System and method for accessibility data maintenance and privilege authorization

• US 6,990,491 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2002
• Issued: 01/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dutta, Rabindranath, Hartley, John C., Schwerdtfeger, Richard Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Pardo, Thuy N.
• Application Number:
  US10/318,592
• Publication Number:
  US 20040117370A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,139 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.53, 345/810, 707/100, 707/6, 707/8, 707/9, 707/10, 707/203, 707/204, 705/2, 713/165
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A system and method for data maintenance and privilege authorization is presented. An accessibility database server receives an accessibility record request from a requestor that includes a user identifier and a requestor identifier. The requestor identifier may correspond to a user, a healthcare practitioner server, an insurance server, a transcoding proxy server, a portal server, a web server, an advertisement server, or a service provider. The accessibility database server compares the accessibility record request with the requestor'"'"'s access permission to determine whether the requestor has access corresponding to the particular request. If the requestor is authorized for the particular request, the accessibility database server processes the accessibility record request.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of managing an accessibility database, wherein the accessibility database includes accessibility data corresponding to a plurality of users, said method comprising:

receiving an accessibility record request from a requestor, wherein the accessibility record request includes a user identifier and a requestor identifier, the requestor identifier corresponding to the requestor;

retrieving a database record corresponding to the user identifier;

identifying access permissions based upon the requestor identifier;

providing access to accessibility data included in the database record based upon the access permissions;

detecting that the accessibility record request corresponds to writing input data in the database record;

determining, in response to the detecting, whether to allow the requestor to write the input data into the database record based upon the requestor identifier;

receiving the input data from the requestor in response to determining to allow the requestor to write the input data into the database record; and

storing the received input data in the database record.

2. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the requestor is selected from the group consisting of a user, a healthcare practitioner server, an insurance server, a transcoding proxy server, a portal server, a web server, an advertisement server, and a service provider.

3. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the accessibility data includes one or more fields and wherein at least one of the fields is selected from the group consisting of an accessibility type, a healthcare practitioner identifier, an accessibility privilege, and a privilege expiration.

4. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the requestor is a healthcare practitioner server, the method further comprising:

authorizing the healthcare practitioner to enter input data, wherein the input data is selected from the group consisting of an accessibility type, an accessibility privilege, and a privilege expiration;

receiving the input data from the healthcare practitioner server; and

storing the input data in the database record.

5. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the requestor is a user that corresponds to the user identifier, the method further comprising:

authorizing the user to enter a healthcare practitioner identifier;

receiving the healthcare practitioner identifier from the user; and

storing the healthcare practitioner identifier in the database record, the storing allowing a healthcare practitioner corresponding to the healthcare practitioner identifier to access the database record.

6. The method as described in claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether the requestor has access premissions corresponding to the accessibility record request; and

denying access to the requestor based upon the determination.

7. An information handling system comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory accessible by the processors;

one or more nonvolatile storage devices accessible by the processors; and

an accessibility database management tool to manage an accessibility database, the accessibility database management tool including;

means for receiving an accessibility record request from a requestor, wherein the accessibility record request includes a user identifier and a requestor identifier, the requestor identifier corresponding to the requestor;

means for retrieving a database record corresponding to the user identifier from one of the nonvolatile storage devices;

means for identifying access permissions based upon the requestor identifier;

means for providing access to accessibility data included in the database record based upon the access permissions;

means for detecting that the accessibility record request corresponds to writing input data in the database record;

means for determining, in response to the detecting, whether to allow the requestor to write the input data into the database record based upon the requestor identifier;

means for receiving the input data from the requestor in response to determining to allow the requestor to write the input data into the database record; and

means for storing the received input data in the database record.

8. The information handling system as described in claim 7 wherein the requestor is selected from the group consisting of a user, a healthcare practitioner server, an insurance server, a transcoding proxy server, a portal server, a web server, an advertisement server, and a service provider.

9. The information handling system as described in claim 7 wherein the requestor is a healthcare practitioner server, the information handling system further comprising:

means for authorizing the healthcare practitioner server to enter input data, wherein the input data is selected from the group consisting of an accessibility type, an accessibility privilege, and a privilege expiration;

means for receiving the input data from the healthcare practitioner server; and

means for storing the input data in the database record located on one of the nonvolatile storage devices.

10. The information handling system as described in claim 7 wherein the requestor is a user that corresponds to the user identifier, the information handling system further comprising:

means for authorizing the user to enter a healthcare practitioner identifier;

means for receiving the healthcare practitioner identifier from the user; and

means for storing the healthcare practitioner identifier in the database record located on one of the nonvolatile storage devices, the storing allowing a healthcare practitioner corresponding to the healthcare practitioner identifier to access the database record.

11. The information handling system as described in claim 7 further comprising:

means for determining whether the requestor has access permissions corresponding to the accessibility record request; and

means for denying the requestor based upon the determination.

12. A computer program product stored on a computer operable media for managing an accessibility database, said computer program product comprising:

means for receiving an accessibility record request from a requestor, wherein the accessibility record request includes a user identifier and a requestor identifier, the requestor identifier corresponding to the requestor;

means for retrieving a database record corresponding to the user identifier;

means for identifying access permissions based upon the requestor identifier;

means for providing access to accessibility data included in the database record based upon the access permissions;

means for detecting that the accessibility record request corresponds to writing input data in the database record;

means for determining, in response to the detecting, whether to allow the requestor to write the input data into the database record based upon the requestor identifier;

means for receiving the input data from the requestor in response to determining to allow the requestor to write the input data into the database record; and

means for storing the received input data in the database record.

13. The computer program product as described in claim 12 wherein the requestor is selected from the group consisting of a user, a healthcare practitioner server, an insurance server, a transcoding proxy server, a portal server, a web server, an advertisement server, and a service provider.

14. The computer program product as described in claim 12 wherein the accessibility data includes one or more fields and wherein at least one of the fields is selected from the group consisting of an accessibility type, a healthcare practitioner identifier, an accessibility privilege, and a privilege expiration.

15. The computer program product as described in claim 12 wherein the requestor is a healthcare practitioner server, the computer program product further comprising:

means for authorizing the healthcare practitioner server to enter input data, wherein the input data is selected from the group consisting of an accessibility type, an accessibility privilege, and a privilege expiration;

means for receiving the input data from the healthcare practitioner server; and

means for storing the input data in the database record.

16. The computer program product as described in claim 12 wherein the requestor is a user that corresponds to the user identifier, the computer program product further comprising:

means for authorizing the user to enter a healthcare practitioner identifier;

means for receiving the healthcare practitioner identifier from the user; and

means for storing the healthcare practitioner identifier in the database record, the storing allowing a healthcare practitioner corresponding to the healthcare practitioner identifier to access the database record.

17. The computer program product as described in claim 12 further comprising:

means for determining whether the requestor has access permissions corresponding to the accessibility record request; and

means for denying access to the requestor based upon the determination.