METHOD FOR DECISION SUPPORT LICENSING AND MICROPAYMENTS

• US 20080275835A1
• Filed: 05/02/2007
• Published: 11/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Steiner, David John, Stoval, William Murray, Marsden, Archie
• Application Number:
  US11/743,253
• Publication Number:
  US 20080275835A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/29 characterised by micropayments
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/70 for mining of medical data, e.g. analysing previous cases of other patients

Abstract

A method of increasing the quality of healthcare provided by health care professionals is provided. The method includes providing a computer system comprising a server including a database, downloading a decision support system onto the database, the decision support system includes a plurality of sets of rules, and accessing the plurality of sets of rules and paying for access on a usage basis.

Claims

1. A method of increasing the quality of healthcare provided by health care professionals, said method comprising:

providing a computer system comprising a server including a database;

downloading a decision support system onto the database, the decision support system comprises a plurality of sets of rules; and

accessing the plurality of sets of rules and paying for access on a usage basis.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein paying for access on a usage basis further comprises paying for access on a number of rules accessed.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein accessing the plurality of sets of rules further comprises accessing at least one of the sets of rules relevant to a specialty of the health care professional.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein accessing the plurality of sets of rules further comprises accessing only sets of rules relevant to healthcare services reimbursable by health care insurance.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein accessing the plurality of sets of rules further comprises accessing only sets of rules requested by a patient.

6. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein paying for access on a usage basis further comprises paying a nominal fee for each instance of using the decision support system, and wherein the nominal fee is a fraction of a total cost of the decision support system.

7. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein accessing the plurality of sets of rules further comprises accessing sets of rules based on a logical grouping based on a specialty of a health care professional.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein paying for access on a usage basis further comprises paying for costs directly linked to a billable health service and incurring no initial access costs.

9. A system for enhancing revenue of a decision support system, said system comprising:

a computer system comprising a server including a database containing a decision support system comprising a plurality of sets of rules, each set of rules corresponds to a treatment for a malady, said server configured to allow access to each said set of rules and to facilitate payment on a usage basis.

10. A system in accordance with claim 9 wherein said server is further configured to facilitate payment for access based on a number of rules accessed.

11. A system in accordance with claim 9 wherein said server is further configured to allow access to at least one of said sets of rules relevant to a specialty of a health care provider.

12. A system in accordance with claim 9 wherein said server is further configured to allow access to only said sets of rules relevant to health care services reimbursable by health care insurance.

13. A system in accordance with claim 9 wherein said server is further configured to allow access to only said sets of rules requested by a patient.

14. A system in accordance with claim 9 wherein said server is further configured to allow payment of a nominal fee for each instance of using said decision support system and wherein said nominal fee is a fraction of a total cost of said decision support system.

15. A system in accordance with claim 9 wherein said server is further configured to allow access to said sets of rules based on a logical grouping based on a specialty of a health care professional.

16. A computer system comprising:

a server comprising a database, said database containing a decision support system, said server configured to generate retrospective health care reports that compare a decision support system treatment against an actual treatment.

17. A computer system in accordance with claim 16 wherein said server is further configured to monitor medications prescribed by health care professionals.

18. A computer system in accordance with claim 16 wherein said server is further configured to monitor and report a number of times said decision support system generates an alternative less costly treatment equally effective to a prescribed treatment.

19. A computer system in accordance with claim 18 wherein said server is further configured to generate a message about said alternative less costly treatment and display said message.

20. A computer system in accordance with claim 18 wherein said server is further configured to determine an amount of money saved using said alternative less costly treatments.