Patient communication method and system

Abstract

A healthcare communication system can include a patient terminal having a keyboard unit with message keys for transmitting different ones of one or more programmed messages, and alphanumeric keys for composing messages. The patient terminal can be communicatively linked to a patient terminal display for presenting the programmed messages and composed messages. Each of the message keys can include identifying indicia associated with a programmed message transmitted upon selection of the message key. The patient terminal keyboard also can include one or more destination keys for specifying one of multiple destination addresses within the healthcare communication system for delivering individual ones of the messages.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A healthcare communication system comprising:
 a patient terminal for receiving input from a patient;   a patient terminal display communicatively linked to said patient terminal; and   at least one healthcare interface selected from the group consisting of a nurse interface, a nutrition interface, an administrative interface, and a visitor interface, said at least one healthcare interface remotely located from and communicatively linked to the patient terminal, said system for transmitting messages between said patient terminal to said at least one healthcare interface, wherein said system is adapted to display one or more of the following on said patient terminal display either on a single screen or a series of screens:
 text of communications sent from said patient terminal to said at least one healthcare interface, 
 text of communications sent from said at least one healthcare interface to said patient terminal, 
 a special note about said patient selected from the group consisting of dietary requirements or restrictions, allergies, standing requests, specialized requests, authorized visitors, unauthorized visitors, and combinations thereof, 
 a room number of the patient, 
 a room telephone number of the patient, 
 a current date and time, 
 a current room temperature, 
 a current outside temperature, 
 names of healthcare team members attending to the patient, 
 pictures of healthcare team members attending to the patient, 
 video from said at least one healthcare interface, 
 access or service icons, 
 currently activated access or service icons, and 
 information about food options for selection, or selected by, patient. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein said system is adapted to display each of the following on said patient terminal display either on a single screen or a series of screens:
 text of communications sent from said patient terminal to said at least one healthcare interface,   text of communications sent from said at least one healthcare interface to said patient terminal,   a special note about said patient selected from the group consisting of dietary requirements or restrictions, allergies, standing requests, specialized requests, authorized visitors, unauthorized visitors, and combinations thereof,   a room number of the patient,   a room telephone number of the patient,   names of healthcare team members attending to the patient,   pictures of healthcare team members attending to the patient,   video from said at least one healthcare interface,   access or service icons,   currently activated access or service icons, and   information about food options for selection, or selected by, patient.   
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein said healthcare interface comprises a nurse interface, and said system is adapted to display one or more of the following on a display of said nurse interface on a single screen or a series of screens:
 text of communications sent from said patient terminal to said at least one healthcare interface,   text of communications sent from said at least one healthcare interface to said patient terminal,   the special note about said patient,   the room number of the patient,   the room telephone number of the patient,   the current date and time,   access or service icons,   currently activated access or service icons,   the names of healthcare team members attending to the patient, and   pictures of healthcare team members attending to the patient.   
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein said healthcare interface comprises a nutrition interface, and said system is adapted to display one or more of the following on a display of the nutrition interface on a single screen or a series of screens:
 text of communications sent from said patient terminal to said at least one healthcare interface,   text of communications sent to said patient terminal from said at least one healthcare interface,   the special note about said patient,   the room number of the patient,   the room telephone number of the patient,   the current date and time,   information about food options for selection by patient,   information about food options selected by patient,   time when food was ordered,   the names of healthcare team members attending to the patient,   information about food inventory levels, and   pictures of healthcare team members attending to the patient.   
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 4 , wherein said communications sent to said patient terminal comprise menu options, and said special note comprises dietary requirements or allergies of the patient, wherein said system automatically removes an option from said menu options if the option conflicts with said dietary requirements or allergies of the patient. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein said healthcare interface comprises a visitor interface, and said system is adapted to display one or more of the following on a display of the visitor interface on a single screen or a series of screens:
 live video of a message from the patient,   recorded video of a message from the patient,   text of communications sent from said patient terminal to said visitor interface, and   text of communications sent from said visitor interface to said patient terminal.   
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the following are displayed on said patient terminal display either on a single screen or a series of screens:
 text of communications sent from said patient terminal to said at least one healthcare interface,   text of communications sent from said at least one healthcare interface to said patient terminal.   
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 7 , wherein the system comprises a speech recognition system and the communications to or from the at least one healthcare interface are received by the system using the speech recognition system. 
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 7 , wherein the patient terminal comprises a plurality of icons for generating preprogrammed messages, and the communications to or from the at least one healthcare interface are generated when one of the plurality of icons is selected by a patient. 
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 1 , further comprising a computer system for tracking and logging interactions between the patient terminal and the at least one healthcare interface. 
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 1 , further comprising a computer system for performing at least one function selected from the group consisting of maintaining food inventory, determining when new food should be ordered, when food has expired, how much food should cost, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The system according to  claim 10 , wherein said computer system logs the interaction time and date stamps interactions between a patient and the at least one healthcare interface. 
     
     
         13 . The system according to  12 , wherein said computer system generates performance metric reports according to the message transmission information and the message response information. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the input is received when a user touches an icon. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the input is received when a user touches a sequence of alphanumeric keys. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the input is received by a voice recognition system. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a patient-door display communicatively linked to the patient terminal for displaying one or more of the following:
 text of communications sent from said patient terminal to said at least one healthcare interface,   text of communications sent from said at least one healthcare interface to said patient terminal,   a special note about said patient selected from the group consisting of dietary requirements or restrictions, allergies, standing requests, specialized requests, authorized visitors, unauthorized visitors, and combinations thereof,   a room number of the patient,   a room telephone number of the patient,   a current date and time,   a current room temperature,   a current outside temperature,   names of healthcare team members attending to the patient,   pictures of healthcare team members attending to the patient,   video from said at least one healthcare interface,   access or service icons,   currently activated access or service icons, and   information about food options for selection, or selected by, patient.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a translation system for translating a message transmitted between the patient terminal and the at least one healthcare interface from a first language to a second language, different from the first language. 
     
     
         19 . A method of operating a healthcare communication system, comprising:
 receiving input from a user,   displaying a message generated by said input on a patient display,   transmitting the message to at least one healthcare interface selected from the group consisting of a nurse interface, a nutrition interface, an administrative interface, and a visitor interface, and   communicating the message to a healthcare interface user via said at least one healthcare interface, wherein said at least one healthcare interface is remotely located from the patient, and wherein said message is selected from the group consisting of:
 text of communications sent from a patient interface to said at least one healthcare interface, 
 text of communications sent from said at least one healthcare interface to a patient interface, 
 a special note about said patient selected from the group consisting of dietary requirements or restrictions, allergies, standing requests, specialized requests, authorized visitors, unauthorized visitors, and combinations thereof, 
 a room number of the patient, 
 a room telephone number of the patient, 
 a current date and time, 
 a current room temperature, 
 a current outside temperature, 
 names of healthcare team members attending to the patient, 
 pictures of healthcare team members attending to the patient, 
 video from said at least one healthcare interface, 
 access or service icons, 
 currently activated access or service icons, 
 information about food options available for, or selected by, patient, and 
 combinations thereof. 
   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the input is received when a user touches an icon. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the input is received when a user touches a sequence of alphanumeric keys. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the input is received by a voice recognition system. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising translating input received from a user from a first language to a second language, different from the first language, prior to communicating the message via said at least one healthcare interface. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein said communicating step comprises displaying said message on a display of said at least one healthcare interface. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein said communicating step comprises audibly transmitting said message through said at least one healthcare interface. 
     
     
         26 . A healthcare communication system comprising:
 a standalone patient communication console comprising:   a plurality of icons for generating different ones of a plurality of programmed messages, alphanumeric keys for composing messages, or both;   a processor;   a memory for storing the plurality of programmed messages;   a patient display suitable for displaying text, images, and motion video incorporated into said standalone patient communication console, wherein said patient display displays the programmed messages, composed messages, or both, each of said icons representing a unique identifying indicia and corresponding to a particular programmed message that is transmitted over the communication system after a patient selects said icon, the icon indicating a type of the particular programmed message, and   at least one healthcare interface selected from the group consisting of a nurse interface, a nutrition interface, an administrative interface, and a visitor interface, said at least one healthcare interface remotely located from and communicatively linked to the patient communication console, said system for transmitting messages between said patient communication console and the at least one healthcare interface.   
     
     
         27 . The system according to  claim 26 , wherein a camera, a speaker and a microphone are incorporated into said standalone patient communication console. 
     
     
         28 . The system according to  claim 26 , wherein the at least one healthcare interface is selected from the group consisting of:
 a visitor interface remotely located from and communicatively linked to the patient terminal, wherein the system is configured to convey visitor messages from the patient to a visitor and to convey visitor messages to the patient from the visitor,   a nurse interface remotely located from and communicatively linked to the patient terminal for receiving assistance messages from the patient, and   a nutrition interface configured to transmit messages specifying at least one food item choice to said patient terminal for presentation upon said patient terminal display and to receive messages from said patient terminal specifying selected ones of said food item choices indicating food items to be prepared and delivered.   
     
     
         29 . The system according to  claim 26 , wherein the plurality of programmed messages include at least one patient-specific message composed by a patient or other person using the alphanumeric keys. 
     
     
         30 . The system according to  claim 29 , wherein at least one patient-specific message is associated with an icon displayed on said patient interface. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 26 , further comprising a translation system for translating a message transmitted between the patient communication console and the at least one healthcare interfaces from a first language to a second language, different from the first language. 
     
     
         32 . A non-transitory computer readable storage comprising code for carrying out the method steps as claimed in  claim 19  when the program is executed on a computer.