Database for pre-screening potentially litigious patients

• US 8,924,237 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2007
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fred HERZ Patents LLC
• Original Assignee: Fred HERZ Patents LLC
• Inventors: Herz, Frederick S. M., Labys, Walter Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Phongsvirajati, Sind
• Application Number:
  US11/691,263
• Publication Number:
  US 20080071578A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,836 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2- 4
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/18 Legal services
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records

Abstract

A database system stores information about potential patients that allows medical professionals to gauge the legal risk presented by the potential patients, giving the medical professionals the opportunity to avoid medical involvement with those individuals most prone to engaging in unwarranted legal actions. The database may also be used by insurance companies, legal services and other professional service providers to screen for potentially litigious customers. Information in the database is processed to provide a risk assessment score for each patient that is used for screening purposes.

Claims

1. A system that determines risk profiles of patients for potential for litigiousness against physicians providing or considered for providing service to the patients, comprising:

a database configured to store information identifying patients and physicians as well as litigation information relating to the patients and physicians; and

a computer configured to execute a risk assessment module that calculates a litigation risk profile for a designated patient of a physician as a function of the information stored in the database relating to the designated patient'"'"'s past litigation history and values of variables used to predict the likelihood of future litigious activities by the designated patient of the physician based upon past behavior derived using data mining techniques from the information collected about the designated patient of the physician, and an interface that facilitates the input into the database of information identifying patients, physicians, and litigation information relating to the patients and/or physicians, that facilitates the query of the information stored in the database, and that displays the calculated litigation risk profiles.

2. A system as in claim 1, wherein the database stores patient data, and the interface includes patient management software that queries the database for information regarding a potential patient and displays the calculated litigation risk profile of the potential patient.

3. A system as in claim 2, wherein the database includes patient records including previous litigation history and/or insurance claims of the patient for medical services previously rendered.

4. A system as in claim 2, wherein the database includes records of doctors that refer potential patients, said doctors'"'"' records including information relating to malpractice cases previously or currently being faced by the referring doctor.

5. A system as in claim 2, wherein the database includes records of lawyers'"'"' involvement in malpractice cases.

6. A system as in claim 2, wherein the database includes records of judges'"'"' involvement in malpractice cases.

7. A system as in claim 2, wherein the database includes records of expert witnesses'"'"' involvement in malpractice cases.

8. A system as in claim 2, wherein the risk assessment module includes software that calculates the litigation risk profile for a potential patient, the litigation risk profile including a probability of a lawsuit for treatment of a particular condition and/or a predicted dollar amount of a monetary recovery for any ensuing lawsuit.

9. A system as in claim 2, wherein the risk assessment module includes software that calculates the litigation risk profile for a potential patient, the litigation risk profile including a probability of a lawsuit for treatment of a particular condition and/or an effect such a lawsuit would have on a designated doctor'"'"'s insurance premiums.

10. A system as in claim 1, wherein the risk assessment module includes a logit regression that generates a value indicative of said litigation risk profile for the designated patient.

11. A system as in claim 1, wherein the values of the variables are derived from information stored in the database relating to at least one of the designated patient'"'"'s medical history, socioeconomic status, demographics, and history of insurance fraud.

12. A system as in claim 1, wherein the risk assessment module calculates the litigation risk profile for the designated patient by applying a rule based filter and/or a statistical model to the information stored in the database relating to the designated patient.

13. A method of determining risk profiles of patients for potential for litigiousness against physicians providing or considered for providing service to the patients, comprising the steps of:

searching a database for information relating to a potential patient that is to receive a service and/or product from a physician, said information including litigation information relating to the litigiousness of the potential patient;

a computer calculating a litigation risk profile for the potential patient from the litigation information stored in the database, said litigation information relating to the potential patient'"'"'s past litigation history and values of variables used to predict the likelihood of future litigious activities by the designated patient of the physician based upon past behavior derived using data mining techniques from the information collected about the potential patient of the physician;

an interface facilitating a query, from a user, into the database of information identifying patients, physicians, and litigation information relating to the patients and/or physicians; and

the computer displaying the calculated litigation risk profile.

14. A method as in claim 13, wherein the database stores patient data, and the searching step includes querying the database for information regarding the potential patient using patient management software.

15. A method as in claim 14, wherein the calculating step includes calculating the litigation risk profile for the potential patient, the litigation risk profile including a probability of a lawsuit for treatment of a particular condition and/or a predicted dollar amount of a monetary recovery for any ensuing lawsuit.

16. A method as in claim 14, wherein the calculating step includes calculating the litigation risk profile for the potential patient, the litigation risk profile including a probability of a lawsuit for treatment of a particular condition and/or an effect such a lawsuit would have on a designated doctor'"'"'s insurance premiums.

17. A method as in claim 13, wherein the calculating step includes the step of calculating a logit regression that generates a value indicative of said litigation risk profile for the potential patient.

18. A method as in claim 13, wherein the values of the variables are derived from information stored in the database relating to at least one of the potential patient'"'"'s medical history, socioeconomic status, demographics, and history of insurance fraud.

19. A method as in claim 13, wherein calculating the litigation risk profile comprises applying a rule based filter and/or a statistical model to the information stored in the database relating to the potential patient.