WO2014080081A1

WO2014080081A1 - A medical self-service unit and related system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2014080081A1
Application number: PCT/FI2013/051094
Authority: WO
Inventors: Johanna SANTANEN; Olli Santanen
Original assignee: CARESPACE Oy
Current assignee: CARESPACE Oy
Priority date: 2012-11-23
Filing date: 2013-11-22
Publication date: 2014-05-30
Anticipated expiration: 2015-05-23

Abstract

A system for providing a medical diagnosis for a user is disclosed. The system provides a set of questions to the user for gathering personal and medical information about the user, the system granting or denying access to an medical self-service unit based on the anamnesis, the system guiding the user through a medical self-service process by providing instructions and medical examination means, the system teaching the user to classify each examination result to one or more groups, the system collecting medical data from said medical self-service process, the system providing the medical diagnosis for the user, wherein the medical diagnosis is based on said personal and medical information and said medical data and on said user classifications.

Description

A MEDICAL SELF-SERVICE UNIT AND RELATED SYSTEM AND METHOD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and means for medical services conducted as self-service. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Most common practice for a patient in need of medical services is to go to a physician^'s office where a physician examines the patient, and gives instructions on how to seek and make an appointment for medical imaging or laboratory tests, diagnoses the medical illness and gives treatment instructions and/or referral for treatments and maybe a prescription and possibly a medical certificate for the employer or insurance company. As a rule, the prices of medical examinations such as medical imaging or laboratory tests and treatments are high partly because of high labour prizes and high cost of devices but also in many countries because of the pricing strategies of companies providing health services. Patients cannot know before going to the doctor's appointment which tests or treatments the doctor will prescribe and that is why the price of an examination or treatment does not play such an important role for patients at that moment. In addition to medical insurance companies and employers who often reimburse these examinations and treatments, also patients would benefit from cheaper medical services that they could conduct by themselves with the help of e.g. a video tutorial.

In a typical doctor's appointment the diagnosis is based on doctor's opinion which is expensive and in many cases evident for the patient if he/she has had a focused introduction to the basics of the matter. Patients with benign medical conditions of frequent occurrence e.g. upper respiratory infections could manage without a professional diagnosis if they could trust their own user-diagnoses which would lead to a diminished usage of increasingly scarce future medical human resources.

If the expensive medical devices would be located in self-service units the prices of examinations and treatments could be lower. Medical examination could be e.g. imaging, auscultation, biosignal monitoring, laboratory tests or any other test or examination conducted with the aid of a medical device or the like. Medical treatment could be e.g. physical or ultrasound physiotherapy, ultrasound cavitation therapy, light therapy or any other treatment conducted with the aid of a medical device or the like. Medical self-service unit could be a separate kiosk like modular compartment or a normal room in a building.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is thus to provide a method, a system and a device for implementing the method so as to alleviate the above disadvantages. The objects of the invention are achieved by a method, a device and a system which are characterized by what is stated in the independent claims. The preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims. The invention is based on the idea of identifying patients suitable for a medical self-examination or self-treatment by providing a set of questions to the patient and by processing answers to these questions and further providing the means and instructions for the patients to perform medical self-service i.e. self-examination or self-treatment the former of which can then be used as a basis for medical diagnosis. The suitable patients could also be identified in such a way that the patient already has research or treatment referral from his/her physician or other health professional. This referral can be either in electric or paper format. In case the patient continues to the medical self-examination or self-treatment, the answers already given are utilized in the self-service process.

An advantage of the method and arrangement of the invention is that the use of self-examination and self-treatment means is efficient and expedient. If the patient manages the whole self-service process by himself/herself without the help of assisting personnel, there is potential to save in labour costs and to extend service hours since extra service hours do not increase labour costs at the same proportion or increase the need to agree on working hours with the personnel. Another advantage is that the capacity of skilled physicians or other health professionals can be released from mere routine work and directed to more demanding tasks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following the invention will be described in greater detail means of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 is a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 2 illustrates a system according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is described by means of exemplary embodiment with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The method starts 100 when a user connects a server 200 of the system. The user may connect the server by means of a user's computer 240 executing a WWW browser program by loading a page which is hosted by the server 200 or which has means for connecting the server 200. The page may be reached via the Internet, an internal network or some other telecommunications network. The user may also connect the server with a computer program dedicated for purposes of the present method. Said computer program may also be executed on a mobile phone, a user terminal and/or other computing devices.

When the user has connected to the server 200, the user is prompted to log in 102 to the service. On the first time the user chooses or is given a username and a password. The user may be identified by means of an ID card and a card reader connected to the computing device. The user may also be identified by the user's credit card details or by logging in to the user's bank account. In an embodiment the user enters manually his/her personal details to the system. A letter with the entered personal details may be mailed to the user and a signature confirmation may be required prior to getting full access to the system. In an embodiment mobile certificate, fingerprint and other bio signals can be utilized. After the first log-in the user's details are already in the system and subsequent log-ins require only the username and the password. Also a text message including a pin code could be sent to the user to further verify the user's identity. In and embodiment mobile certificate, fingerprint and other bio signals can be utilized. After logging in, the user is prompted to respond to a set of questions 1 10 which are related to the user's health. These preliminary questions may be related to the user's medical history and present state of health including e.g. previous illnesses, diagnoses, symptoms, medical operations, constitution, user's state of health, observations and/or pregnancy. The set of questions may be arranged to be responded so that only one question, a small group of questions or a large group of questions is shown at a time. The next question may then be chosen depending on the answer to the present question. For example if a question concerns whether the user has cough and the user responds "no", the next question may be related to a different subject-matter. If the user responds something else, the next question may be for determining details, for example frequency or intensity, of the coughing. The set of questions and the user's answers to those questions are processed in order to create anamnesis for the user. For another example, the system could introduce self-examination or self-treatment to the patient. Potential service users will preferably need to ensure that they are familiar with the instructions before using the service. For another example, the system could introduce self-examination or self-treatment to the patient and then ask questions about the presented material. Preferably at least most of the questions are phrased in such a manner that a certain number of responses can be provided for the user to choose from. The given response alternatives may be numbers, numerical ranges, verbal interpretations, images, body parts, areas in an image, or something else that is preferably clear and unambiguous to both the user and the system. The set of questions can be easily adjusted for each user and each log-in by offering response alternatives to questions. The set of questions may be constructed using a question diagram. The question diagram preferably proceeds from an existence of a symptom to details of the symptom. For example, if the user responds that he/she feels pain, the next questions determine the characteristics of the pain with questions such as where?; since when?; how often?; how intense?; constant or throbbing?; and so on. Further questions related to pain may also aim for excluding certain illnesses, diagnoses or conditions.

Responses in free text format are avoided whenever possible for several reasons. Questions for which response alternatives are given are easier and faster to respond and the response does not require interpretation. The data received from the responses is straightforward to classify and save to a database 210 for further use. Processing of even a large database with classified entries is relatively easy and it is a powerful tool for establishing relationships between entries, for example between symptoms and diagnoses.

When the user has responded one or more questions the response data is sent to the server 200 where the response data is processed. When the user has responded all the questions, the user will receive the results of the preliminary computed analysis and judgement on the suitability for medical self-service i.e. self-examination or self-treatment 1 12 which depend on the outcome of the processing of the response data. In an embodiment the user is classified into one of three categories based on the response data.

The first category 1 15, 1 17 is for users who are healthy or have such minor symptoms that an examination or treatment in the unit would be unnecessary. If those for whom examination is considered unnecessary can benefit from treatment they will receive treatment instructions 1 16 and the method will end there.

The second category is for users who have symptoms of an illness and their condition might go on and on or get more severe without a proper treatment. Also users having symptoms that are common for multiple illnesses or conditions will benefit from the examination and are classified into the second category. Furthermore, all cases for which it might be beneficial to do an examination or have self-treatment may be classified into this category as long as they have no absolute contraindication for examination or treatment. The users classified into the second category are provided with medical self- service unit information 1 14. The medical self-service unit information may include location of the units, instructions how to use or how to access the unit, how to book time for self-service unit, how to prepare for the examination or treatment, guidance on how to conduct a self-examination and a self-treatment and other information which might be relevant to the use of the unit or the self- service to be conducted. In an embodiment the user can book time for self- service unit e.g. from the web page 122. The third category is for users who are potentially in a medical emergency 1 19 or otherwise the examination or treatment is contraindicated 1 18. Users who, based on the response data, might be in mortal danger within the next few hours or days are advised to seek help immediately 120. Information on the nearest hospital or health center may be provided as well as an emergency phone number. The method ends after the relevant emergency information or the reason for contraindication has been provided.

In another embodiment there are only two categories: suitable for medical self-service and not suitable for medical self-service. Since there is no harm done in making a certain examination e.g. magnetic resonance or ultrasound or video imaging, to a substantially healthy user who has no contraindication to it, it may be worthwhile to examine all the users except the ones who need immediate medical assistance or do not have the time or capability to examine themselves at a later time. There is also no harm done in giving a certain treatment to patients who have no contraindication to it e.g. physiotherapy by a device.

In another embodiment there may be a large number of categories for the users. For example, users with severe symptoms might have a priority over users with less severe symptoms if the capacity of the medical self- service unit is at its limits. In another embodiment, there might be specialized medical self-service units and the users are classified into categories based on the examinations or treatments to be made. For example, users with respiratory related condition could be classified into a different category than pregnant women with pregnancy related condition because they need different examinations which can only be performed in certain self-service units. In an embodiment, a further category is provided for the elderly who may then be provided with instructions to access self-service units which have an easy access, telephone assistance or some other aids which might be useful for the elderly. All in all, the classifications and the number of categories may vary greatly depending on for example the scale of the system, desired service level, efficiency or other factors.

Users referred to the self-service unit are requested to provide identification 123 before access to the unit is granted 124. Preferably access control means 230 for identifying a user and providing access to the self- service unit are provided outside the unit concerned. In an embodiment a card reader or a scanner is provided on the outer surface of the self-service unit with instructions to insert an identity card into the reader or the scanner. In an embodiment a health insurance card, a credit card or a payment card can also be used. In an embodiment the user receives a pin code or a password within the examination or treatment unit information 1 14 and access is granted when the user enters the pin code or password with a keypad, a touchscreen, a capacitive touch screen or some other input device located on or near the unit concerned. In an embodiment the user may be identified by sending a message or an authentication e.g. mobile certificate over short distance e.g. NFC or long distance wireless communications means using a mobile phone or some other mobile device, speech, face, fingerprint, iris, or other bio signal recognition. In an embodiment the user is re-recognized inside the self-service unit by a camera or other previously mentioned means.

After access has been granted the user may enter the self-service unit through an entrance. In an embodiment the self-service unit consists of one room. In another embodiment the self-service unit may consist of several separate lockable or unlockable rooms e.g. a dressing room, a room equipped with metal detector or other pre-examination means and an actual examination/treatment room which can be accessed only by going through the previously mentioned rooms. The self-service unit comprises a computing device for presenting multimedia content such as text, images, photos, video and audio with output devices such as a display, a loudspeaker and/or a printer. The computing device comprises or is connected to at least one input device so that the user may give input. The input device may be for example a touchscreen, a capacitive touch screen, a keyboard, a mouse, a pointing device, a microphone or a camera device. The computing device may be for example a typical personal computer arranged in such a manner that the user is able to use the input devices and see the monitor but other components may be located in a secure compartment into which the user does not have access. The computing device may also be a laptop, a tablet computer or a client for a server of the system. The computing means are used as a self-service unit user interface 220. The medical self-service unit may also comprise medical examination means for performing medical self-examination 126. The medical examination means may comprise different medical devices and instruments, reagents and diagnostic laboratory kits depending on the purpose of the self- service unit. In an embodiment the medical examination means comprise a stethoscope, a thermometer, a sphygmomanometer, pulse oximeter and an otoscope. In an embodiment the medical examination means comprise an ultrasound imaging device and/or a magnetic resonance imaging device. In another embodiment the instruments are preferably equipped with electronic measurement devices, such as thermocouples, microphones, cameras, etc., and connected to the computing device or a network so that results of the examination or treatment may be transmitted to a server for further processing. The medical examination or treatment means may form a part of the self- service unit user interface 220 or the examination or treatment means may be connected to the self-service unit Ul. In an embodiment the medical self- service unit comprises medical treatment means for performing medical self- treatment 127 e.g. ultrasound physiotherapy, ultrasound cavitation therapy, light therapy or any treatment conducted with the aid of a medical device or the like. The self-service unit also comprises networking means for connecting the computing device to a network. The networking means may be wireless or wired networking means for connecting the computing device to a server via a network.

When the user enters the medical self-service unit a welcome message may be shown on the display of the computing device or an audio message may be played. In a similar way the user is given the initial instructions 125 or the user is prompted to start the examination or treatment. The user may read the initial instructions on the display screen and touch the screen when ready to start the medical self-service i.e. self-examination or self-treatment process. The user may also listen or watch the instructions from the output unit e.g. video and respond by speaking or doing something else. A computer program controls the output unit e.g. display and the medical self- service process. The computer program may be executed in the computing device, in the server or in another computing device into which the computing device of the medical self-service unit is connected via the network.

The self-examination or self-treatment process may begin when the user responds to the initial output of the computing device running the self- examination or self-treatment process. The process is interactive wherein the user is invited to perform one or more medical examinations or treatments. In other words, in the self-examination process 126 the user uses the examination means to examine himself/herself and in the self-treatment process 127 the user uses the treatment means to treat himself/herself. For example, if the user has answered in the preliminary questions that he/she has pain in his/her ear the medical self-service process may instruct the user to examine his/her ears. This may be realized by instructing the user to pick up the otoscope by displaying a photo of the otoscope on the display screen and then instructing how to use the otoscope. When the user is using the otoscope, a video stream or images taken with the otoscope are displayed on the display screen. For another example, if the user has answered in the preliminary questions that he/she has pain in his/her limb the medical self-service process may instruct the user to examine his/her limb. This may be realized by instructing the user to insert his/her leg into the cavity of magnetic resonance imaging device by displaying a photo of the magnetic resonance imaging device on the display screen and then instructing how to position the leg into the cavity depending on where the suspected defect locates in the leg. In an embodiment the user is invited also to answer one or more questions. The questions to be responded may be related to the examinations made by the user or other matters. In an embodiment the patient has an option to utilize real-time online helpdesk video, phone or chat service to get additional help to accomplish self-examination or self-treatment. In an embodiment the patient is actively taught to help him/her learn how to classify examination results into subgroups in order for the system to produce better computed user-aided- diagnosis. In an embodiment, the system may actively teach users, such as patients, patients' assistants or inexperienced health professionals to classify each examination result into one or more categories by showing pictures or video where anatomical structure or abnormality under self-analysis is visually marked or the same information is given by playing recorded or otherwise produced speak in order the patient to give a trained answer which he/she can trust 128. The system may e.g. ask the user whether the user's ear looks healthy or inflamed or perforated or otherwise abnormal and show one or more examples of a healthy ear and one or more examples of an abnormal ear next to the image or video of the user's ear where the essential structures for making the classification are clearly marked and named in all the images and these marks maybe linked to lead to e.g. web sites, media files or pop-up tooltips giving more detailed information. The user may categorize the examination result by pointing e.g. touching one or more images (healthy/inflamed/perforated/etc.) on the display screen or otherwise indicate which of the images is chosen. In an embodiment the system stores the user's answer and may immediately tell whether the user was right or wrong. A similar procedure to any of the previously presented could be followed in all the measurements and examinations made by the user. For example, showing an MRI-image of the user's finger together with an example of a healthy finger and a finger with abnormal finding such as a fractured bone or a disrupted tendon so that the user may analyse if he/she has a certain abnormality in his/her finger.

In an embodiment the user's answer is accepted as such and the following questions and examinations are based on the user's opinion. In an embodiment the user's classifications of examination results are verified or corrected by the computing unit, the server, a health professional 130 or an artificial intelligence system 129. In an embodiment a "score card" could be shown in the end of the medical self-service process showing all the user's answers and the answers proposed by the system or the physician. By comparing these answers to each other users learn from their own, possible mistakes. The ultimate purpose of teaching patients and offering comparison data is to empower the user to trust his/her analyses and not to consult health professionals so often. In another embodiment the educational aspect is realized by showing an answer proposed by the system after each self- examination when the user has given his/her answers. When the medical self- service process is conducted in either of these ways the user might learn to successfully categorize examination results leading the system to propose better user-aided diagnosis and the user not needing physician's services in the future as often as before. In an embodiment an examination result could be analysed automatically without e.g. showing any pictures to the user but maybe just a text stating that the result is being analysed and showing the final result after that. In an embodiment the system produces computed user-aided diagnosis based on the user's answers and classifications of examination results either with the aid of a trained artificial intelligence system or by finding similar symptom-examination result combinations from the database and listing the most frequent diagnoses. In other words, in the system the analysis and/or diagnosing may be performed by the computing device or the server which has access to a database of historical patient data. In an embodiment, the system produces computed diagnosis based on the user's answers and computed classifications of examination results analysed by the system. The analysis may be based on the probabilities and/or statistical information on different diagnoses of patients having similar symptoms and/or similar examination results. In some cases the symptom-examination result-diagnosis path is clear and the diagnosis can be given with high certainty. In some cases the path is less clear and there are several different diagnoses for similar symptoms and examination results. The analysis may also be based on artificial intelligence system taught with real patient data and/or with fictitious patient data. In an embodiment the examination results and other data gathered from the user could be automatically sent to a health professional 250 working for example for a health center or a hospital.

In addition to the computed diagnosis the user may also receive treatment instructions. The treatment instructions can be based on the diagnosis and preferably also on the anamnesis, examination results and/or on the user's overall condition. The treatment instructions are preferably stored in the database or otherwise accessible by the server 200 or the self-service unit Ul 220. In an embodiment all the saved information is accessible by the patient. When all the questions and examinations of the medical self-service process are completed, all the information provided by the user is saved to the database. The information is preferably saved to the database in multiple parts, for example after each question, after each set of questions or after each method step in which the user provides some information that can be saved. The information that is saved to the database includes the preliminary questions and answers i.e. the anamnesis, questions and answers during the medical self-service process, results of the examinations performed, the diagnosis or the diagnoses, treatment instructions, and preferably an outcome of the whole process. Also other information that is created or received during the entire diagnosing process may be saved to the database. The information may then be later used in diagnosing and also for finding new symptom- examination result-diagnosis paths both for known diseases and conditions but also for new and unknown diseases.

In an embodiment the user is asked to report his condition after the instructed treatment, for example 2 weeks, 3 weeks or a month after the self- examination or self-treatment 140. The time to report outcome condition may vary depending e.g. on the diagnosis. This outcome data is then saved to the database to close a path of symptom-examination result-diagnosis-treatment- outcome. The outcome data may then be analysed and the efficiency of different treatments for the same diagnosis can be compared. In an embodiment the user may find similar anonymous patient cases with outcome data from the database to get an understanding of his/her prognosis and the effectiveness of actual treatments. The outcome reporting may also serve as basis to suggest the user to perform the self-examination or self-treatment process again if the user^'s condition has not improved normally or to suggest contacting a hospital if the condition has gotten worse. The outcome data may be collected in the same way as the preliminary information using the same log-in method and information. The user may be invited to report the outcome data for example by means of an email or an SMS.

The user may also receive an interpretation of an examination by the system. The computed diagnosis or interpretation of examination result is either displayed on the display screen, it may be printed on a paper or, in some cases, even read out through a loudspeaker. If the user is satisfied with the computed diagnosis, the system may propose treatments for the complaint, after which the service in the medical self-service unit ends. In an embodiment the user is offered a chance of an opinion from a health professional on duty 130. The user might choose this option for example if the proposed diagnosis or interpretation from the system does not feel right or the user has doubts that some misunderstanding may have occurred during the self-examination. The user might choose this option also for example if he/she needs prescription 133 or some certificate 135 from a legislated physician or health professional. When the user chooses to use this option all the information given and examinations performed by the user will be transmitted to the physician on duty for further analysis. If the health professional considers it necessary he/she may give a call or a video-call 131 to the patient in order to ask further questions and ensure the patient^'s general condition. The health professional may for example give an interpretation 132 or suggest more examinations to the user. The health professional^'s e.g. physician's interpretation of examination results, diagnosis and treatment plan may be presented on the display screen, printed on a paper, sent to the user's email address, mailed to a postal address or it may be accessible via a webpage. The physician's interpretation may also be sent as an SMS or MMS message to the user's mobile phone or the physician may call to the patient and tell the interpretation to the user preferably after the patient has left the self-service unit. In an embodiment the diagnosis, interpretation of examination results and treatment plan are automatically printed out on a paper and/or sent to user's email address. In an embodiment a physician always verifies the diagnosis, interpretation of examination results and treatment plan before it is delivered to the user.

Preferably before exiting the self-service unit the user is asked if he/she wants medication for the complaint. If the user so desires and if a prescription for medication is needed 133, the prescription is printed on a paper, called by phone or sent electronically to the nearest pharmacy or to a chosen pharmacy or sent to the user's email address, it may be accessible via a webpage or delivered to the user by other means 134. In an embodiment the medical prescription is automatically printed out on a paper and/or sent to user's email address so that the user can later make the decision of purchasing the medication from any pharmacy. In an embodiment a physician always verifies the prescription before it is delivered to the user.

In an embodiment the user has an option of getting a medical certificate 135 of his/her illness or condition. If the user so desires, the medical certificate is printed on a paper, sent electronically to the user's employer and/or insurance company, sent to the user's email address, mailed to the user's postal address, it may be accessible via a webpage or delivered to the user by other means 136. In an embodiment the medical certificate is automatically printed out on a paper and/or sent to user's email address. In an embodiment a physician always verifies the medical certificate before it is delivered to the user.

The medical self-service process may end 138 when the user has conducted self-examination 126 or self-treatment 127, received a computed diagnosis 129, a health professional^'s treatment plan 132, a health professional^'s interpretation 132, a prescription 134 and/or a medical certificate 136. In other embodiments some documents may be automatically delivered to the user, some documents may be offered to the user if the user so chooses and some documents may be unavailable to the user for example due to legislation or some other reasons. In an embodiment, the examination or treatment unit is disinfected with suitable ultraviolet light emitting devices or desinfective mist or mechanical human or robot cleaning with desinfective liquid when the user has left the self-service unit.

It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as the technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above but may vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of providing categorized medical examination results, characterized by a system guiding a user through a medical examination process by providing instructions and medical examination means for examining a patient, said system providing information so as to teach the user to categorize an examination result into one or more groups by presenting to the user at least one healthy and at least one abnormal/pathologic sample and information about which issues and details in samples the user should pay attention to when comparing the samples to the examination-result, and said system collecting medical data from said examination process and said user categorizations.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized by the examination process being a self-examination process.

3. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that the user is the patient.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by the system providing information to the user so that the user can compare the user's categorizations to the categorizations made by a health professional or said system.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by the system providing a set of questions to the user for gathering personal and medical information about the patient i.e. anamnesis and providing means for submitting said anamnesis, said medical data and said user categorizations to artificial diagnostic system or to a health professional and providing means for receiving one or more of the following: a diagnosis, categorizations, treatment instructions, a prescription and a certificate.

6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said examination process is an interactive process wherein the user is invited to perform at least one medical examination and answer at least one question.

7. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by said system preparing said examination process by selecting suitable medical examination to be performed and questions to be answered wherein the selection is based on the medical information provided by the user.

8. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by said system preparing said examination process by selecting suitable medical examination to be performed and questions to be answered wherein the selection is based on statistical data of relationships between one or more of the following: anamnesis, symptoms, examination results and diagnoses.

9. A method according to claim 5, characterized by said system providing examination means in a self-service unit which comprises a lockable entrance, and by said system granting an access into said self-service unit for identified users having a certain medical information in the database when said identified users provide at least one of the following: a health insurance card, a credit card, a payment card, an identity card, a pin code, a password, a mobile phone, a face, a speech, an iris, a fingerprint and a biosignal.

10. A method according to claim 9, characterized by providing means for submitting said anamnesis to a system classifying the users into one of the following groups: essentially healthy, suitable for the self- examination process, not suitable for self-examination process, and receiving classifications according to which access is granted to a self-service unit enclosing said examination means only when the user is suitable for the self- examination process.

11. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the said system invites user to report his/her symptoms, condition and realized treatment after the self-examination process for providing outcome data.

12. A medical self-service unit having an entrance for accessing the medical self-service unit wherein the medical self-service unit comprises a computing device for presenting multimedia content, medical examination means for performing medical self-examination, networking means for connecting the computing device to a network, characterized in that the entrance is lockable and the medical self-service unit comprises identification means for opening the entrance and granting access inside the medical self-service unit for identified users and that said identification means are arranged to access a database of personal and medical information on users wherein the identification means are arranged to grant access inside the medical self-service unit only for identified users having certain medical information in the database.

13. A medical self-service unit according to claim 12, characterized in that the medical self-service further comprises medical self-service means for performing medical self-treatment.

14. A medical self-service unit according to claim 12, characterized in that said identification means are arranged to identify a user based on at least one of the following: a health insurance card, a credit card, a payment card, an identity card, a pin code, a password, a mobile phone, user's face, user's iris, user's fingerprint, user's speech and biosignal.

15. A medical self-service unit according to any one of claims claim 12 to 14, characterized in that it comprises at least two lockable compartments wherein the first compartment comprises examination means for performing at least one preliminary examination wherein granting of access to the second compartment depends on at least one preliminary examination performed in the first compartment.

16. A system for providing a medical diagnosis for a user wherein the system comprises a server having data processing means and a network connection wherein the server is arranged to be connected to a user terminal, a database and a medical self-service unit via the network and arranged to send and receive data between said devices, a user terminal for receiving a preliminary set of questions from the server and for responding to the preliminary set of questions about user's medical condition, a database for storing the response for the preliminary set of questions, self-examination data and diagnosis, wherein the system is characterized in that the system further comprises a medical self-service unit wherein the entrance is lockable and the medical self-service unit comprises identification means for opening the entrance and granting access inside the medical self-service unit for identified users having certain medical information in the database wherein the identification means are arranged to access a database of personal and medical information and the identification means arranged to be accessed without entering the medical self-service unit, the medical self-service unit further comprising a computing device and medical examination means for performing a medical self-examination in a guided manner and for submitting results of said medical examination to the server wherein said preliminary questions and said results are processed for providing a diagnosis to the user.

17. A system according to claim 16, characterized in that the database stores treatment instructions and outcome data.

18. A system according to claim 16, characterized in that the database stores the relationships between at least two of the following: anamnesis, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment instructions and classified outcomes.

19. A system according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that said preliminary questions and said results are processed for providing a diagnosis and treatment instructions.

20. A system according to claim 16, characterized in that said medical self-service unit is the medical self-service unit of any one of claims 12 to 15.

21. Use of the medical self-service unit of any one of claims 12 to

15 for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 11.