Patent Application
20180165417
This disclosure relates to equipment and methods for dispensing medical supplies through an automated system.
Many people find that visiting a healthcare provider in a clinic or doctor's office takes too much time and is inconvenient. In addition, some people require medical services that are not available to them without significant travel and expense. For these reasons, medical services provided remotely are more commonly available. This practice is called “telemedicine”.
In some instances, telemedicine involves seeing a healthcare provider that is local to the patient who conducts diagnostic tests. The results of the tests are transmitted to a medical specialist who consults with the local healthcare provider to develop a treatment plan for the patient.
However, even seeing a local healthcare provider is inconvenient for some people and for some, there is no local healthcare provider. In these situations, people may postpone seeking medical services. A mechanism to provide telemedicine services in a manner in which there is no need to travel to a staffed clinic or hospital is needed.
We disclose a bathroom telemedicine station through which a user may receive medical diagnosis and treatment completely through telemedicine methods. The telemedicine station includes a private room with a lockable door. Users with valid access privileges may present a valid user identification credential to a user identification system which unlocks the lockable door. The user may enter the telemedicine station and communicate with a healthcare provider who is located at a remote healthcare facility. The telemedicine station includes a first cabinet that includes multiple compartments for housing one or more medical devices. The medical devices are adapted to be used by an untrained user without assistance or under the direction of the remote healthcare provider who communicates through an audiovisual device. The telemedicine station also may include a medical toilet which may collect health metrics. The medical toilet may collect and analyze urine and fecal samples as well as collect other health metrics. The telemedicine station may include one or more communication ports which may transmit the results of the health metrics to the remote healthcare provider. With the aid of the health metric data, the remote healthcare provider may authorize specific medical supplies, including, but not limited to, prescription medication. A second cabinet within the telemedicine station, also with multiple lockable compartments may house one or more medical supplies. The user may open the appropriate compartment, again using user identification credentials, and retrieve the authorized medical supply. The user has thus received a complete office visit including diagnosis and treatment completely through telemedicine. The disclosed telemedicine station will provide convenient healthcare to those who would not otherwise have access to healthcare services and to those who would otherwise avoid seeking healthcare because of the inconvenience of traditional healthcare services.
Toilet, as used herein, means a device that collects biological waste products of a mammal, including urine and feces.
Medical toilet, as used herein, means a toilet that conducts one or more measurements relevant to a user's health status. This may include, but is not limited to, quantification of analytes in urine or feces, cardiovascular parameters, bioimpedance measurements, and body weight.
User, as used herein, means any mammal, human or animal, for which the bathroom telemedicine station disclosed herein is used to provide healthcare services.
Healthcare provider, as used herein, means any individual who performs a task, mental or physical, in relation to health-related services provided to a user. In addition to clinicians who practice medicine directly on a user, the term healthcare provider includes any person that enters data into a computer, when the data entry is used in analysis of a user's health status or to improve a user's health.
Access permission, as used herein, means valid user identification means including, but not limited to, names, numerical codes, passwords, instructions, keys, authentication tokens, ciphers, deciphers, public keys, valid access times, certificates, or other means known in the art for determining whether a user is authorized to access the telemedicine station or a compartment within the telemedicine station.
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings, which will herein be described in detail, several specific embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principals of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the illustrated embodiments.
We disclose a telemedicine station that may be integrated with an American Disabilities Act (ADA) bathroom or similar room. The telemedicine station may be a single user bathroom for male or female or family, handicap accessible, and include a lockable door providing privacy while the user communicates with a remote healthcare provider, collects health metrics from medical devices, retrieves medical supplies for treatment. The disclosed telemedicine station may be placed, for example, in rural areas that do not have significant healthcare facilities nearby, at various locations around more populated cities to provide a fast and convenient source of medical care, and in workplaces as part of employee health benefits. The telemedicine station may be used to provide basic general healthcare for preventative healthcare or minor injuries and illnesses. The telemedicine station may also enable a user to monitor a more serious and/or specialized injury or illness from a location near the user's home without the need to remain near a specialty clinic.
In some embodiments, the telemedicine station includes a room with a lockable door. In some embodiments, a specific, authorized user may unlock the door through a user identification system. The user identification system may be a device that receives a signal associated with a specific user through Bluetooth beacon proximity detection, a personal identification code entered by a user, radio frequency identification of a user's mobile device, biometric verification, or other means known in the art. In some embodiments, the biometric verification method is a user's fingerprint which may be read by a device on the door. Some embodiments include a user identification system that may identify a user through more than one of these methods.
The telemedicine station may include an audiovisual communication device through which a user may communicate with a remotely located healthcare provider. Just as would occur in a face-to-face clinic visit, the user may discuss appropriate diagnostic metrics to collect, some or all of which may be collected using medical devices located within the telemedicine station. The user may also discuss appropriate treatment options using medical supplies which may also be located within the telemedicine station. Controlled lighting or coded color targeting for color balancing may improve the quality of the visual transmission the audiovisual communication device send to the remote healthcare provider. This may improve diagnosis of skin rashes and other illness that may be diagnosed, at least in part, through visual assessment.
The audiovisual device may be connected to a communication port which may be wired or wireless, to enable a user and a remote healthcare provider to communicate. The audiovisual device may also include a lockable barrier. The lockable barrier may be electronically connected to a remote healthcare facility. A healthcare provider at the remote healthcare facility may unlock the lockable barrier remotely to communicate with a user.
The telemedicine station may include a first cabinet that has multiple lockable compartments, similar to a cabinet that houses multiple mailboxes. Each compartment may be unlocked individually from a remote distribution source. The remote distribution source may be a remote healthcare facility with which the user communicates through the audiovisual device. In some embodiments, the compartments may be unlocked by sending access permissions that may be unique to that user. The compartments may contain one or more medical devices which have been adapted or designed for ease of use by an untrained user. The user may open the appropriate compartment(s) and retrieve the medical device(s) as directed by the remote healthcare provider. The medical device(s) may be connected to a communication port which may transmit the health metric from the medical device(s) to a remote healthcare facility.
In some embodiments, a user may visit the telemedicine station routinely to monitor an existing condition. In such situations, the user may not need to communicate with a remote healthcare provider during each visit but may only need to collect a health metric with a particular medical device. In this situation, the user may have continued access permission to unlock the compartment that houses the particular medical device. The user may enter the telemedicine station at a convenient time which may be any time the user needs to collect the health metric.
The compartments may include a variety of medical devices known in the art including, but not limited to, a glucometer, a blood analyzer, an otoscope, a stethoscope, a blood pressure monitor, a body temperature sensor, a pulse oximeter, an ophthalmoscope, and an electrocardiogram unit, an ultrasound device, a test strip, a test strip reader, a tissue imager. In some embodiments, the blood sample analyzer may be a microfluidic blood sample analyzer.
In addition to medical devices housed in the compartments, the telemedicine station may include a medical toilet. A medical toilet may function in a manner that is similar to a conventional toilet except that the medical toilet collects health metrics including analysis of urine and feces. The toilet may also include weight sensors which measure body weight, bioimpedance sensors, heart rate sensor, blood pressure sensors, and body temperature sensors. In some embodiments, the toilet includes a lid, a seat, or both a lid and a seat. Either the lid, the seat, or both may include sensors that collect health metrics. The medical toilet may also be connected to a communication port which may transmit the health metrics to a remote healthcare facility.
In some embodiments, the medical toilet both collects and analyzes urine and fecal samples automatically. In other embodiments, the medical toilet collects urine and fecal samples and preserves them at a low temperature for later collection and analysis. The telemedicine station may also include compartments to refrigerate or freeze samples until they may be collected by a courier and transported for analysis off-site. In some embodiments, the telemedicine station includes a mail or shipping pick-up station from which a courier may collect samples for transport.
The medical toilet in the telemedicine station is unique and particularly useful. Typically, medical exam rooms do not include a toilet. However, a medical toilet is useful for collection of urine and fecal samples and alleviates the need for separate private and sanitary spaces for sample collection and analysis.
The telemedicine station may include a second cabinet which, like the first cabinet, may include multiple lockable compartments. The lockable compartments in the second cabinet may house medical supplies for treatment of a health condition. The medical supplies housed within the compartments may include, but are not limited to, pharmaceutical products, an ultrasound therapy device, an electrostimulation therapy unit, a drug delivery device, first aid supplies, and urinary catheters.
The compartments in the second cabinet may also be unlocked remotely by a remote healthcare provider. For example, the healthcare provider may direct the user to collect a health metric using a medical device housed in one of the compartments in the first cabinet. The health metric may be transmitted to the remote healthcare provider who analyzes the data and offers a treatment plan. The healthcare provider may then unlock a particular compartment by sending access permissions that may be unique to that user.
The second cabinet may also include a user identification system which may include Bluetooth beacon proximity detection, a personal identification code, radio frequency identification of a user's mobile device, biometric verification, and other means known in the art. In some situations, the user may be given one-time or continued access permission to unlock the compartment that houses the particular medical supply that the user is authorized to receive. In some embodiments, a user may have a dedicated compartment to receive that user's medical supplies. For example, a remote healthcare provider may prescribe a medication to the user which may be delivered to the telemedicine station by a courier at a later date. The user may be notified that the medication has been delivered to the telemedicine station then use the user's access permission to unlock the compartment housing the medication. The compartment housing the user's medication may only be unlocked upon identification of a valid user, in this case, the user that has been prescribed the medication in the compartment. In some embodiments, the access permission may be periodically activated to enable a user to retrieve a prescription refill at defined intervals. The user may also have continuous access permission to retrieve certain medical supplies. For example, a user may be given access permission to retrieve urinary catheters any time the user needs them.
Both the first and the second cabinets may include sensors which determine whether the medical device or medical supply respectively is present in the compartment. The communication port may be used to send a signal to a remote site that the compartment needs to be restocked. Also, the sensor may indicate, along with a record of the use of access permissions, whether a user has retrieved the contents of the compartment. The sensors may be weight sensors, optical sensors, acoustic sensors, and other proximity sensors known in the art.
In some embodiments, the first cabinet and the second cabinet are combined into a single cabinet. In this embodiment, the compartments may or may not be separated into a first section of compartments that houses medical devices and a second section of compartments that houses medical supplies.
In some embodiments, the compartments that house medical devices and medical supplies may each include a one-way door through which a courier may deposit the desired contents but the contents may not then be retrieved through the one-way door.
The compartments may include means for assuring that the proper medical supply is deposited in the proper compartment. For example, the container or packaging surrounding the medical supply, may include a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag to verify that the medical supply has been placed in the proper compartment. If an unauthorized RFID tag is placed in a compartment, a user's access permission may not be accepted and the compartment will not unlock when the user presents the access permission to the compartment.
In some embodiments, the compartments house first aid equipment. In some embodiments, when a user accesses certain types of first aid equipment, the appropriate on-line worker's compensation forms may be prefilled with appropriate information and remaining information transcribed from voice to text as the user answers questions. The questions may be provided and answered through an application on the user's smart phone. For example, the questions may include the following: “describe the medical condition needing treatment,” “describe the circumstances that led to acquire the medical condition,” “describe what medical treatment was provided,” or “do you desire additional medical assistance?” In the case of the last question, an affirmative answer may direct a healthcare provider to call the user or communicate with the user through the audiovisual device in the telemedicine station. The healthcare provider may send an ambulance or other local medical response unit to assist the user.
The cabinet may provide a secure way to dispose of unwanted medicines. In some embodiments, users may take an RFID tag and apply it to a bottle of unused medication, apply tamper tape to the lid or packaging, and deposit the medication in a compartment in the cabinet. The user may then lock the compartment and request pick up via a mobile device application or electronic display kiosk in the telemedicine station. Alternatively, the user may not request pick up of the medication and a courier may simply check the compartment designated for unused and unwanted medication when periodically visiting the telemedicine station.
Referring now to the drawings,
The treatment plan selected for the user may require medical supplies. Second cabinet 140 includes multiple lockable compartments, similar or identical to those of first cabinet 130. The compartments of second cabinet 140 house medical supplies. The remote healthcare provider may again send a remote signal to a particular compartment to unlock the appropriate compartment and give the user access to the appropriate medical supply. Alternatively, the remote healthcare provider may enable the user to unlock the appropriate cabinet by sending access permissions to the user which may be unique to that user. One or more communication ports may place one or more of user identification system 120, first cabinet 130 and compartments therein, second cabinet 140 and compartments therein, medical toilet 150, and audiovisual device 160 in communication with a remote source which may include a remote healthcare facility or a security center. For example, first cabinet 130 and second cabinet 140 may both receive signals to allow a user to open a particular compartment and send signals to a remote location indicating that a particular compartment has been opened. Sensors within the compartments may indicate when its contents have been removed. As illustrated in
While specific embodiments have been illustrated and described above, it is to be understood that the disclosure provided is not limited to the precise configuration, steps, and components disclosed. Various modifications, changes, and variations apparent to those of skill in the art may be made in the arrangement, operation, and details of the methods and systems disclosed, with the aid of the present disclosure.
Without further elaboration, it is believed that one skilled in the art can use the preceding description to utilize the present disclosure to its fullest extent. The examples and embodiments disclosed herein are to be construed as merely illustrative and exemplary and not a limitation of the scope of the present disclosure in any way. It will be apparent to those having skill in the art that changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the disclosure herein.
