Patent EA-001861-B1 (EA)
Title: Computerized medical diagnostic and treatment advice system including network access
Inventor: ILIFF EDWIN C
IPC: G06F19/00
Filed: 1997-07-11
Abstract: 1. A medical diagnostic and treatment advice system for providing information to a patient, comprising: (a) a computing environment; (b) an input device, connected to the computing environment, to receive information from the patient; (c) an output device, connected to the computing environment, to provide information to the patient; and (d) a plurality of medical complaint algorithms selectively executed based on at least a portion of the received information, wherein any one of the medical complaint algorithms scores at least a portion of the received information and diagnoses a medical condition associated with the executed medical complaint algorithm if the score reaches or passes a threshold, wherein the diagnosed medical condition is communicated via the output device. 2. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the medical condition comprises a disease. 3. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the selectively executed medical complaint algorithm is selected from among a group of algorithms, the algorithms specific to medical conditions including headache, convulsion and seizure, chest pain, heatstroke, altered level of consciousness, tremor, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, fainting, shortness of breath, chest injury, depression, head injury, cough, croup, high blood pressure, hyperventilation, numbness, wheezing, inhalation injury and strokes. 4. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the medical complaint algorithm for headache includes the following medical conditions: migraine, meningitis, brain tumor and subarachnoid hemorrhage. 5. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the selectively executed medical complaint algorithm is based on received information classified as and selected from among a group consisting of anatomic system, cause, alphabetic grouping, catalog number and international classification of disease (ICD). 6. The medical advice system defined in Claim 5, wherein the anatomic system is selected from among a group consisting of cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, digestive, ear/nose/throat, ophthalmology, gynecology/obstetrics, urology, blood/hematology, skin, musculoskeletal and endocrine. 7. The medical advice system defined in Claim 5, wherein the cause is selected from among a group consisting of trauma, infection, allergy/immune, poisoning, environmental, vascular, mental, genetic, endocrine/metabolic/nutritional and tumor. 8. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the input device comprises a pointing/writing device and a keyboard. 9. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the output device comprises a printer or a facsimile device. 10. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the input device comprises a dual tone multiple frequency (DTMF) signal processing system. 11. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the input device comprises an automatic speech recognition system. 12. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the output device comprises a visual display and a speech playback system. 13. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the computing environment comprises a computer. 14. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the computing environment comprises a plurality of computers in a client/server relationship. 15. The medical advice system defined in Claim 14, wherein telephonic signals are sent by the server and received by the client. 16. The medical advice system defined in Claim 17, wherein the client comprises a user access processor. 17. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, wherein the computing environment includes a computer network. 18. The medical advice system defined in Claim 1, additionally comprising a medical history for the patient stored in the computer environment, wherein the medical complaint algorithms use the medical history to diagnose the medical condition. 19. The medical advice system defined in Claim 18, wherein the computing environment includes a client computer and a server computer, and the medical history is stored on the server computer. 20. The medical advice system defined in Claim 18, wherein the computing environment includes a client computer and a server computer, and the medical history is stored on the client computer. 21. An automated medical diagnostic system, comprising: a communications network; a server connected to the network; a client connected to the network; and a plurality of medical complaint algorithms selectively executed, on the server or client computer, based on at least a portion of the received information, wherein any one of the medical complaint algorithms scores at least a portion of the received information and diagnoses a medical condition associated with the executed medical complaint algorithm if the score reaches or passes a threshold, wherein the diagnosed medical condition is communicated via an output device connected to the client. 22. The medical diagnostic system defined in Claim 21, wherein the communications network comprises the Internet or a telephone network, wherein telephonic signals are sent by the server and received by the client. 23. The medical diagnostic system defined in Claim 21, wherein the client comprises a user access processor. 24. The medical diagnostic system defined in Claim 23, wherein the user access processor utilizes a browser or a script engine. 25. The medical diagnostic system defined in Claim 21, additionally comprising a patient medical history accessed by the medical complaint algorithms. 26. The medical diagnostic system defined in Claim 21, additionally comprising a treatment table accessed by the medical complaint algorithms. 27. A computerized method of medical diagnosis comprising functioning a plurality of medical complaint algorithms selectively executed, on the server or client computer, based on at least a portion of the received information, wherein any one of the medical complaint algorithms scores at least a portion of the received information and diagnoses a medical condition associated with the executed medical complaint algorithm if the score reaches or passes a threshold, wherein the diagnosed medical condition is communicated via an output device connected to the client. 28. The method defined in Claim 27, wherein each of the plurality of medical complaint algorithms is associated with one or more medical conditions. 29. The method defined in Claim 27, wherein the diagnosed medical condition is communicated to a patient and/or to a physician. 30. The method defined in Claim 29, wherein the score associated with the diagnosed medical condition is communicated to the physician. 31. The method defined in Claim 27, wherein each complaint algorithm comprises a diagnostic script executed by a script engine. 32. The method defined in Claim 27, wherein a plurality of diagnosed medical conditions are accumulated into a differential diagnosis list. 33. The method defined in Claim 32, wherein the differential diagnosis list is ordered based on degree of certainty. 34. The method defined in Claim 27, wherein the threshold is modifiable by one or more sensitivity factors. 35. A method of providing information to any one of a plurality of patients for use in a medical diagnostic and advice system comprising an algorithm processor executing in a computer, the method comprising: performing an evaluation process by the algorithm processor, wherein the evaluation process comprises a plurality of medical complaint algorithms; selectively executing at least one of the medical complaint algorithms; accessing a patient medical history during the evaluation process, wherein the patient medical history comprises a plurality of files, each patient associated with at least one unique file, wherein the patient medical history is persistently stored; determining medical advice particular to a medical condition associated with at least one of the medical complaint algorithms through communication between the computer and a selected one of the patients and with information stored in the patient medical history; and providing the medical advice to the selected patient. 36. The method defined in Claim 35, additionally comprising generating a diagnosis during the selective execution of one of the medical complaint algorithms. 37. The method defined in Claim 36, additionally comprising: storing a treatment table in the computer; accessing the treatment table based on the diagnosis so as to select a treatment ; and communicating the selected treatment to the patient. 38. The method defined in Claim 37, additionally comprising protecting a medical history of the patient against unauthorized access. 39. In an automated medical advice system including a computer, and input and output devices, a method of re-entering a diagnosis of a patient's medical problem, comprising: performing an initial diagnostic consultation with the patient, thereby collecting patient information; identifying a situation wherein the patient is to consult the system again where in an indicator associated with programmed re-enter criteria is set in the computer; automatically instructing the patient to consult the system at a predetermined time in the future based upon the identified situation; performing one or more additional diagnostic consultations with the patient, the rebycollecting and storing additional patient information, wherein the execution pat h of the additional diagnostic consultation is responsive to the stored patient information and the indicator of satisfied re-enter criteria; and formulating a diagnosis from the collected patient information during one of the diagnostic consultations. 40. In an automated medical advice system including a computer, and input and output devices, a method of re-entering a diagnosis of a patient's medical problem, comprising: performing an initial diagnostic consultation with the patient, thereby c