Patient Identification Using Wireless Subscriber Keys
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for accessing electronic patient records in healthcare systems face challenges in quickly and reliably identifying patients, especially in emergency situations, due to the use of automatically allocated primary keys that lack a specific relationship with the patient and require additional hardware for secondary key retrieval.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing subscriber information from wireless communication networks, such as SIM card numbers and IMEI, as secondary keys to unambiguously identify patients, allowing communication devices to transmit these keys to a portal for association with primary keys, enabling rapid patient identification without complex hardware.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If primary keys are used to identify patients in electronic patient records, then patient records can be stored and accessed in a database, but the primary keys are automatically allocated and have no specific relationship with the patient, making identification less reliable
Solution Approach 1:
The identification system is segmented into two distinct key types: primary keys for database access and secondary keys for patient-specific identification. This segmentation allows each key to serve its specific function optimally - primary keys provide systematic database access while secondary keys provide reliable patient identification through subscriber information.
Solution Approach 2:
Secondary keys act as an intermediary between the automatically generated primary keys and patient-specific identifiers. The secondary keys (subscriber information items) mediate the connection between the communication device and the patient's electronic record, providing reliable identification without requiring changes to the primary key system.
2Reliability
If health insurance cards are used as storage medium for primary or secondary keys, then patient identification can be achieved, but additional reading devices are required which may not be available in emergency situations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the communication device universal by enabling it to serve multiple functions: wireless communication and patient identification. The secondary key stored in the communication device allows it to function as both a communication tool and an identification medium, eliminating the need for separate reading devices required by health insurance cards.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication device performs self-service identification by storing the secondary key internally and automatically transmitting it to the portal system. The device serves its own identification function without requiring external reading equipment, making the system self-sufficient and suitable for emergency situations.
3Ease of operation
If names and dates of birth are used as secondary keys, then patient identification can be attempted, but these are not unambiguous and specific to one person
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter used for secondary key identification from demographic information (names, dates of birth) to technical subscriber information (SIM card numbers, device identifiers). This parameter change maintains ease of operation since subscriber information is automatically available, while dramatically improving reliability as these technical identifiers are unique and unambiguous.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for identifying a patient for later access to an electronic patient record for the patient using a communication device belonging to an inquiring person. The patient record is stored in a database using a primary key which serves to identify the patient and which has at least one unambiguously associated secondary key, where the secondary key used to identify a patient is at least one subscriber information item which characterizes a subscriber in a wireless communication network. The secondary key for identification is transmitted between a mobile terminal used for communication in the wireless communication network and a portal via the at least one communication network.