Abstract:
Systems and methods provide a data viewer for hierarchical XML data storage of medical records for a medical practice group on transportable media. The data viewer creates a snap shot in time of a medical practice group&#39;s medical records and provides a user interface with a cross-referenced, indexed display of the medical records. The data viewer stores the data in an XML format, and then uses the XML format to provide an easy to use user interface, which is viewable on a variety of display devices using a web browser. In addition, the data viewer permits the user to access multiple patients&#39; records rather than a single record. Furthermore, the data viewer can cause the data stored on the transportable medium to expire after a period of time. The data viewer provides physicians with a unique static database of medical records, which can be used for migration to a dynamic medical record database system.

Description:
[0001]     The present application claims priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/753,369, titled “DATA VIEWER”, filed on Dec. 22, 2005, which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention relates to data storage and viewing, and more particularly, to the hierarchical XML data storage of medical records on transportable media.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Many medical practices, such as individual physicians or medical practice groups, subscribe to providers of medical practice management systems to help manage the financial, clinical, and operational elements of successfully running a medical practice. The physicians access their patients&#39; medical records electronically through a dynamic network interface managed by the practice management provider. Through this interface, the physicians can update their patients&#39; medical records. Further, the patients&#39; electronic medical records reside in a data storage device managed by the practice management provider.  
         [0006]     When a practice terminates the subscription with the medical practice management provider, or when the medical practice management provider terminates the subscription with the practice for reasons such as, breach of payment, for example, the physician is no longer provided with the provider&#39;s medical practice management system. However, government regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, require that the physicians have access to their patients&#39; medical records.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     In an embodiment, a medical practice is provided with a data viewer comprising a static database of patient medical records associated with the practice. A medical practice can be associated with a sole medical practitioner, multiple medical practitioners, or a medical practice group comprising a group of medical practitioners. A medical practitioner can be a doctor, physician, dentist, nurse, surgeon, and the like. The data viewer provides for hierarchical XML data storage of medical records for the medical practice on transportable media. The data viewer creates a snap shot in time of the medical practice&#39;s medical records and provides a user interface with a cross-referenced, indexed display of the medical records. The data viewer stores the data in an XML format. When a user opens a patient record for viewing, the data viewer derives from the stored XML format file a new HTML document, which is displayed for the user. The document is viewable on a variety of display devices, such as, for example, computer monitors, computer displays, cell phones, personal digital assistants, IPODs, and the like, using a web browser.  
         [0008]     In an embodiment, the data viewer permits the user to access multiple patients&#39; records rather than a single record. In another embodiment, the data viewer causes the data stored on the transportable medium to expire after a period of time. In yet another embodiment, the static database of medical records can be used for migration to a dynamic medical record database system.  
         [0009]     In an embodiment, a data viewer comprises a plurality of electronic patient medical records associated with a medical practice, wherein the electronic patient medical records are stored in a first format, and wherein the plurality of electronic patient medical records comprise at least two medical records from two different patients; a transform program to transform the plurality of electronic patient medical records associated with the medical practice from the first format into a second format, wherein the second format is a hierarchical XML format; and a portable storage medium configured to store the plurality of electronic patient medical records in the second format.  
         [0010]     In another embodiment, a method of viewing medical records associated with a medical practice comprises transforming a plurality of electronic patient medical records associated with a medical practice from a first format into a second format, wherein the second format is a hierarchical XML format, and wherein the plurality of patient medical records comprise patient medical records from at least two different patients; and storing the plurality of electronic patient medical records in the second format on a portable storage medium.  
         [0011]     In a further embodiment, a computer program resides on computer readable media and is invocable on a computer system. The computer program comprises computer code configured to transform a plurality of electronic patient medical records associated with a medical practice from a first format into a second format, wherein the second format is a hierarchical XML format, and wherein the plurality of electronic patient medical records comprise patient medical records from at least two different patients; and computer code configured to store the plurality of electronic patient medical records in the second format on a portable storage medium.  
         [0012]     For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     A general architecture that implements the various features of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a dynamic medical practice management system, according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2A  is a block diagram illustrating a medical records viewing system or data viewer, according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2B  is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a data viewer configuration.  
         [0017]      FIG. 2C  is a block diagram illustrating another embodiment of a data viewer configuration.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2D  is a block diagram illustrating another embodiment of a data viewer configuration.  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram that depicts one embodiment of data viewer operations.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates one embodiment of a charts folder.  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  illustrates one embodiment of a chart associated with a patient.  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying problems associated with the patient.  
         [0023]      FIG. 7  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying medications associated with the patient.  
         [0024]      FIG. 8  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying allergies associated with the patient.  
         [0025]      FIG. 9  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying messages associated with the patient.  
         [0026]      FIG. 10  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying an example of a message.  
         [0027]      FIG. 11  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying appointments associated with the patient.  
         [0028]      FIG. 12  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying insurance authorizations associated with the patient.  
         [0029]      FIG. 13  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying demographics associated with the patient.  
         [0030]      FIG. 14  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying referring providers associated with the patient.  
         [0031]      FIG. 15  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying insurance information associated with the patient.  
         [0032]      FIG. 16  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying guarantor information associated with the patient.  
         [0033]      FIG. 17  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying recalls associated with the patient.  
         [0034]      FIG. 18  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying a listing of links to medical chart documents associated with the patient.  
         [0035]      FIG. 19  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying unallocated amounts associated with the patient.  
         [0036]      FIG. 20  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying a ledger associated with the patient.  
         [0037]      FIG. 21  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying balances due associated with the patient.  
         [0038]      FIG. 22  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying billing notes associated with the patient.  
         [0039]      FIG. 23  illustrates one embodiment of a data viewer screen for displaying flowsheets associated with the patient.  
         [0040]      FIG. 24  illustrates one embodiment of a help screen used by the data viewer.  
         [0041]      FIG. 25  is a flow diagram illustrating user operations of the data viewer, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0042]      FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of a medical practice management system  100  comprising at least one database  102 , at least one application server  108 , and at least one database server  110 . The application server  108  is configured to communicate with at least one database server  110  and the database server  110  is configured to communicate with at least one database  102 . Each database  102  comprises patient medical records associated with the patients of a medical practice  104 . The medical practice  104  comprises at least one medical practitioner computer  106 , associated with at least one medical practitioner, such as a physician, doctor, dentist, nurse, and the like. The user computer  106  is configured to communicate with the application server  108  through a communications medium  112 , such as the Internet.  
         [0043]     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the user computers  106  associated with the medical practice  104  communicate with their corresponding application server  108  and the database server  110  communicates with its corresponding database  102 . In other embodiments, the application server  108  can be configured to host multiple medical practices  104  and the database server  110  can be configured to host multiple databases  102 .  
         [0044]     In an embodiment, the medical practice  104  subscribes to the medical record service provided by the medical practice management system  100 . The medical practitioners using their corresponding computer  106  access their patients&#39; medical records in their corresponding database  102 . The medical practitioner can review and update the patients&#39; medical records by reading from and writing to the database  102  associated with the medical practice  104  in the medical practice management system  100  through the servers  108 ,  110 .  
         [0045]     In the event that the medical practice  104  discontinues the medical record service provided by the medical practice management system  100 , government regulations, in one embodiment, require the medical practice management service  100  to provide the physicians associated with the medical practice  104  with their patients&#39; medical records. In the event that the physician leaves the subscribing medical practice  104 , in another embodiment, government regulations require that the medical practice management service  100  provide the departing physician with the medical records of his patients. In yet another embodiment, physicians or medical practices  104  request from the medical practice management system  100  a backup of their patients&#39; medical records.  
         [0046]      FIG. 2A  illustrates a medical records viewing system or data viewer  200  that comprises a static database of patient medical records originally stored in database  102 . In an embodiment, the data viewer  200  provides a back up of patients&#39; medical records for the medical practice  104 . In another embodiment, the medical practice management service  100  provides a medical practice  104  that is no longer subscribing to the service  100  with the data viewer  200  to satisfy government regulations. The data viewer  200  permits a user to locate and display patients&#39; medical records stored in medical records database  202 . In an embodiment, the medical practice  104  migrates their patient records from a first medical practice management service to a second medical practice management service using the data viewer  200 .  
         [0047]     The data viewer  200  comprises a medical practice database  202  and a data viewer program  206 .  FIGS. 2B, 2C ,  2 D illustrate various embodiments of a data viewer configuration for use by the medical practitioners in the medical practice  104 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2B , the data viewer  200  is stored on a portable medium and communicates with a user computer  106  through a port. In an embodiment, the portable medium comprises a hard disc drive. In another embodiment, the portable medium comprises a USB (Universal Serial Bus) drive and the port comprises a USB port. In yet another embodiment, the portable medium comprises a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc/Digital Video Disc) drive and the port comprises a DVD port. In other embodiments, the portable medium comprises one or more floppy discs, memory sticks, flash memory cards, magnetic tape, CD&#39;s, optical discs, zip drives, or the like.  
         [0048]     In another embodiment, the medical practice database  202  and the data viewer program  206  are posted or attached to a server on a Local Area Network (LAN). In  FIG. 2C , the medical practice  104  comprises a server  208  and a local area network (LAN)  212 . The server  208  comprises the data viewer  200  and each user computer  106  accesses the data viewer  200  on the server  208  through the LAN  212 .  
         [0049]     In yet another embodiment, the medical practice database  202  and the data viewer program  206  are posted or attached to a public Internet Uniform Resource Locator (URL). In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2D , the server  208  comprising the data viewer  200  is located at a data center  210 . The medical practitioners using the user computers  106  access the data viewer  200  through the communication medium  112  via the public URL. In another embodiment, the medical practitioners access the data viewer  200  through the communication medium  112  via the public URL using any computer.  
         [0050]     The medical practice database  202  comprises patient medical records or patient chart information associated with the medical practice  104  at a selected time. For example, in an embodiment where the medical practice  104  discontinues the dynamic medical practice management system  100  or requests a backup of its medical records database  102 , the data in the database  102  is exported to the portable medium and stored in the database  202 . The database  202  comprises the patient medical records or chart information in the database  102  at the time the data is exported. Thus, database  202  comprises a “snap shot in time” of the patient medical records stored in database  102 .  
         [0051]     The data viewer program  206  comprises program logic stored on the portable medium along with the medical records database  202 . In one embodiment, the program logic may advantageously be implemented as one or more modules. The modules may advantageously be configured to execute on one or more processors. The modules may comprise, but are not limited to, any of the following: software or hardware components such as software object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes methods, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, or variables.  
         [0052]     In an embodiment, for example, the medical practice management system  100  targets the medical practice  104  to receive the data viewer  200 .  FIG. 3  is a flow diagram that depicts one embodiment of a data viewer process  300 . In block  310 , the process  300  identifies the medical practice database  102  in the dynamic medical practice management system  100  associated with targeted medical practice  104 .  
         [0053]     In block  312 , the process  300  retrieves the patient identifying data for each patient in the identified medical database  102 . Examples of patient identifying data include, but are not limited to patient name, social security number, insurance number, address, and the like.  
         [0054]     In block  314 , the process  300  creates and stores a master patient XML index file comprising the patient identifying data for each patient. In an embodiment, the master patient XML index file comprises a listing of the patient identifying data in an XML (extensible markup language) file format. The process  300  stores the master patient XML index file on the portable media.  
         [0055]     In block  316 , the process  300  retrieves the patient data from the patient medical record database  102  for a patient listed in the master patient XML index file. In an embodiment, the patient data comprises patient chart information, such as, for example, facesheets, chart documents, account activity, flowsheets, and the like. Facesheets comprise patient medical data associated with the patient such as, for example, medical problems, medications, allergies, messages, appointments, insurance, authorizations, demographics, referring provider, insurance information, guarantor information, recalls, and the like. Chart documents comprise categorized documents associated with and attached to the patient chart. Account activity comprises account information associated with the patient&#39;s account with the medical practice, such as, for example, charges, payment, balance due, and the like. Flowsheets comprise charts of patient data in digital format acquired through clinical measures, and the like.  
         [0056]     In block  318 , the process  300  creates a unique XML file for the patient. Each XML file contains patient chart information and a path to each of the patient chart documents associated with the patient.  
         [0057]     In block  320 , the process  300  determines whether the patient data from the master patient XML index file has been retrieved. If the patient data has not been retrieved from the master patient XML index file, the process  300  selects the next patient in block  322 . Blocks  316 - 322  are repeated until the patient data from the patients in the master patient XML file has been retrieved from the medical database  102  and stored in the medical database  202  as an XML file. In an embodiment, the patient data is stored in the medical database  202  as an XML file with paths to at least one chart document.  
         [0058]     Since each practice  104  has a different set of patient data, each data viewer implementation is unique to a specific medical practice  104 . In an embodiment, the data viewer  200  comprises a self-contained directory. In an embodiment, the directory structure comprises the viewer directory comprising the data viewer program  206  and the charts subdirectory comprising files, such as XML files, corresponding to each patient.  
         [0059]     In an embodiment, the charts subdirectory further comprises a bin directory comprising programs, stored procedures, and the like, used to view the data. In an embodiment, the bin directory comprises Internet Explorer files used to transform the XML files into an HTML (Hypertext markup language) webpage. In another embodiment, the bin directory comprises stored procedures comprising Transact Structured Query Language (T-SQL) statements.  
         [0060]     In an embodiment, the charts directory further comprises a data directory comprising the specific patient data, such as, for example, problems, medications, account activity, and the like, that is accessed when a user views the patient medical records. In an embodiment, the data files are stored in a hierarchical format. In another embodiment, the data files are stored in a hierarchical XML file format.  
         [0061]     In an embodiment, the charts directory further comprises a help directory comprising files and folders associated with the data viewer program help system.  
         [0062]     Once the user installs the data viewer  200  on the user computer system, the user can access and review the patient medical records in the medical database  202  using Windows Explorer and a web browser on the user computer, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the user computer comprises the web browser, Windows Explorer, to permit the user to access the content of the data viewer  200 . In an embodiment, the data viewer  200  provides read-only access to copies of patient medical records.  
         [0063]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , in block  324 , the process  300  determines whether a user is accessing a patient file. If no accesses are occurring, the process  300  waits in block  324 .  
         [0064]     To access patient files using the data viewer  200 , in an embodiment, the user opens Windows Explorer on the user computer and selects the data viewer charts folder.  FIG. 4  illustrates one embodiment of a charts folder  400  used by the data viewer  200 . The charts folder displays the chart name for each patient in the database  202 . The chart name comprises data that identifies the patient. In an embodiment, the chart name comprises at least one of the patient&#39;s last name, first name, middle name, birth date, social security number, sex, account number, or the like.  
         [0065]     When a user selects a chart name, the data viewer  200  displays a chart associated with the selected chart name.  FIG. 5  illustrates one embodiment of a patient chart  500 , which is described further below. Each section of the chart  500  comprises a list of patient records that the user can view. Once the user selects a patient record to view, the process  300  moves to block  326 .  
         [0066]     In block  326 , the data viewer  200  creates a read-only HTML file of the selected document. In an embodiment, the data viewer  200  creates a new XML document, such as the HTML document, which is derived from the content of the XML document stored in the database  202 . In another embodiment, the data viewer  200  transforms the XML document stored in the database  202  to create the HTML document.  
         [0067]     In block  328 , the data viewer  200  displays the HTML file of the selected document in the browser window. In an embodiment, Internet Explorer opens the application, executes the instructions to create the HTML document, and displays the HTML document in its browser for the user.  
         [0068]      FIGS. 5-24  illustrate examples of screen shots that the data viewer  200  displays to a user accessing patient medical records. Referring to  FIG. 5 , the patient chart  500  comprises a facesheet section, a chart document section, an account activity section, and a flowsheets section, according to an embodiment of the invention. Each section comprises a subsection list of patient medical records. In an embodiment, the subsection lists can vary for each patient to reflect the information available for the particular patient. Examples of the categories in the subsection list for the facesheet section comprise problems, medications, allergies, messages, appointments, demographics, referring provider, insurance, guarantor, recalls, and the like.  
         [0069]      FIG. 6  illustrates one embodiment of a problems screen  600  used by the data viewer  200  for problems associated with the patient. In an embodiment, the problems screen  600  comprises, for example, a list of problems associated with the patient, and the diagnosis code (ICD-9), the recorded onset date, the problem status (active or inactive), the date corresponding to the last change in status, and the like, associated with each problem.  
         [0070]      FIG. 7  illustrates one embodiment of a medications screen  700  used by the data viewer  200  for medications associated with the patient. The medications screen  700  comprises, for example, a list of medication the patient uses, and the directions for the use of the medications, the date the medication was prescribed, the end date, the date of the last refill, and the like, associated with each medication.  
         [0071]      FIG. 8  illustrates one embodiment of an allergies screen  800  used by the data viewer  200  for allergies associated with the patient. The allergies screen  800  comprises, for example, a list of any medications, foods, and the like, that cause allergic reactions in the patient, and a description of the reaction, the onset date of the reaction, and the like, for each allergy.  
         [0072]      FIG. 9  illustrates one embodiment of a messages screen  900  used by the data viewer  200  for messages associated with the patient. The messages screen  900  comprises, for example, the type of message, and the date the message was sent, the status (resolved or unresolved), to whom the message was assigned if there was an action item associated with the message, the name of the person who took the message, and the like, for each message. Types of messages include, but are not limited to a pharmacy message, a chart note, a message from the patient, and the like.  
         [0073]      FIG. 10  illustrates one embodiment of a messages screen  1000  displaying an example of a message. The messages screen  1000  in the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 10  displays an example of a pharmacy message.  
         [0074]      FIG. 11  illustrates one embodiment of an appointments screen  1100  used by the data viewer  200  for past and future appointments associated with the patient. The appointments screen  1100  comprises the date, the reason for the appointment that was given when the appointment was scheduled, the result, such as, for example, completed, confirmed, or no show, the provider scheduled for the appointment, and the like.  
         [0075]      FIG. 12  illustrates one embodiment of an insurance authorizations screen  1200  used by the data viewer  200  for insurance authorizations associated with the patient. The insurance authorizations screen  1200  comprises a list of insurance authorizations associated with the patient, and the date of the authorization, any comments, and the like for each authorization.  
         [0076]      FIG. 13  illustrates one embodiment of a demographics screen  1300  used by the data viewer  200  for demographics associated with the patient. The demographics screen  1300  is separated into a personal information section, a contact information section, and an alert section. The personal information section comprises, for example, first name, middle name, last name, sex, date of birth, social security number, age, account number, referring physician, provider, marital status, employment status, race, a case type, such as private, workers compensation, personal injury, auto accident, and the like. The contact information comprises address, phone number, employer, work phone, and the like. The alerts section comprises any patient alerts on the account, and the like.  
         [0077]      FIG. 14  illustrates one embodiment of a referring provider screen  1400  used by the data viewer  206  for identifying referring providers associated with the patient. The referring provider screen  1400  comprises, for example, the name and contact information of the patient&#39;s referring provider.  
         [0078]      FIG. 15  illustrates one embodiment of an insurance information screen  1500  used by the data viewer  200  for insurance information associated with the patient. The insurance information screen  1500  comprises a list of the patient&#39;s insurance policies, and the name of the insurance carrier, the financial class and contract, contact information, deductible amount, co-pay amount, the percentage for which the insured is responsible, name and relationship of the insured party, insurance identification, group number, plan number, policy effective dates, and the like, for each insurance policy. In an embodiment, the insurance screen  1500  shows all insurance information ever associated with this patient.  
         [0079]      FIG. 16  illustrates one embodiment of a guarantor information screen  1600  used by the data viewer  206  for guarantor information associated with the patient. The guarantor information screen  1600  comprises, for example, information about the guarantor, the relationship of the guarantor to the patient, and the like.  
         [0080]      FIG. 17  illustrates one embodiment of a recalls screen  1700  used by the data viewer  206  which lists reminders of an appointment that may have been scheduled long ago, such as an annual examination, for example, notices of a provider&#39;s request for a follow-up appointment, a reminder to schedule an appointment, such as a mammogram, for example, and the like, associated with the patient. The recalls screen  1700  comprises the office service code and service name associated with the recall, the date the recall was sent, the recall status (outstanding, scheduled, etc), and the like.  
         [0081]     As mentioned above, the patient chart  500  comprises the chart document section, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . Examples of the chart document subsection list, include, but are not limited to insurance documents, laboratory reports, office encounter documents, orders, and patient documents associated with the patient.  
         [0082]      FIG. 18  illustrates one embodiment of a chart documents screen  1800  used by the data viewer  200  for the chart documents associated with and attached to the chart  500 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 18 , the patient has insurance documents, laboratory reports, and office encounter documents. The list of documents changes according to the documents attached to the chart  500 . In an embodiment, the chart documents screen  1800  comprises the document type, which describes the document with a link to an HTML display of the actual document, and the date the document was created, comments about the history of actions performed relating to the document, such as, for example, the name of the person who routed the document, who reviewed the document, who signed off the document, the data and time the action occurred, and any additional comments entered at the time of the action, and the like, for each document.  
         [0083]     The chart documents screen can comprise links to one or more documents in one or more categories. Documents belonging to a particular category are grouped together under a category heading. Examples of chart document categories and possible chart document types within the categories are listed below.  
                                   Chart Document Categories   Chart Document Types                   Billing documents   Claim Form; EOB (Explanation Of Benefit); Insurance           Authorization; Insurance Card; Insurance Payment or Check;           Insurance Waiver Form; Other Insurance           Document; Super Bill       Cardiology Reports   Angiogram; Coumadin Adjustment Report;           Echocardiogram; EKG; Event Monitor Report; Holter           Monitor Report; Other Cardiology Document; Stress           Test       Consultations   Consultation       Disability Documents   Disability Document       Emergency Room Reports   Emergency Room Report       Home Health Documents   Home Health Care Order; Home Health Care Plan;           Home Health Medical Record Document       Hospital Reports   Consultation; Discharge Summary; Hospital Face-           sheet; Hospital History and Physical; Operating           Report; Other Hospital Document       Insurance Documents   Claim Form; EOB (Explanation Of Benefit); Insurance Authorization;           Insurance Card; Insurance Payment or           Check; Insurance Verification Form; Insurance           Waiver Form; Other Insurance Document; Super Bill       Laboratory Reports   Clinical Lab Report; Pathology/Biopsy Report       Legal Documents   Durable Power of Attorney; Legal Document;           Malpractice Arbitration Form; Medical Record           Release Request; Organ Donor       Office Encounter   Blood sugar/Medication Report; Encounter;       Documents   Encounter Note; History and Physical Examination;           Orders (Lab, X-ray, etc.); Prescription; Progress Note       Orders   Lab Order       Others   Document Not Requiring Sign-off; Other Document           Requiring Sign-off; Physical Therapy/Occupational           Therapy; Speech Therapy       Patient Documents   Correspondence From Patient; Immunization Record; Patient History           Sheet and Authorization; Patient           Registration Form; Previous Medical Record       Pharmacy Documents   Pharmacy Callback       Procedures   Lower GI Endoscopy; Peak Flow Meter; Pulmonary Function Test;           Sigmoidoscopy; UGI Endoscopy       Radiology Reports   CAT Scan; Mammogram; MRI; Nuclear Medicine;           Other Radiology Document; Ultrasound; X-ray                  
 
         [0084]     The user opens the attached document by selecting the hyperlink associated with the selected document. Examples of the file formats for attached documents include, but are not limited to ACSII text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), tag image file format (.tif), TX Words format (.txw), Windows sound file (.wav), Joint Photographics Experts Group image file (jpeg, .jpg), and the like.  
         [0085]     As mentioned above, the patient chart  500  comprises the account activity section, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . Examples of the account activity subsection list include, but are not limited to unallocated amounts, ledger, balance due, and billing notes, and the like, associated with the patient.  
         [0086]      FIG. 19  illustrates one embodiment of an unallocated amounts screen  1900  used by the data viewer  200  for unallocated amounts and account details associated with the patient. In an embodiment, the unallocated amounts screen  1900  comprises a voucher date, payment type, status (paid, etc.), remaining balance, references, batch date, created date, the name of the person who created the record, and the like.  
         [0087]      FIG. 20  illustrates one embodiment of a ledger screen  2000  used by the data viewer  200  comprising a list of the fee tickets associated with the patient. In an embodiment, the ledger screen  2000  further comprises service date, provider, referring provider, office location, charges, payments, adjustments, balances, and the like, associated with each fee ticket.  
         [0088]      FIG. 21  illustrates one embodiment of a balance due screen  2100  used by the data viewer  200  for balances due associated with the patient. The balance due screen  2100 , in an embodiment, shows the aging of the balances due grouped by patient responsibility, insurance responsibility, and the like.  
         [0089]      FIG. 22  illustrates one embodiment of a billing notes screen  2200  used by the data viewer  200  for billing notes associated with the patient. The billing notes screen  2200 , in an embodiment, comprises the notes related to billings grouped by collections, billing, miscellaneous, and the like.  
         [0090]     As mentioned above, the patient chart  500  comprises the flowsheets section. Referring to  FIG. 5 , the flowsheets subsection list for the chart  500  comprises vital statistics, lab results, immunizations, and the like associated with the patient. Flowsheets are charting tools for reviewing collected patient data in digital format through clinical measures. The flowsheets section can comprise any captured data associated with the patient. The flowsheet list varies for each chart depending on the information available for the specific chart.  FIG. 23  illustrates one embodiment of a vital statistics screen  2300  used by the data viewer  200 . In an embodiment, the data viewer  200  displays flowsheets in a Microsoft Excel viewer application.  
         [0091]     In addition to comprising the facesheet section, the chart documents section, the account activity section and the flowsheets section, the chart  500  comprises a help icon. Selecting help opens the default web browser on the user computer and displays navigation buttons, a navigation pane, and a topic pane.  FIG. 24  illustrates one embodiment of a help screen  2400  used by the data viewer  200 . The help screen  2400  comprises, in an embodiment, a contents selection, an index selection, a search selection, a navigation pane and a topic pane. In an embodiment, the contents selection comprises a hierarchical list of the help categories and topics. The index selection comprises an alphabetical list of keywords and the search selection comprises a list of the words in the topics, according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0092]      FIG. 25  is a flow diagram  2500  illustrating one embodiment of user operations of the data viewer  200 . In block  2510 , the user opens the charts folder  400  and in block  2512 , the user selects a patient chart from the chart  500  for viewing. In an embodiment, the data viewer  200  creates new HTML files derived from the XML versions of the documents stored in the database  202  and associated with the selected patient chart.  
         [0093]     The user has the option of opening a document from the facesheet section in block  2514 , the chart documents section in block  2516 , the account activity section in block  2518 , the flowsheets section in block  2520 , the help section in block  2522 , or print in block  2534 . In an embodiment, the user can print at least a portion or the entire patient medical record in block  2534 .  
         [0094]     If the user selects help in block  2522 , the user follows the help screen  2400  as described above.  
         [0095]     Once the user selects a document to open from blocks  2514 ,  2516 ,  2518 ,  2520 , the process  2500  moves to block  2524 .  
         [0096]     In block  2524 , the data viewer  200  displays the selected HTML document according to an embodiment. In another embodiment, in block  2524 , the data viewer  200  creates a new HTML file derived from the XML version of the selected document stored in the database  202 . The user views the HTML version of the document on the display using the web browser associated with the user computer. In an embodiment, the user computer comprises a computer, a personal digital assistant, a blackberry, a cell phone, or the like. The web browser, in an embodiment, comprises any software application that enables the user to display text, images, and other information, such as, for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Netscape, Opera, and the like.  
         [0097]     If applicable, the user can open an attached document associated with the user&#39;s selection in block  2526 .  
         [0098]     The user can print at least a portion or the entire selected document or attachment in block  2528 , and in block  2528  the user closes the selected document and/or the attachment.  
         [0099]     The user can return to blocks  2514 ,  2516 ,  2518 ,  2520  to select another document associated with the patient. The user can return to block  2534  to print all or apportion of the patient&#39;s medical record stored in the database  202 . Further, the user can return to block  2512  to select another patient chart  500  from the chart folder  400 , or the user can exit the data viewer  200  in block  2532 .  
         [0100]     While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.