Patent Description:
The present disclosure relates to systems used by patients to make requests during their stays in healthcare facilities. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods that enhance patient satisfaction and increase caregiver productivity.

Nurse call systems in which patients press a nurse call button on a handheld pillow speaker unit or on a hospital bed are known. In response to placing a nurse call, a caregiver responds to the patient to find out why the patient has placed the nurse call. Once the reason for the nurse call is known, the caregiver can take appropriate action to address the patient's request. Caregivers and patients would appreciate a system that permits patient requests to be made and addressed in a more efficient manner. Patients would also appreciate knowing a status of the requests they've placed with caregivers.

<CIT> describes a request conveyance system including a software solution, or application, that provides a graphical user interface and associated administrative tools, via which administrators or other personnel who may not have technical expertise can design and deploy complex, multi-step clinical request response protocols. Specifically, the request conveyance system may include a data center and end-user devices of various types, such as patient bedside tablets and provider devices. The patient bedside tablets may have software elements that enable patients to convey requests to care providers to the data center and to receive information related to those requests from the data center. The provider devices may have software that enables care providers to communicate with the data center. The data center may have software to manage the communication of patient requests from the patient bedside tablets to the provider devices. For example, a patient bedside tablet may display a "food and drink" button, selection of which brings up a "food and drink" sub-screen at which the patient can choose either a "food" button or a "drinks" button. A request for food made on the patient bedside tablets may be routed by the system to a provider device at a meal kitchen somewhere remote from the patient floor, whereas a request for a drink made on the patient bedside tablets may be routed by the system to a provider device at a nursing aide on the hospital floor because water and juices can be gotten from a pantry on the patient floor.

<CIT> describes a computer-implemented method comprising providing a patient communication device through which a patient communicates a first message from a hospital bed. The first message is received at a central processing server. The first message is processed to identify an urgency level of the message. One or more additional messages are generated based on the first message. The one or more additional messages are transmitted to specific health care provider devices of specific health care providers who are expected to respond to the patient.

According to the present invention, a patient request system includes a tablet computer configured for entry of patient requests, a server, a notification device and locating equipment. The tablet computer is configured to display a first menu that corresponds to basic request categories for a patient in response to selection of a make a request input on a predecessor screen of the tablet computer. The tablet computer is configured to display a second menu that corresponds to specific patient requests that may fall under the basic request category selected by the patient using the first menu. The server is coupled to the tablet computer and is configured to route patient requests from the tablet computer to one or more other computer devices of the system. The notification device is configured to display the patient request from the tablet computer to a caregiver. The locating equipment is operable to determine a location of the tablet computer in a healthcare facility. The first menu is altered based on the location, and if the tablet computer is determined to be located in a maternity ward, then a maternity option is included in the first menu, and if the tablet computer is determined not to be located in the maternity ward, then the maternity option is omitted from the first menu.

In some embodiments, the tablet computer may be configured to display a list of specific patient requests that may be made by the patient and a status of each specific patient request. Optionally, the tablet computer may be configured to display a list of caregivers that may be assigned to the patient. Further optionally, the tablet computer may be configured to display weather information that may be based on a periodically received weather feed.

In some embodiments, the basic categories that may be included in first menu may include one or more of the following options: I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, I feel, help me with, services, room, bring me, or mother/baby. In response to selection of the I'm thirsty option on the first menu, the specific patient requests appearing on the second menu may include one or more of the following options: water, ice, juice, ginger ale, cola, diet cola, clear soda, clear diet soda, nutritional drink, or other drink. In response to selection of the I'm hungry option on the first menu, the specific patient requests appearing on the second menu may include one or more of the following options: crackers, meal, Jell-O, other snack, or popsicle.

In response to selection of the I feel option on the first menu, the specific patient requests appearing on the second menu may include one or more of the following options: sick, pain, hot/cold, cold feet, can't sleep, or other need. In response to selection of the help me with option on the first menu, the specific patient requests appearing on the second menu may include one or more of the following options: get up/move, bandage problem, clothes/gown, blood sugar check, IV hurts, get a bath, bathroom, brush teeth, walk, collect bathroom specimen, or other problem. In response to selection of the services option on the first menu, the specific patient requests appearing on the second menu may include one or more of the following options: translator, chaplain/clergy, case manager/social worker, visitor information, or other service.

In response to selection of the room option on the first menu, the specific patient requests appearing on the second menu may include one or more of the following options: I can't reach, room hot/cold, TV/remote control issue, adjust bed, machine is beeping, noisy, lights on/off, sheet change, spill, or other environmental. In response to selection of the bring me option on the first menu, the specific patient requests appearing on the second menu may include one or more of the following options: pen/paper, ice pack, pillow, blanket, or other need. In response to selection of the mother/baby option on the first menu, the specific patient requests appearing on the second menu may include one or more of the following options: pacifier, baby to/from nursery/bassinet, baby care, swaddling, breastfeeding, breast pump, pad, bottle/formula, diaper, baby wipes, skin time/kangaroo care, baby blanket, other need mother, or other need baby.

The patient request system includes locating equipment that may be operable to determine a location of the tablet computer in a healthcare facility and the first menu is altered based on the location. If the tablet computer is determined to be located in a maternity ward, then a maternity option is included in the first menu, and if the tablet computer is determined not to be located in the maternity ward, then the maternity option is omitted from the first menu.

Optionally, after the patient makes the specific patient request using the tablet computer, the tablet computer may be operable to display a status of the specific patient request while the specific patient request may be pending. Further optionally, the status may include fields that are highlighted to indicate that the specific patient request has been submitted, that the specific patient request has been accepted by a caregiver, and that the specific patient request has been completed.

If desired, the tablet computer may be configured to permit the patient to make specific patient requests by voice. Alternatively or additionally, the tablet computer may be configured to permit the patient to make and receive phone calls and video calls. Further alternatively or additionally, the tablet computer may be configured to display each of the following: visitor hours, parking information, a cafeteria menu, hospital activities, and a TV channel list.

It is also envisaged, but not claimed, that a patient request method may include providing a tablet computer to a patient after configuring the tablet computer for entry of patient requests. The method also include displaying on the tablet computer a first menu that may correspond to basic request categories for a patient in response to selection of a make a request input on a predecessor screen of the tablet computer and receiving a selection on the tablet computer by the patient of one of the basic request categories. Still further, the method may include displaying on the tablet computer a second menu that may correspond to specific patient requests that may fall under the basic request category selected by the patient using the first menu. The method may further include receiving a selection on the tablet computer by the patient of one of the specific patient requests and transmitting the specific patient request selected by the patient to a server that may be configured to receive the specific patient request made by the patient.

The method may further include displaying on the tablet computer a list of specific patient requests made by the patient and a status of each specific patient request. Alternatively or additionally, the method may further include displaying on the tablet computer a list of caregivers assigned to the patient. Further alternatively or additionally, the method may further include displaying on the tablet computer weather information that may be based on a periodically received weather feed.

Optionally, the basic categories that may be included in first menu may include one or more of the following options: I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, I feel, help me with, services, room, bring me, or mother/baby. The method may include, in response to selection of the I'm thirsty option on the first menu, displaying one or more of the following options as the second menu: water, ice, juice, ginger ale, cola, diet cola, clear soda, clear diet soda, nutritional drink, or other drink. The method may include, in response to selection of the I'm hungry option on the first menu, displaying one or more of the following options as the second menu: crackers, meal, Jell-O, other snack, or popsicle.

The method may include, in response to selection of the I feel option on the first menu, displaying one or more of the following options as the second menu: sick, pain, hot/cold, cold feet, can't sleep, or other need. The method may also include, in response to selection of the help me with option on the first menu, displaying one or more of the following options as the second menu: get up/move, bandage problem, clothes/gown, blood sugar check, IV hurts, get a bath, bathroom, brush teeth, walk, collect bathroom specimen, or other problem. The method may further include, in response to selection of the services option on the first menu, displaying one or more of the following options as the second menu: translator, chaplain/clergy, case manager/social worker, visitor information, or other service.

The method may include, in response to selection of the room option on the first menu, displaying one or more of the following options as the second menu: I can't reach, room hot/cold, TV/remote control issue, adjust bed, machine is beeping, noisy, lights on/off, sheet change, spill, or other environmental. The method may also include, in response to selection of the bring me option on the first menu, displaying one or more of the following options as the second menu: pen/paper, ice pack, pillow, blanket, or other need. The method may further include, in response to selection of the mother/baby option on the first menu, displaying one or more of the following options as the second menu: pacifier, baby to/from nursery/bassinet, baby care, swaddling, breastfeeding, breast pump, pad, bottle/formula, diaper, baby wipes, skin time/kangaroo care, baby blanket, other need mother, or other need baby.

If desired, the method may include providing locating equipment that may be operable to determine a location of the tablet computer in a healthcare facility and altering the first menu based on the location. For example, if the tablet computer is determined to be located in a maternity ward, including a maternity option in the first menu may be part of the method, and if the tablet computer is determined not to be located in the maternity ward, then omitting the maternity option the first menu may be part of the method.

The method may include, after the patient makes the specific patient request using the tablet computer, displaying on the tablet computer a status of the specific patient request while the specific patient request is pending. For example, the status may include fields that are highlighted to indicate that the specific patient request has been submitted, that the specific patient request has been accepted by a caregiver, and that the specific patient request has been completed.

Optionally, the method may include receiving at the tablet computer voice input from the patient to make specific patient requests. Alternatively or additionally, the tablet computer may be configured to permit the patient to make and receive phone calls and video calls. Further alternatively or additionally, the method may further include displaying on the tablet computer a third menu including each of the following: visitor hours, parking information, a cafeteria menu, hospital activities, and a TV channel list. If desired, the method may further include displaying on a notification device of at least one caregiver the specific patient request made by the patient.

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures, in which:.

A system <NUM> includes a tablet computer <NUM> coupled to a server <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Tablet computer <NUM> is provided by a healthcare facility to a patient during their stay at the healthcare facility. As discussed in further detail below, tablet computer <NUM> is configured with patient engagement software to permit the patient to make specific requests to caregivers. Server <NUM> manages the routing of patient requests to other computer devices of the system <NUM>. In some embodiments, server <NUM> is a reverse proxy server available from NGINX of San Francisco, California. Although <FIG> shows a single tablet computer <NUM>, system <NUM> includes a multitude of tablet computers <NUM> that are provided to the various patients at the healthcare facility. Thus, the description below of features of one tablet computer <NUM> is applicable to all of the tablet computers <NUM> of system <NUM> unless specifically noted otherwise. Tablet computer <NUM> is sometimes referred to herein as just tablet <NUM>.

Tablet computer <NUM> is coupled to a mobile device management (MDM) system <NUM>. MDM system <NUM> is a locally hosted system used to provide a reference version of the patient engagement software, which in some embodiments is an iOS application, along with configuration information for the operation of tablet computer <NUM> within the healthcare facility. The configuration information includes information pertaining to the server and port associated with the reverse proxy server <NUM> and the identifier of the patient. The identifier of the patient is used by a content management solution (CMS) <NUM> to determine a source of operational configuration for the tablet computer <NUM>. In the illustrative example, the CMS <NUM> is a software solution available from Kentico Software, LLC of Bedford, New Hampshire.

The CMS <NUM> operates to organize content on a patient-by-patient basis, including a HIPAA disclaimer presented to the patient at first login, visiting hours, dining menus, TV channel listings, educational content via Health Wise <NUM>. HealthWise <NUM> is a cloud-based health content and education provider of text and video materials. During the course of care and treatment, patients have access to a library of material from Health Wise 20to help the patient understand what to expect as part of the patient's care and recovery.

Tablet computer <NUM> is also coupled to MixPanel <NUM> which is a business analytics company located in San Francisco, California. MixPanel operates a cloud-based user behavior analysis application used to measure the value of features included within the patient engagement software of tablet computers <NUM>. Data collected by MixPanel <NUM> is used to help develop plans to improve the usability of the patient engagement software. Tablet computer <NUM> is further in communication with Weather API <NUM> which is a cloud-based source of weather information including local temperature and conditions.

Tablet computer <NUM> is configured to receive Apple Push Notifications (APNS) <NUM>. APNS <NUM> deliver asynchronous events to the patient engagement software of tablet computer <NUM>. In some embodiments, APNS <NUM> are used to wake the patient engagement software as part of the initiation of voice communications over a SIP call server <NUM> which provides secure voice communications between a caregiver and a patient. System <NUM> includes various Service Fabric software modules available from Microsoft Azure of Seattle, Washington. For example, a push Service Fabric micro service module <NUM> is used to initiate APNS requests to tablet computer <NUM> and a VoIP Service Fabric micro service module <NUM> is used to allocate/deallocate SIP endpoints used by the patient engagement software of tablet computer <NUM>. Module <NUM> is engaged by a VoIP call server to send APNS notifications to tablet computer <NUM> as part of the establishment of a voice call.

A user management Service Fabric micro service module <NUM> is coupled to server <NUM> and is used to establish a client session and gather initial data pertinent to an authenticated user. Internally, module <NUM> processes a login pipeline specific to a client application, to gather information to minimize the amount of time between login and useful client operation of tablet computer <NUM>. Module <NUM> communicates with an authentication Service Fabric micro service module <NUM> which provides user authentication via an active directory <NUM> of the healthcare facility. The active directory <NUM> provides user authentication (username/password) for caregivers attempting to access the patient engagement software of tablet computer <NUM>. The active directory <NUM> is used by the authentication service module <NUM> to verify that the credentials provided by the user are correct. The authentication service module <NUM> is also used by module <NUM> to obtain a session token used for interactions of the patient using tablet computer <NUM>.

User management module <NUM> also communicates with VoIP module <NUM>, an interfaces Service Fabric micro service module <NUM>, and a patient Service Fabric micro service module <NUM>. Module <NUM> is used by client applications to determine the set of available routes for patient requests. Routes included in the response collection are given a mnemonic identifier that a client uses to match a resource to its associated routes/URL's. Block <NUM> in <FIG> is representative of the various endpoint devices to which patient requests are transmitted and displayed. For example, block <NUM> represents mobile devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets, telephone handsets with graphical displays, etc.) assigned to, and carried by, caregivers in the healthcare facility. Block <NUM> also represents status boards, master nurse stations computers, administrator computers, and the like on which patient requests may be displayed at the discretion of the designer of system <NUM>.

Module <NUM> is used to obtain patient details for presentation in the patient engagement software of tablet computer <NUM> after login. The patient details is obtained by module <NUM> from a nurse call system database <NUM>. In the illustrative example, the nurse call system is the NAVICARE® nurse call system available from Hill-Rom Company, Inc. of Batesville, Indiana. Database <NUM> also has information regarding staff, alerts, and organization of system <NUM>. Database <NUM> is coupled to or included in a nurse call enterprise server <NUM>. Database <NUM> also receives information from a people Service Fabric micro service module <NUM> which interfaces with server <NUM>. Module <NUM> is used to determine the list of available patients for impersonation by a care team member during authentication.

Still referring to <FIG>, an alert reporter Service Fabric micro service module <NUM> is coupled to nurse call server <NUM> and also interfaces with server <NUM>. Module <NUM> facilitates integrating the healthcare enterprise (IHE) alert communication management (ACM) compliant alert reporting on behalf of the patient engagement software of tablet computer <NUM>. The computer tablet <NUM> provides a patient care device PCD-<NUM> compliant alert request via a representational state transfer (RESTful) application program interface (API) which is sent to the nurse call server <NUM> for further processing. Upon successful alert creation, the alert reported module <NUM> provides the client with an associated identifier which is used for matching against alert status changes. Module <NUM> is coupled to an alert store database <NUM> which in some embodiments is available from MongoDB, Inc. of New York, New York. Database <NUM> stores information about each of the alerts that are generated in system <NUM> by tablet computer <NUM> and is used for managing the lifecycle of each alert.

A feed Service Fabric micro service module <NUM> interfaces with server <NUM> and is used to relay an event stream to tablet computer <NUM>. Module <NUM> listens for updates to staff care assignments, updates to alerts in the nurse call system, audio call events from staff to patients, while polling for changes from a Twitter feed <NUM> to provide news and information to the patient via tablet computer <NUM>. Module <NUM> is coupled to a feed store database <NUM> which in some embodiments is available from MongoDB, Inc. of New York, New York. Database <NUM> stores information about each of the feeds that are generated in system <NUM>. Module <NUM> is also coupled to module <NUM> for pushing events to the tablet computer <NUM> as APNS. Modules <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and nurse call server <NUM> are coupled to an event bus <NUM> which in some embodiments comprises a RabbitMQ open source message broker available from Pivotal Software, Inc. of San Francisco, California.

Server <NUM> includes a Service Fabric guest application that manages the routing of patient RESTful requests over hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) to the associated Service Fabric micro service of modules <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>. Some or all of modules <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> may be stored in server <NUM> or in other servers of system <NUM>. Thus, modules <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> are software modules that are distributed within computer devices such as servers in some embodiments of system <NUM>. Database <NUM> may be stored in server <NUM> in some embodiments, and database <NUM> may be stored in the same server in which module <NUM> is stored in some embodiments.

Referring now to <FIG>, a first set up screen <NUM> appears on tablet computer <NUM> upon initial startup and is used by a caregiver to begin the process of setting up the tablet <NUM> for use by a patient. Screen <NUM> has a get started button <NUM> that, when selected by the caregiver, causes a first sign in screen <NUM>, shown in <FIG>, to appear on the tablet <NUM>. Screen <NUM> includes a user name field <NUM> and a password field <NUM>. Beneath fields <NUM>, <NUM> are a sign in button <NUM> and a go back button <NUM>. In response to the caregiver touching one of fields <NUM>, <NUM>, a second sign in screen <NUM> appears on tablet <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes a keyboard <NUM> for use by the caregiver in entering the user name and password information in fields <NUM>, <NUM>, respectively. After fields <NUM>, <NUM> are filled in, the caregiver selects the sign in button <NUM>. If the caregiver does not wish to sign in, the caregiver can select the go back button on screen <NUM> to return to screen <NUM>.

If an incorrect user name is entered in field <NUM> or if an incorrect password is entered in field <NUM>, as suggested in third sign in screen <NUM>' of <FIG>, then in response to selection of the sign in button <NUM>, an error alert screen <NUM> appears on tablet <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes a text box <NUM> which includes a message warning the caregiver that incorrect credentials have been entered and informing the caregiver to try again. An OK button <NUM> is provided at the bottom of box <NUM> for selection by the caregiver to return back to screen <NUM> to make another attempt at entering the proper user name and password credentials. If the caregiver enters incorrect credentials in one or both of fields <NUM>, <NUM> too many times (e.g., two or three times), then in response to selection of the sign in button <NUM>, a lock out alert screen <NUM> appears on the tablet <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes a text box <NUM> that advises the caregiver that they have been locked out from tablet <NUM> and that the caregiver needs to follow the healthcare facilities lock out process to continue. An OK button <NUM> is provided at the bottom of box <NUM> and is selected by the caregiver to acknowledge the lock out alert.

If a correct user name is entered in field <NUM> and if a correct password is entered in field <NUM>, as suggested in screen <NUM>" of <FIG>, then in response to selection of the sign in button <NUM>, a patient selections screen <NUM> appears on the tablet <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes a listing <NUM> of the patients that are assigned to the caregiver. The caregiver can select a patient from listing <NUM> to which the tablet <NUM> is to be assigned, or the caregiver can select a search field <NUM> to cause a patient search screen <NUM> to appear on the tablet <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes a keyboard <NUM> that is used by the caregiver to enter a patient's name, or a portion thereof, in the search field <NUM> to search for a particular patient to which the tablet is to be assigned. A go button <NUM> is provided on keyboard <NUM> and is selected by the caregiver once the search string has been entered in field <NUM> to conduct the search for the desired patient.

Referring now to <FIG>, an example of a first today screen <NUM> that appears on the tablet <NUM> after the patient has been successfully assigned to tablet <NUM> and uses the tablet <NUM> for the first time. Screen <NUM> includes a date and time text box <NUM> that shows the date and time. Screen <NUM> also includes a weather text box <NUM> that shows the temperature and weather status (e.g., partly sunny). Box <NUM> is populated by information obtained from the weather API <NUM>. Screen <NUM> further includes an informational text box <NUM> that provides information about the patient engagement software of tablet <NUM>. Screen <NUM> includes a main menu <NUM> at the bottom of the screen. Main menu <NUM> includes a today icon or button <NUM>, a my stay icon <NUM>, a my requests icon <NUM>, and a learn icon <NUM>. The terms button and icon are used interchangeably herein. Finally, screen <NUM> includes a make a request button <NUM> that is selected by the patient when the patient wishes to make a specific request to one or more of the patient's assigned caregivers.

Referring now to <FIG>, an example of a second today screen that appears on the tablet <NUM> after the patient has used various features of the patient engagement software of the tablet <NUM>. Screen <NUM> includes a requests in progress text box <NUM> that provides information about the requests that are in progress for the patient. Box <NUM> indicates that the patient has five requests in progress. Four of the requests have been submitted and one of the requests has been accepted. Box <NUM> contains icons indicating that the five requests are bathroom, ice chips, blanket, water, and juice. Beneath box <NUM>, is an activity list <NUM> indicating that the patient used tablet <NUM> to participate in a phone call three hours ago, to participate in a video call five hours ago, and to receive a tweet message from UNC Health Care. <FIG> shows an expanded today screen <NUM>' in which more information about newsfeeds of activity list <NUM> appears and can be viewed on the tablet <NUM> if the patient decides to scroll on the tablet <NUM>. Screen <NUM>' also has a text box <NUM> which indicates that an ice chips request was completed on January <NUM>. The name of the caregiver who completed the ice chips request is also listed in box <NUM>. Screens <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>' of <FIG>, respectively, appear on the tablet when today icon <NUM> of main menu <NUM> is selected.

Referring now to <FIG>, an example of a fist my stay page or screen <NUM> appears on the tablet <NUM> in response to the patient selecting the my stay button <NUM> on menu <NUM> at the bottom of the tablet <NUM>. Screen <NUM> includes a my information text box <NUM> that includes the patient's name (Lida White in the illustrative example), sex (male or female), medical record number (MRN), and birthdate. Beneath box <NUM> is a my room text box <NUM> that includes the patient's room number and wing (Room 1185A in <NUM> West in the illustrative example), the name of the hospital or healthcare facility, and the room phone number. Screen <NUM> also includes first, second, and third my care team boxes <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> which lists the name and role of the caregivers assigned to the patient. Boxes <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> are updated when a caregiver shift ends and a new caregiver is assigned to the patient.

Screen <NUM> also includes a table <NUM> with rows having arrow icons <NUM> that the patient can select to obtain more information about the particular item in each of the rows. In the illustrative example, table <NUM> includes the following text in the rows from top to bottom: Visitor Hours and Parking, Cafeteria Menu, Hospital Activities, and TV Channel List. <FIG> shows an expanded my stay screen <NUM>' in which a software information table <NUM> appears and can be viewed on the tablet <NUM> if the patient decides to scroll on the tablet <NUM>. Table <NUM> also includes arrow icons <NUM> that the patient can select to obtain more information about the particular item in reach row of table <NUM>. In the illustrative example, table <NUM> includes the following text in the rows from top to bottom: App Overview, Frequently Asked Questions, and Terms & Privacy.

Referring now to <FIG>, an example of a first my requests screen <NUM> that appears on the tablet in response to the patient selecting the my requests button <NUM> on the menu <NUM> at the bottom of the tablet <NUM>. In the illustrative example of screen <NUM>, an in-progress requests text box <NUM> indicates that the patient does not have any in-progress requests that have been made previously and a completed requests text box <NUM> indicates that the patient does not have any completed requests that have been fulfilled by caregivers previously. At the left side of screen <NUM> four request icons or buttons appear, namely, a bathroom icon <NUM> that the patient selects to request assistance in going to the bathroom, a water icon <NUM> that the patient selects to request water, an ice chips icon <NUM> that the patient selects to request ice chips, and a pain icon <NUM> that the patient selects to request pain medication or other help in dealing with pain.

Icons <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> on screen <NUM> relate to highly requested items for the healthcare facility. The four icons relating to highly requested items may vary by unit such as for example, the four icons on screen <NUM> may be programmed by a system administrator to be different for a maternity unit that for a med/surg unit. It is also contemplated by the present disclosure that server <NUM> or another server of system <NUM>, such as server <NUM>, can monitor patient requests over time and automatically change the four icons appearing on screen <NUM> to match the four most common requests that are made based on historical data for the healthcare facility or the particular unit of the healthcare facility.

A message appearing on screen <NUM> above icons <NUM>, <NUM> advises the patient that, if desired, he or she can select one of the four icons <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> to make the respective request, or the patient has the option of selecting the make a request button <NUM> to see more request options. As shown in <FIG>, an example of a second my requests screen <NUM>' appears on the tablet <NUM> after the patient has requested ice chips via selection of button <NUM> on screen <NUM>. In-progress requests text box <NUM> is updated to indicate that the patient has made the request for ice chips and the ice chips button <NUM> is updated to include a check mark indicia to indicate that button <NUM> has an active request pending or in-progress. In the illustrative example, a message is also provided in box <NUM> indicating that system <NUM> is waiting for a caregiver to accept the request.

A request progress bar <NUM> is shown in box <NUM> of screen <NUM>' with the words submitted, accepted, and completed. The current status of the request in box <NUM> is communicated to the patient by highlighting the appropriate word. In the illustrative example, the word submitted is highlighted to indicate that the request has been submitted. After one of the patient's assigned caregivers accepts the request, such as by pressing an accept icon on the caregiver's mobile device, then the word accepted becomes highlighted on bar <NUM> of box <NUM>. After the request is completed by the caregiver and the caregiver logs the completion into system <NUM> such as by pressing a completed button on the caregiver's mobile device, the word completed becomes highlighted on bar <NUM> of box <NUM> and the completed request is then moved to the completed requests box <NUM>.

Referring now to <FIG>, a first make a request screen <NUM> that appears on the display screen of tablet <NUM> in response to the patient selecting button <NUM> on any of the screens discussed above having button <NUM>. Screen <NUM> includes a table <NUM> having rows that show a first menu of basic categories of requests. In the illustrative example, the rows of table <NUM> from top to bottom include the following basic request types or categories: pain and discomfort, food and beverage, personal care, comfort, and all requests. A down arrow icon <NUM> appears at the right side of the first four rows of table <NUM> and is selectable by the patient to see a second menu of request options. Thus, the second menu corresponds to specific patient requests that fall under the basic request category selected by the patient using the first menu of table <NUM>.

A numerical value indicating the number of specific patient request options that fall under each basic category of table <NUM> is shown just to the left of the down arrow icons <NUM>. Thus, in the illustrative example, the second menu corresponding to the pain and discomfort basic category has six specific patient request options, the second menu corresponding to the food and beverage basic category has four specific patient request options, the second menu corresponding to the personal care basic category has eight specific request options, and the second menu corresponding to the comfort basic category has two specific request options.

In the illustrative example of screen <NUM> in <FIG>, the all requests basic category has been selected by the patient and so the second menu appears corresponding to the all requests basic category appears on screen <NUM> as a set of specific patient request icons. An up arrow icon <NUM> is shown at the right side of the all requests row and is selectable by the patient to collapse the second menu of icons that currently appear on screen <NUM>. In the illustrative example, the numerical value <NUM> appears on screen <NUM> just to the left of up arrow icon <NUM> to indicate that the total number (<NUM> + <NUM> + <NUM> + <NUM> = <NUM>) of second menu options corresponding to the basic categories of the first four rows of table <NUM>.

Screen <NUM> of <FIG> shows a set of twelve specific patient request icons on the second menu corresponding to the all requests basic category, thereby indicating that the patient needs to scroll on tablet <NUM> to uncover the remaining eight specific patient request icons. The twelve specific patient request icons appearing in the second menu of screen <NUM> include the four icons <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> discussed previously, plus the following eight additional specific patient request icons: a something is beeping icon <NUM> that is selected by the patient when a piece of equipment in the patient room, such as an intravenous (IV) pump, starts beeping; a blanket icon <NUM> that the patient selects to request a blanket; a juice icon <NUM> that the patient selects to request juice; a lights off icon <NUM> that the patient selects to request that the room lights be turned off; a lights on icon <NUM> that the patient selects to request that the room lights be turned on; a question icon <NUM> that the patient selects to ask a question of a general nature not corresponding with any of the other icons of the second menu of screen <NUM>; a room needs tidying icon <NUM> that the patient selects to request that the room be cleaned; and a snack icon <NUM> icon that the patient selects to request a snack.

At the bottom of screen <NUM> beneath the icons of the second menu, the following text appears, "You have selected <NUM> of <NUM> requests. To get started, select a request type to find what you want or need help with. " This text is shown on screen <NUM> in lieu of the second menu when the patient has not yet selected any basic category from table <NUM>. In other words, <FIG> shows the text at the bottom of screen <NUM> appearing at the same time as the second menu, but in real world embodiments, these are mutually exclusive on screen <NUM>. Screen <NUM> also has a submit button <NUM> and a cancel button <NUM> beneath the second menu. Thus, if desired, the patient is able to select multiple ones of buttons <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> on the second menu and then select the submit button <NUM> to submit the multiple specific patient requests simultaneously through system <NUM>. In some embodiments, the multiple number of simultaneous requests that can be made on screen <NUM> using tablet <NUM> is limited to a maximum number, such as five requests in the illustrative example. If the patient decides not to submit any specific patient requests while viewing screen <NUM>, the patient selects the cancel button <NUM> to return back to the previous screen on which button <NUM> was originally selected.

Referring now to <FIG> an example of a second make a request screen <NUM> shows that the food and beverage basic category of table <NUM> has been selected by the patient and a set of four icons, namely, icons <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> discussed above, are shown beneath the food and beverage row. Thus, icons <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> correspond to the second menu of specific patient request options that are associated with the food and beverage basic category of the first menu of table <NUM>. In the illustrative example, the ice chips button <NUM> has been selected and a check mark indicia <NUM> appears in the upper right corner of button <NUM> to indicate the selection. A border around button <NUM> is also highlighted to further indicate the selection. Down arrow icons <NUM> and up arrow icon <NUM> are also shown in the appropriate rows of table <NUM> of screen <NUM> for selection by the patient to reveal or hide, as the case may be, the second menu buttons corresponding to the basic category rows of table <NUM>.

Beneath table <NUM> of screen <NUM>, the text "You have selected <NUM> of <NUM> requests" is displayed to indicate that the patient has selected two specific patient requests out of the five maximum possible patient requests that are permitted to be submitted simultaneously in the illustrative embodiment. An ice chips button <NUM> and a bathroom button <NUM> appears beneath the text to indicate which two requests have been made by the patient. A cancel icon <NUM> (illustratively, an "×") appears in each button <NUM>, <NUM> and is selectable to cancel the corresponding patient request while leaving the other patient requests active for submission. If the patient desires to cancel all listed requests, the patient selects cancel button <NUM>. After the patient has made all of the desired specific patient request selections using the first menu of table <NUM> and the corresponding second menus, up to a maximum of five specific patient requests, the patient selects the submit button <NUM> to submit the multiple specific patient requests simultaneously through system <NUM>.

Referring now to <FIG>, another example of an in-progress requests screen <NUM>" shows two requests appearing in corresponding in-progress requests text boxes <NUM>. The two specific patient requests shown on screen <NUM>" are for bathroom assistance and for ice chips, but neither of the requests have been completed. The status bar <NUM> of the upper text box <NUM> of screen <NUM>" indicates via highlighting that the request for bathroom assistance has been submitted and accepted and the status bar <NUM> of the lower text box <NUM> of screen <NUM>" indicates via highlighting that the request for ice chips has been submitted but not yet accepted. For the accepted bathroom assistance request, the upper text box <NUM> indicates the name of the caregiver that accepted the request (Gloria Carter in the illustrative example). The discussion above of screen <NUM> of <FIG> and of screen <NUM>' of <FIG> is equally applicable to screen <NUM>", except where noted otherwise, and similar reference numbers are used in each of these screens.

As indicated on screen <NUM>" of <FIG>, the most recent patient request appears as the uppermost text box <NUM> and the oldest patient request appears as the lowermost text box <NUM> in the list of text boxes <NUM>. In the illustrative example, the two patient requests were submitted separately by the patient and in particular, the bathroom request was submitted "just now" and the ice chips request was submitted "<NUM> minutes ago. " If the patient submits multiple requests simultaneously, such as discussed above in connection with <FIG> and <FIG>, then an arbitrary listing scheme is used for the patient requests such as listing them alphabetically or listing them in the same order that the patient selected them using the first menu of table <NUM> and corresponding second menus as discussed above in connection with <FIG> and <FIG>.

Referring now to <FIG>, an example of a completed requests screen <NUM> is shown in which completed requests text box <NUM> indicates that the patient request for ice chips has been completed. Text box <NUM> also indicates the name of the caregiver that completed the request (Jessica Roberts in the illustrative example). If multiple requests are completed, then all such completed requests appear in further text boxes <NUM> under the Completed Requests heading. In some embodiments, the most recent completed request appears as the uppermost text box <NUM> and the oldest completed request appears as the lowermost text box <NUM> in the list of text boxes <NUM>. The list of completed requests shows all requests completed during a set period of time such as for a day or a shift or a predetermined rolling period of time (e.g., eight hours, four hours, etc.) at the discretion of the designer or programmer of system <NUM>. After the set period of time, the completed requests are removed from the list.

In some embodiments, the available requests of the patient engagement software are based on first and second menus such as those discussed above. The first menu provides a list of basic request categories on the display screen of tablet <NUM>. Selection of one of the choices from the first menu causes the second menu to appear on the display screen of tablet <NUM>. The second menu includes specific patient requests that fall under the basic request category selected by the patient using the first menu. Table <NUM> below shows an alternative embodiment of first and second menus that are implements in the patient engagement software of tablet <NUM>. In particular, Table <NUM> lists the request category (aka first menu) as the first column and lists the request item (aka second menu) as the second menu.

In some embodiments of system <NUM>, according to the invention as claimed, the mother/baby category of the first menu only appears on tablets <NUM> that are located in a maternity ward. Therefore, system <NUM> includes locating and tracking equipment that is used to determine the locations of tablets <NUM>. For example, received signal strength at wireless access points can be used to determine the locations of tablets <NUM>. As another example, wireless locating tags (e.g., radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, ultra wideband tags, infrared tags, etc.) attached to tablets <NUM> can send wireless signals to receivers of a locating system to determine the locations of tablets <NUM> in a healthcare facility. The receivers and wireless access points are in communication with a locating server which processes the data (e.g., tablet ID, tag ID, wireless access point ID, receiver ID, etc.) to determine the locations of tablets <NUM>.

According to some embodiments of system <NUM> contemplated herein, tablets <NUM> are configured to receive voice commands from patients in connection with making specific patient requests. In such embodiments, the may requests screen <NUM> includes a voice button <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. The remainder of screen <NUM> of <FIG> is the same a screen <NUM> of <FIG> and so the same reference numbers are used to denote like portions of <FIG> and <FIG>. Thus, the description above <FIG> is equally applicable to <FIG> except where noted otherwise (e.g., inclusion of button <NUM> on screen <NUM> of <FIG>).

In response to selection of the button on screen <NUM> of <FIG>, the tablet <NUM> responds with a voice request screen <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes the following text in the illustrative example: "How can we help you? Say any request to get started. Try saying Bathroom. " Beneath the text on screen <NUM>, a listening icon <NUM> appears to indicate to the patient that the tablet <NUM> is listening for a patient request made by voice command. More particularly, after selection of button <NUM>, a microphone of tablet <NUM> is activated to receive vocal input from the patient. Screen <NUM> also includes a cancel, or say "cancel" button <NUM>. If the patient decides not to make any patient requests by voice, the patient can either select button <NUM> on the display screen of tablet <NUM> or say the word "cancel" to return back to screen <NUM> of <FIG>.

After the patient says a specific patient request vocally, a first voice confirmation screen <NUM> appears on tablet <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes the text "I heard you say '<Request>'" with <Request> being a placeholder for the voice command that the patient actually stated. Screen also includes the listening icon <NUM> and the cancel, or say "cancel" button <NUM> that are used in the same manner as described in connection with screen <NUM> to return the patient back to screen <NUM> of <FIG> if the patient decides to cancel the patient request made by voice. <FIG> is a duplicate of <FIG> but is shown on the next drawing sheet for ease of reference.

After screen <NUM> appears for a preset amount of time (e.g., ten seconds, twenty seconds, one minute, two minutes, etc.) without the patient canceling the request using button <NUM> or saying "cancel," then tablet <NUM> displays a second voice confirmation screen <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes the text "Do you want to submit this request?" and lists the "<Request>" that the patient verbally entered using tablet <NUM>. Screen <NUM> also includes the listening icon <NUM> and cancel, or say "cancel" button <NUM> that are used in the same manner as described above. Screen <NUM> further includes a no, or say "no" button <NUM> and a yes, or say "yes" button <NUM>. Button <NUM> can be selected by the patient if the patient does not wish to submit the request or the patient can simply say "no. " Button <NUM> can be selected by the patient if the patient does wish to submit the request or the patient can simply say "yes.

If the patient selects button <NUM> or says "yes" while viewing screen <NUM>, then tablet <NUM> responds by displaying a submit voice request screen <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes the text "Submitting Your Request" and "Yes" to indicate to the patient that the yes selection or voice entry on screen <NUM> was successfully made. A submitting icon <NUM> also appears on screen <NUM> during the submission process. <FIG> is a duplicate of <FIG> but is shown on the next drawing sheet for ease of reference.

After the request submission process is completed at screen <NUM>, tablet <NUM> displays a submitted screen <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes the text "Your Request Has Been Submitted" and "A care team member will help you soon. " Screen <NUM> also includes a submitted icon <NUM> to indicate to the patient that the request has been successfully submitted. Screen <NUM> further includes a done, or say "done" button <NUM>. The patient can either select button <NUM> or say "done" and tablet <NUM> responds with an in-progress voice requests screen <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> of <FIG> is substantially the same as screen <NUM> of <FIG> and so the same reference numbers are used where appropriate. However, in text box <NUM> of screen <NUM>, text appears to advise the patient of the in-progress request that was submitted using the voice entry screens of <FIG>. The progress bar <NUM> also appears in text box <NUM> of screen <NUM> with the word submitted highlighted.

<FIG> is a duplicate of <FIG> but is shown on the next drawing sheet for ease of reference. If the patient selects button <NUM> or says "no" while viewing screen <NUM>, then tablet <NUM> responds by displaying a discarded voice request screen <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes the text "Request Discarded" and "Ask for a request, or say 'Cancel' to close. " Screen <NUM> also displays the text "No" to indicate to the patient that the no selection or voice entry on screen <NUM> was successfully made.

If the patient says a new request while viewing screen <NUM>, then tablet <NUM> responds by displaying a new request screen <NUM>' which is the same as screen <NUM> of <FIG> discussed above. If the patient navigates to screen <NUM>' from screen <NUM> of <FIG>, then the patient is able to proceed as discussed above in connection with <FIG>. If the patient selects button <NUM> on screen <NUM>' of <FIG> or says cancel while viewing screen <NUM>', then tablet <NUM> responds by displaying a cancel screen as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes the text "Taking you back to your requests. " and "Cancel" to indicate to the patient that the patient has successfully canceled the request while viewing screen <NUM> of <FIG>. After the canceling process is complete, tablet <NUM> returns to the my requests screen <NUM> of <FIG>.

<FIG> is a duplicate of <FIG> and <FIG> but is shown on the next drawing sheet for ease of reference. If for a predetermined period of time (e.g., two minutes, five minutes, etc.) the patient does not select any of buttons <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> while viewing screen <NUM>, or if the patient does not say cancel, no, or yes within the predetermined period of time, then tablet <NUM> responds by displaying a time out redirect screen as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> includes the text "Taking you back to your requests. " After screen <NUM> is displayed for a short period of time (e.g., five seconds, ten seconds, etc.), tablet <NUM> once again displays the my requests screen <NUM> as shown in <FIG> is a duplicate of <FIG> and so the same reference numbers are used.

Referring now to <FIG>, an example of a general request screen <NUM> is shown and includes text that appears on the display screen of tablet <NUM> if the request spoken by the patient is not recognized or understood by tablet <NUM>. In particular, the screen <NUM> includes the following text: "Submit a general request? Sorry, I didn't understand. Do you want to submit a general request? Or, please try again. " While viewing screen <NUM>, the patient can select the no button <NUM> or cancel button <NUM>, or say no or cancel, to notify the tablet <NUM> that the patient does not wish to submit a general request. Alternatively, the patient can select the yes button <NUM> or say yes to submit a general request from tablet <NUM> in system <NUM>.

If the request spoken by the patient is similar enough to a patient request that is recognized by tablet <NUM>, then tablet <NUM> displays a clarification screen <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> displays the following text: "Did you mean: Sorry, I didn't understand. Do you want to submit this request? Or, please try again" and then the request that the tablet <NUM> concludes is close to what was spoken by the patient is displayed. <FIG> illustratively uses the place holder text, "<Request>" for the request that the patient is believed to have intended, but in use a recognized request such as bathroom, ice chips, blanket, etc. appears on screen <NUM> in lieu of the illustrative place holder text. While viewing screen <NUM>, the patient can select the no button <NUM> or cancel button <NUM>, or say no or cancel, to notify the tablet <NUM> that the patient does not wish to submit the request appearing on screen <NUM>. Alternatively, the patient can select the yes button <NUM> or say yes to submit the request shown on screen <NUM>.

If the patient makes multiple attempts (e.g., two attempts, three attempts, etc.) at speaking a request into tablet <NUM> and none of the attempts match a request recognized by tablet <NUM>, then a no match screen <NUM> is displayed on tablet <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Screen <NUM> of <FIG> includes the following text: "I can't do that yet. Sorry, I didn't understand. I can only send requests right now. Say a request, or say 'Cancel' to close. " The patient then has the option of making another attempt at saying a request or the patient can cancel by selecting button <NUM> or saying cancel.

Based on the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the patient engagement software implemented on tablet <NUM> as well as system <NUM>, in general, are a practical application of a patient request system and method. The patient engagement software permits patients to make specific requests which increases caregiver productivity by eliminating extra time communicating with patients to obtain more information about the requests being made. The patient engagement software also increases patient satisfaction due to requests being responded to more quickly by caregivers and by providing status information regarding the progress of the patient requests being fulfilled.

Hospitals are required to address patient satisfaction issues to meet Centers for Medicaid/Medicare Services (CMS) requirements. Thus, system <NUM> and the patient engagement software implemented on tablet <NUM> also serve as a practical application in assuring Medicaid/Medicare reimbursement rates are not decreased due to low patient satisfaction scores. The patient engagement software of tablet <NUM> enhances patient experience and satisfaction by providing the patient with a sense of control over their care, visibility to their care, reminders about health tasks, education, etc. System <NUM> operates as a practical application by giving patients the opportunity to become involved in steps that contribute to reducing their length of stay in a healthcare facility.

It is contemplated that the patient request system <NUM> is configured to provide patient requests to caregiver mobile devices equipped with the LINQ™ mobile application or similar such software developed under the VOALTE™ platform, each of the LINQ™ and VOALTE™ software being available from Hill-Rom Company, Inc. of Batesville, Indiana. Additional details of the mobile applications for providing alerts to mobile devices of caregivers in healthcare facilities can be found in <CIT>. The present disclosure contemplates that patient requests are displayed on caregiver mobile devices in a manner substantially similar to the manner in which alerts are displayed on mobile devices as shown in <CIT>.

Referring once again to <FIG>, the patient engagement software (aka the patient engagement application or the iOS application or just the application) has two primary forms of configuration. The first is a minimal operational configuration from the Mobile Device Management (MDM) system <NUM>. The second is a clinical and operational information configuration from the Content Management Solution (CMS) <NUM>. The MDM <NUM> houses configuration related to the host and port on which the application at a customer site needs to connect in addition to customer identifying information needed to access the CMS <NUM>. Without this information, the application does not have enough information to support user authentication or retrieve information needed by a patient.

The CMS <NUM> contains clinical and operational information specific to a particular customer. While the CMS <NUM> contains information for multiple customers, the information is organized in a manner that allows the use of MDM provided data to access the relevant subset of information relevant to a patient. This patient information includes the HIPAA usage agreement presented during login, the available request types associated his nursing unit, the URL for weather information, Twitter feed information, and the URL for educational content.

Because the end user of the patient engagement application lacks the credentials typically associated with a secured application, an alternative authentication model or login sequence <NUM> is used. This alternative authentication model <NUM> is shown diagrammatically in <FIG>. In <FIG>, reference number <NUM> is used for the iOS application block since that block represents the patient engagement application of the respective tablet <NUM>. <FIG> shows the interaction that occurs between the application <NUM> and modules <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, which as shown in <FIG>, involves the use of server <NUM>.

The login sequence or model <NUM> takes advantage of care team network user credentials to initiate a session through patient impersonation. As illustrated in <FIG>, there are two phases for authentication before a patient can use the application <NUM>. The first involves the use of a caregiver's network credentials to perform initial authentication indicated by the heading [Caregiver login flow] in <FIG>. Once authenticated, the caregiver selects a patient from a provided list in order to perform patient authentication as indicated by the heading [Patient impersonation flow] in <FIG>.

After the second phase of authentication is complete, the patient can continue to use the application <NUM> until his session is explicitly ended by a caregiver, the device runs out of power causing it to lose session information, or the application is explicitly closed (up-swipe in iOS). Because there is a desire to keep a patient logged into the application <NUM>, there is no logout control available to the user. Instead, a caregiver must use her login credentials to initiate a patient logout. The flow is the same as the [Caregiver login flow] illustrated above. The only additional step includes a logout request in the application <NUM>.

A patient can initiate a request for help or assistance via an alert as discussed above. The alert (aka patient request) is transmitted to nurse call equipment and mobile care devices in and around a nursing unit as a means to advertise a patient's need. Once satisfied, the alert is cancelled. During the lifecycle of the alert, the patient is provided with an indication of progress on tablet <NUM> as also discussed above. Much like an order on Amazon or other online retailing site, the alert is shown via the patient engagement application on tablet <NUM> as created, in progress, and completed.

When a patients initiates a request, it is sent to the NaviCare Enterprise server <NUM> to be fulfilled. An alert initiation sequence <NUM> is shown diagrammatically in <FIG> shows the interaction that occurs between the application <NUM> and alert reporter module <NUM>, the NaviCare Enterprise server <NUM>, and the alert store database <NUM>, which involves the use of server <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Elements related to nurse call devices and notification procedure processing are not included as they are internal to the behavior of the NaviCare Enterprise environment which is a pre-existing nurse call system available from Hill-Rom Company, Inc. of Batesville, Indiana as noted above. Information in the Alert Store database <NUM> provides referential information associated with the original POST (aka patient request). Specifically, a mapping between the NaviCare CallGUID and the networkId of the user in the POST. The networkId is needed because it is used by the Push service <NUM> during alert status updates to map to the APNS tokens <NUM>.

Status updates are initiated from within the NaviCare Enterprise environment. The status updates may be triggered by mobile device events like a caregiver "Accept" or opened audio session to an audio station of the nurse call system located in the patient's room or to the tablet <NUM>. Alternatively, the status updates may be triggered in NaviCare Nurse Call by placing the request on the Wait List or performing an explicit call cancellation. The Push notification processing of the status updates depends on network login registration during authentication. In any event, <FIG> shows an alert update sequence <NUM> as contemplated by the present application. In the illustrative alert update sequence <NUM>, Feed module <NUM> is a passive participant in this flow. Feed module <NUM> is shown diagrammatically in <FIG> because it is useful to know that the Feed module <NUM> receives a revised/embellished alert event rather than utilizing the raw alert event from the NaviCare nurse call system.

In addition to alerts, the present disclosure contemplates that voice communication is provided from a caregiver to a patient. In some embodiments of system <NUM>, voice communication is only supported in response to an alert (aka patient request). However, in other embodiments, voice communication is able to be initiated from the caregiver to the patient (e.g., the patient's tablet <NUM> or an audio station in the room) at all times at the discretion of the caregiver. In any event, the processing flow associated with establishing voice communication is the same in all cases. In other embodiments, video communication from caregivers to patients using tablets <NUM> is also provided for in system <NUM>. Video conferencing for purposes of telemedicine is also contemplated for some embodiments of system <NUM> and tablet <NUM>. Thus, tablets <NUM> assigned to patients for at-home use is within the scope of the present disclosure.

Events are initiated from multiple sources within system <NUM> as noted above. A subset of these events are relevant to a patient and are to be communicated to the patient's tablet <NUM>. The Information Feed <NUM> acts as a repository of historical event information for a tablet <NUM>. These events include changes to alert status, care team assignment, audio call events, twitter feed updates, and weather updates. Within the feed, there are two primary processing models; event processing, and periodic polling. For those sources that are incapable of generating an event, a poll model is employed in order to obtain updates.

To prevent unending growth in the archived feed collection, the oldest feed content is periodically flushed. The flush rate is configurable at deployment time of system <NUM>. Some feed sources do not, or are incapable of, initiating an event. In these cases, a polled model is employed to gather information that is added to the feed store <NUM>. Examples of these include the Twitter feed <NUM> and the weather feed <NUM>. An example of a non-event feed sequence <NUM> pertaining to the weather and Twitter feeds <NUM>, <NUM> is shown diagrammatically in <FIG>.

In the illustrative embodiment of system <NUM>, the Feed module <NUM> is a subscriber to the RabbitMQ event bus <NUM>. When events arrive at bus <NUM> from subscribed topics, information associated with the topics are written into the feed store <NUM>. Examples of event-based feeds include alerting and voice call status. An example of an event feed sequence <NUM> pertaining to the alerts and voice feeds from modules <NUM>, <NUM> is shown diagrammatically in <FIG>.

Outside the process of updating and maintaining the feed store <NUM>, the application <NUM> RESTfully accesses the feed module <NUM> in order to obtain content to display to a patient. An example of such a client feed sequence <NUM> is shown diagrammatically in <FIG>. Furthermore, educational content is obtained via Health Wise <NUM> as noted above. In some embodiments of system <NUM>, educational content takes the form of a queryable index of educational items. Once selected, an education item is displayed on the patient's tablet <NUM>.

In some contemplated embodiments of system <NUM>, real-time updates of staff and caregiver visits to the hospital room of patients is displayed on respective tablets <NUM> via integration of a real time locating system (RTLS) into system <NUM>. The RTLS will provide locating events as feeds to the patient engagement application of tablets <NUM> in response to individual staff members or caregivers entering the patient's room. The caregivers or staff members entering the room, if desired, may use the notes feature of the patient's tablet or their own mobile devices to append additional information to the RTLS event so that the patient has a clear understanding of who visited them and when, as well as why they were visited.

In some embodiments of system <NUM>, analytics are performed on one or more servers to provide authorized personnel of the healthcare facility with detailed reporting about the types of patient requests submitted, the patterns of usage and needs within specific hospital units, and staffing response times. Based on the analytics, the screens of tablet <NUM> are customized based on facility data or based on the patient's individual usage and behavior data. For example, the quick request portion (see icons <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> of screen <NUM> of <FIG>) displayed on tablet <NUM> has a pre-set common group of requests when the tablet is initially assigned to the patient. However, if the patient's most commonly requested items differ from the pre-set list, then the quick request group of icons is updated to those corresponding to the individual patient's most common requests.

Based on the foregoing and in accordance with embodiments contemplated herein, the following features of system <NUM>, tablet computer <NUM>, and the associated patient engagement software include the following:
The patient engagement software extends the functionality of a Nurse Call system by enabling iPad®-equipped (e.g., tablet-equipped) patients to interact with a hospital's Nurse Call system. The patient engagement software includes: system software that supplements the Nurse Call software environment, and the patent engagement application (aka "app") that runs on tablet <NUM>, such as an iPad. Patients use the app to receive information and make non-urgent requests for care. The patient engagement app operates on hospital-supplied tablets <NUM>, such as iPads, not on patient-supplied devices.

According to one example of a clinical scenario, an individual is admitted as an inpatient to an acute care hospital. Upon admission, they are oriented to their hospital room and to the patient engagement app on tablet <NUM>, such as an Apple iPad. The patient can select one of many standard requests from any of several categories on the My Requests page. If the patient wants something to drink, for example, they can open the "I'm Thirsty" category and choose an option like "ginger ale" or "water. " The patient engagement software provides immediate confirmation of submitted requests on tablet <NUM> and allows the patient to follow the status of the requests, from "Acceptance" to "Completion.

With known, standard Nurse Call systems, an attendant receives a non-specific request at the staff station (sometimes referred to as a master nurse station or master station) and then the attendant must contact both the patient and an appropriate caregiver. With the patient engagement software, however, incoming requests are specific, such as "water", "bathroom", or "pain", so the attendant's task is simplified. When combined with mobile communications functionality such as the Voalte Platform available from Hill-Rom Company, Inc, the patient engagement software can send specific requests to appropriate caregivers' phones without an attendant's attention.

In some embodiments of system <NUM>, the following guidelines for use are applicable: the patient engagement software is for use in a healthcare environment only; the patient engagement software is for patients who are willing and able to use a tablet <NUM>, such as an iPad, as an additional means of interaction with hospital staff, and who are willing and able to receive verbal and/or demonstrative instructions on its use; in addition to the patient engagement app, a standard bedside call button, such one on a siderail of a hospital bed or on a pillow speaker unit, must also be available to the patients; the patient engagement software is not intended to provide patient care or serve as a substitute for professional healthcare judgment; and the patient engagement software is not intended as a primary notification system for patients or staff.

In some embodiments, the following steps are undertaken in connection with assigning a tablet <NUM> (referred to as an "iPad" below, but other tablets are within the scope of the present disclosure) to a patient including obtaining an iPad from storage and assigning it to a specific patient: <NUM>. From a Charging Station, select an iPad whose light is solid green (indicating it is fully charged) and carefully detach it from its charging cable; <NUM>. Turn on the iPad by pressing and holding the Start button at the top-right corner; <NUM>. Enter the unit-specific passcode (supplied by the Hospital IT department; <NUM>. Verify again that the iPad is fully charged and if it is not, turn it off by pressing and holding the power button, put it in the return queue for proper charging and handling, and go back to Step <NUM>; <NUM>. Start the patient engagement app by touching a patient engagement icon; <NUM>. On the Welcome screen or panel, press Get Started; <NUM>. On a Care Team Sign In screen or panel, log in to the patient engagement app (using the caregiver's standard Hospital credentials) and if anything goes wrong, contact Hospital IT; <NUM>. After a Patient Selection screen or panel presents a list of patients that a Medical Record System already considers to be in the caregiver's care, the caregiver taps the name of a patient in the list, or uses the search field to find a non-listed patient (to search for a non-listed patient, enter any fragment of the patient's name, medical record number, or birthdate in the form mm/dd/yyyy); <NUM>. On the Assign Patient screen or panel, the caregiver confirms the choice by pressing Assign Patient; <NUM>. The Welcome screen or panel appears and it is directed to the patient, not the caregiver, so the caregiver should not press the Let's Go button; and <NUM>. Hand the iPad to the patient prior to introducing the patient to the patient engagement app.

The following is an example of a script that the caregiver may follow in connection with introducing the patient to the patient engagement app: "During your hospital stay, you are welcome to use the patient engagement app on this tablet to request non-emergency items-like when you're hungry or thirsty, or if you need help going to the bathroom, or if you just want a nurse. When you make a request on this iPad, a caregiver like me will get instant notification on their cellphone! See? I have a hospital phone in my pocket. There is also a health information library available for you to browse. I can bookmark some articles that are specific to your care, if you like. " In some embodiments contemplated herein, the landing page of the health information library relates to Covid-<NUM> (aka coronavirus <NUM> or SARS-CoV-<NUM>).

If after pointing to the Let's Get Started button a patient rejects the idea of using tablet <NUM> with the patient engagement app, the caregiver then undertakes the steps of un-assigning the iPad from the patient. However, if the patient agrees to use the tablet <NUM> with the patient engagement app, the following is an example of a script that the caregiver may follow: "Let me remind you of one important thing. If you have a true emergency, we still want you to press the bedside Call Button. OK? Here you go. If it's not self-explanatory, let me know. We don't like to use pesky chargers and cords in your room, so If the battery goes down, I'll bring you a fresh iPad. Please don't close the app to play with the iPad unless you know how to get back to the app. This app's icon is called Voalte Engage. Any questions? No, you may not take the iPad home. See you later, and don't forget to use the bedside Call Button for true emergencies.

Under some limited circumstances, a caregiver may desire to re-assign an iPad from one patient to another. However, an iPad should not be received from one patient and immediately assigned to another. That is, a "used" iPad and accessories should always be returned and put in the return queue for proper handling. In the event an iPad is assigned to the wrong patient by the caregiver and the caregiver want to immediately transfer it to the right patient, the following steps are performed in some embodiments: <NUM>. The caregiver presses the Care Team icon to access the Care Team Sign-In screen or panel; <NUM>. The caregiver signs in with his or her standard credentials; <NUM>. On the Care Team panel or screen, the caregiver touches (aka selects) the Assign a different patient button; <NUM>. On the Assign a Different Patient panel or screen, the caregiver verifies that the named patient is the one to be un-assigned, and then the caregiver presses the Unassign & Select New Patient button; <NUM>. On the Patient Selection panel or screen, the caregiver picks a listed patient (one that the hospital records system considers to be in the caregiver's care) or the caregiver uses the search tool to find a non-listed patient; <NUM>. On the Assign Patient screen or panel, the caregiver verifies that the named patient is the one the caregiver intends to assign to the particular iPad, and then the caregiver touches the Assign Patient button; and <NUM>. The caregiver introduces the patient engagement app to the patient and points to the Let's Get Started button.

After a patient is finished with the assigned tablet <NUM>, the caregiver undertakes the following steps to unassign the iPad from the patient and return it for proper handling: <NUM>. The caregiver presses the Care Team icon to access the Care Team Sign-In panel or screen; <NUM>. The caregiver signs in with the caregiver's credentials; <NUM>. On the Care Team Panel or screen, the caregiver touches, presses, or selects (these are used interchangeably herein), the unassign patient & return to welcome screen button; <NUM>. On the Unassign & Return to Welcome screen or panel, the caregiver verifies that the named patient is the one that the caregiver wants to unassign, then the caregiver touches the Unassign & Return To Welcome Screen button; <NUM>. The caregiver turn the iPad off by pressing and holding the power button on the top right corner; and <NUM>. The caregiver puts the iPad in the return queue for proper handling. Thus, a "used" iPad should not immediately be assigned to a new patient. In some embodiments of system <NUM>, if a patient does not use the assigned iPad having the patient engagement app for <NUM> hours, the patient engagement software of system <NUM> automatically unassigns that iPad from that patient (even if the iPad's battery has run down).

Some additional notes about assigning and un-assigning tablets <NUM>, such as iPads, in some embodiments of system <NUM> include the following: <NUM>. On the Patient Selection Panel or screen, a caregiver can select a patient in two ways: (a) from a list of patients already in his or her care (per the Medical Records System), or (b) by searching by first and/or last name, by Medical Record Number (MRN), or by birthdate in the form mm/dd/yyyy; <NUM>. A patient cannot be assigned to more than one iPad at a time; <NUM>. Patients cannot share the patient engagement app on a single iPad; <NUM>. Only one instance of the patient engagement app can run on an iPad at a time; <NUM>. Whenever the patient engagment app is in patient mode, a caregiver can access the Care Team Sign-In panel or screen by pressing the Care Team icon and caregivers must sign in before taking any action on the Care Team Panel or screen; <NUM>. If a caregiver gets locked out of the Care Team Panel or screen because of excessive login failures, they are locked out of all instances of the patient engagement app on all iPads because the unlocking protocol is controlled by the hospital's Active Directory policies (if a caregiver gets locked out, the caregiver should contact the Hospital's IT department).

After a patient request is made using the patient engagement app of an assigned tablet <NUM>, there is a three-step process for receiving and responding to the patient's request, as follows:.

After an iPad is assigned to a particular patient, the patient is able to begin using the patient engagement app. In this regard, immediately after the caregiver assigns an iPad and hands it to the patient, the patient sees the Welcome panel or screen at which point the patient undertakes the following steps: <NUM>. On the Welcome to [Name of] Hospital panel or screen, the patient presses the Let's Go button; <NUM>. On the Terms of Use screen or panel, the patient reads and presses the I Accept button; and <NUM>. On the Welcome panel or screen, the patient presses " > " on a series of screens to see a several-page introduction; <NUM>. On the last page of the introduction, the patient presses Start My Patient Engagement Experience; and <NUM>. The patient sees a Today screen corresponding to selection of a Today tab (the Today tab corresponds to the first screen a patient sees after completing the introduction; see <FIG> and the related discussion above with regard to the Today screens <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>' associated with the Today tab <NUM>).

On the Today screen, the following five fields are shown with the following information and/or buttons in the respective fields: <NUM>. The patient's first name, time, date, and local weather; <NUM>. Make a Request and Say a Request buttons (see Making a Request and Saying a Request below; the Make a Request button is similar to Make a Request button <NUM> of <FIG> but is selected to start the voice input process of <FIG> similar to voice button <NUM> of <FIG>); <NUM>. A list of in-progress requests, if any; <NUM>. A link to re-view the introductory slideshow that appeared when the patient pressed the Let's Go button; and <NUM>. Icon buttons that activate the three other Tabs (e.g., the My Stay icon <NUM>, the My Request icon <NUM>, and the Learn icon <NUM>).

With regard to selection of My Stay tab or icon <NUM>, the following seven fields are shown with the following information (similar to My Stay screens <NUM>, <NUM>' discussed above in connection with <FIG> and <FIG>): <NUM>. My Information - The patient's full name, sex, and birthdate; <NUM>. My Room -The patient's room number and unit name; <NUM>. The Make a Request and Say a Request buttons (see Making a Request and Saying a Request); <NUM>. My Care Team: The names of the Patient's caregivers; <NUM>. Your Room & Nearby - Information about the hospital, such as a hospital map and hospital cafeteria menu; <NUM>. About the patient engagement app - Overview of the app (e.g., a re-play of the same slideshow that is available from the Today tab, frequently asked questions, Terms of Use, and also a re-play of the fine print the patient saw after pressing Let's Go), along with application settings; and <NUM>. The icon buttons <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> that activate the three other Tabs to show the respective screens.

With regard to selection of My Requests tab or icon <NUM>, the following five fields are shown with the following information (similar to My Requests screens <NUM>, <NUM>' discussed above in connection with <FIG> and <FIG>): <NUM>. Quick access to the most frequently used request buttons - a subset of the choices that are available behind the Make a Request button; <NUM>. The Make a Request button leads to a long list of specific request icons and the Say a Request leads to a voice-activated request tool (See Making a Request and Saying a Request). In-Progress Requests - A summary of requests (whether submitted through Make a Request or Say a Request); <NUM>. Completed Requests - A summary of requests already answered by a caregiver; and <NUM>. Icon buttons <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> that activate the three other Tabs to show the respective screens.

As noted above, the Make A Request button <NUM> is available from the screens associated with the Today, My Stay, and My Requests tabs <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>. Selection of the Make a Request button <NUM> leads to additional screens permitting the patient to specific requests by touching selectable icons. After selection of the Make a Request button <NUM>, all available requests are categorized into a handful of Request Types. The patient touches one Request Type to expand the list of specific requests. For example, the patient picks a Request Type, like I'm Hungry, to see the specific requests in that category. Then the patient touches one (or more) specific requests, like Popsicle. An icon for each pending request appears at the bottom of the page or screen. If any pending request was chosen in error, the patient is able to cancel it by touching its name in the pending list at the bottom of the page. Once a specific patient request is submitted, however, it cannot be canceled. All Requests is a special category which contains an alphabetical set of all the requests in every other category. It should be noted that the set of Request Types and specific Requests are configurable per nursing unit by the IT department.

The Say a Request button (basically the same as voice button <NUM> discussed above) is also available on the screens associated the Today, My Stay, and My Requests tabs <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>. In response to selection of the Say a Request button, an interactive, voice-controlled method of submitting requests results. A voice will say, for example, "How can I help you?" in response to selection of the Say a Request button.

The patient engagement app includes Learn tab <NUM>, the selection of which offers health information from a commercial knowledgebase as noted above. The information is freely browsable by the patient and can also help a caregiver educate the patient as required by the patient's care plan. The patient (or caregiver) can search for articles and videos and, optionally, bookmark items for viewing (or re-viewing). Under the Learn tab <NUM>, some embodiments of system <NUM> includes two methods of finding articles of interest as follows: <NUM>. The Explore Topics method, and <NUM>. The Start Searching method.

According to the Explore Topics Method, the following steps are undertaken by the user (patient or caregiver): <NUM>. Pick a health category under the Explore Topics heading, like Allergies, Arthritis, or Flu (Note that even more categories are visible if the user scrolls to the left or right); <NUM>. A set of related articles appears in a scrollable list and a keypad pops up for a more in-depth search of the scrollable list; <NUM>. The user then does one of the following: (a) Scroll the list to find an article to read or save; (b) Narrow the set of listed articles by typing some keywords, then press the Search button on the keypad after which a narrowed set of topics appears and the user can then scroll the list again to find an article to read or save; <NUM>. The user presses Cancel to stop the search; and <NUM>. Note that the Learn page presents a link to every previously saved article.

According to the Start Searching Method the following steps are undertaken by the user (patient or caregiver): <NUM>. Press the Start Searching button which causes a cursor to automatically appear in a Search field. (or, put the cursor in the Search field simply by touching the search field); <NUM>. Type some keywords, then press the Search button on the keypad which results in a set of article titles appearing; <NUM>. Access a specific article or video by touching its Title, and/or save one or more articles by touching one or more Save icons; <NUM>. When the user finishes reading an article, the user presses Close in the top-left corner (if the user has tapped links within an article, the user is able to navigate forward and back by tapping the arrows); and <NUM>. Note that Learn page presents a link to every previously saved article.

If the user wishes to delete an article from the set of saved articles (e.g., delete an article's bookmark), the following steps are undertaken: <NUM>. On the opening page of the Learn tab, locates the set of bookmarks (if any exist) in the Saved Articles & Videos section; <NUM>. Tap a bookmark's Saved symbol; and <NUM>. To confirm the deletion, tap Remove and the bookmark disappears immediately.

Claim 1:
A patient request system (<NUM>) comprising:
a tablet computer (<NUM>) configured for entry of patient requests;
a server (<NUM>) coupled to the tablet computer (<NUM>), the server (<NUM>) being configured to route patient requests from the tablet computer (<NUM>) to one or more other computer devices of the system;
a notification device (<NUM>) configured to display a patient request from the tablet computer (<NUM>) to a caregiver, and
locating equipment operable to determine a location of the tablet computer (<NUM>) in a healthcare facility,
wherein the tablet computer (<NUM>) is configured to display a first menu corresponding to basic request categories for a patient in response to selection of a make a request input on a predecessor screen of the tablet computer (<NUM>), the tablet computer (<NUM>) being configured to display a second menu corresponding to specific patient requests that fall under the basic request category selected by the patient using the first menu,
wherein the first menu is altered based on the location, and if the tablet computer (<NUM>) is determined to be located in a maternity ward, then a maternity option is included in the first menu, and if the tablet computer (<NUM>) is determined not to be located in the maternity ward, then the maternity option is omitted from the first menu.