Method and system for priority-based appointment scheduling
First Claim
1. A system, comprising:
- one or more processors;
a memory coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the memory stores program instructions executable by the one or more processors to implement a scheduling service configured to;
receive scheduling requests for a plurality of service providers, wherein each of the scheduling requests identifies one of the plurality of service providers and a service consumer, and wherein each of the scheduling requests includes information for evaluating a priority of the scheduling request;
for each of the scheduling requests;
access schedule information for the identified service provider, wherein the schedule information indicates time information and priority information for existing appointments;
determine an appointment time for the scheduling request dependent on a priority of the scheduling request and dependent on said time information and said priority information for said existing appointments wherein to determine the appointment time the scheduling service is configured to access service history information for the identified service consumer, and determine the priority of the scheduling request dependent on the service history information for the identified service consumer and dependent on said information for evaluating the original priority from the scheduling request, wherein the service history information comprises information relating to historical health history, medical conditions, medical tests, and medical referrals of a consumer; and
communicate the appointment time to a device for the identified service provider and to a device for the identified service consumer.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A priority-based scheduling service may schedule appointments between service providers and service consumers by assigning a priority to an appointment request based on one or more factors. The scheduling service may take into consideration the history of the service consumer and the purpose or reason for the appointment request. In addition, preferences indicated by the service provider and service consumer may be taken into consideration by the scheduling service. A prioritized appointment request may be scheduled dependent upon how high or low a priority has been assigned to the request. The scheduling service may apply rules during the prioritizing and scheduling processes. Rules may be configured by the service providers. Once the appointment has been scheduled by the scheduling service, notification may be sent to the service provider and service consumer. Communication between the scheduling service, service providers and service consumers may be accomplished via a communications network.
49 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A system, comprising:
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one or more processors; a memory coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the memory stores program instructions executable by the one or more processors to implement a scheduling service configured to; receive scheduling requests for a plurality of service providers, wherein each of the scheduling requests identifies one of the plurality of service providers and a service consumer, and wherein each of the scheduling requests includes information for evaluating a priority of the scheduling request; for each of the scheduling requests; access schedule information for the identified service provider, wherein the schedule information indicates time information and priority information for existing appointments; determine an appointment time for the scheduling request dependent on a priority of the scheduling request and dependent on said time information and said priority information for said existing appointments wherein to determine the appointment time the scheduling service is configured to access service history information for the identified service consumer, and determine the priority of the scheduling request dependent on the service history information for the identified service consumer and dependent on said information for evaluating the original priority from the scheduling request, wherein the service history information comprises information relating to historical health history, medical conditions, medical tests, and medical referrals of a consumer; and communicate the appointment time to a device for the identified service provider and to a device for the identified service consumer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer-accessible storage medium, comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement a scheduling service configured to:
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receive scheduling requests for a plurality of service providers, wherein each of the scheduling requests identifies one of the plurality of service providers and a service consumer, and wherein each of the scheduling requests includes information for evaluating a priority of the scheduling request; for each of the scheduling requests; access schedule information for the identified service provider, wherein the schedule information indicates time information and priority information for existing appointments; determine an appointment time for the scheduling request dependent on a priority of the scheduling request and dependent on said time information and said priority information for said existing appointments, wherein to determine the appointment time the scheduling service is configured to access service history information for the identified service consumer, and determine the priority of the scheduling request dependent on the service history information for the identified service consumer and dependent on said information for evaluating the original priority from the scheduling request, wherein the service history information comprises information relating to historical health history, medical conditions, medical tests, and medical referrals of a consumer; and communicate the appointment time to a device for the identified service provider and to a device for the identified service consumer. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification