U.S. patent application number 13/108735 was filed with the patent office on 2012-03-22 for compensated electronic consults.
Invention is credited to Joseph P. Grace, William R. Grace, JR..
Application Number | 20120072275 13/108735 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38779375 |
Filed Date | 2012-03-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120072275 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Grace; Joseph P. ; et
al. |
March 22, 2012 |
COMPENSATED ELECTRONIC CONSULTS
Abstract
The present invention relates to a system and method for
providing health care information to health care providers and for
obtaining information pertaining to the practice of a health care
provider by providing incentives for provision of such
information.
Inventors: |
Grace; Joseph P.;
(Matinecock, NY) ; Grace, JR.; William R.; (New
York, NY) |
Family ID: |
38779375 |
Appl. No.: |
13/108735 |
Filed: |
May 16, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12710140 |
Feb 22, 2010 |
7945460 |
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13108735 |
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11441434 |
May 25, 2006 |
7668735 |
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12710140 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.17 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0207 20130101;
G16H 80/00 20180101; G06Q 30/0277 20130101; G06Q 30/0279 20130101;
G06Q 30/0217 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101; G16H 10/20 20180101;
G06Q 30/0232 20130101; G06Q 30/0203 20130101; G06Q 30/0215
20130101; G06Q 30/0239 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14.17 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20120101
G06Q030/02 |
Claims
1. A system for providing incentives to a health care professional,
the system comprising: a computer having computer-readable media
stored in physical memory therein that is configured to cause the
computer to: receive a request for access from a health care
professional; confirm that the health care professional is an
authorized user; retrieve a presentation for the health care
professional to view, the presentation including information
selected from the group consisting of information related to a
pharmaceutical or medical product or service, a disease or medical
condition, a diagnostic procedure, and a therapeutic or treatment
protocol; retrieve at least one question pertaining to the
information included in the presentation, market research, or
experiences and opinions of the health professional with respect to
the health care professional's practice; provide an incentive for
the health care professional to answer the at least one question,
the incentive comprising a donation to a charitable organization in
a manner that is consistent with one or more opinions by a
governmental agency that deems the donation not to be in violation
of anti-kickback statutes; receive an answer of the health care
professional to the at least one question; and generate
instructions directing that a charitable contribution be made to
the charitable organization of the health care professional's
choice based at least on the donation amount associated with the
received answer.
2. A system for providing incentives to a health care professional,
the system comprising: a computer having computer-readable media
stored in physical memory therein that is configured to cause the
computer to: provide a presentation for a health care professional
to view, the presentation including information selected from the
group consisting of information related to a pharmaceutical or
medical product or service, a disease or medical condition, a
diagnostic procedure, and a therapeutic or treatment protocol;
retrieve at least one question pertaining to the information
included in the presentation, market research, or experiences and
opinions of the health professional with respect to the health care
professional's practice; and provide an incentive for the health
care professional to answer the at least one question, the
incentive comprising a donation to a charitable organization in a
manner that is consistent with one or more opinions by a
governmental agency that deems the donation not to be in violation
of anti-kickback statutes.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the computer is further caused
to: receive an answer of the health care professional to the at
least one question; and allocate the donation to the charitable
organization of the health care professional's choice in response
to the received answer.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein the computer is further caused
to: generate instructions directing that a charitable contribution
be made to the charitable organization of the health care
professional's choice based at least on the donation associated
with the received answer.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the contribution is made to the
charitable organization at a time after the answer to the at least
one question is received.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the contribution is made to the
charitable organization in real time upon receipt of the answer to
the at least one question.
7. The system of claim 2, wherein the computer is further caused
to: receive a request for access from the health care professional;
and confirm that the health care professional is an authorized user
prior to providing the presentation.
8. The system of claim 2, wherein the health care professional is
selected from the group consisting of: a physician, a nurse, a
pharmacist, a medical technologist, a physical therapist, a
clinician, a physician assistant, an optometrist, a naturopath, an
osteopath, a chiropractor, a psychologist, and a dentist.
9. The system of claim 2, wherein the donation is selected from the
group consisting of: a monetary donation, food, clothing, heating
fuel assistance, toys, appliances, and pharmaceuticals.
10. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one question is
designed to test the health care professional's comprehension of at
least a portion of the information included in the
presentation.
11. A system for providing incentives to a health care
professional, the system comprising: a computer having
computer-readable media stored in physical memory therein that is
configured to cause the computer to: provide a questionnaire to a
health care professional pertaining to information selected from
the group consisting of information related to a pharmaceutical or
medical product or service, a disease or medical condition, a
diagnostic procedure, a therapeutic or treatment protocol, market
research, and experiences and opinions of the health professional
with respect to the health care professional's practice; and
provide an incentive for the health care professional to answer the
questionnaire, the incentive comprising a donation to a charitable
organization in a manner that is consistent with one or more
opinions by a governmental agency that deems the donation not to be
in violation of anti-kickback statutes.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer is further caused
to: receive at least one answer of the health care professional to
the questionnaire; and allocate the donation to the charitable
organization of the health care professional's choice in response
to the received answer.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer is further caused
to: generate instructions directing that a charitable contribution
be made to the charitable organization of the health care
professional's choice based at least on the donation associated
with the received at least one answer.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the contribution is made to the
charitable organization at a time after the at least one answer is
received.
15. The system of claim 13, wherein the contribution is made to the
charitable organization in real time upon receipt of the at least
one answer.
16. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer is further caused
to: receive a request for access from the health care professional;
and confirm that the health care professional is an authorized
user.
17. The system of claim 11, wherein the health care professional is
selected from the group consisting of: a physician, a nurse, a
pharmacist, a medical technologist, a physical therapist, a
clinician, a physician assistant, an optometrist, a naturopath, an
osteopath, a chiropractor, a psychologist, and a dentist.
18. The system of claim 11, wherein the donation is selected from
the group consisting of: a monetary donation, food, clothing,
heating fuel assistance, toys, appliances, and pharmaceuticals.
19. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer is further caused
to allow the health care professional to choose the charitable
organization to which the donation is made.
20. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer is further caused
to present the health care professional with a list of a plurality
of charitable organizations to choose from.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/710,140, filed Feb. 22, 2010, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/441,434, filed
May 25, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,668,735, which claims benefit
from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/333,881, filed Jan. 18,
2006, now abandoned, and U.S. patent application Ser. No.
10/448,939, filed May 30, 2003, now abandoned. The disclosure of
each such application is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety where appropriate for teachings of additional or
alternative details, features, and/or technical background, and
priority is asserted from each.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to distance
electronic consults and, more particularly, to a system and method
for providing health care information customized to the profile of
a health care provider, wherein the health care provider is
compensated for providing clinical insights on health care
information retrieved by the health care provider over the system
and/or information on the health care provider's health care
practice.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Medical doctors, physician assistants, registered nurses,
licensed practical nurses, pharmacists, optometrists, naturopaths,
osteopaths, chiropractors, and other health care providers are ever
increasingly faced with a growing body of technical literature
related to the health care needs of their patients. Pressures to
reduce costs in the provision of health care services, however, has
resulted in many health care providers having to expend
significantly longer periods of time in pursuit of their
occupations than in the past to obtain the same desired income. The
latter has resulted in many health care professionals facing a
dearth of time in which to obtain the knowledge necessary for them
to stay current in their health care specialties.
[0006] A primary source of medical information is the technical
literature which reports the results of studies and investigations
undertaken by different researchers. Unfortunately, most health
care providers today simply do not have the time to objectively
compare a report on a medical topic made by one investigative group
with those made by other investigative groups in order to discern a
consensus on the topic. They often therefore depend on review
articles that attempt to summarize the body of information
pertaining to any particular medical topic. Unfortunately published
review articles, like the published individual investigative
report, do not provide the health care provider with an optimal way
of questioning the results of a study, or the conclusions of an
author. In truth for the most part, the health care provider
generally does not have the capability of making inquiries in light
of the health care provider's own experiences except through
letters to the editor and the like. Medical knowledge is also
hampered in that the authors of an article are unlikely to gain
substantial input from the reading audience.
[0007] Many health care providers today gain a substantial amount
of their continuing medical education through review seminars. Live
review seminars provide the health care provider with the
opportunity to field questions to, and exchange information with,
the provider of the seminar. Many live review seminars are provided
by manufacturers of health care products and services. Such
companies also provide for live interaction with their
representatives, such as detail representatives of a pharmaceutical
company. The problem with these sources of information is that
seminars and detailing may not be offered at an optimum time given
the individual health care provider's schedule. For example, a
physician can not take the time to attend a live seminar course or
meet with a detail person when one of the physician's patients is
in immediate need of medical care. Further, a physician is often
unable to participate in face-to-face medical information exchanges
due to patient scheduling conflicts.
[0008] There is a significant desire by manufacturers of health
care products and providers of health care services that certain
information pertaining to their products be disseminated. Such
manufacturers also know that the best method of disseminating
medical information to health care providers is a one-on-one
exchange wherein the health care provider is provided the
opportunity to exchange his or her real-life experiences with a
particular treatment protocol, or an alternative treatment
protocols. Such an interchange not only allows the manufacturer to
address concerns by the health care provider in regard to the
manufacturer's information, but also allows the manufacturer to
learn the most pressing educational needs of the health care
provider. For example, it makes little sense to provide information
pertaining to the benefits of a drug designed to treat benign
prostrate hypertrophy when a physician's practice consists entirely
of female patents.
[0009] While a one-to-one exchange is extremely useful both for the
manufacturer/service provider and the health care provider, as
discussed above such exchanges are becoming far more difficult due
to the ever increasing time demands on health care providers. For
example, it has been reported that nearly half of all visits made
to a physicians' offices by drug detail representatives do not
result in the representative actually speaking to the physician. Of
those pharmaceutical detailers who get an audience with a
physician, it has been estimated that on average the detail lasts
for less than two minutes, an insignificant time for a true
information exchange to take place. Given the economics of spending
time on non-reimbursed educational exchanges versus providing
fee-for-service exchanges with patients in a health care system
micro-managed to limit reimbursement for medical services, many
health care providers simply are not provided the incentive to
spend time on educational exchanges.
[0010] Accordingly, there is a significant need on behalf of both
manufacturers of health care products and purveyors of health care
services on the one hand, and health care providers on the other
hand, to be able to efficiently communicate with one another at
opportune times for the health care provider. There is also a need
to provide incentives to health care providers to take the time to
adequately apprise themselves of new information pertaining to
medical therapies, and medical products/services.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] A system and method is disclosed for providing customized
medical information to health care providers which allows for an
interchange between the health care provider and the information
provider and which provides incentives for the health care provider
to participate in the information exchange.
[0012] In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a
system and method for providing medical information selections
which are tailored to a health care provider's educational and
practice profile. A profile of the health care provider can be
developed by obtaining information pertaining to characteristics of
the health care provider from the health care provider directly,
and/or indirectly from the type of information sought and the
feedback obtained by the information purveyor from the health care
provider.
[0013] In another embodiment, there is provided a system and method
that provides incentives for the health care provider to provide
feedback to the information purveyor prior to, during, and/or after
reviewing the information which is retrieved by the health care
provider. In one preferred embodiment, the incentive is awarded
when the health care provider provides information pertaining to
the health care provider's practice with respect to the information
provided (or to be provided), or less preferably, with respect to
health issues which are diverse from the information provided. In
such preferred embodiment, the information purveyor obtains
information useful to it in determining future marketing plans and
possibly research endeavors.
[0014] In yet another embodiment of the invention the information
is provided to the health care provider only upon registration of
the health care provider with the information purveyor, or a third
party that distributes information of the information purveyor.
Registration may comprise a verification process that verifies that
the health care provider has the desired qualifications for
obtaining the information. For example, the system may request that
a person indicating that they are a medical doctor provide their
State License number, their Drug Enforcement Number, their birth
date, the medical school from which they graduated, the location of
their residency program, etc. Such information provided can be
checked against public databases to determine whether such
information is valid. A lesser check, as for example using known
algorithms that indicate whether a DEA number is valid, may also be
employed for verification purposes.
[0015] As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art,
verification of the qualifications of the health care provider may
be important to the type of information proffered to the health
care provider for review. For example, an anesthesiologist would be
expected to have significantly different educational needs with
respect to information on medical supplies, than a podiatrist.
[0016] Use after registration may entail verification that that the
person indicating that they are the registered health care provider
is indeed the registered health care provider. For example, the DEA
number of physician, a system-provided registration code, and
knowledge likely known only by the physician, such as the
physician's situs of residency training, might be used to verify
that the person entering the system is indeed the person
indicated.
[0017] In one preferred embodiment, information supplied by the
health care provider and/or captured during interaction with the
system is stored and used to develop a profile which is used to
filter information that is ultimately proffered to the health care
provider's viewing/sensing. Health care provider information may
include, for example, information pertaining to the interests of
the health care provider, information pertaining to the personal
history of the health care provider (e.g., birth date, schools
attended, diplomas received, contact information, family history,
etc.), websites explored by the health care provider, responses to
information provider queries, and a history of use of the system.
Such health care provider information may be advantageously used in
developing a profile of the health care provider to proffer a menu
of informational materials that are most likely to be viewed by the
health care provider. For example, a dentist would be much more
likely to review information pertaining to drugs used in dentistry
rather than drugs used in the treatment of psoriasis.
[0018] Topic information provided to the health care provider can
be of any type of information, but preferably related to the health
care provider's professional field. Topic information may comprise,
for example, information pertaining to drugs that are used by
professionals in the health care provider's professional field,
information pertaining to medical devices or supplies that are
commonly used by health care providers in the health care
provider's professional field, information pertaining to medical
therapies often encountered by health care professionals in such
professional field, summaries and reviews of current thought
related to a treatment protocol or disease state generally of
interest to the persons in the health care professional's
professional field, comparative information with respect to
alternative treatment protocols used in the art, promotions,
insurance information, health care news and FDA announcements of
news of interest to persons in the health care professional's
professional field. Preferably topic information is provided in a
manner such that the health care professional can interact with the
system to respond to queries, and/or to pose questions for
resolution either in real time or at a later time.
[0019] Preferably information is provided free of charge to the
health care provider (although a charge can be incurred to retrieve
the data, or if response to one or more queries of the information
purveyor is not made by the health care provider). In a preferred
method and system, information is provided free of charge
regardless of the interactions of the health care provider with the
system, however the health care provider is provided an incentive
to respond to professional queries of the information purveyor, in
particular with respect to the health care provider's practice,
patients/clients/customers, and the health care provider's
professional judgment with respect to matters of interest to the
information purveyor or to a third party that distributes the
information of the information purveyor. Thus an interface for the
health care provider to answer on-line survey questions is
provided.
[0020] In one embodiment the response to queries/questions posed by
the information purveyor during the information presentation is
used to dynamically generate survey queries which will aid the
information purveyor in its primary business. For example, if
during the presentation the health care provider indicates that the
health care provider regularly treats asthma patients and has used
certain anti-asthma drugs in the treatment of asthma, at the end of
the presentation queries related to what anti-asthma drug the
health care provider typically uses, the percent of patients
diagnosed with asthma of a particular age group which the health
care provider treats, the health care provider's multi-controller
approach to treating asthmatic patients, the health care providers
observations with respect to certain patient populations, etc. may
be proposed. As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the
art, such individual practice information when aggregated can
provide the information purveyor, and others seeking such
information from the information purveyor, with extremely valuable
information which may be quite useful in developing new research
studies, improving the marketing of health care products,
uncovering previously unrecognized drug interactions/side effects,
uncovering defects in therapeutic devices, and discovering
metabolic polymorphisms in select patient populations, etc.
[0021] Response to the professional survey queries/questions
preferably results in an incentive being provided to the health
care provider. For example, the health care provider may be
provided a stipend for the health care provider's medical input
with respect to the health care provider's experiences in the
health care provider's practice. In this sense, the health care
provider is provided payment for the health care provider's time
and experience in answering the professional survey
queries/questions rather than for, for example, answering questions
uniquely associated with information provided in the presentation
of the information purveyor (i.e., informational
queries/questions). Other incentives may include, without
limitation, coupons, honorarium, awarding of continuing education
credit, free or reduced cost gifts (tangible or intangible), free
or reduced-cost access to live, on-line, or hardcopy continuing
education courses, physical or electronic "trading stamps," points
toward the purchase of an item or service, free or reduced cost
consultation time with an expert in an area of interest, and access
to information otherwise available on a fee-for-service basis. As
would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, the
incentive provided preferably should take into account opinions by
governmental agencies, e.g. FDA and OIG, with respect to which
incentives would not violate any "anti-kickback statute or
regulation" or the like.
[0022] In one embodiment, the incentive provided to the health care
provider is a, discount, redeemable points, or other aid (such as
food, clothing, heating fuel assistance, objects (such as toys,
appliances, pharmaceuticals etc.)) to a charitable organization,
such as a non-profit charitable organization, e.g., a 501(c)(3)
organization or a religious organization. Thus the time and effort
undertaken by the health care provider in providing information to
the system may reward the charitable organization in the aid it
receives from the health care provider and other similar inclined
health care providers (e.g., each provider might donate redeemable
points which the charitable organization might use to obtain items
of need). For example, a physician, pharmacist, nurse, managed care
provider, formulary committee, health care researcher, professional
association may be rewarded for responding to certain questions by
allowing the same to donate their incentive to the charitable
organization.
[0023] When information pertaining to a health care providers
practice is garnered, survey information from the health care
provider may be used, for example, to identify target marketing
opportunities, initiate continuing medical education needs
assessment for grants, assessment of brand awareness/effectiveness,
and/or assess effectiveness of a detailing program. Health care
provider attitudes may also be benchmarked, for example, with
respect to a particular product, a competitor product, diagnostic
procedures, treatment options, opinions of sales representations,
and the effectiveness of sample programs. Questions presented to
health care providers may be designed to help elicit, for example,
thoughts on various dosing regimens, potential new indications, new
thoughts pertaining to combination therapies, information
pertaining to potential adverse drug interactions and side effects,
and management techniques for known side effect. Response from the
health care providers can be used to verify or expand data gathered
through other methods like IMS. The system may be configured to
allow data to be shared among health care provider respondents.
[0024] In an optional aspect of such embodiment, the system may be
configured (by way, for example by hardware and/or software) to
proffer the health care provider using the system a plurality of
charitable non-profit organizations to which the health care
provider's incentive may be donated. The options may be provided,
for example, in a menu format, a display of a number of icons, etc.
Alternatively, or in addition, the system may allow the health care
provider to input contact information pertaining to a charitable
organization that is not proffered by an option selection.
[0025] The system may be designed to allow one to retrieve
information pertaining to the status and/or goals of the
organizations proffered by executing a link to the organization, or
to a source of information on the organization.
[0026] In yet another embodiment, there is provided a system
optionally configured to provide charitable organization options
that are based upon input by the health care provider regarding
causes of interest to the provider. Thus if a health care provider
indicates that the provider is interested, for example, in feeding
and/or clothing the poor in Ethiopia, or aiding religious groups
persecuted in China, or helping the victims of natural disasters in
the United States or abroad, the system may be configured to offer
as options for donation, organizations that are specifically
dealing with such issues.
[0027] In respect to charitable organization options selected by a
health care provider, the system may be further configured to
selectively provide as a primary option to the health care provider
upon reentry of the system one or more charitable organizations
previously selected by the health care provider. Thus the history
of selections by a particular health care provider may be used to
hone the options proffered to the health care provider.
[0028] In yet another embodiment, the system provides the health
care provider with a number of different incentives that may be
provided to the charitable organization. For example, the system
may allow a provider to select from different items needed by a
charitable organization (for example, an organization sheltering
people might need money for the shelter, clothing to keep people
warm, food etc.).
[0029] In respect to charitable donations, the attribution of the
incentive may or may not be attributed to the health care provider.
For example, the health care provider may provide the incentive
anonymously or in the provider's name. Further, the charitable
donation may be tax deductible as provided by the law to the
provider of the service, to the health care provider, the charity
etc. (for example, marketing, education and research dollars may be
tax deductible)
[0030] Topic information provided may be in any format, for example
static web pages, dynamic web pages, video clips. The topic
information provided preferably is related to the profile of the
health care provider and the interactive information quizzes, as
opposed to professional survey queries/questions, should relate to
the information that is ultimately retrieved by the health care
provider to be reviewed. Professional survey queries/questions
preferably are related to the practical experiences of the health
care professional with respect to the health care professional's
profession, in particular the health care professional's patient
population, and the health care professional's opinions with regard
to practice specialty.
[0031] Interactive information quizzes and/or professional survey
queries/questions may require a response selected from multiple
choice options (e.g. multiple choice format) or may require a
free-form response (e.g. written). Credit for a response, either in
terms of continuing education credit or the incentive credit, may
be divisional, for example partial credit being provided for an
answer that this not optimum but acceptable, or is correct only in
part.
[0032] Responses to the professional survey queries and interactive
information quizzes are preferably stored, and may be currently, or
subsequently, transmitted to a third party with interest in such
responses, to one or more participants etc. For example, the
responses may be very useful for health care companies, such as
pharmaceutical companies, in determining to whom to market their
products. For example, an oncologist that has a large number of
patients suffering from bone cancer, would be far more likely to be
interested in receiving information pertaining to drug used in the
treatment of bone cancers than an oncologist whose specializes only
in breast cancer. Likewise, a pharmaceutical company could benefit
from understanding a physician's method of treating high blood
pressure in discerning how best to position their blood pressure
medication vis-a-vis such physician's methods. The company could
also provide information pertaining to alternate treatment
protocols that have been found be effective by other physicians in
treating hypertension. The system may also provide e-consult
opportunities, a sample & promotional catalogue, links to sites
of interest to health care professionals, product libraries of
likely interest to the health care provider, continuing medical
education opportunities etc.
[0033] An embodiment of the system may also be configured to permit
the user to provide other feedback information. For example, a
health care professional could use the system to contact a sales
representative of the health care company, such as drug
representative of a pharmaceutical company. Responses from the
users could then be used by the representative to improve
information flow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0034] A more complete appreciation of the invention and the
advantages thereof will be more readily apparent by reference to
the detailed description of the preferred embodiments when
considered in connection with the accompanying figures,
wherein:
[0035] FIG. 1 is a functional schematic overview of an embodiment
of the present system and method;
[0036] FIG. 2 is a schematic overview of the interplay between
parties communicating through an embodiment of the present system
and method;
[0037] FIG. 3 is a screenshot of an exemplary homepage which may be
presented to allow select access to information available at the
website;
[0038] FIG. 4 is a screenshot of an exemplary screen which may be
presented to capture information concerning the profile of a health
care provider;
[0039] FIG. 5 is a screenshot of an exemplary screen which may be
presented to set forth information available for viewing;
[0040] FIG. 6 is a screenshot of an exemplary screen which seeks to
obtain survey information concerning a health care provider's
practice;
[0041] FIG. 7 is a screenshot of an exemplary screen listing
account information pertaining to incentives provided to the health
care provider for participating in the e-consult;
[0042] FIG. 8 is a screenshot of an exemplary screen which sets
forth comments by other health care professionals in respect of the
information reviewed by the user; and
[0043] FIG. 9 is a screenshot of an exemplary screen providing a
mechanism by which an user obtain information from other than a
menu list.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0044] The present invention provides a system and method which
offers incentives to health care providers to provide information
pertaining to their opinions and health care practice.
[0045] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
constitute part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the
invention which may be employed, and together with the general
description given above and the detailed description, serve to
explain the principles of the invention. Such drawings are only
intended to show specific embodiments in which the invention may be
practiced, and are not intended to limit the invention as a whole
as fully described herein. As would be understood by one of
ordinary skill in the art, the present invention need not be
practiced with all of the specific details set forth in the
drawings and certain alternative equivalents to a described step or
product may be employed in lieu of specific elements discussed.
[0046] FIG. 1 is a functional schematic overview of an embodiment
of the present system and method. System 5 employs a number of
concrete steps in the provision of information to a user and
obtaining information pertaining the opinions and health care
practice of the user. As would be understood by one of ordinary
skill in the art, system 5 allows multiple users to receive
information and provide feedback to the information. The system may
be accessed by a network, internet, etc.
[0047] At step 10 user inputs profile information. Input of such
profile information may be, for example, by input screen 170 of
FIG. 4 which requests personal information pertaining to the user
175. Personal information may include a request to determine the
type of incentive the user wishes to obtain for participating in
the system 180. Upon receipt of profile information use may receive
a pass code as at step 75 or be instructed as how to authenticate
identity upon subsequent use of the system. Such pass code or
authentication method may be required to be employed, step 25,
after entrance into system 5 at step 20. Authentication information
is preferably encrypted to prevent unauthorized access to the same
from third parties. Authentication may depend on any of numerous
mechanisms known in the art. For example, physicians may be
confirmed by asking for information that may be confirmed by query
of state, federal, professional databases. Limited access to system
information or services can be provided even if authentication and
verification do not occur. Upon authentication of identity, step
30, system 5 checks at step 35 to determine if user has profile
information in profile database 40. If no profile information has
been stored in profile database 40 or the information in profile
database 40 needs to be updated, the user is prompted for profile
information.
[0048] Preferably based on the profile of the user, and the topic
information available for review by a user as stored in topic
information database 50, the user is proffered a list of topic
information selections, for example, 185 of FIG. 5, which would be
likely desired by the a user of such profile, step 45.
Alternatively, the user can search for topic information related to
a topic of interest from a library as at 225 of FIG. 9.
[0049] Topic information available to user may be screened
initially based on the profession of the user, such as shown in
FIG. 3 wherein the information available to physicians 150,
registered nurses/physician assistants 155, sales agents 160 and
office staff 165 differs. Thus topic information about multiple
drugs might be proffered to general practitioners, but not to
specialists that employ a lesser number of drugs in their practice.
The user then selects the information which the user desires to
review, and the information is displayed to the user at step 55.
Product information may include interactive detail such as
animation and interactivity.
[0050] Before, during, and/or after the display of the information,
quizzes, questions etc. may be posed, step 65, to elicit the degree
of understanding of the material and may be used to create positive
product usage and better recall. Information quizzes, questions,
etc. are preferably chosen from a plurality of possible questions
in a questionnaire database 60 based on profile information of the
user from profile database 40. Of course, topic questions, if not
personalized on the basis of the user's profile, can be included
within the information itself. Answers to such information quizzes,
questions, etc. preferably are recorded, step 70, and the user
associated with the responses in stored user answer database 75.
Continuing education credits may be provided for answering such
information quizzes, questions etc., step 85, reduced credits for
completion of review of a portion of the material.
[0051] Practice or professional queries are also posed upon review
of the information (before, during and/or after presentation of the
information), such professional queries surveying user experiences
in the user's health care practice and the user's opinions with
respect thereto, step 80, for example practice queries as show at
FIG. 6 related to increasing incidence of a disease state among a
particular age subgroup of the health care provider's patients 190,
the percentage of the health care provider's patients within a
particular age group 195, the health care provider's approach to
treating the patients suffering form the disease state 200, the
current medications of a particular therapeutic category the health
care provider is using to treat the disease state 205, and the time
frame during which the health care provider can most likely be
visited personally by a sales representative 2 10.
[0052] An incentive is provided based on the response to the
professional queries, step 90, preferably such incentive being
based on the profile of the user and incentives available, database
95. Incentives may be given to all or a subset of users
participating in review of the information and provision of
practice information. A running account 215, FIG. 7, may be kept
such that the user can determine the incentive levels he has
obtained form using the service. Incentives may include credit
towards purchase at a vendor's site.
[0053] Other services may accompany information delivery and
review, as for example, allowing health care providers to
communicate among themselves with regard to the joint information
they have reviewed through a message board/center 220, FIG. 8. The
system may also allow a user to contact the system or third party
supplying the information, such as a pharmaceutical company, to
report adverse drug reactions, request samples, to request
participation in a clinical trial, seek clinical trial data
updates, to seek an appointment with a sale representative, to
elicit information pertaining to off-label product use, to request
patient education material, request reduced-cost medication for
indigent patients, etc. The system may also allow the system
operators or third parties supplying the information, and their
agents, such as detail representatives, to provide urgent
information to the user, such as drug recall information by way of
system information pertaining to a contact path of the user (email,
phone number etc.), marketing information and other information.
The system may also provide alternative mechanisms, such as a phone
number, mailing address, for the user to contact the information
purveyors, or their agents, or system operators and vice versa.
[0054] FIG. 2 is a high level schematic overview of the interplay
between parties communicating through an embodiment of the present
system and method designed to offer health care providers
information pertaining to pharmaceutical products and medical
supplies. Pharmaceutical and/or medical company 97 proffers a
selection of topic information thru system 105 pertaining to
pharmaceutical/medical product(s) typically used in a user's
practice based on user profile information which is obtained upon
entrance into the system, or previously obtained upon entrance into
the system, along with questions associated with the content of the
topic information, step 115. System 105 upon obtaining profile
information pertaining to the user, step 110, proffers topic
information selections to the user, and determines the users
selection of topic information to be displayed, step 120. The topic
information pertaining to such selections is then provided to the
user along with the information questions pertaining to the topic
information, step 125.
[0055] The answers provided by user 100 with respect to the
information questions are preferably recorded, step 130, and the
user is then queried pertaining to the user's experiences in
respect to the health care practice in which the user practices,
step 135. Again the answers provided by the user are preferably
recorded, step 140, and preferably transmitted to the
pharmaceutical and/or medical company for internal marketing and
research purposes. The pharmaceutical and/or medical company may
alternatively collect information from the system upon request. For
providing answers to the practice profile questions or the opinions
of the user, the user is provided an incentive at step 145. The
incentive may comprise any compensation, including points that may
be redeemed at a linked site to purchase physical items such as
books, videos, etc. Incentives may be limited to those users whose
authorized use is authenticated. The incentive may be supplied to
user by any route specified by the user, or known to the system.
The system preferably receives the reimbursement for the incentive
by the information purveyor, for allowing them access to the
information of the users and the ability to directly or indirectly
market to the users.
[0056] Data pertaining to use of the system, the user's responses,
time spent in reviewing information requested, can be stored for
further analysis by the system operators or third parties supplying
the information, or their agents. Preferably such information is
provided or accessible in real-time. Other data, for example URLs
accessed by the user may also be stored. Gleaned data may be used
to communicate with the user by any mode of communication known
(e.g., mail, facsimile, internet). A report can be generated with
respect to users, user information, comments, etc. Preferably the
data is provided in a manner such that the information purveyor, or
its agent can efficiently input such data into their data
systems.
[0057] Users can be invited to use the system by a host of methods
known to those in the art, including by email, postal mail, and
advertisement.
[0058] In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a
system for providing pharmaceutical information to physicians, the
system comprising: a physician authentication module configured to
authenticate that the user is a registered physician; a
presentation hosting module configured to present a plurality of
interactive presentations to users that have been authenticated by
the physician authentication module, wherein each presentation is
related to a prescription drug; and a data accumulation module
configured to accumulate user responses to the interactive
presentations. Such a system embodiment may further comprise an
incentive module configured to provide incentives to users to whom
interactive presentations have been presented. Such an incentive
module may be further configured to provide incentives only to
selected users to whom interactive presentations have been
presented, further configured to verify that a user has responded
to questions presented in one of the interactive presentations
before providing the incentive, and/or further configured to verify
that a user has completed participation in one of the interactive
presentations before providing the incentive. The data related to
users that have viewed presentations may comprise a number of users
to which a presentation has been presented, names of users to which
a presentation has been presented, and/or responses by the users to
the presentations. The system embodiment may further comprise a
reporting module configured to provide data related to users that
have viewed the presentations and/or a presentation storage module
storing the plurality of interactive presentations.
[0059] In another embodiment there is provided a method comprising
hosting interactive presentations related to prescription
pharmaceuticals, accumulating user responses to the interactive
presentations, presenting data related to accumulated user
responses to drug companies sponsoring the interactive
presentations, and providing incentives to users in exchange for
participation in the interactive presentations.
[0060] In yet another embodiment there is provided a method for
providing information related to pharmaceuticals to physicians, the
method comprising: (a) inviting a user to access a system
configured to provide the information related to pharmaceuticals;
(b) through the system, authenticating that the user is a
physician; (c) through the system, presenting information related
to a pharmaceutical to the user; (d) through the system, prompting
the user to provide input confirming the user's comprehension of at
least a portion of the presented information; and (e) through the
system, receiving input provided by the user in response to (d).
Preferably in such method embodiment there is a step of providing
an incentive to the user in response to at least (e). The incentive
may be a credit that can be redeemed at an on-line vendor and may
be provided only to targeted users. Such method embodiment may
further comprise the step of: receiving value form a pharmaceutical
company in exchange for performing at least (b), (c), (d) and (e).
Further, such method embodiment may further comprise the steps of:
performing (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) with respect to a plurality
of users; and accumulating input provided by the plurality of users
in response to (e). The method embodiment may also comprise a step
of: maintaining statistics relating to accumulated input provided
by the plurality of users, wherein the statistics may be provided
to at least one pharmaceutical company.
[0061] As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art,
steps performed by the system may be embodied in part or whole by
human participation. It is preferred that as many steps be
automated as possible. Human participation may include analysis and
interpretation.
[0062] Although the present invention has been described in detail
with respect to certain embodiments and examples, as would be
understood by one of ordinary skill in the art variations and
modifications exist which are within the scope of the present
invention as defined in the following claims.
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