Healthcare organization central record and record identifier management system

Abstract

A system (100) for providing multiple facility healthcare corporations the ability to assign and maintain shared medical record numbers (43) across multiple entities. The system establishes a parent / child relationship among the entities to share medical record number ranges, formats, and data. A patient record identifier database (102) contains patient records in a searchable unit record file (50) and an identification number file (3). A search processor (105) locates relevant records and a rules processor (104) applies various tests to the returned data in order to assign a medical record number (43, 13) to a single unique unit reference number (2, 5, 11) to a person without duplication or conflict with identifiers used at other entities (4, 9, 190). The reference numbers and their associated medical records are shared among the various entities. The sharing relationships may be altered by authorized users accessing on line file maintenance (312) and programs (311).

Description

[0001] This is a divisional application of non-provisional application Ser. No. 10 / 281,602 filed Oct. 28, 2002 of provisional application Ser. No. 60 / 364,539 by D. M. Thomas et al. filed Mar. 16, 2002.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to a record keeping and database organization system, and more specifically to a system that permits multiple facility healthcare corporations to assign and maintain shared medical record numbers across multiple entities. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The healthcare industry has traditionally suffered from information fragmentation. Frequently, multiple medical record numbers are assigned to a patient who is cared for by each of several facilities within a multiple facility hospital organization, creating high volumes of duplicate medical record numbers and causing other waste of, e.g. prelabeled folders. Maintaining decentralized or multiple Medical Records Departments within a multientity organization causes addition...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] The present invention assigns shared medical record numbers across multiple entities. This allows hospitals to assign the same medical record number for a patient throughout their organization, thereby eliminating multiple medical record numbers from being assigned to a patient who is cared for by several different facilities. The present invention reduces the number of duplicate medical record numbers across entities within a multiple facility organization, eliminates the need to maintain multiple Medical Records Departments within a multiple facility organization and improves the accuracy of the medical record number assignment process. A material cost savings will also be realized as duplicate physical record volumes decline.

[0010] The present invention simplifies the workflow of hospital personnel by consolidating their work environment. This results in greater accuracy of patient medical information and the possible reduction of staffing costs. The present invention allows data that is associated with one medical record number per patient to be stored in one location, regardless of the number of remote locations the patient has visited within the multiple entity organization. The existence of only one medical record per patient minimizes the need to reconcile duplicate patient records and the need to maintain multiple records is avoided. This invention can be used by hospitals, long term care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, outpatient clinics and physician offices that assign and maintain patient health record numbers.

Problems solved by technology

The healthcare industry has traditionally suffered from information fragmentation.

Frequently, multiple medical record numbers are assigned to a patient who is cared for by each of several facilities within a multiple facility hospital organization, creating high volumes of duplicate medical record numbers and causing other waste of, e.g. prelabeled folders.

Maintaining decentralized or multiple Medical Records Departments within a multientity organization causes additional overhead costs.

This practice results in multiple medical record numbers being assigned to a patient who is cared for by several facilities, inevitably causing confusion regarding a patient's medical record data.

The workflow of hospital personnel is often less accurate due to the multiple locations of patient medical record information.

Impaired access to complete patient information hinders a physician's ability to properly treat the patient.

Reliance on a computer database to retrieve inherently fragmented data creates additional problems.

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