CN104217383A - Status notification method for medical reports of patients - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is entitled a method for status notification about a patient's medical report. In a medical imaging system in which medical images and reports are archived, the computer-implemented method includes the steps of: detecting that the radiologist (106a) has started reading a survey about a patient (101a); automatically generating a message indicating that the radiologist (106a) has started reading the survey; A first notification message (115b, 115c; 401) including a link enabling the patient (101a) to query status information (402) about the investigation is sent to the patient (101a) (411, 412); detect that the radiologist (106a) has completed his report on the investigation; and automatically generate a second notification message (118b, 118c; 403) indicating that the report is complete and send it to the patient (101a), the second The notification message (118b, 118c; 403) includes a link (431, 432; 442) to the report (405).

Description

Method for status notifications about medical reports of patients

technical field

The present invention generally relates to medical imaging systems in which medical images and medical reports are archived. The present invention is particularly focused on the issue of informing the patient about the status of his/her medical investigations or medical reports examined.

Background technique

US Patent US 5319543 entitled "Workflow Server for Medical Records Imaging and Tracking System" describes a medical imaging system, ie a computer system in which medical images and medical reports are archived and managed. The system known from US 5319543 also integrates workflow management. Send tasks to work queues and assign them to workers. Additionally, appointments or patient visits are stored and managed by the system known from US 5319543.

Although US 5319543 integrates management of appointments/visits and tasks/workflow with filing medical images and reports, a patient who has undergone a medical examination does not know the status of his medical reports until the doctor contacts him/her.

US patent application US 2008/0306759 entitled "Patient Workflow Process Messaging Notification Apparatus, System, and Method" also describes a workflow management system for healthcare. US 2008/0306759 recognizes the need to automatically inform family members about the status of a patient undergoing medical treatment in order to reduce the burden on personnel in healthcare facilities (i.e. doctors, surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses) to provide such information to family members upon request . The system described in US 2008/0306759 enables family members to configure message-based notification about a patient's status such that each family member is automatically notified of the patient's status according to his/her own preferences while the patient is undergoing medical care.

Also in the system of US 2008/0306759 the patient remains unaware of the status of his/her report for some time after the medical examination. The patient may therefore have to wait several days before the doctor who completes the report contacts the patient.

It is an object of the present invention to disclose improved systems and methods for archiving and managing medical images and medical reports, enabling a patient who has undergone a medical investigation or examination to be kept in touch with him/her preferably at any place and any time in a convenient manner Learn about the latest advances in medical reports. An additional object of the present invention is to enable patients to query or access the system to consult status and/or medical reports.

Contents of the invention

According to the present invention, the above-identified disadvantages of the prior art are solved by a computer-implemented method defined in claim 1, implemented in a medical imaging system in which medical images and reports are archived and comprising the following steps:

- Detect radiologists who are users of medical imaging systems start reading surveys about patients;

- automatically generating and sending to the patient a first notification message instructing the radiologist to start reading the survey, the first notification message including a link enabling the patient to query status information about the survey;

- Detecting that the radiologist completes his report on the investigation; and

- Automatically generating and sending to the patient a second notification message indicating completion of the report, the second notification message including a link to the report.

The present invention thus has the ability to automatically detect when the radiologist starts reading the survey and automatically detect when the radiologist finishes his report on the survey. At these two points in time, the system will generate push notification messages to the patient to immediately inform the patient about these status changes. The notification message pushed to the patient also includes a link that enables the patient to retrieve additional information from the system. As part of the notification message indicating that the radiologist has started reading the investigation, the patient will receive a link enabling the patient to request status information throughout the time the radiologist is working on the investigation. As part of the notification message indicating that the radiologist has completed his report on the investigation, the patient will receive a link to the report. So once the report is complete, the patient can consult the images and the radiologist's report.

According to an optional aspect (defined by technical solution 2) of the computer-implemented method according to the present invention, the first notification message and the second notification message are e-mail messages.

In fact, the system's reporting status monitor can automatically send email messages as soon as it detects that the radiologist has started reading the survey, as well as upon detecting that the radiologist has completed his report. Such email messages will reach the patient immediately through the email application on the patient's desktop computer, laptop computer or smart mobile device. In emails, links to status and final reports respectively can be easily embedded, for example as clickable hyperlinks.

Alternatively or supplementarily (as defined by technical solution 3), the first notification message and the second notification message are short message service or SMS messages.

Thus, as an alternative or in addition to email notifications, the patient may receive a first SMS message indicating that the radiologist has started reading the survey and a second SMS message indicating that the radiologist has completed his medical report. These SMS messages will reach the patient immediately via the patient's mobile phone or smartphone, and may also be embedded in the system with hyperlinks to additional information (ie, either more specific status information or final reports).

According to yet another optional aspect of the computer-implemented method according to the present invention (defined by claim 4), the first notification message includes user credentials enabling the patient to access the medical imaging system and consultation status information.

In practice, accessing the system and querying additional status information during the survey being read/analyzed by the radiologist is preferably subject to successful authentication by the patient. User credentials required by the user for authentication (eg username and password) may be embedded in a notification message informing the patient of the fact that the radiologist has started reading the survey. Alternatively, these user credentials are communicated to the patient via separate channels and/or messages.

Similarly, as defined by technical solution 5, the second notification message may include user credentials enabling the patient to access the medical imaging system and the consultation report.

In fact, the consultation for the final report may also be subject to successful certification by the patient. User credentials (eg username and password) required by the patient to access the final report may preferably be embedded in a notification message informing the patient of the fact that the radiologist has completed his report. Alternatively, these user credentials are communicated to the patient via separate channels and/or messages.

Also optionally, as defined by technical solution 6, the link in the first notification message and the link in the second notification message of the computer-implemented method according to the present invention are World Wide Web (WWW) or Wireless Application Platform (WAP) links .

Query-based consultation of status and/or final reports may thus be based on WAP page queries or WWW site queries sent from the patient's desktop, laptop, tablet, PDA or other smart device.

Optionally, as defined by technical solution 7, the computer-implemented method according to the present invention includes:

- Automatically generate and send one or more additional notification messages to the patient after one or more predetermined status changes of the survey.

Thus, in addition to the point at which the radiologist starts reading the survey and the point at which the radiologist completes his report, the system can enable the patient to configure automatic notifications for other status changes, such as when the radiologist starts dictating, starts transcribing, The point in time when review begins, approval begins, etc.

As also indicated by claim 8, the status information according to the invention that can be consulted via a link embedded in the first notification message of the computer-implemented method may include one or more of the following:

- information indicating the current status of the investigation;

- information indicating when the radiologist started reading the survey;

- information indicating when the radiologist started reading the annex to the survey;

- information indicating when the radiologist started dictating the report;

- Information indicating when the radiologist started transcribing the report;

- information indicating when the radiologist began reviewing the report; and

- Information indicating when the radiologist approved the report.

Thus, a detailed overview of the progress made can be given to the patient, informing him about the timing of various radiologist tasks (like reading surveys, reading attachments, dictating, transcribing, reviewing, approving, etc.).

Optionally, as defined by technical solution 9, the computer-implemented method according to the present invention may include the following steps:

- Verifying whether the patient has activated automatic status notifications about the investigation before generating and sending the first notification message and the second notification message.

Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the computer-implemented method according to the invention, the patient can activate/deactivate the automatic notification. In the case of disabling automatic notifications, no notifications will be sent after the radiologist begins to read the survey and no notification message will be sent after the radiologist completes his report.

In addition to the computer-implemented method as defined by technical solutions 1-9, the present invention relates to a data processing system as defined by technical solution 10 including means for performing the method of any one of technical solutions 1-9.

The present invention also relates to a corresponding computer program as defined by technical solution 11, comprising software codes adapted to perform the method of any one of technical solutions 1-9.

Furthermore, the present invention relates to a computer-readable storage medium including a computer program as defined by claim 12 .

Description of drawings

Figure 1 shows a medical imaging system in which an embodiment of a computer-implemented method according to the invention is used;

FIG. 2 illustrates message flow in the medical imaging system of FIG. 1;

Fig. 3 shows the workflow implemented in the clinical application server CAS in the medical imaging system of Fig. 1;

FIG. 4A shows a first notification message sent according to the present invention in the medical imaging system of FIG. 1;

Figure 4B illustrates state information accessible through links in the first notification message shown in Figure 4A;

FIG. 4C shows a second notification message sent according to the present invention in the medical imaging system of FIG. 1;

Figure 4D illustrates status information accessible through links in the second notification message shown in Figure 4C;

Figure 4E illustrates a medical report accessible through a link in the status information shown in Figure 4D;

Figure 5A shows a screenshot of a proxy server configuration screen generated by a computer program product in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 5B shows a screenshot of a state map configuration screen generated by a computer program product in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 5C shows a screenshot of an authentication configuration screen generated by a computer program product in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 5D shows a screenshot of a page configuration screen generated by a computer program product in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed ways

The system depicted in FIG. 1 includes a clinical application server CAS or 104 and a reporting status monitoring server RSM or 105 . 1 also shows a patient 101a with a smartphone 101b and a computer 101c (such as a laptop or desktop), an administrator 107a with a computer 107b (with a connection to the RSM 105), and a computer 106b (with a connection to the RSM 105). Connection of CAS 104) to Radiologist 106a.

As indicated by arrow 111, patient 101a first contacts hospital 102 to schedule his examination. At the time the examination is scheduled, the patient 101 a visits a technician to be examined at the medical device 103 . This is indicated by arrow 112 in FIG. 1 . One or more technicians may perform some post-processing on the images resulting from the exam. Thereafter, the image is sent to the clinical application server CAS 104 for storage as indicated by arrow 113 in FIG. 1 .

At a later point in time, perhaps a few days later, the radiologist 106a will open the patient's survey stored in the CSA 104 and start reading it. This will be communicated to CAS 104 via notification 114. Once the radiologist 106a starts reading the survey, the RSM server 105 will receive a notification 115a from the CAS 104, and the RSM server 105 will send a first notification message (e.g., SMS message 115b and/or email message 115c) to the patient, The first notification message will arrive at the patient's smartphone 101b and the patient's email account at the computer 101c, respectively. A first notification message 401 is shown in Figure 4A. A first notification message 401 informs the patient that Mr. Li the radiologist has started reading his survey. In the SMS message 115b and/or email 115c, the status of the investigation referencing the patient as stored in the CAS 104 is included together with parameters enabling the query of the system (e.g. authentication credentials that must be used when querying the status of the investigation, such as Links for patient ID (“1234567890” in Figure 4A) and password (“2jk4mn” in Figure 4A)). The password may, for example, be a randomly generated password for accessing the system. The notification message 401 shown in FIG. 4A contains, for example, a link 411 enabling the patient to query status information about his investigation and a push link 412 that can be used to query the status information when the patient is notified by SMS.

Patient 101a can use link 411 from his PC 101c or link 412 from his smartphone 101b. As indicated by arrows 116a and 116b in FIG. 1 , the patient will query the RSM 105 for status information, and the RSM 105 will relay the request 116c to the CAS 104. Thus, status changes and recent progress regarding the investigation can be monitored as indicated by the double-headed arrows 116a, 116b, and 116c. Status report 402 is shown in Figure 4B. The status report 402 contains an indication of the actual status 421 of the patient's report at any point in time, as well as last additional information (like the type of exam performed or the name of the procedure), survey time spent on the patient's survey, queue length, terms of service wait.

When the report is complete and signed by the radiologist 106a, the CAS 104 is notified again via notification 117. The CAS 104 will notify the RSM 105 of this fact via the notification 118a, and as a result of this, send the patient a second notification message, e.g., a second notification message that will arrive on the smartphone 101b and/or the patient's email account on the patient's PC 101c, respectively. A second SMS message 118b and/or a second email message 118c. A second notification message 403 is shown in Figure 4C. This second notification message 403 informs the patient of the fact that Mr. Lee's report on his investigation has been completed. Additionally, the second notification message contains links (eg, WWW link 431 and/or WAP link 432 ) that enable the patient to access the system and query the final report. Querying the final report from the smartphone 101b or PC 101c is shown by the bidirectional arrows 119a, 119b and 119c in FIG. 1 . The patient will query the RSM server 105 which will relay the request to the CAS 104. The CAS 104 in turn delivers the final report and finally the images forming part of the investigation. FIG. 4D shows, for example, status information 404 obtained by the patient in return for his request. Status information in field 441 indicates that the investigation is complete and it contains a link 442 to the final report. Through link 442, the patient can access the report. An example of this report 405 is shown in Figure 4E.

In summary, from the patient's or end-user's point of view, the computer-implemented method according to the present invention mainly consists of two parts: an automatic notification part and an inquiry part. Notification of the fact that the radiologist has started reading the survey and notification of the fact that the radiologist has completed the report is sent to the patient or stakeholder via email/SMS/fax/etc. The inquiry portion of the system can be accessed through eg WWW or WAP and allows the patient to easily obtain the latest updates on the survey. Once the report is complete, the patient can access the final report and images directly through the query system.

Figure 2 shows a radiologist application 206, picture archiving and communication system PACS or 204 (including clinical application server 204a and proxy server 204b) and report status monitoring server RSM running on the radiologist's computer 106b according to the present invention or 205 and communication flow therebetween for automatic notification and status information request handling. The clinical application server 204a corresponds to the CAS 104 of FIG. 1 , and furthermore the RSM server 205 corresponds to the RSM server 105 of FIG. 1 . Proxy server 204b is added between CAS 204a and external servers (such as RSM 205), because application server 204a may communicate with other external systems, for example to obtain inspection status from third-party applications. The proxy server 204b ensures high scalability, scalability and uniform communication. Proxy server 204b is transparent to external servers (such as RSM 205) and application server CAS 204a. FIG. 2 also assumes that images and reports are stored in a separate image and reports repository 208 that is not part of PACS 204.

In FIG. 2 , it is assumed that images are uploaded and stored in image and report repository 208 once the patient has completed their examination at the hospital in 211 . At some point in time, typically hours up to a few days after the patient has completed his examination in 211, the radiologist starts reading the survey through the radiologist application 206 on his PC. This is indicated by step 212 in FIG. 2 . At this point in time, an automatic notification (e.g., HTTPS message 221 ) is sent from the radiologist application 206 to the CAS 204a, where the message is further relayed via HTTPS message 222 to the proxy server 204b and finally via HTTPS message 223 205 to the RSM server. After receiving the notification message 223, the RSM server 205 will generate a first notification message 224 of the patient 201 and send the first notification message to one or more terminals of the patient via email and/or SMS. The first notification message 224 notifies the patient 201 of the fact that the radiologist has started reading the patient's survey, and it contains user credentials and a link that the patient 201 can use to actively monitor the status of his survey.

In order to obtain status information about his investigation, the patient 201 has to query the status information via a query message 231 , generated for example by clicking on a link obtained in the notification message 224 . The query message is relayed by the RSM server 205 to the proxy server 204b as message 232 and further relayed as message 233 from the proxy server 204b to the application server 204a. These query messages 232 and 233 may eg be HTTPS messages. The application server CAS 204a returns a request with status information, or when the application server 204a does not have the most recently updated status information about the investigation, it may first contact the radiologist application 206 via message 234 to query for actual status information. Communication flows 231 , 232 , 233 and 234 are bi-directional to indicate that status information is returned to patient 201 in response to his/her query. The status information may, for example, instruct the radiologist to start transcribing the report, the radiologist to start reviewing and correcting the report, etc. (as indicated by step 213 in FIG. 2 ).

When the radiologist has completed the report on the patient's investigation, he signs off the report in the radiologist application 206 (as indicated by step 214 in FIG. 2 ). The radiologist application 206 will again automatically generate a notification message 241 (eg, an HTTPS message) and send the notification message 241 to the CAS 204a. CAS 204a relays the received message via message 242 to proxy server 204b, and the latter proxy server 204b relays the message as message 243 to RSM server 205 in turn. After receiving message 243, RSM server 205 generates a second notification message 244 that is sent to patient 201 via email and/or SMS. The second notification message indicates that the report is complete and it also includes a reference and link to the final report stored in the images and reports repository 208 .

Via the link received in message 244, patient 201 can access the final report and images. Furthermore, the request 231 is sent to the RSM server 205, which further relays the request as a message 232 to the proxy server 204b. The proxy server will contact the Image & Report repository 208 and obtain the final report and final image therefrom (as indicated by the double arrow 235). As with the status information above here, final reports and images are returned to the patient (as indicated by double arrows 232 and 231 ).

Figure 3 shows the internal workflow of the RSM server 105 and application server 104 handling status information requests from patients. Upon receiving such a notification, as indicated at 302 in Figure 3, the RSM server 301 receives the notification and sends an email message or SMS message. Via the RSM server 301, the administrator 107a can configure the system as indicated by "Configuring the System" in FIG. 3 . The configuration is loaded by the proxy server in step 303, as a result of which a look-up form can be displayed in step 304 for completion by the patient. The proxy server will then be queried in step 305 , as a result of which the proxy server will be loaded with the configuration again in step 306 . The application server will display status information as a return to the query in step 307 . Once the report is complete, the application server will also display a link to the image and final report along with status information (as indicated by steps 308 and 309 in Figure 3).

Note that the system depicted in FIG. 1 also includes a configuration section so that the system administrator 107a can configure the application server and the RSM server from his PC 107b. The system administrator 107a, for example, can configure which fields are to be used as search criteria, fonts, backgrounds, workflows, and the like. Several examples of configuration screens are shown in Figures 5A-5D. For example, Figure 5A shows a configuration screen 501 that enables an administrator 107a to select a proxy 501 to be used by the RSM server. In the proxy form window 502, the name, address and specific notes of the proxy server can be modified. Modifications to agent configurations can be saved, new agents can be added via button 503 or existing agents can be deleted. Figure 5B shows a configuration screen 502 that enables the administrator 107a to configure state mapping between the RSM server and the agent. The administrator can select the proxy server from the drop down list 521, select the internal status information 522 of the RSM server and map this internal status information to the status information 523 that the patient will see. Button 524 is then used to save the state map configured by administrator 107a. Figure 5C shows a configuration screen 503 that enables the administrator 107a to configure the authentication fields to be used when allowing a patient to access status information. The administrator first selects an agent from the drop-down list 531 . Thereafter, the administrator selects the security fields 532 that the patient needs to fill out in the login page. These selected security fields are moved to be displayed in the login page as indicated by 533 , and finally the security configuration is saved via button 534 . Figure 5D shows a configuration screen 504 that enables the administrator 107a to configure a status information page 541b that is made accessible to patients. The administrator first selects the type of page and thus the type of device that can be used to preview status information through the radio button 541a. Thereafter, the administrator 107a can select font size, font color, background color and refresh period in 542a. The administrator can also configure the terms of service in 542b and for example set a flag to be used in the status information page 541b. The configuration settings are saved again via the save button 543 .

A method according to the invention will typically be computer-implemented on a data processing system or computing device. A data processing system or computing device operating in accordance with the present invention can include a workstation, server, laptop, desktop, handheld, mobile, tablet, or other computing device as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

A data processing system or computing device can include a bus or network for direct or indirect connection between several components, a memory or database, one or more processors, input/output ports, a power source, and so on. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a bus or network can include one or more buses (such as an address bus, a data bus, or any combination thereof) or can include one or more network links. Those skilled in the art will additionally appreciate that depending on the use and intended application of a particular embodiment, multiples of these components can be implemented by a single device. Similarly, in some cases a single component can be implemented by multiple means.

A data processing system or computing device can include or be coupled with various computer readable media. For example, a computer readable medium can include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CDROM, digital versatile disc (DVD ) or other optical or holographic media, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage devices, or other magnetic storage devices that can be used to encode information and can be accessed by a data processing system or computing device.

Memory can include computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or non-volatile memory. Memory can be removable, non-removable, or any combination thereof. Exemplary hardware devices are devices such as hard disk drives, solid state memory, optical disk drives, and the like. A data processing system or computing device can include one or more processors that read data from components such as memory, various I/O components, and the like.

I/O ports can allow a data processing system or computing device to be logically coupled to other devices such as I/O components. Some of the I/O components can be embedded inside the computing device. Examples of such I/O components include microphones, joysticks, recording devices, game controllers, satellite dishes, scanners, printers, wireless devices, network devices, and the like.

Although the invention has been described by reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from its scope. to implement the present invention. Therefore, the present embodiment will be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive in all respects, and the scope of the present invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and all that come within the equivalent meaning and scope of the claims All changes are therefore intended to be incorporated therein. In other words, the intention is to cover any and all modifications, variations or equivalents that fall within the scope of the underlying underlying principles and whose essential attributes are claimed in this patent application. Furthermore, readers of this patent application will understand that the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements of steps, that the word "a" does not exclude a plurality, and that a single element (such as a computer system, processor or other integrated unit) may implement several elements recited in a claim. function. Any reference signs in a claim shall not be construed as limiting the corresponding claim concerned. When used in the description or claims, the terms "first", "second", "third", "a", "b", "c" etc. are introduced to distinguish between similar elements or steps and do not necessarily Is the description order or chronological order. Similarly, the terms "top", "bottom", "above", "below" etc. are introduced for descriptive purposes and do not necessarily denote relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so referred to are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention are capable of operation in accordance with the invention in orientations or other sequences than described or illustrated above.

Claims (12)

1. In a medical imaging system in which medical images and reports are archived, a computer implemented method comprising the steps of: - detecting that a radiologist (106a) who is a user of said medical imaging system starts reading a survey about a patient (101a); - Automatically generate and send to the patient (101a) a first notification message (115b, 115c; 401) instructing the radiologist (106a) to start reading the survey, said first notification message (115b, 115c; 401) includes links (411, 412) enabling said patient (101a) to query status information (402) regarding said investigation; - checking that said radiologist (106a) completes his report on said investigation; and - Automatically generate and send to the patient (101a) a second notification message (118b, 118c; 403) indicating completion of the report, the second notification message (118b, 118c; 403) included in the report Links (431, 432, 442) of (405). 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first notification message (115c) and the second notification message (118c) are email messages. 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first notification message (115b) and the second notification message (118b) are Short Message Service or SMS messages. 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first notification message (115b, 115c, 401) includes enabling the patient to access the medical imaging system and consult the status information (402) user credentials. 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the second notification message (118b, 118c, 403) includes a message enabling the patient to access the medical imaging system and consult the report (405) User credentials. 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the link (411, 412) in the first notification message (401) and the link in the second notification message (403) (431, 432, 442) are World Wide Web (WWW) or Wireless Application Platform (WAP) links. 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: - Automatically generating and sending one or more additional notification messages to said patient after one or more predetermined status changes of said survey (101a). 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the state information includes one or more of the following: - information indicating the current status of said investigation; - information indicating when the radiologist started reading the survey; - information indicating when the radiologist started reading the annex to the survey; - information indicating the time at which said radiologist began dictating said report; - information indicating when said radiologist started transcribing said report; - information indicating when said radiologist began reviewing said report; - information indicating when said radiologist approved said report. 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: - verifying whether the patient (101a) has activated an automatic status on the survey before generating and sending said first notification message (115b, 115c; 401) and said second notification message (118b, 118c; 403) notify. 10. A data processing system comprising means for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1-9. 11. A computer program comprising software code suitable for performing the method according to any one of claims 1-9. 12. A computer-readable storage medium comprising the computer program according to claim 11.