US 2003/0120513 A1 · Method of facilitating access to remote health-related services, practitioners, and information

Abstract

A method of facilitating access to and consultation with a remote healthcare practitioner or other health-related service or information provider via a real-time interactive interface and over a network. Users can search via the interface among registered remote practitioners using a variety of search parameters to select a suitable remote practitioner. During the consultation, the remote practitioner can search via the interface among registered pharmacies using a variety of parameters to identify a suitable pharmacy to send prescription information to via the interface for the user. Also during the consultation, the remote practitioner can search via the interface among registered local assistants using a variety of search parameters to identify a suitable local assistant to send to the user's location to conduct a physical examination, procedure, or other action, the results of which are communicated via the interface to the remote practitioner.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A method of facilitating access by a user to health-related information provided by a remote practitioner, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) maintaining a first database of a plurality of practitioners;
(b) maintaining a second database of a plurality pharmacies;
(c) maintaining a third database of a plurality of local assistants;
(d) providing an interface allowing for substantially real-time and interactive communication over a network;
(e) allowing the user to search via the interface the first database and to select the remote practitioner from the plurality of practitioners;
(f) allowing the remote practitioner to search via the interface the second database and to select a pharmacy from the plurality of pharmacies;
(g) allowing the remote practitioner to communicate via the interface a prescription for the user to the pharmacy;
(h) allowing the remote practitioner to search via the interface the third database and to select a local assistant from the plurality of local assistants;
(i) allowing the remote practitioner to request via the interface that the local assistant travel to the user to perform an action;
(j) allowing the local assistant to communicate via the interface a result of the action to the remote practitioner;
and
(k) maintaining a record of the communication via the interface.

9 more elements

A method of facilitating access by a user to health-related information provided by a remote practitioner, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) maintaining a first database of a plurality of practitioners;
(b) maintaining a second database of a plurality pharmacies;
(c) maintaining a third database of a plurality of local assistants;
(d) providing an interface allowing for substantially real-time and interactive communication over a network;
(e) allowing the user to search via the interface the first database and to select the remote practitioner from the plurality of practitioners;
(f) allowing the remote practitioner to search via the interface the second database and to select a pharmacy from the plurality of pharmacies;
(g) allowing the remote practitioner to communicate via the interface a prescription for the user to the pharmacy;
(h) allowing the remote practitioner to search via the interface the third database and to select a local assistant from the plurality of local assistants;
(i) allowing the remote practitioner to request via the interface that the local assistant travel to the user to perform an action;
(j) allowing the local assistant to communicate via the interface a result of the action to the remote practitioner;
(k) maintaining a record of the communication via the interface;
(l) allowing the user to submit via the interface an evaluation of the remote practitioner;
and
(m) allowing other users to view via the interface the evaluation of the remote practitioner.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method of facilitating access to remote health-related services, practitioners, and information

Life of this patent

Method of facilitating access to remote health-related services, practitioners, and information

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims10