Title: Occupational health/environmental surveillance

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of manipulating data concerning the health of a plurality of employees in a computer system, each of the employees working in at least one work location, each of the employees being identifiable by an employee identification and each of the work locations being identifiable by a work location identification, substances of which at least some are potentially hazardous being or having been present in at least one of the work locations, each of the substances being identifiable by a substance identification, the computer system having a substance data base for storing substance identifications, an employee identification data base for storing employee identifications, and an employee health data base for storing employee health data concerning each of the identified employees, said method comprising:

storing in the employee identification data base an identification of each employee and in conjunction with each stored employee identification storing a work location identification for each work location at which the employee has worked and in conjunction with each stored location identification storing an identification of the date the employee has worked at that work location;

updating the employee identification data base with the steps of entering new employee identifications when new employees are hired; entering additional work location identifications and date identifications in conjunction with each stored employee identification when the identified employee changes work locations;

storing in the substance data base substance identifications of substances which are or have been used and in conjunction with each substance identification storing the work location identification of each work location at which the substance has been present and in conjunction with each work location identification an identification of the dates the substance was present at that work location;

updating the substance data base including the steps of: entering additional substance identifications when additional substances are used and entering additional work location identifications and date identifications in conjunction with each stored substance identification when the use of that substance is commensed or discontinued at the identified work location; storing in the employee health data base the employee identification of each employee and in conjunction with each employee identification, health data concerning the employee identified; and

updating the employee health data base including the steps of: entering additional employee identifications of new employees; entering additional health data in conjunction with each stored employee identification as new health data is acquired concerning the identified employee;

whereby data is stored in interrelated data bases for relatively easy retrieval of data concerning employees, substances, work locations, employee health, and combinations thereof.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein each work location corresponds to a geographical or physical area of a work facility which may be dedicated to a specific manufacturing, process, or operation and wherein the computer system includes a location data base for storing work location identifications and in conjunction with each work location identification an indication of its geographical physical area of the work facility, the method further comprising the steps of:

storing in the location data base each work location identification and in conjunction with each work location identification, an indication of the physical boundaries of the work location and an identification of the date that the work location with the indicated physical boundaries was in use; and

updating the location data base by entering new location identifications when new work locations are created by adding additional facilities or by rearranging the physical boundaries of a work location within an existing facility and entering the physical boundaries of each additional work location and identifications of the dates that each work location was in use.

3. The method as set forth in claim 2 wherein means are present in at least one work location for monitoring physical conditions in the work location and wherein the location data base further stores in conjunction with each work location identification data monitored in the work location, the method further comprising:

storing physical condition data in conjunction with the corresponding work location identification.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein health data is collected on predetermined forms each form of which has a form identification and a predetermined list of health related questions and wherein computer system includes a forms data base for storing the form identifications and the significance of the health related questions on each form, the method further comprising the steps of:

wherein the step of storing health data in the employee health data base comprises storing an identification of one of the predetermined forms and a series of health data corresponding to the answers to the health related questions on the predetermined form without storing the health related questions or the significance of the answers;

storing in the forms data base each forms identification and in conjunction with each forms identification, an identification of the health significance of each health related question on the predetermined form; and

updating the forms data base by entering additional form identifications and in conjunction with each form identification the health significance of each health related question on the form, whereby the significance of health data stored in said employee health data base is determinable with reference to the forms data base.

5. The method as set forth in claim 4 wherein the identification of health significance of each health related question is based on the identification number from the International Classification of Diseases, Hospital Adaption.

6. The method as set forth in claim 4 wherein the health related questions are directed to the results of laboratory tests.

7. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the step of updating the employee health data base further includes:

assigning to each of a plurality of at least medical conditions an identifying health code;

clarifying the health code with clarifier codes for identifying the context in which the health code is used.

8. The method as set forth in claim 7 wherein said health code is the International Classification of Diseases Abstracted, Hospital version.

9. The method as set forth in claim 7 wherein an identifying health code is further assigned to maladies, treatments, medications, accidents and exposure to potentially hazardous substances.

10. The method as set forth in claim 7 wherein the clarifier codes identify, whether the health code represents a laboratory test concerning the medical condition, the laboratory procedure employed and the type of laboratory test.

11. The method as set forth in claim 7 wherein the employee health data base includes a plurality of storage locations which are identified by corresponding storage location identifiers and

monitoring the clarifier codes and in response to at least one clarifier code generating a series of storage location identifications; and

storing medical data at the corresponding identified storage locations.

12. The method as set forth in claim 11 wherein the computer system includes a display means for displaying textual messages and further including displaying a textual message in response to at least one clarifier code indicative of the nature of the medical data stored.

13. The method as set forth in claim 11 wherein the computer system includes retrieval means for retrieving medical data from the employee health data base, comparing means for comparing medical data with selected limiting criteria, and display means for displaying medical data and further including

determining storage location identifications for stored medical data to be retrieved;

retrieving the stored medical data from the determined storage location;

comparing the retrieved medical data with limiting criteria; and

displaying the retrieved medical data meeting the limiting criteria.

14. A method of manipulating data concerning the health of a plurality of employees in a computer system, each of the employees working in at least one work location, each of the employees being identifiable by an employee identification and each of the work locations being identifiable by a work location identification, substances of which at least some are potentially hazardous being or having been present in at least one of the work locations, each of the substances being identifiable by a substance identification, the computer system including a host computer having a substance data base for storing substance identifications, an employee identification data base for storing employee identifications, and an employee health data base for storing employee health data concerning each of the identified employees and mini-computer means having at least a substance memory means, an employee identification memory means and an employee health data memory means, said method comprising the steps of:

storing in the employee identification data base an identification of each employee and in conjunction with each stored employee identification storing a work location identification for each work location at which the employee has worked and in conjunction with each stored location identification storing an identification of the date the employee has worked at that work location;

updating the employee identification data base including the steps of entering additional employee identifications, additional work location identifications and additional date identifications into the employee identification memory means of the mini-computer means and transferring the identifications from the mini-computer means to the host computer employee identification data base;

storing in the substance data base substance identifications of substances which are or have been used and in conjunction with each substance identification, storing the work location identification of each work location at which the substance has been present and, in conjunction with each work location identification, an identification of the dates the substance was present at that work location;

updating substance data base including the steps of entering additional substance identifications, additional work location identifications, and additional date identifications into the substance memory means of the mini-computer means and transferring the identifications from the mini-computer means to the substance data base of the host computer;

storing in the employee health data base the employee identification of each employee and in conjunction with each employee identification, health data concerning the employee identified; and

updating the employee health data base including the steps of entering additional employee identifications and additional health data in the employee health data memory means of the mini-computer means and transferring the employee identifications and the additional health data from the mini-computer means into the employee health data base of the host computer;

whereby data is stored in interrelated data bases for relatively easy retrieval of data concerning employees, substances, work locations, employee health, and combinations thereof.

15. A method for manipulating in a computer system health data obtained from a plurality of non-predetermined health data forms and predetermined health data forms, each of the predetermined health data forms being adapted to receive a predetermined sequence of solicited health data, the health data being answers to health and medical questions, results of laboratory tests, physicians' findings and diagnoses, and the like, each of the predetermined health data forms being identified by a predetermined health data form code, each of the non-predetermined health data forms being adapted to receive health data and at least one health data code indicative of the significance of the received health data, and wherein the computer system comprises a forms data base for storing the predetermined health data form codes for each of the predetermined health data forms and for storing in conjunction with each of the predetermined health data form codes a sequence of health data codes which is indicative of the significance of health data in the sequence solicited by the predetermined health data form, and an employee health data base for storing an employee identification for each of a plurality of employees and in conjunction with each employee identification, for storing a plurality of predetermined health data form codes and in conjunction with each stored predetermined health data form code storing a plurality of health data, and for storing health data codes and associated health data from non-predetermined data forms, the method comprising:

entering and storing a plurality of predetermined health data form codes in said forms data base, entering and storing in conjunction with each predetermined health data form code the sequence of corresponding health data codes which indicate the health significance of the sequence of health data solicited by the predetermined health data form;

updating said forms data base by entering at least one additional predetermined health data form code and associated with the additional predetermined health data form code a corresponding sequence of health data codes;

storing an employee identification for each employee in the employee health data base;

conducting an examination of at least one of the identified employees and determining the health data solicited by at least one of the predetermined health data and non-predetermined health data forms;

entering the employee identification of the examined employee to index the employee health data base, entering and storing in conjucntion with the employee identification in the employee health data base at least one of: (a) a predetermined health data form code which identifies the predetermined data form and entering the health data in the sequence solicited by the predetermined health data form and storing the entered health data without the corresponding health data codes in conjunction with the preselected health data form code in the employee health data base and (b) the health data solicited by the non-predetermined health data form and the corresponding health data codes; and

indexing the forms data base with a selected health data code to select the predetermined health data form codes and positions within the predetermined health data forms that the health data corresponding to the selected health data code is solicited, retrieving from the employee health data base health data which is stored in conjunction with the selected predetermined health data form codes at the selected positions, and indexing the employee health data base with the selected health data code and retrieving the health data stored in conjunction with the health data code, whereby health data from predetermined and non-predetermined health data forms for the plurality of employees relating to the health condition indicated by the selected health data code is retrieved.

16. A computer system for manipulating health data obtained from at least one of a plurality of predetermined health data forms and non-predetermined health data forms, each of the predetermined health data forms soliciting health data in a predetermined sequence, each of the predetermined health data forms being identified by a predetermined health data form code, each of the non-predetermined health data forms being adapted to receive health data and at least one health data code which indicates the significance of the received health data, the health data being answers to health and medical questions, results of laboratory tests, physicians findings and diagnoses, and the like, the computer system comprising:

a forms data base for storing the predetermined health data forms codes and for storing in conjunction with each predetermined health data forms code a sequence of health data codes which indicate the significance of the health data solicited by the corresponding predetermined health data forms;

an employee health data base for storing an employee identification for each of a plurality of employees and for storing in conjunction with each employee identification at least one predetermined health data form code and for storing in conjunction with said at least one predetermined health data form code a sequence of health data in the same order as the forms data base stores the sequence of health data codes in conjunction with said at least one predetermined health data form code such that for predetermined health data forms the health data is stored in the employee health data base and the corresponding health data codes are stored in the forms data base, and, the employee health data base further storing health data solicited by a non-predetermined health data form with corresponding health data codes which indicate the signficance of the solicited health data such that for non-predetermined health data forms the health data and corresponding health data codes are both stored in the employee health data base;

updating means for updating the forms data base and the employee health data base, the updating means including means for entering additional preselected health data forms codes and a corresponding sequence of health data codes such that additional predetermined health data forms are created and means for entering additional employee identifications such that new employees are added;

health data entry means for entering health data in the employee health data base, the health data entry means including means for entering a predetermined health data from code and a sequence of health data and means for entering health data and corresponding health data codes; and

health data retrieving means for retrieving selected health data, the health data retrieving means including means for retrieving from the forms data base predetermined health data form codes and position within the sequence of health data at which the selected health data is stored, means for retrieving from the employee health data base the health data following each retrieved predetermined health data form code at the retrieved sequence position and for retrieving health data stored in conjunction with the health data code corresponding to the selected health data, such that the health data retrieving means retrieves the selected health data for all employees whether stored in the employee health data base in conjunction with predetermined health data form codes or health data codes.

17. A computer system for manipulating data concerning the health of a plurality of employees, each of the employees working in at least one work location, each of the employees being identifiable by an employee identification and each of the work locations being identifiable by a work location identification, substances of which at least some are potentially hazardous being or having been present in at least one of the work locations, each of the substances being identifiable by a substance identification; the computer system comprising:

an employee identification data base means for storing an identification of each employee, a work location identification for each work location at which the employee has worked, and an identification of the date the employee has worked at that work location;

a substance data base means for storing substance identifications of substances which are or have been used, the work location identification of each work location at which each substance has been present, and an identification of the dates each substance was present at each identified work location;

an employee health data base means for storing the employee identification of each employee and health data concerning the employee identified in conjunction with each employee identification; and

updating means for updating at least the employee identification data base means, the substance data base means and the employee health data base means, the updating means including means for entering in the employee identification data base means new employee identifications when new employees are hired, means for entering in the employee identification data base means additional work location identifications and data identifications when the identified employee changes work locations, means for entering in the substance data base means additional substance identifications when additional substances are used, means for entering in the substance data base means additional work location identifications and data identifications in conjunction with each stored substance identification when the use of that substance is commensed or discontinued at the identified work location, means for entering in the employee health data base means additional employee identifications of new employees, and means for entering in the employee health data base means additional health data in conjunction with each stored employee identification as new health data is acquired concerning the identified employee;

whereby data is stored in interrelated data bases for relatively easy retrieval of data concerning employees, substances, work locations, employee health, and combinations thereof.

18. The system as set forth in claim 17 further including:

editing means for extracting at least preselected additional health data which is entered by the updating means; and

display means for displaying at least the preselected health data extracted by the editing means, whereby reports on preselected medical problems are generated as the data bases are updated.

19. The system as set forth in claim 17 further including:

retrieval means for retrieving requested data from the employee identification data base means, the substance data base means, and the employee health data base means;

a report generator for reorganizing the requested data retrieved by the retrieval means into a preselected report format; and

display means for displaying the requested data in the preselected report format, whereby preselected reports are retrieved from the data base means.

20. The system as set forth in claim 17 wherein each work location corresponds to a geographical or physical area of a work facility is and wherein the computer system includes a location data base means for storing work location identifications and in conjunction with each work location identification an indication of its physical area in the work facility and an indication of the date that the work location with the indicated physical area was in use.

21. The system as set forth in claim 17 wherein health data is collected on predetermined forms each form of which has a form identification and a predetermined list of health related questions and wherein computer system includes a forms data base means for storing the form identifications and the significance of the health related questions on each form.

22. The computer system as set forth in claim 17 wherein the health data includes: a four byte health code from the International Classification of Diseases Abstracted, hospital version for identifying a medical condition; a plurality of clarifier bytes for identifying the context in which the health code is used, and wherein the employee health data base means includes means for storing the four byte health code and the clarifier bytes.

23. The computer system as set forth in claim 22 wherein the clarifier bytes identify whether the health code represents a diagnosis of the medical condition, the source of diagnosis, and the time of existence of the medical condition.

24. The computer system as set forth in claim 23 wherein the clarifier code includes prefix and suffix clarifiers.

25. The computer system as set forth in claim 23 wherein the clarifier codes identify at least the source and time of existence of the medical condition.

26. The computer system as set forth in claim 22 wherein the clarifier bytes identify whether the health data code represents a laboratory test concerning the medical condition, and the type of laboratory test.


Other info:


Inventors: Giguere, Edward L. (Parma, OH)
Kaiser, Paul H. (North Olmsted, OH)
Campbell, Gordon M. (North Ridgeville, OH)
Hoffman, Peter F. (O'Fallon, IL)
Boutchyard Jr., Hansford (Brunswick, OH)

Application Number: 05/967520
Filing Date: 1978-12-07
Publication_date: 1982-08-31
Assignee: DIAMOND SHAMROCK CORP

Primary Class(es): 600/300 705/2
Other Classes: G06F19/00; G06F7/00
US Patent Ref:

3794982	February, 1974	McCormick et al.	364/900	DATA ACQUISITION DEVICE
3872448	March, 1975	Mitchell, Jr.	364/200	HOSPITAL DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM
3970996	July, 1976	Yasaka et al.	364/900	Apparatus for collecting medical data
4053951	October, 1977	Hudspeth et al.	364/900	Data acquisition, storage and display system
4075680	February, 1978	Calle et al.	364/200	Capacitance densitometer for flow regime identification
4130881	December, 1978	Haessler et al.	364/900	System and technique for automated medical history taking

Other Refs:
Primary Examiner: Shaw, Gareth D.
Assistant Examiner: Heckler, Thomas M.
Attorney: Fay & Sharpe