Method and system for providing online records

• US 8,725,537 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2008
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: MyMedicalRecords Incorporated
• Original Assignee: MyMedicalRecords Incorporated
• Inventors: Lorsch, Robert H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chng, Joy
• Application Number:
  US12/204,498
• Publication Number:
  US 20090055894A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,077 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2- 3
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/18 Legal services
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients

Abstract

A method for providing a user with the ability to access and collect legal records associated with the user includes assigning a phone number to the user for fax and voice communications from a legal services provider, associating access information with the user for the user to use to access a secure web site, providing the user with a document to provide to the legal services provider exercising rights of the user for access to the legal records, the document requesting the legal services provider to send the legal records to the phone number, receiving a private fax communication comprising a legal record associated with the consumer for which the consumer has requested and given permission to the legal services provider to send, converting the private fax communications into an image file format, storing the legal services record encoded in the image file format, and providing the user with secure access to the web site using the access information and providing on the web site an interface to the legal records of the user for the user to access the legal record.

Claims

1. A method for providing a user with the ability to access and collect legal records associated with the user, comprising:

assigning a phone number to the user through a secure web site for fax and voice communications from a legal services provider;

associating access information with the user for the user to use to access the secure web site on a server;

providing the user with a document to provide to the legal services provider exercising rights of the user for access to the legal records, the document requesting the legal services provider to send the legal records to the phone number;

receiving a private fax communication at a fax server, the private fax communication comprising a legal record associated with the consumer for which the consumer has requested and given permission to the legal services provider to send;

converting the private fax communications into an image file format at the fax server;

storing the legal services record encoded in the image file format on the server;

providing the user with secure access to the web site on the server using the access information and providing on the web site an interface to the legal records of the user for the user to access the legal record;

receiving voice communications message from the legal services provider to the user and maintaining the voice communications message as private;

alerting the user of the voice communications message from the legal services provider and providing the user with access information to access the voice communications message through the web site; and

creating a wallet card from the web site by providing the user with functionality to update information on the wallet card and print the wallet card, wherein the information included on the wallet card comprises access information and the destination address.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the document is a sticker adapted for attachment to the legal record a file associated with the user.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the web site interface further provides for organizing and annotating the legal records by the user into separate file folders with functionality for the user to name the file folders and add file folders.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising alerting the user of a fax transmission from the legal services provider.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the alerting comprises sending a text message to the user.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the alerting comprises sending an email to the user.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein the alerting comprises sending a voice message to the user.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing on the web site means to calendar an appointment with a legal services provider.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising sending a reminder regarding the appointment with the legal services provider.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the reminder is a text message.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the reminder is an email.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the reminder is a voice message.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving payment from the user for facilitating access to the legal records associated with the user.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating stickers from the web site and requesting legal service providers to fax legal records to the phone number, wherein the stickers include information requesting legal service providers to fax legal records to the phone number.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing means for protecting documents with at least one additional layer of password protection.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the phone number is individually associated with the user.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the phone number is a toll-free phone number.

18. A method for providing a user with the ability to access and collect legal records associated with the user through use of a user account, the method comprising:

assigning a destination address through a secure web site, the destination address individually associated with the user account for receiving communications from at least one legal service providers;

associating access information with the user account for the user to use to access the secure web site;

receiving a communication from one of the at least one legal services providers at the web site, the communication directed to the destination address, the communication comprising a first legal record associated with the user for which the user has requested and given permission to the legal services provider to send;

storing a representation of the first legal record at the web site;

providing the user with secure access to the web site using the access information;

receiving a second legal record from the user uploaded to the web site;

providing on the web site an interface to the legal records of the user, including the first legal record and the second legal record, for the user to use;

wherein the interface further provides for organizing and annotating the legal records by the user into separate file folders with functionality for the user to name the file folders and add file folders;

wherein the interface further provides for providing means to assign additional password protection to one or more of the file folders; and

creating a wallet card from the web site by providing the user with functionality to update information on the wallet card and print the wallet card, wherein the information included on the wallet card comprises access information, the destination address, and information regarding prepaid legal services, wherein at least one of the legal service providers are associated with prepaid legal services.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the destination address is a phone number.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the phone number is a toll-free phone number.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein the destination address is an email address.

22. The method of claim 18 wherein the destination address is embedded in a bar code.

23. The method of claim 18 wherein the access information includes a first set of access information for providing a first level of security and at least one second set of access information for providing an additional level of security.

24. The method claim 18 wherein the legal record comprises a vital document.

25. A method for providing a user with the ability to access, collect, and share legal records associated with the user through use of a user account, the method comprising:

assigning through a secure web site a destination address individually associated with the user account for receiving communications from at least one legal service providers;

associating access information with the user account for the user to use to access the secure web site on a server;

receiving a communication from one of the at least one legal services providers at the server, the communication directed to the destination address, the communication comprising a legal record associated with the user for which the user has requested and given permission to the legal services provider to send;

storing a representation of the legal record at the server;

providing the user with secure access to the web site on the server using the access information;

providing on the web site an interface to the legal records of the user for the user to use to view the legal records, organize the legal records and send the legal records to one or more additional legal services providers; and

creating a wallet card from the web site by providing the user with functionality to update information on the wallet card and print the wallet card, wherein the information included on the wallet card comprises access information, the destination address, and information regarding prepaid legal services, wherein at least one of the legal service providers are associated with prepaid legal services.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the prepaid legal services being provided by an employer sponsored plan.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein at least one of the at least one legal service providers provides unbundled legal services to the user.

28. A method for providing a user with the ability to access, collect, and share legal records associated with the user through use of a user account, the method comprising:

assigning through a secure web site an identifier associated with the user account for receiving communications from a plurality of legal service providers;

associating access information with the user account for the user to use to access the secure web site stored on a server;

receiving legal communications from the plurality of legal service providers at the server, the legal communications directed to the user account using the identifier, each of the legal communications comprising information associated with the user for which the user has requested and given permission to the legal services providers to send;

storing a representation of the legal communications on the server;

providing the user with secure access to the web site using the access information;

providing on the web site an interface to the legal communications of the user for the user to use to view, organize the legal communications and send copies of the legal communications to one or more of the plurality of legal services providers; and

creating a wallet card from the web site by providing the user with functionality to update information on the wallet card and print the wallet card, wherein the information included on the wallet card comprises access information, the destination address, and information regarding prepaid legal services, wherein at least one of the legal service providers are associated with prepaid legal services.