The present application relates to ongoing health care for patients with chronic illnesses or long term medical conditions. More specifically, the present application is directed to a secure, personalized platform service that connects patients that may not be technologically savvy and their care team. This enables healthcare organizations to effectively and efficiently empower and assist their patients in managing their health and lifestyle despite the sometimes daunting prospect of dealing with modern technology.
Patients who have healthcare issues often have lifestyle issues which complicate the medical issues. For example, diabetes can be aggravated by diet, lack of exercise, obesity, and the like. One system for helping these patients to manage their disease, adjust their lifestyle, and the like, provides each patient with personalized programming. The patient is provided with a care plan that manifests itself in a series of educational or motivational programs directed to their specific healthcare issues. For example, the patient might be provided with educational and motivational programming at the same time each day to assist the patient in establishing and maintaining a diet and exercise regimen. The programming is provided on disc, from a programming memory, or from a central source, such as the hospital or medical care facility that has prescribed the programming and travels over a public communications network to the patient's home. There, a set top box decodes the signals intended for the specific patient and displays them on the patient's television, and the patient can interact with the programming using their TV or set top box remote. The set top box provides for user feedback, such as weigh-ins, blood pressure readings, and the like, to be communicated from the patient to the healthcare facility.
Although such systems are successful, one drawback is that this type of care plan distribution is often intended for elderly patients, who are not always well versed in navigating electronic media. Memory loss is also often an additional roadblock in providing care to elderly patients. Technologically complex systems can confuse and frustrate such patients. There is a danger that patients of this kind will miss vital portions of their individualized care plan not because of apathy or stubbornness, but due to difficulties of navigating technology that with which they are not familiar.
The present application provides a new and improved apparatus and method of content presentation which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.
In accordance with one aspect, a medical health care network is provided. At least one server contacts at least one user interface device periodically. The server houses a care plan that includes a series of content elements to be presented over time for a patient. An itinerary arrangement processor extracts information regarding the patient's health care from the care plan and selects content elements to be displayed for the patient in a daily viewing session and arranges the content elements into a serially ordered itinerary for presentation to the patient. This order is defined by a care plan designer at the time of care plan creation. The care plan designer will be given the flexibility to order the content by type (e.g., all messages first, then all videos, etc.) or by topic (e.g., a “Nutrition” message, video, and survey first, followed by an “Exercise” message, video, and quiz set).
A display device displays the content elements to the patient. An interface device causes the display to display the content elements selected by the itinerary arrangement processor. A user input device enables a patient to commence a first and each subsequent content element.
In accordance with another aspect, a method of presenting health care information to a patient is provided. A care plan is generated that includes a series of content elements to be presented over time for the patient. A viewing session's worth of content elements are extracted from the care plan to be displayed to the patient. The viewing session's content may be introduced by a video character, which greets the patient in both audio and video and tells the patient exactly what content elements the patient will experience that day. The narration character may also reappear periodically throughout the viewing session's structured encounter. After the initial greeting, the viewing session's content elements are arranged into a serially ordered itinerary. After the patient logs on to a secure health care information network, the itinerary is presented to the patient. The patient is then prompted to commence the viewing session's itinerary, possibly by a friendly video character guide. After the patient selects a commencement action, a first of the content elements is displayed to the patient. After the first content element is complete, the patient is prompted to continue with the next content element. The steps of displaying and prompting the patient to continue with subsequent content elements are repeated until all content elements have been displayed to the patient and completed by the patient as required.
In accordance with another aspect, a content server that connects to a public network is presented. The server includes a look up table or memory that contains care plan content elements for a plurality of care plans for a plurality of patients. The server also includes an itinerary arrangement processor that queries the look up table or memory to select a series of content elements to be presented to each patient in a next daily session in a preselected order such that the order that the patient is shown a serial presentation of content elements is not alterable by the patient.
One advantage is that a guided encounter is easier to use. For some patients, this determines the effectiveness of their care experience. For still other patients, it will make the difference between being able or not being able to use the system.
Another advantage resides in patients missing less content e.g., the information they need to care for themselves, or the information they need to provide in order to enable the clinical team to properly care for them.
Another advantage is the care experience can be tailored along two dimensions: the amount of flexibility in choosing a path through the application, and the amount of interaction required of the patient.
Another advantage resides in an increased amount of flexibility. The experience can be tailored to the mental acuity of the patient, such that patients with greater cognitive skills and experience with computers can be given more flexibility in determining their own path through the application for their daily experience, while patients with lower cognitive skills will be given less flexibility by the care team to select their path through their daily experience.
Another advantage resides in the flexibility of the amount of required interaction. The care giver may determine the level of feedback from the patients. For instance, the care giver may determine that complaint patients do not need to “drive” the interaction forward by pushing buttons. Alternatively, the nurse may determine that the patient would benefit more from contributing to the experience, and may require other certain patients to move the experience forward by selecting options on the input device.
Another advantage is that it makes working with technology less daunting.
Another advantage is that the patient will feel “successful” in caring for themselves, that this is something that they can do, which will encourage them to be more compliant with their care plan.
Still further advantages of the present invention will be appreciated to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understand the following detailed description.
The invention may take form in various components and arrangements of components, and in various steps and arrangements of steps. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.
With reference to
The healthcare network 10 includes a plurality of individual user interface devices 12, such as a set top box, processor, or other such interface device, which is associated with a display 14, such as a user's television set, monitor, or other display device. The patient logs onto the network 10 by using the interface device 12. The interface 12 may be a separate set top box, or may be integrated into the display 14 itself. The interface device 12 also interacts with an input device 16, such as a handheld remote, touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, or other similar device, through which the patient can enter information, such as passwords, responses to questionnaires, health related readings such as weight or blood pressure, and the like. The input device 16 includes at least one key 18, but in another embodiment includes a plurality of keys. The input device 16 is preferred to have large keys with distinct markings such as color, shape, and/or labeling that clearly delineate the intended use or functionality.
The interface devices 12 connect or interface with a public network 20, such as an interactive cable TV network, the internet, or the like. Although acting over a public or private network 20, the user interface device 12 communicates over a secure layer of that network 20 to protect sensitive information of the patient. Through the public network 20, the interface device 12 communicates with various servers such as a local server 22. The server 22 includes a look-up-table or database 24 of patient care plans. This database 24 houses the care plans that have been synthesized for all the patients in the network 10 for which this particular server 22 is responsible. A care plan is preferably synthesized by a nurse manager or other health care professional based on the patient's medical history. To create a care plan, the health care professional reviews the patient's medical history, and inputs information to a generic care plan template. The system also includes a content management system 25 for uploading, versioning, and pre-viewing content for the health care professional. The content management system 25 also includes a facility to experience what the patient would actually see before actually deploying the media content to the patients.
The health care professional inputs the information to the template via a user interface 26 with the server 22. The templates act as road maps to direct the health care professional in developing the care plan, ensuring that all appropriate questions are addressed. In addition to the template, the health care professional can add features to the care plan based on physician's notes, personality traits of the patient, etc. to further tailor each care plan to an individual patient. To this end, the patient's clinician has a means to see the patient's daily list of media elements to be complete. The clinician also sees when each media item was started, stopped, and status (unopened, in progress, complete, etc.) All of these factors can be used by the health care professional in initially designing the patient's care plan, or modifying the care plan after the commencement of the care plan.
Based on the care plan template, the server 22 compiles a care plan for the patient. The server 22 selects the specific content elements (videos, surveys, still pictures, audio files, requests for patient input, etc.) that will be a part of the patient's care plan. The server 22 also decides in what general order the content should be presented to the patient. It is to be understood, however, that ultimately the care plan designer has the option to order the content differently, based on type of content, topic, and other factors. The care plan designer has the ability to edit media files or the logic branching between files to improve the narrated experience that accompanies the care plan elements on the patient's user interface device 12. The server 22 is in periodic communication with the set top box 12 of a particular patient. On an ongoing basis, the server 22 receives information and feedback about the patient's progression through the prescribed material, and selects new content elements for presentation to the patient as they become appropriate. For example, a diabetic will receive general and overview information about diabetes at first, and as the patient progresses through that material, the server 22 will select more detailed and specific content more directed to the particular patient based both on the care plan template and progress and understanding of the patient.
With reference to
Once the content elements have been arranged into a guided encounter for the patient, the interface device 12 is prepared to present the guided encounter to the user. When the patient powers up the user interface device 12, they come to a welcome screen such as the one depicted in
After the patient has entered their code correctly, the user interface device 12 displays a patient personalized welcome screen as shown in
Once the patient begins the guided encounter, an overview of the first content element is given as shown in
The user interface device 12 checks to see if there are additional content elements left for display in the guided encounter (step 50). If there are, then the user interface device returns to step 40 and prompts the user to indicate when they are ready to start the next content element, such as by pressing any key. Returning to step 44, one typical content element that can be provided to the patient is a survey or questionnaire. Continuing with the example started above, next, the patient is asked to take a survey, such as the one depicted in
If there are no content elements left, then the user interface device 12 displays an end dialog screen in step 56 that congratulates the patient on a successful completion of today's guided encounter.
As an additional content element, the user can provide the system with feedback on their own personal goals concerning what they would like to accomplish, as depicted in
In the end, it is preferred that the patient can navigate from start to finish of the guided encounter only needing a single button, or possibly few buttons for surveys or queries, on the remote 16. This ensures simplicity for the patient, and helps make sure that the patient does not miss any content elements along the way. Barring any unusual happenings, the guided encounter is preferably performed in the above-described manner. The patient might voluntarily terminate the session early, such as after failing the quiz, or may terminate for reasons out of the patient's control. For instance, perhaps the patient's power goes out, or the patient's dog chews on the power cord, or the patient prematurely powers off the user interface device 12. In one exemplary embodiment, the system records the experiences a patient has completed and not completed in a viewing session encounter. If the patient does not complete a session, the next time the patient logs in, a reminder is given of the completed material and material that is still to be completed. Portions of the encounter that are time sensitive in nature, or would be burdensome if they build up can be delete by the system. The timing of the care plan deliveries can be adjusted such that delivery of the uncompleted element(s) is rescheduled for delay sequentially in upcoming sessions. In another embodiment, the next time the patient logs on to the network 10, the guided encounter will be started from the beginning. In another embodiment, the encounter will start from the beginning of the content element that was interrupted or at the beginning of the next element if the interrupted element was substantially completed. In yet another embodiment, the patient will be given the option of selecting a starting point anywhere in the guided encounter where the content elements have already been started. It is also contemplated that there may be points within the content elements that prompt the patient to press a button on the remote 16 in order to continue, to ensure that the patient is still being attentive. Other situations that may arise and interrupt the guided encounter are possible, and similarly, ways to restore the encounter as seamlessly as possible are also desired. In the end, the patient should receive a linear presentation of several content elements with no more effort than using a single button on the remote 16. In another embodiment, the remote may be as simple as an enter button and up and down keys to step to different quiz answers.
The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. Modifications and alterations may occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be constructed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/865,036 filed Nov. 9, 2006 which is incorporated herein by reference.
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PCT/US2007/083077 | 10/31/2007 | WO | 00 | 4/24/2009 |
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WO2008/060853 | 5/22/2008 | WO | A |
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