WO2014037038A1

WO2014037038A1 - Instant aid

Info

Publication number: WO2014037038A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/067345
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lothar HERGARTEN
Original assignee: GAD GLOBAL ASSISTANCE AND DEVELOPMENT Corp GmbH
Current assignee: GAD GLOBAL ASSISTANCE AND DEVELOPMENT Corp GmbH
Priority date: 2012-09-05
Filing date: 2012-09-05
Publication date: 2014-03-13
Anticipated expiration: 2015-03-05

Description

Instant Aid

The invention relates to a method for providing a medical instant aid or emergency service, and in particular to a method for providing an optimized, centrally controlled instant aid service which offers to the patient the best possible medical care or treatment depending on his/her current location.

Background of the Invention

More and more people are more and more often "on tour" all over the world for professional or private reasons. This particularly applies to businesspeople/managers but also to pensioners who want to "see the world" during a cruise or a private journey or simply to people who love travelling and/or travel a lot.

To these people - but also to all other people - it is the most important concern to stay alive and survive a critical medical situation or an accident. However, alarmingly few preparations are normally made for handling such situations that can occur all over the world.

As necessary information for an emergency management, these people as a rule have ready only the local emergency numbers known to them, maybe also the telephone number of the physician they trust. As a rule, no organizational arrangements have been made. If the patient is not capable of acting himself/herself in case of a sudden illness or accident outside his/her place of residence, he/she will normally be treated "somehow". At best by chance, this treatment will be the best one taking into account the overall situation. But also a patient who is capable of acting himself/herself will often not be able to manage his/her rescue and subsequent treatment "somewhere" in the world - let alone in an optimized manner - because he does not have the required medical and/or linguistic knowledge and because he/she has not made sufficient organizational arrangements. Relatives or friends who are possibly present are - as a rule - completely unable to cope with such a situation far away from home.

Moreover, in almost each case the patient's current records of the attending physicians are missing for a correct medical (first) aid. Even if they were available, preferably in English or better in the language of the country in which the patient is currently staying, they would possibly be very little helpful in an emergency in a foreign country because they are usually kept in the patient's home country. And even if the patient's records were successfully transmitted to the foreign country, it might be necessary to search for and also find a translator or language interpreter who is acquainted with the medical terminology. Individuals, even if they prepare themselves as best as possible for a possible emergency "somewhere" in the world, are hardly able to make other organizational and also logistic arrangements such as keeping ready the data of all instant aid services, the "best-ranking" specialists and specialized hospitals, or all helicopter services suitable for transporting sick persons. Moreover, there are further organizational arrangements which can only rarely be made by the person concerned and the possibly present companions: for example, immediately informing relatives or other specific persons, saving business papers with company secrets which the person possibly carries along, or organizing an emergency management for the own business or company.

An overall concept for solving such problems, i.e. in particular a method for saving the life and for the best possible medical treatment all over the world should be a heartfelt concern to any person, at least in case he has passed a certain age.

In order to overcome such problems, it is the object of the invention to provide an optimized, centrally controlled instant aid or emergency service which offers to the patient the best and quickest possible medical aid depending on his/her location.

This object is achieved by the method comprising the features of the claims.

In the following, the terms "customer" and "patient" are used synonymously even in case the emergency has not yet occurred.

Summary of the Invention

The physician(s) of the patient/customer provide(s) the patient's current records including the current drug status to a central database to be managed, e.g., by the company. The physician(s) of the customer enter(s) the corresponding data in the local language into the system, either via e-mail or in an alternative electronic manner like web portals, remote login, etc. The drug status is conveniently stored and later output separately.

Preferably, the patient's records are stored in a widely used language, e.g. in English, subsequently named Main Language. As far as the patient's records are not worded in the Main Language, they are translated into said Main Language by translators or language interpreters working in the medical field (at the request of the customer). The centrally managed data are regularly retrieved via the Internet and stored in the customer's smartphone, which is configured for this specific purpose, e.g. via an App, so that these data are always available on the smartphone.

The customer's smartphone has GPS or any other satellite-controlled positioning system and Internet positioning, which can already be retrieved by the Instant-Aid-Centre by means of the technology available today. Alternatively, in case of an emergency call, the smartphone transmits the current GPS position. The smartphone/app is configured such that in response to a personal short code or other entries (see below), the centre, e.g. in the present case the respective company, is called in case of a medical emergency. The smartphone is further/alternatively programmed such that the emergency call to the centre is also triggered if the customer touches the touch screen of the smartphone simultaneously with some fingers, spreads them or moves them together, or makes a defined gesture or movement that is recognized by the smartphone. It is also possible to integrate into the method an - already existing - SOS wristband which, in response to a specific entry command (see below), triggers the emergency call in the smartphone via Bluetooth ("simvalley").

By recognizing the telephone number or a code transmitted along, the patient's data and records are automatically accessed in a computer in the centre once the customer calls, e.g. by means of an emergency call. Furthermore, once the position has been recognized, the current position coordinates of the customer are accessed in the computer. The position data of the customer are then automatically projected to a world map screen that is based on different world maps (e.g. Google Earth, Google Maps, etc.) so that the current position of the customer/patient can be visualized to the medical case manager and the transport manager. The display of the smartphone shows - as a standard (in the idle or stand-by mode) - the demand "Click here in an emergency". Clicking leads to the emergency menu which contains relevant information, behaviour orders, links etc. for third persons that are present or arrive in case of an emergency. The display is permanently, e.g. weakly, illuminated so that third persons can actually see the order in case of an emergency.

The customer also wears at an easily accessible place of the body, e.g. at a necklace, a small box, e.g. amulet, with the inscription "Open in an emergency". The box contains a replaceable sheet with the order (in the Main Language and the language of the relevant country) to dial a short code on the smartpone or in any other manner in case of a medical emergency in order to call the centre - if the patient is no longer able to do this himself/herself - and to then follow the opening emergency menu.

If a patient who is conscious but incapable of action makes the emergency call himself/herself in case of a medical emergency, after the telephone call (in case the patient becomes unconscious) the emergency menu is opened in the Main Language or the language of the relevant country if third persons touch the "Click here in an emergency" button on the display of the smartphone; said local language is recognized or assigned on the basis of the network identification or the GPS/Internet positioning by means of a program. The "Home Page" of the menu shows the order "Click here in an emergency" in the Main Language and the determined local language. Thus, it is guaranteed that, in case the patient becomes unconscious or incapable of action after the call, present or arriving third persons can access the emergency menu. For this purpose, the display of the smartphone is always illurninated. The display additionally blinks as soon as the customer/patient has triggered the emergency call in order to attract the attention of present or arriving third persons if the patient becomes unconscious after having made the emergency call. The smartphone further includes - also for the case that the patient becomes unconscious or incapable of action after having made the emergency call - voice files in the Main Language and the local language as recognized by the network identification or the GPS/Internet positioning. These voice files are then output as follows or in a similar wording via the loudspeaker of the smartphone to present or arriving third persons alternately in the Main Language and the local language: "This is an emergency - please click the emergency menu on the owner's smartphone!" In order not to disturb the emergency call, this announcement is deactivated as long as there is a phone connection between the customer and the centre/the medical case manager. It is deactivated when the emergency menu is opened.

The speech announcement and the blinking of the display of the smartphone remain activated after the patient has made the emergency call. Thus, it is guaranteed that third persons can operate with the menu if the patient becomes unconscious or incapable of action after having made the emergency call. The patient can stop the output of the voice file himself/herself if he/she is capable thereof. If, in response to the emergency short code, a connection is established but the patient is not capable of communicating with the medical case manager, the case manager stops the call, and the blinking menu and the voice file are activated on the smartphone, which is caused by the stopped telephone call.

If the patient is found by third persons before having been able to make the emergency call, these third persons are requested by the inscription "Open in an emergency" of the amulet which is worn by the patient at an easily accessible body position as well as by the sheet therein to dial the emergency code on the smartphone and to press the "Click here in an emergency" button and follow the opening menu. If the patient wears his/her smartphone with a clip and outwardly facing display, which, as a standard, shows in permanently illuminated manner the command "Click here in an emergency", in an easily visible place (e.g. fixed by means of a clip before the breast pocket of a shirt), third persons can most probably also make the emergency call and open the menu even if the patient had not been able to make the emergency call himself/herself because of a restricted capability of action.

Once the systems have reached a certain degree of distribution and publicity, it can be expected that present or arriving third persons will look or search themselves for a possibly present smartphone with emergency menu in case of a medical emergency of the customer/patient.

In a positive case in which the calling party speaks the Main Language or a language known by the medical case manager, the further course of action can be controlled by the medical case manager via phone. If no valuable communication is possible because of language problems, the medical case manager stops the call and the emergency menu is again shown on the display in the Main Language and the local language. The emergency menu comprises at least one of the following features:

- a button for making the emergency call in case the emergency call has not yet been made by the patient himself/herself; all buttons and links are, as a rule, marked in the Main Language and the local language of the country of the emergency,

- a button for deactivating the emergency voice output,

- a link to the current drug status - as a rule in the Main Language and the patient's home language,

- a link to the patient's current records including drug status - as a rule in the Main Language and the patient's home language,

- general instructions in the Main Language and the relevant local language of the country of the emergency, in particular as to how to contact the centre; e.g. telephone number and e-mail address, in particular also for the case that a connection with the centre cannot be established because of a lacking network coverage,

- a button for directly establishing a phone contact with the centre at any time, i.e. the medical case manager,

- a link for inputting and transmitting (via e-mail) the own telephone number of the present third party to the centre, so that said third person can be called back, if necessary by using a language interpreter from a pool of language interpreters by means of a conference connection,

- a link to an authorization given by the patient in the Main Language and the patient's home language, which he possibly granted to the centre/company for the case that he himself/herself is no longer capable of giving instructions as to his/her further medical treatment, if possible with a certification/verification,

- a link for inputting the telephone number, e-mail address and address of the rescue institution if said rescue institution has not been directly instructed by the medical case manager,

- a link for identifying the patient on the basis of a copy of the passport or identity card,

- a patient-specific link with information about important underlying diseases of the patient and possible first aid that can be performed - possibly also without a physician, e.g. administration of sugar-containing nutrition, or possible instant aid measures which are not tolerated by the patient, e.g. because of allergies - as a rule in the Main Language and the home language of the patient, - a link to general first aid measures to be taken until the emergency physician arrives ("recovery position", etc.) in the Main Language and the local language,

- a link for entering the telephone number to contact the patient or the persons taking care of the patient in case of the mobile phone or the smartphone getting out of service because of an insufficiently charged battery, and

- the request to recharge the smartphone by means of the USB port or the charging device carried along at a predefined position as soon as possible and to leave the smartphone with the patient.

The non-patient-specific parts of the menu are, like the emergency call button and the voice announcement "This is an emergency ..." in the Main Language and the local language, which is recognized either via the relevant country code or the GPS/Internet positioning. Since the corresponding text and voice files for all countries should not need too much storage capacities, it should not be problematic to store them on the smartphone. Alternatively, the smartphone retrieves/loads the corresponding data automatically from the centre when passing country or language borders, e.g. recognized on the basis of the country code or the GPS/Internet positioning. The patient-specific parts of the emergency menu ("important underlying diseases, patient's records and current drug status with the indication of active ingredients") are worded in the Main Language and the home language of the customer/patient. These files are updated by the attending or "personal" physician and translated into the Main Language by language interpreters from the pool of language interpreters. On specific demand of the patient, they can also be translated into all important languages of the world and stored/retrieved on the smartphone. The same applies to the drug status which is, as a rule, already present in the Main Language and in the home language of the customer. In contrast thereto, in view of the considerable costs, the patient's records, which are also included in the Main Language into the emergency menu, are normally only translated into the local language of the relevant country in case of an emergency or when needed upon request of the medical case manager.

In the centre, the case managers are physicians who know at least the medical terminology in the Main Language. They take care of the following tasks:

The case manager checks whether it is possible to provide a suitable emergency care to the patient at his/her current location and on short notice. If necessary, he asks for an emergency care on the basis of the data available in the data base of the centre, i.a. via emergency services. Based on the basic medical situation of the patient known to the case manager as well as based on the information received locally by the patient or present/arriving third persons via telephone, the case manager initiates immediate measures, if necessary even before the emergency service arrives, e.g. orders to present persons to administer specific drugs or other substances carried along by the patient, e.g. sugar, to apply a tourniquet to an extremity, to position the patient in a specific manner, etc.

If a suitable local medical emergency care cannot be obtained in an appropriately short time, the case manager decides to organize a rescue by means of a helicopter or to transport the patient in locally available means of transport. The customer can decide in a contract that, in case he is unconscious, the case manger can contact at his/her own discretion, i.e. without any possibly time-consuming consultation of an emergency physician, a helicopter service if this seems to be necessary for reducing the risks. If necessary, specific bails or insurances must be realized in order to cover the costs.

If the emergency occurs in a country in which the Main Language is not spoken and whose national language is not understood by the case manager, he establishes a conference connection with a language interpreter from the pool of language interpreters who knows the language of the relevant country (= free-lance language interpreters for all important languages of the world, who are bound by a contract and are contacted in case of need), so that a direct communication in the language of the relevant country becomes possible. Because of the conference connection including a language interpreter, the case manager is able to ask also the medical questions arising from the respective situation.

If the emergency care of the patient is guaranteed, the case manager takes care of the patient's further medical treatment - if possible together with the patient - so that the patient does not arrive "somewhere" but at the best possible medical institution in the vicinity, if necessary also farther away. In particular in the latter case, the case manager or a specific transport manager takes care of the logistics. Moreover, if necessary, the medical case manager selects specialists and special hospitals for the specific medical problem of the patient and, if required, organizes conference telecommunication with them, if necessary by including the patient. The suitable medical institution is selected - like the emergency service and the transportation service - from a data base which also shows the special fields of the respective medical institutions. The data base can be organized relatively easily with the aid of the medical associations of the relevant countries and should guarantee that the patient can quickly receive an emergency treatment and then the best possible specialist treatment in the relevant medical field. Moreover, by means of the ranking of the countries, which can be searched in the Internet, a "best of data should be created for the individual medical fields, so that the best possible treatment of the patient can be guaranteed. The stored world-wide medical institutions, like physicians, hospitals, etc., as well as the rescue institutions and the position of the patient are visualized in the centre on a world map screen by zooming into it.

If possible, the case manager already transmits via e-mail the current physician's/patient's reports, which are stored in the central data base, as well as the current drug status including the separately shown active ingredients to the emergency physician, if the latter has not already taken these reports and the drug status from the emergency menu. However, this information is transmitted at the latest to the attending physician or hospital or to the specialist(s). If it is not possible to transmit the data to the emergency physician via e-mail, the case manager selects, based on the diagnosis of the emergency physician, all relevant elements from the physician's reports and transmits them via telephone. If no one is available who can read the physician's reports, which are written in the Main Language or the home language of the patient, or who can translate them from the Main Language or the home language of the patient into the local language of the relevant country, the case manager makes sure that the physician's reports and the current drug status are translated by a language translator from the pool of language translators into the language of the relevant country and transmitted to the relevant medical institutions taking care of the patient.

Finally, the case manager or a transport manager arranges for the patient's transport into his/her home country or another country in which the best possible medical treatment is guaranteed for the specific case. For being able to carry out possibly necessary cost-intensive medical measures or also transportation without any further delay, the customer can grant to the company a bail so that the company can guarantee medical and other funding agencies that the necessary costs are paid and thus make sure that respective measures are taken.

Via the company, the customer can alternatively procure insurance for specific services such as transportation by means of a helicopter also over relatively long distances and without previous confirmation by the attending (emergency) physician that such transportation is actually necessary. In this connection and also in connection with further relevant insurance services, an insurance concept is made with an insurance company. The customer can also inform the company about his/her existing relevant insurances so that they can be entered into the data base.

If the customer does not select any such financial protection, the orders are placed only at the order of the customer - if a respective authorization is present - which, however, can complicate the handling of the orders. The patient or his/her relatives then must arrange for an advance payment, if necessary.

In general, the method provides for stepped authorizations that can be selected by the customer. To this end, a separate concept must be made. This also includes authorizations for directives and/or orders which are not directly of a medical nature, for example the use of a helicopter "on spec".

Figure 1 shows a scheme of the method according to the invention for providing the instant aid service.

In the following, the invention will be discussed on the basis of examples and the Figure.

Figure 1 shows a diagram in which the method for providing the instant aid service is briefly explained. In the centre of the method is the control centre which comprises a central data base. Both patien customer-specific data and non-customer-specific data are stored in the data base. The customer-specific data can be divided into medical data and non-medical data. The customer-specific data are currently updated by the customer himself/herself and by his/her physicians. The non-customer-specific data comprise, i.a., first-aid or rescue institutions, physicians, hospitals and specialists as well as also patient transportation services, either world-wide or at least in the geographical areas in which the instant aid service is available. The geographical positions of the first-aid institutions etc. can be visualized by digital world maps. The customer-specific data can also include contracts such as emergency authorizations and directives and/or insurances.

A case manager or a team of case managers operates from the centre and coordinates the course of actions in case of an emergency.

If an emergency occurs, an emergency communication is established either directly between the patient and the case manager or a third person possibly staying with the patient in the emergency and the case manager. On the basis of the information about the patient's situation submitted during the emergency communication as well as by taking into account the patient-/customer-specific data, the case manager tries to organize for the best possible and quickest possible treatment of the patient, wherein he determines the best possible first-aid or rescue institutions, physicians and/or hospitals on the basis of the non- patient-specific data. If necessary, the case manager or a transport manager, who is also working in the centre, will organize for the patient's transport, again on the basis of the data available in the data base.

In various method steps, translation and interpretation work might be necessary. This relates, e.g., to the translation of the patient's electronic medical records (EMR) and/or drug status into the Main Language or the communication between patient and/or any present third person and the case manager. Moreover, a language interpreter might also be necessary for the communication between the case manager and the first-aid institutions as well as between the case manager and the transport services. A pool of language interpreters is available for this purpose, and said language interpreters can be used whenever translation or interpretation work is necessary.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the configuration of the mobile phone or smartphone, which is preferably realized by at least one app, comprises, e.g., one or more of the following features: By entering a short code, an emergency call is transmitted to the centre. The emergency entry can alternatively also be made by touching the touch display of the smartphone by means of some fingers, also by spreading or closing the fingers, by finger print recognition (also of several fingers), by voice entry or recognition of spatial gestures, e.g. by means of Kincet or the gesture sensor developed by the Fraunhofer Institut, or the newly developed lap sensor. The customer is identified in the centre either on the basis of his/her, e.g., visible mobile phone number or a code automatically transmitted when dialling the centre's number. When the incoming emergency call is received in the centre, the customer's file is automatically opened on a computer monitor.

By means of a corresponding selection by the centre, the current local position of the customer is determined and the centre is informed accordingly. The customer's location is determined both via the Internet and the navigation module of the mobile phone. In view of specific deficiencies of both systems, this is necessary for guaranteeing an as exact and secure positioning as possible, preferably all over the world. There are already several positioning services offering the position determination via GPS/Internet positioning if the person whose position is determined generally agrees. In the centre, the geographical coordinates of the current position of the customer are projected onto a monitor with, e.g., Google Earth/Google Maps or other electronic maps, said monitor also showing the positions and the special fields, if necessary, of the physicians and hospitals, first-aid or rescue institutions and transport systems entered into the system, namely at the latest when zooming into the map. It should be possible for the skilled person to develop the programming for such an "overlapping" monitor.

Alternatively, a smartphone/app must be developed which recognizes the own geographical position via GPS or any other satellite-controlled positioning system and/or via an Internet connection and, in case of an emergency call, automatically transmits it to the centre as a separate signal. This would render the "re-determination" of the patient's position by the case manager superfluous. Upon an emergency call, a voice message to be selected is automatically output in the Main Language and the local language of the relevant country, determined on the basis of the country code or the GPS/Internet positioning, and an emergency monitor is automatically opened on the smartphone if it is not yet the standard monitor of the display. Additionally, the display may start to blink. The "emergency menu" is opened by clicking onto the monitor.

Upon an emergency call, it is automatically switched to the hands-free mode which is, e.g., already existing in "Seniorentelefon XLF-80 Plus" offered for elderly people.

The centre automatically and regularly retrieves/downloads via the Internet the current physician's/patient's reports as well as the current drug status.

The mobile phone or smartphone has a battery with particularly high charging capacity so that the emergency functions can be carried out as reliably as possible.

The mobile phone or smartphone has an USB port so that its battery can be recharged all over the world by any person, possibly also without a special charging device.

The mobile phone or smartphone comprises an NFC transmitting/receiving unit, e.g. in RFID technology, for storing/reading out data in/from a chip implanted into a human, wherein the current patient's/physician's reports, the current drug status and elements of the emergency menu described above are fed into said chip on a regular basis, e.g. via the smartphone. If the chip is implanted at a generally known place or a specifically marked place, e.g. by means of a tattoo, the above-mentioned data can be read out in a medical emergency by third persons by means of the smartphone thereby using a corresponding NFC technology. Preferably, when reading the data, a connection to the centre is immediately built up, and the patient/customer ID is transmitted to the centre. NFC reading-in/reading-out devices integrated into the smartphone and the smartphone itself can be configured such that during reading-out, possibly after a corresponding command entry offered in the display, a telephone connection with the centre is immediately made by the smartphone. This optional embodiment is particularly to the benefit of third persons having a medical emergency and being provided with a corresponding health transponder, which is already common in the USA in RIFD format, because the data of the customer/patient are already available via the customer's/patient's smartphone. However, when this technology is accordingly wide-spread and known, it will offer an alternative for customers/patients who cannot or do not want to sufficiently reliably carry along a smartphone, e.g. patients suffering from the Alzheimer's disease, demented persons or persons regularly doing water sports, or customers/patients who want to guard against specific situations, e.g. robbery - also of the smartphone - and a related injury, kidnapping, etc.

To customers who are often outside the coverage of mobile communication networks, it is also possible to configure a satellite telephone accordingly, if necessary.

According to a further embodiment, it is also possible to include concepts such as the Vitaphone concept of the Vitaphone GmbH (Markircher StraBe 22, 68229 Mannheim, DE) into the smartphone. Said concept includes the wireless transmission of different vital signs or parameters which are measured by the patient himself/herself by means of various devices, e.g. sphygmomanometers, ECG device, or read out close to the body, e.g. in the cardiac pacemaker, and remotely transmitted by the reading-out device, possibly via an intermediate device, e.g. monitor, via the (mobile) Internet (mobile phone) to a service centre with electronic patient register.

Integration of such a concept into the method according to the invention can be realized either by transmitting the data from the reading-out device or intermediate device to the smartphone or by integrating the reading-out device into the smartphone. The current data can then be stored under the instant aid menu or at any other place of the smartphone and transmitted at regular intervals or directly after measurement to the instant aid centre and the service centre for the ongoing treatment, e.g. the TSC of Vitaphone, where they are stored in the patient's register. If specific predetermined limits of vital parameters are exceeded, a special sign in the centre can call the emergency management or the case manager. Optionally, the data are only transmitted to the instant aid centre if the predetermined limits are exceeded, e.g. in case roaming fees become due, i.e. abroad; the complete data, i.e. including the non-transmitted data, may be sent to the instant aid centre after return of the customer to his/her home country.

Alternatively, the data continuously determined by the reading-out device, e.g. of Vitaphone, and transmitted to a service centre, e.g. of Vitaphone, can be transmitted by said device at regular intervals or directly after receipt to the instant aid centre or retrieved by it. The data are then stored in the respective register of the patient and immediately transmitted automatically to the smartphone of the customer/patient, where they can be retrieved separately at any time, e.g., via the emergency menu or in another way. Also in this case the data transmission can be restricted to cases in which the measured vital parameters exceed specific limits, e.g. in case any roaming fees become due.

In this case, the ongoing treatment of the patient is reserved to the telemedical service by Vitaphone or other companies.

According to a preferred embodiment, an "emergency menu" software is provided for operating the accordingly configured mobile phone or smartphone, wherein by means of this software one or more of the above-mentioned features can be realized.

According to an embodiment, an SOS bracelet is used. The SOS bracelet preferably has a mini touch screen. When touching the mini touch screen with some fingers, optionally also by spreading or closing the fingers, the SOS bracelet transmit via Bluetooth, NFL, W-LAN or in another wireless manner a signal to the smartphone, causing the smartphone to trigger the emergency call. A normal clock can be integrated into the touch screen, so that the SOS bracelet appears from outside to be a normal wrist watch.

According to an embodiment of the method, the patient's attending physicians enter the physician's/patient's reports including the drug status - after having structured them as requested - into a data base of the centre, thereby entering an, e.g., separate ID number of the patient. The current drug status including the indication of the active ingredients of the customer is entered either by the patient himself/herself or by his/her attending physicians in a separate place of the data base. The corresponding data is preferably transferred in encoded manner.

In order to bind their physicians to continuously update their patients' files, the customers are provided with corresponding agreement forms.

In addition to the general directives of the customer, it is also stored in the central data base who is authorized to make medical decisions for the customer if he/she is unconscious. The corresponding documentation is stored in the centre. The general directives can also be of non-medical nature, for example how and by whom the patient's business or company should be managed in case the patient cannot do it because of medical problems.

The data base finally also includes all further customer-specific information, e.g. which medical insurances or bails are present in view of the costs of rescue measures.

In the company, the patient's data are available only to the case managers as well as - in case a translation is necessary - to the persons of the pool of language interpreters. These persons have to sign corresponding data protection or secrecy agreements. The agreement to be made between the company and the customer should include that the customer and his/her physicians are responsible themselves for the continuous updating of the patient's records.

According to an embodiment of the method of the invention, also a data base comprising the world-wide rescue and transport institutions as well as physicians, optionally with specialization, and hospitals is used. Since the establishment of such a data base is at least a medium-term task, in the starting phase the corresponding contacts can be searched for in an emergency via the Internet - optionally by including persons from the pool of language translators - or via medical associations of the relevant countries.

This data base should be linked with digital world maps, e.g. Google Earth/Google Maps, etc., so that in each emergency the current geographic position of the patient, the rescue institutions, transport institutions and emergency physicians, hospitals and specialists, separated into the respective special fields, are visible at the latest when zooming into the map. By clicking, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and names are shown. According to an embodiment of the method of the invention, a box including an emergency note, e.g. with the inscription "Open in an emergency" is used, wherein the box is, e.g., in the form of an amulet hanging on a necklace. If the patient is unconscious and no accompanying person who can make the mobile call by a short code is nearby, the box should trigger the contact with the centre. The box contains a sheet with the request to make a specific entry on the smartphone, which the patient carries along, for calling the centre in case of a medical emergency and to follow the orders of the emergency menu opening on the display of the smartphone.

The sheet also shows the request to activate the emergency menu on the patient's smartphone and, if possible, to follow the orders mentioned therein.

The customer receives the sheet for the "open in an emergency"-box in all important languages of the world. In the country in which he is actually staying, he can place the sheet with the request to open the emergency menu on the smartphone in the Main Language or in the language of the relevant country into the box, e.g. as an amulet on a necklace.

According to a preferred embodiment, the mobile phone or smartphone of the patient comprises a program for positioning the patient, which assigns the mobile communication identification of the relevant country and/or the GPS/Internet positioning to one or more national language(s) and thus controls the output of the emergency menu in the respective local language and the Main Language. Additionally, the emergency voice announcement, e.g. via the loudspeaker of the smartphone, in the relevant local language is triggered in the same manner: "This is an emergency ...".

According to an embodiment, the "pool of language interpreters" is organized such that free-lance language interpreters for all languages of the world are bound by contract, e.g. for increasing the chance of availability, at least three interpreters for each language. If necessary, the language interpreters are included into the communication with the medical and transport institutions of the country in which the emergency takes place by means of a conference connection. The language interpreters also make the other translation work necessary for the method. The invention has been described in more detail on the basis of the Figure and the examples, wherein this illustration should not restrict the invention. It should be taken into consideration that experts can make changes and modifications without leaving the scope of the following claims. In particular, the invention comprises embodiments with any combination of features of the various embodiments that are described herein.

Claims

1. A method for providing an instant aid service for a patient in case of an emergency, comprising the steps of:

(la) transmitting an ID of the patient to a control centre;

(lb) localising the patient's current position;

(lc) getting available information about the patient's current state of health;

(Id) retrieving medical institutions, for example hospitals and/or physician's practices and/or available emergency services, in the vicinity of the patient's current position;

(le) providing a case manager with the patient's electronic medical

record(s) (EMR) and/or the drug status;

(If) providing the case manager with directives and/or instructions and/or authorizations directed by the patient;

(lg) deciding which of the medical institutions retrieved in step (Id) provides the best possible aid for the patient, based on the information retrieved in the foregoing steps (la) to (If);

(lh) contacting the best possible medical institution(s);

(li) transmitting the necessary information selected, in consideration of the information gotten in step (lc), from the EMR to the medical institution(s) contacted in step (lh).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (la) of transmitting an ID and the current position of the patient to a control centre comprises the step of:

(2a) triggering a transmitting device configured to transmit the ID to the control centre.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the transmitting device is a mobile phone or a smartphone and the ID can be the phone number of the mobile phone or the smartphone, and wherein the triggering can be performed by pressing a speed dial key.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the mobile phone or the smartphone is configured to recognize predefined gestures, and wherein the triggering is performed by a predefined gesture.

5. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the patient wears an SOS bracelet configured such that upon reception of a predefined signal or instruction, a triggering signal is sent to the mobile phone or the smartphone is connected, for example via Bluetooth, in order to trigger the mobile phone or the smartphone.

6. The method of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the mobile phone or the smartphone comprises a transmitting/receiving means adapted for wireless communication with a radiofrequency transponder system, for example an NFC transponder, and wherein the patient wears a corresponding implanted radiofrequency transponder system, wherein the patient's EMR(s) and/or drug status is stored on the transponder system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the mobile phone or the smartphone is configured such that upon reading the. radiofrequency transponder system of a patient, the ID of the patient is transmitted to the control centre, and wherein preferably the mobile phone or smartphone is further configured such that upon reading the radiofrequency transponder system of a patient, either automatically or after entering a corresponding command into the mobile phone or smartphone, a phone contact to the control centre is established.

8. The method of any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the mobile phone or the smartphone is configured for reading vital parameters from external devices such as sphygmomanometers, ECG devices, and the like, and wherein preferably the updated data is sent directly after reading or in regular time intervals to the control centre.

9. The method of any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the mobile phone or the smartphone is further configured such that in idle mode or stand-by mode or the like, a prompt to click/touch in an emergency case is visible, and wherein after triggering the mobile phone or the smartphone, an emergency menu appears.

10. The method of claims 3 to 9, wherein after triggering the mobile phone or the smartphone, an attraction program is started so as to attract attention of a third person, wherein preferably:

on the display of the mobile phone or smartphone, a visual animation is activated, for example a blinking display; and/or

the loudspeaker of the mobile phone or smartphone is activated, for example by playing a sound such as the sound of emergency vehicles or by playing voice files indicating the emergency case and/or giving instructions to click/touch the emergency menu.

11. The method of any one of claims 3 to 10, wherein the patient wears the mobile phone or the smartphone at a well visible spot, for example fixed before the breast pocket of a shirt.

12. The method of any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the emergency menu comprises:

(a) a button for triggering the mobile phone or the smartphone; and/or

(b) a link to the drug status, if the drug status is stored on the mobile phone or smartphone; and/or

(c) a link to the EMRs, if the EMRs are stored on the mobile phone or smartphone; and/or

(d) instructions on how to contact the control centre, for example phone number(s) and e-mail address(es); and/or

(e) a button to directly establish a phone contact with the control centre, wherein the button might be identical with the button for triggering the mobile phone or smartphone; and/or

(f) a link to an input box for entering and sending the phone number of a third person; and/or

(g) a link to directives and/or instructions and/or authorizations given by the patient, if directives and/or instructions and/or authorizations are stored on the mobile phone or smart phone; and/or

(h) a link to an input menu for entering the phone number, e-mail address, and/or the postal address of the rescue centre; and/or

(i) a link to an identification of the patient such as a copy of the passport or a copy of an identity card; and/or (j) a link to indications as to possible underlying diseases of the patient, for example allergies, and possible first aid that can be performed by a third person without a physician, for example administration of sugar-containing nutrition and the like; and/or

(k) a link to explanations of general first aid measures such as the recovery position etc.; and/or

(1) a link to an input menu for entering a phone number to contact the patient or person(s) taking care of the patient in case of the mobile phone or the smartphone getting out of service; and/or

(m) a request to recharge the mobile phone or the smartphone as soon as possible.

13. The method of any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the patient-specific parts of the menu, for example the underlying diseases, are in the Main Language and the language of the patient, and wherein the non-patient-specific parts, for example the menu buttons, are in the Main Language and the language of the country where the patient is currently located.

14. The method of any one of claims 2 to 13, wherein:

the step (2a) of triggering is performed by the patient himself/herself; or the step (2a) of triggering is performed by a third person.

15. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the patient wears an amulet or a box, preferably with the inscription "open in an emergency", at a spot being easy to find at his/her body or clothes, for example on a necklace around the patient's neck, the amulet or box comprising a help guidance for the third person, and wherein preferably the help guidance is written in one or more common national language(s) of the country where the patient currently stays and/or, if the Main Language is not a common national language of the country the patient currently stays, additionally in the Main Language.

16. The method of claim 15, as far as dependent on claim 3, wherein the help guidance comprises instructions to open and use the emergency menu installed on the patient's mobile phone or smartphone.

17. The method of any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein step (lb) of localising the patient's current position is performed via GPS positioning and/or Internet positioning, wherein the patient carries along a device suitable for being localised via GPS or the Internet using a device ID, wherein the device is preferably a mobile phone or a smartphone and the device ID the phone number of the mobile phone or smartphone.

18. The method of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein step (lc) of getting available information about the patient's current state of health comprises the steps of:

(18a) establishing a phone contact between the case manager in the control centre and the patient or a third person helping the patient, preferably automatically upon receiving the ID of the patient in step (la); and

(18b) phoning with the patient or a third person helping the patient, wherein a language interpreter can be interconnected, the language interpreter being able to interpret between the language of the case manager and the language of the patient or the third person helping the patient, wherein the language interpreter is preferably available from a pool of language interpreters; and,

(18c) as far as dependent on claim 10, the attraction program is stopped.

19. The method of claim 9 to 18, wherein step (lc) of getting available information about the patient's current state of health comprises the further step of:

(19a) in case the patient is no longer able to communicate or the third person is not able to communicate with the case manager after having established the phone contact to the control centre, the case manager quits the phone contact; and,

(19b) as far as dependent on claim 10, the attraction program is started again.

20. The method of any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein step (li) of transmitting the necessary information to the medical institution(s) contacted comprises the step of:

(20a) phoning with a physician or other medically trained person of the medical institution, wherein a language interpreter can be interconnected; and/or

(20b) transmitting the up-to-date EMR or parts thereof and/or the drug status to the contacted medical institution(s) in electronic form, for example via e-mail or fax, wherein a language interpreter can be interconnected;

wherein the language interpreter of steps (20a) and (20b) is able to interpret between the language of the case manager and the language of the physician or other medically trained person of the medical institution, wherein the language interpreter is preferably available form a pool of language interpreters.

21. The method of any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein step (Id) of retrieving medical institutions in the vicinity of the patient's current position is performed by means of an electronic database, the database storing information about medical institutions available in the regions where the instant aid service is provided, wherein the information comprises at least the kind of medical service provided, the position, and the phone number(s) of each of the medical institutions stored in the database.

22. The method of any of one claims 1 to 21, wherein step (Id) of retrieving medical institutions in the vicinity of the patient's current position comprises the step of:

(22a) retrieving information about the accessibility of the patient's position from the position(s) of each of the medical institution(s) and/or available transport possibilities for transporting the patient from his/her current position to each of the medical institution(s).

23. The method of claim 21 or 22, wherein step (Id) of retrieving medical institutions in the vicinity of the patient's current position comprises the steps of:

(23 a) displaying, preferably on a screen or touch screen, an environmental map of the vicinity of the patient's current position in the control centre, the map being preferably retrieved from an Internet service such as Google Earth or Google Maps, wherein it is possible to zoom into the map and/or to zoom out of the map;

(23b) highlighting or marking the patient's current position on the map by a patient mark;

(23 c) highlighting or marking each of the retrieved medical institutions on the map by an institution mark;

(23d) displaying information for a medical institution upon clicking or touching on the respective institution mark, wherein preferably

the phone number(s), which can be represented by a symbol, of the respective medical institution is/are clickable and/or touchable such that upon clicking or touching a phone number, a phone call to the respective medical institution is triggered; and, as far as depending on claim 22, (23 e) displaying information retrieved in step (22a) about the accessibility of the patient's position and/or available transport possibilities of the patient to each of the medical institutions.

24. The method of any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein:

step (le) of providing a case manager with the patient's electronic medical record(s) (EMR) and/or the drug status is performed by means of an electronic database; and/or

step (If) of providing the case manager with directives and/or instructions and/or authorizations directed by the patient is performed by means of an electronic database.

25. The method of any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein the patient's medical record(s) (EMR) and/or the drug status is/are provided to the control centre and kept up-to-date by the physician(s) of the patient, wherein preferably:

the patient's medical record(s) (EMR) and the drug status are stored apart from each other; and/or

the physician(s) submit(s) the patient's medical record(s) (EMR) and/or the drug status electronically to the control centre, for example via an e-mail, web portals, or remote login; and/or

the physician(s) provide(s) the patient's medical record(s) (EMR) and/or the drug status in the mother tongue or the language of the country of the respective physician, wherein the patient's medical record(s) (EMR) and/or the drug status can be translated into the Main Language in case that they have not been provided in the Main Language.

26. The method of any one of claims 1 to 25, wherein step (lg) of deciding which of the medical institutions provides the best possible aid for the patient comprises the step of:

(26a) evaluating, by the case manager, which of the following possibilities appears most suitable for treating the patient:

(a) sending an emergency service to the patient; or

(b) transporting the patient to a hospital and/or physician's practice, wherein the case manager further has to decide to which of the available hospitals or physician's practices the patient should be transported; or

(c) transporting the patient back home; or

(d) a combination of possibilities (a) and (b); or (e) a combination of possibilities (a) and (c); or

(f) a combination of possibilities (b) and (c); or

(g) a combination of possibilities (a), (b), and (c).

27. The method of claim 26, wherein before or in combination with any one of the possibilities (a) to (g) of claim 26, the case manager gives instructions to third persons as to performing first aid without a physician, for example administering sugar-containing nutrition to the patient or bringing the patient into the recovery position.

28. The method of claim 26 or 27, wherein the transportation of the patient is organized by the control centre in consideration of the patient's directives and/or instructions and/or authorizations provided in step (If), preferably by a transport manager operating from the control centre, and wherein the transportation can be performed, for example, by an ambulance or a helicopter.

29. The method of any one of claims 1 to 28, wherein step (lh) of contacting the best possible medical institution comprises the steps of:

(29a) trying to contact the medical institution(s) that has/have been chosen in step (lg) of deciding which of the medical institutions provides the best possible aid;

(29b) if in step (29a) a contact to the medical institution(s) can be established, preferably within an appropriate time, for example, 5 min., 10 min., or 30 min.,

then explaining the patient's situation to the medical institution and continuing with step (li) of transmitting the necessary information to the medical institution(s),

else returning to step (lg), wherein these medical institutions that have already been tried to be contacted are excluded.

30. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the directives and/or instructions and/or authorizations directed by the patient comprise:

authorizations concerning agreements on medical treatments and/or medical therapies and/or medical methods; and/or

directives, which person(s) shall take medical decisions for the patient in case the patient is not conscious, bails and/or insurances for facilitating the payment for medical treatments and/or medical therapies and/or medical methods; and/or

bails and/or insurances for facilitating transportation services; and/or

instructions for saving business documents and/or valuables; and/or

instructions for contacting relatives and/or other persons; and/or

instructions for organizing an emergency management for the patient's business.