Scheduling interface system and method for medical professionals

• US 6,345,260 B1
• Filed: 03/16/1998
• Issued: 02/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Allcare Health Management System, Inc., DMWU LLC
• Original Assignee: Allcare Health Management System, Inc.
• Inventors: Cummings, Jr., Desmond D., Shelton, Robert H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rimell, Sam
• Assistant Examiner(s): Harle, Jennifer I.
• Application Number:
  US09/039,614
• Time in Patent Office: 1,422 Days
• Field of Search: 705/8, 705/9, 345/963, 364/705.08, 401/07
• US Class Current: 705/7.19
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• 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

The present invention provides a system and method for scheduling appointments at any time with a professional, such as a doctor, dentist, veterinarian, or the like, or a professional service, such as a medical testing facility and the like, even when the office of the professional or professional service is closed. The system and method relate to an asynchronous Internet, intranet, and extranet-compatible 24-hour appointment scheduling interface for making such appointments. As such, they support open-standards architecture, provide an interface for proprietary system architecture, permit off-line review and posting, permit access controls and virus protection, allow central scheduling without loss of distributed control, support encrypted messaging to ensure privacy, and include context-sensitive help. The system and method also embrace and integrate over the Internet all of the existing office administration scheduling packages for professional offices, such as doctors'"'"' offices, regardless of the platforms used, i.e., PC, Apple or UNIX platforms, thereby permitting users to schedule and confirm, for example, doctor appointments in one consistent interface, regardless of the hardware or software utilized by either the party seeking to schedule an appointment or the individual doctor involved.

Claims

1. An asynchronous system for scheduling appointments for a plurality of patients at medical facilities of a plurality of medical professionals comprising:

(a) a master schedule electronic data base having;

a. a data base of existing appointments for said medical professionals,

b. means for updating said data base;

c. another data base of available appointment times for said medical professionals,

d. means for updating said another data base,

e. tentative appointment data base storage means for electronically storing records of tentative appointments for said patients with said medical professionals, means for asynchronously requiring subsequent electronic confirmation or rejection of said tentative appointments, and

f. means for electronically communicating indicia of said tentative appointments to said medical professionals;

(b) a coordination center having;

a. communication means including a telephonic link,

b. means including said telephonic link for individually effecting telephonic communication with said patients;

c. means for making said tentative appointments for said patients with said medical professionals and for communicating indicia of said tentative appointments to said master schedule data base;

(c) means including said tentative appointment storage means responsive to receipt of said indicia of said tentative appointments for storing said indicia; and

(d) means responsive to inquiry by an inquiring one of said medical professionals of tentative appointments made for said inquiring one of said medical professionals to electronically transmit to said inquiring one of said medical professionals indicia of tentative appointments made for said inquiring one of said medical professionals.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said master schedule data base is contained in a digital computer.

3. A system according to claim 1 further including means for periodically updating said master schedule data base.

4. A system according to claim 1 further including means for continuously updating said master schedule data base.

5. A system according to claim 1 wherein said master schedule data base further includes means indicating the most recent date of updating said master schedule data base.

6. A system according to claim 5 wherein said master schedule data base further includes indicia indicative of any tentative bookings made since said most recent date of updating said master schedule data base.

7. A system according to claim 1 wherein said another data base includes indicia indicating normal office hours of said medical professionals.

8. A system according to claim 1 wherein said system further includes form means establishing a uniform form for accepting entry of patient data.

9. A system according to claim 1 wherein said system further includes form means for accepting entry of patient data for a plurality of said medical professionals, and wherein said system includes means for customizing said form according to specifications established by said medical professionals.

10. A system according to claim 1 further including wireless pagers at said medical professionals and means for transmitting to said wireless pagers said indicia of said tentative appointments.

11. A system according to claim 1 further including a tentative booking queue data base located at one of said medical professionals for storing tentative booking entries made for said one of said entities.

12. A system according to claim 1 wherein said coordination center is attended.

13. A system according to claim 1 wherein said coordination center includes an attended call center and central scheduling server.

14. The system according to claim 1 wherein said coordination center includes a central scheduling server.

41. The asynchronous system for scheduling appointments for a plurality of patients at medical facilities of a plurality of medical professionals according to claim 1 wherein said coordination center is attended and includes a medicallytrained person responsive to information imparted thereto by said patients for pre-screening said patients.

15. An asynchronous system for scheduling appointments for a plurality of patients at medical facilities of a plurality of medical professionals comprising:

(a) a master schedule electronic data base having;

a. a data base of existing appointments for said medical professionals, and

b. means for updating said data base;

(b) another electronic data base having;

a. available appointment times for said medical professionals, and

b. means for updating said another data base;

(c) a tentative booking electronic data base having;

a. tentative appointment storage means for electronically storing records of tentative appointments for said patients with said medical professionals, means for asynchronously requiring subsequent confirmation or rejection of said tentative appointments, and

b. means for electronically communicating indicia of said tentative appointments to said medical professionals;

(d) a coordination center having;

a. communication means including a telephonic link,

b. means including said telephonic link for individually effecting telephonic communication with said patients;

c. tentative booking means for making tentative appointments for said patients with said medical professionals and for communicating indicia of said tentative appointments to said tentative booking data base;

(e) means including said tentative booking means responsive to receipt of said indicia of said tentative appointments for storing said indicia; and

(f) means responsive to inquiry by an inquiring one of said medical professionals of tentative appointments made for said inquiring one of said medical professionals to electronically transmit to said inquiring one of said medical professionals indicia of tentative appointments made for said inquiring one of said medical professionals.

16. A system according to claim 15 wherein said master schedule data base is contained in a digital computer.

17. A system according to claim 15 further including means for periodically updating said master schedule data base.

18. A system according to claim 15 further including means for continuously updating said master schedule data base.

19. A system according to claim 15 wherein said master schedule data base further includes means indicating the most recent date of updating said master schedule data base.

20. A system according to claim 19 wherein said master schedule data base further includes indicia indicative of any tentative bookings made since said most recent date of updating said master schedule data base.

21. A system according to claim 19 wherein said another data base includes indicia indicating normal office hours of said medical professionals.

22. A system according to claim 15 wherein said system further includes form means establishing a uniform form for accepting entry of patient data.

23. A system according to claim 15 wherein said system further includes form means for accepting entry of patient data for a plurality of said medical professionals, and wherein said system includes for customizing said form according to specifications established by said medical professionals.

24. A system according to claim 15 further including wireless pagers at said medical professionals and means for transmitting to said wireless pagers said indicia of said tentative appointments.

25. A system according to claim 15 further including a tentative booking queue data base located at one of said medical professionals for storing tentative booking entries made for said one of said medical professionals.

26. A system according to claim 15 wherein said call center is attended.

27. A system according to claim 15 wherein said coordination center includes an attended call center and central scheduling server.

28. The system according to claim 15 wherein said coordination center includes a central scheduling server.

42. The asynchronous system for scheduling appointments for a plurality of patients at medical facilities of a plurality of medical professionals according to claim 15 wherein said coordination center is attended and includes a medically-trained person responsive to information imparted thereto by said patients for pre-screening said patients.

29. A method of asynchronously supervising and controlling appointment scheduling for a plurality of patients at medical facilities of a plurality of medical professionals comprising steps of:

(1) establishing a master centralized electronic data base to serve a plurality of medical professionals;

(2) providing at least one call center for electronically communicating with said master data base;

(3) electronically storing in said master data base indicia indicative of appointments available with said medical professionals at medical facilities of said medical professionals;

(4) receiving at said call center indicia from a patient indicating a request for an appointment time with one of said medical professionals;

(5) interrogating said master data base to determine said available appointments, and;

(a) when said requested appointment time is available,

(i) tentatively making said requested appointment, said appointment being tentative and requiring subsequent confirmation or rejection,

(ii) communicating a tentative unconfirmed booking for said requested appointment time to said patient requesting said appointment, and

(iii) communicating said tentative booking for said requested appointment time to the medical professional for whom said tentative booking is made,

(b) when said requested appointment time is not available,

(i) informing said patient of non-availability of said requested appointment time,

(ii) informing said patient of available appointment times,

(iii) requesting said patient to select from said available appointment times,

(iv) receiving from said patient an alternative request for appointment,

(v) communicating a tentative unconfirmed alternative booking for said alternative appointment time to said patient requesting said alternative appointment, and

(vi) communicating said tentative alternative booking for said requested appointment time to the medical professional for whom said tentative alternative booking is made.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the step of storing in said master centralized data base indicia indicative of appointments available at said medical professionals further includes a step of storing said indicia in a digital computer.

31. The method of claim 29 further including a step of periodically updating said master centralized data base.

32. The method of claim 29 further including a step of continuously updating said master centralized data base.

33. The method of claim 29 further including a step of including in said master centralized data base indicia identifying the most recent date of updating said master centralized data base.

34. The method of claim 33 further including a step of including within said master centralized data base indicia indicative of any tentative bookings made since said most recent date of updating said master centralized data base.

35. The method of claim 29 further including a step of including within said master centralized data base indicia indicating normal office hours of said medical professionals.

36. The method of claim 29 further including a step of preparing a standard format for accepting and entering patient data into said master centralized data base.

37. The method of claim 36 further including steps of accepting and entering patient data in said standard format and customizing said standard format according to specifications established by said medical professionals.

38. The method of claim 29 further including a step of transmitting to said medical professionals by wireless pagers data indicative of said tentative appointments.

39. The method of claim 29 further including steps of providing a tentative booking queue data base at one of said medical professionals and storing in said tentative booking queue data base tentative booking entries made for said one of said medical professionals.

40. The method of claim 29 further including a step of establishing an attended call center and central scheduling server.

43. The method of asynchronously supervising and controlling appointment scheduling for a plurality of patients at medical facilities of a plurality of medical professionals according to claim 29 further including steps of including at said call center a medically trained person, and pre-screening said patients.