Abstract:
A device to help minimize medical recovery time and to help prevent medical errors in the form of a garment that is more comfortable for a patient to wear and that provides information, such as medical information, that saves the care giver time and that can help prevent medical errors. Such information can include allergies, medical conditions, blood type, identification of scheduled procedures, name, emergency contact numbers and other medical information. Privacy flaps can be provided to cover such information when it is not being used by the caregiver. The garment securely fastens in both the front and back to prevent accidental exposure, including accidental exposure through gaping material between fasteners. Additionally, pockets are provided at approximately hip level to allow the wearer to comfortably place their hands in their pockets if they want their hands to be warmer.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to devices to help minimize medical recovery time, especially devices to help prevent medical errors at the point of service in hospitals, emergency rooms, rehabilitation facilities, and/or nursing homes. 
         [0002]    Medical errors are a source of added expense to a nations overall health care costs. Unfortunately, many instances of easily preventable medical errors have been a source of very disturbing news at various times over the last several years. Reducing the number of medical errors should decrease the number of preventable deaths, result in a better quality of life for the patient, and decrease the cost of medical care. 
         [0003]    Additionally, medical care can be somewhat rushed because of the emergency nature of some situations and staffing issues in others. It is believed that many hospitals are working with less than optimal nurse staffing, which may often result in short cuts being taken. Saving the nursing staff from having to waste additional time looking up medical information by making it readily available at the point of care can save precious time and also help contribute to the prevention of medical errors. Likewise, saving time in emergency situations by having medical information at the point of service can save the time normally needed to test for information, such as blood type, which both saves time and prevents medical errors. In some cases, the time savings alone may mean the difference between life and death or aiding in creating a better outcome across a range of possible outcomes in a given situation. 
         [0004]    Furthermore, patient recovery time can vary according to a number of factors. Some evidence suggests that the spirits of the patient may be one of those factors and many hospitals now allow family and loved ones to spend time with a patient beyond what were traditional visiting hours in the hopes that it would aid in a patients recovery. As many people have experienced, a patient&#39;s spirit may be reduced because of some of the factors within a hospital, including being uncomfortable. One unnecessary cause that may make some patients uncomfortable can be the knowledge of the possibility of embarrassment caused by a typical hospital gown that does not provide adequate coverage or that causes people to become exposed too easily by the gaping of material between fasteners. 
         [0005]    Therefore, a need exists for an improved system and method to help prevent medical errors by providing commonly needed medical information specific to the patient at the point where care is being provided to such patient. A need further exists for an improved system and method to help prevent medical errors by providing commonly needed medical information that would save the care giver the time needed to look up such information. A further need exists for an improved system and method to help prevent medical errors by providing commonly needed medical information. A further need exists for a patient gown that provides adequate coverage and that closes securely, while still being easily opened, but that does not lend itself to the patient becoming accidentally exposed. A further need exists for a patient gown that is comfortable for the patient to use. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0006]    In one form, the system and method to help prevent medical errors by providing commonly needed medical information provides such information on the hospital garment. 
         [0007]    An object of the disclosed invention is the provision of new and improved system and method to help prevent medical errors by providing commonly needed medical information that is provided at the point of medical service by being placed at strategic points on the hospital garment. 
     
    
     
         [0008]    Further objects and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification and wherein: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a front plan view of a form of the invention in the form of a hospital garment; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a partial cutaway of the front plan view of the hospital garment of  FIG. 1  with the upper right hand pocket removed to show an opening for heart monitor cords or other things; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a back plan view of the hospital garment of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
       [0012]    It should be noted that the terms patient garment, patient gown, and hospital gown mean the same thing as used throughout this application as they are really one and the same thing. A hospital gown can be utilized in places that are not hospitals, such as doctor&#39;s offices and nursing homes. 
         [0013]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , there is shown one form of a system to help prevent medical errors in the form of hospital gown  10 . In one form, hospital gown  10  can be constructed somewhat similarly to a standard hospital gown. Hospital gown  10  can include a body portion  11  made out of a suitable washable cloth material. Body portion  11  can terminate in neck opening  12  at the top, leg opening  14  at the bottom, and sleeves  20  and  22  on opposite sides of body portion  11 . Sleeves  20  and  22  preferably include arm openings  16  and  18  at their ends opposite body portion  11 . Hospital gown  10  can have a front  24  and a back  26 . 
         [0014]    In one form, hospital gown  10  has a body opening  28  in the back  26  that can be opened and closed to allow hospital gown  10  to be easily put on and removed. Hospital gown  10  can also have a body opening  30  in the front  24  that can be opened and closed to allow hospital gown  10  to be easily put on and removed. Such body opening  30  in front  24  can be in addition to, or instead of, body opening  28  in the back  26 . Body openings  28  and  30  also provide the caregiver with any needed access to perform their duties such as listening to the wearer&#39;s heart or lungs. 
         [0015]    One or more fasteners  32  or  34  can be provided to fasten body openings  28  or  30  in the closed position. In one form, fasteners  32  or  34  can be a single string that is tied together. In another form, fasteners  32  or  34  can be one or more snaps or buttons that can fasten the gown closed. In yet another form, fasteners  32  or  34  can include one or more hook and loop fastener devices, such as VELCRO, that can be used to close gown  10 . In the form depicted, a single hook and loop fastener  32  can be used to form a re-sealable seam to securely fasten the front body opening  30 , for example where the single hook and loop fastener  32  runs along the length of gown  10  from a point proximate to neck opening  12  to an area proximate to leg opening  14 . This form of fastener  32  running all, or most, of the length of gown  10  can aid the wearer&#39;s spirits by providing them the confidence of knowing that their gown  10  provides adequate coverage and is unlikely to cause an accidental exposure. 
         [0016]    Also in the form depicted, multiple hook and loop fasteners  34  can be used to close gown  10 . Here, the multiple hook and loop fasteners  34  can be placed along the length of gown  10  from a point proximate to neck opening  12  to an area proximate to leg opening  14 . In one form, critical portions of gown  10  at opening  28  can be cut to overlap each other by an amount sufficient to prevent accidental exposure due to the gaping of material between adjacent fasteners  34 . In one form, the overlap can be from 4-12 inches of material that is overlapped. 
         [0017]    Similar to more typical hospital gown, additional fasteners  36  and  38  can be provided along the length of sleeves  20  and  22  between the neck opening  12  and arm openings  16  and  18  to close sleeves  16  and  18  while allowing them to be opened when required. In a preferred form. fasteners  36  and  38  can be hook and loop type fasteners. Such fasteners are typically easier to close than the more typical snaps used in many such gowns because they do not need to be as precisely aligned as the snaps require. 
         [0018]    In one form, opening  40  is provided on front  24  of gown  10  in an area that is preferably proximate to the heart of the wearer of gown  10 . In a preferred form, opening  40  can be in the form of the depicted slit, which is preferably covered by the outer material  42  that forms chest pocket  50  in a somewhat typical manner. An additional piece of outer material  44  can also be sewn or otherwise securely attached to gown  10  to form an additional chest pocket  52 . In a preferred form, one or more pieces of outer material, such as  46  and  48 , are securely sewn or otherwise attached to gown to form pockets, such as hip pockets  54  and  56 , that are closer to the wearer&#39;s hands and more easily reached by the wearer when their arms are down in a normal at rest position. Having pockets much lower on the gown makes it more comfortable because it is more convenient for the wearer to place and retrieve items and also gives them a place to warm their hands if their hands feel a bit chilly. In one form, a second opening is provided on front  24  of gown  10  in an area that is preferably covered by one of the pieces of outer material  46  and  48  that forms hip pockets  54  and  56 . 
         [0019]    In a preferred form, gown  10  can be personalized with preselected information concerning the intended wearer that can be very useful to the care giver, especially information (including medical information) that can help prevent medical errors. Such information can include a person&#39;s name  58 , blood type  60 , allergies or the absence of any allergies  62 , medical conditions or the lack of any medical conditions  64 , emergency contact information in case something happens to the patient  66 . Additional information could be provided concerning particular procedures that are scheduled, such as identification of a limb to be amputated, identification of a specific artery to be un-blocked, or other information identifying the particulars of a scheduled surgery or other procedure. 
         [0020]    In one form, such information can be provided on the front  24  of gown  10  by permanently providing the information on gown  10 . In one form, such information can be embroidered on gown  10 , such as on one or more of the pieces of material  42 ,  44 ,  46  and  48  that can form pockets  50 ,  52 ,  54 , and  56 . If the wearer does not own gown  10 , pockets material  42 ,  44 ,  46  and  48  can be re-moveably attached to the gown, such as by using a hook and look type fastener. However, if the wearer owns gown  10 , such material forming pockets can be securely sewn on and then replaced if the information changes. 
         [0021]    Some people may be concerned about keeping their information, including medical information, more private. In such instance, the information can remain covered until needed by a care giver. For example, a privacy screen, in the form of additional material can be provided to cover up such information until needed. Such privacy screen  70  can be re-moveably secured to gown  10  over information  58 - 64  using a hook and loop type fastener along the privacy flaps entire perimeter, or at portions along such perimeter, so that they can be easily removed and/or replaced by the caregiver. Alternatively, such privacy screen can be in the form of a privacy flap  70 , which can be securely sewn to gown  10 , for example, along its top portion  72  closest to neck  12  such that gravity causes the rest of the privacy flap to hang down and cover such medical information. This allows the caregiver to easily move the privacy flap  70  upward in order to view the information underneath. In a preferred form, privacy shield is made from a similar material as the rest of gown  10  and makes the information underneath unreadable or difficult to read at a particular distance. 
         [0022]    While gown  10  has been described above as being made from a cloth material, an alternative would be for patient gown  10  to be made out of a disposable material similar to a paper towel, such as a disposable cellulose based material. Such gowns could be of particular use for providing information, including medical information, for a given surgery or other procedures. A marker could even be used to write on the patient gown  10  to identify a particular limb that required amputation or another body part that surgery was going to be performed in order to prevent medical errors. For example, if the patient&#39;s right arm needed to be amputated the corresponding right arm  20  of gown  10  could contain information identifying the right arm was to be amputated. Additionally, the left arm  22  of gown  10  might include information indentifying the right arm (or at least not the left arm) was to be amputated. In such case, right arm  20  might have written on it “Amputate this arm” and left arm  22  might have written on it “NOT THIS ONE, THE OTHER ONE”. Alternatively, such information could be provided by the removal of the right arm  20  of gown  10  while keeping left arm  22  intact. 
         [0023]    While the present invention has been illustrated and described herein assembled to form a patient gown, it should be apparent from the foregoing that other clothing may be assembled containing similar medical information, for example, pajamas, a nightgown, a bathrobe and other clothing.