66 results about "Chronic condition" patented technology

Systems and methods for blocking nerve impulses use an implanted electrode located on or around a nerve. A specific waveform is used that causes the nerve membrane to become incapable of transmitting an action potential. The membrane is only affected underneath the electrode, and the effect is immediately and completely reversible. The waveform has a low amplitude and can be charge balanced, with a high likelihood of being safe to the nerve for chronic conditions. It is possible to selectively block larger (motor) nerve fibers within a mixed nerve, while allowing sensory information to travel through unaffected nerve fibers.

Methods and systems for enabling and supporting patient compliance with a health treatment program or with health-related instructions from a caregiver are described. An interactive feedback loop is implemented that enhances and improves on present methods of monitoring and supporting patient compliance with treatment programs, particularly for patients with chronic conditions. A patient enters various types of data (e.g., biometric readings, diary entries, responses to surveys and health assessments, etc.) to a health data management system that includes a patient compliance monitoring system. The patient is encouraged to enter as much data as is practical and as frequently as possible. The feedback loop of the present invention provides compliance messages to the patient in a timely manner that are responsive to the data entered by the patient. The messages are customized, supportive, and timely. The system can also implement a reward scheme in which patients who go beyond their prescribed treatment program or consistently stay within a compliance range obtain direct financial benefits or rewards. The system also allows patients to sends feedback on the messages he or she receives from the system. This feedback can be used to measure the effectiveness of a treatment program or of the monitoring system itself. Healthcare professionals play an active role in tailoring and “signing off” the compliance-related messages that the patient receives.

A comprehensive patient data assessment system and method for use in generating, tracking and analyzing medical data related to healthcare administered by a group of physicians to a specified patient population. The system is operative to track data related to the claims history, case management, pharmacy data, and lab tests / results for each patient treated by each patient's primary care physician preferably through electronic medical records that are accessible over a computer network. The system is operative to generate data indicative of the utilization of healthcare resources utilized to treat each patient within the patient population, as well as ensure that each primary care physician utilizes appropriate codes for each diagnosis and procedure / test administered to each patient. The system further provides for categorization of patients afflicted with chronic conditions that require high-cost care. The systems are exceptionally effective in conserving medical resources, ensuring uniformity in administering healthcare, and achieving optimal patient outcomes.

Methods and materials, including novel compositions, dosage forms and methods of administration, useful for treating arthritic conditions, inflammation associated with a chronic condition, and / or chronic pain, including pain from arthritis and inflammation, using opioid antagonists, including combinations of opioid antagonists and opioid agonists. Methods and materials comprising opioid antagonists or combinations opioid antagonists and agonists may optionally include one or more additional therapeutic agents.

A system to help patients manage their healthcare using a comprehensive package of healthcare reminders administered by remote computing and wireless communications devices. Healthy lifestyle, preventive care, chronic condition maintenance care, medication compliance and custom reminders are set according to a schedule and delivered via email, SMS text message, IVR phone message, live voice phone or other communications methods. Participants respond to reminders with their actual progress toward achieving the goal or with data concerning their condition which is recorded and reported. Tools allow users to schedule healthcare provider appointments and receive related reminders and follow-ups, refill prescriptions and generate a variety of reports to track their own progress and condition and which can be shared with a physician. Participating physicians have direct access to patient records to monitor progress and compliance in real time and to communicate with and manage their patients. Integration of personal health records and electronic medical records systems when available permit detailed analysis to identify potential issues and recommend certain reminders to improve the overall quality and integration of care.

Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and apparatus for treating a medical condition in a patient using an implantable medical device (IMD). The IMD is capable of generating a first electrical signal for treating a medical condition, for example epilepsy. The first electrical signal relates to a long term therapy during a first time period in which there is no indication that the patient's brain is in an stable state, the first electrical signal being a microburst stimulation signal. The implantable device is also capable of generating a second electrical signal for treating the medical condition. The second electrical signal relates to a short term therapy during a second time period, in response to an indication that the patient's brain is in an unstable state. The second electrical signal in one example, may be a conventional stimulation signal.

The present invention discloses an apparatus that combines a cellular phone or other wireless device with one or more medical monitoring devices, wherein the two devices share a single housing, power source, display, memory chip and data processor. The apparatus is capable of functioning as a separate medical apparatus and a normal cellular phone and addresses the need for combining multi-function portable medical testing and condition indicator devices into a device that is already carried by the majority of the population. The preferred embodiment of the invention combines a portable device of blood glucose monitoring with a cellular phone and is capable of audibly alerting the user of abnormal test results and storing multiple test results for monitoring and managing chronic conditions. In addition the apparatus is capable of storing and transmitting medical information to healthcare providers or emergency responders if highly abnormal results are obtained.

An inverted sensor module for sensing physical and chemical fluid characteristics in a vessel in a living body. The inverted sensor module includes an inverted sensor bonded to a hollow carrier so that sensing occurs in the lumen of the inverted sensor module. An inverted sensor module comprising one or more inverted sensors is implantable and allows fluid to flow through, thereby allowing for measurements of acute and chronic conditions. The inverted sensor module may be used in series with other inverted sensor modules to assess trends such as pressure gradients along a bloodstream.

Patients with chronic illnesses resist using conventional automated healthcare management systems to supply necessary clinical data because such systems feel impersonal, preferring to actually visit a clinic where the patient interacts with various healthcare practitioners. In this invention, the patient interacts with a clinical management system via a series of initial GUI screens that replicate the experience of actually visiting the clinic. Additional screens allow the patient to submit clinical information, to communicate with that patient's healthcare practitioner and other healthcare practitioners, to access management information that aids the patient in managing that patient's chronic illness, and to access educational information regarding that chronic illness. The clinical management system may be used to manage a plurality of different chronic illnesses while providing a consistent look and feel to the screens. At least one appearance characteristic can be altered to indicate the particular chronic illness to which a screen applies.

A telemedicine system for monitoring chronic conditions such as asthma or diabetes includes an electronic measurement device such as an electronic peak expiratory flow meter or an electronic blood glucose meter, connected to a GPRS cellular telephone. The cellular telephone automatically receives, formats and transmits the data on acquisition by the medical device to a remote server. The server may acknowledge the data and make the data available to a clinician. The server may also analyse the data and provide automatic alerts to the patient and / or clinician in the event of the data causing concern. The formatting and transmission of the data from the telephone to the server occurs in real time as the measurements are taken and is invisible to the patient.

Provided is a connector suitable for securely infixing a catheter, electrode, hollow needle, probe, or other styliform device with its tip stabilized within a nontubular anatomical structure. Secure junctions between fluid lines and / or electrodes and tissue are essential for automatic controls and permanent nephrostomies and suprapubic cystostomies, for example, using synthetic materials. These can be made self-contained and fully implanted to treat one chronic condition, or represent but one module controlled as an axis or channel of control in an adaptive ambulatory hierarchical prosthetic disorder response system used to automatically coordinate the treatment of chronic comorbid disease. Such applications require prosthesis-to-native tissue junctions which are secure, immobile, unsusceptible to leaks or microbial intrusion, and require little if any maintenance. Connection for securely and least disruptively merging catheteric and native lumina is described in nonprovisional application Ser. No. 14 / 121,365, entitled Ductus Side-entry Jackets and Prosthetic Disorder Response Systems, filed on 25 Aug. 2014.

An improved rehabilitation and exercise machine is provided which allows a person with physical limitations, disabilities or chronic conditions to use the machine in order to rehabilitate their muscles, improve joint flexibility, and enhance cardiovascular fitness.

A handheld device used to assist a user in performing daily activities and in being socially active. The device can also be used to assist in monitoring dietary, medication, and supplement intakes, pain and stress levels, vitals, exercise, sleep quality, and other aspects of better living. The device can be personalized to monitor specific diseases or chronic conditions, and can provide access to specific environmental data that can be used to support better living.

An integrated collaborative platform which allows for data sharing, data analysis, knowledge creation and sharing, problem solving, trading, and accelerated scientific discovery by collaborating teams which may be formed on an ad-hoc basis among users of the system is disclosed. The platform is designed to accelerate research and improve clinical care of chronic conditions. It provides a central place to facilitate interactions between the many different groups that participate in these activities. The central features of the system can be tailored to best suit each chronic condition.

Methods and platforms for enhancing collaboration and communication between a patient and his healthcare team are described. A personal health record is created for a patient and maintained by a service provider. The health record is updated with self-monitored or remote device readings. These readings are sent, in a secure format that insures patient privacy, to the service provider and inserted into a health record via a computer connected to the Internet or via a telephone line without the use of a computer, i.e., by directly connecting an intermediate device to a phone outlet. Other health and wellness data may be written to the health record via a computer or via conventional means. By enhancing collaboration between patients and their healthcare teams, patients are more likely to improve their health conditions, particularly chronic conditions, and reduce healthcare costs.

A retinal implant device to stimulate a retina of an eye thereby producing a specific effect in an eye, such as vision or drug treatment of a chronic condition is described. The retinal device is made of a retinal implant that is positioned subretinally and that contains a multitude of stimulation sites that are in contact with the retina. A connection carries the stimulating electrical signal or drug. The connection passes transretinally through the retina and into the vitreous cavity of the eye, thereby minimizing damage to the nutrient-rich choroid. The lead is attached to a source of drugs or electrical energy, which is located outside the eye. The lead passes through the sclera at a point near the front of the eye to avoid damage to the retina.

A healthcare risk index is generated using a patient or individual's pharmacy claims. The index may be used to explain and predict variation in pharmacy-related costs and variation in total healthcare costs or utilization. In particular, the index is generated by first examining the individual's pharmacy claims to identify any chronic conditions possessed by the individual. Similarly, the individual's pharmacy claims are examined to identify any compliance medications prescribed to the individual. The chronic condition information is used to generate a chronic condition score by summing regression coefficients for each chronic condition possessed by the individual. Likewise, the compliance medication information is used to generate a compliance medication score by summing products of regression coefficients for each compliance medication prescribed to the individual with associated medication supply weights. From there, a modified chronic condition score is generated by multiplying the chronic condition score by an overall chronic condition regression coefficient. The modified chronic condition score may then be further modified by subtracting a no-claims weight from the chronic condition score in cases where the individual has no pharmacy claims. Finally, the risk index may be determined by summing the modified chronic condition score and the compliance medication score.

Methods of health care administration operative to render high quality of health care are disclosed. A patient population is first identified and then information regarding each individual patient within the population is obtained, preferably in an electronic medical record format. Health care is thereafter provided to the patient within the patient population for both acute and chronic conditions according to a health care office scheduling procedure. Preventative health care and care for the treatment of chronic disorders are continuously rendered according to clinically appropriate standards. Extensive patient outreach services are provided to insure appropriate health care is rendered according to all applicable clinically appropriate standards.

The recent explosion in the number of consumer devices able to read and transmit remote patient health data has provided a technical foundation for health care providers to cost effectively monitor chronically ill patients when they are not at the providers places of practice. In an embodiment of the invention, an invitation from a health care provider to share patient created health data is offered to a patient who may accept or reject said invitation. Furthermore, at any time subsequent to the acceptance of said invitation by said patient, either party may elect to revoke its agreement to share data established through said invitation offer and acceptance process. Using the invention, patients and providers may manage permissions to share patient created health data to meet their privacy and business needs and systems that facilitate communications of patient created health data can use these permissions to meet the needs of users.

Methods of health care administration operative to render high quality of health care are disclosed. A patient population is first identified and then information regarding each individual patient within the population is obtained, preferably in an electronic medical record format. Health care is thereafter provided to the patient within the patient population for both acute and chronic conditions according to a health care office scheduling procedure. Preventative health care and care for the treatment of chronic disorders are continuously rendered according to clinically appropriate standards. Extensive patient outreach services are provided to insure appropriate health care is rendered according to all applicable clinically appropriate standards.

An improved rehabilitation and exercise machine is provided which allows a person with physical limitations, disabilities or chronic conditions to use the machine in order to rehabilitate their muscles, improve joint flexibility, and enhance cardiovascular fitness.

A comprehensive patient data assessment system and method for use in generating, tracking and analyzing medical data related to healthcare administered by a group of physicians to a specified patient population. The system is operative to track data related to the claims history, case management, pharmacy data, and lab tests / results for each patient treated by each patient's primary care physician preferably through electronic medical records that are accessible over a computer network. The system is operative to generate data indicative of the utilization of healthcare resources utilized to treat each patient within the patient population, as well as ensure that each primary care physician utilizes appropriate codes for each diagnosis and procedure / test administered to each patient. The system further provides for categorization of patients afflicted with chronic conditions that require high-cost care. The systems are exceptionally effective in conserving medical resources, ensuring uniformity in administering healthcare, and achieving optimal patient outcomes.

An improved rehabilitation and exercise machine is provided which allows a person with physical limitations, disabilities or chronic conditions to use the machine in order to rehabilitate their muscles, improve joint flexibility, and enhance cardiovascular fitness.

A naturally occurring or recombinant protein, especially a mutein of porcine urate oxidase (uricase), that is essentially free of large aggregates can be rendered substantially non-immunogenic by conjugation with a sufficiently small number of strands of polymer such that the bioactivity of the protein is essentially retained in the conjugate. Such conjugates are unusually well suited for treatment of chronic conditions because they are less likely to induce the formation of antibodies and / or accelerated clearance than are similar conjugates prepared from protein preparations containing traces of large aggregates.

A healthcare risk index is generated using a patient or individual's pharmacy claims. The index may be used to explain and predict variation in pharmacy-related costs and variation in total healthcare costs or utilization. In particular, the index is generated by first examining the individual's pharmacy claims to identify any chronic conditions possessed by the individual. Similarly, the individual's pharmacy claims are examined to identify any compliance medications prescribed to the individual. The chronic condition information is used to generate a chronic condition score by summing regression coefficients for each chronic condition possessed by the individual. Likewise, the compliance medication information is used to generate a compliance medication score by summing products of regression coefficients for each compliance medication prescribed to the individual with associated medication supply weights. From there, a modified chronic condition score is generated by multiplying the chronic condition score by an overall chronic condition regression coefficient. The modified chronic condition score may then be further modified by subtracting a no-claims weight from the chronic condition score in cases where the individual has no pharmacy claims. Finally, the risk index may be determined by summing the modified chronic condition score and the compliance medication score.

The present invention discloses substantially more efficient and effective methods for delivering healthcare whereby patient care can be coordinated effectively and efficiently through changes in different physical settings and levels of care. Coordinated care helps ensure that patients seeking healthcare, and in particular chronically ill patients, with comorbidities get timely care to avoid unnecessary ER visits and admissions. Through risk and disease stratification, member profiling, inter disciplinary team follow-up and patient education, the methods of the present invention are operative to effectively allocate available resources, formulate and execute individualized care plans and successfully manage high risk members.

An improved rehabilitation and exercise machine is provided which allows a person with physical limitations, disabilities or chronic conditions to use the machine in order to rehabilitate their muscles, improve joint flexibility, and enhance cardiovascular fitness. An embodiment of the device includes a framework, a first and second crank arm, a first and second handle bar, a first and second foot pedal, a motor and pulley assembly, a first and second coupler link, and a motor controller with speed knob.

A method for delivering a therapeutic agent to a subject from a transdermal delivery system is described, where the therapeutic agent (i) has a half-life in the blood when delivered orally of greater than about 48 hours and (ii) is for the treatment of a chronic condition. The transdermal delivery system achieves transdermal delivery of the therapeutic agent at steady state that is bioequivalent to administration of the therapeutic agent orally, wherein bioequivalency is established by (a) a 90% confidence interval of the relative mean Cmax and AUC of the therapeutic agent administered from the transdermal delivery system and via oral delivery between 0.70 and 1.43 or between 0.80 and 1.25, or (b) a 90% confidence interval of the ratios for AUC and Cmax of the therapeutic agent administered from the transdermal delivery system and via oral delivery between 0.70 and 1.43 or between 0.80 and 1.25.

A healthcare delivery system that embodies methods of empowering collaborative multidisciplinary healthcare and the clinics that support them for providing everyday care to patients with chronic conditions, through in part by eliminating the current referral system to multiple specialists and providing collaborative multidisciplinary healthcare.

Patients with chronic illnesses resist using conventional automated healthcare management systems to supply necessary clinical data because such systems feel impersonal, preferring to actually visit a clinic where the patient interacts with various healthcare practitioners. In this invention, the patient interacts with a clinical management system via a series of initial GUI screens that replicate the experience of actually visiting the clinic. Additional screens allow the patient to submit clinical information, to communicate with that patient's healthcare practitioner and other healthcare practitioners, to access management information that aids the patient in managing that patient's chronic illness, and to access educational information regarding that chronic illness. The clinical management system may be used to manage a plurality of different chronic illnesses while providing a consistent look and feel to the screens. At least one appearance characteristic can be altered to indicate the particular chronic illness to which a screen applies.