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(11) | EP 1 008 963 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Time registration system for the care sector |
(57) A method and a system for the registration by means of a data logger of working times
of ambulant nursing staff in the home care sector. With the data logger, which is
provided with a date and time clock, a contactless radio-frequent identification label
is read at the home of the attended person to record the times of coming and going,
to transmit them at a later time by telephone via a modem to an information processing
system. If this transmission has proceeded well, the stored information can be removed
from the data logger, so that it can be used again.
[0001] The invention relates to a method and a system for the registration of working times in the home care sector. Because the attending staff in the home care sector or comparable sectors is rather ambulant and is not every day in contact with the management of this form of service, the need arises for a time registration system with which the working times can be recorded to enable optimum planning of and accounting for these activities.
[0002] The object of the present invention is to provide a solution for this. To this end, the nursing staff is provided according to the invention with a so-called data logger, for instance in the form of a key ring, with which to record the date and the times of coming and going per attended person. To make it easier to record these times and to enable this act only at the home of the attended person, the data logger is provided according to the invention with a receiver circuit with which a contactless radio-frequent identification label can be read which, for instance, is undetachably connected with the logbook, available at the attended person, and in which the findings and acts are recorded by the nursing staff. Furthermore, the data logger for recording the above times should also be provided with a date and time clock and with a memory element to store this information at the attended person, together with the identity of the contactless radio-frequent identification label.
[0003] The information collected in the data logger can, for instance at the end of the working day, be transmitted to a central information processing system, where this information is collected and used to record working times and the related work plans, and to generate management information.
[0004] In order that a distinction can be made between the times of coming and going, the data logger can be provided with two buttons. A button "coming", with which the receiver circuit available in the data logger is activated to read out the contactless radio-frequent identification label and to connect the identification number of this label with the time of coming and a button "going" to also activate the receiver circuit and to connect the identification number of the label with the time of going.
[0005] In order not to need additional buttons on the data logger, the date and time clock is not set at the real date and time, but in the data logger a relative date and time is used. The real times of coming and going are calculated on the basis of the relative dates and times as recorded in the data logger and the real date and time at the moment of the transmission of information to the central information processing system.
[0006] It is of course also possible to provide the data logger with only one button, with which both the time of coming and the time of going are recorded.
[0007] The nature of the activities carried out by the nursing staff at the home of the attended person can be derived on the basis of the identity of the attended person, because this attended person has a predetermined need of attendance. Furthermore, the nature of the activities to be carried out can sometimes be derived from the identity of the nursing person, because the nursing persons have individual specialties, or also from a combination of both. By also giving the data logger itself a unique identification number and coupling it to the identity of the nursing person, it can be derived to some extent via the central information processing system which activities have been carried out for the attended person.
[0008] To enable a better recording of these activities, and also to pass instructions, if any, to colleagues, the data logger may optionally be provided with a microphone, a digitizing circuit and a larger memory element to record per attended person not only the date and times of coming and going, but also a limited amount of spoken text. This spoken information can likewise be transmitted to the central information processing system.
[0009] The transmission of all the information collected in the data logger can, for instance every day, be transmitted by telephone to the central information processing system by means of a modem function built into the data logger.
[0010] To limit the transmission time, this transmission takes place via the telephone connection with the central information processing system, preferably analogously, instead of digitally, and the information is digitized here again for storage in the memory of the central information processing system. Thus, no additional equipment is required for the transmission of the information.
1. A method for the registration of working times of ambulant nursing staff working in
the home care sector or comparable sectors, characterized in that each nursing person
carries a handy data logger on him/her, with which at each attended person, on coming
and going, a contactless radio-frequent identification label is read, thus recording
the time of coming and the time of going in the data logger, which is provided for
this purpose with a date and time clock and with a memory element to record this information
and optionally to transmit it by telephone at a later time, for instance at the end
of a working day, to a central information processing system, where this information
is collected and, for instance, used to record working times and the related planning
of and accounting for these activities, and to generate management information.
2. A method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the contactless radio-frequent
identification label is connected with the location of the attended person, by for
instance undetachably securing this identification label to the logbook, available
at the attended person, in which activities and findings are recorded.
3. A method according to one or both preceding claim(s), characterized in that the data
logger is provided with a button "coming" to record the time of coming and with a
button "going" to record the time of going.
4. A method according to any or several of the preceding claims, characterized in that
the data logger is provided with only one button to record both the time of coming
and the time of going.
5. A method according to any or several of the preceding claims, characterized in that
the date and time clock is not set at the real date and time, but that the real dates
and times of coming and going are calculated on the basis of the relative dates and
times as recorded in the data logger and the real date and time at the moment of the
transmission of information to the central information processing system.
6. A method according to any or several of the preceding claims, characterized in that
the nature of the activities carried out at the attended person is derived by the
central information processing system from the identity of the attended person, because
this attended person has a predetermined need of attendance.
7. A method according to any or several of the preceding claims, characterized in that
the nature of the activities carried out at the attended person is derived by the
central information processing system from the specialty of the nursing person, whose
identity is coupled to the identification number of the data logger of the relevant
nursing person.
8. A method according to any or several of the preceding claims, characterized in that
the data logger is provided with a larger memory element in which per attended person
not only the date and the time of coming and going, but also a limited amount of spoken
text can be recorded by means of a microphone and a digitizing circuit, which spoken
text is likewise transmitted to the central information processing system.
9. A method according to any or several of the preceding claims, characterized in that
the data logger for effecting the connection with the central information processing
system is provided with a modem with which the digital information can be transmitted
by telephone, so that no additional equipment is required for this transmission.
10. A method according to any or several of the preceding claims, characterized in that
the collected information is removed from the data logger, after the transmission
of this information to the central information processing system has taken place,
after which the data logger is ready again to store new information.
11. A system for the registration of working times of ambulant nursing staff working in
the home care sector or comparable sectors, characterized in that the system is provided
with at least one data logger and at least one radio-frequent label, each nursing
person carrying one of the handy data loggers on him/her, with which at each attended
person, on coming and going, on of the contactless radio-frequent identification labels
is read, thus recording the time of coming and the time of going in the data logger,
which is provided for this purpose with a date and time clock and with a memory element
to record this information.
12. A system according to claim 11, characterized in that the system is further provided
with a central information processing system, the information being transmitted at
a later time, for instance at the end of a working day, and for instance by telephone,
to the central information processing system, where this information is collected
and, for instance, used to record working times and the related planning of and accounting
for these activities, and to generate management information.
13. A system according to claim 12, characterized in that that the contactless radio-frequent
identification label is connected with the location of the attended person, by for
instance undetachably securing this identification label to the logbook, available
at the attended person, in which activities and findings are recorded.
14. A system according to any of claims 12-13, characterized in that the data logger is
provided with a button "coming" to record the time of coming and with a button "going"
to record the time of going.
15. A system according to any of claims 12-14, characterized in that the data logger is
provided with only one button to record both the time of coming and the time of going.
16. A system according to any of claims 12-15, characterized in that the date and time
clock is not set at the real date and time, but that the real dates and times of coming
and going are calculated on the basis of the relative dates and times as recorded
in the data logger and the real date and time at the moment of the transmission of
information to the central information processing system.
17. A system according to any of claims 12-16, characterized in that the nature of the
activities carried out at the attended person is derived by the central information
processing system from the identity of the attended person, because this attended
person has a predetermined need of attendance.
18. A system according to any of claims 12-17, characterized in that the nature of the
activities carried out at the attended person is derived by the central information
processing system from the specialty of the nursing person, whose identity is coupled
to the identification number of the data logger of the relevant nursing person.
19. A system according to any of claims 12-18, characterized in that the data logger is
provided with a larger memory element, in which per attended person not only the date
and the time of coming and going, but also a limited amount of spoken text can be
recorded by means of a microphone and a digitizing circuit, which spoken text is likewise
transmitted to the central information processing system.
20. A system according to any of claims 12-19, characterized in that the data logger for
effecting the connection with the central information processing system is provided
with a modem, with which the digital information can be transmitted by telephone,
so that no additional equipment is required for this transmission.
21. A system according to any of claims 12-20, characterized in that the collected information
is removed from the data logger, after the transmission of this information to the
central information processing system has taken place, after which the data logger
is ready again to store new information.