Electronic payment delivery service

• US 8,417,543 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2010
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Yanak, Edward, Vause, Joseph, Kaberlein, Joseph, Cervenka, Karen
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Michelle
• Application Number:
  US12/818,023
• Publication Number:
  US 20100332251A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2- 4, 705/30, 705/40
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing finance-related services such as electronic payment delivery are disclosed. In accordance with one embodiment, a payment system is configured to receive a payment message including a type of information, and to add an identification number to the message. The type of information is removed from the payment message, and the revised payment message is forwarded on to an entity responsible for payment. Particular embodiments in accordance with the present invention are suited for removing personal patient information from a HIPAA-compliant payment message, prior to forwarding the revised message over an electronic payment network.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium has code stored thereon to direct the processor to implement a method comprising;

receiving a first electronic payment message from a first entity to a second entity, said first electronic payment message instructing a payment of a healthcare claim on behalf of the first entity, wherein the first electronic payment message is received over a network before the payment is executed or facilitated on an electronic payment processing network that processes credit and debit transactions, and wherein the first entity is a healthcare payor and the second entity comprises a healthcare provider;

recognizing a type of information in the first electronic payment message, wherein the type of information is associated with a patient and indicative of a healthcare service type;

generating a revised electronic payment message with an identifier including removing the type of information from the first electronic payment message; and

forwarding the revised electronic payment message to a third entity to execute or facilitate the execution of the payment using the electronic payment processing network.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the type of information comprises personal information of a recipient of the payment.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the first electronic payment message and the revised electronic payment message comprise financial information of a recipient of the payment.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the first electronic payment message comprises payment instructions for a healthcare claim.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the revised electronic payment message is in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the type of information is selected from:

a first, last, or middle name of the patient, including prefixes and suffixes;

a patient identifier;

a procedure code; and

a procedure line number.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein information that is in both the first and revised payment message comprises financial information, trace information, payor information, payee information, provider summary information, claim level data, claims adjustment, or provider adjustment data.

8. The system of claim 5 wherein the system is controlled by a third party healthcare payment processor and the first entity comprises a healthcare payor.

9. The system of claim 5 wherein the system is controlled by an administrator of the electronic payment processing network and the first entity comprises a healthcare payor.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the code further comprises instructions to cause the system to forward an acknowledgement of receipt of the payment message back to the first entity.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the identifier includes an identification number and wherein the acknowledgment includes the identification number.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the first entity does not have access to the second entity.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the revised electronic payment message and other revised electronic payment messages are aggregated and batched before they are forwarded to the third entity.

12. A method of processing a healthcare payment, the method comprising:

receiving from a healthcare payor, at a server computer, a first electronic message instructing payment of a healthcare claim on behalf of the healthcare payor to a healthcare provider, wherein the first electronic message is received before a payment is executed or facilitated on an electronic payment processing network that processes credit and debit transactions;

recognizing in the first electronic message a type of information at the server computer, wherein the type of information is associated with a patient and indicative of a healthcare service type;

generating a revised electronic payment message with an identifier including removing the type of information from the first electronic payment message at the server computer; and

forwarding the revised electronic payment message from the server computer to a second entity to generate or facilitate execution of a payment using the electronic payment processing network.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the first electronic message is in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the type of information comprises:

a first, last, or middle name of the patient, including prefixes and suffixes;

a patient identifier;

an identity of a medical procedure performed; and

a description of the medical procedure performed.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein information that is in both the first electronic message and the revised electronic payment message comprises financial information, trace information, payer information, payee information, provider summary information, claim level data, claims adjustment, or provider adjustment data.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein a third party processor of healthcare claims generates the revised electronic payment message.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein an administrator of the electronic payment network generates the revised electronic payment message.

18. The method of claim 12 further comprising forwarding an acknowledgement of receipt of the electronic payment message back from the server computer to the healthcare payor.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the acknowledgment includes the identifier, and wherein the identifier comprises an identification number.

20. The method of claim 12 further comprising generating a report including the identifier associated with the revised payment message.