Internet system for connecting healthcare providers and patients

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.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a logical representation of a network environment for providing patients with the ability to research verified healthcare provider information through a search page on a company Web site in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict search results for a physician name search and a physician city/state search using the network environment and search Web page shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A illustrates detailed information that may be included in a physician member-enhanced report, which report may be obtained by selecting one of the physicians listed in the results page(s) depicted in FIG. 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3B illustrates information contained within a non-member report, as opposed to the member-enhanced report illustrated in FIG. 3A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 depicts an on-line patient survey from which survey answers are used for compiling patient experience information provided in the patient experience section of a report such as that shown in FIG. 3A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a representation of a patient verification system for completing the past or current patient experience survey shown in FIG. 4 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The operation flow of the process for collecting data and information through the use of such surveys is shown in FIG. 5B. Further, the operation flow of verifying that such data or information is from actual current or past patients of the particular healthcare provider being rated is shown in FIG. 5C in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 depicts the logical representation of a patient search for a physician by name using a typical search engine external to the company Web site in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate an embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 depicting hospital ratings and a hospital report which may be obtained by a patient after conducting a search on the company Web page shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating operational characteristics of a search performed for a physician or hospital using the company research Web page depicted in FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating operational characteristics of a search performed for a physician by name using the predetermined Web page providing search capabilities on the company's database shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating operational characteristics of a search performed for a physician by city/state criteria using the predetermined Web page providing search capabilities on the company's database shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating operational characteristics of a search performed for a new physician using the predetermined Web page providing search capabilities on the company's database shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating operational characteristics of a search performed for hospital ratings using the predetermined Web page providing search capabilities on the company's database shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating operational characteristics of a search performed for a hospital report using the predetermined Web page providing search capabilities on the company's database shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating operational characteristics of a search performed for a physician using a search engine external to the company computing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating operational characteristics for maintaining indexing parameters for optimal placement of the company Web address and hyperlink in a results page from a search conducted using a search engine external to the company computing system.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating operational characteristics of a process for developing a report or profile of information regarding a particular healthcare provider, including physician-provided information, patient-provided information, and verifications by a third party in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 depicts an exemplary computing system upon which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented.

Claims

1. A method of providing healthcare provider information to potential patients, said method comprising: compiling healthcare provider-verified information;compiling past-patient provided information;compiling information verified by independent third-party sources;creating a healthcare provider report using the physician-verified information, the past-patient provided information, and the verified information; andproviding access to the healthcare provider report over a computer network.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the past-patient provided information is obtained through data collected through the method comprising: past or current patients of a particular healthcare provider accessing a report for that provider over the computer network;the past or current patients selecting to complete an on-line patient survey;the past or current patients completing the survey and providing an e-mail address; andtransmitting the completed survey to a predetermined company Web server.

3. The method as defined in claim 2, further comprising a method for verifying and compiling such data, the method comprising: determining whether the past or current patient has already completed a maximum number of surveys for a predetermined time period;if the past or current patient has not reached the maximum number of surveys, transmitting a confirmation e-mail to the e-mail address provided;determining if the confirmation e-mail was successfully transmitted;if the e-mail was successfully transmitted, compiling the data provided by the past or current patient with other relevant data in a company database comprised of healthcare provider information.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the healthcare provider report includes a hyperlink to an affiliated hospital, medical center, or other type of treatment center.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the healthcare provider report includes comparison ratings of healthcare providers.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the access to the healthcare provider report is obtained through a predetermined Web page that provides search capabilities for a database comprised of healthcare provider information.

7. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein the search capabilities permit a search based on at least one of name, medical specialty, gender, state, city, procedure, diagnosis, procedure, or location criteria.

8. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein a search of the database produces a results list of healthcare providers satisfying the search criteria.

9. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein the results list further includes an advertisement for a healthcare provider with a hyperlink to information on that healthcare provider.

10. The method as defined in claim 8, further comprising: determining from the results list whether the healthcare provider is a member of the company managing the Web site; andif the healthcare provider is a member, providing enhanced services for the healthcare provider on the Web site.

11. The method as defined in claim 10, wherein the enhanced services comprise making report information on the member provider available at no charge to potential patients.

12. The method as defined in claim 10, wherein the enhanced services comprise favorable positioning in the results list.

13. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising: maintaining a record of whether the healthcare provider report should be made available to a potential patient at no charge; andrequiring payment of a fee to access the healthcare provider report if the report is not recorded as being available at no charge.

14. The method as defined in claim 13, wherein the required fee is adjusted to account for applicable discounts.

15. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the healthcare provider is a physician, hospital, nursing home, or other treatment facility.

16. A method for optimizing location of a search result on a search engine Web page comprising: providing one or more index entries having a first indexing parameter; andproviding one or more other indexing parameters associated with the first indexing parameter.

17. The method defined in claim 16, further comprising: organizing the one or more index entries into categories, wherein the categories are separated into subsets;determining the number of search engine hits with the current category subsets;adjusting the category subsets for testing purposes;determining whether there are increased search engine hits based on the adjustment of the category subsets; andif there are increased hits, then adjusting the subsets and saving the new subsets.

18. The method defined in claim 16, wherein the indexing parameters include at least one of naming conventions, breaks in categories to create categorical subsets, and Web site path layouts designed to minimize the number of clicks to access the desired information.

19. An on-line information system for providing verified information regarding healthcare providers, the system comprising: a compilation module for compiling healthcare provider-verified information;a compilation module for compiling patient-provided information;a compilation module for compiling healthcare provider information verified by an independent third party;a creation module for creating a healthcare provider report using the provider-verified information, the patient-provided information, and the independently verified information; anda computing system with access to healthcare provider information stored in a database, wherein patients may search the database and review healthcare provider reports to differentiate among healthcare providers.

20. The on-line information system defined in claim 19, wherein: the healthcare provider report is obtained through one of a predetermined Web page that provides search capabilities on its database or a third-party search engine; andthe search capabilities of the predetermined Web page permit searching based on one or more of name, medical specialty, gender, state, city, procedure, diagnosis, procedure, or location criteria.