Method and apparatus for electronically accessing and distributing personal health care information and services in hospitals and homes

An electronic information system for distribution of medical information and patient services comprising:

• (a) a data source in the form of a Master Library (ML) storing data in digital compressed format, the ML being adapted to store unprocessed or digitally compressed data selected from one or more of the following:
• (i) patient/medical staff health record information,
• (ii) clinical data including X-Ray, MRI and video images,
• (iii) patient laboratory data to support medical diagnoses and investigations,
• (iv) educational/training information in video or textual format for the training of medical personnel and patient requirements,
• (v) pharmaceutical databases,
• (vi) entertainment audio/video data,
• (vii) monitored video of critical areas including operating rooms and psychiatric wards,
• (viii) general security video monitoring data, and
• (ix) management information data including accounting/billing and inventory control/ordering services;
• (b) a communications interconnection system electronically associated with the ML;
• (c) a computerized nursing station electronically associated with the ML through the internal medical information network for temporary storage of patients' health records that have been accessed and downloaded from the ML, said nursing station operating as a client/server computer system, wherein the server computer is part of the nursing station and the client systems are the interconnected Patient Care Stations (PCS). The nursing station server system containing disk and random access memory (RAM) and the server computer to temporarily store health records for patients interfaced to this station;
• (d) an electronic PCS comprising client computers located at each patient bedside communicating with the nursing station server system, said client computers each comprising a central processing unit with associated memory and the following items:
• (i) a monitor screen for display of normal NTSC video, RGB video and other interfaced/non-interlaced digital video formats;
• (ii) interface means to electronically communicate through the communications interconnection system with the ML and with the nursing station;
• (iii) a wireless/IR transmitter/receiver to communicate with a pen based computer device (Personal Data Assistant or PDA);
• (iv) an input entry device to facilitate the patient/medical staff communication within the system;
• (v) compression and decompression means for data passed to and from the patient care station;
• and
• (vi) application software supplying patient and medical staff services.