Patent Application
20110052310
This invention relates to the general field of medical information devices, and more specifically toward a medical information and directives device that enables users to accurately document his or her medical history and directives for personal or third party review. The device includes one or more areas for a user to fill in or include his or her personal medical information. A medication display and information board is also included with the device, whereby descriptions and samples of medications are stored and easily viewed. These features enable a relative or medical professional to quickly and accurately ascertain the exact medical history of an individual.
Medical histories are vitally important to an individual's health care. Knowing what medications the patient is taking, what illnesses he or she may have, and his or her healthcare wishes are extremely important when treating that patient. For example, a patient that has high blood pressure may require emergency medical care where the standard treatment is to administer a drug that raises one's blood pressure. If the medical staff knows, however, that the patient has high blood pressure, they will be able to take that into consideration. Alternatively, if a patient is taking blood thinners and the treatment includes giving the patient blood thinners, then it is vital that the medical staff attending to the patient know what blood thinners have been given and how much.
Electronic medical records have been implemented in a wide variety of situations whereby medical staff can quickly and easily retrieve the records of a patient. However, these records can be incomplete, incorrect, or even non-existent if the patient is not in the system.
Medications are often administered in emergency situations without the benefit of knowing the patient's medical history. This can lead to over medication or adverse reactions to the mixing of drugs. Medical histories can also be helpful to aid emergency medical technicians in helping hurt individuals; such as if a patient has Alzheimer's and cannot remember that she also has osteoporosis and high blood pressure.
Many patients may also have special health directives that they want followed when receiving medical attention. For example, terminally ill patients may have “do not resuscitate” orders forbidding the use of extraordinary measures to bring them back to life. However, these are hard to follow if the medical staff is not aware of such an order.
Thus there has existed a long-felt need for a medical information and directives device that accurately and efficiently retains and dispenses medical information and directives to medical staff regarding the patient. It must enable a medical professional to know the medical conditions applicable to the patient as well as any medications that he or she may be taking. The device should also inform the medical staff as to what medical directives are in place for that patient.
The current invention provides just such a solution by having a medical information and directives device that enables users to accurately document his or her medical history and directives for personal or third party review. The device includes one or more areas for a user to fill in or include his or her personal medical information. A medication display and information board is also included with the device, whereby descriptions and samples of medications are stored and easily viewed. These features enable a relative or medical professional to quickly and accurately ascertain the exact medical history of an individual.
It is a principal object of the invention to provide a device that accurately retains medical information about a particular individual, including medications taken by the individual.
It is another object of the invention to provide a device that dispenses the retained medical information in an efficient and effective manner.
It is a final object of this invention to provide a device the retains and dispenses medical directive information such that an individuals health care wishes and requirements are carried out to the fullest extent possible.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. The features listed herein and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this invention.
Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with the references made to the drawings below. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Instead, emphasis is placed upon clearly illustrating the components of the present invention. Moreover, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts through the several views in the drawings.
On the opposite side of the device, there is a space for writing 32, where users may write down specific information, preferably about their specific medical conditions. Above the space for writing 32 is a cardholder 20. Business cards or other similarly sized objects can be retained by the cardholder 20 for later reference. A compartment between the space for writing 32 and cardholder 20 is accessed by means of opening a zipper 18, where items may be secured therein by closing the zipper 18. Writing utensils, such as pencils, pens, and markers, can be retained by one or more sleeves 34. Three binder rings 22 are included with the device to secure one or more medical display and information boards and/or other items commonly secured by binder rings.
The opposite side of the device includes a secondary pocket 35. Four cardholders 21 are located outside of the pocket 35, wherein business cards, insurance cards, or other similarly sized objects may be stored. A compartment exists between the secondary pocket 35 and the cardholders 21 that is accessed by means of a zipper 19. Six binder rings 22 are included with the device to secure one or more medical display and information boards and/or other items commonly secured by binder rings.
A voice recorder can be included with the current invention that can serve various functions. The user can record a message for him or her to listen to at a later date, which is especially beneficial to those users that have difficulty writing. Others can record messages for the user, which can be particularly beneficial for those that are blind. The voice recorder can be integrated into the device to replace one or more of the cardholders.
An electronic memory card, such as a CD-ROM, flash drive, or similar memory card can be included with the device and preferably stored in one of the cardholders or removably integrated into the device instead of one of the cardholders. The electronic memory card enables the quick and efficient transfer of information concerning the user. The user or caregiver of a user can store important information on the electronic memory card that would be beneficial for a medical professional to have when treating the user. For example, the user's entire medical chart could be included on the electronic memory card such that if the user required medical attention at a remote facility, that facility could quickly and efficiently retrieve all of the user's relevant medical information. The electronic data can be formatted in a variety of ways, either open source or proprietary.
In practice, a user will pull out the clear cover 45 in place a pill in each of the pill compartments 42. Then, the clear cover 45 is pushed back into place over the pills. The clear cover is preferably transparent, so as to allow for easy viewing of the pills contained within the pill containers 42 without removing the clear cover 45.
The device may be designed in various shapes and sizes without departing from the scope of the current invention. In fact, larger or smaller sizes of the device are preferable depending on the specific needs of the user. For example, a user with few medications and medical conditions that travels significantly may require a smaller sized device with a single board. On the other hand, a user with many medications and complex medical conditions may require a larger sized device with multiple boards.
It should be understood that while the preferred embodiments of the invention are described in some detail herein, the present disclosure is made by way of example only and that variations and changes thereto are possible without departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the following claims, and a reasonable equivalency thereof, which claims I regard as my invention.
All of the material in this patent document is subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in official governmental records but, otherwise, all other copyright rights whatsoever are reserved.
This application is a non-provisional application of U.S. Provisional Pat. App. No. 61/237,251 filed on Aug. 26, 2009, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. This invention was not federally sponsored.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61237251 | Aug 2009 | US |
