Patent ID: 8560348

Claim:
A machine for processing, storing and handling health care information, comprising: at least one appliance device adapted to implement an individual-centric health information model, said appliance device adapted to be incorporated into an existing network or information technology system, said appliance device comprising the following components: a persistent data storage device; an information input component, adapted to receive health care information from one or more health care information sources, wherein at least a portion of said health care information is received from preexisting external electronic data records; and a central health record component, adapted to transform said health care information to create or modify one or more separate health care objects from that information, wherein each health care object is an object-oriented software environment object subject to an object hierarchy associated with said health information model; wherein the creation or modification of each health care object comprises the steps of: automatically validating the health care information; automatically parsing the health care information; automatically transforming the health care information using a central health care ontology comprising a specific set or hierarchy of concepts and relationships related to health care; automatically assigning one or more ontology concept codes to the transformed information; automatically determining whether to create a new health care object or modify an existing health care object based upon whether the transformed information is matched to any entity already existing in a record in said persistent data storage device; and automatically creating or modifying said health care object or objects using said transformed information, wherein the health care object or objects after creation or modification each comprise a Single Best Record object containing the best composite information taken from multiple sources known about a health care condition, service, result, product, test, care relationship, or event for an individual.