Claim assessment model

• US 7,337,121 B1
• Filed: 03/30/2000
• Issued: 02/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ISO Claims Services, Inc. (Verisk Analytics Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: ISO Claims Services, Inc. (Verisk Analytics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Bartholomew, Graham, Beinat, Paul, Hornery, Barry, Townsend, Nic
• Primary Examiner(s): Rudy; Andrew Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Frenel; Vanel
• Application Number:
  US09/539,218
• Time in Patent Office: 2,889 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2- 4, 705/35, 128/920
• US Class Current: 705/3
• 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 50/50 for simulation or modelling of medical disorders
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/20 relating to practices or guidelines

Abstract

A method for modeling medical conditions in a person includes providing a plurality of profiles relating predetermined medical conditions to human body parts. Each profile describes an estimated capacity of at least one body part, due to at least one condition, over time. One or more of the medical conditions are identified that affect the person. A profile corresponding to each medical condition is selected, and the selected profile'"'"'s time dimension is related to the occurrence of the medical condition.

Claims

1. A computerized method for assessing medical conditions affecting medically impaired person, said method comprising the steps of:

a) inputting into a computer a plurality of profiles relating predetermined transient medical conditions to human body parts, each said profile estimating a time progression of a dysfunction level or a capacity of at least one said body part from a time of injury over a specific progressive time scale into the future, due to at least one said condition;

b) identifying one or more said predetermined transient medical conditions that currently affect said person;

c) selecting a said profile corresponding to each said transient medical condition;

d) relating said selected profile'"'"'s time dimension to an occurrence of its said transient medical condition; and

e) generating and outputting on an output device an assessment of an impact of said medical conditions on said person, wherein said assessment is based on said profiles related to said medical conditions at step (d).

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein said human body parts are classified into a multi-level hierarchy, each said body part in each level of said hierarchy below a highest level of said hierarchy being a component body part of a composite body part in a higher level in said hierarchy.

3. The method as in claim 2, including the steps

e) for at least one said composite body part having a said selected profile, allocating said estimated capacity of said selected profile among said component body parts of said composite body part, and

f) creating an inherited profile for each said component body part of said composite body part of step (e), said inherited profile describing said estimated capacity allocated to said component body part from said composite body part over time,

wherein said assessment is based on any said inherited profiles at step (f).

4. The method as in claim 3, including the step

g) for each said component body part having multiple said selected profiles and/or said inherited profiles, combining said multiple profiles so that each said component body part has at most one profile that describes an estimated capacity of said component body part over time,

wherein said assessment is based on any said at most one profile at step (g).

5. The method as in claim 4, including, following step (g), the step

h) combining, up to each said composite body part, said at most one profile of each said component body part of said composite body part so that each said composite body part has at most one profile that describes an estimated capacity of said composite body part over time,

wherein said assessment is based on any said at most one profile at step (h).

6. The method as in claim 5, wherein said combining step (h) includes combining said profiles of said component body parts of at least one said composite body part based on the spatial relationship among said component body parts within the human body.

7. The method as in claim 5, wherein the magnitude of said estimated capacity contributed to said composite profile by a said component profile combined at step (h) is positively related to the spatial distance between said component body part and other said component body parts of said composite body part.

8. The method as in claim 5, wherein said combining step (h) combines estimated capacities D(i) for each profile day among said profiles of said component body parts up to an estimated capacity X(M) for said profile day for at least one said composite body part, where X(i)=X(i−

1)+(1−

X(i−

1))D(i), for i=1 to M, where M is the number of profiles being combined, D(i) is in decimal format, and X(0)=0.

9. The method as in claim 5, wherein, for each said component of said composite of step (h), the magnitude of the estimated capacity contributed to said composite profile by said profile of said component body part is modified by a scaling factor that relates said component body part'"'"'s contribution to the capacity of said composite body part.

10. The method as in claim 9, wherein said scaling factor includes a first part that relates said component body part'"'"'s contribution to the capacity of a group of said components and a second part that relates said group'"'"'s contribution to the capacity of said composite body part.

11. The method as in claim 1, including the step

e) modifying at least one said selected profile based on an assessment by a medical practitioner of said medical condition to which said selected profile corresponds,

wherein said assessment is based on any said profiles modified at step (e).

12. The method as in claim 11, wherein step (e) includes

comparing said assessment to said selected profile,

determining whether said assessment at step (e) agrees with said selected profile according to first predetermined criteria dependent upon said assessment,

leaving said selected profile unchanged with respect to said assessment if said assessment agrees with said selected profile according to said first predetermined criteria, and

changing said profile according to second predetermined criteria dependent upon said assessment if said assessment does not agree with said selected profile according to said first predetermined criteria.

13. The method as in claim 1, wherein said estimated capacity is related to a dysfunction level.

14. The method as in claim 1, wherein step (c) includes modifying said selected profiles according to predetermined rules based on one or more characteristics of said medical condition and/or said person.

15. A computerized method for assessing an impact of medical conditions and impairments affecting a person, said method comprising the steps of:

a) inputting into a computer a plurality of profiles relating predetermined transient medical conditions to human body parts, each said profile estimating a time progression of a dysfunction level or a capacity of at least one said body part from a time of injury over a specific progressive time scale into the future, due to at least one said condition;

b) identifying one or more said body parts that affect performance of a job by said person;

c) determining what capacity level of each said one or more body parts inhibits said person from performing said job;

d) identifying one or more said predetermined transient medical conditions that currently affect said person;

e) selecting a said profile corresponding to each said one or more transient medical conditions;

f) relating each said selected profile'"'"'s time dimension to an occurrence of its said transient medical condition;

g) for each said selected profile applicable to a said body part determined at step (b), determining a date for said applicable selected profile upon which said estimated capacity profiled by said applicable selected profile first moves beyond said capacity level determined at step (c) for its said body part so that said transient medical condition to which said applicable selected profile corresponds does not inhibit said job;

h) determining the latest said date determined at step (g); and

i) generating and outputting said latest date on an output device.

16. The method as in claim 15, wherein said estimated capacity is related to a dysfunction level and wherein step (g) includes determining said date from said applicable selected profile upon which said dysfunction level profiled by said applicable selected profile falls below said dysfunction level determined at step (c) for its said body part.

17. The method as in claim 16, wherein, where said estimated capacity of said applicable selected profile fails to move beyond said capacity level determined at step (c) for its said body part so that said medical condition to which said applicable selected profile corresponds does not inhibit said job, said date determined at step (g) indicates that said condition always inhibits said job.

18. The method as in claim 15, including, following step (f) and prior to step (g), the step

i) for each said body part determined at step (b) having multiple said selected profiles, combining said multiple profiles so that said body part has one profile that describes an estimated capacity of said body part over time, and

wherein said combined profile from step (i) is said applicable selected profile at step (g) for said body part to which said combined profile applies.

19. The method as in claim 15, wherein said human body parts are classified into a multi-level hierarchy, each said body part in each level of said hierarchy below a highest level of said hierarchy being a component body part of a composite body part in a higher level in said hierarchy.

20. The method as in claim 19, including, following step (f) and prior to step (g), the steps

i) for at least one said composite body part having a said selected profile, allocating said estimated capacity of said selected profile among said component body parts of said composite body part, and

j) creating an inherited profile for each said component body part of said composite body part of step (i), said inherited profile describing said estimated capacity allocated to said component body part from said composite body part over time.

21. The method as in claim 20, including, following step (j) and prior to step (g), the step

k) for each said body part that is a said body part determined at step (b) or a lower-level component body part of a said body part determined at step (b) and that has multiple said selected profiles and/or said inherited profiles, combining said multiple profiles so that said body part has one profile that describes an estimated capacity of said body part over time, and

wherein said combined profile from step (k) is said applicable selected profile at step (g) for said body part to which said combined profile applies.

22. The method as in claim 21, including, following step (k) and prior to step (g) the step

l) combining, up to each composite body part that is a said body part determined at step (b) or a lower-level component body part of a said body part determined at step (b), said profile of each said component body part of said composite body part so that said composite body part has at most one profile that describes an estimated capacity of said composite body part over time, and

wherein said combined profile from step (l) is said applicable selected profile at step (g) for said composite body part to which said combined profile applies.

23. The method as in claim 15, including, following step (f) and prior to step (g) the step

i) modifying at least one said selected profile based on an assessment by a medical practitioner of said medical condition to which said selected profile corresponds.

24. The method as in claim 15, wherein step (g) includes modifying said date based on an assessment by a medical practitioner of said person'"'"'s ability to perform an act used in performing said job.

25. The method as in claim 24, wherein said modifying step of step (g) includes

comparing said assessment to said date;

determining whether said assessment agrees with said date according to first predetermined criteria dependent upon said assessment,

leaving said date unchanged with respect to said assessment if said assessment agrees with said date according to said first predetermined criteria, and

changing said date according to second predetermined criteria dependent upon said assessment if said assessment does not agree with said date according to said first predetermined criteria.

26. The method as in claim 15, wherein step (h) includes modifying said latest date based on an assessment by a medical practitioner of said person'"'"'s ability to perform said job.

27. The method as in claim 26, wherein said modifying step of step (h) includes

comparing said assessment to said latest date;

determining whether said assessment agrees with said latest date according to first predetermined criteria dependent upon said assessment,

leaving said latest date unchanged with respect to said assessment if said assessment agrees with said latest date according to said first predetermined criteria, and

changing said latest date according to second predetermined criteria dependent upon said assessment if said assessment does not agree with said latest date according to said first predetermined criteria.

28. The method as in claim 15, wherein step (e) includes modifying said selected profiles according to predetermined rules based on one or more characteristics of said medical condition and/or said person.

29. A computerized method for assessing an impact of medical conditions and impairments affecting a person, said method comprising the steps of:

a) inputting into a computer a model of a human body, said model including multi-level hierarchy of body parts that, in combination with each other, form the human body;

b) inputting into a computer, for each transient medical condition of a plurality of predetermined transient medical conditions, a severity value that estimates a time progression of a dysfunction level produced by said transient medical condition on at least one said body part from a time of injury over a specific progressive time scale into the future;

c) identifying one or more said predetermined transient medical conditions that currently affect said person;

d) combining said severity values for said transient medical conditions identified at step (c) to a combined severity value; and

e) generating and outputting on an output device an assessment an assessment of an impact of said medical conditions on said person, wherein said assessment is based on said combined severity value.

30. The method as in claim 29, wherein said severity values are non-monetary values, and wherein step (d) includes converting said combined severity value to a monetary value, and

wherein said assessment is based on said monetary value.

31. The method as in claim 30, wherein step (b) includes providing a plurality of profiles relating said predetermined medical conditions to said body parts, each said profile describing an estimated capacity of at least one said body part, due to at least one said condition, over time, wherein each said profile is assigned a said severity value.

32. The method as in claim 31, wherein step (d) includes the step

e) for each said body part having multiple said medical conditions identified at step (c), prior to combining said severity values to said combined severity value, combining said severity values corresponding to said identified medical conditions to a total severity value for said body part, and

f) combining body part severity values up to said combined severity value.

33. The method as in claim 32, wherein said combining step (e) includes combining said multiple severity values based on the time at which said medical conditions to which said multiple severity values correspond occur and on the length of said profiles corresponding to said body parts.

34. The method as in claim 33, wherein said human body parts are classified into a multi-level hierarchy, each said body part in each level of said hierarchy below a highest level of said hierarchy being a component body part of a composite body part in a higher level in said hierarchy.

35. The method as in claim 34, wherein step (f) includes, for each said composite body part prior to combining up to said combined severity value, combining said severity value of each said component body part of said composite body part up to a composite body part severity value for said composite body part.

36. The method as in claim 35, wherein said combining step (f) includes combining said severity values of said component body parts of at least one said composite body part based on the spatial relationship among said component body parts within the human body.

37. The method as in claim 31, wherein step (d) includes the step

e) for each said body part having multiple said medical conditions identified at step (c), prior to combining said severity values to said combined severity value, combining said severity values corresponding to said identified medical conditions to a total severity value for said body part, and

f) combining body part severity values up to said combined severity value.

38. The method as in claim 37, wherein said combining step (e) includes combining said multiple severity values based on the time at which said medical conditions to which said multiple severity values correspond occurred.

39. The method as in claim 37, wherein said human body parts are classified into a multi-level hierarchy, each said body part in each level of said hierarchy below a highest level of said hierarchy being a component body part of a composite body part in a higher level in said hierarchy.

40. The method as in claim 39, wherein step (f) includes, for each said composite body part prior to combining up to said combined severity value, combining said severity value of each said component body part of said composite body part up to a composite body part severity value for said composite body part.

41. The method as in claim 40, wherein said combining step (f) includes combining said severity values of said component body parts of at least one said composite body part based on the spatial relationship among said component body parts within the human body.

42. The method as in claim 41, wherein step (f) includes combining said severity values of said component body parts and said composite body parts up to said combined severity value so that said combined severity value corresponds to the whole human body.

43. The method as in claim 42, wherein said severity values are non-monetary values and wherein step (d) includes converting said combined severity value to a monetary value.

44. The method as in claim 29, including, prior to combining said severity values to said combined severity value, the step

e) modifying at least one said severity value based on an assessment by a medical practitioner of said medical condition to which said severity value corresponds.

45. The method as in claim 31, including, prior to combining said severity values to said combined severity value, the steps

f) modifying at least one said selected profile based on an assessment by a medical practitioner of said medical condition to which said, selected profile corresponds, and

g) for each said selected profile modified at step (f), modifying said severity value corresponding to said selected profile based on the modification to said selected profile at step (f).

46. The method as in claim 29, wherein, for a said medical condition corresponding to a whiplash injury, step (b) includes deriving said severity value for said injury based on treatment applied to said whiplash injury.

47. The method as in claim 46, wherein said deriving step includes deriving said severity value for said whiplash injury based on treatment applied to said whiplash injury and on the type of medical practitioner that provided said treatment.

48. The method as in claim 29, including the step

e) where said person has spent time in a hospital as a patient, providing a severity value that describes the impact on said person of said time,

wherein said assessment is based on any said severity provided at step (e).

49. The method as in claim 29, including the step

e) where said person has received convalescent care, providing a severity value that describes the impact on said person of time spent by said person under said convalescent care,

wherein said assessment is based on any said severity provided at step (e).

50. The method as in claim 29, including the step

e) where said person is predicted to suffer a medical condition in the future, providing a severity value that describes the impact on said person of said medical condition,

wherein said assessment is based on any said severity provided at step (e).

51. The method as in claim 50, including scaling said severity value provided at step (e) by a factor corresponding to a predicted likelihood that said future medical condition will occur.

52. The method as in claim 29, wherein, for a said medical condition corresponding to a post traumatic stress disorder, step (b) includes deriving said severity value for said medical condition based on treatment applied to said post traumatic stress disorder.

53. The method as in claim 52, wherein said deriving step includes deriving said severity value for said post traumatic stress disorder based on treatment applied to said post traumatic stress disorder and on the type of medical practitioner that provided said treatment.

54. The method as in claim 29, including the step

e) where said person has suffered a loss of ability to enjoy life, providing at least one severity value that describes the impact on said person of said loss of ability to enjoy life,

wherein said assessment is based on any said severity provided at step (e).

55. The method as in claim 54, wherein step (e) includes providing a said at least one severity value that describes the impact on said person of temporary loss of ability to enjoy life.

56. The method as in claim 54, wherein step (e) includes providing a said at least one severity value that describes the impact on said person of permanent loss of ability to enjoy life.

57. The method as in claim 29, including the step

e) where said person has suffered a permanent dysfunction, providing a severity value that describes the impact on said person of said permanent dysfunction, and

wherein said assessment is based on any said severity provided at step (e).

58. The method as in claim 29, including the steps

e) where said person has spent time in a hospital as a patient, providing a severity value that describes the impact on said person of said time,

f) where said person has received convalescent care, providing a severity value that describes the impact on said person of time spent by said person under convalescent care,

g) where said person is predicted to suffer a medical condition in the future, providing a severity value that describes the impact on said person of said medical condition,

h) where said person has suffered post traumatic stress syndrome, providing a severity value that describes the impact on said person of said post traumatic stress syndrome,

i) where said person has suffered a temporary loss of ability to enjoy life, providing at least one severity value that describes the impact on said person of said loss,

j) where said person has suffered a permanent loss of ability to enjoy life, providing at least one severity value that describes the impact on said person of said loss, and

k) where said person has suffered a permanent dysfunction, providing a severity value that describes the impact on said person of said permanent dysfunction,

wherein said assessment is based on any said severities provided at steps (e)-(k).

59. The method as in claim 58, including the step

l) combining any said severity values provided at steps (e)-(k) with said combined severity value, wherein said assessment is based on a combined severity value from step (l).

60. The method as in claim 59, wherein said severity values are non-monetary values,

wherein step (l) includes converting any said

severity values provided at steps (e)-(k) and said combined severity value to a monetary value, and

wherein said assessment is based on said monetary value.

61. The method as in claim 60, wherein step (l) includes expressing said monetary value as a range of expected monetary values.

62. The method as in claim 60, wherein step (l) includes the steps

m) combining any said severity values provided at steps (e)-(i) with said combined severity value,

n) combining any said severity values provided at steps (j) and (k) with each other,

o) converting said severity value as combined at step (m) to a first monetary value,

p) converting said severity value as combined at step (n) to a second monetary value, and

q) combining said first and second monetary values.

63. The method as in claim 62, wherein step (q) includes expressing said combined first and second monetary values as a range of expected monetary values.

64. The method as in claim 29, including the step

e) where said person has lost, and/or will lose in the future, wages due to said medical conditions identified at step (c), assessing a monetary amount for said lost wages.

65. The method as in claim 29, including the step

f) where said person is predicted to lose wages due to said medical conditions identified at step (c), assessing a monetary amount for said lost wages.

66. A method for assessing an impact of medical conditions and impairments affecting a person, said method comprising the steps of

a) inputting into a computer a model of a human body, said model including body parts that, in combination with each other, form the human body, wherein said human body parts are classified into a multi-level hierarchy, each said body part in each level of said hierarchy below a highest level of said hierarchy being a component body part of a composite body part in a higher level in said hierarchy;

b) inputting into a computer, for each transient medical condition of a plurality of predetermined transient medical conditions, a severity value that estimates a time progression of a dysfunction level produced by said transient medical condition on at least one said body part;

c) identifying one or more said predetermined transient medical conditions that currently affect said person;

d) for each said body part having multiple said transient medical conditions identified at step (c), combining said severity values corresponding to said identified transient medical conditions to a total severity value for said body part based on a time at which said transient medical conditions to which said severity values correspond occurred;

e) for each said composite body part up to a composite body part corresponding to the human body as a whole, combining said severity value of each said component body part of said composite body part up to a composite body part severity value for said composite body part based on a spatial relationship among said component body parts within the human body;

f) where said person has spent time in a hospital as a patient, providing a severity value that describes an impact on said person from a time of injury over a specific progressive time scale into the future;

g) where said person has received convalescent care, providing a severity value that describes an impact on said person of time spent by said person under convalescent care;

h) where said person is predicted to suffer a transient medical condition in the future, providing a severity value, arranged in a progressive time line into the future, that describes an impact on said person of said transient medical condition;

i) where said person has suffered post traumatic stress syndrome, providing a severity value that describes an impact on said person of said post traumatic stress syndrome;

j) where said person has suffered a temporary loss of ability to enjoy life, providing at least one severity value that describes an impact on said person of said loss;

k) where said person has suffered a permanent loss of ability to enjoy life, providing at least one severity value that describes an impact on said person of said loss;

l) where said person has suffered a permanent dysfunction, providing a severity value that describes an impact on said person of said permanent dysfunction; and

m) generating and outputting an assessment of the impact of said medical conditions on said person, wherein said assessment is based on said whole body severity value determined at step (e) and on any said severity values provided at steps (f)-(l).

67. The method as in claim 66, wherein said severity values are non-monetary values, including the step

m) converting said whole body severity of step

(e) and any said severities provided at steps (f)-(l) to a monetary value, and

wherein said assessment is based on said monetary value.

68. The method as in claim 67, wherein step (m) includes the steps

n) combining any said severity values provided at steps (f)-(j) with said whole body severity value of step (e),

o) combining any said severity values provided at steps (k) and (l) with each other,

p) converting said severity value as combined at step (n) to a first monetary value,

q) converting said severity value as combined at step (m) to a second monetary value, and

r) combining said first and second monetary values.

69. The method as in claim 68, wherein step (r) includes expressing said combined first and second monetary values as a range of expected monetary values.

70. The method as in claim 66, including the step

m) where said person has lost, and/or will lose in the future, wages due to said medical conditions identified at step (c), assessing a monetary amount for said lost wages.

71. The method as in claim 66, including the step

m) where said person is predicted to lose wages due to said medical conditions identified at step (c), assessing a monetary amount for said lost wages, and

wherein said assessment is based on any said monetary amount provided at step m).

72. The method as in claim 66, wherein, for a said medical condition corresponding to a whiplash injury, step (b) includes deriving said severity value for said injury based on treatment applied to said whiplash injury.

73. A method for modeling medical conditions and impairments affecting a person, said method comprising the steps of:

a) where said person is subject to a workers'"'"' compensation system,

i) providing a plurality of profiles relating predetermined transient medical conditions to human body parts, each said profile estimating a time progression of a dysfunction level or a capacity of at least one said body part from a time of injury over a specific progressive time scale into the future, due to at least one said condition;

ii) identifying one or more said predetermined transient medical conditions that currently affect said person,

iii) selecting a said profile corresponding to each said transient medical condition, and

iv) relating said selected profile'"'"'s time dimension to an occurrence of its said transient medical condition;

b) where said person is subject to a common law compensation system,

i) providing a model of a human body, said model including body parts that, in combination with each other, form the human body,

ii) providing, for each transient medical condition of a plurality of predetermined transient medical conditions, a severity value that estimates the dysfunction level produced by said transient medical condition on at least one said body part,

iii) identifying one or more said predetermined transient medical conditions that affect said person, and

iv) combining said severity values for said transient medical conditions identified at step (b,iii) to a combined severity value; and

c) displaying an assessment of an impact of said transient medical condition identified at steps (a,ii) or (b,iii) on said person, wherein said assessment is based on said profiles related to said transient medical conditions at step (d) or on said combined severity value at step (b,iv), respectively.

74. A method for assessing an impact of medical conditions and impairments affecting a person, said method comprising the steps of:

a) where said person is subject to a workers'"'"' compensation system,

i) providing a plurality of profiles relating predetermined transient medical conditions to human body parts, each said profile estimating a time progression of a dysfunction level or a capacity of at least one said body part from a time of injury over a specific progressive time scale into the future, due to at least one said condition;

ii) identifying one or more said body parts that affect performance of a job by said person,

iii) determining what capacity level of each said one or more body parts inhibits said person from performing said job,

iv) identifying one or more said predetermined transient medical conditions that currently affect said person,

v) selecting a said profile corresponding to each said one or more transient medical conditions,

vi) relating each said selected profile'"'"'s time dimension to an occurrence of its said transient medical condition,

vii) for each said selected profile applicable to a said body part determined at step (a,ii), determining a date for said applicable selected profile upon which said estimated capacity profiled by said applicable selected profile first moves beyond said capacity level determined at step (a,iii) for its said body part so that said transient medical condition to which said applicable selected profile corresponds does not inhibit said job, and

viii) determining a latest said date determined at step (a,vii);

b) where said person is subject to a common law compensation system,

i) providing a model of a human body, said model including body parts that, in combination with each other, form the human body, wherein said human body parts are classified into a multi-level hierarchy, each said body part in each level of said hierarchy below a highest level of said hierarchy being a component body part of a composite body part in a higher level in said hierarchy,

ii) providing, for each transient medical condition of a plurality of predetermined transient medical conditions, a severity value that estimates a dysfunction level produced by said transient medical condition on at least one said body part,

iii) identifying one or more said predetermined transient medical conditions that currently affect said person,

iv) for each said body part having multiple said transient medical conditions identified at step (b,iii), combining said severity values corresponding to said identified transient medical conditions to a total severity value for said body part based on a time at which said transient medical conditions to which said severity values correspond occurred,

v) for each said composite body part up to a composite body part corresponding to the human body as a whole, combining said severity value of each said component body part of said composite body part up to a composite body part severity value for said composite body part based on a spatial relationship among said component body parts within the human body,

vi) where said person has spent time in a hospital as a patient, providing a severity value that describes an impact on said person from a time of injury in a progressive time line into the future,

vii) where said person has received convalescent care, providing a severity value that describes an impact on said person of time spent by said person under convalescent care,

viii) where said person is predicted to suffer a transient medical condition in the future, providing a severity value that describes an impact on said person of said transient medical condition,

ix) where said person has suffered post traumatic stress syndrome, providing a severity value that describes an impact on said person of said post traumatic stress syndrome,

x) where said person has suffered a temporary loss of ability to enjoy life, providing at least one severity value that describes an impact on said person of said loss,

xi) where said person has suffered a permanent loss of ability to enjoy life, providing at least one severity value that describes an impact on said person of said loss, and

xii) where said person has suffered a permanent dysfunction, providing a severity value that describes an impact on said person of said permanent dysfunction; and

c) displaying an assessment of an impact of said transient medical conditions identified at steps (a,ii) or (b,iii) on said person, wherein said assessment is based on said latest date at step (a,viii) or on said whole body severity at step (b,v) and any said severities provided at steps (b,vi)-(b,xii), respectively.

75. The method as in claim 74, wherein said severity values are non-monetary values, and including the step

b,xiii) converting said whole body severity of step (b,v) and any said severities provided at steps (b,vi)-(b,xii) to a monetary value, and

wherein said assessment is based on said monetary value.

76. The method as in claim 75, wherein said estimated capacity is described as a dysfunction level and wherein step (a,vii) includes determining said date from said applicable selected profile upon which said dysfunction level profiled by said applicable selected profile falls below said dysfunction level determined at step (a,iii) for its said body part.

77. The method as in claim 76, wherein, where said estimated capacity of said applicable selected profile fails to move beyond said, capacity level determined at step (a,iii) for its said body part so that said medical condition to which said applicable selected profile corresponds does not inhibit said job, said date determined at step (a,vii) indicates that said condition always inhibits said job.

78. The method as in claim 75, including, following step (a,vi) and prior to step (a,vii), the step

(a,ix) for each said body part determined at step (a,ii) having multiple said selected profiles, combining said multiple profiles so that said body part has one profile that describes an estimated capacity of said body part over time, and

wherein said combined profile from step (a,ix) is said applicable selected profile at step (a,vii) for said body part to which said combined profile applies.

79. The method as in claim 78, wherein said human body parts are classified into a multi-level hierarchy, each said body part in each level of said hierarchy below a highest level of said hierarchy being a component body part of a composite body part in a higher level in said hierarchy.

80. The method as in claim 79, including, following step (a,vi) and prior to step (a,vii), the steps

a,ix) for at least one said composite body part having a said selected profile, allocating said estimated capacity of said selected profile among said component body parts of said composite body part, and

a,x) creating an inherited profile for each said component body part of said composite body part of step (a,ix), said inherited profile describing said estimated capacity allocated to said component body part from said composite body part over time.

81. The method as in claim 80, including, following step (a,x) and prior to step (a,vii), the step

a,xi) for each said body part that is a said body part determined at step (a,ii) or a lower-level component body part of a said body part determined at step (a,ii) and that has multiple said selected profiles and/or said inherited profiles, combining said multiple profiles so that said body part has one profile that describes an estimated capacity of said body part over time, and

wherein said combined profile from step (a,xi) is said applicable selected profile at step (a,vii) for said body part to which said combined profile applies.

82. The method as in claim 81, including, following step (a,xi) and prior to step (a,vii) the step

a,xii) combining, up to each composite body part that is a said body part determined at step (a,ii) or a lower-level component body part of a said body part determined at step (a,ii), said profile of each said component body part of said composite body part so that said composite body part has at most one profile that describes an estimated capacity of said composite body part over time, and

wherein said combined profile from step (a,xii) is said applicable selected profile at step (a,vii) for said composite body part to which said combined profile applies.

83. A method for assessing insurance compensation stemming from medical conditions affecting a medically impaired person, said method comprising:

a) connecting to one or more databases comprising;

i) a multiple-level hierarchical model of the human body, including a plurality of body parts that make up the human body, wherein each body part is associated as a component of one or more other body parts and wherein each body part has associated component functionality values that indicate the body parts'"'"' importance to each of the one or more other body parts of which the body part is a component; and

ii) a plurality of medical condition profiles each medical condition profile associating a transient medical condition, one or more body parts affected by the transient medical condition and one or more temporally variable dysfunction values indicating the relative affect of the transient medical condition on each of the one or more body parts over a range of times into the future;

b) receiving information indicating one or more patient transient medical conditions affecting the medically impaired person;

c) searching the one or more databases to identify medical condition profiles that associate transient medical conditions matching each of the one or more patient transient medical conditions received in step (b);

d) for each medical condition profile identified in step (c);

i) identifying the one or more body parts associated with the medical condition profile;

ii) identifying the temporally variable dysfunction value associated with each of the one or more body parts associated with the medical condition profile; and

iii) using the model of (a, i) identify any body parts for which the one or more body parts of identified in (d, i) are a component;

e) generating a first capacity level for each of the one or more body parts of identified in (d, i) based on the associated temporally variable dysfunction value identified in (d, ii);

f) generating a second capacity level for any of the body parts identified in (d, iii) based on the capacity levels generated in (e) and the associated component functionality values; and

g) generating and outputting an insurance compensation value based on the results of steps (e) and/or (f).