Internet system for connecting healthcare providers and patients
DCFirst Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of providing healthcare professional information to potential patients, said method comprising:
- (a) receiving, at one or more server computers operated by a service provider who provides a service for connecting healthcare professionals with the potential patients, a request for a results list of healthcare professional information, wherein the one or more server computers comprise at least one computer processor and memory;
(b) in response to the request for the results list of healthcare professional information, creating, by at least one of the one or more server computers, the results list of healthcare professional information using the healthcare professional information for one or more healthcare professionals, and wherein the healthcare professional information comprises;
(i) healthcare professional-provided information received from the one or more healthcare professionals, wherein the healthcare professional-provided information comprises three or more from the group consisting of;
specialty information, medical philosophy, gender, age, years in profession, years in practice, awards, honors, professional appointments, professional memberships, publications, languages, and hobbies;
(ii) patient-provided information comprising patient ratings from one or more patients of the one or more healthcare professionals;
(iii) third party-verified information verified by an independent third-party, the third-party information comprises three or more from the group consisting of;
board certification, licensure, disciplinary action information, medical school, medical internship, medical residency, and medical fellowship information; and
(iv) a comparison rating for the one or more healthcare professionals; and
(c) providing access to the results list over a computer network.
8 Assignments
Litigations
1 Petition
Accused Products
Abstract
An Internet-based system involves a database and search capabilities for connecting patients with healthcare providers, e.g., physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, treatment facilities, etc., and further enables such providers to reach patients with whom they may not otherwise come into contact. A patient may access the healthcare provider information through a search conducted using a search engine, such as Google, Yahoo, etc. Alternatively, a patient may access the company Web site'"'"'s predetermined Web page that provides search capabilities on its database. A patient may research a healthcare provider based on criteria specified by the patient. Information provided to the patient may be in the form of a report, profile, ratings, etc., including patient-provided information, physician-verified information, and information verified by an independent third party. The verified information and ratings provided by the Web site enable patients to differentiate among healthcare providers and thereby select the provider that best meets their individual needs.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of providing healthcare professional information to potential patients, said method comprising:
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(a) receiving, at one or more server computers operated by a service provider who provides a service for connecting healthcare professionals with the potential patients, a request for a results list of healthcare professional information, wherein the one or more server computers comprise at least one computer processor and memory; (b) in response to the request for the results list of healthcare professional information, creating, by at least one of the one or more server computers, the results list of healthcare professional information using the healthcare professional information for one or more healthcare professionals, and wherein the healthcare professional information comprises; (i) healthcare professional-provided information received from the one or more healthcare professionals, wherein the healthcare professional-provided information comprises three or more from the group consisting of;
specialty information, medical philosophy, gender, age, years in profession, years in practice, awards, honors, professional appointments, professional memberships, publications, languages, and hobbies;(ii) patient-provided information comprising patient ratings from one or more patients of the one or more healthcare professionals; (iii) third party-verified information verified by an independent third-party, the third-party information comprises three or more from the group consisting of;
board certification, licensure, disciplinary action information, medical school, medical internship, medical residency, and medical fellowship information; and(iv) a comparison rating for the one or more healthcare professionals; and (c) providing access to the results list over a computer network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer-implemented method of providing healthcare professional information to potential patients, said method comprising:
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receiving, at one or more server computers, a request for information regarding a first healthcare professional, wherein the one or more server computers comprise at least one computer processor and memory; accessing, by at least one of the one or more server computers, healthcare professional-verified information about the first healthcare professional, wherein the healthcare professional-verified information is received from the first healthcare professional and comprises three or more from the group consisting of;
specialty information, medical philosophy, gender, age, years in profession, years in practice, awards, honors, professional appointments, professional memberships, publications, languages, and hobbies;compiling, by the at least one of the one or more server computers, patient-provided information regarding the first healthcare professional, wherein the patient-provided information comprises patient ratings from one or more past or current patients of the first healthcare professional; compiling, by the at least one of the one or more server computers, information regarding the first healthcare professional verified by an independent third-party source, wherein the information verified by the independent third-party source comprises three or more from the group consisting of;
board certification, licensure, disciplinary action information, medical school, medical internship, medical residency, and medical fellowship information;creating, by the at least one of the one or more server computers, a healthcare professional report on the first healthcare professional using the healthcare professional-verified information, the patient-provided information, and the information verified by the independent third-party source, wherein the healthcare professional report on the first healthcare professional includes a comparison rating of the first healthcare professional; and providing, by the at least one of the one or more server computers, access to the healthcare professional report on the first healthcare professional over a computer network. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification