Using patterns of medical treatment codes to determine when further medical expertise is called for
First Claim
1. A method of determining a particular manner in which a medical condition of an individual should be dealt with from a set of medical records that belong to the individual and contain medical treatment codes, the method comprising the steps of:
- analyzing the set of medical records to determine whether the set of medical records contains a pattern of the medical treatment codes that is associated with the particular manner of dealing with the medical condition andwhen the set of medical records does contain such a pattern, providing an indication of the pattern'"'"'s existence.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A technique for using ICD-9 and CPT codes in an individual'"'"'s medical records to determine a particular manner in which a medical condition of an individual should be dealt with. The medical records are analyzed for a pattern of the medical treatment codes that is associated with the particular manner of dealing with the medical condition and an indication of the pattern'"'"'s existence is provided. In one embodiment, the analysis is used to determine whether and what kind of specialist is required. The analysis may be performed when the diagnosis of the condition is uncertain, when the treatment of the condition is uncertain, when the treatment has resulted in further problems, or when the patient is not responding to the treatment.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of determining a particular manner in which a medical condition of an individual should be dealt with from a set of medical records that belong to the individual and contain medical treatment codes, the method comprising the steps of:
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analyzing the set of medical records to determine whether the set of medical records contains a pattern of the medical treatment codes that is associated with the particular manner of dealing with the medical condition and when the set of medical records does contain such a pattern, providing an indication of the pattern'"'"'s existence. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of reducing the cost of a treatment of a medical condition of an individual comprising the steps of:
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analyzing a set of medical records of the individual, the medical records containing medical treatment codes, to determine whether the set of medical records contains a pattern of the medical treatment codes that indicates that the medical condition is a complex medical condition; and when the set of medical records does contain such a pattern, indicating that an expert should be consulted concerning the medical condition. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of providing expert intervention with regard to a medical condition in an individual, the method comprising the steps of:
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analyzing a set of medical records for the individual to determine whether the the set of medical records contains a pattern of medical treatment codes which indicates that the medical condition requires expert intervention of a particular type; and if the set of medical records does contain such a pattern, referring the individual to an expert who can provide intervention of the particular type. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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Specification