Account Tracking System for Health Resource Encounters

A method of managing healthcare users affiliated with a plurality of different, unaffiliated healthcare resource providers, the method comprising:

• prior to a health resource encounter between a user and a health resource provider, receiving, at a heath resource encounter tracking server, information from a computing device affiliated with the health resource provider, the information including data stored on a portable identification device associated with a user, validation information entered by the user, and an identity of the health resource provider;
• based on the data stored on the portable identification device, the validation information, and the identity of the health resource provider, determining a set of benefit information based on data stored in a healthcare information database, the healthcare information database including data affiliated with a plurality of users, a plurality of benefit providers, and a plurality of heath resource providers, the health resource providers including at least medical providers and pharmacy providers;
• receiving, at the heath resource encounter tracking server, a log of the health resource encounter;
• and
• storing the log of the health resource encounter in the healthcare information database.

A system for tracking accounts associated with health resource encounters, the system comprising:

• a plurality of smart cards, each of the smart cards associated with a user and a benefit account defining coverage available to the user, each of smart cards including a programmable circuit and a memory configured to store identification data of a user with whom the smart card is associated;
• and
• a plurality of computing devices each affiliated with a health resource provider at which a health resource encounter takes place, each of the plurality of computing devices configured to:
• prior to each health resource encounter between a user and the health resource provider, read information from a smart card associated with the user from among the plurality of smart cards,
• receive validation information from the smart card;
• transmit the validation information and information from the smart card to a heath resource encounter tracking server;
• receive authorization information and benefit information associated with the user from the health resource encounter tracking server;
• record a log of the health resource encounter;
• and
• transmit the log of the health resource encounter to the heath resource encounter tracking server;
• and
• a health resource encounter tracking server remotely connected to each of the plurality of computing devices via a network, the health resource encounter tracking server configured to access a healthcare information database including data affiliated with a plurality of users, a plurality of benefit providers, and a plurality of health resource providers, the health resource providers including at least medical providers and pharmacy providers,
• wherein the health resource encounter tracking server is further configured to:
• generate one or more reports in response to requests from remote computing systems;
• and
• exchange healthcare information regarding one or more of the plurality of users with a third party system, the healthcare information including the one or more reports.