Health care data management

Abstract

Health care data is stored in memory accessible to a server. The server allows users to access the health care data, such as across a communication network. In some embodiments a biometric identifier for a patient is stored with patient information. The biometric identifier can be used to control access to patient records and to quickly locate patient information associated with a particular patient.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A health care data management system comprising a server device including a processor and memory, the memory containing a database and instructions executable by the processor to perform a method of managing health care data, the method comprising:
 registering a user by receiving user data including a first biometric identifier;   storing the user data and the first biometric identifier in the database and associating the first biometric identifier with the user data in the database;   receiving health care information pertaining to the user and storing in the user data in the database;   receiving from a caregiver computing system a request including a second biometric identifier;   searching the database to identify the first biometric identifier as a match to the second biometric identifier; and   transmitting at least part of the user data associated with the first biometric identifier to the caregiver computing system in response to the request.   
     
     
         2 . The health care data management system of  claim 1 , wherein the server further comprises a web server, and wherein transmitting the at least part of the user data is performed by sending data defining a web page. 
     
     
         3 . The health care data management system of  claim 1 , further comprising an emergency vehicle computing device communicatively coupled to a biometric reader and configured to communicate with the server across a data communication network, wherein the emergency vehicle computing device reads the second biometric identifier from the user and sends the request including the second biometric identifier to the server. 
     
     
         4 . The health care data management system of  claim 3 , wherein the emergency vehicle computing device is a mobile computing device used by a caregiver, a police officer, an emergency responder, or a military unit. 
     
     
         5 . The health care data management system of  claim 1 , further comprising a patient computing device configured to communicate with the server across a data communication network, wherein the method further comprises:
 receiving a request from the patient computing device requesting at least part of the user data;   sending to the patient computing device the at least part of the user data;   receiving updated user data from the patient computing device; and   storing the updated user data in place of the user data.   
     
     
         6 . The health care data management system of  claim 1 , wherein the caregiver computing system is located at a caregiver facility, and wherein receiving health care information pertaining to the user comprises receiving health care information from the caregiver computing system. 
     
     
         7 . The health care data management system of  claim 1 , wherein user data includes at least some of the following: physician notes, electronic medical records, immunization records, surgical history, medication records, medical treatment records, identification of medical allergies, obstetric history, habit history, family medical history, mental health history, employment history, travel history, family history, common activities, advance directive, living will, and power of attorney for health care. 
     
     
         8 . The health care data management system of  claim 1 , wherein receiving from the caregiver the request including the second biometric identifier further comprises:
 scanning a fingerprint of the registered user using a fingerprint scanner to generate the second biometric identifier at the second computing system; and   sending the request including the second biometric identifier from the caregiver computing system to the server.   
     
     
         9 . A method of graphically presenting health information relating to a patient, the method comprising:
 displaying a graphical representation of at least a portion of a human body of the patient including a first body part;   displaying a health flag associated with the first body part of the patient;   receiving an input from a user identifying the first body part; and   displaying at least part of a health history associated with the first body part.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising searching a database for an identifier of the first body part after receiving an input from the user identifying the first body part, and wherein the health history is a list of search results identified in searching the database. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising displaying general information about the patient while displaying the graphical representation, the general information including at least some of the patient's name, the patient's birth date, the patient's social security number, the patient's blood type, and the name of the patient's primary caregiver. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising storing health data in a database containing the health history before displaying the graphical representation, the health data including an anatomy field, the anatomy field containing an identifier of the body part. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising searching the database to identify the health data including an identifier of the body part after receiving an input from a user identifying the first body part and before displaying the health history. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the health history is at least one of: physician notes, electronic medical records, immunization records, surgical history, medication records, medical treatment records, identification of medical allergies, obstetric history, habit history, family medical history, mental health history, employment history, travel history, family history, common activities, advance directive, living will, and power of attorney for health care. 
     
     
         15 . A method of notifying a first person about the occurrence of an event pertaining to a registered user, the method comprising:
 registering a user as a registered user in a database by storing user data including a name and a biometric identifier associated with the registered user in the database;   storing contact information into the user data, the contact information identifying a manner of communicating with the first user;   identifying the occurrence of a health event associated with the registered user; and   communicating with the first user according to the identified manner of communicating to inform the first user that the user data has been accessed by a caregiver.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein identifying the occurrence of a health event further comprises:
 receiving a request to access the user data by a caregiver; and   sending at least part of the user data to the caregiver in response to the request.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein receiving a request to access the user data further comprises receiving a request including the biometric identifier. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 reading a fingerprint of the registered user using a fingerprint scanner to generate the biometric identifier at a computing system;   sending the request to access the user data to the server from the computing system; and   receiving at least part of the user data at the computing system.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the manner of communicating is selected from the group consisting of sending an e-mail message to an e-mail address, sending a computer-generated audio message to a voicemail box, making a telephone call to a telephone number and playing a computer-generated or pre-recorded message, sending a facsimile to a fax machine using a telephone number, sending a text message to a telephone number, and sending a text message across a computer communication network. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein communicating with the first user occurs automatically using a computing device.