Patent ID: 7621445

Claim:
A computer implemented method of managing medical records, comprising: identifying a collection of electronic records related to an individual; and storing at least some of the collection of electronic medical records on a portable electronic storage device having a fixed storage capacity, wherein the electronic records are stored according to a medical record storage policy contained on the portable electronic storage device and specifying a tiered hierarchy of record storage tiers, wherein the tiered hierarchy includes: at least a patient data tier for electronic records identifying the individual, a first tier for storing, on the portable electronic storage device, copies of electronic medical records related to the individual, a second tier for storing one or more links to medical records not stored on the portable electronic storage device, and a third tier for storing an indication of one or more repositories of electronic medical records where electronic records related to the individual may be obtained; wherein medical records are preferentially stored in the first tier on the portable electronic storage device while space remains available in the fixed storage capacity, according to the medical record storage policy; receiving a medical record for storage on the portable electronic storage device, the received medical record not part of the identified collection of electronic records; upon determining that the portable electronic storage device has insufficient storage capacity for the received medical record, removing at least one record from a current tier of the first and second tiers; and replacing the removed record with a replacement electronic record in a lower tier, of the second and third tiers.