U.S. patent application number 13/854080 was filed with the patent office on 2014-06-05 for methods and systems for providing a customized virtual health care solution for a user.
This patent application is currently assigned to Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is CELLCO PARTNERSHIP D/B/A VERIZON WIRELESS, VERIZON PATENT AND LICENSING INC., CELLCO PARTNERSHIP D/B/A VERIZON WIRELESS. Invention is credited to Scott Kozicki, Arthur W. Lane, III, Donald H. Relyea, Anil K. Solleti.
Application Number | 20140156293 13/854080 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50826289 |
Filed Date | 2014-06-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140156293 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kozicki; Scott ; et
al. |
June 5, 2014 |
Methods and Systems for Providing a Customized Virtual Health Care
Solution for a User
Abstract
An exemplary method includes a virtual health care solutions
provider system 1) presenting, within a user portal, an interactive
health care questionnaire to a user, 2) detecting a completion by
the user of the health care questionnaire by way of the user
portal, 3) placing, in response to the completion of the health
care questionnaire, the user in a virtual queue for a virtual
consultation with a health care practitioner, 4) presenting, within
the user portal, a virtual lobby interface for experiencing by the
user while the user is in the virtual queue, and 5) personalizing
the virtual lobby interface to the user in accordance with the
completed health care questionnaire. Corresponding methods and
systems are also disclosed.
Inventors: |
Kozicki; Scott; (Franklin,
TN) ; Lane, III; Arthur W.; (Nashville, TN) ;
Relyea; Donald H.; (Dallas, TX) ; Solleti; Anil
K.; (Irving, TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
CELLCO PARTNERSHIP D/B/A VERIZON WIRELESS
VERIZON PATENT AND LICENSING INC. |
Basking Ridge
Arlington |
NJ
VA |
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Verizon Patent and Licensing
Inc.
Arlington
VA
Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless
Basking Ridge
NJ
|
Family ID: |
50826289 |
Appl. No.: |
13/854080 |
Filed: |
March 30, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61732177 |
Nov 30, 2012 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/10 20130101;
G16H 10/20 20180101; G06Q 30/0631 20130101; G16H 40/67
20180101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/2 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 50/22 20060101
G06Q050/22; G06Q 10/10 20060101 G06Q010/10 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: presenting, by a virtual health care
solutions provider system within a user portal, an interactive
health care questionnaire to a user; detecting, by the virtual
health care solutions provider system, a completion by the user of
the health care questionnaire by way of the user portal; placing,
by the virtual health care solutions provider system in response to
the completion of the health care questionnaire, the user in a
virtual queue for a virtual consultation with a health care
practitioner; presenting, by the virtual health care solutions
provider system within the user portal, a virtual lobby interface
for experiencing by the user while the user is in the virtual
queue; and personalizing, by the virtual health care solutions
provider system, the virtual lobby interface to the user in
accordance with the completed health care questionnaire.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the personalizing of the virtual
lobby interface to the user in accordance with the completed health
care questionnaire comprises: identifying, by the virtual health
care solutions provider system based on the completed health care
questionnaire, one or more health issues associated with the user;
and presenting, by the virtual health care solutions provider
system, one or more content instances related to the one or more
health issues within the virtual lobby interface.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising personalizing, by the
virtual health care solutions provider system, the virtual lobby
interface to the user in accordance with a user profile associated
with the user.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the personalizing of the virtual
lobby interface to the user in accordance with the user profile
associated with the user comprises: using the user profile to
select one or more content instances targeted for the user; and
presenting the one or more content instances targeted for the user
within the virtual lobby interface.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: presenting, by the
virtual health care solutions provider system, a landing page
interface within the user portal; and detecting, by the virtual
health care solutions provider system, input provided by the user
by way of the landing page interface and representative of an
initiation of a virtual health care session; wherein the presenting
of the interactive health care questionnaire is performed in
response to the detecting of the input.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting, by the
virtual health care solutions provider system, input provided by
the health care practitioner and representative of a request to
initiate the virtual consultation; and presenting, by the virtual
health care solutions provider system in response to the request to
initiate the virtual consultation, a virtual consultation interface
within the user portal, the virtual consultation interface
configured to facilitate virtual interaction by the user with the
health care practitioner.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning, by the
virtual health care solutions provider system in response to the
completion of the health care questionnaire, a virtual health care
session associated with the user to a health care practitioner;
presenting, by the virtual health care solutions provider system in
response to the assigning of the virtual health care session to the
health care practitioner, a virtual examination interface by way of
a practitioner portal; and personalizing, by the virtual health
care solutions provider system, the virtual examination interface
to the user in accordance with the completed health care
questionnaire.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the presenting of the health care
questionnaire comprises presenting a series of requests for
health-related information from the user, wherein the requests for
the health-related information are dynamically selected based on
health-related information provided by the user in response to one
or more of the requests.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting, by the
virtual health care solutions provider system by way of the user
portal, a payment interface configured to facilitate payment by the
user for the virtual consultation.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual consultation
comprises at least one of an online video conference, an audio
conference, and an online chat session.
11. The method of claim 1, embodied as computer-executable
instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable
medium.
12. A method comprising: detecting, by a virtual health care
solutions provider system, a completion by a user of a health care
questionnaire; assigning, by the virtual health care solutions
provider system in response to the completion of the health care
questionnaire, a virtual health care session associated with the
user to a health care practitioner; presenting, by the virtual
health care solutions provider system in response to the assigning
of the virtual health care session to the health care practitioner,
a virtual examination interface by way of a practitioner portal
accessible to the health care practitioner; and personalizing, by
the virtual health care solutions provider system, the virtual
examination interface to the user in accordance with the completed
health care questionnaire.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the personalizing of the
virtual examination interface to the user in accordance with the
completed health care questionnaire comprises presenting, within
the virtual examination interface, at least one of the completed
health care questionnaire, a diagnosis field configured to
facilitate entry of a diagnosis of the user by the health care
practitioner, and a virtual consultation window configured to
facilitate a virtual consultation between the user and the health
care practitioner.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the personalizing of the
virtual examination interface to the user in accordance with the
completed health care questionnaire comprises: identifying, based
on the completed health care questionnaire, one or more health
issues associated with the user; and presenting, within the virtual
examination interface, information associated with the one or more
health issues.
15. The method of claim 12, further comprising personalizing, by
the virtual health care solutions provider system, the virtual
examination interface to the user in accordance with a user profile
associated with the user.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the personalizing of the
virtual examination interface to the user in accordance with the
user profile associated with the user comprises using the user
profile to acquire and present one or more medical records
associated with the user within the virtual examination
interface.
17. The method of claim 12, wherein the assigning of the virtual
heath care session associated with the user to the health care
practitioner comprises selecting the health care practitioner from
a pool of health care practitioners qualified to treat the user and
open for virtual consultations.
18. The method of claim 12, further comprising: placing, by the
virtual health care solutions provider system in response to the
completion of the health care questionnaire and prior to the
assigning of the virtual health care session to the health care
practitioner, the user in a virtual queue for a virtual
consultation with the health care practitioner; presenting, by the
virtual health care solutions provider system within the user
portal, a virtual lobby interface for experiencing by the user
while the user is in the virtual queue; and personalizing, by the
virtual health care solutions provider system, the virtual lobby
interface to the user in accordance with the completed health care
questionnaire.
19. The method of claim 12, embodied as computer-executable
instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable
medium.
20. A system comprising: virtual health care management facility
configured to present, within a user portal, an interactive health
care questionnaire to a user; and a detection facility
communicatively coupled to the virtual health care management
facility and configured to detect a completion of the health care
questionnaire by way of the user portal; wherein the virtual health
care management facility is further configured to place, in
response to the completion of the health care questionnaire, the
user in a virtual queue for a virtual consultation with a health
care practitioner, present, within the user portal, a virtual lobby
interface for experiencing by the user while the user is in the
virtual queue, and personalize the virtual lobby interface to the
user in accordance with the completed health care
questionnaire.
21. A system comprising: a detection facility configured to detect
a completion by a user of a health care questionnaire, and a
virtual health care management facility communicatively coupled to
the detection facility and configured to assign, in response to the
completion of the health care questionnaire, a virtual health care
session associated with the user to a health care practitioner,
present, in response to the assigning of the virtual health care
session to the health care practitioner, a virtual examination
interface by way of a practitioner portal accessible to the health
care practitioner, and personalize the virtual examination
interface to the user in accordance with the completed health care
questionnaire.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/732,177,
filed Nov. 30, 2012. The contents of the provisional patent
application are hereby incorporated by reference in their
entirety.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
[0002] People are often in need of basic or non-emergency medical
attention. For example, a person may have a cold, the flu, a sinus
infection, a sore throat, allergies, or a host of other sicknesses,
ailments, or health issues that hinder their ability to function as
they normally would. To receive treatment for such health issues, a
person has typically had to make an in-person visit to a medical
clinic (e.g., an office of a primary care physician).
Unfortunately, such a visit may be costly, time consuming, and/or
difficult to arrange. As a result, many people with non-emergency
health issues forego seeing a medical practitioner and obtaining
the medical attention that they need. This may hinder their ability
to recover from their health issues, which may result in lost
productivity, spreading of disease, and/or costly emergency room
visits if their health issues worsen.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0003] The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments and
are a part of the specification. The illustrated embodiments are
merely examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure.
Throughout the drawings, identical or similar reference numbers
designate identical or similar elements.
[0004] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary configuration in which a
virtual health care solutions provider system is communicatively
coupled to a customer computing system according to principles
described herein.
[0005] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary implementation of the
configuration shown in FIG. 1 according to principles described
herein.
[0006] FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary components of a virtual health
care solutions provider system according to principles described
herein.
[0007] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary configuration in which a session
management facility provides a user portal and a practitioner
portal according to principles described herein.
[0008] FIGS. 5-21 illustrate exemplary interfaces according to
principles described herein.
[0009] FIG. 22 illustrates an exemplary implementation of the
virtual health care solutions provider system shown in FIG. 3
according to principles described herein.
[0010] FIG. 23 illustrates an exemplary method of providing a
customized virtual health care solution for a user according to
principles described herein.
[0011] FIG. 24 illustrates another exemplary method of providing a
customized virtual health care solution for a user according to
principles described herein.
[0012] FIG. 25 illustrates an exemplary computing device according
to principles described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0013] Methods and systems for providing a customized virtual
health care solution for a user are described herein. For example,
as will be described below, a virtual health care solutions
provider system may 1) present, within a user portal, an
interactive health care questionnaire to a user, 2) detect a
completion by the user of the health care questionnaire by way of
the user portal, 3) place, in response to the completion of the
health care questionnaire, the user in a virtual queue for a
virtual consultation with a health care practitioner, 4) present,
within the user portal, a virtual lobby interface for experiencing
by the user while the user is in the virtual queue, and 5)
personalize the virtual lobby interface to the user in accordance
with the completed health care questionnaire.
[0014] In some examples, the virtual health care solutions provider
system may be further configured to 1) assign, in response to the
completion of the health care questionnaire, a virtual health care
session associated with the user to a health care practitioner, 2)
present, in response to the assignation of the virtual health care
session to the health care practitioner, a virtual examination
interface by way of a practitioner portal, and 3) personalize the
virtual examination interface to the user in accordance with the
completed health care questionnaire.
[0015] By personalizing the virtual lobby interface presented to
the user and/or the virtual examination interface presented to the
health care practitioner in accordance with the completed health
care questionnaire, the methods and systems described herein may
provide a virtual health care solution for the user that is
customized to the user. For example, the methods and systems
described herein may allow a user to experience (e.g., read, view,
interact with, or otherwise access) content instances related to
one or more health issues that the user is experiencing while the
user waits in a virtual queue for a virtual consultation with a
health care practitioner, thereby enriching the user's experience
while he or she waits in the virtual queue for the virtual
consultation. The methods and systems described herein may
additionally or alternatively allow a health care practitioner to
diagnose, treat, and/or otherwise communicate with the user in a
relatively effective, efficient, and immediate manner.
[0016] The methods and systems described herein may also allow a
user to receive medical attention without making an in-person visit
to a health care clinic. This, in turn, may encourage early
treatment of health issues, prevent spreading of disease, reduce
costly emergency room visits, and/or reduce employee
absenteeism.
[0017] For example, a user suffering from a contagious disease
(e.g., a bacterial infection) may use a computing device (e.g., a
smartphone) to initiate a virtual health care session from the
comfort of his or her own home. Within a short amount of time
(e.g., a few minutes), he or she may participate in a virtual
consultation by way of the computing device with a health care
practitioner who specializes in the health issue. During the
virtual consultation, the health care practitioner may examine,
diagnose, and treat the health issue (e.g., by prescribing one or
more medications and/or a regime for the user to follow). The user
may then immediately begin treatment of the contagious disease,
thereby reducing the time that the user is sick and preventing
others from contracting the disease.
[0018] As used herein, a "virtual consultation" may include any
form of real-time communication between a user and a health care
practitioner. For example, a virtual consultation may include an
online video conference, an audio conference (e.g., an online audio
conference and/or a phone call), an online chat session, and or any
other form of real-time communication as may serve a particular
implementation. Methods and systems for facilitating a virtual
consultation between a user and a health care practitioner are
described in more detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.
No. ______, filed the same day as the present application, and
entitled "Methods and Systems for Facilitating a Virtual
Consultation Between a User and a Health Care Practitioner," the
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their
entirety.
[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary configuration 100 in which a
virtual health care solutions provider system 102 is
communicatively coupled to a customer computing system 104. As
illustrated by the dashed lines in FIG. 1 and as will be described
in more detail below, virtual health care solutions provider system
102 may provide a virtual health care platform 106 upon which a
virtual health care solution 108 may be built for one or more
customers associated with customer computing system 104.
[0020] Virtual health care solutions provider system 102 may be
implemented by one or more appropriately configured computing
devices (e.g., one or more server devices) and associated with
(e.g., owned by, operated by, and/or managed by) a virtual health
care solutions provider. For example, virtual health care solutions
provider system 102 may be associated with one or more entities
involved in providing a virtual health care solution to a customer.
To illustrate, virtual health care solutions provider system 102
may be associated with a first entity that provides virtual health
care platform 106 and a second entity that provides virtual health
care solution 108, a single entity that provides both virtual
health care platform 106 and virtual health care solution 108,
and/or any other entity or combination of entities involved in
providing virtual health care platform 106 and virtual health care
solution 108 as may serve a particular implementation.
[0021] Customer computing system 104 may be associated with (e.g.,
owned by, operated by, and/or managed by) customers of the virtual
health care solutions provider and/or users of the virtual health
care solutions provided by the virtual health care solutions
provider. For example, customer computing system 104 may be
associated with one or more users in need of medical attention, one
or more health care practitioners, one or more virtual health care
solution administrators, one or more health insurance companies,
one or more health care practitioner staffing agencies, and/or any
other user and/or entity as may serve a particular
implementation.
[0022] In some examples, virtual health care solution 108 may
comprise an abstraction of one or more high-level, customer-visible
virtual health care services ("customer services") provided by the
virtual health care solutions provider as part of the virtual
health care solution 108. Such virtual health care services may
include, but are not limited to, portal services, e-prescribing
services, payment services, virtual consultation services, etc.
[0023] Virtual health care platform 106 may comprise an abstraction
of one or more lower-level services ("platform services") that
support and/or perform the customer services of virtual health care
solution 108. Platform services may include platform-level services
provided by virtual health care solutions provider system 102 as
part of virtual health care platform 106 and that may support,
underlie, and/or perform one or more customer services of virtual
health care solution 108 provided on top of virtual health care
platform. For example, platform services may include, without
limitation, access services, messaging services, health care
practitioner selection and scheduling services, communication
services, support services, data transport services, etc.
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary implementation 200 of the
configuration 100 shown in FIG. 1. As shown, implementation 200 may
include a user computing device 202 and a practitioner computing
device 204 each communicatively coupled to virtual health care
solutions provider system 102 by way of a network (e.g., network
206 and network 208). In some examples, user computing device 202
and practitioner computing device 204 may implement customer
computing system 104.
[0025] As shown, user computing device 202 may be associated with
(i.e., used by) a user 210. User 210 may include any user who uses
user computing device 202 to participate in a virtual consultation
with a health care practitioner. Likewise, practitioner computing
device 204 may be associated with (i.e., used by) a health care
practitioner 212. As used herein, a health care practitioner may
include a physician, a physician assistant, a nurse, a dietitian, a
therapist, and/or any other person trained to provide some type of
health care service.
[0026] User computing device 202 may be implemented by a mobile
device (e.g., a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer,
etc.), a personal computer, and/or any other suitable computing
device that may be configured to access a user portal provided by
virtual health care solutions provider system 102. For example,
user computing device 202 may be implemented by a computing device
configured to execute and/or otherwise access an application (e.g.,
a web application or a mobile application) configured to facilitate
access by the user to the virtual health care services described
herein.
[0027] Likewise, practitioner computing device 204 may be
implemented by a mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone, a tablet
computer, a laptop computer, etc.), a personal computer, and/or any
other suitable computing device that may be configured to access a
practitioner portal provided by virtual health care solutions
provider system 102. For example, practitioner computing device 204
may be implemented by a computing device configured to execute
and/or otherwise access an application (e.g., a web application or
a mobile application) configured to facilitate access by the
practitioner to the virtual health care services described
herein.
[0028] It will be recognized that although a single user computing
device 202 and a single practitioner computing device 204 are shown
in FIG. 2, any number of user computing devices and practitioner
computing devices may be communicatively coupled to virtual health
care solutions provider system 102 as may serve a particular
implementation. Additional computing devices used by other types of
users (e.g., virtual health care solution administrators, etc.) may
also be communicatively coupled to virtual health care solutions
provider system 102.
[0029] As shown, user computing device 202 may communicate with
virtual health care solutions provider system 102 by way of a
network 206. Likewise, practitioner computing device 204 may
communicate with virtual health care solutions provider system 102
by way of a network 208. Networks 206 and 208 may each include one
or more wireless networks, cellular networks (e.g., 3G, 4G, or long
term evolution ("LTE") networks), carrier-specific networks,
broadband networks, closed media networks, cable networks,
satellite networks, the Internet, intranets, wide area networks,
local area networks, public networks, private networks, optical
fiber networks, and/or any other networks or combination of
networks capable of carrying data and communications signals
between user computing device 202 and virtual health care solutions
provider system 102 and/or between practitioner computing device
204 and virtual health care solutions provider system 102. While
networks 206 and 208 are shown to be separate networks in FIG. 2
(e.g., network 206 may include one or more telecommunication
carrier networks and network 208 may include the Internet), it will
be recognized that, in some examples, networks 206 and 208 may
alternatively be a single network.
[0030] User computing device 202, practitioner computing device
204, and virtual health care solutions provider system 102 may
communicate using any communication technologies suitable for
transporting data, including known communication devices, media,
and protocols supportive of remote or local data communications.
Examples of such communication technologies include, but are not
limited to, data transmission media, communications devices (e.g.,
network devices such as routers, switches, etc.), Transmission
Control Protocol ("TCP"), Internet Protocol ("IP"), Hypertext
Transfer Protocol ("HTTP"), Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure
("HTTPS"), Session Initiation Protocol ("SIP"), Ethernet, and any
other suitable communications technologies, devices, media, and
protocols, including any of those disclosed herein.
[0031] FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary components of virtual health
care solutions provider system 102. As mentioned, virtual health
care solutions provider system 102 may provide a virtual health
care platform and one or more virtual health care solutions by way
of the virtual health care platform. To this end, virtual health
care solutions provider system 102 may include a virtual health
care session management facility 302 ("session management facility
302"), a detection facility 304, and a storage facility 306
selectively and communicatively coupled to one another. It will be
recognized that although facilities 302-306 are shown to be
separate facilities in FIG. 3, any of facilities 302-306 may be
combined into fewer facilities, such as into a single facility, or
divided into more facilities as may serve a particular
implementation.
[0032] Session management facility 302 may be configured to perform
one or more virtual health care session management operations. For
example, session management facility 302 may provide various types
of portals that may be accessed by various types of users
participating in or otherwise associated with a virtual health care
solution provided by virtual health care solutions provider system
102.
[0033] To illustrate, FIG. 4 shows an exemplary configuration in
which session management facility 302 provides a user portal 402
configured to be accessed by user 210 by way of user computing
device 202 and a practitioner portal 404 configured to be accessed
by health care practitioner 212 by way of practitioner computing
device 206. User portal 402 and practitioner portal 404 may be
provided and accessed in any suitable manner. As will be described
in more detail below, various types of interfaces may be presented
to user 210 and/or health care practitioner 212 by way of user
portal 402 and practitioner portal 404, respectively. It will be
recognized that session management facility 302 may provide
additional or alternative types of portals as may serve a
particular implementation. For example, session management facility
302 may provide an administrator portal configured to be accessed
by a virtual health care solution administrator.
[0034] Returning to FIG. 3, detection facility 304 may detect an
initiation of a virtual health care session by a user by way of a
user portal (e.g., user portal 402). This may be performed in any
suitable manner. For example, detection facility 304 may detect an
initiation of a virtual health care session by detecting a
user-initiated launch of an application (e.g., a mobile
application) provided by or otherwise associated with virtual
health care solutions provider system 102. Alternatively, detection
facility 304 may detect an initiation of a virtual health care
session by detecting a logging on by the user to a website
configured to facilitate the virtual health care session. Examples
of this will be provided in more detail below.
[0035] In response to the initiation of the virtual health care
session, session management facility 302 may present an interactive
health care questionnaire (or simply "health care questionnaire")
by way of the user portal. The interactive health care
questionnaire may include one or more questions or requests for
health-related information that the user may respond to in order to
provide health-related information (e.g., one or more symptoms that
the user is experiencing).
[0036] The user may complete the interactive health care
questionnaire in any suitable manner. For example, the user may
provide the requested health-related information by providing input
by way of the user portal. As will be described in more detail
below, a completed health care questionnaire (i.e., the information
provided by the user in response to the requests included in the
health care questionnaire) may be used by a health care
practitioner to diagnose the user and/or by session management
facility 302 to perform one or more session management
operations.
[0037] In some examples, the various requests for health-related
information included in the health care questionnaire may be
dynamically selected and presented based on information provided by
the user as the user fills out the health care questionnaire. For
example, a first request for health-related information included in
a health care questionnaire presented to a user may ask the user to
select a particular reason why the user has initiated the virtual
health care session. The reason may be associated with one or more
health issues that the user is experiencing. Such health issues may
include, but are not limited to, a cold, the flu, a sinus
infection, a sore throat, acne, allergies, cold/canker sores,
urinary tract infections, yeast infections, tobacco additions,
and/or any other sickness, ailment, or health issue as may serve a
particular implementation.
[0038] Based on the user's response to the first request included
in the health care questionnaire, one or more follow-up requests
for health-related information may be presented to the user in
order to further describe one or more symptoms of the one or more
health issues that the user is experiencing. Exemplary requests for
health-related information that may be included in an interactive
health care questionnaire presented to the user by way of the user
portal will be described in more detail below.
[0039] Detection facility 304 may detect a completion by the user
of the health care questionnaire by way of the user portal. This
may be performed in any suitable manner. For example, detection
facility 304 may detect that the user has responded to each of the
requests for health-related information included in the health care
questionnaire.
[0040] Session management facility 302 may identify, based on the
completed health care questionnaire, a pool of one or more health
care practitioners qualified to treat the user and open for virtual
consultations (referred to herein as a "practitioner pool"). As
used herein, a health care practitioner who is "open for virtual
consultations" is one who has indicated in any suitable manner that
he or she is "working" during a particular time period (i.e., open
to accepting virtual health care sessions initiated by users during
the particular time period). For example, a health care
practitioner may indicate that he or she is open for virtual
consultations by logging in to the practitioner portal, selecting
an option presented within the practitioner portal that indicates
that the health care practitioner is open for virtual
consultations, being actively logged on to the practitioner portal
(e.g., by actively interacting with one or more interfaces
presented by way of the practitioner portal while being logged in
to the practitioner portal) and/or in any other suitable manner.
Likewise, a health care practitioner may indicate that he or she is
not open for virtual consultations by logging out of the
practitioner portal, selecting an option presented within the
practitioner portal that indicates that the health care
practitioner is "busy" or "unavailable," being inactively logged on
to the practitioner portal (e.g., by not actively interacting with
one or more interfaces presented by way of the practitioner portal
while being logged in to the practitioner portal for a
predetermined amount of time) and/or on any other suitable
manner.
[0041] Session management facility 302 may identify, based on the
completed health care questionnaire, the pool of one or more health
care practitioners qualified to treat the user and open for virtual
consultations in any suitable manner. For example, session
management facility 302 may first identify a group of health care
practitioners who are open for virtual consultations (e.g., in any
of the ways described above) at a time associated with the
completion of the health care questionnaire (e.g., at a time that
the health care questionnaire is completed). From this group,
session management facility 302 may select one or more health care
practitioners qualified to treat the user. For example, session
management facility 302 may identify, based on the completed health
care questionnaire, a health issue associated with the user.
Session management facility 302 may then select one or more health
care practitioners specializing in the identified health issue and
who are open for virtual consultations at a time associated with
the completion of the health care questionnaire for inclusion in
the practitioner pool. In this manner, session management facility
302 may attempt to ensure that the health care session initiated by
the user is assigned to a health care practitioner who has a skill
set necessary to treat the user.
[0042] It will be recognized that any other factor may be used to
select a health care practitioner for inclusion in the practitioner
pool. For example, session management facility 302 may select only
health care practitioners licensed to practice in the state in
which the user resides for inclusion in the practitioner pool. As
an example, a particular state (e.g., California) may require
health care practitioners to be licensed in that state in order to
treat patients residing in that state. If this is the case, session
management facility 302 may determine a state in which the user
resides (e.g., by analyzing a user profile associated with the
user) and select only health care practitioners licensed to
practice in the state in which the user resides for inclusion in
the practitioner pool.
[0043] As another example, session management facility 302 may
select health care practitioners for inclusion in the practitioner
pool based on one or more preferences selected by the user. For
example, the user may prefer to interact with health care
practitioners of a particular gender. This preference may be
indicated by the user in any suitable manner (e.g., as part of an
answer provided to one of the questions included in the health care
questionnaire, as part of a user profile associated with the user,
etc.). Session management facility 302 may accordingly select only
those health care practitioners that are of the preferred gender
for inclusion in the practitioner pool.
[0044] As another example, session management facility 302 may
select health care practitioners for inclusion in the practitioner
pool based on one or more attributes of the health care
practitioners. For example, session management facility 302 may
select a health care practitioner for inclusion in the practitioner
pool based on one or more ratings associated with the health care
practitioner. The one or more ratings may be provided by users,
health insurance companies, other health care practitioners, and/or
any other source and may be indicative of a quality of service
provided by the health care practitioner, a cost effectiveness of
the health care practitioner, and/or any other attribute of the
health care practitioner as may serve a particular implementation.
To illustrate, health care practitioners with ratings above a
predetermined threshold may have a higher likelihood of being
selected for inclusion in the practitioner pool.
[0045] Once the practitioner pool has been identified, session
management facility 302 may place the user in a virtual queue
associated with the practitioner pool for a virtual consultation by
way of the user portal with any one of the identified one or more
health care practitioners included in the practitioner pool. While
in the virtual queue, the user may wait for one of the health care
practitioners included in the practitioner pool to become available
to participate in the health care session initiated by the
user.
[0046] To illustrate, each health care practitioner selected for
inclusion in the practitioner pool may be busy participating in
virtual consultations with other users at a time that the user
completes the health care questionnaire. When one of the health
practitioners completes his or her virtual consultation with one of
the other users (and thereby becomes available to participate in
the virtual health care session initiated by the user), the user
may be taken out of the virtual queue so that he or she may
participate in a virtual consultation with the available health
care practitioner. This will be described in more detail below. In
some examples, session management facility 302 may select enough
health care practitioners for inclusion in the practitioner pool in
order to keep the user's wait time (i.e., the amount of time that
the user has to wait before a health care practitioner becomes
available to participate in a health care session initiated by the
user) below a predetermined amount of time (e.g., five
minutes).
[0047] In some examples, session management facility 302 may
present, within the user portal, a virtual lobby interface for
experiencing by the user while the user is in the virtual queue. As
will be described below, the virtual lobby interface may include
one or more content instances (e.g., articles, videos, e-magazines,
images, advertisements, links (e.g., hyperlinks) to web content,
etc.) that the user may experience (e.g., read, view, interact
with, or otherwise access) while the user waits in the virtual
queue for a virtual consultation with a health care practitioner.
An exemplary virtual lobby interface will be described in more
detail below.
[0048] In some examples, session management facility 302 may
personalize the virtual lobby interface to the user in accordance
with the user's completed health care questionnaire. For example,
session management facility 302 may identify, based on the
completed health care questionnaire, one or more health issues
associated with the user and present one or more content instances
related to the one or more health issues within the virtual lobby
interface. To illustrate, session management facility 302 may
identify, based on the completed health care questionnaire, that
the user smokes cigarettes. Session management facility 302 may
accordingly select one or more content instances intended to help
the user quit smoking (e.g., one or more articles that provide tips
for overcoming a smoking addiction) for presentation within the
virtual lobby interface. Other examples will be provided in more
detail below.
[0049] Additionally or alternatively, session management facility
302 may personalize the virtual lobby interface to the user in
accordance with a user profile associated with the user. As used
herein, a user profile may represent one or more personal traits
associated with the user. For example, a user profile may include
data representative of a user's age, gender, income level,
profession, family status, nationality, preferred genre of media
content, etc. In some examples, session management facility 302 may
use the user profile associated with the user to select one or more
content instances targeted for the user (i.e., one or more content
instances likely to be of interest to the user) and present the
selected one or more content instances targeted for the user within
the virtual lobby interface. To illustrate, a user profile
associated with a user may indicate that the user is a 21-year-old
male. Session management facility 302 may use this information to
select a particular e-publication (e.g., Sports Illustrated) or a
particular advertisement (e.g., an advertisement for a video game)
for presentation within the virtual lobby interface.
[0050] Additionally or alternatively, session management facility
302 may personalize the virtual lobby interface to the user in
accordance with information included in one or more medical records
associated with the user. For example, session management facility
302 may access medical records (e.g., electronic medical records)
associated with the user and determine, based on the accessed
medical records, that the user has been treated in the past for a
particular medical condition. Based on this determination, session
management facility 302 may select one or more content instances
related to the medical condition for presentation within the
virtual lobby interface.
[0051] While the user is in the virtual queue, session management
facility 302 may determine that a health care practitioner included
in the practitioner pool is available to participate in the virtual
health care session initiated by the user. This may be performed in
any suitable manner. For example, session management facility 302
may detect input provided by the health care practitioner by way of
the practitioner portal and that indicates that the health care
practitioner is available to participate in the virtual health care
session. Such input may include, but is not limited to, selection
by the health care practitioner of an option presented by way of
the practitioner portal, completion by the health care practitioner
of a virtual health care session initiated by a different user,
and/or any other input as may serve a particular implementation. In
some examples, session management facility 302 may automatically
determine that a health care practitioner included in the
practitioner pool is available to participate in the virtual health
care session initiated by the user (e.g., by detecting that the
health care practitioner is not currently participating in a
virtual health care session with someone else when the user
completes the health care questionnaire).
[0052] In response to determining that a health care practitioner
is available to participate in the virtual health care session,
session management facility 302 may assign the virtual health care
session to the available health care practitioner. This may be
performed in any suitable manner. In some examples, session
management facility 302 may notify the health care practitioner by
way of the practitioner portal and/or the user by way of the user
portal that the health care practitioner has been assigned to the
virtual health care session.
[0053] In response to assigning the virtual health care session to
the health care practitioner, session management facility 302 may
present a virtual examination interface associated with the user by
way of the practitioner portal. As will be described in more detail
below, the health care practitioner may utilize the virtual
examination interface to diagnose, treat, and/or otherwise
communicate with the user.
[0054] In some examples, session management facility 302 may
personalize the virtual examination interface to the user in
accordance with the completed health care questionnaire. For
example, session management facility 302 may present, within the
virtual examination interface, the completed health care
questionnaire, a diagnosis field configured to facilitate entry of
the diagnosis of the user by the health care practitioner, and/or a
virtual consultation window configured to facilitate a virtual
consultation between the user and the health care practitioner.
Additionally or alternatively, session management facility 302 may
personalize the virtual examination interface to the user in
accordance with the completed health care questionnaire by using
the completed health care questionnaire to identify one or more
health issues associated with the user and present information
associated with the one or more health issues within the virtual
examination interface. These and other examples will be described
in more detail below.
[0055] Session management facility 302 may additionally or
alternatively personalize the virtual examination to the user in
accordance with a user profile associated with the user. For
example, session management facility 302 may use the user profile
to acquire and present personal information and/or one or more
medical records associated with the user within the virtual
examination interface.
[0056] Once a virtual health care session initiated by a user has
been assigned to a particular health care practitioner, the health
care practitioner may initiate a virtual consultation between the
health care practitioner and the user. For example, the health care
practitioner may select an option presented within the virtual
examination interface to begin the virtual consultation once the
health care practitioner has had a chance to review the completed
health care questionnaire and/or any other type of information
presented within the virtual examination interface. Session
management facility 302 may detect the selection of the option
and/or any other type of input provided by the health care
practitioner by way of the practitioner portal that is
representative of a request to initiate the virtual consultation
and, in response, initiate the virtual consultation between the
user and the health care practitioner by way of the practitioner
portal and the user portal.
[0057] Session management facility 302 may initiate the virtual
consultation in any suitable manner. For example, session
management facility 302 may initiate a virtual consultation by
removing the user from the virtual queue and presenting a virtual
consultation interface within the user portal in place of the
virtual lobby interface. As will be illustrated in more detail
below, the virtual consultation interface may be configured to
facilitate virtual interaction by the user with the health care
practitioner.
[0058] In some examples, the health care practitioner may treat the
user by prescribing one or more medicines for the user by way of
the practitioner portal. To illustrate, the health care
practitioner may input data representative of a prescription for
the user by way of the practitioner portal. Session management
facility 302 may receive the data representative of the
prescription and route the prescription to a pharmacy selected by
the user. The user may then visit the pharmacy to pick up the
prescribed medicine.
[0059] Session management facility 302 may present any other type
of interface within the user portal and/or the practitioner portal
as may serve a particular implementation. For example, as will be
described in more detail below, session management facility 302 may
present a payment interface by way of the user portal. The payment
interface may be configured to facilitate payment by the user for
the virtual consultation. As another example, session management
facility 302 may additionally or alternatively present a landing
page interface within the user portal. The user may use the landing
page interface to initiate a virtual health care session, access
one or more medical records associated with the user, access and/or
modify a user profile associated with the user, access and/or
modify one or more settings, access help content, and/or perform
any other function as may serve a particular implementation.
[0060] Storage facility 306 may be configured to store virtual
health care data 308 generated and/or utilized by session
management facility 302 and detection data 310 generated and/or
utilized by detection facility 304. Storage facility 306 may
maintain additional or alternative data as may serve a particular
implementation.
[0061] Various examples of the methods and systems described herein
will now be provided. It will be recognized that the examples
provided herein are merely illustrative of the many different
implementations that may be realized in accordance with the methods
and systems described herein. For example, additional or
alternative interfaces to those described below may be presented in
accordance with the methods and systems described herein.
[0062] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary user portal 500 that may be
provided by session management facility 302 for presentation to a
user. User portal 500 may be presented in any suitable manner. For
example, user portal 500 may be presented in the context of a
webpage, a standalone application (e.g., a mobile application),
and/or in any other manner as may serve a particular
implementation. As will be described herein, various interfaces may
be presented within user portal 500 to facilitate initiation of and
participation in a virtual health care session by a user.
[0063] As shown, a login interface 502 may be initially presented
within user portal 500. A user may utilize login interface 502 to
initiate a virtual health care session. For example, as shown, the
user may initiate a virtual health care session by entering a login
ID and password and selecting a "sign in" option 504. It will be
recognized that a user may alternatively initiate a virtual health
care session in any other manner. For example, a user of a mobile
device may utilize a mobile application executed by the mobile
device to initiate the virtual health care session.
[0064] FIGS. 6-9 illustrate an exemplary screening interface 602
that may be presented within user portal 500 in response to the
user initiating the virtual health care session. As shown in FIGS.
6-9, session management facility 302 may present an interactive
health care questionnaire within screening interface 602. The
interactive health care questionnaire may include a series of
requests for health-related information from the user. One or more
of the requests may be dynamically selected based on information
provided by the user. For example, FIG. 6 shows that a first
request may ask the user to select a broad category that describes
the reason for the user initiating the virtual health care session.
As shown, the user has selected that she would like to quit smoking
or chewing tobacco. In response to the selection, session
management facility 302 may present follow-up requests related to
the selected category, as shown in FIGS. 7-9. As described above,
the information provided by the user in response to these requests
may be used by a health care practitioner to diagnose and/or treat
the user. The information may also be used by session management
facility 302 to personalize one or more interfaces presented to the
user and/or to the health care practitioner.
[0065] FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary notification interface 1002
that may be presented within user portal 500 in response to the
user completing the health care questionnaire. As shown,
notification interface 1002 may notify the user of a cost
associated with the virtual health care session. By selecting
option 1004, the user may consent to the cost and continue with the
virtual health care session. Alternatively, the user may select
option 1006 to cancel the virtual health care session.
[0066] As described above, the user may be placed in a virtual
queue once the user completes the interactive health care
questionnaire. While in the virtual queue, the user may wait for a
virtual consultation with a health care practitioner qualified to
treat the user.
[0067] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary virtual lobby interface
1102 that may be presented within user portal 500 while the user is
in the virtual queue. As shown, virtual lobby interface 1002 may be
personalized to the user.
[0068] For example, virtual lobby interface 1102 may include
various notifications 1104 (e.g., 1104-1 through 1104-3) associated
with the virtual health care session initiated by the user. To
illustrate, notification 1104-1 is configured to notify the user
that a screening of the user is complete (i.e., that the user has
completed the interactive health care questionnaire). Notification
1104-2 is configured to notify the user that the pool of health
care practitioners qualified to treat the user and open for virtual
consultations has been identified. Notification 1104-3 is
configured to provide the user with an estimated wait time (i.e.,
an amount of time that the user has to wait before beginning a
virtual consultation with a particular health care practitioner
included in the practitioner pool). Additional or alternative
notifications may be presented within the virtual lobby interface
1102 as may serve a particular implementation.
[0069] Session management facility 302 may additionally or
alternatively personalize the virtual lobby interface 1102 to the
user in accordance with the user's completed health care
questionnaire. For example, the user's completed health care
questionnaire may indicate that she is interested in losing weight.
Based on this information, session management facility 302 may
select and present within the virtual lobby interface 1102 various
content instances 1106 (e.g., content instances 1106-1 through
1106-8) related to losing weight.
[0070] Session management facility 302 may additionally or
alternatively personalize the virtual lobby interface 1102 to the
user in accordance with a user profile associated with the user.
For example, the user profile associated with the user may indicate
that she has young children. Based on this information, session
management facility may select and present within the virtual lobby
interface 1102 various content instances 1108 (e.g., content
instances 1108-1 through 1108-2). To illustrate, content instance
1108-1 may include a magazine that targets mothers of young
children and content instance 1108-2 may include an advertisement
that targets women that are of a similar age as the user.
[0071] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary practitioner portal 1200
that may be provided by session management facility 302 for
presentation to a health care practitioner. Practitioner portal
1200 may be presented in any suitable manner. For example,
practitioner portal 1200 may be presented in the context of a
webpage, a standalone application (e.g., a mobile application),
and/or in any other manner as may serve a particular
implementation. As will be described herein, various interfaces may
be presented within practitioner portal 1200 to facilitate
participation by a health care practitioner in a virtual health
care session initiated by a user.
[0072] As shown, a login interface 1202 may be initially presented
within practitioner portal 1200. A health care practitioner may
utilize login interface 1202 to login to practitioner portal 1200.
For example, as shown, the health care practitioner may login to
practitioner portal 1200 by entering a login ID and password and
selecting a "sign in" option 1204. As described above, by logging
in to practitioner portal 1200, a health care practitioner may
indicate that he or she is open for virtual consultations.
[0073] FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary virtual queue interface
1302 that may be presented within practitioner portal 1200. As
shown, virtual queue interface 1302 may show a list 1304 of users
or patients currently included in a virtual queue associated with a
practitioner pool of which the health care practitioner is a part.
The health care practitioner may use virtual queue interface 1302
to assess how many people are in the virtual queue at any given
time. In some examples, when the health care practitioner becomes
available to participate in a virtual health care session initiated
by a user, the health care practitioner may select an option 1306.
In response, session management facility 302 may assign a virtual
health care session initiated by a user included in the virtual
queue (e.g., a user who has waited for the most time in the virtual
queue) to the health care practitioner.
[0074] In some examples, a health care practitioner may utilize
virtual queue interface 1302 to indicate whether he or she is open
for virtual consultations. For example, the health care
practitioner may select an availability status (i.e., whether the
health care practitioner is open for virtual consultations or
whether the health care practitioner is busy and not available for
virtual consultations) utilizing drop-down menu 1308 and/or in any
other manner as may serve a particular implementation. In some
examples, session management facility 302 may detect an indication
by a health care practitioner that the health care practitioner is
not open for virtual consultations and accordingly prevent the
health care practitioner from being assigned to a virtual health
care session.
[0075] FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary virtual examination
interface 1402 that may be presented within practitioner portal
1200 in response to a virtual health care session initiated by a
user being assigned to a health care practitioner. The health care
practitioner may utilize virtual examination interface 1402 to
diagnose, treat, and/or otherwise communicate with the user. To
this end, session management facility 302 may present various types
of information and/or various types of options within virtual
examination interface 1402. For example, as shown, session
management facility 302 may present personal information 1404
descriptive of the user, the completed health care questionnaire
1406, a diagnosis field 1408 configured to facilitate entry of a
diagnosis of the user by the health care practitioner, a treatment
options field 1410 configured to present information associated
with treating one or more health issues of the user (which
information may be automatically selected based on an analysis of
the completed health care questionnaire), a patient history field
1412 configured to present a patient history and/or one or more
medical records associated with the user, and one or more virtual
consultation windows (e.g., virtual consultation windows 1414-1 and
1414-2) configured to facilitate the virtual communication by the
health care practitioner with the user. In the particular example
of FIG. 14, virtual consultation window 1414-1 is configured to
facilitate an online video conference between the health care
practitioner and the user and virtual consultation window 1414-2 is
configured to facilitate an online chat session between the health
care practitioner and the user.
[0076] Once the health care practitioner is ready to begin a
virtual consultation with a user (e.g., after the health care
practitioner has reviewed the other information presented within
the virtual examination interface 1402), the health care
practitioner may provide input representative of a request to
initiate the virtual consultation. This may be performed in any
suitable manner. For example, the health care practitioner may
select option 1416 to initiate the virtual consultation.
[0077] FIG. 15 shows virtual examination interface 1402 after the
health care practitioner has initiated a virtual consultation with
the user. As shown, an online video conference between the health
care practitioner and the user is taking place within virtual
consultation window 1414-1. FIG. 15 also shows that an online chat
session may additionally or alternatively take place between the
health care practitioner and the user by way of a virtual
consultation window 1414-2.
[0078] FIG. 15 also shows that the health care practitioner has
entered a diagnosis for the user within diagnosis field 1408. In
some examples, session management facility 302 may also present
this diagnosis within an interface accessible by the user by way of
user portal 500.
[0079] FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary virtual consultation
interface 1602 that may be presented within user portal 500 in
response to the health care practitioner initiating a virtual
consultation between the health care practitioner and the user. As
shown, virtual consultation interface 1602 may include a diagnosis
field 1604 and one or more virtual consultation windows 1606 (e.g.,
virtual consultation windows 1606-1 and 1606-2). The user may
utilize virtual consultation window 1606-1 to participate in an
online video conference with the health care practitioner and
virtual consultation window 1606-2 to participate in an online chat
session with the health care practitioner.
[0080] FIG. 17 shows virtual consultation interface 1602 after the
health care practitioner has provided a diagnosis for the user. As
shown, the diagnosis may be presented within diagnosis field 1604.
The user may select an option 1608 to print the diagnosis. If the
diagnosis includes a prescription, the user may select option 1610
to send the prescription to a pharmacy selected by the user.
[0081] For example, FIG. 18 shows an exemplary pharmacy selection
interface 1802 that may be presented within user portal 500 in
response to the user selecting option 1610 included in virtual
consultation interface 1602 (i.e., an option to send a prescription
to a pharmacy). As shown, pharmacy selection interface 1802 may
allow a user to select a particular pharmacy to which the
prescription is to be sent. For example, the user may choose to
send the prescription to a "favorite" pharmacy (i.e., a pharmacy
that the user has already used in the past or otherwise indicated
as being a favorite). Alternatively, the user may look up and
select any other pharmacy as may serve a particular
implementation.
[0082] In some examples, a notice may be provided to the user by
way of the user portal (e.g., by way of any of the interfaces
described herein) that a prescription has been filled by a
pharmacy. In this manner, the user may know when to go to the
pharmacy to pick up the prescribed medicine.
[0083] FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary payment interface 1902 that
may be presented within user interface 500 at the conclusion of a
virtual health care session. As shown, payment interface 1902 may
facilitate payment by the user for the virtual health care
session.
[0084] Various other interfaces may be presented within user portal
500 and/or practitioner portal 1200. For example, FIG. 20
illustrates an exemplary health records interface 2002 that may be
presented within user portal. Health records interface 2002 may be
presented in response to a user selecting an option to access one
or more health records associated with the user. For example, as
shown in FIG. 20, a user may access one or more records and/or
other types of notes associated with one or more virtual health
care sessions in which the user has participated. Such access may
allow a user to review instructions provided by a health care
practitioner during a particular virtual health care session and/or
otherwise access information associated with a particular virtual
health care session.
[0085] As mentioned, the user portal and/or practitioner portal may
be provided by way of a mobile application executed by a mobile
device. To illustrate, FIG. 21 shows an exemplary user portal 2100
that may be presented by way of a mobile application executed by a
mobile device. As shown, a landing page interface 2102 may be
presented within user portal 2100. Landing page interface 2102 may
include a plurality of selectable icons 2104 (e.g., selectable
icons 2104-1 through 2104-6) each configured to facilitate access
to one or more virtual health care features by way of user portal
2100. For example, icon 2104-1 may be selected by a user to
initiate a virtual health care session, icon 2104-2 may be selected
by a user to access health records associated with the user, icon
2104-3 may be selected by a user to access (e.g., view and/or
modify) a user profile associated with the user, icon 2104-4 may be
selected by a user to access (e.g., view and/or modify) one or more
settings, icon 2104-5 may be selected by a user to sign out of a
virtual health care session, and icon 2104-6 may be selected by a
user to access help content associated with one or more of the
features provided by way of user portal 1200.
[0086] FIG. 22 illustrates an exemplary implementation 2200 of
virtual health care solutions provider system 102. In particular,
implementation 2200 shows various services (i.e., platform services
and/or customer services) that may be provided by virtual health
care solutions provider system 102. For example, as shown, virtual
health care solutions provider system 102 may provide communication
services 2202, access services 2204, orchestration and message
brokering services 2206, data and transport services 2208, and
reporting services 2210. Additional or alternative platform
services may be provided as may serve a particular implementation.
Together, the various platform services illustrated in FIG. 22
provide a virtual health care platform (e.g., virtual health care
platform 106) upon which one or more virtual health care solutions
may be built.
[0087] Communication services 2202 may facilitate communication by
virtual health care solutions provider system 102 with various
external devices and/or systems. For example, communication
services 2202 may provide a communication services layer by which
virtual health care solutions provider system 102 may communicate
with one or more user computing devices (e.g., user computing
device 202) and one or more practitioner computing devices (e.g.,
practitioner computing device 204).
[0088] Communication services 2202 may additionally or
alternatively facilitate communication by virtual health care
solutions provider system 102 with external systems 2212. In some
examples, external systems 2212 may be associated with (e.g.,
managed by) one or more entities not associated with virtual health
care solutions provider system 102. As shown, such external systems
2212 may include an electronic medical record ("EMR") system, one
or more legacy systems, and a prescription hub ("Rx hub")
configured to facilitate routing of prescriptions prescribed by a
health care practitioner to a pharmacy selected by a user.
[0089] Access services 2204 may be configured to facilitate access
by users, health care practitioners, administrators, and/or other
types of users to the virtual health care solutions provided by
virtual health care solutions provider system 102. For example,
access services 2204 may provide participation and authorization
services 2214, application services 2216, portal services 2218,
error handling and logging services 2220, and support services
2222.
[0090] Participation and authorization services 2214 may include
access management services configured to facilitate secure
collaboration with external systems (e.g., external systems 2212)
with regulatory mandates and enable comprehensive security for
applications, web services, and data. Participation and
authorization services 2214 may also include authentication
services configured to validate that a particular user is allowed
to access one or more virtual health care services (e.g., by
verifying login IDs and passwords). Participation and authorization
services 2214 may also include registration services configured to
provide a registration process that may be used by a user and/or
health care practitioner to register for virtual health care
services.
[0091] Application services 2216 may include scheduling services
configured to facilitate scheduling by health care practitioners,
diagnosis and assessment services configured to facilitate
screening of users (e.g., by way of health care questionnaires),
payment services configured to allow users to securely submit
payments online, and virtual consultation services configured to
facilitate virtual consultations between users and health care
practitioners.
[0092] Portal services 2218 may include administration services
configured to allow an administrator to manage the various portals
provided by virtual health care solutions provider system 102,
e-prescribing services configured to allow a health care
practitioner to provide a user with online prescriptions, user
portal services configured to facilitate presentation of a user
portal to a user, and practitioner portal services configured to
facilitate presentation of a practitioner portal to a health care
practitioner.
[0093] Error handling and logging services 2220 may include one or
more services configured to handle and/or log faults that may occur
within any of the other services provided by virtual health care
solutions provider system 102. Error handling and logging services
2220 may be further configured to provide one or more options for
auditing the faults.
[0094] Support services 2222 may be configured to provide support
(e.g., customer support) for the various services provided by
virtual health care solutions provider system 102.
[0095] Orchestration and message brokering services 2206 may be
configured to provide one or more workflow management services.
Orchestration and message brokering services 2206 may be further
configured to provide message routing and brokering services. For
example, the recipients of user data (i.e., external systems 2212)
may require data in a specific health care standard format. This
service ensures appropriate message transformation, message
validation and routing for each of the 2212 external systems.
Orchestration and message brokering services 2206 may be further
configured to provide message parser services.
[0096] Data and transport services 2208 may be configured to
provide a secure database and data warehouse for runtime as well as
complex analytics and reporting services. In some examples, the
underlying database for storing data may include a relational data
(e.g. MS SQL, Oracle, etc.) warehouse.
[0097] Reporting services 2210 may be configured to facilitate
creation and generation of various reports associated with the
virtual health care services provided by virtual health care
solutions provider system 102. For example, reporting services 2210
process data acquired by virtual health care solutions provider
system 102 and generate and present one or more reports based on
the data.
[0098] FIG. 23 illustrates an exemplary method 2300 of providing a
customized virtual health care solution for a user. While FIG. 23
illustrates exemplary steps according to one embodiment, other
embodiments may omit, add to, reorder, and/or modify any of the
steps shown in FIG. 23. One or more of the steps shown in FIG. 23
may be performed by virtual health care solutions provider system
102 and/or any implementation thereof.
[0099] In step 2302, a virtual health care solutions provider
system presents, within a user portal, an interactive health care
questionnaire to a user. Step 2302 may be performed in any of the
ways described herein.
[0100] In step 2304, the virtual health care solutions provider
system detects a completion by the user of the health care
questionnaire by way of the user portal. Step 2304 may be performed
in any of the ways described herein.
[0101] In step 2306, the virtual health care solutions provider
system places, in response to the completion of the health care
questionnaire, the user in a virtual queue for a virtual
consultation with a health care practitioner. Step 2306 may be
performed in any of the ways described herein.
[0102] In step 2308, the virtual health care solutions provider
system presents, within the user portal, a virtual lobby interface
for experiencing by the user while the user is in the virtual
queue. Step 2308 may be performed in any of the ways described
herein.
[0103] In step 2310, the virtual health care solutions provider
system personalizes the virtual lobby interface to the user in
accordance with the completed health care questionnaire. Step 2310
may be performed in any of the ways described herein.
[0104] FIG. 24 illustrates another exemplary method 2400 of
providing a customized virtual health care solution for a user.
While FIG. 24 illustrates exemplary steps according to one
embodiment, other embodiments may omit, add to, reorder, and/or
modify any of the steps shown in FIG. 24. One or more of the steps
shown in FIG. 24 may be performed by virtual health care solutions
provider system 102 and/or any implementation thereof.
[0105] In step 2402, a virtual health care solutions provider
system detects a completion by a user of a health care
questionnaire. Step 2402 may be performed in any of the ways
described herein.
[0106] In step 2404, the virtual health care solutions provider
system assigns, in response to the detecting of the input, the
virtual health care session to the health care practitioner. Step
2404 may be performed in any of the ways described herein.
[0107] In step 2406, the virtual health care solutions provider
system presents, in response to the assigning of the virtual health
care session to the health care practitioner, a virtual examination
interface by way of a practitioner portal accessible to the health
care practitioner. Step 2406 may be performed in any of the ways
described herein.
[0108] In step 2408, the virtual health care solutions provider
system personalizes the virtual examination interface to the user
in accordance with the completed health care questionnaire. Step
2408 may be performed in any of the ways described herein.
[0109] In certain embodiments, one or more of the processes
described herein may be implemented at least in part as
instructions embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium
and executable by one or more computing devices. In general, a
processor (e.g., a microprocessor) receives instructions, from a
non-transitory computer-readable medium, (e.g., a memory, etc.),
and executes those instructions, thereby performing one or more
processes, including one or more of the processes described herein.
Such instructions may be stored and/or transmitted using any of a
variety of known computer-readable media.
[0110] A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a
processor-readable medium) includes any non-transitory medium that
participates in providing data (e.g., instructions) that may be
read by a computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a
medium may take many forms, including, but not limited to,
non-volatile media, and/or volatile media. Non-volatile media may
include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other
persistent memory. Volatile media may include, for example, dynamic
random access memory ("DRAM"), which typically constitutes a main
memory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for
example, a disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic
medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, a RAM, a PROM, an
EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any
other tangible medium from which a computer can read.
[0111] FIG. 25 illustrates an exemplary computing device 2500 that
may be configured to perform one or more of the processes described
herein. As shown in FIG. 25, computing device 2500 may include a
communication interface 2502, a processor 2504, a storage device
2506, and an input/output ("I/O") module 2508 communicatively
connected via a communication infrastructure 2510. While an
exemplary computing device 2500 is shown in FIG. 25, the components
illustrated in FIG. 25 are not intended to be limiting. Additional
or alternative components may be used in other embodiments.
Components of computing device 2500 shown in FIG. 25 will now be
described in additional detail.
[0112] Communication interface 2502 may be configured to
communicate with one or more computing devices. Examples of
communication interface 2502 include, without limitation, a wired
network interface (such as a network interface card), a wireless
network interface (such as a wireless network interface card), a
modem, an audio/video connection, and any other suitable
interface.
[0113] Processor 2504 generally represents any type or form of
processing unit capable of processing data or interpreting,
executing, and/or directing execution of one or more of the
instructions, processes, and/or operations described herein.
Processor 2504 may direct execution of operations in accordance
with one or more applications 2512 or other computer-executable
instructions such as may be stored in storage device 2506 or
another computer-readable medium.
[0114] Storage device 2506 may include one or more data storage
media, devices, or configurations and may employ any type, form,
and combination of data storage media and/or device. For example,
storage device 2506 may include, but is not limited to, a hard
drive, network drive, flash drive, magnetic disc, optical disc,
random access memory ("RAM"), dynamic RAM ("DRAM"), other
non-volatile and/or volatile data storage units, or a combination
or sub-combination thereof. Electronic data, including data
described herein, may be temporarily and/or permanently stored in
storage device 2506. For example, data representative of one or
more executable applications 2512 configured to direct processor
2504 to perform any of the operations described herein may be
stored within storage device 2506. In some examples, data may be
arranged in one or more databases residing within storage device
2506.
[0115] I/O module 2508 may be configured to receive user input and
provide user output and may include any hardware, firmware,
software, or combination thereof supportive of input and output
capabilities. For example, I/O module 2508 may include hardware
and/or software for capturing user input, including, but not
limited to, a keyboard or keypad, a touch screen component (e.g.,
touch screen display), a receiver (e.g., an RF or infrared
receiver), and/or one or more input buttons.
[0116] I/O module 2508 may include one or more devices for
presenting output to a user, including, but not limited to, a
graphics engine, a display (e.g., a display screen, one or more
output drivers (e.g., display drivers), one or more audio speakers,
and one or more audio drivers. In certain embodiments, I/O module
2508 is configured to provide graphical data to a display for
presentation to a user. The graphical data may be representative of
one or more graphical user interfaces and/or any other graphical
content as may serve a particular implementation.
[0117] In some examples, any of the systems and/or facilities
described herein may be implemented by or within one or more
components of computing device 2500. For example, one or more
applications 2512 residing within storage device 2506 may be
configured to direct processor 2504 to perform one or more
processes or functions associated with session management facility
302 and/or detection facility 304. Likewise, storage facility 306
may be implemented by or within storage device 2506.
[0118] In the preceding description, various exemplary embodiments
have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It
will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes
may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented,
without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in
the claims that follow. For example, certain features of one
embodiment described herein may be combined with or substituted for
features of another embodiment described herein. The description
and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative
rather than a restrictive sense.
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