Patent ID: 8795169

Claim:
A system for monitoring a patient with a previously diagnosed chronic condition and establishing communication with a device located in a remote location, the system transferring information from a first location to the remote location, the system comprising: (a) a portable monitoring apparatus at the first location comprising: a transducing device that generates an electronic signal representative of a physiological parameter of the patient; a processor operatively coupled to the transducing device and programmed to process the electronic signal from the transducing device; a communication device operatively coupled to the processor and to a communication network; an output device operatively coupled to the processor, the output device being configured to present questions to the patient that establish whether the patient is perceiving symptoms related to the previously diagnosed chronic condition; an input device operatively coupled to the processor to receive answers from the patient in response to the questions, wherein the answers include at least yes and no answers; and (a) a processing computer at the remote location, the processing computer communicatively coupled to the monitoring apparatus, wherein the processing computer receives the processed electronic signal to generate physiological data, and also receives an indication of each of the answers, to generate symptom data, wherein the processing computer analyzes a trend of the physiological data and an overall symptom data score, wherein the overall symptom data score is generated based on pre-assigned score values associated with each of the answers, and if the physiological data trend and the overall symptom data score exceeds an expected change over time, then the processing computer issues an alert, wherein the pre-assigned score values include at least numerical score values.