DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to an intelligent health care management system, and more particularly to a system, method and device for maintaining, updating, and intelligently analysing patient information to provide diagnostic and therapeutic information

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Physicians have long maintained a medical record for each patient. These medical records have conventionally resided at the physician's office in a records area. When a patient changes physicians, unfortunately, absent making a copy of the patient's medical records and transporting the copy to the next physician, there is no easy way to provide a new physician access to the patient's prior medical history.
Electronic medical records have been developed to help heath care providers in caring for their patients. Unfortunately, since no standards exist, compatibility, exchangeability and accessibility of medical information is not conventionally possible among health care providers.
Conventionally, there are many databases around the world with patients' medical records, stored and locked up in proprietary formats, in doctor's offices, hospitals, government agencies, or third party payer's warehouses that are not readily accessible to a patient, or the patient's current physician. While this medical information may be very useful in the management of the patient, there is no conventionally available method for the medical information to reach the entities that could help that patient (e.g., physician, hospital, public and provide entities, offices, and thirty party payers) in a timely fashion, as would be needed, particularly in the case of emergency patient care needs.
Efforts to attempt to bring standardization of medical records in a universal medical record form and electronic medical record systems have made access to medical information easier. However, the main problem of obtaining data when the physician, hospital, insurance company, or the patient needs it, in a timely fashion, has remained an obstacle. Most medical records are currently stored in a doctor's office, hospital, or a database that are not always accessible to the patient when the patient or patient's health care giver need the information.
While most records may be in a physician's office or a hospital, and some few medical records are stored in an electronic or digital medical record system, very few doctors, patients, hospitals, or insurance providers have access to these medical records in an urgent setting, especially if the patient is traveling, away from the patient's residence and normal health care provider.
Another problem with conventional electronic medical records is that conventional medical record databases are generally redundant and incomplete. Updating and maintaining the databases is labor intensive and usually the database serves certain designated purposes for which it was programmed rather than being a complete medical record for the patient. For example a hospital may contain several databases for a patient's medical records, one designed for accounting/billing, another relating to recording patient symptoms, and others for laboratory results, for example.
Current physicians' lack of access to a patient's past medical records is a leading challenge in treating patients referred for care by a consultant. Quite often the patient's medical record is in the primary care provider's office and is thus inaccessible to the current physician handling the referral. For numerous reasons, such as office closings or inability to locate the chart in a timely manner, duplicate testing, and diagnosis may occur as a result of lack of access to critical medical information of the patient. Repetitive testing may often be performed, particularly in the case of urgent therapy, where lack of access to this information may be most critical, such as, for preoperative surgical clearance. Access to information is also hindered by the fact that even when having access to pertinent medical information, the sheer volume of information in conventional records makes cumbersome the access of critical information from medical records. A better way of obtaining summarized, merged, up to date information about a patient is not available to a patient or the patient's health care providers, using conventional systems.
Further, the distribution and inaccessibility of a patient's whole health and medical record, combined with limited time for office visits, may prevent a treating health care provider from being able to identify secondary issues that may aid in diagnosis and treatment.
What is needed is a system, method, and computer program product which may be adapted to provide a patient a portable, digital medical record, which may be carried by the patient so access to the patient's medical information will always be available. This previously unfulfilled need is particularly in demand in emergency situations, when a health care provider has only a limited time to diagnose an illness and provide care for a patient, in life threatening peril.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention a system, method and computer program product for providing patient access to or control of the patient's medical record is disclosed. A flexible, portable, patient-controlled system for storing, maintaining, and processing medical information may be provided.
In an exemplary embodiment, a system may include: at least one source of medical information; at least one source of personal medical data for at least one patient; and at least one server, wherein the medical information and the personal medical data are accessible to the at least one server, the at least one server including: an artificial intelligence (AI) component for analyzing the personal medical data with the medical information and identifying at least one issue requiring follow-up by the patient or by at least one external authorized entity; and at least one real-time communication link for bi-directional communication with at least one external authorized entity. The personal medical data for at least one patient may be accessible to the at least one patient.
The system may further include: a data management engine to organize, store, edit, maintain, format, and process data from the personal medical data and from the medical information.
The at least one source of personal medical data may include at least one of: patient medical records, including: physician records, vaccine records, dental records, cardiac records, pharmaceutical records, laboratory records, radiological records; advance directives; do not resuscitate (DNR) orders; living wills; organ donation designations; scanned medical records; indexed medical information; textual medical record information; image information; streamed data; video data; audio data; handwritten notes; dictation; insurance information; prescription information; drug interaction information; allergy information; optical character recognition (OCR) data; recognized data; voice recognition data; or captured data.
The medical information and the personal medical data may be accessible to the at least one server or the at least one patient for doing at least one of: communicating; replicating; synchronizing; reading, writing, storing, retrieving, editing, modifying, adding to, updating, deleting, inserting, uploading, data mining, downloading, transferring, emailing, scheduling, notifying, alerting, text messaging, or instant messaging the medical information and the personal medical data.
The at least one external authorized entity may include at least one of: a health insurance provider, a pharmacy, a hospital, an urgent care facility, a health clinic, a physician, a physician's office, a nurse, a physician's assistant, a federal agency, a state agency, a regulatory agency, an emergency medical service, an outpatient clinic, an outpatient diagnostic clinic, a medical laboratory, the patient, or another entity authorized by the patient.
The personal medical device further may include an intelligent analysis device including at least one of: means for suggesting improved care; means for suggesting improved management; means for filtering the personal medical information; means for providing a pre-operative assessment; means for providing suggestions; means for providing analyzed information comprising at least one of health, insurance or personal information; means for providing analyzed information comprising at least one of health insurance, civil or government entities; means of analyzing data comprising medical conditions listed within or outside the ICD & CPT domains; means for analyzing data comprising at least one of: genetics, hypercholesteremia, hypertension, diabetes, smoking or obesity; means of generating a medical health profile comprising the patient’s medical conditions; means for generating a cardiovascular health profile comprising means for tracking at least one of: patient weight, blood pressure; cholesterol profile, blood sugar level, or glycocylated hemoglobin level; means for providing a portal for medical information comprising means for linking at least one of: healthcare provider, hospital, insurance provider, physicians, civil and government entities; means for providing organ system checkups comprising at least one of: thyroid tests, prostate specific antigen, mammography, colonoscopy examination, pelvic exams, chest x-rays, dexa bone scan, cell blood counts, chemistries, or vaccinations; means for at least one of: reducing a need for repeat testing, or avoiding unnecessary testing; means for formulating a diagnosis; or means for retrieving pertinent medical data in a timely fashion.
In another exemplary embodiment, the invention may be a portable personal medical device, including: a storage medium for storing personal medical data for a patient; and a communication interface for communicating with a centralized intelligent health care system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES:
FIG. 1: Process Flow of Electronic Healthcare System.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular description of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention may provide a system and method for maintaining a centralized medical information scanning and analysis centre and storage repository of patient medical information, which may be accessible and updateable in real time to a variety of health-care related entities. The system may store analyzed medical information on a personal medical information device which may be carried by a patient. The system and method may also provide one or more artificial intelligence (AI) processes for analyzing patient medical records and sources of medical knowledge, for example, to suggest diagnoses, treatment options, drug interactions, and other aspects of medical care, in real-time or in an archival manner, to the patient and health care entities. Embodiments of the present invention may include a personal device, carried by the patient, which may hold all of the patient's medical data for instantaneous retrieval by a health-care provider or entity, wherever the patient is. The device may be updated by the centralized medical information, scanning and analysis centre, or externally, for example, at a physician's office. The device may alert the patient to possible drug interactions, or to suggestions for follow-up medical tests, in conjunction with the centralized system and artificial intelligence processes. The system may further include a user interface to facilitate retrieval of, updating of, and interaction with a patient's records.
Embodiments of the present invention may provide the following functionality. An embodiment may be the unifying domain for a national healthcare medical record system where any authorized entity involved in the health care delivery of a patient can use the information in the system for its resources. For example, embodiments of the invention may allow any doctor involved in the care of a patient to look up the patient's medical information. At the same time the patient may view his records, and his insurance provider can view the patient's medical records.
Embodiments of the present invention may allow updating of a patient's medical record, and provide clinical suggestions based on any updated patient medical information. An embodiment may allow the patient, hospital, physician, insurance providers, and any related health care domain to access any pertinent information related to patient care in an online manner.
Embodiments of the present invention may allow a patient to monitor his own medical report. This will help the patients to do the following. Patients may compare their care to the accepted standard medical record guidelines. Patients may compare their medical condition with any disease process or population similar to their medical condition or any other comparison regarding any medical situation based on data, diagnosis and treatment protocols in an exemplary system. Patients may compare how their care is provided by a certain physician, hospital, or any related health domain compared to the national average or accepted practices. Patients may interact with any pertinent health care domains through an exemplary system to provide information regarding their medical situation.
Embodiments of the present invention may alert the patient, his primary care physician, as well as any health-related monitoring agency that monitors health related demographics, e.g. information about a person such as e.g., age, sex, address, nationality, creed, ethnicity, etc., that he may not be on appropriate medications to treat his medical conditions.
The following examples further illustrate the invention. It will be apparent to the skilled person that these examples are solely for illustrative purposes and must not be considered to limit the invention.

EXAMPLES
Embodiments provided herein may be more fully understood by reference to the following examples. These examples are meant to be illustrative of pharmaceutical compositions and dosage forms provided herein, but are not in any way limiting.
Example 1: Unifying National Healthcare Record System:
In this example, the invention serves as the foundation for a national healthcare medical record system. Authorized healthcare entities, including doctors, patients, and insurance providers, can seamlessly access patient medical information. A doctor treating a patient can instantly retrieve the patient's medical history, while the patient can view their own records. Additionally, the patient's insurance provider can access pertinent information, ensuring comprehensive care coordination.
Example 2: Real-time Clinical Suggestions and Alerts:
Consider a patient who has recently updated their medical record to include information about a new medication they are taking. The invention's artificial intelligence system analyzes this update and detects potential drug interactions. The system promptly sends alerts to the patient, their physician, and pharmacist, highlighting potential risks and offering alternative suggestions for medications, ensuring patient safety.
Example 3: Patient Self-Monitoring and Comparisons:
In this scenario, a patient uses the invention to monitor their own medical report. By comparing their medical condition to accepted standard guidelines and relevant disease processes, the patient gains insights into their health. They also compare their care received from different physicians, hospitals, or healthcare domains to national averages or recommended practices, empowering them to make informed healthcare decisions.
Example 4: Patient Engagement and Communication:
Imagine a patient who undergoes a medical procedure and requires post-operative care. Through the invention's user interface, the patient engages with their healthcare provider by sharing recovery progress and reporting any concerns. This continuous communication aids the healthcare provider in remotely assessing the patient's well-being and promptly addressing any issues.
Example 5: Identification of Inappropriate Medications:
Suppose a patient's medical record indicates they have certain medical conditions. The invention's AI system identifies that the patient is taking medications that might not be suitable for those conditions. The system alerts the patient, their primary care physician, and relevant monitoring agencies about the potential discrepancy, prompting a review of the patient's medication regimen.
Example 6: National Health Monitoring Initiatives:
In this instance, health-related monitoring agencies aim to track specific demographics, such as age, sex, or ethnicity, to identify potential health trends. The invention contributes by notifying the agencies when patients are not receiving appropriate medications for their conditions. This timely information assists in refining public health initiatives and interventions.
Example 7: Improved Medication Management:
Consider a patient on multiple medications for different conditions. The invention's AI processes analyze their medical history and detect potential adverse interactions. The system notifies the patient and their healthcare providers about the interactions, offering suggestions for safer medication management and highlighting the importance of communication between healthcare professionals.
Example 8: Customized Follow-up and Testing Recommendations:
In this scenario, a patient has undergone surgery and is in the post-operative recovery phase. The invention's AI analyzes the patient's medical record and suggests specific follow-up medical tests based on the surgery type and the patient's medical history. The system also advises the patient on preventive measures to enhance recovery and reduce the need for unnecessary testing.
Example 9: Timely Follow-up for Chronic Conditions:
Consider a patient diagnosed with a chronic condition that requires regular monitoring and follow-up. The invention's AI continuously analyzes the patient's medical records and recommends appropriate intervals for check-ups and screenings. The patient receives automated reminders for appointments, ensuring consistent disease management and early intervention if needed.
Example 10: Streamlined Prescription Management:
In this scenario, a patient visits multiple healthcare providers for various medical concerns. The invention's integrated system maintains a comprehensive medication history. When a new prescription is suggested, the system checks for potential conflicts with the patient's existing medications. The patient, pharmacist, and relevant healthcare providers are promptly alerted to ensure safe and effective medication management.
Example 11: Remote Patient Monitoring for Elderly Care:
Imagine an elderly patient living independently but monitored remotely by their healthcare team. The patient uses wearable health devices that sync with the invention's system. The AI monitors vital signs and trends, detecting any anomalies. If irregularities are detected, alerts are sent to the patient's family, primary care physician, and emergency services if necessary, enabling timely interventions.
Example 12: Personalized Health Improvement Plans:
Suppose a patient seeks to improve their overall health. Using the invention's AI, the patient's medical history, lifestyle choices, and goals are analyzed. The system creates a personalized health improvement plan, suggesting dietary modifications, exercise routines, and monitoring schedules. Progress is tracked, and the patient receives regular feedback, motivating them to achieve their health objectives.
Example 13: Enhanced Patient-Provider Collaboration:
In this scenario, a patient has a scheduled telemedicine appointment with their physician. The patient accesses their medical record through the invention's interface, providing the physician with up-to-date information. The physician reviews the patient's recent lab results, suggests medication adjustments, and answers the patient's questions in a focused and productive virtual session.
Example 14: Preoperative Risk Assessment and Guidance:
Consider a patient preparing for surgery. The invention's AI reviews the patient's medical history, identifying potential risk factors and interactions with anesthesia and surgical procedures. The patient receives preoperative guidance and recommendations for optimizing their health before surgery, minimizing complications and improving postoperative outcomes.
Example 15: Digital Twin for Treatment Planning:
Imagine a patient with a complex medical condition requiring surgery. The invention serves as a digital twin, simulating the patient's medical history and condition. Surgeons use this digital representation to plan and rehearse the procedure, anticipating potential challenges and optimizing surgical strategies. This virtual rehearsal enhances surgical precision and reduces operative risks.
Example 16: Continuous Remote Monitoring and Predictive Insights:
In this scenario, a patient with a chronic cardiovascular condition uses wearable health devices that sync with the invention's system. The patient's digital twin closely mirrors their health status. AI algorithms analyze real-time data and compare it to the patient's digital twin. If any deviations or patterns indicative of deterioration emerge, the system sends alerts to healthcare providers, enabling proactive interventions before adverse events occur.
Example 17: Personalized Care Coordination Through Digital Twin:
Consider a patient undergoing a complex treatment plan involving multiple specialists and therapies. The patient's digital twin serves as a centralized hub for healthcare collaboration. Physicians, nurses, therapists, and other relevant professionals access the digital twin to review the patient's progress, adjust treatment protocols, and provide holistic care. This streamlined communication ensures comprehensive and personalized healthcare management.
Example 18
A patient is started on a cholesterol lowering medication and he does well for the next two months. However, he gets a blood test and his liver function tests become mildly elevated. The medical centre will notify the patient, physician, pharmacist, and all related health entities, of the potential side effects of the medication and advise the patient to notify his physician. The medical centre may also tell the patient that mild elevation of liver function tests is not a particular concern to the patient, especially if he has no symptoms of liver failure. The medical centre may also notify a patient on a cholesterol agent to get his liver function checked if such a test is not reported on his medical record. This decision making may be in the form of an alert reminder and a suggestion to the patient, rather than a requirement, because embodiments of the invention may not be intended to The principles, preferred embodiments, and modes of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification.
The invention which is intended to be protected herein, however, is not to be construed limited to the particular forms disclosed, since these are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Variations and changes may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention.
,CLAIMS:We claim:

1. A system for intelligent healthcare management, comprising:
a) At least one source of medical information and at least one source of personal medical data.
b) At least one server configured to access said medical information and personal medical data.
c) An artificial intelligence (AI) component within said server for analyzing personal medical data with said medical information and identifying issues requiring follow-up by the patient or external authorized entities.
d) At least one real-time communication link for bidirectional communication with external authorized entities.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a data management engine for organizing, storing, editing, maintaining, formatting, and processing data from said personal medical data and medical information.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said personal medical data comprises patient medical records, including physician records, vaccine records, dental records, cardiac records, pharmaceutical records, laboratory records, and radiological records.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said external authorized entity comprises a health insurance provider, a pharmacy, a hospital, an urgent care facility, a health clinic, a physician, a physician's office, a nurse, a physician's assistant, a federal agency, a state agency, a regulatory agency, an emergency medical service, an outpatient clinic, an outpatient diagnostic clinic, a medical laboratory, or another entity authorized by the patient.

5. The system of any preceding claim, wherein said personal medical data further comprises advance directives, do not resuscitate (DNR) orders, living wills, organ donation designations, scanned medical records, indexed medical information, textual medical record information, image information, streamed data, video data, audio data, handwritten notes, dictation, insurance information, prescription information, drug interaction information, or allergy information.

6. The system of any preceding claim, wherein said personal medical device further comprises means for suggesting improved care, means for suggesting improved management, means for filtering personal medical information, means for providing a pre-operative assessment, or means for providing suggestions.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein said means for suggesting improved care comprises means for generating a medical health profile comprising the patient's medical conditions.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein said means for providing suggestions comprises means for providing analyzed information comprising at least one of health, insurance, or personal information.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein said means for suggesting improved management comprises means for providing analyzed information comprising at least one of health insurance, civil, or government entities.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein said means for analyzing data comprises medical conditions listed within or outside the ICD (International Classification of Diseases) & CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) domains.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein said means for analyzing data comprises at least one of genetics, hypercholesteremia, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, or obesity.

12. The system of claim 6, wherein said means for generating a medical health profile comprises means for tracking at least one of patient weight, blood pressure, cholesterol profile, blood sugar level, or glycocylated hemoglobin level.

13. The system of claim 6, wherein said means for providing a portal for medical information comprises means for linking at least one of a healthcare provider, hospital, insurance provider, physicians, civil, and government entities.

14. The system of claim 6, wherein said means for providing organ system checkups comprises at least one of thyroid tests, prostate-specific antigen, mammography, colonoscopy examination, pelvic exams, chest x-rays, dexa bone scan, cell blood counts, chemistries, or vaccinations.

15. The system of claim 6, wherein said means for reducing a need for repeat testing comprises means for avoiding unnecessary testing.

16. A method for intelligent healthcare management, comprising:
a) Accessing at least one source of medical information and at least one source of personal medical data.
b) Analyzing personal medical data with said medical information using an artificial intelligence (AI) component.
c) Identifying issues requiring follow-up by the patient or external authorized entities.
d) Establishing at least one real-time communication link for bidirectional communication with external authorized entities.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising organizing, storing, editing, maintaining, formatting, and processing data from said personal medical data and medical information using a data management engine.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising generating a medical health profile comprising the patient's medical conditions using said AI component.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising suggesting improved care or management based on analyzed information comprising at least one of health, insurance, or personal information.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing a portal for medical information by linking at least one of a healthcare provider, hospital, insurance provider, physicians, civil, and government entities using said AI component.