Relevance calculation for a reference system in an insurance claims processing system

• US 7,024,418 B1
• Filed: 06/23/2000
• Issued: 04/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Computer Sciences Corporation (DXC Technology Company)
• Original Assignee: Computer Sciences Corporation (DXC Technology Company)
• Inventors: Childress, Allen B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pardo, Thuy N.
• Application Number:
  US09/603,662
• Time in Patent Office: 2,111 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/6, 707/10, 707/101, 707/102, 707/103, 707/104, 707/500, 364/200, 364/401, 705/4, 705/8, 705/38, 709/219
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

An improved method and system for providing context-sensitive help and interactive search capability in an insurance claims processing system. A help information database may include one or more index tables, one or more header tables and one or more text tables. The insurance claims processing system may display information from located help table entries in order of relevance. In one embodiment, entries in the index table may include a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the help database. In one embodiment, the relevance values for the entries in the index table may be calculated and stored in the index table prior to a user accessing the help database. In another embodiment, the relevance value for an entry in the index table may be calculated dynamically when the entry is identified as an occurrence of a search term or of a step or step element code in context-sensitive help. In one embodiment, relevance values for the entries in the index table may be calculated using the position of the term in the text object (header or text section), the number of words in the term, the number of words in the text object, and the type of text object for the entry (header or text section). In one embodiment, occurrences in headers may be considered generally more relevant than occurrences in text sections, and therefore a different mechanism may be used to calculate the relevance of occurrences in headers than the mechanism used to calculate the relevance of occurrences in text sections.

Claims

1. A method for determining relevance values of terms in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, the method comprising:

determining a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in the help database, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determining a total word count of the portion of the document;

determining a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the document using the word position of the occurrence and the total word count of the portion of the document, wherein determining the relevance value for the occurrence comprises;

numbering the one or more words in the portion of the document from N down to 1, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

determining the word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document; and

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the relevance value for the occurrence further comprises:

numbering the one or more words in the portion of the document from 1 up to N, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

determining a word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document, wherein the word number of the first word of the term is used as the word position of the occurrence;

subtracting the word position from the total word count to produce a first results;

adding one to the first results to produce a second results; and

dividing the second results by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of the document is a text section.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of the document is a header.

8. A method for determining relevance values of terms in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, the method comprising:

determining a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in the help database, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determining a total word count of the portion of the document;

determining a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the document using the word position of the occurrence and the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein determining the relevance value for the occurrence comprises;

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce a positional relevance value for the occurrence;

dividing a number of words in the term by the total word count of the portion to produce a percentage relevance value for the occurrence; and

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

multiplying the relevance value by a second scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence comprises:

multiplying the positional relevance value by a third scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiplying the percentage relevance value by a fourth scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

adding the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the third scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the fourth scaling factor).

14. A method for determining relevance values of terms in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, the method comprising:

determining a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in the help database, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determining a total word count of the portion of the document;

determining if the portion of the document is a header or a text section; and

determining a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the document using the word position of the occurrence and the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein, if the portion of the document is a text section, determining the relevance value for the occurrence comprises;

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence; and

wherein, if the portion of the document is a header, determining the relevance value for the occurrence comprises;

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce a positional relevance value for the occurrence;

dividing a number of words in the term by the total word count of the portion to produce a percentage relevance value for the occurrence; and

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

providing a first scaling factor for occurrences in text sections;

wherein, if the portion of the document is a text section, the method further comprises;

multiplying the relevance value by the first scaling factor to produce a text section relevance value.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing a second scaling factor for occurrences in headers;

wherein, if the portion of the document is a header, the method further comprises;

multiplying the relevance value by the second scaling factor to produce a header relevance value.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the first scaling factor).

18. The method of claim 16, wherein, if the portion of the document is a header, the method further comprises:

adjusting the header relevance value by adding the first scaling factor to the header relevance value.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

21. The method of claim 14,

wherein combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence comprises:

multiplying the positional relevance value by a third scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiplying the percentage relevance value by a fourth scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

adding the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the third scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the fourth scaling factor).

23. An insurance claims processing system comprising:

a computer system including a memory medium;

a help database for the insurance claims processing system stored in the memory medium, wherein the help database comprises one or more documents related to the processing of insurance claims in the insurance claims processing system and one or more tables configured for use in locating occurrences of terms in the help database;

program instructions stored in the memory medium and executable within the computer system, wherein the program instructions are executable to;

determine a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a first document in the help database, wherein the portion of the first document comprises one or more words;

determine a total word count of the portion of the first document; and

determine a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the first document using the word position of the occurrence and the total word count of the portion of the first document, wherein determining the relevance value comprises;

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce a positional relevance value for the occurrence;

dividing a number of words in the term by the total word count of the portion to produce a percentage relevance value for the occurrence; and

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein, in determining the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to:

divide the word position by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

multiply the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

round the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

27. The system of claim 23, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

store the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a first table in the help database.

28. The system of claim 23, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

number the one or more words in the portion of the document from N down to 1, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein, in determining the word position of the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

determine the word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document; and

wherein, in determining the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

divide the word position by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

30. The system of claim 23, wherein the portion of the document is a text section.

31. The system of claim 23, wherein the portion of the document is a header.

32. The system of claim 23,

wherein, in combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to:

multiply the positional relevance value by a third scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiply the percentage relevance value by a fourth scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

add the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the third scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the fourth scaling factor).

29. The system of claims, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

number the one or more words in the portion of the document from 1 up to N, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein, in determining the word position of the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

determine a word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document, wherein the word number of the first word of the term is used as the word position of the occurrence; and

wherein, in determining the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

subtract the word position from the total word count to produce a first results;

add one to the first results to produce a second results; and

divide the second results by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

34. An insurance claims processing system comprising:

a computer system including a memory medium;

a help database for the insurance claims processing system stored in the memory medium, wherein the help database comprises one or more documents related to the processing of insurance claims in the insurance claims processing system and one or more tables configured for use in locating occurrences of terms in the help database;

program instructions stored in the memory medium and executable within the computer system, wherein the program instructions are executable to;

determine a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in the help database, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determine a total word count of the portion of the document;

determine if the portion of the document is a header or a text section; and

determine a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the document using the word position of the occurrence and the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein, if the portion of the document is a text section, in determining the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

divide the word position by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence; and

wherein, if the portion of the document is a header, in determining the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further operable to;

divide the word position by the total word count to produce a positional relevance value for the occurrence;

divide a number of words in the term by the total word count of the portion to produce a percentage relevance value for the occurrence; and

combine the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein, if the portion of the document is a text section, the program instructions are further operable to:

multiply the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a text section relevance value;

wherein, if the portion of the document is a header, the program instructions are further operable to;

multiply the relevance value by a second scaling factor to produce a header relevance value; and

wherein the second scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the first scaling factor).

36. The system of claim 35, wherein, if the portion of the document is a header, the program instructions are further operable to:

adjust the header relevance value by adding the first scaling factor to the header relevance value.

37. The system of claim 34, wherein the program instructions are further operable to:

store the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a first table in the help database.

38. The system of claim 34,

wherein, in combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further operable to:

multiply the positional relevance value by a third scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiply the percentage relevance value by a fourth scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

add the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence; and

wherein the third scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the fourth scaling factor).

128. The system of claim 34, wherein the program instructions are further operable to:

round the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

39. A carrier medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

determining a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determining a total word count of the portion of the document; and

determining a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the document using the word position of the occurrence and the total word count of the portion of the document, wherein determining the relevance value comprises;

numbering the one or more words in the portion of the document from N down to 1, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

determining the word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document; and

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

40. The carrier medium of claim 39, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

41. The carrier medium of claim 39, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

42. The carrier medium of claim 39, wherein determining the relevance value comprises:

numbering the one or more words in the portion of the document from 1 up to N, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

determining a word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document, wherein the word number of the first word of the term is used as the word position of the occurrence;

subtracting the word position from the total word count to produce a first results;

adding one to the first results to produce a second results; and

dividing the second results by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

43. The carrier medium of claim 39, wherein the portion of the document is a text section.

44. The carrier medium of claim 39, wherein the portion of the document is a header.

129. The carrier medium of claim 39, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

45. A carrier medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

determining a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determining a total word count of the portion of the document; and

determining a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the document using the word position of the occurrence and the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein, in determining the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement;

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce a positional relevance value for the occurrence;

dividing a number of words in the term by the total word count of the portion to produce a percentage relevance value for the occurrence;

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence;

multiplying the relevance value by a second scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value; and

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

46. The carrier medium of claim 45,

wherein, in combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

multiplying the positional relevance value by a third scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiplying the percentage relevance value by a fourth scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

adding the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence;

wherein the third scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the fourth scaling factor).

47. A carrier medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

determining a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determining a total word count of the portion of the document;

determining if the portion of the document is a header or a text section; and

determining a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the document using the word position of the occurrence and the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein, if the portion of the document is a text section, determining the relevance value for the occurrence comprises;

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence; and

wherein, if the portion of the document is a header, determining the relevance value for the occurrence comprises;

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce a positional relevance value for the occurrence;

dividing a number of words in the term by the total word count of the portion to produce a percentage relevance value for the occurrence; and

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

48. The carrier medium of claim 47, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

wherein, if the portion of the document is a text section, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement;

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a text section relevance value;

wherein, if the portion of the document is a header, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement;

multiplying the relevance value by a second scaling factor to produce a header relevance value; and

adjusting the header relevance value by adding the first scaling factor to the header relevance value; and

wherein the second scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the first scaling factor).

49. The carrier medium of claim 47, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

50. The carrier medium of claim 47,

wherein, in combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

multiplying the positional relevance value by a third scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiplying the percentage relevance value by a fourth scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

adding the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence;

wherein the third scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the fourth scaling factor).

130. The carrier medium of claim 47, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

51. A method for determining relevance values of terms in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, the method comprising:

numbering one or more words in a portion of a document from N down to 1, wherein N is a total word count of the portion of the document;

determining a word number of a first word of a term in the one or more words in the portion of the document; and

dividing the word number of the first word by the total word count to produce a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the document.

52. The method of claim 51, further comprising:

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

53. The method of claim 51, further comprising:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

54. The method of claim 51, further comprising:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

55. The method of claim 51, wherein the portion of the document is a text section.

56. The method of claim 51, wherein the portion of the document is a header.

57. A method for determining relevance values of terms in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, the method comprising:

numbering one or more words in a portion of a document from 1 up to N, wherein N is a total word count of the portion of the document;

determining a word number of a first word of a term in the portion of the document;

subtracting the word number from the total word count to produce a first results;

adding one to the first results to produce a second results; and

dividing the second results by the total word count to produce a relevance value of the term in the portion of the document.

58. The method of claim 57, further comprising:

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

59. The method of claim 57, further comprising:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

60. The method of claim 57, further comprising:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

61. The method of claim 57, wherein the portion of the document is a text section.

62. The method of claim 57, wherein the portion of the document is a header.

63. A method for determining relevance values of terms in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, the method comprising:

determining a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in a help database, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determining a total word count of the portion of the document;

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce a positional relevance value for the occurrence;

dividing a number of words in the term by the total word count of the portion to produce a percentage relevance value for the occurrence; and

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce a relevance value for the occurrence.

64. The method of claim 63, further comprising:

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

65. The method of claim 63, further comprising:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

66. The method of claim 63, further comprising:

storing the relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

67. The method of claim 63,

wherein combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence comprises:

multiplying the positional relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiplying the percentage relevance value by a second scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

adding the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

68. The method of claim 67,

wherein the first scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the second scaling factor).

69. A method for determining relevance values of terms in a computer-based insurance claims processing system comprising a help database, wherein the help database comprises one or more documents, the method comprising:

determining a location of one or more occurrences of one or more terms used in one or more documents of a help database of an insurance claims processing system, wherein the one or more documents comprise one or more text sections;

determining a text section relevance value of an occurrence of a term using N and X, wherein the text section comprises N words, wherein the occurrence of the term is at an Xth word in the text section, and wherein the text section relevance value is higher the closer the occurrence is to the beginning of the text section; and

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

70. The method of claims 69, further comprising:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

71. The method of claim 69,

wherein the one or more documents comprise headers and text sections;

wherein determining the relevance value for each of the one or more occurrences located in the one or more documents comprises;

determining a header relevance value for an occurrence if the occurrence is in a header; and

determining a text section relevance value for the occurrence if the occurrence is in a text section.

72. The method of claim 71,

wherein the text section comprises N words;

wherein the occurrence of the term is at an Xth word in the text section, wherein X is from 1 to N, and wherein 1 is a location of a first word in the text section;

wherein determining the text section relevance value for the occurrence if the occurrence is in the text section comprises;

determining the text section relevance value using N and X, wherein the text section relevance value is higher the closer the occurrence is to the beginning of the text section.

73. The method of claim 71,

wherein the header comprises N words;

wherein the occurrence of the term is at an Xth word in the header, wherein X is from 1 to N, and wherein 1 is a location of a first word in the header;

wherein the term comprises T words, wherein T is from 1 to N;

wherein determining the header relevance value for the occurrence if the occurrence is in a header comprises;

determining a positional relevance value using N and X, wherein the determined positional relevance value is higher the closer the occurrence is to the beginning of the header;

determining a percentage relevance value using T and N, wherein the percentage relevance value is the percentage of the header occupied by the term; and

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the header relevance value.

74. A method for determining relevance values of terms in a computer-based insurance claims processing system comprising a help database, wherein the help database comprises one or more documents, the method comprising:

determining a location of one or more occurrences of one or more terms used in one or more documents of a help database of an insurance claims processing system, wherein the one or more documents comprise one or more headers;

determining a positional relevance value of an occurrence of a term in a header using N and X, wherein the header comprises N words, wherein the occurrence of the term is at an Xth word in the header, and wherein the determined positional relevance value is higher the closer the occurrence is to the beginning of the header;

determining a percentage relevance value of the occurrence of the term in the header using T and N, wherein the term comprises T words, wherein the percentage relevance value is the percentage of the header occupied by the term; and

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the header relevance value.

75. The method of claim 74, further comprising:

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

77. The method of claim 74, further comprising:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the health database.

78. The method of claim 74, wherein the portion of the document is a text section.

79. The method of claim 74, wherein the portion of the document is a header.

80. The method of claim 74,

wherein combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence comprises:

multiplying the positional relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiplying the percentage relevance value by a second scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

adding the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

81. The method of claim 80, wherein the first scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the second scaling factor).

76. The method of claims further comprising:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

82. An insurance claims processing system comprising:

a computer system including a memory medium;

a help database for the insurance claims processing system stored in the memory medium, wherein the help database comprises one or more documents related to processing of insurance claims in the insurance claims processing system and one or more tables configured for use in locating occurrences of terms in the help database; and

program instructions stored in the memory medium and executable within the computer system, wherein the program instructions are executable to;

determine a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in the help database, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determine a total word count of the portion of the document;

divide the word position by the total word count to produce a positional relevance value for the occurrence;

divide a number of words in the term by the total word count of the portion to produce a percentage relevance value for the occurrence; and

combine the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce a relevance value for the occurrence.

83. The system of claim 82, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

multiply the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

84. The system of claim 82, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

round the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

85. The system of claim 82, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

store the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

86. The system of claim 82,

wherein, in combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to:

multiply the positional relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiply the percentage relevance value by a second scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

add the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

87. The system of claim 86, wherein the first scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the second scaling factor).

88. An insurance claims processing system comprising:

a computer system including a memory medium;

a help database for the insurance claims processing system stored in the memory medium, wherein the help database comprises one or more documents related to processing of insurance claims in the insurance claims processing system and one or more tables configured for use in locating occurrences of terms in the help database;

program instructions stored in the memory medium and executable within the computer system, wherein the program instructions are executable to;

determine a location of an occurrence of a term used in a text section of one or more documents of a help database of an insurance claims processing system, wherein the one or more documents comprise one or more text sections;

determine a text section relevance value using N and X, wherein the text section comprises N words, wherein the occurrence of the term is at an Xth word in the text section, and wherein the text section relevance value is higher the closer the occurrence is to the beginning of the text section; and

store the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a first table in the help database.

89. The system of claim 88, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

multiply the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

90. The system of claim 88, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

round the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

91. The system of claim 88, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

number the one or more words in the portion of the document from N down to 1, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein, in determining the word position of the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

determine the word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document; and

wherein, in determining the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

divide the word position by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

92. The system of claim 88, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

number the one or more words in the portion of the document from 1 up to N, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein, in determining the word position of the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

determine a word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document, wherein the word number of the first word of the term is used as the word position of the occurrence; and

wherein, in determining the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

subtract the word position from the total word count to produce a first results;

add one to the first results to produce a second results; and

divide the second results by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

93. An insurance claims processing system comprising:

a computer system including a memory medium;

a help database for the insurance claims processing system stored in the memory medium, wherein the help database comprises one or more documents related to processing of insurance claims in the insurance claims processing system and one or more tables configured for use in locating occurrences of terms in the help database;

program instructions stored in the memory medium and executable within the computer system, wherein the program instructions are executable to;

determine a position of one or more occurrences of one or more terms used in a header of one or more documents of a help database of an insurance claims processing system, wherein the one or more documents comprise one or more headers;

determine a positional relevance value using N and X, wherein the header comprises N words, wherein the occurrence of the term is at an Xth word in the header, and wherein the determined positional relevance value is higher the closer the occurrence is to the beginning of the header;

determine a percentage relevance value using T and N, wherein the term comprises T words, wherein the percentage relevance value is a percentage of the header occupied by the term; and

combine the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce a header relevance value.

94. The system of claim 93, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

multiply the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

95. The system of claim 93, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

round the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

96. The system of claim 93, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

store the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a first table in the help database.

97. The system of claim 93, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

number the one or more words in the portion of the document from N down to 1, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein, in determining the word position of the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

determine the word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document; and

wherein, in determining the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

divide the word position by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

98. The system of claim 93, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

number the one or more words in the portion of the document from 1 up to N, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein, in determining the word position of the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

determine a word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document, wherein the word number of the first word of the term is used as the word position of the occurrence; and

wherein, in determining the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further executable to;

subtract the word position from the total word count to produce a first results;

add one to the first results to produce a second results; and

divide the second results by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

99. A carrier medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

numbering one or more words in a portion of a document from N down to 1, wherein N is a total word count of the portion of the document;

determining a word number of a first word of a term in the portion of the document; and

dividing the word number of the first word by the total word count to produce a relevance value for the term in the portion of the document.

100. The carrier medium of claim 99, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

101. The carrier medium of claim 99, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

102. The carrier medium of claim 99, wherein the portion of the document is a text section.

103. The carrier medium of claim 99, wherein the portion of the document is a header.

131. The carrier medium of claim 99, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

104. A carrier medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

numbering one or more words in a portion of a document from 1 up to N, wherein N is a total word count of the portion of the document;

determining a word number of a first word of a term in the portion of the document;

subtracting the word number from the total word count to produce a first results;

adding one to the first results to produce a second results; and

dividing the second results by the total word count to produce a relevance value.

105. The carrier medium of claim 104, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

106. The carrier medium of claim 104, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

107. The carrier medium of claim 104, wherein the portion of the document is a text section.

108. The carrier medium of claim 104, wherein the portion of the document is a header.

132. The carrier medium of claim 104, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

109. A carrier medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

determining a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in a help database, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determining a total word count of the portion of the document;

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce a positional relevance value for the occurrence;

dividing a number of words in the term by the total word count of the portion to produce a percentage relevance value for the occurrence; and

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce a relevance value for the occurrence.

110. The carrier medium of claim 109,

wherein, combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence, comprises:

multiplying the positional relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiplying the percentage relevance value by a second scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

adding the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence;

wherein the first scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the second scaling factor).

111. The carrier medium of claim 109, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

112. The carrier medium of claim 109, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

113. The carrier medium of claim 109, wherein the portion of the document is a text section.

114. The carrier medium of claim 109, wherein the portion of the document is a header.

115. The carrier medium of claim 109,

wherein, in combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement;

multiplying the positional relevance value by a third scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiplying the percentage relevance value by a fourth scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

adding the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence;

wherein the third scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the fourth scaling factor).

133. The carrier medium of claim 109, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

116. A carrier medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

determining a location of one or more occurrences of one or more terms used in a text section of one or more documents of a help database of an insurance claims processing system, wherein the one or more documents comprise one or more text sections;

determining a text section relevance value using N and X, wherein the text section comprises N words, wherein the occurrence of the term is at an Xth word in the text section, and wherein the text section relevance value is higher the closer the occurrence is to the beginning of the text section; and

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

117. The carrier medium of claim 116, wherein the computer instructions are computer-executable to implement:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

118. The carrier medium of claim 116,

wherein the one or more documents comprise headers and text sections;

wherein determining the relevance value for each of the one or more occurrences located in the one or more documents comprises;

determining a header relevance value for an occurrence if the occurrence is in a header; and

determining a text section relevance value for the occurrence if the occurrence is in a text section.

119. The carrier medium of claim 116,

wherein the text section comprises N words;

wherein the occurrence of the term is at an Xth word in the text section, wherein X is from 1 to N, and wherein 1 is a location of a first word in the text section;

wherein determining the text section relevance value for the occurrence if the occurrence is in the text section comprises;

determining the text section relevance value using N and X, wherein the text section relevance value is higher the closer the occurrence is to the beginning of the text section.

120. The carrier medium of claim 116,

wherein the header comprises N words;

wherein the occurrence of the term is at an Xth word in the header, wherein X is from 1 to N, and wherein 1 is a location of a first word in the header;

wherein the term comprises T words, wherein T is from 1 to N;

wherein determining the header relevance value for the occurrence if the occurrence is in a header comprises;

determining a positional relevance value using N and X, wherein the determined positional relevance value is higher the closer the occurrence is to the beginning of the header;

determining a percentage relevance value using T and N, wherein the percentage relevance value is the percentage of the header occupied by the term; and

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the header relevance value.

121. A carrier medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

determining a location of one or more occurrences of one or more terms used in a header of one or more documents of a help database of an insurance claims processing system, wherein the one or more documents comprise one or more headers;

determining a positional relevance value using N and X, wherein the header comprises N words, wherein the occurrence of the term is at an Xth word in the header, and wherein the determined positional relevance value is higher the closer the occurrence is to the beginning of the header;

determining a percentage relevance value using T and N, wherein the term comprises T words, wherein the percentage relevance value is the percentage of the header occupied by the term; and

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce a header relevance value.

122. The carrier medium of claim 121,

wherein, combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence, comprises:

multiplying the positional relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiplying the percentage relevance value by a second scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

adding the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence;

wherein the first scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the second scaling factor).

123. The carrier medium of claim 121, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

124. The carrier medium of claim 121, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

125. The carrier medium of claim 121, wherein the portion of the document is a text section.

126. The carrier medium of claim 121, wherein the portion of the document is a header.

127. The carrier medium of claim 121,

wherein, in combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

multiplying the positional relevance value by a third scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiplying the percentage relevance value by a fourth scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

adding the scaled positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence;

wherein the third scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the fourth scaling factor).

134. The carrier medium of claim 121, wherein the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement:

rounding the header relevance value to a number of significant digits.

135. A method for determining relevance values of terms in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, the method comprising:

determining a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in the help database, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determining a total word count of the portion of the document;

determining a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the document using the word position of the occurrence and the total word count of the portion of the document;

numbering the one or more words in the portion of the document from 1 up to N, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein determining the word position of the occurrence comprises;

determining a word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document, wherein the word number of the first word of the term is used as the word position of the occurrence;

wherein determining the relevance value for the occurrence comprises;

subtracting the word position from the total word count to produce a first results;

adding one to the first results to produce a second results; and

dividing the second results by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

136. The method of claim 135, further comprising multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

137. The method of claim 135, further comprising storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

138. The method of claim 135, wherein the portion of the document is a header.

139. The method of claim 135, further comprising rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

140. A carrier medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

determining a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determining a total word count of the portion of the document;

determining a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the document using the word position of the occurrence and the total word count of the portion of the document;

numbering the one or more words in the portion of the document from 1 up to N, wherein N is the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein, in determining the word position of the occurrence, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement;

determining a word number of a first word of the term in the one or more words in the portion of the document, wherein the word number of the first word of the term is used as the word position of the occurrence;

wherein, in determining the relevance value for the occurrence, the program instructions are further computer-executable to implement;

subtracting the word position from the total word count to produce a first results;

adding one to the first results to produce a second results; and

dividing the second results by the total word count to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

141. The carrier medium of claim 140, further comprising:

multiplying the relevance value by a first scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

142. The carrier medium of claim 140, further comprising:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

143. The carrier medium of claim 140,

wherein the portion of the document is a header.

144. The carrier medium of claim 140, further comprising:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

145. A carrier medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

determining a word position of an occurrence of a term in a portion of a document in a help database in a computer-based insurance claims processing system, wherein the portion of the document comprises one or more words;

determining a total word count of the portion of the document;

determining a relevance value for the occurrence of the term in the portion of the document using the word position of the occurrence and the total word count of the portion of the document;

wherein determining the relevance value for the occurrence comprises;

dividing the word position by the total word count to produce a positional relevance value for the occurrence;

dividing a number of words in the term by the total word count of the portion to produce a percentage relevance value for the occurrence; and

combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

146. The carrier medium of claim 145, further comprising:

multiplying the relevance value by a second scaling factor to produce a scaled relevance value.

147. The carrier medium of claim 145, further comprising:

rounding the relevance value to a number of significant digits.

148. The carrier medium of claim 145, further comprising:

storing the determined relevance value for the occurrence in an entry in a table in the help database.

149. The carrier medium of claim 145, wherein combining the positional relevance value and the percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence comprises:

multiplying the positional relevance value by a third scaling factor to produce a scaled positional relevance value;

multiplying the percentage relevance value by a fourth scaling factor to produce a scaled percentage relevance value; and

adding the scale positional relevance value and the scaled percentage relevance value to produce the relevance value for the occurrence.

150. The carrier medium of claim 149, wherein the third scaling factor is substantially equal to (1−

the fourth scaling factor).