Mobile Health Information Staging for Geo-Fenced Patient Updates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to provide timely, complete, and helpful information to patients, their friends or family, and other individuals associated with a healthcare facility visit, particularly regarding the patient's stay, treatment, and post-discharge follow-up.
Innovation Solution
A mobile electronic device application that retrieves and displays healthcare facility information based on geo-fenced areas and time-sensitive triggers, allowing users to access patient data, communicate with healthcare providers, and input feedback, while ensuring secure access and management of health information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If information is displayed continuously without delay, then information availability is improved, but information accuracy and timing are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-loads and stages health information in different categories (immediate, delayed, location-dependent) before they are needed. When a patient arrives at the healthcare facility or reaches specific locations, the system automatically releases the appropriate information without requiring real-time requests, ensuring both timely delivery and accurate timing relative to patient events.
Solution Approach 2:
The information display system dynamically adjusts what information is shown based on patient location (via geo-fencing), time of day, and patient status. Information transitions from hidden to visible states based on dynamic triggers such as GPS location changes or time-based events, ensuring information is available exactly when needed without premature or delayed display.
2Loss of information
If all health information is made accessible immediately, then information completeness is improved, but patient safety and information security are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Health information is segmented into multiple categories and levels of access: immediate information (always accessible), delayed information (released based on time or location triggers), and restricted information (only accessible under specific conditions). This segmentation ensures complete information availability while preventing premature access to sensitive data that could compromise patient safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system prepares and stages information in advance but holds it in a restricted state until appropriate triggers occur. For example, discharge instructions are prepared beforehand but only released when the patient reaches the discharge area or a specific time is reached, ensuring information completeness while maintaining safety through controlled release timing.
3Loss of time
If location-based triggers are used to delay information display, then information timing accuracy is improved, but device complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the mobile device's existing GPS/location capabilities as an intermediary to trigger information release. Rather than implementing complex location tracking from scratch, the system leverages the device's built-in location services to detect when patients enter or exit geo-fenced areas, automatically triggering appropriate information display without requiring complex custom location monitoring infrastructure.
4Loss of time
If real-time location tracking is implemented, then information delivery timing is improved, but energy consumption is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous real-time location monitoring, the system uses periodic location checks triggered by geo-fence boundary crossings. The mobile device only needs to report location when entering or exiting predefined geographic zones around the healthcare facility, rather than continuously transmitting location data. This periodic triggering mechanism maintains timely information delivery while dramatically reducing energy consumption compared to continuous tracking.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for providing healthcare information regarding a patient's hospital visit includes a health information application that operates on a plurality of electronic devices. The application displays first data regarding the patient's visit; processes information indicating a current location of the mobile electronic device; and displays second data regarding the patient's visit that is delayed until the mobile electronic device crosses a boundary of a geo-fenced area. The electronic device may also communicate with a bed server at the healthcare facility and authorize the bed server to automatically send a notification message to a second mobile electronic device associated with the patient's friend or family member based on the patient's sleep status and/or movement into or out of bed. The application may also gather and process data useful to healthcare administrators, such as HCAHPS survey scores, status data for medical devices, equipment servicing information, and other information.