System and method for reducing the steps involved in searching for available appointment times and scheduling appointments in a health care environment
First Claim
1. A system for searching for available appointment times and scheduling appointments comprising:
- a plurality of search algorithms;
a plurality of search definitions defined within the plurality of search algorithms;
a plurality of search parameters defined within the plurality of search definitions;
a plurality of passes defined within the plurality of search definitions; and
a search engine that executes the plurality of search algorithms to determine any scheduling solutions to select from that meets all of the search criteria for scheduling an appointment.
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Abstract
A system and method for searching for and scheduling appointments in a health care environment. The present invention is a computerized searching and scheduling system and method for scheduling appointments. The computerized searching and scheduling system and method comprises a plurality of search definitions for defining a plurality of standard searches based on health care provider pools, date offsets and time ranges. The plurality of search definitions define a plurality of appointment visits that are available for scheduling appointments. The computerized searching and scheduling system and method further comprises a plurality of scheduling algorithms for determining a scheduling solution based on parameters and rules by visit type, procedure, providers, and/or resources. Execution of the plurality of search algorithms provides a plurality of available appointment time options for selection in scheduling an appointment.
120 Citations
65 Claims
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1. A system for searching for available appointment times and scheduling appointments comprising:
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a plurality of search algorithms;
a plurality of search definitions defined within the plurality of search algorithms;
a plurality of search parameters defined within the plurality of search definitions;
a plurality of passes defined within the plurality of search definitions; and
a search engine that executes the plurality of search algorithms to determine any scheduling solutions to select from that meets all of the search criteria for scheduling an appointment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A system for efficiently scheduling appointments over the Internet via a computerized searching and scheduling system comprising:
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a Web browser for accessing an appointment searching and scheduling application from the Internet;
wherein the appointment searching and scheduling application is integrated into the Web browser and accessible by both internal and external users;
a plurality of search algorithms;
a plurality of search definitions defined within the plurality of search algorithms;
a plurality of search parameters defined within the plurality of search definitions;
a plurality of passes defined within the plurality of search definitions; and
a search engine that executes the plurality of search algorithms to determine at least one appointment scheduling solution to select from that meets all of the search criteria for scheduling an appointment. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47)
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48. A method for scheduling appointments via a computerized searching and scheduling system, the method comprising the steps of:
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selecting an appointment from a list of appointment options; and
executing a search engine from the selected appointment option; and
displaying scheduling solutions provided by the computerized searching and scheduling system after receiving the selected appointment from the list of appointment options. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. A method for scheduling appointments via a computerized searching and scheduling system, the method comprising the steps of:
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selecting a scheduling function from the computerized searching and scheduling system to open an appointment scheduling process;
entering or selecting a patient'"'"'s name from a list of names;
selecting an appointment type from a list of appointment type options;
generating a pre-screened listing of available appointment dates and times that satisfy the search criteria in the search algorithms;
selecting an appointment time; and
accepting the scheduled appointment.
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55. A method for scheduling appointments over the Internet via a computerized searching and scheduling system, the method comprising the steps of:
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logging onto the computerized searching and scheduling system via the Internet;
selecting a scheduling function from the computerized searching and scheduling system to open an appointment scheduling process;
selecting the appointment searching function;
generating a pre-determined listing of available appointment dates and times that satisfy the search criteria in the search algorithms;
selecting an appointment time; and
accepting the scheduled appointment. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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Specification