Patent ID: 7667624

Claim:
A method for compressing clinical data, said method comprising: selecting a first encoding method and a second encoding method, the first encoding method and the second encoding method being fixed during a monitoring session of a first patient, the second encoding method providing a compression ratio that is higher than a compression ratio provided by the first encoding method; monitoring a clinical parameter of the first patient during the monitoring session using a digital electronic monitoring device, wherein the clinical parameter is a function of time; locating exceptional values of the clinical parameter in accordance with predetermined criteria using a processor; electronically encoding diagnostically significant information concerning the exceptional values of the clinical parameters using the first encoding method; electronically encoding information concerning normal values of the clinical parameters, wherein the normal values of clinical parameters and the predetermined criteria are encoded using the second encoding method; and communicating the differently encoded exceptional values of clinical parameters, the normal values of clinical parameters, and the predetermined criteria to a clinical database repository (CDR).