US 6,334,192 B1Granted

Computer system and method for a self administered risk assessment

OwnerRonald S. Karpfinventor

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Abstract

A computer system for performing an interactive assessment of the risk of an event, has a computer monitor to present to a user of the system a series of questions and potential responses, and a keyboard or other device to select a response to the question. The system can administer complex inverted tree type decision algorithms, in which the questions that are presented to the user, depend upon the response to the previous question, and an assessment of the risk of an event is presented to the user whenever they reach the terminus point in the decision tree. The risk assessment algorithm is data driven and a risk assessment is defined by entries in a file, which is available over a network. The system provides options so each user may view the path through the sequence of questions and answers, and interact with the risk assessment, in a manner customized for their own interactive session.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A distributed computer system for performing a self administered interactive medical risk assessment, comprising:

(a) a client program executing on a first computer;
(b) a server program executing on a second computer;
(c) a computer network using a non-persistent network protocol;
(d) a risk assessment definition file that defines the risk assessment to be administered by the client program at the first computer to a user;
(e) means for the user to select the risk assessment that is to be administered by said client program;
(f) means for said client program to request and download the risk assessment definition file from the second computer over said computer network;
and
(g) client administer means for said client program to administer the selected risk assessment at the first computer, wherein said client administer means executes a program comprising the steps of:
(i) visually displaying a portion of the risk assessment as a tree diagram;
(ii) allowing the user to respond to a question from the selected risk assessment;
and
(iii) updating the risk assessment to reflect the most recent response by displaying an evaluated risk if the response was to a terminal question, otherwise redisplaying the risk assessment as in step (i);
wherein a user assesses their own risk using complicated inverted tree type risk assessment algorithms.

10 more elements

A method of performing a user administered interactive medical risk assessment, the method comprising:

(a) executing a client program on a first computer;
(b) executing a server program on a second computer;
(c) initiating a computer network connection between the first computer and second computer using a non-persistent network protocol;
(d) using a risk assessment definition file to define the risk assessment to be administered by the client program at the first computer to a user;
(e) allowing a user to select the risk assessment that is to be administered by the client program;
(f) requesting and downloading the risk assessment definition file from the second computer over the computer network;
and
(g) using the client program to administer the selected risk assessment, at the first computer
(i) visually displaying a portion of the risk assessment as a tree diagram;
(ii) allowing the user to respond to a question from the selected risk assessment;
and
(iii) updating the risk assessment to reflect the most recent response by displaying an evaluated risk if the response was to a terminal question, otherwise redisplaying the risk assessment as in step (i);
wherein a user assesses a risk using complicated inverted tree type risk assessment algorithms.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/037,165Filed 9 Mar 1998
Granted: 25 Dec 2001
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

G09B 7/00
Electrically-operated teaching apparatus or devices working with questions and answers
G16H 10/20
ICT specially adapted for the handling or processing of patient-related medical or healthcare data: for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
G16H 50/20
ICT specially adapted for medical diagnosis, medical simulation or medical data mining; ICT specially adapted for detecting, monitoring or…: for…
G16H 50/30
ICT specially adapted for medical diagnosis, medical simulation or medical data mining; ICT specially adapted for detecting, monitoring or…: for…