Unified EHR Interface for Community Patient Data Integration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current EHR systems face inefficiencies in accessing and displaying patient data from multiple sources, as users often need to navigate separate applications and deal with duplicative information, differing vocabularies, and formatting conventions, leading to difficulties in comprehending and assimilating comprehensive patient records.

Innovation Solution

A method that integrates patient electronic healthcare record information from a community aggregator with native EHR data by using asynchronous flows to request and process data from both EHR and community services, comparing and categorizing data items as duplicates, matches, or non-matches, and displaying them in a unified interface for easy identification and importation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If data from multiple EHR systems is aggregated at a community data store and displayed in a supplemental overlay interface, then comprehensive patient information is provided, but users must navigate and interact with multiple separate applications and interfaces

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecomprehensive patient informationVSAvoidnavigation and interaction

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges community data and native EHR data into a single unified interface that displays both data types together. The system presents community data items and native data items in the same view, allowing users to access comprehensive patient information without switching between separate applications or overlay interfaces.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The unified interface serves multiple functions simultaneously: it displays community data from external sources, presents native EHR data, performs duplicate identification, and enables data importation—all within a single application window. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate overlay interfaces while maintaining comprehensive information access.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Loss of information

If community data and native data are displayed separately in different interfaces, then data sources are clearly distinguished, but users face difficulties in comprehending and assimilating information across multiple interfaces

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation completenessVSAvoidinterface complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system combines community data items and native data items into a single unified interface view. Both data types are presented together in one interface, allowing users to comprehend and assimilate information from multiple sources without navigating between separate applications or overlay windows.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Measurement precision

If duplicate data items are displayed across multiple interfaces, then users can identify duplicates, but users spend time navigating overlay interfaces only to discover duplicative information

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveduplicate identificationVSAvoidnavigation time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary duplicate identification by comparing community data items against native data items before the user needs to view the information. The unified interface is pre-configured to show only non-duplicate community data items, eliminating the need for users to navigate through duplicate information and saving their time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Adaptability or versatility

If data from multiple EHR systems uses different vocabularies and formatting conventions, then diverse data sources are integrated, but users struggle to comprehend and assimilate the information

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata source integrationVSAvoidinformation comprehension

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The unified interface applies consistent formatting and presentation conventions to both community data items and native data items. By standardizing the display format across different data sources, the system makes information easier to comprehend and assimilate while maintaining the ability to integrate diverse external EHR systems with different vocabularies and formatting.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #33Homogeneity

Data Source

PatentUS11107560B1Methods, systems and apparatus for processing and displaying community patient data alongside native patient data

Publication Date: 2021.08.31 ALLSCRIPTS SOFTWARE LLC

AI summary

A method for facilitating integration of patient electronic healthcare record information from a community aggregator with electronic healthcare record information native to an electronic healthcare record (EHR) application includes, for each of a plurality of accessed community data items, comparing the community data item to native data items, and based on the comparison, identifying the community data item as a duplicate, a potential duplicate, or not a duplicate, and for each community data item which was not identified as a duplicate, comparing the community data item to entries in one or more native clinical dictionaries, and, based on the comparison, identifying the community data item as an exact match to a clinical dictionary entry, a potential match to one or more clinical dictionary entries, or not matched to any clinical dictionary entry.