System and method for exchanging documents

• US 20070043592A1
• Filed: 08/12/2005
• Published: 02/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quixam, LLC
• Original Assignee: Quixam, LLC
• Inventors: Eckert, John, Eckert, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 8,666,759 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records

Abstract

A method of exchanging documents among multiple businesses relating to common customers, including publishing documents relating to a first customer of a first business in a secure medium, determining whether the first customer is the same person as a second customer of a second business, and if the first customer is the same person as the second customer, granting access to the second business to the published documents.

Claims

1. A method of exchanging documents among multiple businesses relating to common customers, comprising the steps of:

(a) Publishing documents relating to a first customer of a first business in a secure medium; and

(b) Determining whether the first customer is the same person as a second customer of a second business;

(c) If the first customer is the same person as the second customer, granting access to the second business to the published documents.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first business and the second business are medical practices;

and

wherein the first customer and the second customer are patients.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

(d) Requesting that each patient of each medical practice, in a group of medical practices comprised of at least the first business and the second business, consent to the sharing of such patient'"'"'s medical records at that medical practice; and

(e) Tracking whether each patient of each medical practice has consented to the sharing of the patient'"'"'s medical records.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of:

(f) With respect to each patient of each medical practice who has not consented, not granting access to restricted information to any other medical practice.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

(f) Receiving a revocation of consent from at least one patient of at least one medical practice; and

(g) With respect to each patient who has revoked his or her consent, not granting access to restricted information published after the refusal or revocation to any other medical practice; and

(h) With respect to each patient who has revoked his or her consent, not granting access to any other medical practice to restricted information published before the refusal or revocation but not accessed by any other business.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

(f) Marking a published document as private; and

(g) With respect to each published private document, not granting access to any other medical practice.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

(h) Marking a private document as non-private; and

(i) Granting access to each other medical practice entitled to access to such document but for its former status as private.

8. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

(f) Determining whether the first business and the second business are members of a Circle of Sharing with respect to the customer; and

(g) If the first business and the second business are members of a Circle of Sharing with respect to the customer, granting access to the second business to the published documents.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

(h) Granting access to all members of the Circle of Sharing with respect to the customer to the published documents.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

(h) Granting access to all members of the Circle of Sharing with respect to the customer to all unrestricted published documents with respect to the customer published at any time.

11. The method of claim 3, wherein the consent complies with the Health Insurance Affordability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“

HIPAA”

), as amended.

12. The method of claim 3, wherein the consent complies with the applicable patient privacy laws currently in effect.

13. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of:

(f) sending at least one published document from the first business to each medical practice in the group of medical practices.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

(h) publishing a listing of the identities of each of the practitioners in the group of medical practices.

15. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

(h) publishing a listing of the identities of each of the medical practices currently participating in the Circle of Sharing.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of:

(i) publishing a listing of the identities of each of the medical practices formerly participating in the Circle of Sharing.

17. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

(h) publishing a listing of the identities of each of the medical practices in the group of medical practices.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(d) If the first customer is the same person as the second customer, granting access to the second business to all documents not marked private published by the first customer after access is granted.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(d) If the first customer is the same person as the second customer, granting access to the first business to all documents not marked private published by the second customer.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the secure medium is a database to which rules apply limiting access to its contents.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the secure medium comprises a file transport method employing encryption and authentication.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein whether the first customer is the same person as a second customer of a second business is determined by comparing multiple database fields.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first customer is determined to be the same person as the second customer if one or more predetermined mandatory fields match and at least one of a plurality of secondary fields match.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of granting access to the second business to the published documents comprises granting access to documents relating to that customer published by any business.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(d) Prompting a user to perform a local or global search;

(e) Prompting the user to enter at least one search term;

(f) Performing a search for documents based on data entered by the user in response to steps (d) and (e); and

(g) Providing the results of step (f) to the user.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein historical information relating to the customer is used in part in determining whether the first customer is the same person as the second customer.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the historical information includes at least one of the customer'"'"'s former name, former address, secondary address, former telephone number, secondary telephone number, secondary e-mail address, and former e-mail address.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the first business is a medical practice, pharmacy, insurer, hospital, or provider of nursing services;

wherein the second business is a medical practice, pharmacy, insurer, hospital, or provider of nursing services; and

wherein the first customer and the second customer are patients.

29. A method of exchanging documents among multiple businesses belonging to a Circle of Sharing, comprising the steps of:

(a) Providing one or more documents to other members of the Circle of Sharing; and

(b) Granting access to a document to a member of the Circle of Sharing upon verification that such member of the Circle of Sharing has rights to such document.