Patent Grant
7752060
This invention generally relates to an Internet-based system and method that connects patients with potential healthcare providers, e.g., physicians and hospitals. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing on-line ratings and reports comprised of detailed healthcare provider information with verified information sections, including physician-verified and/or independent third-party-verified portions, and patient-provided information sections, to assist patients in differentiating among healthcare providers.
It is vital to potential patients to gain as much information as possible about a particular physician and/or treatment facility, e.g., a hospital, before selecting that particular physician as a primary care doctor or specialist or that particular place of treatment. The Internet has become a significant source of information to consumers in general. Indeed, consumers rely heavily on the Internet for information and data. However, one well-recognized problem with the Internet is that the patient often cannot assess the veracity of the information which is revealed through an Internet search query using a common search engine, such as Google, Yahoo, etc. Further, with regard to healthcare provider information in particular, there are few, if any resources available for patients to discover any information, much less verified information, about physicians or hospitals. Typically, any information about physicians or hospitals on the Internet is provided by the physicians or hospitals themselves (and, in some cases, insurance companies). Such information may not be updated on a regular basis or may contain inaccurate or incomplete information. Further, even if such information is available, it is usually not organized in a manner that would allow a patient to compare physicians or hospitals, search for a particular physician or hospital by geographic area or other criteria, or verify a physician's or hospital's certifications and licensures.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been made. Although specific problems have been addressed in this Background, this disclosure is not intended in any way to be limited to solving those specific problems.
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to providing an Internet-based system, involving a database and search capabilities and manipulations, to direct patients to potential healthcare providers, e.g., physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, treatment facilities, etc., and, similarly, to enable such providers to reach patients they may not otherwise reach. Aspects of particular embodiments relate to performing searches for healthcare providers based on geographic area, specialty, and/or other criteria, in which the company maintaining and/or managing the Web site (hereinafter, “the company”) compiles and produces a results list of providers meeting such criteria. For example, a company Web site which provides such information and services is www.HealthGrades.com, provided by HealthGrades, Inc. From this list, a patient may access a detailed “report” or, in one embodiment, comparison ratings on that particular provider. In an embodiment, each report contains information which has been verified by the company or by another independent third party. In one embodiment, searches by a potential patient may be conducted from within the Web site of the company providing the healthcare provider information and comparison service, while other embodiments involve the use of common search engines external to the company Web site, such as Google, Yahoo, etc. Some embodiments relate to searches for physicians, while others relate to searches for hospitals, nursing homes, or other types of healthcare providers or treatment facilities.
As discussed herein, an aspect of a particular embodiment relates to a database of physician-related information, wherefrom data is gathered and compiled into the form of a “report” and is made available to potential patients. Such reports contain different types of verified information for each physician within the database. In an exemplary embodiment, in response to a search query for a particular physician name conducted using a search engine external to the company Web site, the patient receives a Web-based “profile” of a selected physician matching, or closely matching, the entered search terms. A profile lists detailed information potentially available about that physician which may be obtained in the form of a report. One embodiment of the invention provides for a standard profile, which provides the physician's specialty and general location (city/state) and provides a hyperlink for the patient to purchase a report on that physician containing information verified in some manner, such as by the company or by another independent third party. Such verified information comprises board certifications, disciplinary action(s), if any, years since medical school, etc. In an embodiment, the standard report may also include a patient-provided information section, including patient experience surveys completed by other patients of the physician and a place where patients accessing the report may share their experiences with the physician.
Another embodiment relates to a “member” profile and “member enhanced” report for physicians who have paid a fee to the company managing the Web site. The fee paid by the member physicians allows such physicians to provide information in the report in addition to that provided in a standard report. The member profile provides details on the physician's area of specialty, philosophy, practice, office location address, etc., and a hyperlink to a free detailed member enhanced report. The enhanced nature of the profile and its hyperlink to a free report on that physician provides a competitive advantage to a member physician.
An aspect of a particular embodiment relates to the different levels of verified information available in each member physician's report, in which such information may include: (1) a physician-verified, or physician-provided, section including information the physician feels will help a patient choose him or her as a physician; (2) a company-verified section including information such as board certifications, medical school, internship, residency, disciplinary action(s), if any, etc.; and (3) a patient-provided information section, including patient experience surveys by other patients of the physician relating their past experiences with the physician.
As noted above, another embodiment, and aspects related thereto, involves profiles and reports containing similar content, formatting, hyperlinks, etc. for searches regarding hospitals, medical practices, nursing homes, and/or other treatment facilities.
In other embodiments, the present invention's Internet-based system and Web site relates generally to how this verified healthcare provider information may be accessed by patients using the search capabilities provided by the company's predetermined Web page. In one embodiment, as discussed above, a patient receives a profile of a physician following a search query by name for a particular physician. In other embodiments, such as those involving search criteria limited to city/state information, a patient will be presented with a list of physician names with hyperlinks to those physicians' individual reports. In one embodiment, the patient will be prompted to pay a fee to obtain a report for a non-member physician. In certain embodiments, subsequent reports may be less expensive following the patient's initial purchase. In other embodiments, the physician may pay an upfront fee to the company so that patients may access his or her reports for free. Thus, a patient is presented with a list of physicians wherein some have free reports and others must be purchased. Consequently, patients are likely driven to the physicians with the free reports. As yet another aspect of the invention, groups of physicians may advertise their particular practice and provide access to a free report on the practice as well as free individual reports on each physician.
In an embodiment, the architecture and content of the Web site, as well as the ability to index the same, allows for a high natural placement in search results based on general Internet searches, such as those done using Google, Yahoo, or other search engines.
These and various other features, as well as advantages, which characterize the present invention, will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings. This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in any way as to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
This disclosure will now more fully describe exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the exemplary embodiments are shown. Other aspects may, however, be embodied in many different forms and the inclusion of specific embodiments in this disclosure should not be construed as limiting such aspects to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, the embodiments depicted in the drawings are included to provide a disclosure that is thorough and complete and which fully conveys the intended scope to those skilled in the art. When referring to the figures, like structures and elements shown throughout are indicated with like reference numerals. Objects depicted in the figures that are covered by another object, as well as the reference annotations thereto, are shown using dashed lines. Optional steps or modules are also shown in a dashed-line format.
A network environment 100 for providing a potential patient with Web-based access to a system for obtaining verified information on healthcare providers, including comparison ratings amongst other data, is shown in
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a patient may choose not to use a search engine, e.g., Google, Yahoo, etc., to search for healthcare provider information but, rather, may simply access the company's predetermined research Web page 114 that provides search capabilities on its database, such as database 108 shown in
In another embodiment, a patient may research hospitals by selecting a search for free hospital ratings (button 118) or a hospital report (button 120). To begin the search, the patient may click on the Start button 124. In yet another embodiment, the patient may research nursing homes by selecting the Start button 134 for this type of search. Other embodiments provide for a patient to find a physician by selecting the specialty desired from a list 142 of such specialties or to select the physician's name or hospital name from an alphabetical index of such names for physicians (140) and for hospitals (144).
In accessing research Web page 114 in
Turning now to a detailed illustration of the search results obtained after researching a physician as shown and discussed in reference to
In the exemplary embodiment depicted in
In this disclosure, a physician paying an upfront fee to the company is referred to as a “member” physician; however, such a physician may be referred to by any term, such as an “affiliated physician,” “associated physician,” etc. According to another embodiment, the reports may be made free under another arrangement, such as, by way of example only, where the physician's practice group or affiliated hospital pays a fee to the company to make reports of all affiliated physicians available at no charge. Regardless of the entity or person paying the fee to the company, such physicians are referred to as “member” physicians for purposes of simplicity and consistency in this disclosure. As may be appreciated, the patient may be prompted to pay a fee when accessing a report, but the cost of such report(s) may be reduced if more than one, or, alternatively, a certain number of reports are purchased. Further, the patient may, in some embodiments, pay a flat fee for unlimited profiles. In yet other embodiments, the physicians may reimburse the costs of viewing their reports.
In addition to including a first list 208 of physicians that closely match the specific name criteria entered by the user, the physician name results Web page 202 also includes a separate section 220 of “member physicians” that closely match the specialty and city/state criteria, even though they may not match the name criteria input by the patient. For example, in the exemplary embodiment shown in
In an embodiment where the results are too numerous to list on one Web page, a hyperlink 216 to additional physicians satisfying the search results, or to additional “member physicians” closely matching the criteria (218), is included. In another embodiment, where a hospital pays a fee to the company, a hyperlink 214 to the hospital affiliated with a particular physician listed will also be provided next to that physician's name. In yet another embodiment, a member advertisement 204 for a practice group or hospital or other paying entity may be provided at the top of the results page. This advertisement 204 may be for a practice group or hospital closely related to the search criteria, or, in another embodiment, the advertisement may be for any member entity or physician. In an embodiment, the member advertisement may contain a hyperlink 213 for providing a report or ratings on that entity.
Where a patient conducts a search for a physician by city/state in accordance with an embodiment of this invention, results page 223 is displayed. In results page 223, a results list 226 contains section 228 listing “member” physicians satisfying the search criteria specified. Because these are member physicians, hyperlinks 232 to free reports are shown next to their names. In accordance with an embodiment where a hospital or medical practice is a member entity, a hospital hyperlink 234 for accessing a report or ratings on that hospital or medical practice is shown next to those physicians affiliated with the hospital. In separate section 238, non-member physicians meeting the search criteria are listed. Because these are non-members, hyperlinks 240 to purchase reports are provided.
As discussed with reference to results page 202, a member advertisement 224 is shown for results page 223 in accordance with an embodiment of this invention. Similarly, where additional physicians to those listed on the initial results page meet the search criteria, hyperlinks 236 and 242 provide access to such additional lists.
A patient who selects to view a particular member physician's free report next receives a Web page view 302 of this member-enhanced report 304, as depicted in
The second section 308 comprises information preferably verified by an independent third party, such as the company managing the Web site, e.g., HealthGrades, Inc., regarding the physician's experience and training, such as board certification(s) 346, licensure(s) 347, and any and/or all disciplinary actions 348, both state and federal, to date or within a certain time period. In one embodiment, such verification may be expressly noted in the report 304. In essence, the verification of this information provides a potential patient with some assurance that the qualifications of the doctor have been checked by someone. In addition to verifications of board certifications and disciplinary actions, an embodiment may include verifications which also relate to the physician's medical school(s), internship, residency, fellowship information, etc. In another embodiment, the verification information may also include performance information, such as number of procedures performed, important dates, etc.
Turning now to the third section 310 of the report 304, the included information relates to patient-provided information and, preferably, relates to information that has been provided by past or current patients of the particular healthcare provider. In one embodiment, a patient experience survey 350 by current or former patients of the particular physician may be available. This may further include national averages based on certain predetermined questions conducted through surveys, as shown and discussed in reference to
The fourth section 312 of the report 304 preferably comprises contact information 352 for the physician, which, by way of example only, may include location information, phone numbers, affiliated hospitals, health plans or other insurance information, hours, etc. Additionally, in some embodiments, a hyperlink 314 may be provided to allow the patient to directly access an appointment module from the report page 302. The patient may set an appointment directly from the appointment module (314).
While four sections are shown and discussed in reference to the member-enhanced report 304, it is conceivable that the report could contain numerous additional possible sections. Further, while this disclosure has listed specific types of information and data available in the report 304 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, other embodiments of the invention may include other types of information and/or data. Moreover, other embodiments may have a different ordering of the sections. The exemplary embodiments depicted and discussed herein are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
In contrast to the member enhanced report shown in
The patient-provided information 310 and 350 discussed above with respect to
A second section 406 relates to questions asking the patient to rate the physician. By way of example only, questions relating to such may include: “Do you feel the physician spends an appropriate amount of time with you?”; “Does the physician listen to you and answer your questions?”; “Does the physician help you understand your medical condition(s)?”; “Do you trust your physician to make decisions/recommendations that are in your best interests?”; “Would you recommend your physician to family/friends?”; and “How many visits have you had with this physician within the last two years?”
Referring to the third section 408 depicted in the exemplary embodiment of
To verify that the patient-provided information in patient survey 402 is given by specific individuals and, preferably, those who have been actual patients of the physician being rated,
Turning to
With respect to
While in an embodiment of the invention, a patient may directly access the company Web site to research and obtain verified information regarding a healthcare provider, in a further embodiment (shown in
On the other hand, a non-member physician profile 634 includes a hyperlink for purchasing a report 646. In profile 634, the physician's name 636, specialty 638, location 640, years in profession 642, and gender 644 are provided. Also, in furtherance of the company Web service's marketing efforts, a hyperlink asking “Are you Dr. ______” 648 is included. Hyperlink 648 gives physicians accessing the Web site the opportunity to become members of the service and provide detailed information to patients accessing the site.
While this discussion has focused in large part on physician searches,
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a patient may access the detailed information report 718 in
With respect to
Turning now to
If free report query 918 determines that a free report for the selected physician is not available, flow branches NO to buy report query 920. If buy report query 920 determines that the patient would like to purchase a report, flow branches YES to purchase report operation 919. As one reasonably skilled in the art would understand, interim steps may be involved in purchase report operation 919, i.e., involving entering of payment information, etc. In an embodiment of this invention, the payment amount may depend on whether the patient has previously accessed other reports and can thus receive a reduced price, etc. Thus, flow branches YES to purchase report operation 919 with an optional (shown in dashed-lines format) pricing adjustment query 921. Where no discounts are available, no price adjustments are made. On the other hand, if price discounts are available, the patient would pay a reduced price for a report in buy report query 920 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Following purchase report operation 919, flow proceeds to display report operation 924, in which the report is displayed. If query operation 920 determines that the patient does not desire to purchase a report, flow proceeds NO to search query 922, which determines whether the patient would like to search for other physicians by name. If the patient would like to search for more physicians by name, flow branches YES to select operation 904. If the patient does not desire to search for more physicians by name, flow branches NO to terminate operation 932, which ends research process 900.
Turning now to
Referring now to
Following receipt of the comparison results in operation 1118, flow proceeds to buy report query 1120. If query 1120 determines that the patient would not like to buy a report, or, alternatively in another embodiment, not desire to obtain a free report, flow proceeds NO to change search criteria query 1128, which allows the patient to provide different search criteria if so desired. If search criteria query 1128 determines that the patient would like to change the criteria specified, flow proceeds YES to find a new physician operation 1104. If the patient does not desire to change search criteria, flow proceeds NO to terminate operation 1130, which ends process 1100. If buy report query 1120 determines that the patient would like to buy a report, or if such a report is free in accordance with another embodiment, flow branches YES to display report operation 1122. From display report operation 1122, process 1100 proceeds to query 1124 where a user selects whether to search for other new physicians. If further searches are desired, flow branches YES to search for a new physician in operation 1104. Alternatively, flow branches NO to terminate operation 1130 if the patient does not desire to conduct further searches.
Turning to embodiments involving searches for hospital information,
If the patient would like to access a report on a hospital, flow branches YES to customize information operation 1218, where the patient may select procedures/medical condition criteria. From customize operation 1218, flow proceeds to free report query operation 1220. If no free report is available, flow branches NO to buy report query 1222. Further, if the patient does not desire to purchase a report, flow from query 1222 branches NO to research more ratings query operation 1226 and then to terminate operation 1228 if the patient does not desire to conduct any further searches for hospital ratings. If buy report query operation 1222 determines that the patient would like to buy a report, flow branches YES to display report operation 1223. From display report operation 1223, link query 1224 determines whether the patient would like to link to a physician report from the hospital report. If such link is desired, flow branches YES to display physician report operation 1225. If no such link is desired, flow branches NO to research query 1226. Research query 1226 determines whether the patient would like to continue researching hospital ratings and reports and branches YES to research operation 1204 if the patient desires to continue such research. On the other hand, if the patient does not desire to continue researching hospitals, flow branches NO to terminate operation 1228, which ends process 1200.
Turning now to
Turning now to
Query operation 1414 asks whether the physician requested in step 1412 is a member of the company's service. Where the physician is a member, the company system accesses the physician's member profile 112 (
While process 1400 provides the operation flow for receiving a healthcare provider profile from a search conducted using a search engine,
Index positioning on the search engine is related directly to the indexability of the Web site at issue. In an embodiment of the present invention, indexability of the company Web site relates to the categorization of healthcare provider names, predetermined breaks in the categories to create predetermined subsets of categories, naming conventions used in listing provider names in Web site indices and categories, and path layout design minimizing the number of “clicks” to reach an indexed entry. Such information is referred to as “indexing parameters,” in which indexing parameters relate to the terms used, categorical breaks, or routing paths, i.e., the number of “clicks” used to access the desired information on the company Web site. In an exemplary embodiment, category “A-F” in the index of physician names (140) shown in
In an embodiment, “naming conventions” refer to the information included in listing a provider name in a hyperlinked index. For example, embodiments of the present invention have index parameters involving the terms “M.D.” and “Dr.” in the Web service's listing of the physician's name in the general index. The inclusion of both “M.D.” and “Dr.” as two associated indexing parameters creates a greater likelihood that the company Web site will have a favorable indexing position with a search engine and thus be placed at or near the top of the search engine results list. The inclusion of both terms creates more “hits” in the search engine's internal indexing and content counting practice for determining the search results best fitting the search criteria. Similarly, the “breaks” in names, whether of hospitals or of physician last names, etc., is designed to achieve the optimal placement of the company Web page in the search engine results list. The minimization of “clicks” in accessing a path to a desired result is also a type of index parameter related to Web site path layout design which can be used to obtain favorable index positioning on a search engine. Search engines assign favorable index positioning to those entries with fewest “clicks” to obtain the desired information.
High placement in a search engine results list is a valuable marketing technique for the company Web site, and the members thereof, because more patients are likely to hyperlink to those Web sites listed at or near the top of the results list. While particular examples of the indexing parameters, i.e., “breaks,” “M.D./Dr.,” and “click” minimizations, have been described in accordance with embodiments of this invention, other embodiments involve any type of manipulation of indexing categories to achieve optimal search engine result placement.
From Start operation 1502, process 1500 proceeds to evaluate current indexing parameters in operation 1504 for a particular index entry (e.g., the name of a provider). During evaluate operation 1504, the Web developer determines the current indexing parameters to which the categorizations and indexing on the Web site are set. Evaluate indexing query 1506 determines whether the current indexing parameters are achieving optimal search engine results placement. In an embodiment, such evaluation may involve the testing of sample searches through the use of typical search engines to determine if optimal placement is achieved on the results pages of these search engines. If query operation 1506 determines that optimal placement is being achieved with the current parameters, flow branches YES to end operation 1512. If optimal placement is not being achieved with the current indexing and categorization parameters, flow branches NO to adjust operation 1508. Adjust indexing operation 1508 adjusts, or changes, the current indexing parameter settings to new parameter settings by evaluating the current parameter settings and analyzing the placement positioning with the search engines. From adjust operation 1508, process 1500 proceeds to revise Web site operation 1510 which ensures that the indexing adjustments made in operation 1508 are carried forward throughout the Web site as a whole and are saved appropriately. Terminate operation 1512 ends process 1500.
While this disclosure has thus far referred to accessing reports and profiles, a process 1600 for compiling and storing such reports and profiles, including verified information, is shown in
From access physician information operation 1604, process 1600 proceeds to receive patient information operation 1606. In an embodiment, receive operation 1606 receives patient-provided information from the patient experience survey 402 illustrated in
Operation 1600 next passes to perform verification process operation 1608. Operation 1608 involves the verification of physician-specific information, such as the name of the physician's medical school, graduation date, certification(s), licensure(s), internship(s), residency(ies), fellowship(s), suspension(s), license revocation(s), state or federal censure(s) or reprimand(s), etc. Other information may also be available and verified, such as geographic location. The types of information described herein are intended to be provided as examples only and are in no way intended to delimit the scope of the present invention in any way. While both the access physician information operation 1604 and the receive patient information operation 1606 allow for the potential verification of received and gathered information, such verification is not required at these steps in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In contrast, perform verification process 1608 is a required step of process 1600 and builds upon the prior steps by further verifying the information provided therein. In an embodiment, verification operation 1608 may be performed by the company, by an independent third party unrelated either to the company or to the healthcare provider, or by any other appropriate entity or individual capable of performing such verification. Verification operation 1608 verifies the accuracy of physician information and patient-provided information received in operations 1604 and 1606, respectively. In some embodiments, verification operation 1608 also verifies the completeness of certain information received in the previous steps, such as, by way of example only, information received and/or gathered regarding a physician's disciplinary action(s), board certification(s), and/or licensure(s), and gathers additional data and information regarding a physician, if such information has not already been received or gathered through other means. In an embodiment, verification operation 1608 verifies the information through the means discussed above. In other embodiments, such verification may be accomplished through any number of means reasonably known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
After verifying the information and data in verification operation 1608, flow proceeds to the compiling, or creation, of healthcare provider profiles and/or reports in compile operation 1610. In an embodiment, compile operation 1610 compiles different sources of information and data into either a report format or profile format. Other embodiments may involve other format types; however, report and profile formats are referred to herein as exemplary embodiments. In an embodiment, the physician-provided information 1604, patient-provided information 1606, and independent third party verification information 1608 is compiled into a report and/or profile 112 (
Turning now to the exemplary computing system itself,
In its most basic configuration, computing system 1700 is illustrated in
System 1700 may also contain communications connection(s) 1712 that allow the device to communicate with other devices. Additionally, system 1700 may have input device(s) 1714 such as keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc. for entering data and information, such as search criteria entered by the patient at patient terminal 102 (
Computer system 1700 typically includes at least some form of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by system 1700. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by system 1700. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.
With the computing environment of
Having described the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the figures above, it should be appreciated that numerous modifications may be made to the present invention that will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and which are encompassed in the spirit of the invention disclosed and as defined in the appended claims. Indeed, while presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of this disclosure, various changes and modifications may be made which are well within the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention may not be limited specifically to healthcare provider information but, instead, may be applicable to any kind of professionals, such as engineers, accountants, veterinarians, dentists, etc. Additionally, the order of operations shown in the flow diagrams illustrated in the figures herein is provided for illustrative purposes only and, in accordance with other embodiments, may be modified or performed simultaneously. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the scope of the present invention accommodates other operations that may be added or removed depending on the needs of the particular entity or entities implementing or using the system.
Similarly, although this disclosure has used language specific to structural features, methodological acts, and computer-readable media containing such acts, it is to be understood that the present invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific structure, acts, or media described herein. The specific structure, acts, or media are disclosed as exemplary embodiments of implementing the claimed invention. The invention is defined by the appended claims.
This application claims priority of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/771,757, entitled “Internet System for Connecting Doctors and Patients,” filed Feb. 8, 2006.
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