Patent ID: 7277903
Filing Date: 2007-10-02
Classification: G16H,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method for distributed data archiving, comprising the steps of: accessing patient medical data from at least one external source; segmenting the patient medical data into a plurality of information groups with each information group corresponding to information about a particular patient; providing a data archiving system comprised of a plurality of archival storage media; storing each information group onto an archival storage media, said information groups being stored on said archival storage media with each information group having an identification, the identification being unique from all other information groups stored within said archival storage media and all other archival storage media, enabling said information groups to be independently accessed, within or without the data archiving system in which the information groups were created, and each information group being stored entirely only on one of said plurality of archival storage media by the following steps: encoding a unique identifier on said one of said plurality of archival storage media to uniquely identify the storage medium from all other storage media, said encoding step including recording an index file having at least an identifier, a data program, and a self-contained database file for each of said information groups on said one of said plurality of archival storage media, wherein the database file recorded on the archival storage media contains information describing clinical procedures of the patient medical data stored on the archival storage media, and wherein the database file is implemented by Digital Image Communications for Medicine; and independently accessing said one of said plurality of archival storage media at a site other than said data archiving system by reading said index file.