Method to increase efficiency, coverage, and quality of direct primary care

Abstract

A healthcare and wellness management system, which can be used to collect and analyze data related to a user's health. Using software applications and sensors embedded on a hardware platform, the system collects psychological and physiological data regarding a subject such as mood or stress level, food intake, and vital signs. The system may generate a health parameter based on the collected data. The system may initiate actions based on the gathered data. Multiple users may be ranked relative to one another based on their health parameters.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: 
     
         1 . A method of evaluating the health of a subject, comprising:
 receiving a first input that is a food data input, wherein the food data input is obtained by analyzing at least one portion of food consumed by the subject during a first time period;   receiving a second input obtained during the first time period, the second input being selected from the group consisting of:
 a mood data input, wherein the mood data input is obtained through active input by the subject during the first time period, 
 a vital sign data input, 
 a biometric data input, 
 a genotype data input, 
 a lifestyle data input, 
 an environment data input, and 
 a biological data input; and 
   generating a health parameter using both the first input and the second input, wherein the health parameter is indicative of the subject's health during the first time period.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising repeating the steps of the method a plurality of times during subsequent time periods in order to generate a plurality of health parameters, each health parameter being indicative of the subject's health during a specific time period, wherein the plurality of health parameters define a health parameter history of the patient over the time periods. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising detecting a health event by:
 providing a range of potential values for the health parameter that indicates no health event has occurred; and   comparing the health parameter during the first time period to the range of values.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising providing an alert if a health event is detected. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the alert is provided to a party selected from the group consisting of the subject, a health care provider, a contact designated by the subject, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising reporting the health parameter to a party selected from the group consisting of the subject, a health care provider, a contact designated by the subject, a health care information system, an insurance provider, an emergency medical system, a medical facility, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the food data input includes information selected from the group consisting of a nutrition index, an intake frequency, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the nutrition index is generated by analyzing a digital image of the portion of food. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the mood data input includes information regarding a psychological condition of the subject. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the psychological condition includes an indication of a mood state selected from the group consisting of anxiety, stress, anger, frustration, happiness, sadness, depression, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the active input comprises the subject providing an intensity and a frequency of data input that indicates the mood state. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the mood data input includes information regarding a fatigue level or a concentration level of the subject. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the active input comprises testing the subject using a game or a task. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the game or the task is implemented in an electronic device. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the vital sign data input includes information related to a characteristic of the subject selected from the group consisting of heart rate, pulse, blood pressure, blood pressure index, body temperature, breathing, activity, barometric pressure for altimetry, gait, sleep, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biometric data input includes information related to a characteristic of the subject selected from the group consisting of age, gender, height, race, metabolic profile, gait, metabolic panel, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the genotype data input includes information related to a characteristic of the subject selected from the group consisting of genetic composition, genomic profile, biomarkers, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the lifestyle data input includes information related to a characteristic of the subject selected from the group consisting of work, drinking/smoking/eating habits, other habits, activities, hobbies, sports, education, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the environmental data input includes information related to a characteristic of the subject selected from the group consisting of geographic information indicative of a geographic position of the subject, weather conditions near the subject, pollution near the subject, economic environmental conditions, social environmental conditions, political environmental conditions, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biological data input includes information related to a characteristic of the subject selected from the group consisting of a skin moisture level, a blood oxygen level, a blood carbon dioxide level, a blood glucose level, a body weight, a body fatty tissue level, an electrocardiogram, an electromyogram, a urine content, a fecal content, an image of the subject, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first input and the second input include temporal data indicating the time at which the first input and the second input were obtained. 
     
     
         22 . A method of evaluating the health of a subject, comprising:
 receiving a first input that is a mood data input, wherein the mood data input is obtained through active input by the subject during a first time period;   receiving a second input obtained during the first time period, the second input being selected from the group consisting of:
 a food data input, wherein the food data input is obtained by analyzing at least one portion of food consumed by the subject during the first time period, 
 a vital sign data input, 
 a biometric data input, 
 a genotype data input, 
 a lifestyle data input, 
 an environment data input, and 
 a biological data input; and 
   generating a health parameter using both the first input and the second input, wherein the health parameter is indicative of the subject's health during the first time period.   
     
     
         23 . A method of evaluating the health of a subject, comprising:
 receiving a first input that is a geographic information data input, wherein the geographic information input is indicative of a geographic position of the subject during a first time period;   receiving a second input obtained during the first time period, the second input being selected from the group consisting of:
 a food data input, wherein the food data input is obtained by analyzing at least one portion of food consumed by the subject during the first time period, 
 a mood data input, wherein the mood data input is obtained through active input by the subject during the first time period, 
 a vital sign data input, 
 a biometric data input, 
 a genotype data input, 
 a lifestyle data input, 
 an environment data input, and 
 a biological data input; and 
   generating a health parameter using both the first input and the second input, wherein the health parameter is indicative of the subject's health during the first time period.   
     
     
         24 . A method of evaluating the health of a plurality of subjects, comprising:
 (a) generating a first health parameter for a first subject and a second health parameter for a second subject using the following steps to generate both the first health parameter and the second health parameter:
 (i) receiving a first input and a second input, each input obtained during a first time period and each input being independently selected from the group consisting of:
 a food data input, wherein the food data input is obtained by analyzing at least one portion of food consumed by the subject during the first time period, 
 a mood data input, wherein the mood data input is obtained through active input by the subject during a first time period, 
 a vital sign data input, 
 a biometric data input, 
 a genotype data input, 
 a lifestyle data input, 
 an environment data input, and 
 a biological data input, and 
 
 (ii) generating a health parameter using both the first input and the second input, wherein the health parameter is indicative of the subject's health during the first time period; and 
   (b) comparing the first health parameter to the second health parameter.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising ranking the first health parameter and the second health parameter with regard to the urgency with which the first subject and the second subject require medical attention. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising generating a third health parameter for a third subject using steps (i) and (ii), and comparing the third health parameter to the first health parameter and the second health parameter.