SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING EXTENDED CARE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

• US 20130066642A1
• Filed: 09/09/2011
• Published: 03/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sequentia Co.
• Original Assignee: Sequentia Co.
• Inventors: Luce, Gennaro
• Application Number:
  US13/229,263
• Publication Number:
  US 20130066642A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/20 relating to practices or guidelines
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media for facilitating extended care planning and management for patients. An interactive website is hosted on a server computer, where the interactive website provides a shared or common section being accessible to customers, hospitals, and extended care providers, a hospital-specific section being accessible to hospitals registered to the system, and an extended care provider (ECP)-specific section being accessible to registered ECP providers. A searchable database system is operatively connected to the server computer. The database system stores searchable listings of hospitals and ECPs which may be searched via the interactive website by users. The various sections of the website provide interactive capabilities, allowing various types of users of the website to become informed and to subsequently plan and manage the care they need or provide.

Claims

1. An internet-accessible system for facilitating extended care planning and management for patients, said system comprising:

at least one server computer;

an interactive website hosted on said at least one server computer, wherein said interactive website includes;

a shared section being accessible to customers, hospitals, and extended care providers,

a hospital section being accessible to hospitals registered to said system, and

an extended care provider (ECP) section being accessible to extended care providers (ECPs) registered to said system; and

at least one searchable database operatively connected to said at least one server computer and storing searchable listings of hospitals and extended care providers (ECPs).

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said shared section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the searching and comparing of entities selected from the group consisting of ECPs and hospitals via the internet.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said shared section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the playing of digital media stored on said system via the internet.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said shared section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate linking to other determined websites via the internet.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said shared section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the showcasing of comments of visitors to the interactive website via the internet.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said shared section includes computer-executable instructions configured to provide access to news stories stored on the system via the internet.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said hospital section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the creation of a hospital provider profile, via the internet, which can be accessed by visitors to the interactive website.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein said hospital section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the searching and comparing of ECPs via the internet.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein said hospital section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate:

the pre-certifying of patient medical conditions and insurance eligibility with one or more ECPs via the internet;

determining the availability of services and facilities at one or more ECPs via the internet; and

scheduling services and reserving facilities at a selected ECP via the internet.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said hospital section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the assembling and editing of patient electronic medical record (EMR) information and to facilitate secure, real-time transmission of the patient EMR information between a hospital computer and an ECP computer via the internet.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said hospital section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the two-way communication of electronic notifications and information between a hospital computer and an ECP computer via the internet.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein said hospital section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the training of a hospital discharge planner via the internet.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein said ECP section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the creation of an ECP provider profile, via the internet, which can be accessed by visitors to the interactive website.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein said ECP section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the updating of available facility openings and care and service offerings of an ECP via the internet.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein said ECP section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the assembling and editing of patient electronic medical record (EMR) information and to facilitate secure, real-time transmission of the patient EMR information between an ECP computer and a hospital computer via the internet.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein said ECP section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the two-way communication of electronic notifications and information between an ECP computer and a hospital computer via the internet.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein said ECP section includes computer-executable instructions configured to facilitate the training of ECP admissions coordinators and marketing personnel via the internet.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions recorded thereon and capable of being executed by an internet-accessible server computer hosting an interactive website to facilitate extended care planning and management for patients, said instructions comprising:

instructions for the pre-certifying of patient medical conditions and insurance eligibility with one or more extended care providers (ECPs) via the internet;

instructions for determining the availability of services and facilities at one or more ECPs via the internet; and

instructions for scheduling services and reserving facilities at a selected ECP via the internet.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for facilitating the searching and comparing of ECPs via the internet; and

instructions for facilitating the searching and comparing of hospitals via the internet.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for facilitating the creation of a hospital provider profile, via the internet, which can be accessed by visitors to the interactive website; and

instructions for facilitating the creation of an extended care provider profile, via the internet, which can be accessed by visitors to the interactive website.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein said instructions further comprise instructions for facilitating the assembling and editing of patient electronic medical record (EMR) information and for facilitating secure, real-time transmission of the patient EMR information between a hospital computer and an ECP computer via the internet.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein said instructions further comprise instructions for facilitating the training of at least one user selected from the group consisting of hospital discharge planners, ECP admissions coordinators, and marketing personnel via the internet.

23. A method to facilitate finding an extended care provider (ECP) for a patient, said method comprising:

receiving patient information via the internet at an interactive website hosted on a server computer, from a remote computer system, for a patient to be admitted to an ECP facility;

sending a request for approval, on behalf of the patient, from the server computer via the internet to one or more ECP computer systems of one or more ECP facilities;

receiving ECP approval information associated with said patient via the internet, at said interactive website, from at least one of said one or more ECP computer systems, wherein said ECP approval information indicates the acceptance of said patient by one or more of said ECP facilities based on a review of said patient information on said interactive website by said one or more ECP facilities; and

sending at least one ECP acceptance communication from said server computer to said remote computer system via the internet, wherein said at least one ECP acceptance communication indicates the acceptance of said patient by one or more of said ECP facilities.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising receiving patient acceptance information at said interactive website via the internet, corresponding to one of said ECP facilities, from said remote computer system, wherein said patient acceptance information indicates the acceptance of one of said ECP facilities by said patient.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising sending a patient acceptance communication from said server computer to said one or more ECP computer systems via the internet, wherein said patient acceptance communication indicates the acceptance of an ECP facility by said patient.

26. The method of claim 23 wherein said patient information is selected from the group consisting of information extracted from an electronic medical record (EMR) of said patient and information identifying one or more ECP facilities selected by said patient.

27. The method of claim 23 further comprising receiving an ECP search request, having ECP search criteria, at said interactive website via the internet from said remote computer system.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising performing a search of at least one searchable database operatively connected to said at least one server computer in response to said ECP search request, wherein said at least one searchable database stores searchable listings of ECP facilities.

29. The method of claim 28 further comprising sending search results from said server computer to said remote computer system via the internet, wherein said search results include information corresponding to ECP facilities that match said ECP search criteria.

30. The method of claim 23 wherein said remote computer system is selected from the group consisting of a hospital computer system located at a hospital and a patient computer system.

31. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions recorded thereon and capable of being executed by an internet-accessible server computer hosting an interactive website to facilitate finding an extended care provider (ECP) for a patient, said instructions comprising:

instructions for receiving patient information via the internet at an interactive website hosted on a server computer, from a remote computer system, for a patient to be admitted to an ECP facility;

instructions for sending a request for approval, on behalf of the patient, from the server computer via the internet to one or more ECP computer systems of one or more ECP facilities;

instructions for receiving ECP approval information associated with said patient via the interne, at said interactive website, from at least one of said one or more ECP computer systems, wherein said ECP approval information indicates the acceptance of said patient by one or more of said ECP facilities based on a review of said patient information on said interactive website by said one or more ECP facilities; and

instructions for sending at least one ECP acceptance communication from said server computer to said remote computer system via the internet, wherein said at least one ECP acceptance communication indicates the acceptance of said patient by one or more of said ECP facilities.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31 wherein said instructions further comprise instructions for receiving patient acceptance information at said interactive website via the internet, corresponding to one of said ECP facilities, from said remote computer system, wherein said patient acceptance information indicates the acceptance of one of said ECP facilities by said patient.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32 wherein said instructions further comprise instructions for sending a patient acceptance communication from said server computer to said one or more ECP computer systems via the internet, wherein said patient acceptance communication indicates the acceptance of an ECP facility by said patient.

34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31 wherein said instructions further comprise instructions for receiving an ECP search request, having ECP search criteria, at said interactive website via the internet from said remote computer system.

35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34 wherein said instructions further comprise instructions for performing a search of at least one searchable database operatively connected to said server computer in response to said ECP search request, wherein said at least one searchable database stores searchable listings of ECP facilities.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35 wherein said instructions further comprise instructions for sending search results from said server computer to said remote computer system via the internet, wherein said search results include information corresponding to ECP facilities that match said ECP search criteria.

37. A system to facilitate the generation of revenue via an interactive website, said system comprising:

an interactive website hosted on at least one server computer and maintained by a service provider, wherein said interactive website is configured to link patients and hospital entities to extended care provider (ECP) entities;

means for facilitating the development and hosting of a multimedia ECP profile on said interactive website by a registered ECP entity in exchange for a fee to be paid by said registered ECP entity to said service provider in accordance with a first determined fee arrangement; and

means for facilitating the development and hosting of a multimedia hospital profile on said interactive website by a registered hospital entity in exchange for a fee to be paid by said registered hospital entity to said service provider in accordance with a determined second fee arrangement.

38. The system of claim 37 further comprising

means for registering an ECP entity as a member of said interactive website and configuring said interactive website to be accessed by said registered ECP entity in exchange for a fee to be paid by said ECP entity to said service provider in accordance with a determined third fee arrangement;

and

means for registering a hospital entity as a member of said interactive website and configuring said interactive website to be accessed by said registered hospital entity in exchange for a fee to be paid by said hospital entity to said service provider in accordance with a determined fourth fee arrangement.

39. The system of claim 37 further comprising:

means for facilitating the assembling and editing of patient electronic medical record (EMR) information by a third party using the interactive website; and

means for facilitating the secure, real-time transmission of the patient EMR information to the third party,

in exchange for a fee to be paid by said third party to said service provider in accordance with a determined third fee arrangement.

40. The system of claim 37 further comprising:

means for performing a preventative analysis for a registered ECP entity in exchange for a fee to be paid by said ECP entity to said service provider in accordance with a determined third fee arrangement, wherein said preventative analysis identifies at least one of improper charges to patients by said ECP entity, duplicate payments by patients to said ECP entity, mistakes by fiscal intermediaries on behalf of patients of said ECP entity, and medical necessity and coding errors of patients of said ECP entity; and

means for performing a preventative analysis for a registered hospital entity in exchange for a fee to be paid by said hospital entity to said service provider in accordance with a determined fourth fee arrangement, wherein said preventative analysis identifies at least one of improper charges to patients by said hospital entity, duplicate payments by patients to said hospital entity, mistakes by fiscal intermediaries on behalf of patients of said hospital entity, and medical necessity and coding errors of patients of said hospital entity.

41. The system of claim 37 further comprising means for posting an advertisement of an advertising entity to said interactive website in exchange for a fee to be paid by said advertising entity to said service provider in accordance with a determined third fee arrangement.

42. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions recorded thereon and capable of being executed by an internet-accessible server computer hosting an interactive website to facilitate the generation of revenue via the interactive website, said instructions comprising:

instructions for facilitating the development and hosting of a multimedia ECP profile on said interactive website by a registered ECP entity of said interactive website in exchange for a fee to be paid by said registered ECP entity to a service provider of said website in accordance with a first determined fee arrangement; and

instructions for facilitating the development and hosting of a multimedia hospital profile on said interactive website by a registered hospital entity of said interactive website in exchange for a fee to be paid by said registered hospital entity to said service provider of said website in accordance with a second determined fee arrangement.

43. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 42 wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for registering an ECP entity as a member of said interactive website and configuring said interactive website to be accessed by said registered ECP entity in exchange for a fee to be paid by said ECP entity to said service provider in accordance with a determined third fee arrangement; and

instructions for registering a hospital entity as a member of said interactive website and configuring said interactive website to be accessed by said registered hospital entity in exchange for a fee to be paid by said hospital entity to said service provider in accordance with a determined fourth fee arrangement.

44. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 42 wherein said instructions further comprise instructions for:

facilitating the assembling and editing of patient electronic medical record (EMR) information by a third party using the interactive website; and

facilitating the secure, real-time transmission of the patient EMR information to the third party,

in exchange for a fee to be paid by said third party to said service provider in accordance with a determined third fee arrangement.

45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 42 wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for performing a preventative analysis for a registered ECP entity in exchange for a fee to be paid by said ECP entity to said service provider in accordance with a determined third fee arrangement, wherein said preventative analysis identifies at least one of improper charges to patients by said ECP entity, duplicate payments by patients to said ECP entity, mistakes by fiscal intermediaries on behalf of patients of said ECP entity, and medical necessity and coding errors of patients of said ECP entity; and

instructions for performing a preventative analysis for a registered hospital entity in exchange for a fee to be paid by said hospital entity to said service provider in accordance with a determined fourth fee arrangement, wherein said preventative analysis identifies at least one of improper charges to patients by said hospital entity, duplicate payments by patients to said hospital entity, mistakes by fiscal intermediaries on behalf of patients of said hospital entity, and medical necessity and coding errors of patients of said hospital entity.

46. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions recorded thereon for facilitating the exchange of information between a hospital and an extended care provider (ECP) said instructions comprising:

selecting a patient from a searchable database having patient information store thereon;

populating an electronic medical record (EMR) of said selected patient from said searchable database; and

transmitting said EMR from a first microprocessor to a second microprocessor via a communication pathway.