INFORMATION FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF CLINICAL NOTES IN RELATION TO MEDICAL EXAMS

Technical field [0001] The present invention relates to drafting clinical notes in relation to a medical exam and, more particularly, to a computer system for assisting medical practitioners in drafting clinical notes during medical exams.

Background

[0002] Medical practitioners need to keep a clinical note for each medical exam they perform. Despite the many advantages of using a computer system to create, store, and retrieve clinical notes, many medical practitioners continue to use physical files for their clinical notes because the computer systems that have been developed are not sufficiently easy to use and responsive for medical practitioners' needs. The present invention aims at a computer system for creating, storing, and retrieving clinical notes with improved usability and responsiveness. Summary

[0003] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. [0004] A first aspect of the invention is directed to a method for inserting a clinical note into a patient's electronic file in relation to a medical exam. The method comprises receiving an exam-context selection received from a graphical user interface (GUI), the exam-context selection triggering the addition of a plurality of preliminary filtered questions from a storage module into a continuously displayed running list of questions (step i), and automatically inserting the exam-context selection into the clinical note. Each time an answer is received to one or more questions from the displayed running list of questions (step ii), the method further comprises providing, for display through the GUI, a weighted list of probable diagnoses considering the received answer and any previously received answers until receipt of a preliminary diagnosis selection, received through the GUI, from the weighted list of probable diagnoses, the preliminary diagnosis selection replacing any previously received preliminary diagnosis selection. The method further comprises storing the preliminary diagnosis selection in the storage module and automatically inserting the received answers to the running list of questions into the clinical note. After receiving the preliminary diagnosis selection from the weighted list of probable diagnoses (step iii), the method comprises adding one or more differential-diagnosis filtered questions from the storage module to the running list of questions, and avoiding automatically inserting the preliminary diagnosis selection into the clinical note. At least once, repeating one or more of i, ii and iii until receipt of an explicit diagnosis confirmation from an authenticated user. After receiving the explicit diagnosis confirmation from the authenticated user, inserting a formal diagnosis into the clinical note, the formal diagnosis corresponding to the preliminary diagnosis selection at the time the explicit diagnosis confirmation is received.

[0005] Optionally, automatically inserting the received answers to the running list of questions into the clinical note may occur each time an answer is received to the one or more questions from the displayed running list of questions. Alternatively, automatically inserting the received answers to the running list of questions into the clinical note may occur upon receipt of the preliminary diagnosis selection. As a further option, automatically inserting the received answers to the running list of questions into the clinical note may occur upon receipt of the explicit diagnosis confirmation.

[0006] Optionally, providing the weighted list of probable diagnoses triggers the addition of a plurality of diagnosis-confirmation filtered questions into the running list of questions.

[0007] As an option, the method may further comprise upon receiving the preliminary diagnosis selection, displaying a suggested treatment plan based on the preliminary diagnosis selection through the GUI. Optionally, the method may further comprise receiving a selection received from the GUI of one or more elements from the suggested treatment plan. And further, the method may comprise inserting the one or more elements selected from the suggested treatment plan into the clinical note.

[0008] Optionally, the method may further comprise, before receiving the exam-context selection, reading the patient's electronic file from a remote medical profile repository. As a further option, the method may comprise, upon reading the patient's electronic file, selectively extracting medical profile data from the patient's electronic file. Optionally, the method may further comprise considering the extracted medical profile data when providing the weighted list of probable diagnoses. Optionally, the method may further comprise, before reading the patient's electronic file, scanning a bar code using a bar code reader to determine the location of the patient's electronic file on the remote medical profile repository. As an alternative option the method may further comprise, before reading the patient's electronic file, reading a magnetic strip using a magnetic reader to determine the location of the patient's electronic file on the remote medical profile repository. Optionally, the remote medical profile repository may be a remote database accessible through a network.

[0009] Optionally, the preliminary filtered questions may comprise medical-condition factual questions, general medical profile questions, context-specific medical profile questions, requests for real-time measures and calculations, or requests for non-real-time laboratory or diagnostic tests.

[0010] Optionally, the method may further comprise receiving an authentication of the authenticated user received through the GUI. As a further option, the method may comprise, upon receiving the authentication of the authenticated user, adding an identification of the authenticated user to the clinical note.

[0011] Optionally, the GUI may comprise an input/output device allowing input of the exam-context selection, output of the running list of questions, input of the answers, output of the weighted list of probable diagnoses, input of the preliminary diagnosis selection, and input of the explicit diagnosis confirmation.

[0012] Optionally, the storage module may be a secure storage medium using encryption, wherein the addition of the plurality of preliminary filtered questions from the storage module into the running list of questions may comprise decrypting the preliminary filtered questions after fetching them from the secure storage module; storing the preliminary diagnosis selection in the storage module may comprise encrypting the preliminary diagnosis selection before storing the preliminary diagnosis selection; and adding one or more differential-diagnosis filtered questions from the storage module to the running list of questions may comprise decrypting the one or more differential-diagnosis filtered questions after fetching them from the secure storage module. As a further option, the storage module may be a network based storage medium.

[0013] A second aspect of the invention is directed to a server for maintaining medical information for establishment of clinical notes in relation to medical exams. The server comprises a storage module for storing the medical information, a memory module for storing a running list of questions related to one of the medical exams, a network interface module for interfacing with a plurality of remote practitioner workstations, and a processor module. The network interface module receives, at least once, an exam-context selection made through a graphical user interface (GUI) at one of the remote practitioner workstations during the one medical exam. The network interface module receives an answer from the one remote practitioner workstation to each of a plurality of questions from the running list of questions. The network interface module sends a weighted list of probable diagnoses to the one remote practitioner workstation for display on the GUI, the weighted list of probable diagnoses being established considering each of the received answers. The network interface module receives, at least once, a preliminary diagnosis selection from the weighted list of probable diagnoses made through the GUI at the one remote practitioner workstation. The network interface module, after reception of the preliminary diagnosis selection, receives an explicit diagnosis confirmation from an authenticated user made through the GUI at the one remote practitioner workstation. The processor module automatically inserts the exam-context selection into one of the clinical notes, the one clinical note being related to the medical exam. The processor module, upon each receipt of the exam-context selection, fetches a plurality of preliminary filtered questions from the medical information and adds the plurality of preliminary filtered questions into the running list of questions. The processor module, each time the answer is received, computes the weighted list of probable diagnoses considering the received answer and any previously received answers. The processor module, upon each receipt of the preliminary diagnosis selection, fetches one or more differential-diagnosis questions from the medical information considering the preliminary diagnosis selection and adds the one or more differential-diagnosis filtered questions to the running list of questions while avoiding automatically inserting the preliminary diagnosis selection into the one clinical note, the preliminary diagnosis selection replacing any previously received preliminary diagnosis selection. The processor module automatically inserts the received answers to the running list of questions into the one clinical note. The processor module, upon receipt of the explicit diagnosis confirmation, inserts a formal diagnosis into the one clinical note, the formal diagnosis corresponding to the preliminary diagnosis selection at the time the explicit diagnosis confirmation is received.

[0014] Optionally, the processor module may further be for, each time the weighted list of probable diagnoses is computed, adding a plurality of diagnosis-confirmation filtered questions into the running list of questions. [0015] Optionally, the network interface module may further be for, upon receipt of the preliminary diagnosis selection, sending a suggested treatment plan to the one remote practitioner workstation. As a further option, the network interface module may further be for receiving a selection of one or more elements from the suggested treatment plan from the one remote practitioner workstation. Optionally, the processor module may further be for inserting the one or more elements selected from the suggested treatment plan into the clinical note.

[0016] As an option, the network interface module may further be for receiving an electronic file of the patient from a remote medical profile repository. As a further option, the processor module may be for selectively extracting medical profile data from the patient's electronic file. Optionally, the processor module may consider the extracted medical profile data when computing the weighted list of probable diagnoses. Optionally, the server may further comprise a bar code reader for scanning a bar code to determine the location of the patient's electronic file on the remote medical profile repository. As an alternative option, the server may comprise a magnetic reader for reading a magnetic strip to determine the location of the patient's electronic file on the remote medical profile repository. Optionally, the remote medical profile repository may be a remote database accessible through a network.

[0017] Optionally, the preliminary filtered questions may relate to medical-condition factual questions, general medical profile questions, context-specific medical profile questions, requests for real-time measures and calculations, or requests for non-real-time laboratory or diagnostic tests.

[0018] Optionally, the network interface module may further be for receiving an identification of the authenticated user in the form of a public key from the one remote practitioner workstation. As a further option, the processor module may further be for adding the identification of the authenticated user to the clinical note. [0019] Optionally, the processor module may further be for decrypting the exam-context selection, the answer, the preliminary diagnosis selection, and the explicit diagnosis confirmation received by the network interface module. As a further option, the processor module may be for encrypting the weighted list of probable diagnoses sent by the network interface module. [0020] Optionally, the processor module may further be for authenticating the exam- context selection, the answer, the preliminary diagnosis selection, and the explicit diagnosis confirmation received by the network interface module using the public key of the authenticated user. As a further option, the processor module may further be for signing the weighted list of probable diagnoses sent by the network interface module using a private key of the server.

[0021] Optionally, the GUI may comprise an input/output device allowing input of the exam-context selection, output of the running list of questions, input of the answers, output of the weighted list of probable diagnoses, input of the preliminary diagnosis selection, and input of the explicit diagnosis confirmation.

[0022] Optionally, the storage module may be a secure storage medium using encryption, wherein the medical information is stored in an encrypted form, the storage module may further be for decrypting the plurality of preliminary filtered questions when they are fetched by the processor module from the medical information, and the storage module may further be for decrypting the differential-diagnosis questions when they are fetched by the processor module from the medical information. Optionally, the storage module may be a network based storage medium. Brief description of the drawings

[0023] Further features and exemplary advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

[0024] Figure 1 is a logical modular representation of an exemplary system comprising a server for maintaining medical information for establishment of clinical notes in relation to medical exams; and

[0025] Figure 2 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for inserting a clinical note into a patient's electronic file in relation to a medical exam.

Detailed description [0026] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a medical practitioner interacts with a computer workstation specifically configured and adapted to the medical practitioner while performing a medical exam of a patient. The computer workstation, among other aspects, provides a graphical user interface (GUI) tailored to the specific tasks and actions relevant for medical practitioners performing medical exams and communicates over a network interface with a server for accessing data relevant to the medicals exams performed by the medical practitioner. In an exemplary use case, the medical practitioner selects an exam context through the GUI of the workstation. For example, the exam context could be a general physical examination. The exam context could also be, for example, a body part or area where the patient is experiencing pain or discomfort, such as the back or the digestive system, or a particular complaint, such as a sore throat or blurry vision. By providing the exam context through the GUI, the medical practitioner allows a filtered list of medical exam questions to be computed by the server (e.g., made available to the workstation from the server). The exam context may for instance allow to filter out those medical exam questions that are irrelevant to the selected exam context. The selection of an exam context also triggers the display in the GUI one or more preliminary filtered questions into a running list of questions. The exam context thus provides the medical practitioner with a starting point by providing a preliminary list of questions that the medical practitioner can ask during the medical exam. When data is provided to the workstation through the GUI in relation the running list of questions, the data gets inserted in a preliminary version of the clinical note related to the medical exam (which may be stored only on the server, may be stored on the workstation and immediately exchanged with the server or may only be stored locally at workstation at this time). As will become more apparent with regards to examples provided hereinafter the data provided in relation to the running list of questions may, for instance, be inputs from the medical practitioner (e.g., answer to questions, readings from medical instruments, results from medical exams, etc.), inputs from medical instruments (e.g., connected to the workstation or made accessible thereto and/or inputs from remote systems (e.g., results from medical exams, profile information, etc., which may be provided through the server).

[0027] In some embodiments, the medical practitioner may also select through the GUI more than one exam context for the ongoing medical exam. Each time an exam context is selected, an identifier for the exam context is automatically added to the preliminary version of the clinical note in relation to the ongoing medical exam. The exam context does not limit the questions that can be added to the running list of questions following its selection and does not either limit the potential diagnoses that may be suggested through the GUI during the course of the medical exam. The questions can, for example, relate to medical-condition factual questions to be asked of the patient, context-specific medical profile questions, requests for real-time measures and calculations to be performed by the medical practitioner during the medical exam, or requests for non-real-time laboratory or diagnostic tests to be performed after the medical exam. The medical practitioner then enters answers to one or more of the preliminary questions in the running list of questions through the GUI. Each time an answer is entered, the answer is automatically added to the clinical note in relation to the ongoing medical exam. Once at least three answers have been entered, the workstation displays through the GUI a weighted list of probable diagnoses that are based on the answers, and possibly other relevant data, that have been provided so far in relation to the ongoing medical exam. In some embodiments, the weighted list of probable diagnoses is provided to the workstation from the server. The weighted list of probable diagnoses may be computed strictly on the server or may be computed partly on the server and partly on the workstation. In some embodiments, the weighted list of probable diagnoses is divided into three lists: common diagnoses, target diagnoses, and rare diagnoses. Common diagnoses and rare diagnoses are those that occur frequently and infrequently, respectively, in the population in general. Target diagnoses are those that are targeted to the patient's medical profile. Each weighted list of probable diagnoses is a rank ordered list of diseases from most likely to least likely, or vice versa, where each disease is associated with a weight, such as a percent, based on the answers to the questions provided so far. Each time the medical practitioner answers a question through the GUI at the workstation, or when relevant data is otherwise provided, the weighted list of probable diagnoses is instantly updated (e.g., in real-time priority processing or as soon as technically achievable) and displayed through the GUI. Any change to the weighted list of probable diagnoses triggers the addition of one or more diagnosis-confirmation filtered questions to the running list of questions, which are continuously displayed through the GUI. The diagnosis-confirmation filtered questions are selected based on the weighted list of probable diagnoses. In some embodiments, the selection is performed only at the server from data provided thereto via the workstation. These diagnosis-confirmation filtered questions aim at better determining the relative likelihood of the probable diagnoses in the weighted list of probable diagnoses. Once the weighted list of probable diagnoses has been displayed through the GUI, the medical practitioner can, at any time, select a preliminary diagnosis from the weighted list of probable diagnoses in relation to the ongoing medical exam. The medical practitioner may also change her preliminary diagnosis selection at any time through the GUI, thus replacing the previous preliminary diagnosis selection. There can only be one preliminary diagnosis selection at a time in relation to the ongoing medical exam. In comparison to previous data provided to workstation through the GUI or otherwise in relation to the ongoing medical exam, the preliminary diagnosis selection is not automatically inserted into the clinical note upon selection by the medical practitioner. The selection of a preliminary diagnosis triggers the addition via the workstation of one or more differential-diagnosis filtered questions to the running list of questions in relation to the ongoing medical exam, which are continuously displayed through the GUI. These differential-diagnosis filtered questions are selected based on the preliminary diagnosis selected in relation to the ongoing medical exam. In some embodiments, the selection is performed only at the server from data provided thereto by the workstation. These differential-diagnosis filtered questions aim at allowing the medical practitioner to confirm the preliminary diagnosis previously selected. In some embodiments, the selection of a preliminary diagnosis further triggers the display through the GUI of a suggested plan that contains treatment and follow-up recommendations. In some embodiments, the suggested plan is computed and prepared only at the server from data provided thereto via the workstation. The medical practitioner may continue to answer questions and update her preliminary diagnosis selection through the GUI in relation to the ongoing medical exam. The medical practitioner may also add or remove exam contexts through the GUI.

[0028] For instance, a plurality of specific questions may be added to the running list of questions in relation to the preliminary diagnosis selection considering other probable diagnoses presented in the weighted list of probable diagnoses. The medical practitioner may decide to answer one of them determined by the medical practitioner to be a relevant question. Upon receipt of the answer to the relevant question, the weighted list of probable diagnoses is recomputed and may remain unchanged or may become different. Likewise, the additional questions may be added to the running list of questions. However, even when there are changes to the weighted list of probable diagnoses and/or the running list of questions, the preliminary diagnosis selection will remain the same until a new selection is made by the medical practitioner through the GUI. Furthermore, the relevant question that has been answered will remain in the clinical note even when such relevant question would not be a suggested question based on any of the other inputs. Said differently, an answered question is left in the clinical note (e.g., never removed) even when it would not be part of the running list of questions following additional received input. In some embodiments, however, an unanswered question from the running list of questions may be removed if it is not part of the questions suggested by any combination of the inputs received at that point during the ongoing medical exam.

[0029] Eventually, the medical practitioner enters an explicit diagnosis confirmation through the GUI of the workstation to indicate that the currently selected preliminary diagnosis should be inserted into the clinical note as the formal diagnosis in relation to the ongoing medical exam. It is worth noting that the medical practitioner, alone, establishes the diagnosis to be inserted in the clinical note. The GUI, displayed at the workstation, allows structured data input and filtering, typically by interacting with the server and/or other remote expert systems. However, neither of the workstation, the server or the expert systems actually establishes a diagnosis at any point in time.

[0030] Reference is made to the drawings in which Figure 1 shows a logical modular representation of an exemplary system 1000 comprising a server 1200 for maintaining medical information for establishment of clinical notes in relation to medical exams. The server 1200 comprises a memory module 1220, a processor module 1230, and a network interface module 1210. The exemplified system 1000 also comprises a remote practitioner workstation 1500, which may, in certain embodiments, be implemented as a thin client to the application running on the server 1200. The system 1000 includes a display module 1100 (e.g., remote display device 1100B connected to the remote practitioner workstation 1500 or integrated display device 1100A provided with the remote practitioner workstation 1500), and a network 1300 connects the remote practitioner workstation 1500 to the server 1200 and may also be used for connecting to the display module 1100 and/or accessing storage or other nodes (not shown). The network 1300 comprises one or more network channels 1310 between the server 1200 and the workstation 1500. The network channel(s) 1310 may comprise at least one dedicated channel having Quality of Service (QoS) characteristics and limits (e.g., set in a Service Level Agreement or otherwise) that are established considering a maximum delay that may be attributable to the network 1300 in delivering data between the workstation 1500 and the server 1200.

[0031] A skilled person will understand that the server 1200 may comprise multiple servers 1200 in a cluster or other similar shared-processing or distributed-processing architectures, whether in a single location or over cloud computing). In some embodiments, the server 1200 also accesses a storage module 1400 for storing and retrieving data in relation to the ongoing medical exam, to past medical exams, to future medical exams. The storage module 1400 may comprise an integrated storage module 1400A in the server 1200. Alternatively or in addition, the storage module 1400 may comprise a remote storage module 1400B connected to the server 1200 via the network 1300.

[0032] Reference is now made concurrently to Figure 1 and Figure 2, which shows a flow chart of an exemplary method 2000 for inserting a clinical note into a patient's electronic file in relation to a medical exam. The clinical note will, upon completion, be stored in the patient's electronic file at the storage module 1400. While the clinical note is being prepared during the medical exam, it may be loaded and updated in the memory module 1220 of the server 1200 and optionally in a memory module of the workstation 1500. The method 2000 comprises receiving 2010 an exam-context selection from a graphical user interface (GUI) in relation to the medical exam. The GUI may be displayed via the display module 1100 of the workstation 1500 or the like. The selection of the exam-context is provided to the server 1200 via the network interface 1210 and processed by the processor module 1230 and the memory module 1220 thereof. For instance, upon receipt of the exam-context selection from the workstation 1500, the processor module 1230 of the server 1200 may compute a plurality of preliminary filtered questions in relation to the medical exam considering the exam context selection. In some embodiments, the memory module 1220 may already be loaded (e.g., in RAM or the like) with a general list of questions retrieved from the storage module 1400. Each of the questions from the general list is associated with one or more of the plurality of exam contexts and may further be associated with one or more other questions and/or one or more other questions when answered in a specified manner. As such, in some embodiments, the plurality of preliminary filtered questions is selected by the processor module 1230 from the general list of questions pre-loaded in the memory module 1220 in relation to the medical exam considering the received exam context selection. The loading or pre-loading by the processor module 1230 of the general list of questions into the memory module 1220 may be performed in order to diminish or minimize the computation time of the plurality of preliminary filtered questions (e.g., computation being performed in real-time priority processing or as close as possible to real-time considering other tasks of the server 1200). The plurality of preliminary questions may be structured in various manners to be made available to the GUI over the display module 1100 of the workstation 1500. For instance, the plurality of preliminary filtered questions may constitute an initial running list of questions that are to be continuously displayed via the display module 1100 as a continuously displayed running list of questions. In some embodiments, the workstation 1500 simply displays on the display device 1100 the continuously-displayed running-list of questions as computed and provided by the server 1200 (e.g., as a remote desktop). In some other embodiments, the workstation 1500 receives a set of data (the plurality of preliminary filtered questions) that requires processing (e.g., by a processing module (not shown) of the workstation 1500) before being displayed as the continuously-displayed running-list of questions via the display module 1100.

[0033] Whether processing is distributed between the workstation 1500 and the server 1200 or whether the processing occurs only at the sever 1200, the exam-context selection triggers addition 2020 of the plurality of preliminary filtered questions into a continuously displayed running list of questions displayed on the GUI via the display module 1100. The plurality of preliminary filtered questions may represent the complete continuously displayed running list of questions or may represent a portion of the list completed thereby. In some embodiments, duplicate questions from the plurality of preliminary filtered questions are not added again to the continuously displayed running list of questions.

[0034] For example, the exam context could be a general physical examination. The exam context could also be, for example, a body part or area where the patient is experiencing pain or discomfort, such as the back or the digestive system, or a particular complaint, such as a sore throat or blurry vision. The exam context acts as a means of filtering the general list of medical exam questions stored in the storage module 1400 (e.g., which may be pre-loaded in the memory module 1220). The exam context selection allows the processor module 1230 to filter out those medical exam questions that are irrelevant to the selected exam context, thus generating the plurality of preliminary filtered questions. In some embodiments, the plurality of available exam contexts are presented on the GUI via the display module 1100 to the medical practitioner in a table for the medical practitioner to select. Alternatively (e.g., as an option for all users or as a setting made available to the user), the GUI of the display module 1100 may present the medical practitioner with a search field for searching and selecting one or more exam contexts from a plurality of available exam contexts. The selection from table and/or searching and selection may be performed in real-time priority processing from the plurality of available exam contexts pre-loaded into the memory module 1220. The medical practitioner may select more than one exam context. The exam-context selection does not limit the questions that can be added to the running list of questions or potential diagnoses suggested by the server 1200. It merely provides an entry-point into the system 1000 by providing the medical practitioner with an initial set of questions to begin the medical exam. The data displayed through the GUI to the medical practitioner may be structured using a fixed or dynamic number of columns. The running list of questions may be listed in one of these columns. Alternatively, the running list of questions may be presented to the medical practitioner through the GUI using a table. A skilled person would understand that there are other GUI elements for displaying a list of items that could be used to display the running list of questions to the medical practitioner. The running list of questions remains displayed by the GUI throughout the medical exam and is constantly updated as the system 1000 receives more information related to the medical exam, from the medical practitioner or otherwise. As noted above, an answered question remains in the clinical note being prepared. An unanswered question could, in some embodiment, be removed from the running list of questions when not relevant to the ongoing medical exam.

[0035] The method 2000 further comprises automatically inserting 2080 the exam-context selection into the clinical note. The insertion 2080 may occur at different times in the method 2000 (e.g., after 2010, after 2050 or after 2070) without affecting the teachings of the invention. At this stage in the medical exam, the clinical note is not yet completed. It is loaded and updated in the memory module 1220, e.g., for more efficient update and access and/or may also be stored in the storage module 1400 e.g., to ensure persistency. Upon completion, clinical note is stored on the storage module 1400 and linked to the patient's electronic file. The clinical note may be stored in a single or multiple files in plain text, extensible Markup Language (XML), Rich Text Format (RTF), HTML, Microsoft Word, or any other digital file format. Alternatively, the clinical note may be stored in a proprietary file format. Alternatively or in addition, the clinical note may be stored in a relational database of the storage module 1400 (not shown) using a data structure comprising multiple data tables, each having a plurality of uniquely identified data records. For instance, the complete clinical note may be stored in the data storage module 1400 in one or more electronic files while selected portions of the clinical note are stored in the relational database 1400 (or vice-versa). The exam-context selection may be automatically inserted into the clinical note at any time during the medical exam. For example, the exam-context selection may be automatically inserted into the clinical note immediately upon receiving the exam-context selection. Alternatively, the exam-context selection may be automatically inserted into the clinical note upon receiving the preliminary diagnosis selection. As another alternative, the exam-context selection may be inserted into the clinical note upon receiving the explicit diagnosis confirmation at the end of the medical exam. [0036] In exemplary embodiments, the method 2000 comprises different loops that ensure that the necessary data is gathered from or via the medical practitioner and, eventually, from other systems during the medical exam. Skilled people will readily understand that different models of computation or different logical arrangements may be made that would achieve an equivalent result compared to the exemplary loops described herein (e.g., functional programming, finite state machines, etc.). When an answer is received 2030 to one or more questions from the displayed running list of questions (e.g., by the processor module 1230 of the server 1200), a weighted list of probable diagnoses is provided 2040 by the processor module 1230 for display through the GUI. The processor module 1230 computes the weighted list of probable diagnoses considering the received answer and any previously received answers to any previously answered questions. Other data provided at the workstation 1500 (e.g., patient's profile data, instrument readings and exam results) may also be considered by the processor module 1230 to compute the weighted list of probable diagnoses. The first loop that comprises receiving 2030 answers and providing 2040 the weighted list of probable diagnoses is performed by the processor module 1230 until receipt 2050 of a preliminary diagnosis selection through the GUI, from the weighted list of probable diagnoses. The preliminary diagnosis selection 2050 replaces any previously received preliminary diagnosis selection. In some embodiments, in order to provide the weighted list of probable diagnoses, the system 1000 requires at least three answers. Requiring three or more answers may be performed to avoid the possibility of reconstructing the general list of questions related to medical exams and, more specifically, to reconstructing the selective association between the questions thereof.

[0037] The weighted list of probable diagnoses may be displayed in one of the columns of the GUI via the display module 1100. Formatting of the weighted list of probable diagnoses for display may be performed at the workstation 1500 or by the processor module 1230 before being sent pre-formatted to the workstation 1500. In some embodiments, while computing of the weighted list of probable diagnoses by the processing module 1030, a diagnosis category is associated to each of the listed probable diagnosis. Examples of categories include common diagnoses, target diagnoses, and rare diagnoses. Common diagnoses and rare diagnoses are those that occur frequently and infrequently, respectively, in the population in general. Target diagnoses are those that may or may not be prevalent in the population in general, but that are more specifically targeted in the ongoing medical exam considering the patient's medical profile. One or more diagnosis category may be permanently associated to a given diagnosis or the association may be contextually determined for the medical exam and/or for the patient, e.g., considering the patient's profile data. More than one category may also be associated to one diagnosis (e.g., where only one may be kept upon computing the list of probable diagnoses considering, e.g., the patient's profile data and/or answers or other input from the medical practitioner). The weighted list of probable diagnoses may therefore be divided into different categories of diagnoses so that the medical practitioner more easily recognizes and/or locates probable diagnoses therein. For instance, the weighted list of probable diagnoses may be divided into three sub-lists considering the associated category of diagnosis being one of common diagnoses, target diagnoses, or rare diagnoses. [0038] The weighted list of probable diagnoses is a rank ordered list of diseases from most likely to least likely, or vice versa, where each disease is associated with a weight computed by the processing module 1030, such as a percent, based on the answers to the questions provided so far and, in some instances, other data from the patient's medical profile and other inputs related to the medical exam. The weighted list of probable diagnoses may be displayed in a single column of the GUI at the workstation 1500. Alternatively, each of the sub-lists from the weighted list of probable diagnoses may be displayed in a separate column of the GUI. As a further alternative, the common diagnoses, rare diagnoses, and target diagnoses may be collected in a single weighted list with a single rank ordering. A skilled person will readily understand that in the context of a medical exam, the responsiveness of the system 1000 is critically important for the medical practitioner. For instance the responsiveness may be measured by the total time taken by the processor module 1230 of the server 1200 to compute one or more of the lists or data provided for display on the GUI through the display 1100. The measure of responsiveness may also, alternatively or additionally, take into consideration the delay from sending the data through the network 1300 and/or the time required by the workstation 1500 to display the data on the GUI through the display module 1100. If the system 1000 does not provide the medical practitioner with the weighted list of probable diagnoses within a sufficiently short delay considered reasonable for the medical practitioner in the context of a medical exam, the system 1000 could be considered unusable. Therefore, the delay incurred or time taken by the workstation 1500, the network 1300 (e.g., as set by QoS limits in an SLA) and/or the server 1200 to provide the weighted list of probable diagnoses each time the medical practitioner answers a question through the GUI is considered in the development of the solution to make sure that the system 1000 provides an acceptable solution. The processor module 1230 therefore typically performs at least the selected steps of the method 2000 in real-time priority processing (or as close as possible to real-time considering other tasks of the server 1200) to ensure that the delay expectations are met or that the delay is not unduly augmented. It is expected that a maximum delay of 2 seconds, preferably below 1 second and most preferably within half a second would be considered acceptable in a typical system provided in accordance with the present invention. A skilled person will further understand that computing a weighted list of probable diagnoses based on the answers to the medical exam questions within such a short delay requires a relatively large amount of computing power that is not typically available on desktop computers, personal computers, tablets, and mobile computing devices. [0039] Once the weighted list of probable diagnoses has been displayed via the workstation 1500, the medical practitioner can at any time select a preliminary diagnosis from the weighted list of probable diagnoses on the GUI through the display module 1100, which selection is provided to the processor module 1230 of the server 1200. The medical practitioner may also change her preliminary diagnosis selection on the GUI through the display module 1100 at any time, thus replacing the previous preliminary diagnosis selection. The current selection is, likewise, provided to the processor module 1230 of the server 1200. There can only be one preliminary diagnosis selection at a time. In some embodiments, the method 2000 may also comprise storing the preliminary diagnosis selection in the storage module 1400 (e.g., for persistency), which may be performed by the workstation 1500 and/or the processing module 1030. The method 2000 comprises automatically inserting 2090 the received answers from the workstation 1500 to the running list of questions into the clinical note by the processing module 1030. The received answers to the running list of questions may be inserted into the clinical note by the processor module 1230 at any time during the medical exam. For example, the answers may be automatically inserted into the clinical note each time an answer is received from the workstation 1500 (e.g., after 2030) to the one or more questions from the displayed running list of questions. Alternatively, the answers may be automatically inserted into the clinical note upon receipt from the workstation 1500 (e.g., after 2050) of the preliminary diagnosis selection. As a further alternative, the answers may be automatically inserted into the clinical note only upon receipt from the workstation 1500 of the explicit diagnosis confirmation (e.g., after 2070).

[0040] The method 2000 comprises, after receiving from the workstation 1500 the preliminary diagnosis selection from the weighted list of probable diagnoses, adding 2060 one or more differential-diagnosis filtered questions (e.g., from the storage module 1400 or the memory module 1220) to the running list of questions by the processing module 1030. while avoiding in 2060 automatically inserting the preliminary diagnosis selection into the clinical note. It is worth noting that, by design, the preliminary diagnosis selection is not automatically inserted in the clinical note and is actually prevented from being automatic insertion in the clinical note. The selection 2050 of a preliminary diagnosis by the processor module 1230 triggers the addition 2060 of one or more differential-diagnosis filtered questions to the running list of questions, which were previously displayed before the addition 2600 and continue to be continuously displayed on the GUI through the display module 1100 after the addition 2600. These differential-diagnosis filtered questions are selected by the processor module 1230 based on the preliminary diagnosis selected on the GUI through the display module 1100 and received 2050 by the processing module 1030. These differential-diagnosis filtered questions are useful for the medical practitioner to confirm the preliminary diagnosis previously selected. Additional answers provided by the medical practitioner through the GUI on the display module 1100 during the course of the medical exam are provided to the processor module 1230 and may cause the processor module 1230 to i) add one or more questions to the running list of questions, ii) add one or more probable diagnosis to the weighted list of probable diagnoses and/or iii) determine new weights for (and therefore reorder) the weighted list of probable diagnoses. As previously indicated, a formal medical diagnosis is never determined (i.e., only probable diagnosis are suggested) nor automatically inserted into the clinical note by the system 1000, as establishing a medical diagnosis requires licensed authority as explained in more details hereinafter. For this reason, the system 1000 explicitly prevents automatically inserting the preliminary diagnosis selection into the clinical note upon its selection.

[0041] The method 2000 comprises, at least once, repeating one or more of 2010, 202, 2030, 2040, 2050 and 2060 until receipt 2070 of an explicit diagnosis confirmation from an authenticated user at the processing module 1030. At any time during the medical exam, the medical practitioner may add or remove (e.g., 2010) exam contexts, answer questions (e.g., 2030), and update the preliminary diagnosis selection (e.g., 2050). The method 2000, moreover, contains a number of feedback loops. For example, answers to the questions, the weighted list of probable diagnoses, and the preliminary diagnosis selection may all feed back into the system 1000 in order to add further questions to the running list of questions. The method 2000 comprises, after receiving 2070 the explicit diagnosis confirmation from the authenticated user, inserting 2100 a formal diagnosis into the clinical note, the formal diagnosis corresponding to the preliminary diagnosis selection at the time the explicit diagnosis confirmation is received. Eventually the medical practitioner completes the medical exam and manually inserts the preliminary diagnosis selection into the clinical note by providing an explicit diagnosis confirmation.

[0042] The authenticated user that explicitly provides the diagnosis confirmation received, ultimately, 2070 by the processing module 1030, is a medical practitioner licensed, in the relevant jurisdiction, to establish a medical diagnosis in the context of the medical exam. For instance, the medical practitioner may be a licensed physician or a licensed nurse / licensed pharmacists (or the like) having received limited or complete delegation of authority (e.g., implicitly by relevant laws related to the practice of medicine and/or explicitly from a supervising licensed physician) to establish at least some medical diagnoses. In addition, the role or roles of the medical practitioner as described herein may be attributed to more than one person. For instance, a first person (e.g., a nurse or clerk, authenticated or not in the system 1000) may provide some of the data discussed herein towards the processor module 1230 on the GUI through the display module 1100 before at least one additional person provides complementary data for the medical exam towards the processor module 1230 (e.g., on the GUI through the display module 1100, on another GUI through the display module 1100 and/or on another GUI via another display module (not shown) in communication with the workstation 1500 and/or another workstation (not shown)). The system 1000 requires authentication (not shown) of the medical practitioner responsible during the medical exam for providing the explicit diagnosis confirmation. The authentication may be performed via the processor module 1230 and/or via a trusted source of authentication (not shown) that communicates results of the authentication to the processor module 1230. A person skilled in the art will understand that the medical practitioner may be authenticated using any number of common authentication techniques without affecting the teachings of the present invention. The processor module 1230 may therefore be able to determine (not shown) whether the medical practitioner, from which the explicit diagnosis confirmation is received 2050, is appropriately licensed to establish the diagnosis associated to the explicit diagnosis confirmation 2070 from the authenticated user before the insertion 2100 in the clinical note as the formal diagnosis. The processor module 1230 may for instance, upon a negative determination, block the received explicit diagnosis confirmation 2070 from being entered in the clinical note as the formal diagnosis. The processor module 1230 may also, in addition or alternatively, send a notice (e.g., via the network 1300, not shown) to a responsible licensed practitioner. The processor module 1230 may yet also, in addition or alternatively, enter 2100 the received explicit diagnosis in the clinical note as the formal diagnosis together with an additional note or other manner of identification of the clinical note (not shown) for indicating that an appropriately licensed medical practitioner has not confirmed the formal diagnosis and/or is required to confirm the formal diagnosis.

[0043] Optionally, the method 2000 may further comprise, upon providing2040 the weighted list of probable diagnoses, triggering the addition by the processor module 1230 of a plurality of diagnosis-confirmation filtered questions into the running list of questions, which are continuously displayed on the GUI through the display module 1100. The diagnosis- confirmation filtered questions are selected by the processor module 1230 based on the weighted list of probable diagnoses (e.g., from the general list of questions pre-loaded in the memory module 1220 or stored in the storage module 1400). These diagnosis-confirmation filtered questions are useful to the medical practitioner to better determine the relative likelihood of the diagnoses in the weighted list of probable diagnoses. As mentioned previously in relation to other aspects of execution of the method 2000 by the workstation 1500 and the server 1200 through the network 1300, the responsiveness of the system 1000 is important for the medical practitioner. Computing of the diagnosis-confirmation filtered questions by the processor module 1230 is therefore typically performed in real-time priority processing (or as close as possible to real-time considering other tasks of the server 1200) considering contribution of the workstation 1500 and the network 1300 to the responsiveness of the system 1000. A skilled person will further understand that computing the diagnosis- confirmation filtered questions within expected delays requires a relatively large amount of computing power that is not typically available on desktop computers, personal computers, tablets, and mobile computing devices.

[0044] Optionally, the method 2000 may comprise, upon receiving 2050 the preliminary diagnosis selection, displaying (not shown) on the GUI through the display module 1100 a suggested treatment plan computed by the processor module 1230 based at least on the preliminary diagnosis selection. The suggested treatment plan may comprise a number of follow-up steps, recommendations, and drug prescriptions for the patient based on the preliminary diagnosis selection. The suggested treatment plan may, for example, be displayed through the display module 1100 in a further column of the GUI. As a further option, the method 2000 may further comprise receiving a selection (not shown) received at the processor module 1230 from the workstation 1500 of one or more elements from the suggested treatment plan. The medical practitioner may select which elements, if any, from the suggested treatment plan they would like to recommend to the patient. For instance, the recommendation may be sent from the processor module 1230 via the network 1300 or the processor module 1230 may send the necessary data to another system (not shown) for the other system to send the recommendation (e.g., in accordance with preferences provided by the patient and made available (e.g., from the storage 1400) to the other system). As another option, the method 2000 may further comprise inserting (not shown) the one or more elements selected from the suggested treatment plan into the clinical note by the processor module 1230. In some embodiments, authentication requirements and elements similar to the ones imposed with regards to the formal diagnosis are applicable to elements of the suggested treatment plan. That is, some embodiment require that no elements from the suggested treatment plan be included in the clinical note without receipt of explicit instructions from the authenticated medical practitioner.

[0045] Optionally, the method 2000 may further comprise, before receiving the exam- context selection 2010, reading the patient's electronic file from a remote medical profile repository (e.g., from the storage module 1400 or via the storage module 1400). The patient's electronic file contains one or more records of the patient's medical history. The remote medical profile repository may also be an additional server (not shown) accessible via the network 1300. The method 2000 may further comprise as an option, upon reading the patient's electronic file, selectively extracting (not shown) medical profile data from the patient's electronic file. As a further option, the processing module 1030, when computing the weighted list of probable diagnoses before 2040, may further consider the extracted medical profile data when providing the weighted list of probable diagnoses. The medical history of the patient may be relevant in generating the weighted list of probable diagnoses. The medical history of the patient may also be considered in providing the questions to ask the patient. [0046] Communication over the network 1300 (e.g., with the remote medical profile repository, between the server 1200 and the workstation 1500 and/or the display module 1100 over the channel(s) 1310) may occur using TCP/IP and Ethernet or ATM SONET/SDNET over air, copper wires, optical fiber, or any other physical support capable of carrying data. Reading the patient's electronic file comprises downloading it from the remote medical profile repository. The remote medical profile repository and/or the storage module 1400 may be one or more databases, and the patient's electronic file may be associated with an identifier for the patient in the database(s). Reading the patient's electronic file may first require sending a request for the patient's electronic file to the remote medical profile repository and sending an identifier for the patient. The patient's electronic file may be stored and communicated in an encrypted format. In which case, reading the patient's electronic file first requires decrypting the electronic file.

[0047] Optionally, the method 2000 may further comprise, before reading the patient's electronic file, scanning (not shown) a bar code using a bar code reader to determine the location of the patient's electronic file on the remote medical profile repository. The bar code may be located on a physical file of the patient's or on a card carried by the patient. The bar code may contain an identifier for the patient that has been associated with the patient's electronic file on the remote medical profile repository. Scanning the bar code thus enables the medical practitioner to retrieve the patient's electronic file from the remote medical profile repository without manually entering the patient's identifier. The bar code reader may be physically connected to the remote practitioner workstation 1500, so that the identifier of the patient is automatically read and used by the system 1000, ultimately through the processing module 1030. As a similar option, the method 2000 may comprise, before reading the patient's electronic file, reading (not shown) a magnetic strip using a magnetic reader, an NFC chip using an NFC reader, a passive and/or active RFID ship using an RFID reader to determine the location of the patient's electronic file on the remote medical profile repository.

[0048] As an option, the running list of questions, including without limitation the preliminary filtered questions, in the method 2000 may comprise medical-condition factual questions, general medical profile questions (e.g., age, gender, height, and allergies), context- specific medical profile questions, requests for real-time measures and calculations, or requests for non-real-time laboratory or diagnostic tests as computed or otherwise loaded by the processor module 1230. Real-time measures and calculations are measures and calculations performed during the medical exam, such as measuring heart-rate, blood pressure, temperature, and weight and ultimately made available to the processing module 1230. Non- real-time laboratory or diagnostic tests are tests that are expected to be performed after the medical exam, such as a blood test. In some embodiments, the medical practitioner may then manually enter answers to one or more of the questions from the running list of questions and results for any real-time or non-real-time measures, calculations, laboratory tests, or diagnostic tests on the GUI through the display module 1100. These elements of the GUI may be computed by the workstation 1500, the processor module 1230 or the computation may be distributed between therebetween. The GUI, through the display module 1100, may provide the medical practitioner with multiple choice answers or results, in the form of, for example, radio buttons or check-boxes. The GUI, through the display module 1100, may also enable the medical practitioner to enter answers or results as free-form text, such as, for example, the numeric result of a measurement or calculation. Alternatively, for the real-time measures and calculations, one or more medical device(s) used to take the measurement(s) may be directly connected to the practitioner's workstation 1500 or their measurements may otherwise be made available on the GUI through the display module 1100 and/or otherwise made available to the processing module 1230, so that one or more measures or calculations are entered automatically into the system 1000. Similarly, the results from the non-real-time laboratory or diagnostic tests may be delivered to the practitioner's workstation 1500, the server 1200 or another server of the system 1000 (not shown) automatically via the network 1300 such that manual data entry by the medical practitioner is avoided or limited. In some embodiments, explicit data validation by the medical practitioner or, in some cases, the authenticated medical practitioner as discussed hereinabove may be required).

[0049] Optionally, the method 2000 may further comprise receiving (not shown) an authentication of the authenticated user received through the workstation 1500 (e.g., via the GUI) or otherwise. Authenticating the authenticated user may be performed according to any number of standard techniques that are common general knowledge in the art. For example, the medical practitioner may enter a user name and password in order to be authenticated by the system 1000. Alternatively or additionally, the system 1000 may use a fingerprint, identification card, or encryption technology to authenticate the medical practitioner. In order to enable the medical practitioner to login from different practitioner workstations 1500, the authentication is expected to be managed remotely at a centralized server (not shown or as the server 1200) in communication with the practitioner workstation 1500 via the network 1300. As a further option, the method 2000 may comprise, after receiving (not shown) the authentication of the authenticated user, adding an identification of the authenticated user to the clinical note.

[0050] Optionally, the GUI in the method 2000 may comprise an input/output device (not shown) in communication with the display module 1100 and/or the workstation 1500 allowing input of the exam-context selection, output of the running list of questions, input of the answers, output of the weighted list of probable diagnoses, input of the preliminary diagnosis selection, and input of the explicit diagnosis confirmation. The input/output device may comprise a standard computer monitor and keyboard for a desktop or laptop computer. Alternatively, the input/output device comprise a keyboard and/or touchscreen device (such as the screen on a tablet or mobile phone) that enables the medical practitioner to input information to the system 1000 by touching the screen and/or the keyboard. Alternatively, the input/output device may be a display panel integrated with the medical exam room (e.g., comprising a keyboard and/or touchscreen-like capabilities).

[0051] Referring back to Figure 1, the storage module 1400 is for storing the medical information. The medical information comprises the exam contexts, the preliminary filtered questions, the diagnosis-confirmation filtered questions, and the differential-diagnosis filtered questions. The medical information also comprises disease information correlating diseases and illnesses with symptoms for the purpose of calculating the weighted list of probable diagnoses. The medical information may be stored in one or more plain text files or in one or more files using another format. Alternatively, the medical information may be stored in one or more databases. Alternatively, the medical information may be stored in a proprietary database designed specifically for the purpose of storing and retrieving medical information. For example, the disease information may be stored in one or more matrices. A skilled person will understand that the quantity of medical information will be very large, and therefore the medical information cannot be stored on the common storage devices available on desktop computers, laptop computers, or other storage devices. Moreover, a skilled person would understand that given the quantity of medical information, it should be stored centrally rather than duplicated on each medical practitioner's workstation 1500. For these reasons, the medical information must be stored at a central server 1200 that is accessible by the remote practitioner workstations 1500 via a network 1300. Only such a server 1200 would have sufficient storage capacity to store the volume of medical information required. The storage module 1400A may be integrated with the server 1200. Alternatively, the storage module 1400B may be connected to the server 1200 via the network 1300. The storage module 1400 may be a standard hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a tape drive, RAID storage, or any form of non-volatile memory that meets the various requirements for storing and retrieving the medical information.

[0052] The memory module 1220 is for storing a running list of questions related to one of the medical exams. The memory module 1220 is a form of volatile memory, such as RAM. The server 1200 can process multiple medical exams occurring simultaneously at multiple locations, e.g., on multiple remote practitioner workstations 1500. While a single running list of questions may be provided for multiple workstations 1500 (i.e., serving concurrent medical exams), e.g., using indexing or the like to associate each question in the single running list of questions with one or more workstations 1500, responsiveness of the system 1000 is better improved by having the memory module 1220 store separately the running list of questions for each separate remote practitioner workstation 1500.

[0053] The network interface module 1210 is for interfacing with a plurality of remote practitioner workstations 1500. The majority of the medical information and other data is stored on the storage module 1400 at the server 1200, and the majority of the computation is performed by the processor module 1230 of the server 1200. The medical practitioner may interact with the system 1000 via a thin client, the remote practitioner workstation 1500, which communicates with the server 1200 via the network 1300. The network interface module 1210 enables the server 1200 to communicate over the network 1300. The server 1200 is able to serve multiple remote practitioner workstations 1500 simultaneously. The distributed architecture necessary to achieve the objectives of embodiments of the present invention is provided for a number of reasons, some of which have already been discussed above. The quantity of storage required for the medical information and the amount of processing power required to generate, among others, the weighted list of probable diagnoses within an expected delay is such that the application requires enough processing capabilities that a server rather than a desktop computer, laptop, or mobile device is likely to provide. Moreover, given the volume of medical information, it is not practicable to replicate the data on each practitioner's local workstation 1500. Moreover, there is an advantage in storing the patient's medical exam data (including the clinical note) on the centralized storage module 1400 accessible to the centralized server 1200 so that when the patient visits different medical practitioners, their entire medical history is available for adequately computing, among others, the weighted list of probable diagnoses. There is a further advantage in having the centralized storage module 1400 accessible to the centralized server 1200 for storing the medical information and the centralized server 1200 for performing the computations: as the results of medical exams are received (e.g., the formal diagnosis as well as answers and potentially other relevant data considered, which may further be anonymized), such results may be used as further medical information by the system 1000 (e.g., general correlations between symptoms and diseases) for improving the quality of the weighted list of probable diagnoses computed by the processor module 1230. Said differently, the system 1000 may learn from medical practitioners, as diagnoses are formalized, in order to compute better weights for the different probable diagnoses. A skilled person will understand that the collection of such data would not be possible or practicable without a centralized server.

[0054] Optionally, the processor module 1230 is further for decrypting the exam-context selection, the answer, the preliminary diagnosis selection, and the explicit diagnosis confirmation received by the network interface module 1210. As a further option, the processor module 1230 is further for encrypting the weighted list of probable diagnoses sent by the network interface module 1210. As another option, the processor module 1230 is further for authenticating the exam-context selection, the answer, the preliminary diagnosis selection, and the explicit diagnosis confirmation received by the network interface module 1210 using the public key of the authenticated user. Optionally, the processor module 1230 is further for signing the weighted list of probable diagnoses sent by the network interface module 1210 using a private key of the server. A skilled person will readily understand that using public key cryptography, which is common general knowledge in the art, it is possible to secure all communications between the server 1200 and the remote practitioner workstation 1500. In particular, it is possible to encrypt all communications so that all communications are private. Moreover, it is possible to sign all communications so that the source of all communications can be confirmed.

[0055] Optionally, the storage module 1400 is a secure storage medium using encryption, and wherein the medical information is stored in an encrypted form, the storage module 1400 is further for decrypting the plurality of preliminary filtered questions when they are fetched by the processor module 1230 from the medical information, and the storage module 1400 is further for decrypting the differential-diagnosis questions when they are fetched by the processor module 1230 from the medical information. Given that the storage module 1400 will be storing personal and private information of the patients', its contents could be encrypted to provide an added layer of privacy and security. All data as it enters and leaves the storage module 1400 would then have to be encrypted or decrypted, as the case may be. As another option, the storage module 1400 may be a network based storage medium. In this case, the server 1200 would access the data stored on the storage module 1400 via the network 1300. As a further option, the storage module 1400 may be a cloud-based storage solution accessible via the network 1300.

[0056] The processor module 1230 may represent a single processor with one or more processor cores or an array of processors, each comprising one or more processor cores. The memory module 1220 may comprise various types of memory (different standardized or kinds of Random Access Memory (RAM) modules, memory cards, Read-Only Memory (ROM) modules, programmable ROM, etc.). The storage module 1400 may represent one or more logical or physical as well as local or remote hard disk drive (HDD) (or an array thereof). The storage module 1400 may further represent a local or remote database made accessible to the network node 1300 by a standardized or proprietary interface. The network interface module 1210 represents at least one physical interface that can be used to communicate with other network nodes. The network interface module 1210 may be made visible to the other modules of the network node 1300 through one or more logical interfaces. The actual stacks of protocols used by the physical network interface(s) and/or logical network interface(s) of the network interface module 1210 do not affect the teachings of the present invention. The variants of processor module 1230, memory module 1220, network interface module 1210 and storage module 1400 usable in the context of the present invention will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art. Likewise, even though explicit mentions of the memory module 1220 and/or the processor module 1230 are not made throughout the description of the present examples, persons skilled in the art will readily recognize that such modules are used in conjunction with other modules of the network node 1300 to perform routine as well as innovative steps related to the present invention.

[0057] Various network links may be implicitly or explicitly used in the context of the present invention. While a link may be depicted as a wireless link, it could also be embodied as a wired link using a coaxial cable, an optical fiber, a category 5 cable, and the like. A wired or wireless access point (not shown) may be present on the link between. Likewise, any number of routers (not shown) may be present and part of the link, which may further pass through the Internet. [0058] The present invention is not affected by the way the different modules exchange information between them. For instance, the memory module 1220 and the processor module 1230 could be connected by a parallel bus, but could also be connected by a serial connection or involve an intermediate module (not shown) without affecting the teachings of the present invention. [0059] A method is generally conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. These steps require physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic/ electromagnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It is convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, parameters, items, elements, objects, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. It should be noted, however, that all of these terms and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiments were chosen to explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention in order to implement various embodiments with various modifications as might be suited to other contemplated uses.