Patent ID: 7991625

Claim:
A system for providing expert care simultaneously to a plurality of basic care medical facilities (BCMFs) in seperate geographic locations comprising: a network; a remote command center dedicated to monitoring and managing the care of BCMF patients, which is apart from the BCMFs and is connected to the network, wherein the remote command center has access to an organized collection of electronic information (database); monitoring stations located in the plurality of BCMFs, wherein the monitoring stations comprise instructions for obtaining data elements from patients who are located in the plurality of BCMFs (monitored patient data elements) and for communicating the monitored patient data elements to the database via the network, wherein the database comprises stored patient data elements comprising the monitored patient data elements and other patient data elements associated with medical conditions of the BCMF patients; and wherein the remote command center has access to a patient care management system, which comprises instructions for: accessing patient data elements from the stored patient data elements in the database; utilizing a rules engine to apply rules repeatedly and automatically to at least two patient data elements according to the rules of the rules engine 24 hours per day 7 days per week, wherein the rules identify medical conditions that may warrant management by a health care provider; using information generated by the rules engine to determine if an alert should be provided; and simultaneously displaying alerts at the remote command center for all patients for whom the patient care system determines that an alert should be displayed at the remote command center.