METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS IN HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of scheduling a follow-up medical appointment, comprising:
- enabling a mobile device associated with a patient to communicate with a provider scheduling system;
inputting a patient schedule onto the provider scheduling system;
identifying a time slot, using a computer, at which both the patient schedule and a provider schedule have an open time slot;
identifying an end time and a location of a first appointment of the patient preceding the open time slot based on the patient schedule;
determining an estimated travel time between the location of the first appointment and a location of a second appointment; and
determining a patient availability to schedule the second appointment in the open time slot based on the end time of the first appointment and the estimated travel time from the location of the first appointment to the location of the second appointment.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for scheduling appointments in healthcare environments are described. An example computer implemented method of automatically scheduling a medical appointment includes enabling a first device associated with a patient to communicate with a provider scheduling system and inputting a patient schedule onto the provider scheduling system. The example method includes identifying a time slot, using a computer, at which both the patient schedule and a provider schedule have an open time slot and identifying a time and a location of a first appointment proximate to the open time slot based on the patient schedule. The example method includes determining an estimated travel time between the location of the first appointment and a location of a second appointment and determining a patient availability to schedule the second appointment in the open time slot based on the time of the first appointment and the estimated travel time between the location of the first appointment and the location of the second appointment.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of scheduling a follow-up medical appointment, comprising:
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enabling a mobile device associated with a patient to communicate with a provider scheduling system; inputting a patient schedule onto the provider scheduling system; identifying a time slot, using a computer, at which both the patient schedule and a provider schedule have an open time slot; identifying an end time and a location of a first appointment of the patient preceding the open time slot based on the patient schedule; determining an estimated travel time between the location of the first appointment and a location of a second appointment; and determining a patient availability to schedule the second appointment in the open time slot based on the end time of the first appointment and the estimated travel time from the location of the first appointment to the location of the second appointment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer implemented method of automatically scheduling a medical appointment, comprising:
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enabling a first device associated with a patient to communicate with a provider scheduling system; inputting a patient schedule onto the provider scheduling system; identifying a time slot, using a computer, at which both the patient schedule and a provider schedule have an open time slot; identifying a time and a location of a first appointment proximate to the open time slot based on the patient schedule; determining an estimated travel time between the location of the first appointment and a location of a second appointment; and determining a patient availability to schedule the second appointment in the open time slot based on the time of the first appointment and the estimated travel time between the location of the first appointment and the location of the second appointment.
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- 14. The method of claim 14, the first device comprising a mobile device, and the mobile device to communicate with the provider scheduling system using a short range communication protocol.
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18. A tangible computer-readable storage medium including executable instructions for execution using a processor, wherein the instructions, when executed, provide a scheduling system to schedule a medical appointment, the system comprising:
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an identifier to identify a time slot at which both the patient schedule and the provider schedule have an open time slot, the patient schedule or a copy thereof being stored on a memory accessible by the processor; a scanner to scan at least a portion of the patient schedule to identify an end time and a location of a first appointment prior to the open time slot; and a processer to determine a patient availability to schedule a second appointment in the time slot based on the end time of the first appointment and an estimated travel time from the first appointment to the second appointment. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification