Intelligent Patient Interface Exam Station for Automated Triage
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Solution Overview
Problem
The inconvenience of scheduling appointments with physicians and the difficulty in maintaining complete medical records due to the decreasing importance of primary doctors, leading to inefficient patient intake, triage, diagnosis, and treatment, especially in urgent care settings where patients may worsen their health conditions due to facility-related risks.
Innovation Solution
A diagnostic system comprising an intelligent patient interface exam station and a doctor interface, utilizing a kiosk with sensors and communication systems to gather and process medical data, provide instructions for accurate measurements, and enable secure remote patient-doctor interactions, while managing electronic health records and billing efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If patients visit urgent care facilities for readily available treatment, then access to health care is improved, but patients may worsen their health conditions due to exposure to bacteria or viruses in medical facilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary health screenings and assessments before patients enter the urgent care facility. Automated kiosks collect medical history, symptoms, and vital signs data in advance, allowing the facility to prepare appropriate isolation protocols and routing decisions to minimize exposure risks while maintaining easy access.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces automated diagnostic kiosks and telemedicine platforms as intermediaries between patients and the urgent care facility. These intermediaries perform initial assessments remotely or at entry points, reducing the need for patients to traverse high-risk areas within the facility and minimizing direct contact with potentially contaminated environments.
2Loss of information
If patients are required to fill out lengthy patient questionnaires, then medical information collection is improved, but patients fail to provide accurate information and the process becomes time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables patients to self-complete medical questionnaires through automated kiosks or mobile applications before their visit. Patients can input their own medical history, symptoms, and insurance information at home or on the go, eliminating the need for lengthy in-person forms and reducing errors associated with manual data collection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary data collection through pre-visit patient portals and automated phone systems that gather essential medical information before the patient arrives at the facility. This advance preparation ensures complete and accurate information is already in the system, eliminating time-consuming data entry during the patient encounter.
3Ease of operation
If different treating physicians are used due to decreasing importance of primary doctors, then patient access to care is improved, but maintaining complete medical records becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a universal electronic health record platform that serves multiple physicians and facilities simultaneously. The centralized EHR system can be accessed by any treating physician, ensuring all medical records, test results, and treatment histories are maintained in a single accessible location regardless of which provider the patient visits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates automated feedback loops where the system continuously updates and synchronizes patient records across different physicians and facilities. When a patient visits any provider in the network, the system automatically retrieves, updates, and redistributes their complete medical history to all relevant providers, ensuring record completeness without burdening the patient.
4Measurement precision
If more manual data entry and record management are performed, then electronic health record accuracy is improved, but healthcare costs and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual data entry mechanisms with automated electronic data capture technologies. Sensors, barcode scanners, and integrated medical devices automatically input patient information, vital signs, and test results into the EHR system, eliminating manual typing and reducing errors while increasing processing speed and overall healthcare efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
Presented are systems and methods for examining patients and generating diagnostic medical data to make automated diagnoses and treatment recommendations to patients and doctors. Various embodiments of the present invention provide patients with diagnostic tools and audio/video guidance to reliably and accurately perform clinical grade diagnostic measurements of key vital signs. In embodiments, this is accomplished by using an automated remote (or local, e.g., in the form of a kiosk) end-to-end medical diagnostic system that monitors equipment usage for accuracy. The diagnostic system analyzes patient responses, measurement data, and patient-related information to generate diagnostic and/or treatment information that may be shared with healthcare professionals and specialists, as needed. Automation provides for timely, hassle-free, and cost-effective health care management that takes the stress out of doctor visits, while delivering personalized health care.