Method and system for provision and acquisition of medical services and products
First Claim
1. An online computerized method for arranging scheduled delivery of personal medical services from a provider having verified qualifications, said method comprising:
- registering a medical service provider and automatically authenticating qualifications of said medical service provider to perform a proffered medical service upon obtaining registration information from said provider;
posting online at least one proffered personal medical service in association with a provider of such service after having verified the service provider'"'"'s qualifications for providing such service; and
receiving online bids for such service as proffered by prospective users of such service.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Transactional costs associated with providing professional services are reduced by allowing prospective patients/clients (bidders) and professional service providers to negotiate competitively for desired fees for proffered services through an interactive on-line communications network such as the Internet. A transaction system server handles online communications and procedures for conducting auctions for delivery of proffered services and maintains a registration database of service providers and bidders. An authentication/qualifier engine automatically researches and verifies service provider credentials and background information upon registration of a service provider with the system. A service feedback interface and database are provided for handling online feedback information and comments from patients/clients and providers regarding the complexity and quality of services received or provided.
51 Citations
33 Claims
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1. An online computerized method for arranging scheduled delivery of personal medical services from a provider having verified qualifications, said method comprising:
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registering a medical service provider and automatically authenticating qualifications of said medical service provider to perform a proffered medical service upon obtaining registration information from said provider; posting online at least one proffered personal medical service in association with a provider of such service after having verified the service provider'"'"'s qualifications for providing such service; and receiving online bids for such service as proffered by prospective users of such service. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An online computerized method for arranging delivery of medical services to prospective patients having ascertained health and/or financial condition information associated therewith, said method comprising:
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posting online at least one medical service provider along with an associated proffered medical service; receiving online bids as proffered by prospective patients of a service provider for delivery of a specified medical service; in response to receiving an online bid, automatically accessing a maintained database and/or one or more online commercial data resources to obtain information describing the health and/or financial condition of a bid-submitting prospective patient; and forwarding a received online bid to an associated medical service provider together with the information describing the health and/or financial condition of the prospective patient associated with said forwarded bid.
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19. A computerized method for selling a qualified personal medical service selected from a menu of authenticated qualified personal medical services, the menu of authenticated qualified medical services being accessible to prospective buyers of personal medical services, comprising the steps performed by a computer of:
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(a) receiving from one or more medical service providers an offer to sell a specified personal medical service included within the menu of medical services at a specified offering price; (b) accessing one or more online commercial database sources containing medical certifications data and verifying the authenticity of qualifications of the medical service provider to provide the specified personal medical service; and (c) if qualified, posting the offer to sell the specified personal medical service and the specified offering price in a database of authenticated qualified medical services that is accessible to a plurality of prospective buyers. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A system enabling a qualified medical service provider that has been authenticated as qualified to offer a specified medical service for sale to a plurality of prospective buyers of the specified personal medical service, said system comprising:
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(a) a computer having an on-line connection; (b) a computer-readable storage device connected to said computer; (c) a program for controlling said computer; (d) a register associated with said computer for establishing a computer-readable medical service provider identification code associated to a medical service provider; and (e) a service provider qualifier database accessible by said computer, said qualifier database containing information for identifying one or more medical service providers having credentials previously verified as acceptable for rendering said specified medical service and/or information for automatically verifying credentials of said service providers via other on-line sources;
wherein the program is operable for causing the computer to;(i) receive an on-line offer to sell the specified medical service and receive said medical service provider identification code from the medical service provider for verifying the identity of said medical service provider; (ii) verify that the medical service provider is qualified to provide the offered specified medical service by using information stored in said service provider qualifier database; and (iii) post an offer to sell the specified medical service proffered by a service provider verified in step (ii) on a database that is accessible for on-line viewing by a plurality of prospective buyers of the specified medical service.
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25. An online computerized method for arranging delivery of personal medical services with provision of online patient-compliance feedback information from a medical service provider for future use in evaluating future bids for delivery of personal medical services, said method comprising:
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registering at least one medical service provider; posting online at least one proffered personal medical service in association with a registered provider of such service; receiving online bids for such service as proffered by prospective patients of such service provider; and after such service is provided to a prospective patient, receiving online and collecting into a database feedback information from such service provider regarding compliance of said patient with recommended medical procedures and/or physician instructions as given by such provider during course of treatment. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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27. An online computerized method for arranging delivery of personal medical services with provision of online transaction outcome feedback information from a medical service provider for future use in evaluating future bids for delivery of personal medical services, said method comprising:
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registering at least one medical service provider; posting online at least one proffered personal medical service in association with a registered provider of such service; receiving online bids for such service as proffered by prospective patients of such service provider; and after such service is provided to a prospective patient, receiving online and collecting into a database feedback information from such service provider describing a resultant outcome of providing a proffered medical service to said patient, wherein said feedback information is made available online at least to other prospective patients. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. An online computerized method for arranging delivery of personal medical services with provision of online transaction outcome feedback information from a treated patient for future use in evaluating possible future bids for delivery of personal medical services, said method comprising:
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registering at least one medical service provider; posting online at least one proffered personal medical service in association with a registered provider of such service; receiving online bids for such service as proffered by prospective patients of such service provider; and after such service is provided to a prospective patient receiving online and collecting into a database feedback information from said patient describing a resultant outcome of receiving a proffered medical service from such service provider, wherein said information is made available online at least to other prospective patients. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. An online computerized method for arranging delivery of personal medical services at a price which can be adjusted in a pre-arranged manner if unexpected circumstances arise in the delivery of such services, said method comprising:
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registering at least one medical service provider; posting online at least one proffered personal medical service in association with a registered provider of such service; receiving online bids for such service as proffered by prospective patients of such service provider for stated prices; and after a provider accepts a bid price for such proffered service, if a different or altered service is required to be rendered in response to said bid, computing an adjusted bid price based on a relative value multiplier, wherein said relative value multiplier is based upon a conventional procedural CPT code Relative Value Scale. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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Specification