Method and system for provision and acquisition of medical services and products

• US 20100088115A1
• Filed: 08/21/2009
• Published: 04/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Med BID Exchange LLC
• Original Assignee: Med BID Exchange LLC
• Inventors: Henley, Julian L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,396,783 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

Transactional costs associated with providing professional services are reduced by allowing prospective patients/clients (bidders) and professional service providers to negotiate competitively for desired fees for proffered services through an interactive on-line communications network such as the Internet. In an exemplary arrangement, a transaction system includes a communications network server that interfaces and communicates online with client computer systems belonging to various prospective bidders and personal medical service providers using, for example, an exchange of HTML documents and/or JAVA script applets. A transaction system server handles online communications and procedures for conducting auctions for delivery of proffered services and maintains a registration database of service providers and bidders. An authentication/qualifier engine automatically researches and verifies service provider credentials and background information upon registration of a service provider with the system. Service provider qualification credentials and medical procedural code information databases as well as one or more search engines for verifying and/or researching the qualifications of a particular service provider are provided and made available to a bidder via, for example, a web-page menu driven interface. A service feedback interface and database are provided for handling online feedback information and comments from patients/clients and providers regarding the complexity and quality of services received or provided. The transaction system may also include remote client system software/hardware facilities for bidders and providers for providing customized database and computational services for communicating and participating in online bidding activities. An integrated life and health insurance product that integrates competitive bidding for health services with usage of death benefit equity for the purpose of life prolongation.

Claims

1-36. -36. (canceled)

37. An online computer network implemented method for arranging delivery of personal medical and/or healthcare services, said method comprising:

posting online at least one proffered personal medical service in association with a provider of such service;

receiving online requests from a prospective patient to hire a provider for such service; and

receiving an online complexity rating value associated with a bid, the complexity rating value provided by a prospective patient as an indication of an estimated potential medical procedural complexity level based on known concurrent personal medical problems/pre-existing conditions that reasonably may affect the rendering of a proffered service associated with the bid.

38. An online computerized method as in claim 37 further comprising posting online a complexity rating scale which defines levels of medical procedural complexity and associated rating values for use by prospective online bidders.

39. An online computerized method as in claim 38 wherein the complexity rating scale defines at least three levels.

40. An online computerized method as in claim 38 wherein at least one defined level indicates that no concurrent medical problems/conditions exist that would affect a proffered service/procedure.

41. An online computerized method as in claim 38 wherein at least one defined level indicates that some concurrent medical problems/conditions exist that would affect a proffered service/procedure.

42. An online computerized method as in claim 38 wherein at least one defined level indicates that concurrent medical problems/conditions and/or a history of prior treatments exist that would affect a proffered service/procedure.

43. An online computerized method as in claim 37 further comprising posting online a complexity rating scale which defines levels of medical procedure complexity and associates rating values for each level for use by a physician/provider of such proffered service in setting a price adjustment to a submitted bid for such service.

44. An online computerized method as in claim 43 wherein a physician/provider of such proffered service may set and/or select online a specific bid price adjustment to be associated with a particular defined complexity level.

45. An online computerized method as in claim 37 further comprising receiving an online complexity rating value associated with a service/procedure rendered for a particular patient from a service provider.

46. An online computerized method as in claim 45 further comprising computing a procedure complexity divergence score based on a difference between a received online complexity rating value associated with a particular bid from a patient and a received online complexity rating value from a service provider corresponding to a service rendered in response to the bid.

47. An online computerized method as in claim 46 wherein said complexity divergence score is made available online to said service provider.

48. An online computerized method as in claim 46 wherein a cumulative divergence score based on an average of complexity divergence scores associated with previous transactions of said prospective patient is computed and made available online to said service provider.

49. An online computerized method as in claim 48 wherein said cumulative divergence score is made available online to said service provider.

50-64. -64. (canceled)

65. An online computer network implemented healthcare method for providing online healthcare from a healthcare provider to a prospective patient, comprising:

providing an online communication between the patient and the healthcare provider;

providing an online offer from the patient to the healthcare provider to pay a predetermined amount for a healthcare service or procedure desired by the patient; and

providing an online reply from the healthcare provider to the patient accepting, denying or countering the offer from the patient.

66. An online computer network implemented healthcare method for providing online healthcare from a healthcare provider to a patient, comprising:

providing an online communication between the patient and the healthcare provider;

providing online information regarding diagnosis and treatment by the healthcare provider for the patient; and

providing a patient'"'"'s medical records and/or transaction outcome data to be accessed by the patient and/or the healthcare provider.

67. An online computer network implemented healthcare method for providing online healthcare services to a patient, comprising:

providing an online interactive menu system enabling searching and selection of an appropriate healthcare provider or medical service from a network of healthcare providers;

receiving an online menu selection or request from a prospective patient to obtain proffered services of a particular healthcare provider; and

posting an online acknowledgement to said prospective patient from said particular healthcare provider accepting or denying service to said prospective patient.