System and method to administer a patient specific anonymous medical questionnaire over the public Internet using manual decryption of user information

• US 20080215356A1
• Filed: 03/01/2008
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Vincent M. Vancho
• Original Assignee: Vincent M. Vancho
• Inventors: Vancho, Vincent M.
• Application Number:
  US12/074,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20080215356A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

The invention is a system and method for a physician to administer an interactive, branched logic computerized medical questionnaire over a public internet to patients, such that said patients or said physician does not have to be identified on the questionnaire by name, and, therefore, can remain anonymous. The questionnaire is administered on a public Internet site using a personal identification number for the physician which, when interpreted by a third-party database, routes the output to the physician based on information provided by the physician. The output contains patient-related information which only the physician knows. The physician relates the patient information contained in the output, via manual means, to information already known about the patient based on the physician-patient relationship, the patient is identified and the output can be placed within the patients record.

Claims

1. A system and method for a physician to administer an Internet based branched logic computerized medical questionnaire to patients, which keeps the physicians'"'"' and patents'"'"' identity anonymous while the patient is using the questionnaire from any Internet enabled computer run over the public Internet, through the use of information known only by the physician and patient, and which information is decoded manually by the physician to protect patent identity, said system and method comprising:

(a) a physician registration website hosting a physician database where a physician can register his name and fax number, and receive a personal identification number (PIN) which can be provided to his patients;

(b) the setting of an appointment between the physician and patient which identifies a specific date and time for which the patient should visit the physician'"'"'s office to discuss a medical symptom or problem;

(c) the physician providing the patient with his PIN, and directing the patient to a medical questionnaire website where the patient can take a branched logic computerized medical questionnaire;

(d) the patient visiting the medical questionnaire website hosting said branch logic computerized medical questionnaire, and registering using the physician PIN number and appointment time and date, then including additional data of the patient'"'"'s date of birth and gender required by the branched logic computerized medical questionnaire;

(e) when the questionnaire is completed, output from the questionnaire is formatted and the PIN number is decoded automatically between the medical questionnaire website and the physician registration website containing the physician database to retrieve the physician'"'"'s fax number;

(f) converting the questionnaire output into a cover page with the physician'"'"'s fax number, appointment date and time and patient date of birth and gender, and a medical output consisting of the results of the branched logic computerized medical questionnaire, then combining said cover page and said medical output into one electronic file known as a TIF file, which is the typical graphics file format for faxing;

(g) Sending the cover page and medical output to the physician'"'"'s fax number by means of a fax server;

(h) when the physician receives the questionnaire output, the appointment time and date on the cover page is compared to the appointment time and date in the physician'"'"'s appointment book;

(i) the physician then identifies any and all patients listed in the physician'"'"'s appointment book at said appointment time and date, and retrieves the medical file records of all said patients;

(j) the physician compares the date of birth and gender listed on the cover page with the date of birth and gender of all patients whose medical file records were retrieved, and finds the true unique patient whose date of birth and gender matches the date of birth and gender listed on said cover page; and

(k) the physician files the cover page and medical output of the matched patent into the medical record file of the true unique patient.

2. A system and method for a physician to administer a medical questionnaire to their patients, which keeps the physicians'"'"' and patents'"'"' identity anonymous while the patent is using the questionnaire from any Internet enabled computer run over the public Internet, through the use of information known only by the physician and patient, and which information is decoded manually by the physician to protect patient identity, said system and method comprising:

a) a physician registration website hosting a physician database where a physician can register his name and fax number, and receive a personal identification number (PIN) which can be provided to his patients;

b) the physician providing each patient with a unique patient identification number (ID) by means of a patient database or independent medical record program which relates the patient name to any unique identification number;

c) the physician providing the patient with the PIN and patient ID, and directing the patient to a medical questionnaire website where the patient can take a medical questionnaire;

d) the patient visiting said medical questionnaire website hosting said medical questionnaire, and registering using the physician PIN and patent ID;

e) when the questionnaire is completed, output from the questionnaire is formatted and the PIN number is decoded automatically between the medical questionnaire website and the physician registration website containing the physician database to retrieve the physician'"'"'s fax number;

f) converting the questionnaire output into a cover page with the physician'"'"'s fax number and the patient ID, and a medical output consisting of the results of the medical questionnaire;

g) sending the cover page and medical output to the physician'"'"'s fax number by means of a fax server;

h) when the physician receives the questionnaire output, the physician compares the patient ID on the cover page of the questionnaire output to the list of ID numbers in the patient database and finds the ID in the patient database that matches the ID on the cover page; and

i) the physician files the cover page and medical output into the paper based medical record file of the patient who is associated with the said uniquely matched patient ID number.

3. A system and method for a physician to administer an Internet based branched logic computerized medical questionnaire to their patients, which keeps the physicians'"'"' and patients'"'"' identity anonymous while the patient is using the questionnaire from any Internet enabled computer run over the public Internet, through the use of information known only by the physician and patient, and which information is decoded manually by the physician to protect patient identity, said system and method comprising:

a) a physician registration website hosting a physician database where a physician can register his name and email address, and receive a personal identification number (PIN) which can be provided to his patients;

b) the setting of an appointment between the physician and patient which identifies a specific date and time for which the patient should visit the physician'"'"'s office to discuss a medical symptom or problem;

c) the physician providing the patient with the PIN, and directing the patent to a medical questionnaire website where the patient can take a branched logic computerized medical questionnaire;

d) the patent visiting said medical questionnaire website hosting said branch logic computerized medical questionnaire, and registering using the physician PIN number and appointment time and date, then including additional data of the patient'"'"'s date of birth and gender required by the branched logic computerized medical questionnaire;

e) when the questionnaire is completed, output from the questionnaire is formatted and the PIN number is decoded automatically between the medical questionnaire website and the physician registration website containing the physician database to retrieve the physician'"'"'s email address;

f) converting the questionnaire output into a cover page with the physician'"'"'s email address, appointment date and time and patient date of birth and gender, and a medical output consisting of the results of the branched logic computerized medical questionnaire, and combining said cover page and said medical output into one electronic file known as a PDF file, which is a common file used in Internet protocol to read documents sent over the Internet;

g) sending to the physician'"'"'s email address associated with the physician'"'"'s PIN an email containing the PDF file as an attachment comprising the cover page and medical output embedded into one file;

h) when the physician receives the email, said physician can open the PDF file and review the questionnaire output, and compare the appointment time and date on the cover page to the appointment time and date in the physician'"'"'s appointment book;

i) the physician then identifies any and all patients listed in the physician'"'"'s appointment book at said appointment time and date, and retrieves the medical file records of all said patients;

j) the physician compares the date of birth and gender listed on the cover page with the date of birth and gender of all patients whose medical file records were retrieved, and finds the unique patient whose date of birth and gender matches the date of birth and gender listed on said cover page; and

k) at this point the physician can either print out the PDF file containing the cover page and medical output and store the printout into the patient paper-based medical record, or if the physician has an electronic medical record system for keeping patient data, move the electronic PDF file into the electronic medical record of the patient.

4. A system and method for a physician to administer a medical questionnaire to their patients, which keeps the physicians'"'"' and patients'"'"' identity anonymous while the patient is using the questionnaire from any Internet enabled computer run over the public Internet, through the use of information known only by the physician and patient, and which information is decoded manually by the physician to protect patient identity, said system and method comprising:

a) a physician registration website hosting a physician database where a physician can register his name and email address, and receive a personal identification number (PIN) which can be provided to his patients;

b) the physician providing each patient with a unique patent identification number (ID) by means of a patient database or independent medical record program which relates the patient name to any unique identification number;

c) the physician providing the patient with the PIN and patient ID, and directing the patient to a medical questionnaire website where the patient can take a medical questionnaire;

d) the patient visiting said medical questionnaire website hosting said medical questionnaire, and registering using the physician PIN and patient ID;

e) when the questionnaire is completed, output from the questionnaire is formatted and the PIN number is decoded automatically between the medical questionnaire website and the physician registration website containing the physician database to retrieve the physician'"'"'s email address; and

f) converting the questionnaire output into a cover page with the physician'"'"'s email address, appointment date and time and patient date of birth and gender, and a medical output consisting of the results of the branched logic computerized medical questionnaire, and combining said cover page and said medical output into one electronic file known as a PDF file, which is a common file used in Internet protocol to read documents sent over the Internet;

g) sending to the physician'"'"'s email address associated with the physician'"'"'s PIN an email containing the PDF file as an attachment comprising the cover page and medical output embedded into one file;

h) when the physician receives the email, the physician can open the PDF file and review the questionnaire output, and compare the patient ID to the list of ID numbers in the patient database and find the ID in the patient database that matches the ID on the cover page;

i) the physician can either print out the PDF file containing the cover page and medical output and file the cover page and medical output into the medical record file of the patient who is associated with the unique patient ID, or if the physician has an electronic medical record system for keeping patient data, move the electronic PDF file into and electronic medical record of said patient.