen 156 (by re-executing algorithm 139 in step 173 and then returning to step 154) or the caregiver support application 124 automatically initiates the display of a room overview screen in step 157. Triggering of such automatic display of a room overview screen is discussed further below in connection with algorithm 139.

[0194] Regardless of whether the caregiver assistance application 124 reaches step 155 or step 173 through step 157, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a room overview screen 162, such as the room overview screen 162 of FIG. 9 (or the room overview screen 162a of FIG. 58 ), on the screen of the electronic device 104. Thus, if the user manually navigates (or is automatically moved to) the room list screen 156 at any time while using the caregiver assistance application 124, the user can press (or otherwise select) a particular room listed on the room list screen 156. The caregiver assistance application 124 responds to this selection by displaying the room overview screen 162 corresponding to the particular room 92 selected by the user. Thus, the particular room overview screen 162 shown in FIG. 9 is 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 have other tools that can navigate the user to the room overview screen 162, such as, but not limited to, a search function that allows the user to enter / search for a room number.

[0195] The room overview screen 162 (FIG. 9) displays information about a particular room 92 within the healthcare facility and the patient associated with the room 92. It is understood that the room overview screen 162 may change to a bay overview screen or other type of overview screen if the particular room selected by the caregiver is a semi-private room containing multiple patient support devices 20 or patients. In such an embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a bay overview screen (not shown) similar to the room overview screen 162 specific to the particular bay selected by the caregiver within the semi-private room (or the caregiver assistance application 124 displays an overview screen listing both the room and bay combination).

[0196] The room overview screen 162 (or a similar bay overview screen) includes a bed icon 164, an exit detection system status indicator 166, a bedwatch status indicator 168, a bed status bar 170, a summary area 172, and a task menu 174 ( FIG. 9 ). The bed icon 164 includes multiple siderail icons 176 arranged along the sides of the bed icon 164. Each of the siderail icons 176 has an indicator (without a label) that includes the word “up” or “down.” The caregiver assistance application 124 selectively displays the “up” or “down” indication within the siderail icon 176 based on the current state of the siderails 36 of the patient assistance apparatus 20 in the room 7093. The caregiver assistance application 124 receives the up / down status from the patient assistance apparatus server 86 and displays “up” or “down” to match the current siderail status of the patient assistance apparatus 20. The caregiver assistance application 124, in at least some embodiments, is configured to display the siderail icons in various colors, such as, but not limited to, amber when in a lowered state, to distinguish the siderail icon 176 from an icon corresponding to the siderail 36 in a raised position, which may be displayed in green or other colors.

[0197] The exit detection system status indicator 166 ( FIG. 9 ) indicates the current state 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. The status indicator 166 also indicates which zone of the exit detection system the user has selected, if the exit detection system is armed and has multiple zones. Many exit detection systems are configured to allow the user to select different zones of permitted movement. The different zones allow the patient to move by different amounts before issuing an alert. In the example of FIG. 9 , the patient support device 20 has an exit detection system 46 with three zones, with the second zone highlighted. The exit detection system 46 is shown in FIG. 9 as not armed (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 zones and / or operation of an exit detection system that may be incorporated into the patient support device 20 and utilized in the caregiver support system 106 may be found in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application No. 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.

[0198] The BedWatch status indicator 168 (FIG. 9) indicates whether the BedWatch system of the patient support apparatus 20 is turned on or off. The BedWatch system is a monitoring feature that is included in some embodiments of the patient support apparatus 20 but may be omitted in other embodiments. Generally, when activated, the BedWatch system causes the controller 48 to monitor the status of multiple components of the patient support apparatus 20 and issue an alert when any of these components change from a desired state to an undesired state. In some embodiments, the specific characteristics monitored by the BedWatch system are defined by a Patient Fall Risk Reduction Protocol 93 (FIG. 2). The Patient Fall Risk Reduction Protocol 93 defines what the desired state is for each of the specific components monitored by the BedWatch system.

[0199] For example, when the BedWatch system is activated and includes monitoring of the siderails 36 of the patient support apparatus 20, the controller 48 of the patient support apparatus 20 will issue an alert if one or more of the siderails are lowered or enter an undesired state. Generally, when the BedWatch system is incorporated into a particular patient support apparatus 20, the BedWatch system, when armed, monitors and issues an alert if the patient support apparatus 20 detects that the system 46 is not armed, that the siderails 36 are lowered, that the patient has exited the patient support apparatus 20, that the brake has been disabled, that the bed height has risen above a specified level, or that the A / C power cord 102 and / or the nurse call cable 78 has been unplugged. The specific components of the patient support apparatus 20 that are monitored by the BedWatch system and that, when changed, will trigger an alert can be selected by an authorized user, such as authorized individual 136. This selection can be made by one of the control panels 42 of the patient support apparatus 20, one of the electronic devices 104, and / or a computer in communication with the caregiver support server 90. ofThe alert issued by the patient support device 20 in response to the BedWatch system detecting an undesirable condition may be a local alert (at the patient support device 20), a remote alert (e.g., sent to the patient support device server 86 and / or the caregiver support application 124), or a combination of both local and remote alerts. A user can select from these different types of alerts via the patient support device 20, the electronic device 104, and / or a computer in communication with the server 90.

[0200] The bed status bar 170 provides additional information about the current status of the patient support device 20 (FIG. 9). This includes an indication of whether the patient support device 20 brakes are engaged, whether the litter frame 28 is at its lowest elevation, whether the nurse call cable 78 is plugged into the nurse call outlet 82, and whether the A / C power cable 102 is plugged into an A / C outlet. All information shown in the status bar 170 (and all patient support device 20 data displayed by the caregiver assistance application 124) is transmitted by the patient support device 20 (via the transceiver 60) to the patient support device server 86, where it is then forwarded to the patient support device server 86. In some modified embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 and the caregiver assistance server 90 are configured to receive this information directly from the patient support device 20, thereby avoiding the need for a separate patient support device server 86.

[0201] The data displayed in the bed status bar 170 (FIG. 9) is updated in real time or near real time. In most embodiments of the patient support device 20, the patient support device 20 is configured to automatically (and near immediately) communicate status to the patient support device server 86 whenever a change in status occurs. Thus, for example, when the nurse call cable 78 is unplugged from the nurse call outlet 82, the patient support device 20 automatically and near immediately sends a message to the patient support device server 86. The patient support device server 86 automatically and immediately or near immediately forwards the status update to the caregiver assistance application 124. The caregiver assistance application 124 then updates the information displayed in the bed status bar 170 to indicate that the nurse call cable has been unplugged. Thus, a caregiver who may be away from a particular room 92 and / or a particular patient support device 20 receives real time or near real time updates on the status of the patient support device 20 when utilizing the caregiver assistance application 124.

[0202] The summary area 172 of the room overview screen 162 (FIG. 9) lists one or more items of information about the patient, the patient's patient support device 20, the room assigned to the particular patient, and / or any data generated by the reminder algorithm 145. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the summary area 172 includes a reminder to configure or arm the exit detection system 46, and more specifically, a reminder to select Zone 2 when arming the exit detection system 46. This data is obtained from the task list 886 (FIG. 57), discussed below, that is populated by any one or more of the algorithms 140, 141, and 143 and / or by the manual task list modification algorithm 151. The manual task list modification algorithm 151 allows a caregiver to select one or more tasks associated with the patient and / or patient support device, schedule those tasks, issue reminders via the caregiver assistance application 124, and display data about the reminders in the summary area 172.

[0203] The summary area 172 also has an entry reiterating the fact that the nurse call cable 78 has been disconnected. Additionally, the summary area 172 has entries to remind the caregiver of upcoming tasks scheduled for a particular patient, room, and / or patient support device 20. As shown in the specific example of FIG. 7 , the summary area 172 of the room overview screen 162 has a reminder to return the patient to room 7093 in 33 minutes. This task data is entered into the caregiver assistance application 124 by the caregiver and / or authorized individual 136 using the manual task list modification algorithm 151 and / or automatically by one or more of the various algorithms 140, 141, and / or 143. Automatically set reminders include, but are not limited to, performing a fall risk assessment, performing a pressure sore risk assessment, performing patrol duties, performing one or more treatments, various components of the patient support device 20 configuration and / or desired state, etc. The reminder itself, in some embodiments, includes an indication of the time the task is expected to be completed (e.g., time until the next patient round or next round task) and / or the time that has elapsed since the task was last completed (e.g., time since the patient was last turned or time since a round task was last performed).

[0204] The task menu 174 of the room overview screen 162 (FIG. 9) identifies several different tasks that may be undertaken by a caregiver utilizing the caregiver assistance application 124. In the example shown in FIG. 9 and elsewhere (e.g., FIGS. 10-17), the task menu 174 includes four separate task icons: a falls task icon 178, a patrol task icon 180, a skin task icon 182, and a reminder task icon 184. If the caregiver selects one of these task icons 174-182 in step 159, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the corresponding algorithms 140, 141, 143, and 151 in step 161 (FIG. 5). More specifically, if the caregiver selects the falls task icon 178 in step 159, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the fall risk reduction algorithm 143 in step 161. If the caregiver selects the patrol task icon 180 in step 159, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the patrol algorithm 140 ( FIG. 6 ) in step 161. If the caregiver selects the skin task icon 182 in step 159, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the skin care algorithm 141 (also referred to herein as the bedsore risk reduction algorithm) in step 161. Finally, if the caregiver selects the reminder task icon 184 in step 157, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the manual task list change algorithm 151 in step 161.

[0205] Selection of these various icons and their associated algorithms causes the caregiver assistance application 124 to display various screens corresponding to the selected task. The various screens allow the user to perform one or more tasks related to a particular patient. If the user selects the falls task icon 178, the caregiver assistance application 124 begins execution of 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 related to reducing the patient's likelihood of falling, such as, but not limited to, the screens shown in FIGS. 19-27 . These steps include, but are not limited to, performing a fall risk assessment and configuring the patient assistance device 20 in accordance with 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 falls task icon 178 (or any of the other task icons in the task menu 174) may be an initial screen that is part of a larger set of screens that can be displayed by the caregiver assistance application 124 to assist the caregiver with the selected task. In some embodiments, this initial screen may be of the type shown in FIG. 19, although other screens may be displayed first.

[0206] If the caregiver selects the skin task 182 (FIG. 9) in step 159 (FIG. 5), the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to execute the skin care algorithm 141, which displays an initial skin care screen (not shown) that assists in performing a pressure sore risk assessment, recording one or more existing skin conditions or conditions, and / or setting one or more reminders or configurations for the patient assistance device 20 to help prevent the patient from developing and / or worsening pressure sores. Similar to the falls task icon 178, selection of the skin task icon 182 causes the caregiver assistance application 124 to display an initial screen related to caring for the patient's skin that is part of a larger set of screens adapted to assist the caregiver in caring for the patient. Additional screens in that larger set can be accessed from the initial screen or from one or more other screens accessible from the initial screen.

[0207] If the caregiver selects the reminder task icon 184 step 159 (FIG. 5), 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 (FIG. 9) or the room list screen 156 (FIG. 8). The algorithm 151 then allows the caregiver to set, edit, and / or cancel reminders related to the care of a particular patient or room. Such reminders include, but are not limited to, reminders to return the patient, reminders to perform one or more therapies on the patient (e.g., percussion therapy or maximum expansion therapy using the mattress 38), reminders to perform caregiver rounds, and other reminders. Whatever the particular reminder, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to display the reminder in the summary area 172 of the room overview screen 162, the status indicator 160 of the room list screen 156, and / or other screens of the caregiver assistance application 124. The display may include an indication of the reminder as well as the time remaining until the reminder expires (or the time that has elapsed since the reminder expired, if the reminder has expired). Additionally, in some embodiments of the caregiver support system 106, the caregiver support application 124 is configured to send a notification to the caregiver when the reminder expires (or one or more configurable times before the reminder expires and / or one or more times after the reminder expires if the task remains incomplete). The notification, in some embodiments, includes an email, text, phone call, or other type of notification, as described further below.

[0208] During the execution of any of the tasks identified in the task menu 174, the caregiver support 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 support application 124 switches to executing the algorithm associated with the particular task. In the particular case of the patrol algorithm 140, when the caregiver selects the patrol task icon 180 from one of the screens associated with task icons 178, 182, or 184, the caregiver support application switches to step 192 of the patrol algorithm 140 (FIG. 6), as described in more detail below.

[0209] If the caregiver does not select any of the tasks from the task menu 174, the main algorithm 226 (FIG. 5) of the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 163 to determine whether the caregiver has entered a command to control one or more aspects of the patient assistance device 20. If the caregiver has entered such a command, the algorithm 226 proceeds to step 165, where it sends the command to the patient assistance device 20. This command is routed, in at least one embodiment, through the caregiver assistance server 90. That is, a command to control one or more aspects of the patient assistance 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 assistance device 20 using the wireless access points 76, or forwards the command to the patient assistance device server 86 and then forwards the command to the patient assistance device 20 using one or more wireless access points 76. When the command is received at the patient assistance device 20, the controller 48 verifies whether the command is an authorized command and, if so, executes the command.

[0210] After both steps 163 and 165 of the main algorithm 226 (FIG. 5), the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 167, where it checks whether a command has been manually entered by the caregiver to return the currently displayed room overview screen 162 to the room list screen 158 of FIG. 8. If so, the algorithm 226 returns to step 154 ​​and proceeds as described above. If not, the algorithm returns to step 173, where it either continues to display the room list screen or automatically changes the screen to the room overview screen.

[0211] It should be noted that the display of various screens within the caregiver assistance application 124 is controlled not only by the user pressing / selecting areas of a particular screen, but also by the caregiver's use of the normal "back" and "forward" buttons of the web browser the caregiver uses to access the caregiver assistance application 124. Thus, for example, if a user is looking at the rooms overview screen 162 of FIG. 9 and wishes to return to view the rooms list screen 156 of FIG. 8, the user can press or activate the "back" function of the web browser used by the caregiver. These and other navigational features (e.g., a "home" icon, menu icons, etc.) are not shown in FIG. 5 but are included in at least some embodiments of the caregiver assistance application 124.

[0212] It should also be noted that main algorithm 226 may be significantly modified from that shown in Figure 5 and described above. Such modifications include the addition of one or more steps or screens not described in conjunction with Figure 5, the removal of one or more steps, and / or the reordering of one or more steps. In one particular embodiment, main algorithm 226 omits the automatic screen selection function of step 173. In other embodiments, main algorithm 226 includes one or more icons that display one or more screens from which the user can perform the share and unshare functions described below in conjunction with Figures 64-67.

[0213] When the caregiver selects the tour task icon 180 (FIG. 9) in step 159 of the main algorithm 226 (FIG. 5), the caregiver assistance application 124 begins executing the tour algorithm 140 of FIG. 6. The tour algorithm 140 begins at step 192, in which the caregiver assistance application 124 receives and / or confirms a room selection or a bed selection. In response to such a room selection or bed selection, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to display a first tour screen 190, such as the first tour screen 190 shown in FIG. 10. The caregiver's selection of a particular room or patient support device is used by the caregiver assistance application 124 to know which patient and / or room tour information to display on screen 190 (and subsequent tour screens). If the caregiver navigates to screen 190 from a screen such as screen 162 of FIG. 9, the caregiver assistance application displays information on screen 190 corresponding to the same bed and / or room selected on screen 162, as shown in FIG. 9. Because screen 162 displayed information about room 7093 in FIG. 9 when the user navigates to screen 190 in FIG. 10 by pressing patrol task icon 180 in FIG. 9, the caregiver assistance application automatically displays patrol information corresponding to room 7093 on screen 190.

[0214] However, there may be situations in which the first tour screen 190 is invoked by a caregiver without prior selection of a specific room and / or patient, or in which the caregiver desires to use the first tour screen 190 with a different room or patient than that selected in the previously displayed screen. In these situations, the first tour screen 190 may be modified and / or supplemented by screens or input fields that allow the caregiver to select a specific room and / or patient to perform the tour task associated with the first tour screen 190. In some embodiments, a particular patient assistance device 20 may be selected in step 192 by having the user manually enter the room number of the patient whose tour information the user is seeking to collect. In other embodiments, the patient assistance device 20 may have a short-range wireless transmitter (e.g., one or more short-range transmitters and / or Bluetooth® transmitters) that automatically communicates with the mobile electronic device 104a and informs the device 104a of which patient assistance device 20 it is. In response, the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically associates the first tour screen 190 with the patient assistance device 20 identified in the wireless communication received from the patient assistance device 20. In yet another embodiment, 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.

[0215] Regardless of the particular manner in which a room is selected for the first tour screen 190, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the selected room in a room identifier location 198 ( FIG. 10 ). The caregiver assistance application 124 may display the same status indicator 160 (from the room list screen 156) in a status location 200 adjacent to the room identifier location 198. The first tour screen 190 also has an upper portion 202 and a lower portion 204. The upper portion 202 includes the same information as displayed in the upper half of the room overview screen 162 ( FIG. 9 ). Specifically, the upper portion 202 includes a bed icon 164, an exit detection system status indicator 166, a bedwatch status indicator 168, and a bed status bar 170. However, the lower portion 204 does not include the summary area 172 of the room overview screen 162, but instead includes a first tour question 206. The first round question identifies a question intended to be asked by the patient's caregiver while the caregiver is performing caregiver round duties. The caregiver support application 124 displays this first question 206 in step 208 of the algorithm 140 (FIG. 6).

[0216] The particular first tour question 206 displayed in step 208 of the algorithm 140 (shown in FIG. 10 ) is a question related to the patient's pain level. Specifically, the question asks about the patient's current pain level on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being the lowest pain level and 10 being the highest pain level. While the first question 206 is described here as being the “first” question displayed after selection of the tour task icon 180, it should be understood that the particular order of questions displayed by the caregiver assistance application 124 may be changed, and the term “first” in the phrase “first tour question” is used only to distinguish the question from other tour questions and does not imply any particular significance to the order.

[0217] The first tour question screen 190 ( FIG. 10 ) includes a plus sign icon 210, a minus sign icon 212, a next icon 214, and a current pain level indicator 216. The plus sign icon 210 and the minus sign 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 indicated 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 sign 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 a second tour question screen, such as the second tour question screen 220 shown in FIG. 11 .

[0218] In other embodiments, first visit question screen 190 (FIG. 10) is modified to allow the user to enter the patient's current pain level in one or more alternative and / or additional ways. For example, in another embodiment, plus sign 210 and minus sign 212 are replaced with numeric keypad icons, and the user directly enters the patient's pain level by simply pressing numbers on the keypad. In yet another embodiment, a slider bar icon is displayed on screen 190, and the user touches the slider bar while moving the sliding portion of the bar to the position corresponding to the number of the patient's pain level. Still other ways of allowing the user to enter the patient's pain level are possible.

[0219] The second tour query screen 220 includes all of the same elements as the first tour query screen 190 except for the specific tour question displayed in the lower portion 204. That is, the second tour query screen 220 displays a room identifier in the room identifier position 298, a room status in the room status position 200, and all of the same icons in the upper portion 202 that were found in the upper portion 202 of the first tour screen 190. However, the lower portion 204 differs from the lower portion 204 of the screen 190 in that it is directed to a different tour question. Specifically, the lower portion 204 of the second tour query screen 220 includes a tour question 222 that asks whether the patient is currently in a comfortable position. If the patient is not, the caregiver assists the patient into a more comfortable position and records this movement or reorientation of the patient by pressing the "reorient patient" icon 224 displayed on the screen 220. In response to pressing the orientation change icon 224, the caregiver assistance application 124 records the fact that the patient has been reoriented, along with the identity of the particular caregiver associated with the mobile electronic device 104a that received the orientation change. The caregiver assistance application 124 also timestamps this record and includes it with other patrol information sent to the EMR server 98, as described further below.

[0220] If no reorientation or repositioning of the patient is required, the caregiver presses the next icon 214 on screen 220 ( FIG. 11 ). Pressing the next icon 214 on screen 220 causes the caregiver assistance application 124 to display a third inspection question screen 230, an example of which is shown in FIG. 12 . The third inspection question screen 230 includes an upper section 202 and a lower section 204. The upper section 202 includes all of the same information as the upper section 202 of the first inspection question screen 190 and the second inspection question screen 220. The lower section 204 differs from these screens in that the lower section 204 includes a third inspection question 232, which in this case is a question about whether the patient needs to use the toilet. If the patient needs to use the toilet, the caregiver assists or allows the patient to use the toilet. In some embodiments, the third round question screen 230 may have an input that, when pressed by the caregiver, sends a message to the caregiver assistance application 124 indicating that the patient has used the restroom, and the caregiver assistance application 124 stores this information for entry into the particular patient's electronic medical record. If the patient does not need to use the restroom or is finished using the restroom, the caregiver presses the next icon 214.

[0221] In response to pressing the Next icon 214 on the third inspection question screen 230, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a fourth inspection question screen 240, an example of which is shown in FIG. 13 . The fourth inspection question screen 240 includes an upper section 202 and a lower section 204. The upper section 202 includes all of the same information as the upper section 202 of the first inspection question screen 190, the second inspection question screen 220, and the third inspection question screen 230. The lower section 204 differs from these screens in that it includes a fourth inspection question 242, which in this case is a question about whether the patient needs any personal belongings. If the patient needs any personal belongings, the caregiver either retrieves the items for the patient or moves the items to a location in the room 92 where the patient can access them without having to leave the patient assistance device 20. After the patient is granted access to any of their belongings, the caregiver presses the Next icon 214 again.

[0222] It can be seen from FIG. 6 that input of tour information using tour screens 190, 220, 230, and 240 corresponds to steps 246, 248, and 250 of algorithm 140. That is, in step 208 (FIG. 4), caregiver support application 124 displays a first tour question. This step is accomplished by displaying first tour question screen 190 and associated first tour question 206. After displaying this information, caregiver support application 124 waits for a response from the caregiver in step 248. After waiting for a response, algorithm 140 receives data from the caregiver in step 248. This data input corresponds, for example, to a caregiver entering a patient's pain level via screen 190 or repositioning the patient and recording the repositioning step using patient orientation change icon 224 on screen 220. In some screens, such as screens 230 and 240, data input includes pressing next icon 214, indicating that the corresponding question has been asked by the caregiver.

[0223] After receiving the caregiver assistance data in step 248 (FIG. 6), the caregiver assistance application 124 moves to step 250, where it determines whether there are any more caregiver assistance questions to ask. Thus, after displaying the first inspection query screen 190, the second inspection query screen 220, and the third inspection query screen 230, respectively, the caregiver assistance application 124 returns to step 208 and displays another inspection query screen. However, after displaying the fourth inspection query screen 240 (FIG. 13), the caregiver assistance application 124 moves from step 250 to step 252, where it waits for confirmation data entered by the caregiver to confirm completion of the inspection task, as described in more detail below.

[0224] Before proceeding with the description of step 252, it should be noted that the specific number and content of the caregiver assistance questions displayed by the caregiver assistance application 124 on the electronic device 104 may be varied from the four shown in Figures 10-13. The caregiver assistance application 124 includes an administration portal that can be accessed by authorized individuals 136 to modify the number of questions, the content of the questions, the order of the questions, and the content of the data entered into the application 124 in response to receiving patient responses.

[0225] In step 252 (FIG. 6) of the tour algorithm 140, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a tour completion screen 260 (FIG. 14). The tour completion screen 260 includes a tour record window 262 that indicates the time (and date) that the caregiver completed the caregiver tour task associated with the particular room (i.e., more specifically, the patient in that room) indicated in the room identifier location 198, and confirmation that the information entered by the caregiver (e.g., pain level) was sent to the caregiver assistance server 90 and recorded by the caregiver assistance application 124. In some embodiments, as described further below, the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically forwards this tour information to the EMR server 98 for storage in the patient's electronic medical record. In an embodiment according to the algorithm 140, as shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 6, the caregiver assistance application 124 does not transmit this tour data to the EMR server 98 until it receives confirmation data confirming that the caregiver was actually at the patient's bedside while accessing and using the tour screens 190, 220, 230, and 240.

[0226] More specifically, in the embodiment of algorithm 140 shown in FIG. 6 , the caregiver support application 124 proceeds from step 250 (if there are no more rounds of questions) to step 252, where it attempts to obtain verification data. As noted above, verification data refers to data used to verify that the caregiver actually entered the room and performed a round of tasks in the room. The specific verification data obtained in step 252 can vary significantly from embodiment to embodiment. FIGS. 15 , 16 , and 17 illustrate three different verification screens that may be utilized by the caregiver support application 124 to collect this verification data. Each of the three screens is intended to collect different verification data. In practice, the caregiver support application 124 will typically utilize only one of the screens shown in FIGS. 15-17 . The inclusion of multiple screens in FIGS. 15-17 is intended to illustrate the various different types of verification data that may be collected by the caregiver support application 124. Of course, it will be further understood that additional types of verification data may be collected by the caregiver support application 124 beyond the three examples shown in FIGS. 15-17 .

[0227] The confirmation screen 270 (FIG. 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 captured by the camera integrated into the mobile electronic device 104a. The capture icon 274 is touched by the caregiver when the caregiver is ready to take a picture. The image window 272 in FIG. 15 specifically depicts a quick response (QR) code because, in the illustrated embodiment, each patient assistance device 20 is configured to display a QR code on the display 70 in response to the caregiver pressing a particular control or series of controls. The controller 48 of the patient assistance device 20 generates the QR code in a manner that embeds at least two pieces of information in the QR code: a unique identifier (e.g., identifier 186) corresponding to the particular patient assistance device 20 and the current time (and date).

[0228] The caregiver assistance application 124 is adapted to analyze the QR code to determine the particular patient assistance device 20 identified in the code and the time the photo was captured by the mobile electronic device 104a. The caregiver assistance application 124 compares the particular patient assistance device 20 identified in the QR code with the identification of the patient assistance device 20 located in the room identified in the room identifier location 198 to ensure they match. If they do not match, the image captured by the caregiver using the capture icon 274 is not an image of the patient assistance device 20 associated with the patient for whom the caregiver just asked a patient round question. In this case, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays an error message and does not proceed to step 254 of the algorithm 140 (FIG. 6). If the patient assistance device 20 identifiers match, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 254.

[0229] The caregiver assistance application 124 receives from the patient assistance device server 86 patient assistance device identifiers 186 (FIG. 4) that uniquely identify each of the patient assistance devices 20. When each of the patient assistance devices 20 transmits these identifiers 186 to the patient assistance device server 86, the patient assistance device 20 transmits a locator identifier 138 (FIG. 4) that uniquely identifies the location beacon 84 within 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 of the patient assistance devices 20 but also the location of those patient assistance devices 20. Alternatively, the caregiver assistance application 124 receives the patient's unique ID and bed location table 88. In either situation, the caregiver assistance application 124 receives enough information to know the specific patient assistance device ID of each of the patient assistance devices 20 and the specific room in which each patient assistance device is located. This is the information the caregiver assistance application 124 uses to compare with the patient assistance device identifier contained within the QR code.

[0230] For example, if the caregiver uses the confirmation screen 270 and capture icon 274 to take a picture of the QR code® and the picture was taken in room 7093 ( FIG. 15 ), the caregiver assistance application 124 compares the patient assistance device 20 ID contained within the QR code® with the location record it maintains for the particular patient assistance device 20. If the record indicates that the particular patient assistance device 20 is located in room 7093, the caregiver assistance application 124 accepts the QR code® as confirmation that the caregiver was actually present in that room when they performed their rounds task. If the records do not match, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays an error message and does not accept the image of the QR code® as confirmation of the caregiver's physical presence during the rounds task.

[0231] A patient assist device 20 suitable for use with the verification method utilized by the verification screen 270 of Figure 15 has a clock that tracks the current time and a controller 48 configured to embed both the current time and the unique ID of the patient assist device 20 into a QR code. Some examples of patient assist devices 20 that have an internal clock and may be utilized with the algorithm 140 and the verification process of Figure 13 are described in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application No. 15,642,621, filed July 6, 2017, by inventors Anuj Sidhu et al., entitled "Patient Assist Device with Clock," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Of course, other types of patient assist devices 20 may be used instead.

[0232] The patient support device 20 utilized in the verification process of Figure 15 is configured to display a QR code somewhere on the display screen 70. The display of the QR code may be constant, repeatedly updated to include the current time (e.g., every minute or so), or the display may be intermittent in response to the caregiver pressing or actuating one or more controls on the patient support device 20. In connection with the latter option, one of the controls 72 may be dedicated specifically to causing the patient support device 20 to display the QR code, or the code may be displayed in response to the caregiver navigating to the particular screen on which the QR code appears. Still other methods of causing the patient support device 20 to display the QR code may be utilized.

[0233] It should also be noted that the patient support device 20 need not specifically utilize a QR code. That is, other codes, such as, but not limited to, bar codes, can be utilized. 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 may display, or be manipulated by the caregiver (e.g., using the control device 72) to display, a screen showing both the current time and the patient support device's unique identifier. The caregiver uses the camera functionality of a mobile electronic device (e.g., a smartphone, tablet, etc.) to capture an image of the display and transfer the image to the caregiver assistance application 124. The caregiver assistance application 124 processes the image to extract the patient support device's ID and the time from the captured image. The extracted patient support device ID is then matched with the record data for that particular room, as described above. If the retrieved patient support device ID data matches data contained in the caregiver assistance application 124's record (data repository 128), the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 254, described next.

[0234] In step 254 of the inspection algorithm 140 (FIG. 6), the caregiver assistance application 124 determines whether the patient assistance device 20 is in a compliant or incompatible state. The definition of a compliant state may be determined during installation of the caregiver assistance application 124 (or subsequently changed) according to the specific requirements of the healthcare facility for which the caregiver assistance application 124 is being installed. May be ), or it may be predefined by the vendor of the caregiver assistance application 124. Alternatively, or additionally, a compliant state may be defined based on whether a fall risk reduction protocol is currently being implemented for a patient assigned to a particular patient support device 20, as discussed in more detail below in connection with FIGS. 18-27. In any of the embodiments, the definition of a compliant state may alternatively or additionally be modified and / or defined by an authorized individual 136 after installation of the system 106. In many embodiments, a compliant state includes the same criteria monitored by the BedWatch system described above. That is, oftentimes, a healthcare facility will define a compliant state for a patient support device as a state in which all of the following are true: brakes are applied; litter frame 28 is at its lowest height; exit detection system 46 is equipped; monitoring is equipped; at least three of the siderails 36 are raised (and / or certain of the siderails are raised); A / C power cable 102 is plugged into a wall outlet; and nurse call cable 78 is plugged into nurse call outlet 82. Of course, other definitions of conformance may be used.

[0235] The caregiver assistance application 124 checks whether the patient assistance device 20 is in a compatible state at step 254. The caregiver assistance application 124 performs this step by requesting the patient assistance device server 86 for the patient assistance device's 20 current status data when the user reaches step 254. The current status data for each patient assistance device 20 is maintained by the patient assistance device server 86 in table 88 (FIG. 4). As described above, the patient assistance device 20 transmits status data to the patient assistance device server 86 whenever it detects a change in status (or in response to a specific request from the patient assistance device server 86). After the caregiver assistance application 124 receives the patient assistance device's 20 current status data from the patient assistance device server 86, the caregiver assistance application 124 checks whether the current status data matches the compatible state criteria described above. If the caregiver assistance application 124 determines that the patient assistance device 20 is currently in a compatible state, it proceeds to step 256 of the patrol algorithm 140 (FIG. 6). If the caregiver assistance application 124 determines that the patient assistance device 20 is not currently in a compatible state, it moves to follow a first control path 280 (in one embodiment) or a second control path 282 (in another embodiment).

[0236] In step 256 (FIG. 6), the caregiver assistance application 124 transmits various data to the EMR server 98 for recording in the electronic medical record of the patient for whom the caregiver completed the caregiver round task. This transmission occurs without the caregiver performing any additional steps beyond those described above. The specific data transmitted to the EMR server 98 includes: (a) the round data entered into the mobile electronic device 104a by the caregiver during the round task (e.g., pain level, whether the patient used the toilet, etc.); (b) the confirmation data obtained during step 252 (or data indicating that the round task was confirmed); (c) whether the patient assistance apparatus 20 is in a compliant state (or, alternatively, the current status of the patient assistance apparatus 20 related to brakes, side rails, litter frame height, exit detection system, nurse call cable, and / or power cable); (d) a date and time stamp; and (e) data sufficient to identify the caregiver currently logged in to the particular mobile electronic device 104a from which the caregiver assistance application 124 is receiving the round data.

[0237] The date and time stamp may include both the date and time the data was received by the caregiver assistance application 124 from the corresponding mobile electronic device 104a and the date and time encoded in the confirmation data shown on the display 70 of the patient assistance device 20 and captured by the caregiver in the image window 272. Alternatively, or additionally, the date and time stamp may reference the time this data was sent by the caregiver assistance application 124 to the EMR server 98. Upon receiving this 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 round task and / or another one of the tasks associated with the menu 174.

[0238] After completing step 256 (FIG. 6), the caregiver assistance application 124, in at least some embodiments, is configured to update any timers associated with the just-completed inspection task. In other words, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to update the task list 886 to reflect that the caregiver has just completed one of the inspection tasks on the list. As a result, the reminder algorithm 145 resets the reminder timer for the particular inspection task according to a predetermined frequency for re-completing the inspection task. Thus, for example, if the caregiver is to perform an inspection task every two hours and the caregiver has just completed an inspection of room 1703, the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically resets the timer for room 1703 two hours after step 256 is completed. Accordingly, the corresponding time information displayed on the screen of the mobile electronic device 104a is also automatically reset, thereby providing the caregiver with an up-to-date indication of how much time remains until the next inspection task is to be performed. The reminder algorithm 145 of the caregiver assistance application 124 maintains and updates timers for rounding tasks and other tasks associated with each room and / or patient.

[0239] Returning to step 254 of algorithm 140 (FIG. 6), if the patient support device 20 is determined by the caregiver assistance application 124 to be incompatible at that step, the patient support device 20 proceeds to either a first control path 280 or a second control path 282, depending on the particular embodiment of the caregiver assistance application 124. Turning first to embodiments in which the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to the first control path 280, the caregiver assistance application 124 executes the state / command algorithm 147. That is, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 258, where it waits to receive a command from the caregiver to remotely change the patient support device 20 to a compatible state. As described above, 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. The caregiver can thereby remotely change the state of the patient support device 20 to a compatible state.

[0240] For example, if the caregiver assistance application 124 determines in step 254 that the patient assistance device 20 is not compatible because the exit detection system 46 is not currently equipped, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a display that provides the caregiver with information about the cause of the non-compatibility. The caregiver assistance application 124 displays a control that allows the caregiver to use the mobile electronic device 104a to arm the exit detection system. In some embodiments, this control is simply a display of an exit detection system status indicator 166, which, when tapped, toggles between arming and disarming the exit detection system 46. Other types of controls may additionally or alternatively be displayed. In response to the user tapping the control to arm the exit 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 assistance device 20 to arm the exit detection system 46. This message is sent as part of step 266 of the algorithm 140.

[0241] In response to this message, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 268 (FIG. 6), where the caregiver assistance application 124 either sends a command directly to the corresponding patient assistance device 20 to arm the exit detection system 46, or sends the command to the patient assistance device server 86, which then relays the command to the appropriate patient assistance device 20. In either situation, the command is received by the patient assistance device 20, and the controller 48 responds by arming the exit detection system.

[0242] Arming the exit detection system 46 by the controller 48 prompts the controller 48 to send a new status message to the patient support device server 86 updating the current state of the patient support device 20. This updated state includes the fact that the exit detection system 46 has been armed. The patient support device server 86 forwards this updated state to the caregiver assistance application 124, which receives it at step 276 (FIG. 6). Using this updated state data, the caregiver assistance application 124 returns to step 254, where it again checks whether the patient support device 20 is in a compliant state. If so, it proceeds to step 256 and performs the actions associated with step 256 described above. If the patient support device 20 is still not compliant, the caregiver assistance application 124 returns to the first control path 280 and step 258, where it waits to receive another command from the caregiver to change the state of the patient support device 20.

[0243] In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to only allow the caregiver to remotely change the state of the patient assistance apparatus 20 without any movement. That is, the caregiver is only permitted to use the caregiver's mobile electronic device 104a in step 266 to send non-movement commands to the patient assistance apparatus 20. This is done to avoid situations where movement occurs at the patient assistance apparatus 20 when the caregiver may not be in the room and the movement could startle the patient and / or be blocked by an obstacle, such as, but not limited to, the patient themselves. Thus, such unattended movement could result in injury. Therefore, in some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 forwards only no-motion commands, such as, but not limited to, commands to arm / disarm the exit detection system 46, commands to arm / disarm the bedwatch system, and commands to turn the brake on / off.

[0244] In those embodiments of the caregiver assistance application 124 that follow the second control path 282 (FIG. 6), after determining in step 254 that the patient assistance device 20 is not compatible, the caregiver assistance application proceeds to step 264. 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 activate and includes a message indicating that the patient assistance device 20 is not compatible. After the caregiver confirms that the patient assistance device 20 is not compatible in step 264, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 256 and performs the operations associated with step 256 described above. In addition to these operations, the caregiver assistance application 124 also sends data to the EMR server 98 indicating that the incompatibility of the patient assistance device 20 has been actively confirmed (and in some embodiments, the date and time of the confirmation). The caregiver assistance application 124 may also send to the EMR server 98 the identity of the caregiver who performed this confirmation.

[0245] A comparison of the first control path 280 and the second control path 282 (FIG. 6) shows that the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to not allow the caregiver to upload the inspection data to the EMR server 98 if the patient assistance device 20 is not in a compliant state (first path 280), or to allow the caregiver to upload the inspection data to the EMR server 98 if the caregiver actively confirms that the patient assistance device 20 is not in a compliant state (second path 282). Thus, either of the control paths 280 and 282 prompts the caregiver to ensure that the patient assistance device 20 is in a compliant state, thereby helping the healthcare facility achieve a higher rate of patient assistance device compliance.

[0246] It is understood that the caregiver assistance application 124 may be modified in yet other embodiments to include alternative paths and / or modifications to the control paths 280 and 282. For example, in at least one embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 follows a third alternative path (not shown) that allows the caregiver to access a “Status Update” control on the mobile electronic device 104a. The “Status Update” 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 state of the patient assistance device 20 from the patient assistance device server 86. The inclusion of the “Status Update” control allows a caregiver located in proximity to the patient assistance device 20 to directly utilize the patient assistance device's controller 72 to change the patient assistance device 20 to a suitable state. Once in a compatible state, pressing the "Update Status" control communicates the current compatibility status of the patient support device 20 to the caregiver assistance application 124, which moves to step 256 of the patrol algorithm 140, thereby enabling the patrol data to be uploaded to the EMR server 98.

[0247] One modification to this alternative third control path that can be implemented is to configure the caregiver assistance application 124 to repeatedly and / or automatically request updated status from the patient assistance device 20. In this modified embodiment, the caregiver does not need to press or activate the “status update” control. Instead, the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically receives the patient assistance device status update. Thus, in this embodiment, when the caregiver assistance application 124 receives a patient assistance device 20 status update indicating that the patient assistance device 20 is in a compliant state, it automatically moves to step 256 without requiring the caregiver to manually manipulate the controls on the mobile electronic device 104a.

[0248] In yet other embodiments, any of the features of control path 280, control path 282, or the third alternative control path described above may be combined together. For example, in some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to present the caregiver with three options after determining that the patient assistance device 20 is out of compliance in step 254: (a) enter a patient assistance device command; (b) enter a confirmation; and (c) enter a "status update." The caregiver then decides whether to use the mobile electronic device 104a to change the state of the patient assistance device (option a), to accept the out-of-compliance state of the patient assistance device 20 without changing it (option b), or to change the state of the patient assistance device 20 using the controls 72 on the patient assistance device 20 itself and request that the updated state be communicated to the caregiver assistance application 124 (option c). Further variations may be implemented.

[0249] Returning now to step 252 of the caregiver round algorithm 140 (FIG. 6), the caregiver support system 106 may be modified to obtain the verification data at step 252 by various techniques different from those described above in connection with step 252 and FIG. 15. Two of these techniques are illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17. After the caregiver completes the caregiver assistance questions of FIGS. 10-13 and steps 208, 246, 248, and 250, the caregiver assistance application may, in some embodiments, be configured to perform step 252 by having the caregiver take a photograph of the patient support device 20 itself rather than using a QR code or other code on the display 70 of the patient support device 20. An example of this type of verification is illustrated in FIG. 7, which shows a first alternative verification screen 290.

[0250] A first alternative confirmation screen 290, like the confirmation screen 270 of FIG. 15, includes a camera image window 272 that displays the image currently captured by the camera integrated into the mobile electronic device 104a. To properly confirm that the caregiver has completed the round task associated with a particular patient, the caregiver points the camera of the mobile electronic device 104a toward a designated portion of the patient support apparatus. In the example shown in FIG. 16, the designated portion includes the foot end of the patient support apparatus 20. While the designated portion may vary depending on the particular patient support apparatus 20, any portion of the patient support apparatus 20 should include sufficient information to uniquely identify the patient support and distinguish the patient support apparatus 20 from other patient support apparatus 20 in the healthcare facility. This identification information may include a serial numbered sticker, an engraved serial number, a sticker or other structure associated with the patient support apparatus 20, and / or any other type of image information that identifies the particular patient support apparatus 20. When that portion of the patient support device 20 comes within the field of view of the mobile electronic device's 104a camera, the caregiver presses the image capture icon 274, and the mobile electronic device 104a takes a picture of that portion of the patient support device 20. The mobile electronic device 104a sends the captured image to the caregiver assistance application 124, which, as described above, analyzes the patient support device 20 in the image to confirm that it matches the patient support device assigned to the patient who completed the caregiver's round task. If there is a match, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 256, where it uploads the round data and other data (including the captured image) to the EMR server 98.

[0251] In an alternative embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 is configured to have the caregiver capture an image of the patient assistance device 20 using the camera of the mobile electronic device 104a, although the particular part of the patient assistance device 20 that is captured is not important. In this modified embodiment, the caregiver turns on the location functionality (GPS, Wi-Fi triangulation, etc.) of the mobile electronic device 104a and has the mobile electronic device automatically add a geographic location to the captured photo using the image window 272. The mobile electronic device 104a transfers the image data (i.e., the photo) along with the location data and possibly the date and time the photo was taken to the caregiver assistance application 124. 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 where the corresponding patient is located. If so, it proceeds to step 256 of the algorithm 140. If not, it displays an error message.

[0252] After the caregiver completes the caregiver assistance questions of FIGS. 10-13 and steps 208, 246, 248, and 250, the caregiver assistance application 124, in some embodiments, is configured to display the second alternative confirmation screen 300 of FIG. 17 instead of the first alternative confirmation screen 290 of FIG. 16 (or the confirmation screen 270 of FIG. 15). In such embodiments, the caregiver is instructed not only to capture an image (take a photo) using the camera function of the mobile electronic device 104a, but also to use the selfie function built into the camera of the mobile electronic device 104a so that the mobile electronic device can simultaneously capture both a front-facing and a rear-facing photo of the caregiver themselves. In other words, the caregiver assistance application 124 instructs the caregiver to take a photo using both the front-facing camera of the mobile electronic device 104a and the rear-facing camera of the mobile electronic device 104a. The rear-facing camera is intended to capture an image of the caregiver, and the front-facing camera is intended to capture an image of all or part of the patient assistance apparatus 20. An example of this is shown in Figure 17, which includes a front-facing image 304 and a rear-facing image 306. The front-facing image 304 captures a portion of the patient support device, and the rear-facing image 306 captures an image of the caregiver.

[0253] The purpose of the caregiver's rear-facing camera image is to document the caregiver's actual presence at the patient's bedside when completing patient-related rounds. As with other verification processes, the caregiver assistance application 124 processes image data from both the front-facing and rear-facing cameras to identify the patient assistance device 20 in the front-facing image 304. This image may be an identifier for the patient assistance device 20, a QR code or other code, or any portion of the patient assistance device 20. In at least one embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 processes the rear-facing image 306 using conventional facial recognition techniques to determine the identity of the captured caregiver. In other embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 does not process the caregiver image data, instead forwarding it to the EMR server 98 in step 256 unanalyzed.

[0254] In another embodiment, the mobile electronic device 104a includes on-board 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., taken using the mobile electronic device's digital camera function) with a previously captured baseline image of the caregiver to 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 photograph captured by the mobile electronic device 104a and, if it determines that the selfie matches an authorized caregiver, forward the captured data to the caregiver assistance application 124. However, the data forwarded to the caregiver assistance application 124 in this embodiment omits the caregiver's actual image data, thereby reducing bandwidth consumption and reducing repeated storage of the caregiver's face. Instead of the image data, the mobile electronic device 124 is programmed to send a message confirming that the selfie image captured by the mobile electronic device 104a is that of the authorized caregiver (and the authorized caregiver's identity in some embodiments). The caregiver assistance application 124 can be configured in this embodiment (and other embodiments) to omit the facial recognition software.

[0255] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other techniques for verifying the caregiver's presence at the patient's bedside during the rounds task may be utilized by the caregiver assistance application 124, including verification techniques that do not utilize a camera. For example, in some embodiments, the patient assistance device 20 has a near-field transceiver and / or a short-range RF transceiver (e.g., Bluetooth or infrared) that is detectable by the mobile electronic device 104a. By bringing the mobile electronic device 104a sufficiently close to the transceiver, the mobile electronic device 104a can also wirelessly receive a signal from the patient assistance device 20 that identifies the particular patient assistance device 20 and, in some embodiments, indicates the time. The caregiver assistance application 124 uses receipt of the signal as confirmation of the caregiver's physical presence at the patient's bedside during the rounds task. The detected signal and / or the fact that a detected signal was received may be forwarded to the EMR server 98 in step 256 (FIG. 6).

[0256] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that various other modifications can be made to patrol algorithm 140, including, but not limited to, skipping matching step 254 entirely (along with control paths 280 and / or 282), skipping obtain confirmation data step 252 and instead proceeding directly from step 250 to step 254, changing the order of one or more steps (e.g., moving step 192 before step 188 or step 154), and / or a combination of one or more of these modifications.

[0257] Turning now to the patient fall risk reduction algorithm 143 of the caregiver support system 106, when the caregiver selects the fall task icon 178 (FIGS. 9-17) in step 159 of the main algorithm 226 (FIG. 5), the caregiver support application 124 begins execution of the fall risk reduction algorithm 143. An example of the fall risk reduction algorithm 143 is shown in FIG. 18. The fall risk reduction algorithm 143 begins at step 340, where the caregiver support application 124 receives or confirms a room selection or a bed selection. In response to such a room selection or bed selection, the caregiver support application 124 proceeds to step 342, where it determines whether a particular patient assigned to the selected room and / or selected bed has performed a fall risk assessment. Step 342 can be implemented in several ways. In one particular embodiment, the caregiver support application sends a request to the EMR server 98 requesting a fall risk assessment for the patient assigned to the room or bed identified in step 340. If the EMR server 98 responds that there is no such fall risk assessment currently on file for the patient, the fall risk reduction algorithm 143 checks whether a fall risk assessment is stored in another location, such as, but not limited to, data storage 128. If no such fall risk assessment is stored, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured by the healthcare facility administrator to search other locations. If there are no locations containing a fall risk assessment for the particular patient, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 346. If a fall risk assessment for the particular patient is found, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 344.

[0258] If a fall risk assessment has not been performed on the patient, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds from step 342 to step 346. In step 346, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a first fall risk assessment screen 400 used to perform a fall risk assessment for the patient assigned to the room or bed identified in step 340. An example of such an initial fall risk assessment screen 400 is shown in FIG. 19. FIG. 19 is the first of six fall risk assessment question screens (FIGS. 19-24) used in one embodiment of the caregiver assistance application 124. These six screens are designed to conduct a Morse fall risk assessment, also known as the Morse fall scale. The Morse fall risk assessment is a numerically scored fall risk assessment that ranks the patient into various qualitative categories (e.g., no fall risk, low fall risk, high fall risk, etc.). It is understood that the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to perform other fall risk assessments besides the Morse fall risk assessment (e.g., the Hendrich fall risk assessment, the Johns Hopkins fall risk assessment, etc.) and / or the caregiver assistance application 124 may be supplemented and / or modified with other questions. For example, further modifications to the fall risk assessment by authorized personnel 136 of the healthcare facility may be made by using the computer 134 to access and reconfigure the settings of the caregiver assistance application 124.

[0259] Screen 400 includes many of the same elements found in the other screens discussed herein, such as, but not limited to, room identifier location 198, upper portion 202, lower portion 204, task menu 174, bed status bar 170, exit detection system status indicator 166, bedwatch system status indicator 168, and bed icon 164. Lower portion 204 differs from the lower portions discussed above in that it includes a first fall risk assessment question 402. The first fall risk question identifies a question intended to be asked by a patient's caregiver while the caregiver is determining the level of fall risk posed by the patient. The caregiver assistance application 124 displays this first question 402 in step 346 of algorithm 143 (FIG. 18).

[0260] The specific initial fall risk question 402 displayed in step 346 of the algorithm 143 is a question related to the patient's fall history. Specifically, it asks whether the patient has recently fallen (such as within the past three months, although other time periods can 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. Additionally, the caregiver assistance application 124 assigns a total point value to each answer. If the patient answers "Yes," the application 124 assigns the patient a point value of 25. If the patient answers "No," the application 124 assigns the patient a point value of 0. The caregiver assistance application 124 totals these point values ​​as the caregiver progresses through all of the fall risk assessment screens associated with the Morse Fall Assessment (e.g., FIGS. 19-24). As explained further below, the total score after completing all questions is used by the caregiver assistance application 124 to determine the patient's qualitative fall risk.

[0261] Although the first question 402 is described here as being the “first” question shown after the fall task icon 178 is selected, the particular order of questions displayed by the caregiver support application 124 may be changed, and the term “first” in the phrase “first fall risk assessment question” is used only to distinguish the question from other fall risk assessment questions and does not imply any particular importance to the order.

[0262] 18 , after displaying the first fall risk assessment screen 400 in step 346, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 348, where it waits for the caregiver to provide an answer to the first fall risk question (e.g., question 402). When the user answers with either a “Yes” or a “No” answer, touching either the “Yes” icon 404 or the “No” icon 406 corresponds to step 350 of the algorithm 143. That is, by touching either of these icons 404 or 406, the fall risk answer is entered into the electronic device 104, which transfers the data to the caregiver assistance application 124. After completing step 350 of the algorithm 143, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 352, where it determines whether there are any more fall risk assessment questions that need to be completed as part of the fall risk assessment. Because the example described here uses a Morse fall risk assessment that includes six questions, the caregiver assistance application 124 returns to step 346 in step 352 to display the next fall risk question (and repeats this four more times).

[0263] FIG. 20 shows a second fall risk assessment questionnaire screen 510. The second fall risk assessment questionnaire screen 510 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 multiple medical diagnoses. The caregiver may determine this by reviewing the patient's chart or other medical records. If the patient has more than one medical diagnosis, the caregiver presses the "Yes" icon 404. If the patient has only one medical diagnosis, the caregiver presses the "No" icon 406. The caregiver assistance application assigns a point value of 15 to a "Yes" answer and a point value of 0 to a "No" answer. After answering the second fall risk assessment question 412, the caregiver presses the "Next" icon 214, which displays the third fall risk assessment screen 416 (FIG. 21). Entering the 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 in step 352 of the algorithm 143, and the display of the third fall risk assessment screen 416 after pressing the Next icon 214 corresponds to step 346 of the algorithm 143.

[0264] The third fall risk assessment question 418 ( FIG. 21 ) includes three separate sub-questions that are part of the Morse fall risk assessment. In the first sub-question, the caregiver determines whether the patient is assigned to a support device or whether the patient can walk (even with nurse assistance). If either of these conditions is true, the caregiver presses the top icon 420 shown in FIG. 21 , labeled “Support Device / Nurse Assistance.” In response to pressing the top icon 420, the caregiver assistance application 124 adds a zero value to the patient's fall risk score (which is the sum of the scores previously assigned to the answers to the first fall risk question 402 and the second fall risk question 412). If neither of these conditions is true, the caregiver determines whether the patient needs crutches, a cane, or a walker to walk. If the patient needs one of these devices, the caregiver presses the center icon 422 on the screen 416. The center icon 422 is labeled “Crutches / Cane / Walker” in FIG. 21 . In response to pressing the center 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 crutches, a cane, or a walker to walk, the caregiver determines whether the patient has equipment or other stable items when walking. If the patient does, the caregiver presses the bottom icon 424 of the screen 416, which is labeled "Equipment" in FIG. 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 either the top icon 420, the center icon 422, or the bottom icon 424, the caregiver presses the next icon 214. This causes the caregiver assistance application 124 to display a fourth fall risk assessment question screen 430, an example of which is shown in FIG. 22.

[0265] The fourth fall risk assessment question screen 430 includes a fourth fall risk question 432 displayed in the lower portion 204. The fourth fall risk question 432 asks whether the patient has an intravenous (IV) device or a heparin lock inserted. If the patient does, the caregiver presses the “Yes” icon 404. If the patient does not, the caregiver presses the “No” icon 406. The caregiver support application 124 adds a value of 20 to the patient's fall risk score if the caregiver answers “Yes” (and adds a value of 0 if the caregiver answers “No”). When the caregiver presses the next icon 214 on the screen 430, the caregiver support application 124 displays a fifth fall risk assessment question screen 440, an example of which is shown in FIG. 23.

[0266] The fifth fall risk assessment questionnaire screen 440 includes a fifth fall risk question 442 displayed in the lower portion 204. The fifth fall risk question 442 asks the caregiver to evaluate the patient's gait while walking. More specifically, the fifth fall risk question 442 asks the caregiver to qualify the patient's gait as either "normal," "weak," or "impaired." If the patient walks with their head upright, swings their arms freely, and walks around without hesitation, the caregiver characterizes the patient's gait as normal. If the patient slouches while walking but can lift their head without losing balance while walking, the caregiver characterizes the patient's gait as "weak." If the patient has difficulty rising from a chair, if the patient's head is down, and / or if the patient looks at the ground while walking, the caregiver characterizes the patient's gait as "impaired." An "impaired" rating may also be assigned if the patient's balance is poor, or if the patient is holding on to furniture, other people, or some type of walking aid. Once the caregiver determines the appropriate characteristic, the caregiver presses the corresponding top icon 444, middle icon 446, or bottom icon 448. The caregiver assistance application 124 adds a value of 0 to the patient's fall risk score if the caregiver selects "normal" (top icon 444), adds a value of 10 to the patient's fall risk score if the caregiver selects "vulnerable" (middle icon 446), or adds a value of 20 to the patient's fall risk score if the caregiver selects "impaired" (bottom icon 448). If the caregiver then 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. 24.

[0267] The sixth fall risk assessment questionnaire screen 450 includes a sixth fall risk question 452. The sixth fall risk question 452 asks the patient to assess their own ability to walk (e.g., "Do you need help walking to the bathroom?"). If the patient's response does not match what the caregiver observed and determined from the previous questions, the caregiver selects the bottom icon 456 (labeled "Forget your limitations" in FIG. 24). If the patient's response matches what the caregiver observed and determined from the previous questions, the caregiver selects the top icon 454 (labeled "Correctly assess your own abilities"). The caregiver assistance application 124 adds a value of 0 to the patient's fall risk score if the patient selects the top icon 454, and adds a value of 15 to the patient's fall risk score if the patient selects the bottom icon 456.

[0268] After the answer to the sixth fall risk assessment question 452 is provided by the caregiver to the caregiver assistance application 124, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 354 of the algorithm 143, where it analyzes the results of the six questions to determine the level of fall risk the patient poses. The application 124 does this by summing all of the values ​​from the six questions on screens 400, 410, 416, 430, 440, and 450, the result of which is a numerical fall risk score for the patient. While various methods of scoring can be used (and / or customized by a particular medical facility), in some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 converts this numerical fall risk score into a qualitative assessment, such as zero risk, low risk, medium risk, or high risk. In one such embodiment, the caregiver assistance application assigns a zero risk rating when the numeric fall risk score is 0, a low risk rating when the numeric fall risk score is greater than 0 and less than 25, a medium risk rating when the numeric fall risk score is greater than 25 and less than 45, and a high risk rating when the numeric fall risk score is greater than 45. In alternative embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 assigns a no risk rating to numeric scores between 0 and 25, a low risk rating to numeric scores between 25 and 50, and a high risk rating to numeric scores above 50. Still other qualitative ratings may be used and / or other score ranges may be selected to match the quantitative scores with the qualitative scores. Additionally, the point values ​​assigned to individual questions may differ from those described above.

[0269] After determining the patient's qualitative fall risk assessment, the caregiver assistance application transmits either or both the qualitative and quantitative fall risk assessments to the EMR server 98. The fall risk assessment is transmitted by the caregiver assistance application 124 along with one or more identifiers identifying the particular patient corresponding to the just-completed fall risk assessment. The particular patient to whom the fall risk assessment is assigned may be determined in any of the above ways, such as by correlating the patient's room number with the patient's ID, correlating the patient assistance device identifier 186 with the room and / or patient ID, and / or performing further correlations. In this regard, it should be noted that the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the room number (and the particular bed bay identifier, if the room is a shared room) of the patient to whom the fall risk assessment is applied during the display of the screens shown in FIGS. 18-24. In the particular example shown, the room number is 7093, and all responses to the fall risk questions displayed on these screens are assigned to the patient assigned to room 7093. Thus, the caregiver is provided with a reminder during the fall risk assessment process of the room number (and therefore, ultimately, the particular patient) to which the fall risk assessment applies. In some embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 may be configured to retrieve the actual patient's name from the ADT server 98 and display it during the fall risk assessment process to provide the caregiver with information about the particular patient for whom they are assessing fall risk. Regardless of whether a particular patient name or a particular room number is displayed, the caregiver confirms that the fall risk assessment is attributed to the correct individual by ensuring that the room number or patient name displayed on screens 410, 416, 430, 440, and 450 corresponds to the patient (or room) whose fall risk is being assessed by the caregiver.

[0270] After transmitting the fall risk assessment and the corresponding patient's name to the EMR server 98 in step 354, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays the qualitative risk assessment in step 344 (FIG. 18). An example of how the qualitative fall risk assessment may be displayed is shown in the fall risk screen 460 of FIG. 25. The fall risk screen 460 includes a fall risk alert that was added to the status location 200. The fall risk screen 460 includes a summary window 466 that displays information resulting from the just-completed fall risk assessment. More specifically, the summary window 466 includes both a qualitative fall risk assessment identifier 468 and a patient fall risk reduction protocol summary 470. The qualitative fall risk assessment identifier 468 corresponds to the qualitative fall risk assessment determined after receiving answers to the six questions shown in FIGS. 19-24. In the particular example shown in FIG. 25, the qualitative fall risk assessment identifier 468 is a "HIGH" assessment, indicating that the patient is at high risk of falling.

[0271] The fall risk reduction protocol summary 470 summarizes the steps to be taken to reduce the patient's risk of falling. That is, the fall risk reduction protocol summary 470 succinctly summarizes the fall risk reduction steps included in the fall risk reduction protocol 93 (FIG. 2). In some embodiments, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 is initially configured by the manufacturer of the caregiver assistance system 106 but can be modified by authorized personnel 136 at the healthcare facility to meet the desires of the healthcare administrator of the particular healthcare facility where the system 106 is installed. In other embodiments, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 may be configured by the manufacturer without being customizable, while in yet other embodiments, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 may be undefined until the healthcare facility administrator determines its content.

[0272] Generally, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 identifies steps to be taken by a caregiver in relation to the patient support apparatus 20 to reduce the risk of the patient falling. Broadly, these steps typically include one or more of: ensuring the brakes of the patient support apparatus 20 are engaged; placing at least three of the side rails 36 of the patient support apparatus 20 in their raised positions; arming the exit detection system 46 of the patient support apparatus 20 (including arming specific zones of the exit detection system 46); lowering the height of the litter frame 28 to either its minimum height or a height not higher than a specified threshold; and possibly arming a monitoring system (e.g., a BedWatch system, identified by BedWatch status indicator 168) that will issue an alert if any of the conditions of the fall risk reduction protocol 93 change from their desired state. These steps are all steps taken in relation to the fall risk component of the patient support apparatus 20. The fall risk component has two distinct states, at least one of which is fall down Fall risk components are components of the patient support apparatus 20 that are likely to reduce the risk of a fall. Thus, the fall risk components include at least the siderails 36, brakes, litter frame 28, exit detection system 46, and BedWatch monitoring system components of the patient support apparatus 20. The fall risk reduction protocol 93 specifies what the desired states are for these fall risk components when the patient has a non-zero fall risk. In most cases, the desired states are those described above (e.g., brakes applied, at least three siderails raised, litter frame lowered, exit detection system armed, and BedWatch monitoring system armed (if included)).

[0273] In those embodiments in which the qualitative fall risk assessment has more than two categories (e.g., more than high risk and low risk), the fall risk reduction protocol 93 may include different definitions for each of the different fall risk assessment categories. For example, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 may specify a first set of fall risk components that must be present for a high-risk patient and a second set of fall risk components that must be present for a medium-risk patient, where the second set is a subset of or related to the first set. In other embodiments, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 may be the same for all patients with a non-zero fall risk assessment (e.g., the protocol 93 may be the same for high-risk and medium-risk patients).

[0274] The fall risk reduction protocol summary 470 summarizes the desired states of the fall risk components of the fall risk reduction protocol 93. As shown in FIG. 25 , the fall risk reduction protocol summary 470 indicates “low bed height,” “three siderails raised,” “bed exit: zone 2,” and “brake set.” This means that the particular fall risk reduction protocol 93 shown in this example identifies the litter frame 28, siderails 36, exit detection system 46, and brake as fall risk components, and their desired states are the litter frame 28 at low or lowest height, at least three of the siderails 36 in the raised position, the exit detection system 46 armed and set to zone 2, and the brake engaged. Thus, the fall risk reduction protocol summary 470 serves as a reminder to the caregiver to ensure that all of these fall risk components are set to the desired states before they leave the room where the patient support device 20 and its associated patient are present.

[0275] 25, the caregiver assistance application 124 first retrieves the fall risk reduction protocol 93. This is performed in step 356 of the algorithm 143. As shown in FIG. 2, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 may be stored in memory 91. In other embodiments, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 may be stored in other locations. Furthermore, in at least one embodiment, the patient assistance device 20 is configured to allow a user to make changes to the fall risk reduction protocol 93 using one of the control panels 42. As described above, one or more authorized individuals 136 may 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.

[0276] Returning to FIG. 18 , once the caregiver assistance application 124 retrieves the fall risk reduction protocol 93, it determines what the desired state is for each of the fall risk components. This is accomplished in step 358 of the algorithm 143. As described above, 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 moves to step 360, where it determines whether any of the current states are not their respective desired states. The caregiver assistance application 124 continuously monitors the status of the fall risk components of the patient assistance devices 20 within the healthcare facility and uses the repeatedly updated status data to determine in step 360 whether any of the fall risk components are not in or have ceased to be in the desired state. The updated status data is received from the patient assistance devices 20, which then transmit the status data to the caregiver assistance application 124, either directly or indirectly via the patient assistance device server 86, as described above. This status data, also referred to herein as situation data, includes, for example, the current status of the side rails, brakes, litter frame, exit detection system, bedwatch monitoring system, and the like.

[0277] If the caregiver assistance application 124 determines in step 360 that any of the fall risk components of the patient assistance device 20 are not in a desired state according to the patient fall risk reduction protocol 93, it proceeds to step 364, where it issues an alert, as described in more detail below. If it determines in step 360 that none of the fall risk components of the patient assistance device 20 are out of a desired state, it proceeds to step 362, where it continues to monitor the fall risk components and checks whether the fall risk components remain in a desired state. From step 362, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 380, where it returns to the main algorithm 226 ( FIG. 5 ), allowing the caregiver to utilize other features of the caregiver assistance application 124 and / or view other screens not directly related to the patient's fall risk. Note that returning to the main algorithm 226 does not terminate the continuous monitoring of the patient assistance device's fall risk components; instead, this monitoring process can continue in the background. Thus, for example, if a caregiver switches to using the patient rounds feature of the caregiver assistance application 124 (e.g., by pressing the rounds task icon 180) and one of the fall risk components of the patient assistance device 20 for a patient at high fall risk changes to an undesirable state, the caregiver assistance application 124 will still provide an alert to the caregiver in step 364, even though it is running a different algorithm at the particular time.

[0278] The alert issued in step 364 is in accordance with the alert algorithm 149, which is described in more detail below in connection with FIG. 61. It generally sends an alert to electronic device(s) 104 configured to notify about a particular patient support device 20 (as defined in local rules 126) whose fall risk components have moved into an undesired state. The alert is sent to the caregiver's mobile device 104a (and / or fixed device(s) 104b), regardless of whether the caregiver is in the same room or on the same ward as the patient support device 20 that generated the alert. That is, the alert algorithm 149 provides an alert to each caregiver when any of the patient support devices 20 to which the patient is assigned have changed one or more of their fall risk components from their respective desired states. Thus, for example, if a caregiver is currently present in room 7030 and that 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 the caregiver's mobile electronic device 104a while in room 7031 if one or more of the fall risk components of any of the patient support devices 20 in rooms 7031, 7032, and 7033 change from a desired state. Furthermore, the caregiver assistance application 124 does this for each caregiver who has a mobile electronic device 104a (and all stationary electronic devices 104b). As a result, each caregiver is notified of changes in the fall risk components of the patient support devices 20 used by the particular patients for whom the caregiver is assigned to care.

[0279] Returning to step 364 of algorithm 143, alert algorithm 149 issues an alert at this step in one or more different ways, depending on how the caregiver assistance application 124 is customized by an authorized administrator of the medical facility and depending on the particular embodiment of the caregiver assistance application 124. In some embodiments of the application 124, the caregiver accesses the caregiver assistance application 124 on the mobile electronic device 104a by accessing a particular URL using a regular web browser. In these embodiments of the application 124, alert algorithm 149 may not always be able to provide an alert to the caregiver via the web browser because the caregiver may have the web browser closed, the caregiver may be accessing another web page, and / or the caregiver may not currently be 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 ensure that the caregiver receives the alert because the caregiver may have the volume turned down on the mobile electronic device 104a and / or may not be looking at the screen at the time the alert was issued.

[0280] To account for these and other possibilities, the alert algorithm 149 may, in some embodiments, be configured to issue an alert by sending a text, email, or phone message to the caregiver's mobile electronic device 104a, to which the alert is sent. Because the mobile electronic device 104a is typically a smartphone or tablet computer, the text, email, or phone message is delivered to another application (e.g., a text app, email app, or phone app) running on the device 104a. Furthermore, the mobile electronic device 104a can easily be configured to emit a specific noise, sound, and / or vibration in response to an incoming text, phone call, and / or email. Furthermore, this specific noise, sound, and / or vibration occurs even when the web browser on the mobile electronic device 104a is closed, the caregiver is not logged into the application 124, or the volume from the website played by the device 104a (e.g., the smartphone's media volume) is turned off or set low. Thus, even when the web browsing app used to gain access to the application 124 is turned off on the device 104 or is not logged into the application 124, the alert algorithm 149 can utilize a separate mobile app on the device 104 to issue alerts independent of the web browsing app on the device 104 to ensure that the alerts are communicated to the caregiver.

[0281] As noted above, in some alternative embodiments, the caregiver assistance application 124 is split into two specific applications: a server application and a mobile device application. In such embodiments, the caregiver does not access the caregiver assistance application 124 through a web browser installed on the caregiver's mobile electronic device 104a, but instead by opening the caregiver assistance application 124's mobile device application. The mobile device application is a specific app that is downloaded to the mobile electronic device 104a and is 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, and as a result, there may be different versions of the mobile device application written for different operating systems (e.g., an Android® version, an iOS® version, etc.). Such native applications offer the advantage of running in the background even if the user does not manually open the native application and of generating a sound, vibration, one or more lights, etc., in response to an incoming call alert by the mobile electronic device 104a.

[0282] Regardless of the particular manner in which the caregiver assistance application 124 issues the alert in step 364 ( FIG. 18 ), the algorithm 143 branches down different paths after step 365: a first path 366 and a second path 368. The first path 366 allows the user to remotely or locally change the state of the fall risk component of the patient assistance device 20 that caused the alert to be issued. The second path 368 allows the user to acknowledge the alert without changing the state of the fall risk component. If the caregiver selects the second path 368, the caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds to step 378, where it waits for the caregiver to acknowledge the alert without making any changes to the fall risk component(s) that are out of the desired state. The caregiver assistance application 124 can be configured to accept this acknowledgment in various ways, such as, but not limited to, displaying an “acknowledge” or “ignore” icon that the caregiver must touch to acknowledge the alert, or by requiring the caregiver to take some active action on the mobile electronic device 104a indicating that the caregiver has received and is aware of the alert. Upon receiving an alert by the caregiver assistance application 124, the algorithm 143 proceeds to step 362 and operates in the manner described above.

[0283] If a caregiver wishes to change the state of a fall risk component that is no longer in a desired state, the caregiver can choose to follow a first path 366 ( FIG. 18 ). The first path 366 allows the caregiver to change the state of the fall risk component to its desired state locally, or possibly remotely. To change the state locally, the caregiver must be present in the room where the patient support device 20 issuing the alert is located. The caregiver makes the change locally by utilizing one or more of the control panels 42 of the patient support device 20. To make the change remotely, the caregiver uses the mobile electronic device 104 a to send a command to the patient support device 20 to return the fall risk component to the desired state. In many embodiments, only commands that do not involve physical movement at the patient support device 20, such as arming an exit detection system, arming a bedwatch monitoring system, etc., can be executed remotely.

[0284] The mobile electronic device 104a (or the fixed electronic device 104b) is used to measure the status of the fall risk components. of To make the remote changes, the caregiver assistance application 124 waits to receive a patient assistance device command at step 370 (FIG. 18). Upon receiving the command, the command is transmitted by the electronic device 104 to the caregiver assistance server 90 at step 372. Upon receipt of the command by the caregiver assistance application 124 running on the server 90, the application 124 forwards the command to the appropriate patient assistance device at step 374. The patient assistance device 20 then executes the command and transmits an updated set of data related to the fall risk components, which is received by the caregiver assistance application 124 at step 376. Using this updated set of data, the caregiver assistance application 124 returns to step 360, where the patient assistance device 20 checks whether all of the fall risk components are in the desired state. The caregiver assistance application 124 proceeds from step 360 in the manner described above.

[0285] When the mobile electronic device 104a is used to send a command to change the state of a fall risk component of a 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 bay identifier, and / or patient identifier displayed in the status location 200 when the command is sent identifies the location to which the command is 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 bays, and / or patients.

[0286] It should be noted that the monitoring of the status of the fall risk components of the patient support device 20 performed in steps 360 and 362 of algorithm 143 may involve more monitoring than that performed by the BedWatch monitoring system. That is, in at least one embodiment, the patient fall risk reduction protocol 93 may specify that the BedWatch monitoring system be turned on for patients at high fall risk. In this case, algorithm 143 automatically monitors whether the BedWatch monitoring system is on or off for patient support devices 20 to which the high fall risk patient is assigned, and if it is off, algorithm 143 issues an alert. Thus, the fall risk reduction protocol 93 can provide an additional layer of monitoring beyond that provided by the BedWatch monitoring system. It can monitor the BedWatch monitoring system itself (which does not monitor itself).

[0287] It should also be noted that the caregiver assistance application 124 passively monitors the status of all of the various components of the patient assistance device 20, regardless of whether the patient is at high risk for a fall and whether the patient's fall risk has been assessed (and whether or not the BedWatch monitoring system is equipped). The results of this passive monitoring are displayed in the upper portion 202 of the screen shots shown herein (e.g., FIGS. 19-26). This monitoring provides the caregiver with information about the current status of the patient assistance device 20 so that the caregiver can remotely know the status of all patient assistance devices 20 used with the caregiver's assigned patient. Additionally, this passive monitoring may involve monitoring various components other than the fall risk components described above, such as, but not limited to, whether the patient assistance device 20 is currently plugged in, whether the nurse call system cable between the patient assistance device 20 and the nurse call system is connected or disconnected, etc.

[0288] In some embodiments, when the caregiver assistance application 124 issues an alert due to a fall risk component of the patient assistance device 20 moving out of a desired state, the alert may include a graphical representation of the fall risk component that is out of a desired state. For example, in all of the screens shown in FIGS. 19-27, the caregiver assistance application 124 includes a bed icon 164. If any of the siderails move out of a desired position, the caregiver assistance application 124 may graphically indicate this by changing the color or visual appearance of the siderail icon 176 corresponding to the siderail 36 that is out of a desired state. Additionally, if the height of the litter frame 28 moves beyond a desired height, the caregiver assistance application 124 may change the color or appearance of the upper portion of the litter frame shown in the bed icon 164 (e.g., the upper portion of the bed icon 164 surrounding the patient icon). If either the exit detection system 46 or the BedWatch monitoring system changes to an undesired state, the caregiver assistance application 124 may indicate this graphically by highlighting or changing the appearance of the exit detection system status indicator 166 or the BedWatch status indicator 168. If the brakes fall out of a desired state, the portion of the bed status bar 170 indicating the brake status may be visually highlighted and / or otherwise changed. Further graphical changes may be made to alerts associated with fall risk components that have fallen out of a desired state.

[0289] In at least one embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 allows a user to modify the exit detection system aspects of the patient fall risk reduction protocol 93 for a particular patient. More specifically, in at least one embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 allows 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 equipped for a patient at high fall risk and that zone 2 (the medium sensitivity zone) be selected. However, if the caregiver desires to equip a different zone, the caregiver assistance application 124 allows the caregiver to do so without being alerted when the caregiver assistance application 124 detects that the caregiver has equipped the wrong zone in step 360 of the algorithm 143.

[0290] Two examples of this customized zone selection are shown in FIGS. 26 and 27. In screen shot 480 of FIG. 26, the caregiver selected zone 1 on the exit detection system 46, and the caregiver assistance application 124 displayed a warning window 482 over it. The warning window 482 notifies the caregiver that zone 2, not zone 1, is the zone designated by the patient fall risk reduction protocol 93. However, if the user wants to select zone 1 instead of zone 2, the user is free to do so by pressing a confirmation icon 484. If the user presses the confirmation icon 484, the caregiver assistance application 124, in at least one embodiment, updates the fall risk reduction protocol 93 for the specific patient only so that an alert is not issued for zone 1 instead of zone 2 in step 364. In this embodiment, the caregiver assistance application 124 automatically switches the fall risk reduction protocol 93 back to zone 2 if a new patient is assigned to the specific patient assistance device 20 or if the user switches the exit detection system for the specific patient assistance device 20 from zone 1 back to zone 2.

[0291] 27 illustrates a similar situation in which the caregiver desires to equip zone 3 of the exit detection system 46 instead of zone 2 of the exit detection system 46. As shown in FIG. 27, the caregiver assistance application 124 displays a warning window 492 on the screen 490 informing the caregiver that zone 2 is the zone designated by the fall risk reduction protocol 93. However, if the user desires to override this zone selection, do If so, the user is free to press the confirm icon 494, in which case the caregiver assistance application 124 will update the fall risk reduction protocol 93 for the particular patient and will no longer issue alerts with the selected zone 3 instead of zone 2. The caregiver assistance application 124 will automatically switch the protocol 93 back to zone 2 for the particular patient assistance device 20 if a new patient is assigned to it or if the caregiver switches the exit detection system 46 from zone 3 back to zone 2 for the particular patient assistance device 20.

[0292] In addition to the alerts discussed above in connection with the patrol algorithm 140 and the fall risk reduction algorithm 143, the alert algorithm 149 is configured to alert a caregiver whenever the status of any of the patient support devices 20 assigned to the caregiver changes while the caregiver is in the BedWatch system. The caregiver assistance application 124 may also be configured to alert the corresponding caregiver whenever any of the patient support devices 20 assigned to the caregiver issues an alert to the corresponding caregiver (e.g., a patient exit alert, a code-out alert, etc.). Such alerts may occur when 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 when the caregiver is engaged in other tasks that do not involve use. As noted above, such alerts, in at least one embodiment, are communicated to the caregiver by sending a text, email, and / or automated phone call to the particular caregiver associated with the patient support device 20 issuing the alert. Furthermore, the alert algorithm 149, in at least some embodiments, is configured to allow the user to select how such alerts are issued. Thus, the caregiver may send a text to the mobile electronic device 104a (or a phone capable of receiving texts) when, for example, the patient support device 20's exit detection system 46 detects the patient exit, or the nurse call cable is unplugged, or any other status change that requires an alert. The mobile electronic device 104a responds to the received text (or email or phone call) by beeping, illuminating one or more lights, or in other manners dictated by the particular caregiver's preferences.

[0293] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that various other modifications can be made to the fall risk reduction algorithm 143, including, but not limited to, skipping the fall risk assessment steps 346-354, skipping sending bed commands at steps 370-376, requiring the caregiver to set the patient support device 20 to a compliant state (thus omitting confirmation step 378), taking additional steps to ensure or encourage compliance with the fall risk reduction protocol 93, changing the order of one or more steps, and / or one or more combinations of such modifications.

[0294] Turning now to the pressure sore risk reduction algorithm 141 of the caregiver support system 106, when the caregiver selects the skin task icon 182 (FIG. 9) in step 159 of the main algorithm 226 (FIG. 5), the caregiver support application 124 begins execution of the skin care algorithm 141. An example of the skin care algorithm 141 is shown in FIG. 28. The skin care algorithm 141 begins at step 500, where the caregiver support application 124 receives or confirms a room selection or bed selection. In response to such room selection or bed selection, the caregiver support application displays a skin care overview screen, such as skin care overview screen 502 of FIG. 29. The skin care overview screen 502 (and most, if not all, of the other skin care screens associated with the skin care algorithm 141, e.g., the screens shown in Figures 29-41, 43-49, 51-56, and 58-59) includes many of the same elements of the screens described above herein, such as, but not limited to, the room identifier location 198, the upper portion 202, the lower portion 204, the task menu 174, the bed status bar 170, the exit detection system status indicator 166, the bedwatch system status indicator 168, and the bed icon 164. The lower portion 204 differs from the lower portion described above in that it includes a menu 504 of skin care options.

[0295] Menu 504 (FIG. 29) includes a skin assessment icon 506, a patient orientation change icon 508, a skin record icon 510, a maximum inflation icon 512, and a low air loss icon 514. By pressing or touching any of these options, the user can navigate to various screens and perform various functions with the caregiver assistance application 124. In step 516 of algorithm 141 (FIG. 28), the caregiver assistance application 124 determines whether the caregiver pressed the skin assessment option 506. If the answer is "Yes," the application 124 proceeds to step 518, as discussed further below. If the answer is "No," the caregiver assistance application 124...

Claims

1. 1. A caregiver assistance system for assisting a caregiver in performing patient care tasks, comprising: (a) a plurality of beds, each of the plurality of beds comprising: A litter frame and a support deck supported by the litter frame and adapted to support each patient; a memory containing an identifier that uniquely identifies each of said beds; a nurse call cable port adapted to couple to a first end of a nurse call cable and having a second end adapted to couple to a nurse call outlet, thereby enabling each of said beds to communicate with a nurse call system; a brake sensor for detecting the state of the brake of each of the beds, a side rail sensor for detecting the state of the set of the side rail of each of the beds, and a lift sensor for detecting whether the height of the litter frame of each of the beds is at a minimum height; a network transceiver; a controller in communication with the memory, the network transceiver, the brake sensor, the siderail sensor, and the lift sensor, the controller adapted to activate an alert when one or more of the following occurs: detecting that the bed brake is not active; detecting that a set of the bed siderails is not raised; or detecting that the height of the bed litter frame is not at a minimum height; and deactivating the alert when a caregiver responds to the alert; a plurality of beds, wherein the controller is further adapted to transmit the identifier, a first alert message, and a second alert message from each of the beds via the network transceiver, the first alert message being transmitted in response to the alert being activated and the second alert message being transmitted in response to the alert being deactivated; (b) a server running a caregiver assistance application, the caregiver assistance application adapted to receive the identifier, the first alert message, and the second alert message from the bed, the caregiver assistance application comprising: (i) recording a time interval for each of the beds during which the caregiver assistance application receives the first alert message and the second alert message, the time interval corresponding to a time from receiving the first alert message to receiving the second alert message; (ii) transferring said time interval to an electronic device; (iii) displaying the time interval on a display of the electronic device; and and further adapted to perform a server, wherein the caregiver assistance application is further adapted to, when receiving a sharing request from a first mobile electronic device associated with a first caregiver assigned to a first patient in a first bed of the plurality of beds and receiving an acceptance of the sharing request from a second mobile electronic device associated with a second caregiver assigned to a second patient in a second bed of the plurality of beds, forward the first alert message and the second alert message from the first bed to the second mobile electronic device and not forward the first alert message and the second alert message from the first bed to the second mobile electronic device; A caregiver support system comprising:

2. The caregiver support system of claim 1 , wherein the caregiver support application is further adapted to average a plurality of the time intervals and display the average on the display of the electronic device.

3. The caregiver support application includes: (i) determining a first average of a first set of a plurality of said time intervals collected over a first period of time; (ii) determining a second average of a second set of a plurality of said time intervals collected over a second period of time; (iii) simultaneously displaying both the first average and the second average; and The caregiver support system of claim 1 , further adapted to perform the following:

4. 2. The caregiver support system of claim 1, wherein the caregiver support application is adapted to record a plurality of the time intervals and classify each of the plurality of time intervals according to at least one of a caregiver, a location, a time, and a patient type.

5. The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to display on the electronic device a time indicating when a caregiver will perform a round task for each of the patients, and optionally: The caregiver assistance application is further adapted to receive completion data from the caregiver indicating when the caregiver has completed the round task and to forward the completion data to an electronic medical record server for entry into a patient record corresponding to each of the patients, and further optionally:

2. The caregiver support system of claim 1, wherein the caregiver support application is further adapted to send a message to the electronic device notifying the electronic device of the alert, the message being processed by an app executed by the electronic device.

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