Monitoring Patient Conditions

Abstract

Among other things, a computer implemented method for monitoring patients released from an intensive care unit in a healthcare environment is described. The method comprises receiving medical information of a patient located at a location different from the intensive care unit, evaluating conditions of the patient by applying one or more rules to the medical information of the patient, and sending a message to the intensive care unit when the conditions of the patient match the one or more rules.

1 . A computer implemented method for monitoring patients comprising:
 during a period of time, continuously monitoring a patient released from a healthcare unit,   wherein the continuous monitoring occurs at a recovery stage between a first recovery stage of patients remaining at the healthcare unit and a second recovery stage of patients only needing periodic routine examination without continuous monitoring;   evaluating conditions of the released patient being continuously monitored by applying one or more rules to medical information of the released patient; and   sending a message to a healthcare professional based on the evaluated conditions of the released patient, wherein the message prompts the healthcare professional to determine
 whether to readmit the released patient to the healthcare unit in response to the evaluated conditions indicating the released patient is in the first recovery stage or 
 whether to discontinue continuously monitoring the released patient in response to the evaluated conditions indicating the patient is in the second recovery stage. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising monitoring the released patient using a clinical medical device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising determining a location of the released patient using an electronic device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the electronic device is integrated with a device collecting the medical information of the released patient. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the electronic device comprises a portable electronic device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 storing medical information of the patient in a centralized data repository; and 
 providing users with access to the centralized data repository. 
 
     
     
         7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6  further comprising:
 updating the medical information of the patient in the centralized data repository; and 
 updating the one or more rules in connection with the medical information. 
 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising providing treatment recommendations to users outside or at the healthcare unit. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising displaying the conditions of the released patient in the healthcare unit continuously. 
     
     
         11 . A computer-readable medium for storing instructions that are executable by a computer, the execution of the instructions causes the computer to:
 during a period of time, continuously monitor a patient released from a healthcare unit,   wherein the continuous monitoring occurs at a recovery stage between a first recovery stage of patients remaining at the healthcare unit and a second recovery stage of patients only needing periodic routine examination without continuous monitoring;   evaluate conditions of the released patient being continuously monitored by applying one or more rules to patient information of the released patient; and   send a message to a healthcare professional based on the evaluated conditions of the released patient, wherein the message prompts the healthcare professional to determine
 whether to readmit the released patient to the healthcare unit in response to the evaluated conditions indicating the released patient is in the first recovery stage or 
 whether to discontinue continuously monitoring the released patient in response to the evaluated conditions indicating the patient is in the second recovery stage. 
   
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11  further comprising causing the computer to monitor the released patient using a clinical medical device. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11  further comprising causing the computer to determine a location of the released patient using an electronic device. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13  wherein the electronic device is integrated with a device collecting the medical information of the released patient. 
     
     
         15 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13  wherein the electronic device comprises a portable electronic device. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11  further comprising causing the computer to:
 store medical information of the patient in a centralized data repository; and 
 provide users with access to the centralized data repository. 
 
     
     
         17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 16  further comprising causing the computer to:
 update the medical information of the patient in the centralized data repository; and 
 update the one or more rules in connection with the medical information. 
 
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11  further comprising causing the computer to provide treatment recommendations to users outside or at the healthcare unit. 
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11  further comprising causing the computer to display the conditions of the released patient in the healthcare unit continuously. 
     
     
         21 . A system comprising:
 a computing device comprising   a memory; and   an engine configured to   during a period of time, continuously monitor a patient released from a healthcare unit of a healthcare environment,   wherein the continuous monitoring occurs at a recovery stage between a first recovery stage of patients remaining at the healthcare unit and a second recovery stage of patients only needing periodic routine examination without continuous monitoring;   evaluate conditions of the released patient being continuously monitored by applying one or more rules to medical information of the patient, and   send a message to a healthcare professional based on the evaluated conditions of the released patient, wherein the message prompts the healthcare professional to determine
 whether to readmit the released patient to the healthcare unit in response to the evaluated conditions indicating the released patient is in the first recovery stage or 
 whether to discontinue continuously monitoring the released patient in response to the evaluated conditions indicating the patient is in the second recovery stage. 
   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 21  wherein the medical information is obtained by monitoring the released patient using a clinical medical device. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 21  wherein the medical information comprises information about a location of the released patient determined by an electronic device. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23  wherein the electronic device is integrated with a device collecting the medical information of the released patient. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 23  wherein the electronic device comprises a portable electronic device. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 21  wherein the memory comprises a centralized data repository for storing medical information of the patient and the computer provides users with access to the centralized data repository. 
     
     
         27 . (canceled) 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 26  wherein the engine updates the medical information of the patient in the centralized data repository and the one or more rules in connection with the medical information. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 21  wherein the engine is configured to provide treatment recommendations to users outside or at the healthcare unit. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 21  further comprising:
 a display for displaying the conditions of the released patient in the healthcare unit continuously. 
 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the location of the released patient is outside a hospital. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the medical information of the released patient includes data integrated from a plurality of sources. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein evaluating the conditions of the released patient includes calculating a score representing severity of the conditions of the released patient. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the score reflects a relationship between different medical factors. 
     
     
         35 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the location of the released patient is outside a hospital. 
     
     
         36 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the medical information of the released patient includes data integrated from a plurality of sources. 
     
     
         37 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein evaluating the conditions of the released patient includes calculating a score representing severity of the conditions of the released patient. 
     
     
         38 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 37 , wherein the score reflects a relationship between different medical factors. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the location of the released patient is outside a hospital. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the medical information of the released patient includes data integrated from a plurality of sources. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein evaluating the conditions of the released patient includes calculating a score representing severity of the conditions of the released patient. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 41 , wherein the score reflects a relationship between different medical factors.