Patent ID: 7411509

Claim:
A portable monitoring system for geographically dispersed health care locations comprising: a telecommunication network; portable monitoring stations comprising monitoring equipment, wherein the monitoring equipment comprises instructions for monitoring data elements from patients assigned to geographically dispersed health care locations and for sending the monitored data elements to a remote command center via the telecommunications network, wherein the remote command center comprises instructions for: receiving the monitored data elements from a patient assigned to a health care location; accessing patient data elements indicative of a medical condition associated with the patient; establishing a patient-specific rule associated with the patient; and applying the patient-specific rule continuously and simultaneously using a rules engine, wherein the rules engine comprises instructions for: selecting data elements from the monitored data elements and the patient data elements associated with the patient; applying the patient-specific rule to the selected data elements; determining in an automated fashion at the remote command center whether the patient-specific rule for the patient has been contravened; and in the event the patient-specific rule for the patient has been contravened, issuing an alert from the remote command center.