US 5,933,136 · Granted 1999-08-03

The 1999 Patent That Locks Entertainment Until You Take Your Medicine

Imagine a TV that won't let you watch your favorite show unless you prove you took your medicine or did your physical therapy. This patent describes a system that collects health data from patients, checks if they're following their doctor's orders, and either grants or blocks access to entertainment based on whether they're compliant. It's like a digital carrot-and-stick motivator for staying healthy.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a system that connects patient compliance data (like blood pressure readings or answers to health questions) to entertainment access. What's protected here is the specific method of collecting that health data, comparing it against a doctor's criteria, and then automatically allowing or denying access to a program or media based on the outcome. The patent also covers transmitting and displaying that compliance status back to the healthcare provider in real time.

Why it matters

This patent represents an early attempt to solve a real healthcare problem: getting patients to actually follow their treatment plans. Most patients don't stick to medications or therapy, which costs the healthcare system billions in preventable complications. By tying something patients care about—entertainment—to compliance, the patent's inventors were trying to create a behavioral incentive that didn't require a doctor to nag. It's an early example of what's now called 'gamification' in healthcare, a strategy many digital health apps use today.

Real-world use

A teenager with diabetes could use this system to unlock streaming access or TV time by logging her blood sugar readings each morning, teaching her to check her levels consistently without being forced.

Original USPTO abstract

A system and method for controlling patient access to an entertainment program to encourage a patient to comply with a treatment plan. The method includes the step of collecting compliance data from the patient. In one embodiment, the compliance data includes measurements of a physiological condition of the patient as well as patient answers to compliance questions. The method further includes the step of comparing the compliance data to evaluation criteria selected by a healthcare provider to determine if the patient is in compliance with the treatment plan. If the patient is in compliance, access is granted to the entertainment program. If the patient is not in compliance, access to the entertainment program is restricted. In the preferred embodiment, the method includes the additional steps of transmitting and displaying the patient's compliance data and compliance status to the healthcare provider.

Patent details

Publication number: US 5,933,136
Filing date: 1996-12-23
Grant date: 1999-08-03
Assignee: Health Hero Network, Inc.
Inventor(s): BROWN; STEPHEN J.
CPC class: G06Q30/02

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