Method and apparatus for directing Internet users to health care information such as names of health care providers

• US 20040064440A1
• Filed: 09/29/2003
• Published: 04/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Healthline Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Healthline Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Norman, James G. Jr.
• Application Number:
  US10/675,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20040064440A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/60 relating to pathologies
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A method including storing content in a computer database, the content having a plurality of components. The method further comprises associating each of at least some of the content components with at least one of a plurality of codes (such as ICD or CPT codes) in a manner so that each of the plurality of codes employed has at least one of the content components associated therewith, and providing a retrieval system accessible by a user using the Internet. The retrieval system is adapted to retrieve the content components associated with any one of the codes upon receiving a signal sent by the user. The signal corresponds to said any one of the codes. The content components associated with said any one of codes are sent to the user upon receiving the signal.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a host computer system, the host computer system being adapted to retrieve descriptive information about a plurality of ailments, the descriptive information comprising one or more of the following;

physiological aspects of the ailment, pathological aspects of the ailment, information as to whether the ailment is treatable, information about expected clinical course, and information about potential complications, the host computer system further being adapted to send to a client computer system communicating with the host computer system via the Internet the descriptive information of any one of the plurality of ailments upon receiving from the client computer system a search query concerning said any one of the plurality of ailments;

associating the descriptive information of each of the plurality of ailments with a plurality of ICD or CPT codes;

associating a plurality of content components with the plurality of ICD or CPT codes in a manner so that each of the content components is associated with at least one of the ICD or CPT codes;

sending the descriptive information of said any one of the plurality of ailments to the client computer system via the Internet, the sending of the descriptive information being initiated by the host computer system receiving from the client computer system the search query concerning said any one of the plurality of ailments;

sending to the client computer system via the Internet each of the content components that are associated with the ICD or CPT codes with which the sent descriptive information is associated.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the plurality of content components comprises names of at least a plurality of health care providers.

3. A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein the step of associating the plurality of content components with the plurality of ICD or CPT codes comprises associating the names of the health care providers with the plurality of ICD or CPT codes in a manner so that each of the names of the health care providers is associated with at least one of the ICD or CPT codes.

4. A method as set forth in claim 3 wherein the ICD or CPT codes with which the name of each health care provider are associated are ICD or CPT codes chosen by each such health care provider.

5. A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein the step of associating a plurality of content components with the plurality of ICD or CPT codes comprises associating each of at least some of the names with at least one of the ICD or CPT codes in a manner so that each of the plurality of ICD or CPT codes employed has at least one of the names associated therewith.

6. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the search query concerning said any one of the plurality of ailments comprises an ICD or CPT code.

7. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the host computer system communicates with the client computer system in a manner for providing on the client computer system an interface for the host computer system, the interface prompting a user to input a search query.

8. A method as set forth in claim 7 wherein the interface comprises a community, and wherein selection of the community by the user causes the search query to be sent to the host computer system.

9. A method as set forth in claim 7 wherein the interface comprises an icon on a community, and wherein selection of the icon by the user causes the search query to be sent to the host computer system.

10. A method as set forth in claim 9 wherein the community comprises a web page and wherein the icon is on the web page.

11. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the step of associating the descriptive information of each of the plurality of ailments with the plurality of ICD or CPT codes comprises associating the descriptive information of each of the plurality of ailments with a plurality of ICD and CPT codes;

the step of associating the plurality of content components with the plurality of ICD or CPT codes comprises associating the plurality of content components with the plurality of ICD and CPT codes.

12. A method comprising:

providing a host computer system, the host computer system being adapted to retrieve descriptive information about a plurality of ailments, the descriptive information comprising one or more of the following;

physiological aspects of the ailment, pathological aspects of the ailment, information as to whether the ailment is treatable, information about expected clinical course, and information about potential complications, the host computer system further being adapted to send to a client computer system communicating with the host computer system via the Internet the descriptive information of any one of the plurality of ailments upon receiving from the client computer system a search query concerning said any one of the plurality of ailments;

associating the descriptive information of each of the plurality of ailments with a plurality of ICD or CPT codes;

associating names of at least a plurality of health care providers with the plurality of ICD or CPT codes in a manner so that each of the names of the plurality of health care providers is associated with at least one of the ICD or CPT codes;

sending the descriptive information of said any one of the plurality of ailments to the client computer system via the Internet, the sending of the descriptive information being initiated by the host computer system receiving from the client computer system the search query concerning said any one of the plurality of ailments;

sending to the client computer system each of the names of the plurality of health care providers that are associated with the ICD or CPT codes with which the sent descriptive information is associated.

13. A method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the ICD or CPT codes with which the name of each health care provider are associated are ICD or CPT codes chosen by each such health care provider.

14. A method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the search query concerning said any one of the plurality of ailments comprises an ICD or CPT code.

15. A method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the host computer system communicates with the client computer system in a manner for providing on the client computer system an interface for the host computer system, the interface prompting a user to input a search query.

16. A method as set forth in claim 15 wherein the interface comprises a community, and wherein selection of the community by the user causes the search query to be sent to the host computer system.

17. A method as set forth in claim 15 wherein the interface comprises an icon on a community, and wherein selection of the icon by the user causes the search query to be sent to the host computer system.

18. A method as set forth in claim 17 wherein the community comprises a web page and wherein the icon is on the web page.

19. An Internet navigational system comprising:

at least one computer database having stored therein descriptive information about a plurality of ailments, the descriptive information comprising one or more of the following;

physiological aspects of the ailment, pathological aspects of the ailment, information as to whether the ailment is treatable, information about expected clinical course, and information about potential complications, the descriptive information of each of the plurality of ailments being associated with a plurality of ICD or CPT codes, the at least one computer database also having stored therein a plurality of content components, each of the content components being associated with at least one of the ICD or CPT codes;

a host computer system adapted and configured to retrieve from the at least one computer database the descriptive information, the host computer system further being adapted and configured to send to a client computer system communicating with the host computer system via the Internet the descriptive information of any one of the plurality of ailments upon receiving from the client computer system a search query concerning said any one of the plurality of ailments, the host computer system further being adapted and configured to send to the client computer system via the Internet at least one of the content components based upon the association of the ICD or CPT codes such that the sent content components are associated with the ICD or CPT codes with which the sent descriptive information is associated.

20. An Internet navigational system comprising:

at least one computer database having stored therein descriptive information about a plurality of ailments, the descriptive information comprising one or more of the following;

physiological aspects of the ailment, pathological aspects of the ailment, information as to whether the ailment is treatable, information about expected clinical course, and information about potential complications, the descriptive information of each of the plurality of ailments being associated with a plurality of ICD or CPT codes, the at least one computer database also having stored therein names of at least a plurality of health care providers, each of the names of the plurality of health care providers being associated with at least one of the ICD or CPT codes;

a host computer system adapted and configured to retrieve from the at least one computer database the descriptive information, the host computer system further being adapted and configured to send to a client computer system communicating with the host computer system via the Internet the descriptive information of any one of the plurality of ailments upon receiving from the client computer system a search query concerning said any one of the plurality of ailments, the host computer system further being adapted and configured to send to the client computer system via the Internet at least one of the names of the health care providers based upon the association of the ICD or CPT codes such that the sent names of the health care providers are associated with the ICD or CPT codes with which the sent descriptive information is associated.