U.S. patent application number 15/055076 was filed with the patent office on 2016-09-01 for network-based marketplace service for facilitating purchases of bundled services and products.
The applicant listed for this patent is MDSAVE SHARED SERVICES INC.. Invention is credited to Paul J. KETCHEL, III, Kar MARTIROSYAN, Ani OSBORNE, Daniel SCHMIDT.
Application Number | 20160253731 15/055076 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52467500 |
Filed Date | 2016-09-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160253731 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KETCHEL, III; Paul J. ; et
al. |
September 1, 2016 |
NETWORK-BASED MARKETPLACE SERVICE FOR FACILITATING PURCHASES OF
BUNDLED SERVICES AND PRODUCTS
Abstract
An apparatus for facilitating purchases of services and products
includes an application server providing a network service and
maintaining a service offer database that comprises a plurality of
information records respectively associated with a plurality of
service offers. Each information record comprises an indication of
a primary service, a purchase price, a payment amount for the
primary service, and compensation information for the primary
service. At least one of the service offers is for a bundled set
that includes the primary service and one or more products. Upon
being accessed by user operating a client system, the network
service is operable to receive an indication of a service offer
being selected for purchase by the user, receive purchase
information from the user specifying a funding source, and issue a
request to the funding source for funds corresponding to the
purchase price of the information record associated with the
service offer.
Inventors: |
KETCHEL, III; Paul J.;
(Nashville, TN) ; OSBORNE; Ani; (Nashville,
TN) ; MARTIROSYAN; Kar; (Nashville, TN) ;
SCHMIDT; Daniel; (Albany, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
MDSAVE SHARED SERVICES INC. |
Brentwood |
TN |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
52467500 |
Appl. No.: |
15/055076 |
Filed: |
February 26, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14874004 |
Oct 2, 2015 |
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15055076 |
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14750081 |
Jun 25, 2015 |
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14874004 |
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14827026 |
Aug 14, 2015 |
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14874004 |
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14461209 |
Aug 15, 2014 |
9123072 |
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14827026 |
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14461209 |
Aug 15, 2014 |
9123072 |
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14750081 |
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61866922 |
Aug 16, 2013 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 20/10 20130101;
G06Q 30/0633 20130101; G06Q 30/0206 20130101; G06Q 10/10 20130101;
G06Q 30/0239 20130101; G16H 40/20 20180101; G06Q 20/065 20130101;
G06Q 30/0621 20130101; G06Q 30/0629 20130101; G06Q 20/381 20130101;
G16H 70/20 20180101; G16H 10/60 20180101; G16H 20/00 20180101; G06Q
50/22 20130101; G06Q 30/0613 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/06 20060101
G06Q030/06; G06Q 20/10 20060101 G06Q020/10; G06Q 20/38 20060101
G06Q020/38; G06Q 20/06 20060101 G06Q020/06 |
Claims
1. A method for facilitating multi-staged exchanges of value for
purchases of bundled sets of services and/or products using virtual
funds managed within a virtual payment system, the method
comprising: storing, in a data storage system, a virtual money
account database comprising a plurality of account information
records respectively associated with a plurality of participants in
which the respective account information record for each
participant maintains a record of virtual funds held within a
respective virtual money account for the participant and having a
balance that corresponds to a monetary value of actual currency
held within a financial account associated with a provider of the
virtual payment system; in response to receiving an indication of a
purchase by a customer participant of the plurality of participants
of an offer for a bundled set that includes a first service and at
least one product or additional service each provided by a
corresponding provider, accessing the virtual money account
database to record an indication within the respective account
information record for the customer participant of a first amount
of the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money
account for the customer participant that corresponds to a purchase
price specified in actual currency for the bundled set being
allocated to the purchase by the customer participant; in response
to receiving a notification that the first service of the bundled
set has been provided to the customer participant by the
corresponding provider for the first service, accessing the virtual
money account database to transfer a quantity of virtual funds that
corresponds to a payment amount specified in actual currency for
the first service of the bundled set from the first amount of the
virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for
the customer participant to a respective virtual money account for
a corresponding participant of the plurality of participants that
is specified to receive payment for the first service by: recording
a deduction within the account information record respectively
associated with the customer participant of the quantity of virtual
funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the
first service from the first amount of virtual funds held within
the respective virtual money account for the customer participant;
and recording an credit within the account information record
respectively associated with the participant that is specified to
receive payment for the first service for the quantity of virtual
funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the
first service in the record of virtual funds held within the
respective virtual money account for the participant that is
specified to receive payment for the first service; and for each of
the at least one product or additional service of the bundled set,
in response to receiving a notification that the product or service
has been provided by the corresponding provider for the product or
service, accessing the virtual money account database to transfer a
quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to a payment amount
specified in actual currency for the product or service from the
first amount of the virtual funds held within the respective
virtual money account for the customer participant to a respective
virtual money account for a corresponding participant of the
plurality of participants that is specified to receive payment for
the product or additional service by: recording a deduction within
the account information record respectively associated with the
customer participant of the quantity of virtual funds that
corresponds to the payment amount specified for the product or
service from the first amount of virtual funds held within the
respective virtual money account for the customer participant; and
recording an credit within the account information record
respectively associated with the participant that is specified to
receive payment for the product or service for the quantity of
virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for
the product or service in the record of virtual funds held within
the respective virtual money account for the participant that is
specified to receive payment for the product or service.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the record of virtual funds held
within the respective virtual money account for each participant
that is maintained within the respective account information record
associated with the participant includes a container of virtual
fund objects, wherein each virtual fund object included in the
container of the respective account information record for each
participant represents a corresponding amount of the virtual funds
held within the respective virtual money account for the
participant, wherein each virtual fund object included in the
container of the respective account information record for each
participant is defined by a plurality of attributes maintained
within the virtual fund object including a value of the
corresponding amount of virtual funds represented by the virtual
fund object and a source based on which the virtual funds
represented by the virtual fund object were created.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising, in response to the
customer participant registering an account with the provider of
the virtual payment system in association with a promotion offered
by the provider of the virtual payment system, creating the
respective virtual money account for the customer participant by
establishing the respective virtual money account associated with
the customer participant within the virtual money account database,
instantiating a virtual fund object within the container of the
respective account information record for the customer participant
for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the
virtual fund object, the value is set to an amount of virtual funds
corresponding to a monetary value of actual currency specified for
the promotion and the source is set to indicate the promotion, and
instantiating a virtual fund object within the container of a
respective account information record associated with the provider
of the virtual payment system for which, in the plurality of
attributes maintained within the virtual fund object, the value is
set as a negative amount of virtual funds corresponding to the
monetary value of actual currency specified for the promotion and
the source is set to indicate the promotion.
4. The method of claim 2, further comprising, in response to
receiving an indication of the offer for the bundled set being
selected by the customer participant to purchase and purchase
information for the customer participant specifying a funding
source for purchasing the offer for the bundled set, if the
specified funding source is external to the virtual money system,
issuing a request to the specified funding source for an amount of
actual currency corresponding to the purchase price for the bundled
set and, upon the requested amount of actual currency corresponding
to the purchase price being obtained from the specified funding
source in response to the request, receiving the obtained amount of
actual currency within the financial account associated with a
provider of the virtual payment system.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein accessing the virtual money
account database to record the indication within the respective
account information record for the customer participant of the
first amount that corresponds to the purchase price specified for
the bundled set comprises instantiating a virtual fund object for
the first service of the bundled set within the container of the
respective account information record for the customer participant
for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the
virtual fund object, the value is set to correspond to the payment
amount specified for the first service, the source is set to
indicate the specified funding source, and an indication is
included that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the
virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for
the first service, and instantiating a respective virtual fund
object for each product and additional service of the bundled set
within the container of the respective account information record
for the customer participant for which, in the plurality of
attributes maintained within the virtual fund object, the value is
set to correspond to the payment amount specified for the product
or service, the source is set to indicate the specified funding
source, and an indication is included that the corresponding
virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently
allocated to use as payment for the product or service.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein, if the specified funding source
is external to the virtual money system and if the purchase
information received for the customer participant specifies a
discount that is associated with the offer for the bundled set, the
amount of actual currency corresponding to the purchase price for
the bundled set for which the request is issued to the specified
funding source is equal to an amount that results from subtracting
a value specified for the discount from the purchase price, and
instantiating the virtual fund object for the first service of the
bundled set within the container of the respective account
information record for the customer participant comprises
instantiating a first virtual fund object and a second a first
virtual fund object within the container of the respective account
information record for the customer participant for which, in the
plurality of attributes maintained within the first virtual fund
object, the value is set to correspond to an amount that results
from subtracting the value specified for the discount from the
payment amount specified for the first service, the source is set
to indicate the specified funding source, and an indication is
included that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the
virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for
the first service and, in the plurality of attributes maintained
within the second virtual fund object, the value is set to
correspond to the value specified for the discount, the source is
set to indicate the discount, and an indication is included that
the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund
object are presently allocated to use as payment for the first
service.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein, if the purchase price specified
for the bundled set includes a facility fee for a use of a facility
to provide the first service, accessing the virtual money account
database to record the indication within the respective account
information record for the customer participant of the first amount
that corresponds to the purchase price specified for the bundled
set further comprises instantiating a virtual fund object for the
facility fee within the container of the respective account
information record for the customer participant for which, in the
plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object,
the value is set to correspond to the facility fee, the source is
set to indicate the specified funding source, and an indication is
included that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the
virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for
the facility fee.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein, if the purchase price specified
for the bundled set includes a commission fee that is to be
collected by the provider of the virtual payment system, accessing
the virtual money account database to record the indication within
the respective account information record for the customer
participant of the first amount that corresponds to the purchase
price specified for the bundled set further comprises instantiating
a virtual fund object for the commission fee within the container
of the respective account information record for the customer
participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained
within the virtual fund object, the value is set to correspond to
the commission fee, the source is set to indicate the specified
funding source, and an indication is included that the
corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object
are presently allocated to use as payment for the commission
fee.
9. The method of claim 7, further comprising, in response to
receiving a notification of a cancellation request submitted with
respect to the first service of the bundled set for the customer
participant prior to receiving any notification that the first
service of the bundled set has been provided to the customer
participant by the corresponding provider for the first service:
accessing the virtual money account database to identify each
virtual fund object within the container of the respective account
information record for the customer participant for which the
plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object
include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds
represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to
use as payment for the first service, modify each identified
virtual fund object for which the source included in the plurality
of attributes is not indicated to be a discount that is associated
with the offer for the bundled set to replace the indication
included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding
virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently
allocated to use as payment for the first service with an
indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the
virtual fund object are presently available to use for purchases by
the customer participant, and delete each identified virtual fund
object for which the source included in the plurality of attributes
is indicated to be a discount that is associated with the offer for
the bundled set from the container of the respective account
information record for the customer participant; and if the
purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a facility
fee, accessing the virtual money account database to identify each
virtual fund object within the container of the respective account
information record for the customer participant for which the
plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object
include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds
represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to
use as payment for the facility fee and modify each identified
virtual fund object to replace the indication included in the
plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds
represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to
use as payment for the facility fee with an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object
are presently available to use for purchases by the customer
participant.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising, in response to
receiving a notification of a cancellation request submitted with
respect to the purchase of the bundled set prior to receiving any
notification that any service or product of the bundled set has
been provided to the customer participant by the corresponding
provider for the service or product of the bundled set: accessing
the virtual money account database to identify each virtual fund
object within the container of the respective account information
record for the customer participant for which the plurality of
attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an
indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the
virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for
any service or product of the bundled set, modify each identified
virtual fund object for which the source included in the plurality
of attributes is not indicated to be a discount that is associated
with the offer for the bundled set to replace the indication
included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding
virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently
allocated to use as payment for the service or product with an
indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the
virtual fund object are presently available to use for purchases by
the customer participant, and delete each identified virtual fund
object for which the source included in the plurality of attributes
is indicated to be a discount that is associated with the offer for
the bundled set from the container of the respective account
information record for the customer participant; and if the
purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a commission
fee, accessing the virtual money account database to identify each
virtual fund object within the container of the respective account
information record for the customer participant for which the
plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object
include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds
represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to
use as payment for the commission fee and modify each identified
virtual fund object to replace the indication included in the
plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds
represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to
use as payment for the commission fee with an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object
are presently available to use for purchases by the customer
participant.
11. The method of claim 2, further comprising, in response to
receiving a notification of disbursal request submitted by the
customer participant with respect to a virtual fund object included
within the container of the respective account information record
for the customer participant for which the plurality of attributes
maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication
that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual
fund object are presently available to use for purchases by the
customer participant: if the source included in the plurality of
attributes is not indicated to be a promotion offered by the
provider of the virtual payment system, accessing a servicer for
the financial account associated with the provider of the virtual
payment system to direct a disbursement of an amount of actual
currency corresponding to the value included in the plurality of
attributes from the financial account associated with the provider
of the virtual payment system to the source included in the
plurality of attributes, and accessing the virtual money account
database to delete the virtual fund object from the container of
the respective account information record for the customer
participant.
12. The method of claim 7, wherein transferring the quantity of
virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for
the first service of the bundled set from the virtual funds held
within the respective virtual money account for the customer
participant to the respective virtual money account for the
corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for
the first service comprises: identifying each virtual fund object
within the container of the respective account information record
for the customer participant for which the plurality of attributes
maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication
that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual
fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the first
service, moving each identified virtual fund object from the
container of the respective account information record for the
customer participant to the container of the respective account
information record for the corresponding participant that is
specified to receive payment for the first service, modifying each
identified virtual fund object to replace the indication included
in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds
represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to
use as payment for the first service with an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object
have been transferred as payment for the first service of the
bundled set, and modifying each identified virtual fund object for
which the source included in the plurality of attributes is
indicated to be a discount that is associated with the offer for
the bundled set to set the value included in the plurality of
attributes maintained within the virtual fund object to zero; and
if the purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a
facility fee for a use of a facility to provide the first service,
identifying each virtual fund object within the container of the
respective account information record for the customer participant
for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual
fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual
funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently
allocated to use as payment for the facility fee, moving each
identified virtual fund object from the container of the respective
account information record for the customer participant to the
container of a respective account information record for a
corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for
the use of the facility, and modifying each identified virtual fund
object to replace the indication included in the plurality of
attributes that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the
virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for
the facility fee with an indication that the corresponding virtual
funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred
as payment for the use of the facility in association with the
first service of the bundled set.
13. The method of claim 5, wherein transferring the quantity of
virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for
any product or additional service of the bundled set from the
virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for
the customer participant to the respective virtual money account
for the corresponding participant that is specified to receive
payment for the product or additional service comprises:
identifying each virtual fund object within the container of the
respective account information record for the customer participant
for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual
fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual
funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently
allocated to use as payment for the product or additional service,
moving each identified virtual fund object from the container of
the respective account information record for the customer
participant to the container of the respective account information
record for the corresponding participant that is specified to
receive payment for the product or additional service, and
modifying each identified virtual fund object to replace the
indication included in the plurality of attributes that the
corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object
are presently allocated to use as payment for the product or
additional service with an indication that the corresponding
virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been
transferred as payment for the product or additional service of the
bundled set.
14. The method of claim 8, further comprising, in response to
receiving notifications that the first service and each product and
additional service of the bundled set have been provided to the
customer participant by the corresponding providers for the first
service and each product or additional service of the bundled set,
if the purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a
commission fee that is to be collected by the provider of the
virtual payment system: accessing the virtual money account
database to identify each virtual fund object within the container
of the respective account information record for the customer
participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within
the virtual fund object include an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object
are presently allocated to use as payment for the commission fee,
move each identified virtual fund object from the container of the
respective account information record for the customer participant
to the container of a respective account information record
associated with the provider of the virtual payment system, and
modify each identified virtual fund object to replace the
indication included in the plurality of attributes that the
corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object
are presently allocated to use as payment for the commission fee
with an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented
by the virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the
commission fee in association with the bundled set; recording a
deduction within the account information record respectively
associated with the customer participant of a quantity of virtual
funds that corresponds to the commission fee from the first amount
of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account
for the customer participant; and recording an credit within the
account information record respectively associated with the
provider of the virtual payment system for the quantity of virtual
funds that corresponds to the commission fee in the record of
virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for
the provider of the virtual payment system.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each product of the bundled
set, if the offer for the bundled set specifies that a prescription
is required to purchase the product, the notification that the
product has been provided by the corresponding provider for the
product comprises a confirmation of receipt of a corresponding
prescription document, and wherein, for each product of the bundled
set, if the offer for the bundled set does not specify that a
prescription is required to purchase the product, the notification
that the product has been provided by the corresponding provider
for the product comprises the indication of the purchase by the
customer participant of the offer for the bundled set.
16. The method of claim 2, further comprising, in response to
receiving a notification of disbursal request submitted by the
corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for
any of the first service and any product or additional service of
the bundled set with respect to one or more virtual fund objects
included within the container of the respective account information
record associated with the corresponding participant: if an
aggregate sum of the values of the corresponding amounts of virtual
funds included in the plurality of attributes maintained within the
one or more virtual fund objects is less than zero or if an
aggregate sum of the values of the corresponding amounts of virtual
funds included in the plurality of attributes maintained within
each virtual fund object included in the container of the
respective account information record associated with the
corresponding participant that is not one of the one or more
virtual fund objects is less than zero, declining the disbursal
request; and if the aggregate sum of the values of the
corresponding amounts of virtual funds included in the plurality of
attributes maintained within the one or more virtual fund objects
is greater than zero and the aggregate sum of the values of the
corresponding amounts of virtual funds included in the plurality of
attributes maintained within each virtual fund object included in
the container of the respective account information record
associated with the corresponding participant that is not one of
the one or more virtual fund objects is not less than zero,
accessing a servicer for the financial account associated with the
provider of the virtual payment system to direct a disbursement of
an amount of actual currency corresponding to the aggregate sum of
the values of the corresponding amounts of virtual funds included
in the plurality of attributes maintained within the one or more
virtual fund objects from the financial account associated with the
provider of the virtual payment system to a financial account that
is specified for the corresponding participant, and accessing the
virtual money account database to delete the one or more virtual
fund objects from the container of the respective account
information record for the corresponding participant.
17. The method of claim 2, further comprising periodically
accessing the virtual money account database to perform an
automatic disbursal of the virtual funds held within the respective
virtual money account for each corresponding participant that is
specified to receive payment for the first service of the bundled
set or any product or additional service of the bundled set by: if,
for all virtual fund objects included the container of the
respective account information record associated with the
corresponding participant, the aggregate sum of the values of the
corresponding amounts of virtual funds included in the plurality of
attributes maintained within the virtual fund objects is greater
than zero, accessing a servicer for the financial account
associated with the provider of the virtual payment system to
direct a disbursement of an amount of actual currency corresponding
to the aggregate sum from the financial account associated with the
provider of the virtual payment system to a financial account that
is specified for the corresponding participant, and accessing the
virtual money account database to delete each virtual fund object
from the container of the respective account information record for
the corresponding participant.
18. The method of claim 12, further comprising, in response to
receiving a notification of a refund request submitted with respect
to the first service, any product, or any additional service of the
bundled set for the customer participant subsequently to receiving
a notification that the first service, product, or additional
service of the bundled set has been provided to the customer
participant by the corresponding provider for the first service,
product, or additional service, accessing the virtual money account
database to: identify each virtual fund object within the container
of the respective account information record for the corresponding
participant that is specified to receive payment for the first
service, product, or additional service for which the plurality of
attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an
indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the
virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the first
service, product, or additional service of the bundled set, move
each identified virtual fund object from the container of the
respective account information record for the corresponding
participant to the container of the respective account information
record for the customer participant, modify each identified virtual
fund object for which the source included in the plurality of
attributes is not indicated to be a discount that is associated
with the offer for the bundled set to replace the indication
included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding
virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been
transferred as payment for the first service, product, or
additional service of the bundled set with an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object
are presently available to use for purchases by the customer
participant, and delete each identified virtual fund object for
which the source included in the plurality of attributes is
indicated to be a discount that is associated with the offer for
the bundled set from the container of the respective account
information record for the customer participant; for each virtual
fund object that has, to process a disbursal for the respective
virtual money account for the corresponding participant that is
specified to receive payment for the first service, product, or
additional service, been deleted from the container of the
respective account information record for the corresponding
participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within
the virtual fund object included an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object
have been transferred as payment for the first service, product, or
additional service of the bundled set, instantiating a first new
virtual fund object within the container of the respective account
information record for the customer participant for which, in the
plurality of attributes maintained within the first new virtual
fund object, the value is set to match the value that was set in
the plurality of attributes maintained within the deleted virtual
fund object and the source is set to match the source that was set
in the plurality of attributes maintained within the deleted
virtual fund object, and instantiating a second new virtual fund
object within the container of the respective account information
record for the corresponding participant for which, in the
plurality of attributes maintained within the second new virtual
fund object, the value is set as a negative amount of virtual funds
corresponding to the value that was set in the plurality of
attributes maintained within the deleted virtual fund object and
the source is set to indicate a financial account that is specified
for the corresponding participant.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising, in response to
receiving a notification of a refund request submitted with respect
to the first service of the bundled set for the customer
participant subsequently to receiving a notification that the first
service of the bundled set has been provided to the customer
participant by the corresponding provider for the first service, if
the purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a
facility fee, accessing the virtual money account database to:
identify each virtual fund object within the container of the
respective account information record for the corresponding
participant that is specified to receive payment for the use of the
facility in association with the first service of the bundled set
for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual
fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual
funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred
as payment for the use of the facility in association with the
first service of the bundled set, move each identified virtual fund
object from the container of the respective account information
record for the corresponding participant to the container of the
respective account information record for the customer participant,
and modify each identified virtual fund object to replace the
indication included in the plurality of attributes that the
corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object
have been transferred as payment for the use of the facility in
association with the first service of the bundled set with an
indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the
virtual fund object are presently available to use for purchases by
the customer participant; for each virtual fund object that has, to
process a disbursal for the respective virtual money account for
the corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment
for the use of the facility in association with the first service
of the bundled set, been deleted from the container of the
respective account information record for the corresponding
participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within
the virtual fund object included an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object
have been transferred as payment for the use of the facility in
association with the first service of the bundled set,
instantiating a first new virtual fund object within the container
of the respective account information record for the customer
participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained
within the first new virtual fund object, the value is set to match
the value that was set in the plurality of attributes maintained
within the deleted virtual fund object and the source is set to
match the source that was set in the plurality of attributes
maintained within the deleted virtual fund object, and
instantiating a second new virtual fund object within the container
of the respective account information record for the corresponding
participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained
within the second new virtual fund object, the value is set as a
negative amount of virtual funds corresponding to the value that
was set in the plurality of attributes maintained within the
deleted virtual fund object and the source is set to indicate a
financial account that is specified for the corresponding
participant.
20. A virtual payment system for facilitating multi-staged
exchanges of value for purchases of bundled sets of services and/or
products using virtual funds, the system comprising: an application
server providing a network service; a plurality of client systems
configured to communicatively couple to the application server via
a network to access the network service; and a data storage system
storing a virtual money account database comprising a plurality of
account information records respectively associated with a
plurality of participants in which the respective account
information record for each participant maintains a record of
virtual funds held within a respective virtual money account for
the participant and having a balance that corresponds to a monetary
value of actual currency held within a financial account associated
with a provider of the virtual payment system, and wherein the
network service is operable to: in response to being accessed by a
user through operation of one of the client systems on behalf of a
customer participant of the plurality of participants to purchase
an offer for a bundled set that includes a first service and at
least one product or additional service each provided by a
corresponding provider, access the virtual money account database
to record an indication within the respective account information
record for the customer participant of a first amount of the
virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for
the customer participant that corresponds to a purchase price
specified in actual currency for the bundled set being allocated to
the purchase by the customer participant; in response to receiving
a confirmation submitted by a user accessing the network service
through operation of one of the client systems that the first
service of the bundled set has been provided to the customer
participant by the corresponding provider for the first service,
access the virtual money account database to transfer a quantity of
virtual funds that corresponds to a payment amount specified in
actual currency for the first service of the bundled set from the
first amount of the virtual funds held within the respective
virtual money account for the customer participant to a respective
virtual money account for a corresponding participant of the
plurality of participants that is specified to receive payment for
the first service by: recording a deduction within the account
information record respectively associated with the customer
participant of the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to
the payment amount specified for the first service from the first
amount of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money
account for the customer participant; and recording an credit
within the account information record respectively associated with
the participant that is specified to receive payment for the first
service for the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the
payment amount specified for the first service in the record of
virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for
the participant that is specified to receive payment for the first
service; and for each of the at least one product or additional
service of the bundled set, in response to receiving a confirmation
submitted by a user accessing the network service through operation
of one of the client systems that the product or service has been
provided by the corresponding provider for the product or service,
access the virtual money account database to transfer a quantity of
virtual funds that corresponds to a payment amount specified in
actual currency for the product or service from the first amount of
the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account
for the customer participant to a respective virtual money account
for a corresponding participant of the plurality of participants
that is specified to receive payment for the product or additional
service by: recording a deduction within the account information
record respectively associated with the customer participant of the
quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount
specified for the product or service from the first amount of
virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for
the customer participant; and recording an credit within the
account information record respectively associated with the
participant that is specified to receive payment for the product or
service for the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the
payment amount specified for the product or service in the record
of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account
for the participant that is specified to receive payment for the
product or service.
21. An apparatus for facilitating multi-staged exchanges of value
for payment for purchases of healthcare services offered by
healthcare service providers using virtual funds managed within a
virtual payment system, the apparatus comprising: an application
server providing a network service that is accessible through a
plurality of client systems communicatively coupled to the
application server via a network; and a data storage system storing
a plurality of service offer information records respectively
associated with a plurality of service offers and a virtual money
account database comprising a plurality of account information
records respectively associated with a plurality of participants,
the plurality of service offers including at least one service
offer for a bundled set of healthcare services, the respective
account information record for each participant maintaining a
record of virtual funds that are held within a respective virtual
money account for the participant and have a balance that
corresponds to a monetary value of actual currency held within a
financial account associated with a provider of the virtual payment
system, and wherein the network service is operable to: upon
processing a purchase of a selected service offer from the
plurality of service offers by a customer participant of the
plurality of participants accessing the network service via one of
the client systems, access the virtual money account database to
record an indication within the respective account information
record for the customer participant of a first amount of the
virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for
the customer participant that corresponds to a purchase price
specified in actual currency for the selected service offer being
allocated to the purchase by the customer participant; and for each
healthcare service of the selected service offer, in response to
receiving a notification that the healthcare service has been
provided to the customer participant by a corresponding provider
specified for the healthcare service, accessing the virtual money
account database to transfer a quantity of virtual funds that
corresponds to a payment amount specified in actual currency for
the healthcare service from the first amount of the virtual funds
held within the respective virtual money account for the customer
participant to a respective virtual money account for a
corresponding participant of the plurality of participants that is
specified to receive payment for the healthcare service by:
recording a deduction within the account information record
respectively associated with the customer participant of the
quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount
specified for the healthcare service from the first amount of
virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for
the customer participant; and recording an credit within the
account information record respectively associated with the
participant that is specified to receive payment for the healthcare
service for the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the
payment amount specified for the healthcare service in the record
of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account
for the participant that is specified to receive payment for the
healthcare service.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/874,004, filed Oct. 2, 2015, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/827,026, filed
Aug. 14, 2015, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/461,209, filed Aug. 15, 2014, which claims
the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
61/866,922, filed Aug. 16, 2013. This application is also a
continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
14/750,081, filed Jun. 25, 2015, which is a continuation-in-part of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/461,209, filed Aug. 15, 2014,
which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application
Ser. No. 61/866,922, filed Aug. 16, 2013. The contents of all of
which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference
thereto.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to the
marketing and facilitating the sale of services and products. More
specifically, exemplary embodiments relate to methods and
apparatuses for providing a web-based mechanism allowing
prospective patients to search for and compare healthcare services
and products offered by local providers, including bundled sets of
services and sets of one or more services and one or more products,
and facilitating prepaid purchases of such healthcare services and
products by prospective patients at discounted rates.
[0003] The price of healthcare services varies depending on
specialty, procedure, and physician practice. In the United States,
many patients do not have access to a simple way to shop and
compare the price of common medical procedures. Due to the current
managed care based payor system in the US, the cost of treatment is
often determined by managed care organizations. These managed care
organizations have specific formularies for drugs and procedures
designed specifically to patients' individual health plans, which
restrict the drugs and procedures available to patients in their
particular plans. Patients have historically had no access to these
price lists or formularies and have had very few tools to assist
them in finding and comparing health care services or
predetermining the cost of a procedure. Currently prospective
patients who chose to compare medical costs are forced to conduct
extensive, often inefficient, and time consuming research to
compare medical procedures prior to treatment.
[0004] The rising cost of healthcare is having a dramatic effect on
the U.S. healthcare system. Healthcare costs continue to outpace
pace inflationary growth, provider reimbursement rates continue to
fall, and the cost of patient insurance premiums are increasing. To
lower monthly premium costs, many patients are choosing to purchase
(and employers are choosing to offer) high deductible health plans
as an alternative to traditional higher premium PPO health plans.
These high deductible plans require patients to pay cash payments
for medical services until the high deductible is satisfied, and
once this deductible has been met, the insurance carrier begins to
cover medical costs. As a result, many patients are seeing
exponential increases in out-of-pocket expenses for medical
procedures and services. In addition to more patients selecting
high deductible plans, many patients cannot afford increased
payments and are becoming uninsured or underinsured. As the number
of patients who are uninsured, underinsured, or on high deductible
plans grows, the need for a mechanism that allows patients to find
discount medical services increases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are related
to an apparatus for facilitating purchases of services offered by
service providers. The apparatus includes an application server
providing a network service that is accessible to a plurality of
users through a plurality of client systems communicatively coupled
to the application server via a network and a data storage system
storing a service offer database that is maintained by the
application server. The service offer database comprises a
plurality of service offer information records respectively
associated with a plurality of service offers. The plurality of
service offers includes at least one service offer for a bundled
set of services. Each service offer information record comprises an
indication of a primary service of the associated service offer, a
purchase price for the associated service offer, a payment amount
for the primary service, and compensation information for the
primary service. Upon being accessed by a user of one of the client
systems, the network service is operable to receive an indication
from the client system of a selected service offer being selected
from the plurality of service offers for purchase by the user. Upon
receiving purchase information for the user specifying a funding
source to use for purchasing the selected service offer from the
client system, the network service is operable to issue a request
to the funding source for funds corresponding to the purchase price
included in the service offer information record associated with
the selected service offer to process a purchase of the selected
service offer by the user.
[0006] In exemplary embodiments, the application server implements
a web application to provide the network service, and each client
systems implements a client application configured to provide a
web-based user interface for accessing the network service provided
by the application server via the web application.
[0007] In exemplary embodiments, each service offer for a bundled
set of services comprises a bundled set of healthcare services
provided by corresponding healthcare service providers.
[0008] In exemplary embodiments, upon receiving a notification from
one of the client systems that the primary service of the selected
service offer has been performed, the network service operates to
access a servicer for a financial account indicated by the
compensation information for the primary service in the service
offer information record associated with the selected service offer
to direct a disbursement of funds corresponding to the payment
amount for the primary service to the financial account.
[0009] In exemplary embodiments, each service offer information
record associated with a service offer for a bundled set of
services further comprises, for each of one or more secondary
services associated with the primary service of the associated
service offer, an indication of the secondary service, a payment
amount for the secondary service, and corresponding compensation
information for the secondary service. If the selected service
offer is a service offer for a bundled set of services, upon
receiving a notification from one of the client systems that any
secondary service associated with the primary service of the
selected service offer has been performed, the network service
operates to access a servicer for a financial account indicated by
the corresponding compensation information for the secondary
service in the service offer information record associated with the
selected service offer to direct a disbursement of funds
corresponding to the payment amount for the secondary service to
the financial account.
[0010] In exemplary embodiments, at least one service offer
information record associated with a service offer for a bundled
set of services further comprises an indication of a facility for
performing the primary service, a facility fee for the facility,
and compensation information for the facility fee. If the selected
service offer is a service offer for a bundled set of services for
which the associated service offer information record includes an
indication of a facility for performing the primary service, upon
receiving a notification from one of the client systems that the
primary service of the selected service offer has been performed,
the network service operates to access a servicer for a financial
account indicated by the compensation information for the facility
fee in the service offer information record to direct a
disbursement of funds corresponding to the facility fee to the
financial account.
[0011] In exemplary embodiments, at least one service offer
information record associated with a service offer for a bundled
set of services further comprises an indication that at least one
of the secondary services associated with the primary service is an
optional secondary service. If the selected service offer is a
service offer for a bundled set of services for which at least one
of the secondary services is an optional service, the network
service is further operable to receive an indication from the user
of the client system, for each optional secondary service of the
service offer, of whether the optional secondary service is to be
included in the purchase of the selected service offer.
[0012] In exemplary embodiments, the data storage system stores a
profile database that is maintained by the application server. The
profile database comprises a respective account information record
for each of a plurality of user accounts registered with the
application server. The plurality of user accounts include a
plurality of customer accounts and a plurality of provider
accounts. The account information record for each user account
comprising information for authorizing a user accessing the network
service from one of the client systems to access the network
service in association with the user account.
[0013] In exemplary embodiments, the network service is operable to
allow a user accessing the network service from one of the client
systems in association with a provider account to create a service
offer for purchase via the network service by submitting a set of
information for the service offer to the network service and, in
response to receiving the set of information for the service offer,
establish a service offer information record associated with the
service offer and the provider account within the service offer
database.
[0014] In exemplary embodiments, each service offer information
record further comprises an indication of a corresponding service
provider for the primary service, and each service offer
information record associated with a service offer for a bundled
set of services further comprises, for each of the one or more
secondary services associated with the primary service of the
service offer, an indication of a corresponding service provider
for the secondary service.
[0015] In exemplary embodiments, the plurality of provider accounts
includes a plurality of physician accounts and a plurality of
practice group accounts, the account information record for each
practice group account comprises an indication of one or more of
the physician accounts being affiliated with the practice group
account, and the network service provides functionality for
allowing a user accessing the network service from one of the
client systems in association with a practice group account to
create a service offer for purchase via the network service in
which the set of information for the service offer submitted to the
network service specifies one of the physician accounts affiliated
with the practice group account as the corresponding service
provider for the primary service.
[0016] In exemplary embodiments, the data storage system stores a
transaction information database that is maintained by the
application server. The transaction information database comprises
a respective purchase information record for each processed
purchase, by a user accessing the network service from one of the
client systems in association with a customer account, of a service
offer that has been created by a user accessing the network service
from one of the client systems in association with a provider
account, the respective purchase information record for each
processed purchase comprising an indication of the service offer
information record associated with the purchased service offer and,
for each of the primary service and any secondary service of the
service offer, and an indication of whether the purchase has been
redeemed with respect to the service.
[0017] In exemplary embodiments, the network service, upon being
accessed by a user of one of the client systems to process a
purchase of a service offer, generates a voucher for the user that
specifies a unique confirmation number for the purchase and the
corresponding service provider for each of the primary service and
any secondary service of the purchased service offer, and, for each
of the primary service and any secondary service of the purchased
service offer, sets the purchase information record for the
processed purchase to indicate that the purchase has not been
redeemed with respect to the service.
[0018] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention that are
related to computer-implemented processes and computer systems
corresponding to the above-summarized exemplary embodiments
directed to an apparatus are also described and claimed herein.
[0019] The above-described and other features and advantages
realized through the techniques of the present disclosure will be
better appreciated and understood with reference to the following
detailed description, drawings, and appended claims. Additional
features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the
present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention
are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the
claimed invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The subject matter that is regarded as the invention is
particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at
the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other
objects, features, and advantages of the invention are apparent
from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of
the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings in which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example
network architecture for a healthcare marketplace system that can
be configured to implement exemplary embodiments of the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a server system in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0023] FIGS. 3A-3D are a number of screen shots illustrating
examples of a graphical user interfaces that may be implemented by
services provided within a customer portal in accordance with
exemplary embodiments of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 4A is an illustration of an example voucher that may be
generated within a user interface by functions provided within a
customer portal for a purchased service in accordance with
exemplary embodiments of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 4B is an illustration of an example voucher that may be
generated within a user interface by functions provided within a
customer portal for a purchased service that is offered as a
bundled set in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present
invention;
[0026] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system
600 that can be used for implementing exemplary embodiments of the
present invention;
[0027] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second example
network architecture for a healthcare marketplace system that can
be configured to implement exemplary embodiments of the present
invention;
[0028] FIGS. 7A-7C are a number of screen shots illustrating
examples of a graphical user interfaces that may be implemented by
services provided within a provider portal in accordance with
exemplary embodiments of the present invention; and
[0029] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a third example
network architecture for a healthcare marketplace system that can
be configured to implement exemplary embodiments of the present
invention.
[0030] The detailed description explains exemplary embodiments of
the present invention, together with advantages and features, by
way of example with reference to the drawings, in which similar
numbers refer to similar parts throughout the drawings. The flow
diagrams depicted herein are just examples. There may be many
variations to these diagrams or the steps (or operations) described
therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. For
instance, the steps may be performed in a differing order, or steps
may be added, deleted, or modified. All of these variations are
considered to be within the scope of the claimed invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0031] While the specification concludes with claims defining the
features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is
believed that the invention will be better understood from a
consideration of the description of exemplary embodiments in
conjunction with drawings. It is of course to be understood that
the embodiments described herein are merely exemplary of the
invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore,
specific structural and functional details disclosed in relation to
the exemplary embodiments described herein are not to be
interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for
teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present
invention in virtually any appropriate form, and it will be
apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may
be practiced without these specific details. Further, the terms and
phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to
provide an understandable description of the invention.
[0032] Exemplary embodiments of a transactional marketplace system
in accordance with the present invention will now be described with
reference to the drawings. Exemplary embodiments of the present
invention may be implemented to provide healthcare service
providers and pharmacies with a mechanism to remotely offer
healthcare services and products to prospective patients at
discounted rates in exchange for prepayment of the costs for the
services and products via a network-based application (for example,
a web-based application). In this regard, exemplary embodiments may
further be implemented to provide prospective patients with a
mechanism to remotely search, compare, and make pre-paid purchases
of such healthcare services and products offered by local medical
service providers and pharmacies via a network-connected device
configured to access the network-based application. Exemplary
embodiments may be further implemented to provide healthcare
service providers with the ability to remotely offer a bundled set
of healthcare services that are performed separately by multiple
providers or a bundled set of one or more healthcare services and
one or more products to prospective patients through such a
network-based mechanism in which the patient is provided the
opportunity to make a prepaid purchase of such a bundled set of
service(s) and/or product(s) in a single transaction via the
network-connected device, whereby the network-based application
facilitates a disbursed distribution of the payment among the
multiple healthcare service providers that perform services or sell
products included in the bundled set.
[0033] Moreover, exemplary embodiments may also be further
implemented to provide a virtual payment system for facilitating
and accounting for the exchange of payment for services and
products purchased by (or otherwise on behalf of) patients and
offered by healthcare providers via the transactional marketplace
system in which a respective virtual money account is established
and utilized for each participant in transactions conducted within
the marketplace system to manage and track the process of
exchanging actual currency and/or credits used to pay for the
transactions through the use of corresponding virtual funds created
within the virtual payment system. In such exemplary embodiments,
the virtual funds may be allocated to, exchanged among, and
redeemed for corresponding amounts of actual currency by various
participants to each transaction for which payment is facilitated
through the virtual payment system, and the participants to
transactions within the virtual payment system for which respective
virtual money accounts are established and utilized may include, in
addition to patients, healthcare providers, or other entities
specified for receiving payments for services or products offered
through the marketplace system, third party payers, and an entity
that provides the transactional marketplace system.
[0034] Generally, in such exemplary embodiments, virtual funds can
be created within the virtual money accounts administered within
the virtual payment system based on actual currency transferred
into the system from external financial accounts (for example, at
other financial institutions), transferred between virtual money
accounts within the virtual payment system, and redeemed from
virtual money accounts for corresponding amounts of real currency
transferred to external financial accounts. More particularly, such
a virtual payment system can be implemented in exemplary
embodiments to facilitate a tiered or staged disbursal of
compensation for a prepaid payment made in a single transaction by
a patient for a bundled set of healthcare service(s) and/or
product(s) among the multiple healthcare service providers that
sell or provide services or products included in the bundled set
upon the purchase of the services and/or products being redeemed by
the patient, as well as to enable and facilitate a number of useful
actions within the virtual payment system such as, for example,
seeding and managing of virtual funds for discounts for particular
purchases or general credits issued within the marketplace system,
handling cancellations, refunds, and other adjustments for
purchases (including partially-redeemed purchases of bundled sets
of service(s) and/or product(s)), and accounting for fees collected
from users by the providers the marketplace system.
[0035] Exemplary embodiments may be further implemented to provide
various types of healthcare service providers, which may include
individual physicians, practice groups, hospital systems, and
pharmacies, with the ability to establish affiliations with one
another through such a network-based mechanism and provide various
options allowing the service providers to remotely offer healthcare
services and products in association with these affiliations.
[0036] It should further be noted that various aspects of exemplary
embodiments of the present invention described herein are not
limited to healthcare services (also referred to herein as
procedures) and products but, rather, may be implemented with
respect to any suitable classes and types of services and products
that may be offered by any suitable classes and types of service
providers and retailers. In exemplary embodiments of the present
invention, the products or services that are offered by providers
for purchase within the transactional marketplace system may be
real, virtual, digital, or a combination thereof.
[0037] Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram illustrating an
example network architecture for a healthcare marketplace system
100 that can be configured to implement exemplary embodiments of
the present invention is provided. It should of course be
understood that FIG. 1 is intended as an example, not as an
architectural limitation for different embodiments of the present
invention, and therefore, the particular elements depicted in FIG.
1 should not be considered limiting with regard to the environments
within which exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be
implemented.
[0038] In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, healthcare marketplace
system 100 is implemented as a client/server system that includes a
central server system 110 that is commonly accessed by each user of
the system through operation of any of a plurality of client
systems 140 that are operatively coupled to the central server
system via a communication network 150. Central server system 110
further includes a database server 112 that is coupled to a data
store 114 and an application server 116, and each client system 140
is a user terminal or other client device implementing software for
and running a respective client application 142 for accessing
services provided via a network-based application (also referred to
herein as a network service) implemented by application server 116.
Such client applications may also be referred to as client modules,
or simply clients, and may be implemented in a variety of ways. In
exemplary embodiments, such client applications can be implemented
as any of a myriad of suitable client application types, which
range from proprietary client applications (thick clients) to
web-based interfaces in which the user agent function is provided
by a web server and/or a back-end program (for example, a CGI
program).
[0039] As further illustrated, exemplary marketplace system 100 may
also include at least one third-party server system 160 to enable
other functionality that may be accessed and utilized by server
system 110 to provide and/or enhance the network service discussed
herein. In exemplary embodiments, marketplace system 100 can
include additional servers, clients, and other devices not shown in
FIG. 1. The particular architecture depicted in FIG. 1 is provided
as an example for illustrative purposes and, in exemplary
embodiments, any number of client systems 140 may be connected to
server system 110 at any given time via network 150, and server
system 110 can comprise multiple server components and databases
located within a single server system or within multiple server
systems, where the multiple server systems are integrated with or
accessible by users of client systems 140 as a distributed server
system via network 150.
[0040] In exemplary embodiments, network 150 can be configured to
facilitate communications between server system 110 and client
systems 140, as well as communications with and between other
devices and computers connected together within marketplace system
100, by any suitable wired (including optical fiber), wireless
technology, or any suitable combination thereof, including, but not
limited to, personal area networks (PANs), local area networks
(LANs), wireless networks, wide-area networks (WAN), the Internet
(a network of heterogeneous networks using the Internet Protocol,
IP), and virtual private networks, and the network may also utilize
any suitable hardware, software, and firmware technology to connect
devices such as, for example, optical fiber, Ethernet, ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network), T-1 or T-3 link, FDDI (Fiber
Distributed Data Network), cable or wireless LMDS network, Wireless
LAN, Wireless PAN (for example, IrDA, Bluetooth, Wireless USB,
Z-Wave and ZigBee), HomePNA, Power line communication, or telephone
line network. Such a network connection can include intranets,
extranets, and the Internet, may contain any number of network
infrastructure elements including routers, switches, gateways,
etc., can comprise a circuit switched network, such as the Public
Service Telephone Network (PSTN), a packet switched network, such
as the global Internet, a private WAN or LAN, a telecommunications
network, a broadcast network, or a point-to-point network, and may
utilize a variety of networking protocols now available or later
developed including, but not limited to the Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols for
communication.
[0041] In exemplary embodiments, application server 116, database
server 112, and any other servers employed within server system 110
and third-party servers utilized within marketplace system 100 can
be implemented within any suitable computing system or systems such
as a workstation computer, a mainframe computer, a server system
(for example, SUN ULTRA workstations running the SUN operating
system, IBM RS/6000 workstations and servers running the AIX
operating system, or an IBM zSeries eServer running z/OS, z/VM, or
LINUX OS), a server cluster, a distributed computing system, a
cloud based computing system, or the like, as well as any of the
various types of computing systems and devices described below with
reference to the client systems 140. Server system 110 may be
implemented using any of a variety of architectures. For example,
application server 116 and database server 112 may also be
implemented independently or as a single, integrated device. While
the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 depicts application
server 116 and database server 112 as individual components, the
applications provided by these servers, or various combinations of
these applications, may actually be server applications running on
separate physical devices. In this regard, server system 110 may
comprise a number of computers connected together via a network
and, therefore, may exist as multiple separate logical and/or
physical units, and/or as multiple servers acting in concert or
independently, wherein each server may be comprised of multiple
separate logical and/or physical units. In exemplary embodiments,
server system 110 can be connected to network 150 through a
collection of suitable security appliances, which may be
implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and
software.
[0042] As illustrated in FIG. 1, application server 116 is
communicatively coupled to database server 112. Database server 112
is connected to data store 114, which comprises a plurality of
databases that are maintained by database server 112, accessed by
application server 116 via database services provided at a front
end by database server 112, and store information on a variety of
matters that is utilized in providing the services offered via the
network service provided by the application server, as described
below in greater detail. As used herein, the term "data store,"
"data storage unit," storage device", and the like can to any
suitable memory device that may be used for storing data, including
manual files, machine-readable files, and databases. In exemplary
embodiments, application server 116, database server 112, and data
store 114 may implemented together a single computing device,
implemented within a plurality of computing devices locally coupled
to each other via a suitable communication medium, such as a serial
port cable, telephone line or wireless frequency transceiver,
implemented within a plurality of computing devices remotely
coupled to each other via network 150, or any suitable combination
thereof.
[0043] Client systems 140 are computer devices to which one or more
users, which may be healthcare providers offering services or
products or patients seeking to purchase healthcare services or
products, or their human agents (for example, personal
representatives or assistants), have access. It should be noted
that the term "user" is used herein to refer to one who uses a
computer system, such as one of client systems 140. As described in
greater detail below, client systems 140 are each operable by such
users to access server system 110 via network 150 and act as
clients to access services offered by the network service provided
by the server system within exemplary marketplace system 100. For
this purpose, each client system includes a respective client
application 142 that executes on the client system and allows a
user to interact with server system 110 via application server
116.
[0044] In exemplary embodiments, the computer systems of client
systems 140 can be any of a wide range of suitable computing
devices such as one or more workstations, desktop computers,
laptops, or other personal computers (PCs) (for example, IBM or
compatible PC workstations running the MICROSOFT WINDOWS operating
system or LINUX OS, MACINTOSH computers running the MAC OSX
operating system, or equivalent), non-traditional-computer digital
devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and other
handheld or portable electronic devices, smart phones and other
mobile handsets, tablet computers, netbook computers, game
consoles, home theater PCs, desktop replacement computers, and the
like, or any other suitable information processing devices. An
exemplary computer system for client systems 140 is described in
greater detail below with reference to FIG. 5.
[0045] In general, during operation of exemplary marketplace system
100, a client system 140 first establishes a connection to server
system 110 via network 150. Once the connection has been
established, the connected client system may directly or indirectly
transmit data to and access content from the application server
116. A user accessing application server 116 through the connected
client system can thereby to use a client application 142 to access
services provided by the application server, which are described in
greater detail below, via a user interface implemented by the
client application within which the client application renders the
information served by the application server.
[0046] In exemplary embodiments, application server 116 can
implement network service as a non-web client application (such as
a mobile application), a web client application, or both to provide
the services accessed by client systems 140 within server system
110, and client applications 142 can correspondingly be implemented
as non-web client applications, web client applications, or both
for operation by users of the client systems to interact with
application server 116 and access the services provided thereby.
For example, application server 116 can comprise a web server
configured to provide a web application for the respective client
applications implemented on client systems 140 that are configured
to provide web-based user interfaces for utilizing the services
provided by the web server. For instance, the user interfaces of
client applications implemented on client systems 140 can be
configured to provide various options corresponding to the
functionality offered in exemplary embodiments described herein
through suitable user interface controls (for example, by way of
menu selection, point-and-click, dialog box, or keyboard command).
In one general example, the user interfaces may provide "send" or
"submit" buttons that allow users of client applications to
transmit requested information to application server 116. The user
interfaces can be implemented, for example, as a graphical user
interface (GUI) that renders a common display structure to
represent the network service provided by application server 116
for a user of a client platform.
[0047] More specifically, in such an example, application server
116 can, for example, be configured to provide services via a
web-based software application hosting a corresponding website that
includes a number of web pages (e.g., screens), and client
applications 142 can comprise a web browser executing on client
systems 140, such that the services provided by application server
116 are accessible to client systems 114 using the Internet or an
intranet. Users of client systems 140 may thereby access the
website provided by application server 116 by, for example,
inputting or following a link to the uniform resource locator (URL)
for the website in the web browser, which then enable users to
display and interact with information, media, and other content
embedded within the web pages of the website provided by
application server 116. The web-based software application can
transmit information that can be processed by the web browsers to
render a user interface using, for example, a browser-supported
programming languages such as JavaScript, HTML, HTML5, and CSS, or
the like, and can communicate with the web browsers using, for
example, HTTPS, POST and/or GET requests. Client applications 142
and application server 116 may be configured so that information
transmitted between client systems 140 and server system 110 can be
encrypted and sent over a secure network connection to protect, for
example, patient privacy.
[0048] Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram illustrating an
exemplary embodiment of server system 110 is provided. As
illustrated in FIG. 2, application server 116 is implemented to
provide a plurality of services via a customer portal 120 and a
plurality of services via a provider portal 130. As described
herein, application server 116 can be implemented to provide a
respective set services for each of various types of users (for
example, unregistered guests, customers, individual physicians,
nurses, office staff, practice group administrators, hospital
system administrators, pharmacy administrators, and the like), and
some of the services offered by application server 116 can be
commonly applicable to and accessible by all types of users, while
other services can be applicable to and accessible only by specific
types of users. For purposes of description, the terms "providers"
and "provider users" are used herein to refer to the general class
of users that register with the system to offer healthcare services
or products for purchase by customer users registered with the
system, which can include individual physician users, practice
group administrators, hospital system administrators, pharmacy
administrators, and the like. In addition, a user account for a
particular provider can have any number of authorized users. As an
example, an account established for a physician can have the
physician as one of its users. It can also have nurses or office
staff working for the physician as other authorized users. The
other authorized users can log into the account and perform various
actions with the permission and under the supervision of the
physician. A single hospital system account may be established and
shared by multiple staff members hospital system. For purpose of
illustration, there can be a designated user (for example, an
account administrator) who is responsible for managing the account.
The administrator can be provided with greater access rights within
server system 110 with respect to the account. In exemplary
embodiments, the particular client applications 142 or the
particular client systems 140 that are utilized for accessing
application server 116 can be respective to and customized for each
type of user account. For example, the particular client
application that is utilized for each type of account can be
implemented to a provide virtual computing platform that is
specific to the services offered for that type of account.
[0049] As further illustrated in exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2,
and as will described in greater detail below, the services
provided via customer portal 120 include a registration and account
management service 122, a navigation and search service 124, and a
purchasing service 126, and the services provided via provider
portal 130 include a registration and account management service
131, an affiliation management service 132, a procedure management
service 133, a product management service 134, a service selling
service 135, and a transaction processing service 136. As discussed
above, application server 116 can implement a web-based application
(for example, hosting a corresponding website that includes a
number of web pages), and a client system 140 can include a web
browser that renders a user interface implemented by the web-based
application for allowing users access to the services provided by
the application server.
[0050] As further illustrated in exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2,
and as will also be described in greater detail below, data store
114 comprises a plurality of databases that are maintained and
accessible by application server 116 via database server 112,
including a customer profile database 114a, a physician profile
database 114b, a practice group profile database 114c, a hospital
system profile database 114d, a pharmacy profile database 114e, a
condition information database 114f, an available services database
114g, a service offer database 114h, an available products database
114i, a product offer database 114j, a transaction information
database 114k, and one or more additional databases 1141 that may
be used for storing any other suitable information that may be
utilized by server system 110 (for example, system usage data,
audit trail data, data used internally within the system by
application server 116, and the like). In exemplary embodiments,
the various databases maintained within data store 114 can be
maintained as groups within one or more larger databases or
maintained individually. For example, customer profile database
114a, a physician profile database 114b, a practice group profile
database 114c, hospital system profile database 114d, and pharmacy
profile database 114e may be maintained as a group within a general
profile database that is maintained within data store 114.
[0051] As noted above, exemplary embodiments of the present
invention can be implemented to provide a virtual payment system
for facilitating and accounting for the exchange of payment for
services and products purchased by (or otherwise purchased on
behalf of) patients and offered by healthcare providers via the
creation, transfer, and redemption of virtual funds within central
server system 110. In this regard, FIG. 8, which is described in
greater detail below, is a schematic diagram illustrating an
example network architecture for healthcare marketplace system 100
within which an exemplary embodiment of a virtual payment system in
accordance with the present invention is implemented. In the
example illustrated in FIG. 8, the particular components that are
utilized for providing the virtual payment system are integrated
within system 100 in cooperation with the components of the system
as described above and herein below with reference to the exemplary
embodiments illustrated FIGS. 1 and 2. More specifically, as
illustrated in FIG. 8, application server 116 is further
implemented to provide a virtual payment system manager 170 that is
in communication with account management service 122 and purchasing
service 126 of customer portal 120 and account management service
131, service selling service 135, and transaction processing
service 136 of provider portal 130. As also illustrated in FIG. 8,
data store 114 further comprises a virtual money account database
114o that is maintained by database server 112, is accessed by
application server 116 via database services provided at a front
end by the database server, and retains information pertaining to
accounts maintained in the virtual payment system and virtual funds
that have been created within the virtual payment system that is
utilized in managing and tracking the exchange of virtual funds
within the virtual payment system that is provided by the
application server.
[0052] As discussed below, in the exemplary embodiments described
herein, application server 116 can be configured to maintain
various types of information records within the plurality of
databases. An information record may be, for example, a program
and/or data structure that tracks various data related to a
corresponding type of information record. As used herein, the terms
"data," "content," "information" and similar terms may be used
interchangeably to refer to data capable of being captured,
transmitted, received, displayed, and/or stored in accordance with
various example embodiments. Thus, use of any such terms should not
be taken to limit the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Further,
where a computing device is described herein to receive data from
another computing device, it will be appreciated that the data may
be received directly from the another computing device or may be
received indirectly via one or more intermediary computing devices,
such as, for example, one or more servers, relays, routers, network
access points, base stations, and/or the like. Similarly, where a
computing device is described herein to send data to another
computing device, it will be appreciated that the data may be sent
directly to the another computing device or may be sent indirectly
via one or more intermediary computing devices, such as, for
example, one or more servers, relays, routers, network access
points, base stations, and/or the like.
[0053] As noted above, different types of users can access server
system 110. As such, application server 116 can be configured to
maintain and manage account information records for a variety of
types of users that register with the system according to certain
categories of accounts. In the present exemplary embodiment,
customer profile database 114a is used to maintain account
information records for customer users that register with server
system 110 to purchase healthcare services and products being
offered by provider users registered with the system. For each
customer for which an account is registered with server system 110,
various items of information relevant to the customer, such as
name, address or location information, contact information, billing
information, and any other suitable identifying information, as
well as a unique user name and password associated with the account
that can be used to log into the account, can be included in the
respective account information record for the customer that is
maintained within customer profile database 114a. The account
information record for each customer can also be associated with a
unique customer account identifier within customer profile database
114a that is used by application server 116 for performing various
operations. In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment
system is implemented within server system 110, the account
information record that is maintained within customer profile
database 114a for each customer that is registered with the system
can further include a unique virtual money account identifier that
is respectively associated with an account information record for
the customer that is maintained within virtual money account
database 114o.
[0054] Physician profile database 114b is used to maintain account
information records for individual physician users that register
with server system 110 to offer healthcare services for purchase by
customer users registered with the system, as well as account
information records for individual physicians that are registered
with the system in association with a practice group or hospital
system (as described in greater detail below). For each physician
for which an account is registered with server system 110, various
items of information relevant to the physician, such as name,
practice specialty, office location(s) and hours, a profile
picture, contact information, biographical information (such as
awards, honors, publications, patient testimonials, and other
information that can be helpful for marketing the physician to
customers accessing the system), URLs or references to websites and
social media profiles, group practice and hospital affiliation(s),
pharmacy affiliation(s) (for example, on-site pharmacies at
facilities or clinics that the physician uses for patient visits or
particular procedures), outside facilities that are used for
particular procedures performed by the physician (for example,
particular hospitals or clinics), compensation information
(indicating a financial account for receiving payment for purchases
of services offered by the physician via the system and, in some
embodiments, a financial account for receiving payment for
purchases of products offered by affiliated pharmacies via the
system, which may be the same as or different than the financial
account specified for receiving payment for purchases of services),
and any other suitable identifying information, as well as a unique
user name and password associated with the account that can be used
to log into the account, may be included in the respective account
information record for the physician that is maintained within
physician profile database 114b. The account information record for
each physician can also be associated with an account status and a
unique physician account identifier within physician profile
database 114b that is used by application server 116 for performing
various operations. The items of information included in the
respective information record for each physician that is maintained
within physician profile database 114b can further include items of
information describing discounts offered by the physician with
respect to services offered by the physician within the system for
purchase by customer users registered with the system. For example,
the items of information describing discounts offered by the
physician can include a table of one or more unique discount or
coupon codes that customer users may enter when making purchases of
services offered by the physician within the system and, for each
coupon code included in such a table, a description of a discount
associated with the coupon code and an indication of whether the
coupon code is presently valid for use. In exemplary embodiments in
which a virtual payment system is implemented within server system
110, the account information record that is maintained within
physician profile database 114b for each physician provider that is
registered with the system can further include a unique virtual
money account identifier that is respectively associated with an
account information record for the physician that is maintained
within virtual money account database 114o.
[0055] Practice group profile database 114c is used to maintain
account information records for practice group administrator users
that register with server system 110 to offer healthcare services
provided by physicians affiliated with a practice group for
purchase by customer users registered with the system. For each
practice group for which an account is registered with server
system 110, various items of information relevant to the practice,
such as practice group name, location and hours, contact
information, URLs or references to websites and social media
profiles for the practice group, physician and hospital
affiliation(s), pharmacy affiliation(s) (for example, on-site
pharmacies at facilities or clinics that affiliated physicians use
for patient visits or particular procedures), outside facilities
that are used for particular procedures performed by physicians
affiliated with the practice group, compensation information
(indicating a financial account for receiving payment for purchases
of services offered by the practice group and affiliated physicians
via the system and, in some embodiments, a financial account for
receiving payment for purchases of products offered by affiliated
pharmacies via the system, which may be the same as or different
than the financial account specified for receiving payment for
purchases of services), and any other suitable identifying
information, as well as a unique user name and password associated
with the account that can be used by the practice group
administrator to log into the account, may be included in the
respective account information record for the practice group that
is maintained within practice group profile database 114c. The
account information record for each practice group can also be
associated with an account status and a unique practice group
account identifier within practice group profile database 114c that
may be used by physician users registered with the system for
affiliating with the practice group and used by application server
116 for performing various operations. The items of information
included in the respective information record for each practice
group that is maintained within practice group profile database
114c can further include items of information describing discounts
offered by the practice group with respect to services offered by
the practice group within the system for purchase by customer users
registered with the system. For example, the items of information
describing discounts offered by the practice group can include a
table of one or more unique coupon codes that customer users may
enter when making purchases of services offered by the practice
group within the system and, for each coupon code included in such
a table, a description of a discount associated with the coupon
code and an indication of whether the coupon code is presently
valid for use. In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment
system is implemented within server system 110, the account
information record that is maintained within practice group profile
database 114c for each practice group provider that is registered
with the system can further include a unique virtual money account
identifier that is respectively associated with an account
information record for the practice group that is maintained within
virtual money account database 114o.
[0056] Hospital system profile database 114d is used to maintain
account information records for hospital system administrator users
that register with server system 110 to make on-site, in-person
sales of pre-paid healthcare services provided by physicians
affiliated with a hospital system for purchase by patients
operating client systems within marketplace system 100. For each
hospital system for which an account is registered with server
system 110, various items of information relevant to the hospital
system, such as contact information, practice group and physician
affiliation(s), pharmacy affiliation(s) (for example, on-site
pharmacies at facilities or clinics that affiliated physicians or
practice groups use for patient visits or particular procedures),
facilities that are used for particular procedures performed by
physicians affiliated with the hospital system, compensation
information (indicating a financial account for receiving payment
for purchases of services offered by the hospital system and
affiliated physicians and practice groups via the system and, in
some embodiments, a financial account for receiving payment for
purchases of products offered by affiliated pharmacies via the
system, which may be the same as or different than the financial
account specified for receiving payment for purchases of services),
and any other suitable identifying information, as well as a unique
user name and password associated with the account that can be used
by the hospital system administrator to log into the account, may
be included in the respective account information record for the
hospital system that is maintained within hospital system profile
database 114d. The respective account information record for the
hospital system may further include a plurality of unique user
names and passwords associated with the account that can be
respectively used by hospital system staff members to log into the
account The account information record for each hospital system can
also be associated with an account status and a unique hospital
system account identifier within hospital system profile database
114d that may be used by physician users registered with the system
for affiliating with the hospital system and used by application
server 116 for performing various operations. The items of
information included in the respective information record for each
hospital system that is maintained within hospital system profile
database 114d can further include items of information describing
discounts offered by the hospital system with respect to services
offered by the hospital system within the system for purchase by
customer users registered with the system. For example, the items
of information describing discounts offered by the hospital system
can include a table of one or more unique coupon codes that
customer users may enter when making purchases of services offered
by the hospital system within the system and, for each coupon code
included in such a table, a description of a discount associated
with the coupon code and an indication of whether the coupon code
is presently valid for use. In exemplary embodiments in which a
virtual payment system is implemented within server system 110, the
account information record that is maintained within hospital
system profile database 114d for each hospital system provider that
is registered with the system can further include a unique virtual
money account identifier that is respectively associated with an
account information record for the hospital system that is
maintained within virtual money account database 114o.
[0057] Pharmacy profile database 114e is used to maintain account
information records for pharmacy administrator users that register
with server system 110 to offer healthcare products, such as
prescription drugs and medical supplies, for purchase by customer
users registered with the system, through a particular pharmacy.
For each pharmacy for which an account is registered with server
system 110, various items of information relevant to the pharmacy,
such as name, location(s) and hours, contact information, URLs or
references to websites and social media profiles, compensation
information (indicating a financial account for receiving payment
for purchases of products offered by the pharmacy via the system),
an indication of whether the pharmacy has agreed to accept vouchers
for or otherwise honor pre-paid purchases of healthcare products
made by customer users via healthcare marketplace system 100 (as
will be discussed in greater detail below), and any other suitable
identifying information, as well as a unique user name and password
associated with the account that can be used to log into the
account, may be included in the respective account information
record for the pharmacy that is maintained within pharmacy profile
database 114e. In exemplary embodiments, the respective account
information record for each pharmacy that is maintained within
pharmacy profile database 114e may further include a list of
physician, group practice, and/or hospital system affiliation(s),
which each listed affiliation indicating whether the pharmacy has a
particular location that is an on-site pharmacy at a facility or
clinic that the affiliated physician, group practice, and hospital
system uses for patient visits or particular procedures. The
account information record for each pharmacy can also be associated
with an account status and a unique pharmacy account identifier
within pharmacy profile database 114e that is used by application
server 116 for performing various operations. The items of
information included in the respective information record for each
pharmacy that is maintained within pharmacy profile database 114e
can further include items of information describing discounts
offered by the pharmacy with respect to products offered by the
pharmacy within the system for purchase by customer users
registered with the system. For example, the items of information
describing discounts offered by the pharmacy can include a table of
one or more unique coupon codes that customer users may enter when
making purchases of products offered by the pharmacy within the
system and, for each coupon code included in such a table, a
description of a discount associated with the coupon code and an
indication of whether the coupon code is presently valid for use.
In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system is
implemented within server system 110, the account information
record that is maintained within pharmacy profile database 114e for
each pharmacy provider that is registered with the system can
further include a unique virtual money account identifier that is
respectively associated with an account information record for the
pharmacy that is maintained within virtual money account database
114o.
[0058] Condition information database 114f is used to maintain
information records for various health conditions and diseases for
which corresponding healthcare services and products (for example,
tests, treatments, and drugs) that can be offered by providers
registered with server system 110 for purchase by customer users
registered with the system. In exemplary embodiments, the various
conditions and diseases for which respective information records
are maintained in condition information database 114f and the
information that populates the respective information record for
each condition or disease can be created and maintained by a
back-end administrator of server system 110. For each condition or
disease for which an information record is created, various items
of information relevant to the condition or disease, such as name,
description, causes, risk factors, symptoms, common treatments,
corresponding healthcare services and products that can be offered
by providers registered with server system 110 (for example, each
associated healthcare service may be identified within the
information record using a unique procedure identifier that is used
to identify an information record for the service within available
services database 114g, and each associated healthcare product may
be identified within the information record using a unique product
identifier that is used to identify an information record for the
product within available products database 114i, as discussed
below), and any other suitable information may be included in the
respective information record for the condition or disease that is
maintained within condition information database 114f.
[0059] Available services database 114g is used to maintain
information records for various healthcare services (for example,
tests and treatments) that can be offered by providers registered
with server system 110 for purchase by customer users registered
with the server system. In exemplary embodiments, the respective
information records for healthcare services that are maintained in
available services database 114g and the information that populates
the respective information record for each service can be created
and maintained by a back-end administrator of server system 110.
For each service for which an information record is created,
various items of information relevant to the service, such as name,
procedure detail, one or more medical specialties with which the
procedure is commonly associated, any healthcare products (for
example, drugs or medical supplies) with which the procedure is
commonly associated, cost information (for example, average prices
for the service for patients that are uninsured and/or have a high
deductible insurance plan and an average price for purchasing the
service that is offered by providers registered with server system
110), a medical code number identifying the service according to
the nomenclature used by a formal medical classification system
(for example, a code that is used to identify the service according
to the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set), a unique
procedure identifier that is used by application server 116 to
uniquely identify the particular service, and any other suitable
information may be included in the respective information record
for the service that is maintained within available services
database 114g.
[0060] Additionally, in exemplary embodiments, the information
record for each service that is maintained within available
services database 114g may further include an indication of whether
the service can be offered by providers within marketplace system
100 as an individual primary service or as a primary service of a
bundled set of a plurality of services or one or more services and
one or more products (for which a single payment for the bundled
set will be disbursed to different provider for each of the
services and products in the bundled set). In such embodiments, for
each service for which the information record includes an
indication that the service is offered as a primary service of a
bundled set of services or one or more services and one or more
products, various items of additional information relevant to the
bundled set of services or services and products associated with
the service that is indicated to be a primary service may be
included in the respective information record for the primary
service that is maintained within available services database 114g.
Such items of information relevant to the bundled set included in
the respective information record for a primary service may
include, for example, items of information describing one or more
secondary services associated with the primary service (such as
name, a medical code number such as a CPT code identifying the
service according to the nomenclature used by a formal medical
classification system, and a secondary procedure identifier that is
used by application server 116 to uniquely identify the particular
secondary service in association with the unique procedure
identifier for the primary service), items of information
describing one or more products associated with the primary service
(such as name(s), a list of dosage level options for prescription
drugs, size options for certain medical supplies, an indication of
whether a prescription is required to purchase the product, and a
bundled product identifier that is used by application server 116
to uniquely identify the particular product in association with the
unique procedure identifier for the primary service), one or more
procedure identifiers for other services for which an information
record is maintained within available services database 114g that
are considered to be secondary services associated with the primary
service, one or more product identifiers for other products for
which an information record is maintained within available products
database 114i that are included in the bundled set with the primary
service, an indication of whether each of the products included in
the bundled set or performance of each of the one or more secondary
services (for which a single customer payment for the bundled set
will be disbursed among different respective providers for the
services and/or products in the bundled set) is optional or
required in association with performance of the primary service,
and an indication of whether the primary service is required to be
performed at an outside facility. In addition, in such embodiments,
for each service for which the information record includes an
indication that the service is offered as a primary service of a
bundled set, the cost information that is included in the
respective information record for the primary service that is
maintained within available services database 114g can include
respective cost information for each of the primary service and
each of the one or secondary services, the one or more products,
and, if required, the use of an outside facility for the primary
service individually included in the bundled set (for example,
average prices for each service, product, and facility of the
bundled set for patients that are uninsured and/or have a high
deductible insurance plan) in addition to an average price for
purchasing the bundled set that is offered by providers registered
with server system 110.
[0061] Service offer database 114h is used to maintain information
records for healthcare services that are being offered by providers
registered with the healthcare marketplace system 100 for purchase
by customer users registered with the system. In this regard, it
should be noted that the same service may be separately offered by
multiple different providers registered with the system and, thus,
service offer database 114h can include multiple information
records for the same service that are each associated with a
different provider. For each offered service for which a respective
information record is maintained within service offer database
114h, various items of information relevant to the service being
offered, such as the unique procedure identifier for the
information record within available services database 114g for the
service, the unique account identifier for the account information
record (within physician profile database 114b, practice group
profile database 114c, or hospital system profile database 114d) of
the provider that is offering the service through the system, the
unique physician account identifier for the account information
record within physician profile database 114b of the physician user
that will perform the service, a location at which the service will
be performed, a discounted price for purchasing the service within
marketplace system 100, a regular price for the service when the
service is purchased outside of the system, the unique account
identifier for the account information record (within physician
profile database 114b, practice group profile database 114c, or
hospital system profile database 114d) of the provider for which
payment for the service when purchased through the system is to be
directed, the unique virtual money account identifier for the
account information record for the provider for which payment for
the service when purchased through the system is to be directed
that is maintained within virtual money account database 114o in
exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system is
implemented within server system 110, a payment amount to be
transferred to the provider for which payment for performing the
service is to be directed, additional descriptive information that
may be provided by the provider offering the service, a unique
procedure offer identifier that is used by application server 116
to uniquely identify the offering of the particular service by the
provider within the system, and any other suitable information may
be included in the respective information record for the offered
service that is maintained within service offer database 114h. The
items of information included in the respective information record
for each offered service that is maintained within service offer
database 114h can further include items of information describing a
time limit or expiration date for redeeming purchases of the
offered service made by customer users registered with the system
and discounts that are available with respect to purchases of the
offered service by customer users registered with the system. For
example, the items of information describing available discounts
for the offered service can include a table of one or more unique
coupon codes that customer users may enter when making purchases of
the offered service within the system and, for each coupon code
included in such a table, a description of a discount associated
with the coupon code and an indication of whether the coupon code
is presently valid for use.
[0062] In exemplary embodiments, for certain offered services for
which respective information records are maintained within service
offer database 114h, the various items of information included in
the respective information record for the offered service that is
maintained within service offer database 114h can further include
an indication of whether the provider that is offering the service
through the system has associated the service offer with one or
more healthcare products (for example, a drug that is commonly
prescribed in association with the service being offered) and, for
each healthcare product that is indicated as having been associated
with the service offer, an indication of whether the product is
optional or required in association with performance of the primary
service, the unique product identifier that is used to identify an
information record for the product within available products
database 114i, an indication of whether a prescription is required
to purchase the product, and, optionally, either a product offer
identifier that uniquely identifies the information record within
product offer database 114j for the offering of the particular
product by a pharmacy that is affiliated with the provider offering
the particular service within the system (or the offering of the
particular product by a pharmacy that is registered with the system
but not affiliated with the provider offering the particular
service) along with the unique virtual money account identifier for
the account information record for the provider for which payment
for the product when purchased through the system is to be directed
that is maintained within virtual money account database 114o in
exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system is
implemented within server system 110 or, if the particular product
is offered by a pharmacy that is not registered with the system but
affiliated with the provider offering the particular service (for
example, an on-site pharmacy), information describing the pharmacy,
a discounted price for purchasing the particular product from the
non-registered, affiliated pharmacy in association with a purchase
of the service from the provider offering the particular service
within the system, a regular price for purchasing the product from
the non-registered, affiliated pharmacy, the unique account
identifier for the account information record (within physician
profile database 114b, practice group profile database 114c, or
hospital system profile database 114d) of the provider for which
payment for the product when purchased through the system in
association with the service is to be directed, the unique virtual
money account identifier for the account information record for the
provider for which payment for the product when purchased through
the system is to be directed that is maintained within virtual
money account database 114o in exemplary embodiments in which a
virtual payment system is implemented within server system 110, and
a payment amount to be transferred to the provider for which
payment for purchasing the product is to be directed.
[0063] Additionally, in exemplary embodiments, the information
records for offered services that are maintained within service
offer database 114h can include information records that include
additional information for services that are offered by providers
registered with the system as a bundled set of services or one or
more services and one or more products. In this regard, the
information record for each offered service that is maintained
within service offer database 114h may further include an
indication of whether the offered service is being offered as an
individual primary service or as a primary service of a bundled set
of a plurality of services or one or more services and one or more
products (for which a single payment for the bundled set will be
disbursed to different provider for each of the services and
products in the bundled set). In such embodiments, for each offered
service for which the information record includes an indication
that the service is being offered by a provider as a primary
service of a bundled set, various items of additional information
relevant to the bundled set associated with the offered service
that is indicated to be a primary service may be included in the
respective information record for the offered service that is
maintained within service offer database 114h. For example, the
items of information relevant to the bundled set included in the
respective information record for an offered service within service
offer database 114h that is indicated to be a primary service of a
bundled set may further include, for example, an indication of
whether the primary service is to be performed at an outside
facility and, if the primary service is to be performed at an
outside facility, items of information pertaining to each of one or
more facilities that may be used to perform the primary service
such as, for example, name, address, contact information, facility
fee, compensation information indicating a financial account that
is used by the facility for receiving a facility fee, and, in
exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system is
implemented within server system 110, a unique virtual money
account identifier for the account information record for the
facility that is maintained within virtual money account database
114o.
[0064] As another example, such items of information relevant to
the bundled set included in the respective information record for
an offered service within service offer database 114h that is
indicated to be a primary service of a bundled set may also
include, for example, items of information for each secondary
service such as the unique procedure identifier for the information
record within available services database 114g for the secondary
service (or the secondary procedure identifier that is included in
the information record for the primary service in available
services database 114g to uniquely identify the particular
secondary service in association with the unique procedure
identifier for the offered primary service where the information
record for the primary service being offered in the available
services database 114g includes an indication that the service is
offered as a primary service of a bundled set), the unique
physician account identifier for the account information record
within physician profile database 114b of the physician user that
will perform the secondary service, a location at which the service
will be performed, a discounted price for purchasing the secondary
service as part of the bundled set within marketplace system 100, a
regular price for the secondary service when the service is
purchased outside of the system, the unique account identifier for
the account information record (within physician profile database
114b, practice group profile database 114c, or hospital system
profile database 114d) of the provider for which payment for the
secondary service when purchased through the system as part of the
bundled set is to be directed, the unique virtual money account
identifier for the account information record for the provider for
which payment for the secondary service when purchased through the
system as part of a bundled set is to be directed that is
maintained within virtual money account database 114o in exemplary
embodiments in which a virtual payment system is implemented within
server system 110, a payment amount to be transferred to the
provider for which payment for performing the secondary service is
to be directed, and an indication of whether performance of the
secondary service is optional or required in association with
performance of the primary service.
[0065] Likewise, in another example, such items of information
relevant to the bundled set included in the respective information
record for an offered service within service offer database 114h
that is indicated to be a primary service of a bundled set of
services or one or more services and one or more products may also
include, for example, items of information for each product
included in the bundled set such as the unique product identifier
that is used to identify the information record for the product
within available products database 114i (or the bundled product
identifier that is included in the information record for the
primary service in the available services database 114g to uniquely
identify the particular product in association with the unique
procedure identifier for the offered primary service where the
information record for the primary service being offered in the
available services database 114g includes an indication that the
service is offered as a primary service of a bundled set), the
unique pharmacy account identifier for the account information
record within pharmacy profile database 114e of the pharmacy
provider from which the product is being offered for purchase
within the bundled set, an indication of whether a prescription is
required to purchase the product, the unique physician account
identifier for the account information record within physician
profile database 114b of the physician user that would be writing
the prescription if a prescription is required to purchase the
product (for example, the physician user that would be performing
the primary service), an indication of whether the pharmacy
provider from which the product is being offered for purchase
within the bundled set is affiliated with either of the provider
that is offering the service through the system or the physician
user that will perform the primary service, a discounted price for
purchasing the offered product as part of the bundled set within
marketplace system 100, a regular price for the secondary service
when the service is purchased outside of the system from the
pharmacy provider from which the product is being offered for
purchase within the bundled set, the unique account identifier for
the account information record (within physician profile database
114b, practice group profile database 114c, hospital system profile
database 114d, or pharmacy profile database 114e) of the provider
for which payment for the product when purchased through the system
as part of the bundled set is to be directed, the unique virtual
money account identifier for the account information record for the
provider for which payment for the product when purchased through
the system as part of a bundled set is to be directed that is
maintained within virtual money account database 114o in exemplary
embodiments in which a virtual payment system is implemented within
server system 110, a payment amount to be transferred to the
provider for which payment for performing the secondary service is
to be directed, and an indication of whether the product is
optional or required in association with performance of the primary
service.
[0066] Available products database 114i is used to maintain
information records for various healthcare products (for example,
prescription drugs and medical supplies) that can be offered by
pharmacies registered with server system 110 (that is, pharmacies
for which an account information record is maintained within
pharmacy profile database 114e) for purchase by customer users
registered with the system. In exemplary embodiments, the
respective information records for the healthcare products that are
maintained in available products database 114i and the information
that populates the respective information record for each product
can be created and maintained by a back-end administrator of server
system 110. For each product for which an information record is
created, various items of information relevant to the product, such
as name(s), a list of dosage level options (for prescription
drugs), size options (for certain medical supplies), and the like,
a description of the product, an indication of whether a
prescription is required to purchase the product, information for
rendering a respective predefined fillable form for submitting
prescription information for the product within a user interface,
cost information (for example, average prices for the product for
patients that are uninsured and/or have a high deductible insurance
plan and a lowest price for purchasing the product that is offered
by pharmacies registered with server system 110), a unique product
identifier that is used by application server 116 to uniquely
identify the particular product, and any other suitable information
may be included in the respective information record for the
product that is maintained within available products database 114i.
In exemplary embodiments, the respective information records for
each particular product that is maintained in available products
database 114i can further include a list of alternative,
equivalent, and generic products for the particular product along
with the unique product identifier for the respective information
record that is maintained in available products database 114i for
each of the alternative, equivalent, and generic products included
in the list.
[0067] In exemplary embodiments, the cost information that is
included in the respective information record for each healthcare
product that is maintained within available products database 114i
may also comprise, for example, a standard national price for the
product (which may obtained, for instance, from data provided by
IMS Health and/or First Databank, Inc. for prescription
pharmaceutical drugs) and a price for the product when purchased in
association with Medicare coverage. The cost information that is
included in the respective information record for each product may
further include additional price data compiled by providers of the
system and/or crowdsourced price data submitted by users of the
system reporting observed prices at which the product is being
offered through third-party providers along with information
describing the particular third-party providers for which observed
prices have been provided (such as, for example, a most recent date
at which the price was observed along with name, location(s) and
hours, contact information, and URLs or references to a website for
the third party provider).
[0068] Product offer database 114j is used to maintain information
records for offers of healthcare products that are being made by
pharmacies registered with the system for purchase by customer
users registered with the system. In this regard, it should be
noted that the same product may be separately offered by multiple
different pharmacies registered with the system and, thus, product
offer database 114j can include multiple information records for
the same product that are each associated with a different product
offer by a different provider. For each product offered by a
pharmacy for which a respective information record is maintained
within product offer database 114j, various items of information
relevant to the offering of the product, such as the unique product
identifier for the information record within available products
database 114i for the product, an indication of whether a
prescription is required to purchase the product, the unique
pharmacy account identifier for the account information record
within pharmacy profile database 114e of the pharmacy that is
offering the product, a discounted price for purchasing the product
from the identified pharmacy within marketplace system 100, a
regular price for the product when the service is purchased outside
of the system from the identified pharmacy, a payment amount for
purchases of the product by customer users registered with the
system that is to be transferred to the pharmacy that is offering
the product, the unique virtual money account identifier for the
account information record for the pharmacy for which payment for
the product when purchased through the system is to be directed
that is maintained within virtual money account database 114o in
exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system is
implemented within server system 110, additional descriptive
information that may be provided by the pharmacy offering the
product, a unique product offer identifier that is used by
application server 116 to uniquely identify the information record
for the offering of the particular product by the pharmacy within
the system, and any other suitable information may be included in
the respective information record for the offered product that is
maintained within product offer database 114j. The items of
information included in the respective information record for each
offered product that is maintained within product offer database
114j can further include items of information describing a time
limit or expiration date for redeeming purchases of the offered
product made by customer users registered with the system and
discounts that are available with respect to purchases of the
offered product by customer users registered with the system. For
example, the items of information describing available discounts
for the offered product can include a table of one or more unique
coupon codes that customer users may enter when making purchases of
the offered product within the system and, for each coupon code
included in such a table, a description of a discount associated
with the coupon code and an indication of whether the coupon code
is presently valid for use.
[0069] Transaction information database 114k is used to maintain
information records for purchases that have been made via the
system by registered customer users of healthcare services and
products being offered by registered providers. For each purchase
of a service or product that has been made using the system,
various items of information relevant to the purchase may be
included in the respective information record for the purchase that
is maintained within transaction information database 114k. In
general, the items of information relevant to each purchase that is
included in the respective information record for the purchase that
is maintained within transaction information database 114k can
include, for example, the unique customer account identifier of the
account information record for the purchasing customer within
customer profile database 114a, the unique procedure offer
identifier of the information record for a purchased service within
service offer database 114h or the unique product offer identifier
of the information record for a purchased product within product
offer database 114j, a purchase date, and a unique transaction
identifier that is used by application server 116 to uniquely
identify the information record for the purchase of the service or
product within the system.
[0070] For each purchase of a service that has been made using the
system, the items of information relevant to the purchase included
in the respective information record for the purchase that is
maintained within transaction information database 114k may further
include the unique physician account identifier for the account
information record within physician profile database 114b of the
physician user that is designated as performing the purchased
service in the information record for the purchased service within
service offer database 114h, an indication of any set expiration
date by which the purchase must be redeemed, an indication of
whether the purchase has been redeemed, if the purchase has been
redeemed, a redemption date, and any other suitable accounting
details pertaining to the purchase (such as indications of payment
sources and details regarding purchase cancellations, refunds, or
other adjustments). Additionally, in exemplary embodiments, for
each purchase of a service that has been made using the system for
which the respective information record for the offered service
that is maintained within service offer database 114h includes an
indication of whether the provider that is offering the service
through the system has associated the service offer with one or
more healthcare products, the items of information relevant to the
purchase included in the respective information record for the
purchase that is maintained within transaction information database
114k may further include, for each healthcare product that is
indicated as having been associated with the service offer, an
indication of whether a purchase of the associated product has been
made via the system by the registered customer user in association
with the purchase of the service along with the unique transaction
identifier that is used by application server 116 to uniquely
identify the information record in transaction information database
114k for the purchase of the product within the system.
[0071] Additionally, in exemplary embodiments, the information
records for purchased services that are maintained within
transaction information database 114k can include information
records that include additional information for purchases of
services that are offered by providers registered with the system
as a bundled set of services or one or more services and one or
more products. In this regard, the information record for each
purchased bundled set that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k may include an indication of a particular
outside facility that has been selected for performing the primary
service of the bundled set. The information record for each
purchased bundled set that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k may also include, for each service of the
bundled set that is included within the purchase (for example, each
required secondary service or each optional secondary service
selected by the customer user to be included within the purchase,
as well as the primary service), the unique physician account
identifier for the account information record within physician
profile database 114b of the physician user that is designated as
performing the service in the information record for the purchased
service within service offer database 114h, an indication of
whether the purchase has been redeemed with respect to that
particular service, and, if the purchase has been redeemed with
respect to that particular service, a redemption date for that
particular service. Likewise, the information record for each
purchased bundled set that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k may also include, for each product of the
bundled set that is included within the purchase (for example, each
required product or each optional product selected by the customer
user to be included within the purchase), the unique pharmacy
account identifier for the account information record within
pharmacy profile database 114e of the pharmacy provider that is
designated as offering the product for purchase within the bundled
set, an indication of whether a prescription is required to
purchase the product, the unique physician account identifier for
the account information record within physician profile database
114b of the physician user that would be writing the prescription
if a prescription is required to purchase the product (for example,
the physician user that would be performing the primary service),
an indication of whether a prescription has been received by the
customer user if a prescription is required to obtain the purchased
product, an indication of whether the purchase has been redeemed
with respect to that particular product, and, if the purchase has
been redeemed with respect to that particular product, a redemption
date for that particular product.
[0072] For each purchase of a product that has been made using the
system, the items of information relevant to the purchase included
in the respective information record for the purchase that is
maintained within transaction information database 114k may further
include the unique pharmacy account identifier for the account
information record within pharmacy profile database 114e of the
pharmacy that is offering the product, an indication of whether a
prescription is required to obtain the purchased product, an
indication of whether a prescription has been written by a
physician provider for the purchasing customer user if a
prescription is required to obtain the purchased product, an
indication of any set expiration date by which the purchase must be
redeemed, an indication of whether the purchase of the product has
been redeemed, a redemption date if the purchase of the product has
been redeemed, an indication of whether the purchase of the product
was made by the customer user in conjunction with a purchase of a
service for which the respective information record for the offered
service that is maintained within service offer database 114h
includes an indication that the provider offering the service
through the system has associated the service offer with the
purchased product, and any other suitable accounting details
pertaining to the purchase (such as indications of payment sources
and details regarding purchase cancellations, refunds, or other
adjustments). If the respective information record for a purchase
of a product that is maintained within transaction information
database 114k includes an indication that the purchase of the
product was made by the customer user in conjunction with a
purchase of a service for which the respective information record
for the offered service that is maintained within service offer
database 114h includes an indication that the provider offering the
service through the system has associated the service offer with
the purchased product, the items of information relevant to the
purchase included in the respective information record may further
include the unique procedure offer identifier of the information
record for the associated purchased service within service offer
database 114h and the unique physician account identifier for the
account information record within physician profile database 114b
of the physician user that is designated as performing the
purchased service in the information record for the purchased
service within service offer database 114h.
[0073] As noted above, in exemplary embodiments in which a virtual
payment system is implemented within server system 110, data store
114 can further comprise a virtual money account database 114o that
is used to maintain account information records for virtual money
accounts that are respectively established by virtual payment
system manager 170 for registered users of marketplace system 100
and other participants to transactions conducted within the
marketplace system. As also noted above, the participants to
transactions within the virtual payment system for which respective
virtual money accounts are established and utilized may include, in
addition to patients, healthcare providers, or other entities
specified for receiving payments for services or products offered
through the marketplace system, third party payers and an entity
that provides the transactional marketplace system. In general,
virtual funds that are created by virtual payment system manager
170 (as described in greater detail below) may be exchanged for
real currency and assigned to, allocated to, and exchanged among
various participants within the virtual payment system in response
to various actions being taken within the transactional marketplace
system. In this regard, virtual money account database 114o is
accessed via database server 112 and utilized by virtual payment
system manager 170 to organize, manage, and track information
pertaining to virtual funds that are created by virtual payment
system manager 170 with respect to transactions that are conducted
within the marketplace system in relation to purchases of services
and products being offered by providers within the system.
[0074] More specifically, in exemplary embodiments, for each
registered user of or other participant to transactions conducted
within the marketplace system, a set of general information and a
container of virtual fund objects can be included in the respective
account information record for the participant that is maintained
within virtual money account database 114o. The items of
information included in the set of general information of the
respective account information record for each participant may
include, for example, a unique virtual money account identifier
that is associated with the account information record for the
participant within virtual money account database 114o and used by
application server 116 for performing various operations, a set of
accounting details pertaining to transactions conducted within the
virtual payment system with respect to the container of virtual
fund objects included in the respective account information record
that are dynamically recorded by virtual payment system manager 170
in response to such transactions being conducted, an indication of
a type of participant for which the corresponding virtual money
account has been established (for instance, a customer user, a
physician user, an administrator user for an entity that provides
the transactional marketplace system 100, third party payers, and
other entities that may be specified for receiving payments for
services or products offered through the marketplace system but are
not registered with the system for offering services and/or
products for purchase via the system, such as facilities and
pharmacies), and, for each participant that is registered with the
server system 110 as a customer or provider user, the unique
account identifier for the account information record within the
corresponding profile database (for instance, customer profile
database 114a, physician profile database 114b, practice group
profile database 114c, hospital system profile database 114d, or
pharmacy profile database 114e) of the registered user, as well as
any other suitable identifying and descriptive information. For
each participant that does not have a corresponding user account
registered with the server system 110, the items of information
included in the set of general information of the respective
account information record for the participant may further include,
for example, details such as name, address, contact information,
and information indicative of an external financial account that is
used for purposes of making payments (such as for third party payer
participants), receiving disbursements (such as for facility
participants), or holding actual funds (such as for the providers
of marketplace system 100). In exemplary embodiments, some or all
of the information that may be included in the set of general
information for each participant that does not have a corresponding
account registered with the server system 110 may alternatively be
stored within the one or more additional databases 1141 of data
store 114 in association with the unique virtual money account
identifier that is associated with the account information record
for the participant within virtual money account database 114o. It
should also be noted that, in exemplary embodiments, virtual money
account database 114o can also maintain account information records
for virtual money accounts that are respectively established for
any number of various types of participants to transactions
conducted within marketplace system 100 other than those explicitly
referenced herein.
[0075] The containers of virtual fund objects included in the
respective account information records for participants that are
maintained within virtual money account database 114o are used to
manage units of virtual funds that have been created within the
virtual payment system by virtual payment system manager 170. In
particular, each virtual fund object in the respective account
information record maintained within virtual money account database
114o for each participant corresponds to an amount or value of
virtual funds that are presently assigned to the participant and
includes a plurality of attributes that define the virtual fund
object. More specifically, the plurality of attributes that define
each virtual fund object include, as a primary attribute, an
indication of the value of the corresponding virtual funds for the
object. The value of a virtual fund object is the apparent value of
the corresponding virtual funds that is represented to all
participants within the system and corresponds to an amount of real
currency that is held in an external financial account maintained
by the providers of marketplace system 100. In exemplary
embodiments, the value of a virtual fund object can be represented
within the virtual payment system as an actual value of the
corresponding real currency that is held in the external financial
account maintained by the providers of marketplace system 100 for
the virtual fund object (for example, using a direct
dollar-for-dollar correlation between the amount of corresponding
real currency held in the external financial account for the
virtual fund object and the value of a virtual fund object). In
this regard, the items of information included in the set of
general information of the respective account information record
within virtual money account database 114o for each participant may
include a balance value that is dynamically calculated by virtual
payment system manager 170 in response to transactions conducted
within the virtual payment system as an aggregate sum of the values
of all virtual fund objects included in the container of the
respective account information record. In exemplary embodiments,
the values of virtual fund objects may be permitted to be
represented within the virtual payment system as negative values of
corresponding real currency, and the balance values included in
respective account information records within virtual money account
database 114o for participants may also be permitted to be negative
values. Virtual funds are thereby managed within the virtual
payment system as digitally-recorded values that correlate to
corresponding amounts of real currency that may be held in or owed
from an external financial account and used to track transfers of
value between participants within virtual payment system.
[0076] The plurality of attributes that define each virtual fund
object can further include a unique identifier for the object that
is used by virtual payment system manager 170 to track the object
through transactions conducted within the virtual payment system,
an indication of an original funding or debiting source based on
which the object was created, a timestamp that includes details
about the time and/or date when the bucket of funds was created, an
indication of whether the corresponding virtual funds for the
object are presently allocated to use as payment for an offered
service or product purchased within the marketplace system by the
participant for which the account information record within which
the object is maintained was established in virtual money account
database 114o in association with the unique transaction identifier
for the respective information record for the purchase that is
maintained within transaction information database 114k, and an
indication of whether the corresponding virtual funds for the
object have already been transferred to the participant for which
the account information record within which the object is
maintained was established as part of the payment process for an
offered service or product purchased within the marketplace system
for which the participant is specified as the entity for which
payment for the purchased service or product is to be directed
along with the unique transaction identifier for the respective
information record for the purchase that is maintained within
transaction information database 114k. The indication of the
original funding or debiting source based on which a virtual fund
object was created may be, for example, an indication of an actual
source of real currency that was used for purchasing the
corresponding virtual funds (which may be, for instance, a bank
account or other depository institution from which an Automated
Clearing House (ACH) payment or the like was made, credit or debit
card information, other electronic payment information such as
information for utilizing an account with an online payment service
such as PayPal, an online wallet provider such as Google Wallet, or
any another entity facilitating payments and money transfers to be
made through the Internet, cash, or a third party payer that
submitted a payment on behalf of a participant), an indication of
an actual source of real currency for which a negative value of
corresponding virtual funds indicates an amount of real currency
owed by a participant, an indication that the value of the virtual
fund object is a credit that was conveyed by the providers of
marketplace system 100 to a registered user of server system 110,
or an indication that the value of the virtual fund object
corresponds to a discount made available by a provider registered
with the system with respect to a purchase of a service or product
offered by the provider by a customer user registered with the
system (which may include indications of a particular coupon code
input by the customer when making the purchase and the unique
identifier for the information record for one of a corresponding
provider profile database, service offer database 114h, or product
offer database 114j within which information describing the
discount is maintained).
[0077] With respect to the attribute defining a virtual fund object
that indicates whether the corresponding virtual funds for the
object are presently allocated to use as payment for an offered
service or product purchased within the marketplace system by the
participant for which the account information record within which
the object is maintained was established in virtual money account
database 114o, the items of information included in the set of
general information of the respective account information record
within virtual money account database 114o for each participant may
include, in addition to the total balance value described above, an
available balance value that is dynamically calculated by virtual
payment system manager 170 in response to transactions conducted
within the virtual payment system as an aggregate sum of the values
of all virtual fund objects included in the container of the
respective account information record for which there is not an
indication that the corresponding virtual funds for the object are
presently allocated to use as payment for a purchased service or
product and an allocated balance value that is dynamically
calculated by virtual payment system manager 170 in response to
transactions conducted within the virtual payment system as an
aggregate sum of the values of all virtual fund objects included in
the container of the respective account information record for
which there is an indication that the corresponding virtual funds
for the object are presently allocated to use as payment for a
purchased service.
[0078] As used herein, the terms "virtual funds," "virtual money,"
"electronic money", "e-money," and the like refer to units of
virtual currency that are created and exchanged as value for
transactions conducted in the virtual environment provided by the
virtual payment system. In contrast, the terms "real currency,"
"actual currency," "real funds," "actual funds," and the like refer
to any type of currency exchanged as value for transactions
conducted outside of the virtual environment including, but not
limited to, types of currency issued by sovereign nations such as,
for example, United States Dollars, European Union Euros, Japanese
Yen, British Pounds, Chinese Yuan, Swiss Francs, etc.
[0079] As discussed above, application server 116 can implement a
user interface so that users of connected client systems 140 can
access various services provided by the application server with
relative ease by operating a corresponding client application 142.
In exemplary embodiments, the user interface can be a web-based
user interface, implemented as a web-based software application
hosting a corresponding website that provides a number of web pages
(that is, screens) to offer the services implemented by application
server 116 to users. For example, a user can access the
corresponding website using a web browser implemented within a
client application 142 executing on a client system 140.
[0080] In exemplary embodiments, when any user, regardless of
whether the user is registered with system 110 with any type of
user account or a non-registered user, operates a client system 140
to access application server 116 (for example, by launching a
native client application or by using a web browser to submit a URL
that provides a network address for application server 116), the
application server can be configured with a default setting that
directs the user to a home page for the services grouped within
customer portal 120, at which the user is presented with various
options through a search interface to access functions provided by
navigation and search service 124.
[0081] FIG. 3A is a screen shot illustrating an example of a
graphical user interface provided by such a home page 300 for
customer portal 120. In the illustrated example, the search
interface provided at home page 300 can include a drop-down menu
302, a search entry field 304, a location entry field 306, and a
search button 308. Drop-down menu 302 provides a set of selectable
options that allow the user to search for particular procedures
offered by provider users registered with the system, particular
products offered by pharmacy users registered with the system,
information on providers registered with the system, and
information on health conditions that is maintained within system.
In exemplary embodiments, navigation and search service 124 can be
configured to use location information that may be gathered by any
suitable location determining functionality implemented on the
client system to provide a default location entry (for instance,
city name and/or zip code) within location entry field 306. In such
embodiments, navigation and search service 124 may be further
configured to request permission from the user via the user
interface to be able to access and utilize such location
information for this purpose.
[0082] In one example, when the user selects the option within
drop-down menu 302 to search for a particular service offered by
provider users registered with the system, the user can then
proceed to enter the name of the service within search entry field
304. In exemplary embodiments, navigation and search service 124
can be configured to, as the user enters the name of the service to
be searched, identify and provide corresponding suggested entry
completions in association with search entry field 304 (for
instance, by comparing the entered characters with the various
service names included in the respective information records for
healthcare services that are maintained in available services
database 114g). The user can then select one of the suggested entry
completions at any point or continue to complete entry of the
service name manually. In alternative exemplary embodiments, to
allow a user to select a particular service to be included in
search entry field 304, home page 100 may be configured to provide
an additional drop-down menu in conjunction with a selection of the
option within drop-down menu 302 to search for a particular service
that allows a user to first select from a list of specialties, and,
upon a selection of a particular specialty being made by the user,
provides a list of services associated with the selected specialty
(for example, based on information maintained in available services
database 114g) from which the user can select the particular
service to be included in search entry field 304. In conjunction
with selecting the particular service, the user can also enter a
city name and/or zip code or opt to utilize a default location
entry within location entry field 306 to localize a search radius
for providers offering the selected service for purchase via
marketplace system 100.
[0083] Once the appropriate search information is entered, the user
can then select the search button to direct navigation and search
service 124 to conduct a search of local providers registered with
server system 110 and offering the inputted healthcare service for
purchase via marketplace system 100. Navigation and search service
124 can conduct such a location-based search by accessing, for
example, service offer database 114h in conjunction with physician
profile database 114b, practice group profile database 114c,
hospital system profile database 114d, and/or any other suitable
information and databases to which the application server has
access to filter the information records included within available
services database 114g for healthcare services that match the
specified search criteria, and then present the results of the
search to user within a search result listing page.
[0084] In exemplary embodiments, whenever navigation and search
service 124 is directed to conduct a location-based search by a
user (for example, for local providers offering the inputted
healthcare service or, as discussed below, for local providers
generally or for local pharmacy providers offering healthcare
products), the navigation and search service can be configured to
maintain the location specified within location entry field 306 for
search within a data object for a session with application server
116 that is maintained for the user. As referred to herein, the
term "session" can refer a series of transactions that can be
performed sequentially by interacting with and navigating through
various pages during a single, unbroken string of interactions.
Such a session may end, for example, when the user terminates a
native client application running on the client system and being
operated by user, when the user terminates a web browser being used
to access a web application provided by application server 116 or
stops selecting or navigating through pages within the domain of
the website provided by the application server and instead
navigates to a web site at a different domain, or when the user
logs out of a customer account being used to access services
provided by the application server with respect to a particular
customer account information record that is maintained within
customer profile database 114a. In exemplary embodiments, the
session data object for sessions with application server 116 that
are presently being maintained for users can be stored and
maintained locally to application server 116.
[0085] FIG. 3B is a screen shot illustrating an example of a GUI
provided by a search result listing page 310 for customer portal
120 that presents a list of providers offering the service
specified within search entry field 304 within a default search
radius (for example, 50 miles) of the location specified within
location entry field 306 returned in the search conducted by
navigation and search service 124. In the illustrated example,
search result listing page 310 includes a result listing section
311, a result filtering section 316, and a result sorting section
318. Result listing section 311 presents an entry for each offered
service for which a respective information record is maintained
within service offer database 114h that matches the specified
search criteria. Result filtering section 316 provides various user
interface controls for refining the results of the search presented
within result listing section 311 by modifying the search criteria
or inputting additional search criteria. In the illustrated
example, result filtering section 316 includes a distance slide bar
that is accessible to the user to increase or decrease the
geographical search radius of searched providers offering the
service specified within search entry field 302 and an option to
refine the results according to one or more particular specialties
of the physician that will perform the service. In this regard,
navigation and search service 124 can be configured to, in response
to a user accessing the user interface controls to modify the
search criteria or input additional search criteria, conduct an
updated search of the information records included within available
services database 114g for healthcare services according to the
newly-specified search criteria, and then update the entries for
offered services within result listing section 311 according to the
results returned in the updated search. Result sorting section 318
provides user interface controls that can be accessed by a user to
direct navigation and search service 124 to order the list of
entries for offered services within result listing section 311
according to a specified criteria (for example, according to the
price for purchasing the offered service via server system 110 or
the distance between the location of the offered service and the
location specified within location entry field 306). In exemplary
embodiments, such a search result listing page 310 can be
implemented to present any other appropriate information relevant
to the search criteria specified by the user, such as, for example,
a graphic depicting the average cost information included in the
information record for the service specified in the search criteria
that is maintained in available services database 114g.
[0086] In the example screen shot depicted in FIG. 3B, each entry
for an offered service listed in result listing section 311
includes a first portion 312 presenting information from the
account information record within physician profile database 114b
of the physician that will perform the service as specified in the
information record for the offered service within service offer
database 114h (for example, the physician's name, specialty, and
profile picture), a second portion 313 presenting information from
the account information record of the provider that is offering the
service through the system (for example, the name of the provider)
and the location at which the offered service will be performed
(for example, address and telephone number), and a third portion
314 presenting cost information for purchasing the offered service
through application server 116 (for example, the discounted price
for the service that is specified in the information record for the
offered service within service offer database 114h and a cost
savings difference between the discounted price and the regular
price for the service when the service is purchased outside of the
system from the provider as specified in the information record for
the offered service within service offer database 114h), and an
option to select to purchase the offered service listed in the
entry (for example, via an "Add to Cart" button included within
third portion 314). In exemplary embodiments, for each offered
service listed in result listing section 311 for which the
respective information record in service offer database 114h
includes an indication that the provider that is offering the
service through the system has associated the service offer with
one or more healthcare products, navigation and search service 124
can be configured to also present a set of information within the
entry for the offered service listed in result listing section 311
to the user via the user interface that provides details regarding
each of the products that the provider has associated with the
service offer. For example, such information presented to the user
can include, for each product associated with the service offer, a
name and description of the product, whether a purchase of the
product is optional or required in association with performance of
the service, whether a prescription is required to purchase the
product, information describing the pharmacy through which the
product is being offered for purchase in association with service,
a discounted price for purchasing the product from the specified
pharmacy in association with a purchase of the service from the
provider offering the particular service within the system, a cost
savings difference between the discounted price and a regular price
for purchasing the product from the pharmacy outside of the system,
and hyperlinks or other references to other relevant pages
providing information that is relevant to the associated product,
such as a reference to a healthcare product information page that
presents information regarding the specified product.
[0087] When a user selects the option to purchase an offered
service listed in result listing section 311, navigation and search
service 124 can be configured to update the session data object for
the session with application server 116 that is presently being
maintained for the user to include an indication that the user has
selected the offered service for purchasing (for example, by
including the procedure offer identifier that is maintained within
service offer database 114h to uniquely identify the offering of
the particular service by the provider). In exemplary embodiments,
when a user selects the option to purchase an offered service
listed in result listing section 311 for which the respective
information record in service offer database 114h includes an
indication that the provider that is offering the service through
the system has associated the service offer with one or more
healthcare products, navigation and search service 124 can be
further configured to provide an option for the user to specify
whether to proceed with selecting to purchase the offered service
listed in the entry in view of the indication that the provider
that is offering the service through the system has associated the
service offer with one or more products and, for each product
associated with the service offer for which a purchase is indicated
as being optional in association with the performance of the
service, an option to select to purchase the associated product in
association with the purchase the offered service listed in the
entry in result listing section 311 selected by the user. If
further information is required regarding each product selected for
purchasing in association with the offered service (for example, a
particular dosage level and quantity for a prescription drug
according to a prescription written for the user, a particular size
option for a medical supply product, and the like), navigation and
search service 124 can be configured to implement suitable user
interface controls to allow the user to specify the additionally
required information. For example, navigation and search service
124 can be configured to provide a user interface element through
which the additionally required information can be specified by a
user selection of the appropriate information from a list of
selectable options. The information and options provided at such a
page can be generated based on the respective information record
for the particular healthcare product that is maintained in
available products database 114i. When a user specifies to proceed
with selecting to purchase an offered service listed in result
listing section 311 for which a purchase of any products is
required in association with performance of the service or optional
and selected by the user for purchasing in association with the
purchase the offered service, navigation and search service 124 can
be configured to update the session data object for the session
with application server 116 that is presently being maintained for
the user to include an indication that the user has selected the
offered service for purchasing in association with a purchase of
the each product required to be purchased in association with
performance of the service or optional and selected by the user for
purchasing in association with the purchase of the offered service
in association with any other information that is required or
otherwise specified by the user (for example, in the case of a
prescription drug, the quantity that is specified by the user and
the price or estimated price that is calculated based on the
information specified in the information record for the offered
product within product offer database 114j in relation to the
quantity specified by the user).
[0088] As will be described in greater detail below, upon selecting
one or more services and/or products for purchase in association
with a session with application server 116, the user will then have
an option to navigate to a customer purchase page (for example, a
"Check-Out" page) to proceed with purchasing the selected item(s)
with respect to an account information record maintained within
customer profile database 114a for a registered customer user.
[0089] In exemplary embodiments, result listing section 311 can be
further implemented to present any other appropriate information
relevant to the offered services included in the search results.
Additionally, for each entry for an offered service listed in
result listing section 311, first portion 312 can further include a
hyperlink or other reference that is accessible by the user via the
user interface to navigate to a physician profile page that
presents information regarding the physician that will perform the
offered service (an example of such a physician profile page will
be described below with reference to FIG. 3D). Search result
listing page 310 can be further implemented to include additional
hyperlinks or other references to other relevant pages providing
information that is relevant to the search criteria specified by
the user, such as a reference to a healthcare service information
page that presents information regarding the specified service (an
example of such a healthcare service information page will be
described below with reference to FIG. 3C).
[0090] Referring again to example home page 300 illustrated in FIG.
3A, in another example in which the user selects the option within
drop-down menu 302 to search for a particular product offered by
pharmacies registered with the system, the user can then proceed to
enter the name of the particular product within search entry field
304. In exemplary embodiments, navigation and search service 124
can be configured to, as the user enters the name of the product to
be searched, identify and provide corresponding suggested entry
completions in association with search entry field 304 (for
instance, by comparing the entered characters with the various
product names included in the respective information records for
healthcare products that are maintained in available product
database 114g). The user can then select one of the suggested entry
completions at any point or continue to complete entry of the
product name manually. In exemplary embodiments, to allow a user to
select a particular product to be included in search entry field
304, home page 100 may be configured to provide suitable user
interface controls or a hyperlink or other reference that can be
accessed by the user to present the user with an alphabetized list
of product names from which the user can select the particular
product to be included in search entry field 304. In this regard,
navigation and search service 124 can be configured to provide
separate alphabetized lists of product names for prescription drugs
and medical supply products and allow the user to select the
appropriate one of the lists to locate the particular product name
desired.
[0091] Once the desired product name is entered by the user in
search entry field 304, the user can then select the search button
to direct navigation and search service 124 to initiate a search of
pharmacies registered with server system 110 and offering the
inputted healthcare product for purchase via marketplace system
100. If further information is required regarding the particular
product entered by the user prior to conducting the search (for
example, a particular dosage level and quantity for a prescription
drug according to a prescription written for the user, a particular
size option for a medical supply product, and the like), navigation
and search service 124 can be configured to implement suitable user
interface controls to allow the user to specify the additionally
required information. For example, navigation and search service
124 can be configured to direct the user interface to a page at
which the additionally required information can be specified by a
user selection of the appropriate information from a list of
selectable options. The information and options provided at such a
page can be generated based on the respective information record
for the particular healthcare product that is maintained in
available products database 114i and may further include a
presentation of various items of information relevant to the
product for the user to review, such as a description of the
product and an indication of whether a written prescription from a
medical specialist is required to purchase the product.
[0092] Upon any additional required information being specified by
user, navigation and search service 124 can then conduct such a
search by accessing, for example, product offer database 114j in
conjunction with pharmacy profile database and/or any other
suitable information and databases to which application server 116
has access to filter the information records included within
product offer database 114j for healthcare products that match the
specified search criteria, and then present the results of the
search to user within a product search result listing page that
presents a list of pharmacies offering the product specified within
search entry field 304. Such a product search result listing page
can present an entry for each offer of the product for which a
respective information record is maintained within product offer
database 114j that matches the specified search criteria. The
product search result listing page may also provide user interface
controls that can be accessed by a user to direct navigation and
search service 124 to order the list of entries for offers of the
product within the page according to a specified criteria. For
example, the list of entries for offers of the product within the
page according to the price for purchasing the offered product via
server system 110.
[0093] In exemplary embodiments, such a search result listing page
310 can be implemented to present any other appropriate information
relevant to the search criteria specified by the user, such as, for
example, a graphic depicting the average, national standard, and
Medicare coverage prices for the particular product specified in
the search criteria that is obtained from the cost information
included in the respective information record for the product that
is maintained in available products database 114j (for prescription
drug products, the prices obtained from the cost information can be
provided for a default quantity of the prescription drug or,
alternatively, based on a calculation performed by navigation and
search service 124 for the quantity specified by the user using the
average cost information for a default quantity as a reference). As
another example, such a such a search result listing page 310 can
be implemented to present a graphic depicting any additional price
data included in the respective information record for the product
maintained in available products database 114j that has been
compiled by providers of the system and/or crowdsourced from users
of system 100 reporting observed prices at which the product is
being offered through third-party providers (along with information
describing the particular third-party providers for which observed
prices have been provided and the most recent date on which each
third-party provider price was observed). The additional price data
presented in such a graphic may, for instance, be limited to
third-party providers that are determined, based on location
information included in the compiled or crowdsourced price data, to
be offering the particular product at a location that is within a
default search radius (for example, 50 miles) of a location
determined by navigation and search service 124. The particular
location that is utilized for this purpose may be determined using,
for example, a location that is stored within the session data
object for the session with application server 116 that is
presently being maintained for the user or location information
that is gathered by any suitable location determining functionality
implemented on the client system being operated by the user to
provide a default location entry.
[0094] For an entry in search result listing page 310 for an
offering of the product listed in the product search result listing
page being made by a pharmacy that is registered with server system
110, the entry may further include portions presenting information
from the account information record of the pharmacy that is
offering the product through the system (for example, pharmacy
name, address, and contact information), cost information for
purchasing the offered product through marketplace system 100 (for
example, the discounted price for the product that is specified in
the information record for the offered product within product offer
database 114j or, for prescription drugs, a price that is
calculated based on the specified discounted price in relation to
the quantity specified by the user), a cost savings difference
between the discounted price and the regular price for the product
when the product is purchased outside of the system as specified in
the respective information record for the offered product, and an
option to select to purchase the offered product listed in the
entry (for example, via an "Add to Cart" button).
[0095] When a user selects the option to purchase an offered
product listed in the product search result listing page,
navigation and search service 124 can be configured to update the
session data object for the session with application server 116
that is presently being maintained for the user to include an
indication that the user has selected the offered product for
purchasing (for example, by including the product offer identifier
that is maintained within product offer database 114j to uniquely
identify the offering of the particular product) in association
with any other information that is required or otherwise specified
by the user (for example, in the case of a prescription drug, the
quantity that is specified by the user and the price that is
calculated based on the discounted price for the product that is
specified in the information record for the offered product within
product offer database 114j in relation to the quantity specified
by the user). As noted above and described in greater detail below,
upon selecting one or more services and/or products for purchase in
association with a session with application server 116, the user
will then have an option to navigate to a customer purchase page
(for example, a "Check-Out" page) to proceed with purchasing the
selected item(s) with respect to an account information record
maintained within customer profile database 114a for the registered
customer user.
[0096] In exemplary embodiments, the product search result listing
page can be further implemented to present any other appropriate
information relevant to the offered product included in the search
results. For instance, the product search result listing page can
be implemented to include additional hyperlinks or other references
to other relevant pages providing information that is relevant to
the search criteria specified by the user, such as a reference to a
healthcare product information page that presents information
regarding the specified product.
[0097] Referring again to example home page 300 illustrated in FIG.
3A, in another example in which the user selects the option within
drop-down menu 302 to search for information on health conditions
maintained within server system 110, the user can then proceed to
enter the name of a particular health condition within search entry
field 304. In exemplary embodiments, navigation and search service
124 can be configured to, as the user enters the name of the
condition to be searched, identify and provide corresponding
suggested entry completions in association with search entry field
304 (for instance, by comparing the entered characters with the
various condition names included in the respective information
records for conditions that are maintained in condition information
database 114f). The user can then select one of the suggested entry
completions at any point or continue to complete entry of the
condition name manually. In exemplary embodiments, to allow a user
to select a particular condition to be included in search entry
field 304, home page 100 may be configured to provide suitable user
interface controls or a hyperlink or other reference that can be
accessed by the user to present the user with an alphabetized list
of condition names from which the user can select the particular
condition to be included in search entry field 304.
[0098] Once the desired condition is entered by the user in search
entry field 304, the user can then select the search button to
direct navigation and search service 124 to navigate the user
interface to a condition information page for the specified
condition. In this regard, navigation and search service 124 may be
configured to require that the text entered in search entry field
304 correspond to a condition for which a corresponding information
record is maintained in condition information database 114f. For
example, upon the user selecting the search button, navigation and
search service 124 can be configured to provide a list of suggested
condition names that are determined to be similar to the text
entered in search entry field 304 from which the user can select
upon making a determination that the text entered in search entry
field 304 does not more closely correspond to a particular
condition for which a corresponding information record is
maintained in condition information database 114f.
[0099] Upon the user selecting the search button with an
appropriate condition specified in search entry field 304,
navigation and search service 124 can render the information page
for the specified condition in the user interface. The condition
information page for a particular condition can be implemented to
present a set of appropriate information relevant to condition
based on the information that is maintained in the respective
information record for the condition that is maintained in
condition information database 114f such as, for example, name,
description, causes, risk factors, symptoms, and common treatments.
In exemplary embodiments, the condition information page for a
particular condition can be implemented to provide a list of
corresponding healthcare services that can be offered by providers
registered with server system 110 in conjunction with a respective
hyperlink (or other reference) for each corresponding service that
is accessible by the user within the user interface to navigate to
a healthcare service information page that presents information
regarding the specified service.
[0100] Referring now to FIG. 3C, a screen shot illustrating an
example of a GUI provided by a healthcare service information page
320 implemented by navigation and search service 124 for a
particular healthcare service is provided. In the illustrated
example, healthcare service information page 320 includes a
procedure overview section 322, a cost comparison graphic 324, and
a provider listing section 326. The information presented in
procedure overview section 322 can be generated based on the
procedure detail information included in the respective information
record that is maintained for the particular service in available
services database 114g. Likewise, information that is presented in
cost comparison graphic 324 can be generated based on the average
cost information included in the respective information record that
is maintained for the particular service in available services
database 114g (for example, to present a display of average prices
for the service for patients that are uninsured and/or have a high
deductible insurance plan in comparison with an average price for
purchasing the service through offers from providers registered
with server system 110).
[0101] As noted above, for a particular healthcare service that is
being offered as a bundled set of services or one or more services
and one or more products, the cost information that is included in
the respective information record for the primary service that is
maintained within available services database 114g can include
respective cost information for each of the primary service, one or
more secondary services and/or one or more products included in the
bundled set, and, if required, the use of an outside facility for
the primary service individually. In this regard, the information
that is presented in cost comparison graphic 324 for such a bundled
set can be generated to present a display of the aggregate sum of
the respective individual prices for each of the primary service,
the one or more secondary services and/or one or more products
included in the bundled set, and, if required, the use of an
outside facility for the primary service individually for patients
that are uninsured and/or have a high deductible insurance plan in
comparison with an average price for purchasing the bundled set
that is offered by providers registered with server system 110. In
this manner, the cost information for the entire bundled set,
rather than simply for the primary service alone, can be made
transparent to a user visiting the healthcare service information
page for a particular healthcare service that is being offered as a
bundled set. A healthcare service information page that is
implemented by navigation and search service 124 for a particular
healthcare service that is being offered as a bundled set may also
present additional information relevant to the bundled set.
[0102] The information presented in provider listing section 326
can be generated in a manner similar to the information included in
result listing section 311 of example search result listing page
310 depicted in FIG. 3B to present a list of providers offering the
particular service within a default search radius (for example, 50
miles) of a location determined by navigation and search service
124. The particular location that is utilized for this purpose may
be determined using, for example, a location that is stored within
the session data object for the session with application server 116
that is presently being maintained for the user or location
information that is gathered by any suitable location determining
functionality implemented on the client system to provide a default
location entry. In the present example, provider listing section
326 presents an entry for each offered service for which a
respective information record is maintained within service offer
database 114h that matches the particular service for which
healthcare service information page 320 is generated and along with
the determined location.
[0103] Each entry for an offered service listed in provider listing
section 326 presents information from the account information
record within physician profile database 114b of the physician that
will perform the service as specified in the information record for
the offered service within service offer database 114h (for
example, the physician's name and profile picture) and cost
information for purchasing the offered service through application
server 116 (for example, the discounted price for the service that
is specified in the information record for the offered service
within service offer database 114h). In the present example,
provider listing section 326 further includes a location entry
field 327 that, in conjunction with a "submit" button 328, allows a
user to specify a particular location (for example, a city name
and/or zip code) and submit a request for navigation and search
service 124 to conduct a search and update the information
presented in provider listing section 326 to present a list of
providers offering the particular service within the default search
radius of the newly specified location. Navigation and search
service 124 can also be configured to, in response to such a
request, update the location that is maintained within the session
data object for the session with application server 116 that is
presently being maintained for the user.
[0104] In exemplary embodiments, provider listing section 326 can
be further implemented to present any other appropriate information
relevant to the offered services included in the search results.
For example, for each entry for an offered service listed in
provider listing section 326 for which the respective information
record for the offered service within service offer database 114h
includes an indication that the provider offering the service
through the system has associated the service offer with one or
more healthcare products, the information presented for the entry
in the provider listing section can further include a listing of
each of the associated products providing information obtained from
the respective information record for the offered service within
service offer database 114h and the respective information record
for the product maintained within available products database 114i
(such as whether a purchase of the product is optional or required
in association with performance of the service, whether a
prescription is required to purchase the product, and information
describing the pharmacy through which the product is being offered
for purchase in association with service), hyperlinks or other
references to other relevant pages providing information that is
relevant to the associated product, such as a reference to a
healthcare product information page that presents information
regarding the specified product, and the cost information for
purchasing the offered service through application server 116
included in the information presented for the entry can further
include respective cost information for each of the associated
products obtained from available products database 114i (for
example, a lowest price for purchasing the product that is offered
by pharmacies registered with server system 110 obtained from the
respective information record for the product), product offer
database 114j (for example, where the respective information record
for the offered service within service offer database 114h includes
a product offer identifier that uniquely identifies the information
record for the offering of the particular product by a pharmacy
that is affiliated with the provider offering the particular
service within the system, the cost information can include the
discounted price for the product that is specified in the
information record for the product offer by the affiliated pharmacy
within product offer database 114j), and/or service offer database
114h (for example, where the respective information record for the
offered service within service offer database 114h includes
information describing a pharmacy that is not registered with the
system but affiliated with the provider offering the particular
service along with a price for purchasing the particular product
from the non-registered, affiliated pharmacy, the cost information
can include this price).
[0105] Additionally, each entry for an offered service listed in
provider listing section 326 can further include a hyperlink or
other reference that is accessible by the user via the user
interface to navigate to a physician profile page that presents
information regarding the physician that will perform the offered
service specified in the entry. A screen shot illustrating an
example of a GUI provided by a physician profile page 330
implemented by navigation and search service 124 for a particular
physician user registered with server system 110 is provided in
FIG. 3D.
[0106] In the illustrated example, physician profile page 330
includes a physician information section 332 and an offered
procedures section 336. The information presented in physician
information section 332 can be generated based on the information
that is included in the respective account information record that
is maintained for the particular physician user in physician
profile database 114b and may include various items of information
relevant to the physician, such as name, practice specialty, office
location(s) and hours, a profile picture, contact information,
biographical information (such as awards, honors, publications,
patient testimonials, and other information that may be of interest
to prospective customers accessing the system), URLs or references
to websites and social media profiles, and group practice,
hospital, and pharmacy affiliation(s).
[0107] In exemplary embodiments, as further illustrated in FIG. 3D,
physician information section 332 can further include additional
user interface elements such as a "Leave a review" button 333, a
"Request an appointment" button 334, and a map element 335
depicting a mapped location of an office location included within
respective account information record that is maintained for the
particular physician user in physician profile database 114b (which
navigation and search service 124 may be configured to generate by
remotely accessing a third-party mapping service). In response to a
user selecting "Leave a review" button 333, navigation and search
service 124 can be configured to implement suitable user interface
controls for allowing the user to post or submit a review of the
particular physician to server system 110. In response to receiving
such a review, navigation and search service 124 can be configured
to, for example, include information pertaining to the review
within the respective account information record that is maintained
for the particular physician user in physician profile database
114b or send an electronic message to the physician user pertaining
to the review, for example, by way of email utilizing the contact
information specified in the respective account information record
for the physician.
[0108] In response to a user selecting "Request an appointment"
button 334, navigation and search service 124 can be configured to
implement suitable user interface controls for allowing the user to
submit a request for scheduling an appointment to the particular
physician user (for example, by sending a notification to the
physician user by utilizing the contact information specified in
the respective account information record for the physician that
includes contact information for the user). Navigation and search
service 124 may also be configured to implement suitable user
interface controls for allowing the user to schedule an appointment
with the particular physician user. Navigation and search service
124 may provide this functionality by, for example, accessing an
appointment scheduling service with which the particular physician
user is associated, which may be a service offered by application
server 116 or offered by a third-party service provider.
[0109] In the present example, as illustrated in FIG. 3D, the
information presented in offered procedures section 336 of
physician profile page 330 can include a listing of healthcare
services offered by the particular physician for purchase through
marketplace system 100. More specifically, offered procedures
section 336 presents an entry for each offered service for which a
respective information record is maintained within service offer
database 114h that identifies, as the physician that performs the
service, the unique physician account identifier for the account
information record within physician profile database 114b of the
particular physician. In the example screen shot depicted in FIG.
3D, each entry for an offered service listed in offered procedures
section 336, which may be generated based on the respective
information record that is maintained within service offer database
114h for the offered service and the respective information record
for the service that is maintained in available services database
114g (as well as any other suitable information maintained within
data store 114), includes a service name (which may be provided in
conjunction with a hyperlink or other reference that is accessible
by the user within the user interface to navigate to the healthcare
service information page that presents information regarding the
named service, as described above with reference to FIG. 3C),
average cost information for the service, and the discounted price
for purchasing the offered service that is specified in the
information record for the offered service within service offer
database 114h.
[0110] In exemplary embodiments, each entry for an offered service
listed in offered procedures section 336 for which the respective
information record for the offered service within service offer
database 114h includes an indication that the provider offering the
service through the system has associated the service offer with
one or more healthcare products can further include a listing of
each of the associated products providing information obtained from
the respective information record for the product maintained within
available products database 114i (which may be provided in
conjunction with a hyperlink or other reference that is accessible
by the user within the user interface to navigate to a healthcare
product information page that presents information regarding the
named product), and the cost information for purchasing the offered
service through application server 116 included in the information
presented for the entry can further include respective cost
information for each of the associated products obtained from
available products database 114i (for example, a lowest price for
purchasing the product that is offered by pharmacies registered
with server system 110 obtained from the respective information
record for the product), product offer database 114j (for example,
where the respective information record for the offered service
within service offer database 114h includes a product offer
identifier that uniquely identifies the information record for the
offering of the particular product by a pharmacy that is affiliated
with the provider offering the particular service within the
system, the cost information can include the discounted price for
the product that is specified in the information record for the
product offer by the affiliated pharmacy within product offer
database 114j), and/or service offer database 114h (for example,
where the respective information record for the offered service
within service offer database 114h includes information describing
a pharmacy that is not registered with the system but affiliated
with the provider offering the particular service along with a
price for purchasing the particular product from the
non-registered, affiliated pharmacy, the cost information can
include this price).
[0111] In exemplary embodiments, each entry for an offered service
listed in offered procedures section 336 can be implemented to
further include a user interface element that is accessible by the
user to direct navigation and search service 124 to present
additional information regarding the offered service listed in the
entry along with an option to select to purchase the offered
service (for example, via an "Add to Cart" button) within the user
interface. Upon a user selecting such an option to purchase an
offered service, navigation and search service 124 can be
configured to proceed in a manner that is similar to the manner in
which the navigation and service 124 proceeds upon a user selecting
the option to purchase an offered service listed in result listing
section 311 of a search result listing page 310, as described
above. For example, navigation and search service 124 can be
configured to update the session data object for the session with
application server 116 that is presently being maintained for the
user to include an indication that the user has selected the
offered service for purchasing along with an indication for each of
any products in association with which the user has selected the
offered service for purchasing and any other information that is
required or otherwise specified by the user (for example, in the
case of a prescription drug, the quantity that is specified by the
user and the price or estimated price that is calculated based on
the information specified in the information record for the offered
product within product offer database 114j in relation to the
quantity specified by the user).
[0112] Referring again to example home page 300 illustrated in FIG.
3A, in another example in which the user selects the option within
drop-down menu 302 to search for providers registered with the
system, the user can then proceed to enter the name of a particular
provider within search entry field 304. In exemplary embodiments,
navigation and search service 124 can be configured to, as the user
enters the name of a provider to be searched, identify and provide
corresponding suggested entry completions in association with
search entry field 304 (for instance, by comparing the entered
characters with the various provider names included in the
respective information records for various providers that are
maintained in physician profile database 114b, practice group
profile database 114c, and hospital system profile database 114d.
The user can then select one of the suggested entry completions at
any point or continue to complete entry of the service name
manually.
[0113] Once the desired provider name is entered by the user in
search entry field 304, the user can then select the search button
to direct navigation and search service 124 to navigate the user
interface to provider profile page for the specified provider. In
this regard, navigation and search service 124 may be configured to
require that the text entered in search entry field 304 correspond
to a provider for which a corresponding account information record
is in physician profile database 114b, practice group profile
database 114c, and hospital system profile database 114d. For
example, upon the user selecting the search button, navigation and
search service 124 can be configured to provide a list of suggested
provider names that are determined to be similar to the text
entered in search entry field 304 from which the user can select
upon making a determination that the text entered in search entry
field 304 does not more closely correspond to a particular provider
for which a corresponding account information record is maintained
by database server 112.
[0114] Upon the user selecting the search button with an
appropriate provider name specified in search entry field 304,
navigation and search service 124 can render the provider profile
page for the specified provider name in the user interface. For
example, if the provider profile name corresponds to a physician
user registered with server system 110, navigation and search
service 124 can render the respective physician profile page (as
discussed above with reference to FIG. 3D) for the corresponding
physician in the user interface. Alternatively, if the provider
profile name corresponds to a practice group registered with server
system 110, navigation and search service 124 can render a
respective practice group profile page for the corresponding
practice group in the user interface, which may include information
generated based on the respective account information record that
is maintained for the particular practice group in practice group
profile database 114c and may include various items of information
relevant to the practice group, such as practice group name,
location and hours, contact information, URLs or references to
websites and social media profiles for the practice group, and a
list of affiliated physicians. The respective practice group
profile page for the corresponding practice group may further
include a listing of healthcare services offered by the particular
practice group for purchase through marketplace system 100 that
presents an entry for each offered service for which a respective
information record is maintained within service offer database 114h
that identifies, as the provider that is offering the service
through the system, the unique account identifier for the account
information record within practice group profile database 114c of
the particular practice group. Likewise, if the provider profile
name corresponds to a hospital system registered with server system
110, navigation and search service 124 can the render a respective
hospital system profile page for the corresponding hospital system
in the user interface, which may include information generated
based on the respective account information record that is
maintained for the particular hospital system in hospital system
profile database 114d and may include various items of information
relevant to the hospital system, such as hospital system name, a
list of practice group and physician affiliation(s), facilities
that are used for particular procedures performed by physicians
affiliated with the hospital system, and URLs or references to
websites and social media profiles for the hospital system. The
respective hospital system profile page for the corresponding
hospital system may further include a listing of healthcare
services offered by the particular hospital system for purchase
through marketplace system 100 that presents an entry for each
offered service for which a respective information record is
maintained within service offer database 114h that identifies, as
the provider that is offering the service through the system, the
unique account identifier for the account information record within
hospital system profile database 114d of the particular hospital
system.
[0115] Alternatively, when a user selects the option within
drop-down menu 302 to search for providers registered with the
system, the user, rather than searching for a specific provider by
name, can opt to leave search entry field 304 blank and, instead,
conduct a search for local providers by entering a city name and/or
zip code or opt to utilize a default location entry within location
entry field 306 to localize a search radius. Once the appropriate
search information is entered, the user can then select the search
button to direct navigation and search service 124 to conduct a
search of local providers registered with server system 110.
Navigation and search service 124 can conduct such a location-based
search by accessing physician profile database 114b, practice group
profile database 114c, and hospital system profile database 114d to
filter the account information records for providers maintained by
database server 112 for local providers, and then present the
results of the search to user within a provider search result
listing page. Such a provider search result listing page can
present a list of registered providers within a default search
radius (for example, 50 miles) of the location specified within
location entry field 306 returned in the search conducted by
navigation and search service 124 that includes an entry for each
registered provider for which a respective account information
record maintained by database server 112 indicates a location for
the provider that is within the default search radius. In exemplary
embodiments, such a provider search result listing page can also
provide various user interface controls for refining the results of
the search presented by modifying the search radius or inputting
additional search criteria (in a manner similar to that described
above with reference to FIG. 3B for search result listing page
310). Each entry provided within the list of registered providers
returned in the provider search result listing page can further
include a hyperlink or other reference within the user interface
that is accessible by the user to direct navigation and search
service 124 to render the provider profile page for the
corresponding provider.
[0116] Similarly, and referring again to FIG. 3A, when a user
selects the option within drop-down menu 302 to conduct a search
with respect to a particular specialty, the user can then proceed
to enter the name of a particular practice specialty within search
entry field 304. In exemplary embodiments, navigation and search
service 124 can be configured to provide a drop-down within search
entry field 304 that allows the user to select one of a plurality
of specialties recognized by server system 110. Once the desired
specialty is entered by the user in search entry field 304, the
user can then conduct a search for local providers having the
specified practice specialty by entering a city name and/or zip
code or opt to utilize a default location entry within location
entry field 306 to localize a search radius. Once the appropriate
search information is entered, the user can then select the search
button to direct navigation and search service 124 to conduct a
search of local providers registered with server system 110.
Navigation and search service 124 can conduct such a location-based
search by accessing physician profile database 114b and practice
group profile database 114c to filter the account information
records for providers maintained by database server 112 for local
providers having the specified practice specialty, and then present
the results of the search to the user within a provider search
result listing page, which may be presented in a manner similar to
the provider search result listing page described above with
reference to the situation in which a user selects the option
within drop-down menu 302 to search for providers registered with
the system.
[0117] As discussed above, in exemplary embodiments, when a user
operating a client system selects an option that is presented
within a user interface implemented by application server 116
within the corresponding client application executing on the client
system to purchase an offered healthcare service or an offered
healthcare product, navigation and search service 124 can be
configured to update a session data object for the session with
application server 116 that is presently being maintained for the
user to include an indication that the user has selected the
offered service or product for purchasing along with any other
appropriate information. As will be described in greater detail
below, in exemplary embodiments, upon selecting one or more
services and/or products for purchase in association with a session
with application server 116, the user will have an option to
navigate to a customer purchase page (for example, a "Check-Out"
page) to proceed with purchasing the selected item(s) with respect
to an account information record maintained within customer profile
database 114a for a registered customer user.
[0118] In such embodiments, a customer user is required to first
register with server system 110 and thereby establish a respective
account information record within customer profile database 114a,
as well as a respective account information record for a virtual
money account for the customer within virtual money account
database 114o in exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment
system is implemented within server system 110, to be able to make
prepaid purchases of healthcare services and products via
marketplace system 100. In exemplary embodiments, a user operating
a client system to access application server 116 via a
corresponding client application executing on the client system may
be provided with a user interface element within the user interface
implemented by application server 116 that is accessible by the
user to initiate a registration with server system 110. Such a user
interface element may be, for example, provided as a "Create an
account" button included within the user interface of any page
implemented by navigation and search service 124 and rendered at
the client application, and navigation and search service 124 may
be configured to, in response a user accessing the user interface
element, provide further user interface controls for allowing the
user to specify a type of user account that the user intends to
register with server system 110.
[0119] Upon the user indicating an intention to register as a
customer user, the user will be able to initiate a registration
session with account management service 122 to register a customer
account with server system 110. Account management service 122 may
be configured, for example, to implement a user interface that
includes a series of pages with user interface controls accessible
by the user to guide the user through the account registration
process and prompt the user to input various types of information
to be maintained by database server 112 within a respective account
information record that is established for the user within customer
profile database 114a such as, for example, name, address or
location information, contact information (such as an email address
and/or a telephone number), billing information for purchases (such
as bank account information, credit card information, or
information specifying any other funding source to use for
purchases made by the user), and any other suitable identifying or
descriptive information. Account management service 122 can be
configured to access database server 112 to create the respective
account information record for the user within customer profile
database 114a based on the information input by the user during the
registration process. Account management service 122 can be further
configured to generate the unique customer account identifier for
the created account information record, which may be used, for
example, to index and reference the created account information
record within database server 112. The created account information
record can also be identified with a unique user name and protected
by a password, which can be used by the user to log into the
associated customer account when accessing application server
116.
[0120] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, account management service
122 can be configured to, in response to a conducting a
registration session with a user to register a customer account for
the user with server system 110, issue a notification to virtual
payment system manager 170 to create a respective virtual money
account for the customer within the virtual payment system and
provide the virtual payment system manager with corresponding
information obtained during the registration session with the user
for this purpose, such as an indication that the respective account
information record to be created within the virtual money account
database is for a customer user that has registered with the server
system and the unique account identifier generated for the
respective account information record for the customer within
customer profile database 114a. Virtual payment system manager 170
can be configured to, in response to receiving such a notification,
access database server 112 to create a respective account
information record for a virtual money account for the customer
within virtual money account database 114o based on the
corresponding registration information provided in conjunction with
the notification. In this regard, virtual payment system manager
170 can be configured to generate the unique virtual money account
identifier for the respective account information record being
created for the customer within virtual money account database
114o, which may be used, for example, to index and reference the
created account information record within database server 112,
instantiate the container of virtual fund objects included in the
respective account information record as an empty container that
does not have any virtual fund objects, and, in view of the
container being empty, set the balance value for the respective
account information record to an initial value of zero. Virtual
payment system manager 170 can also be configured to, upon creating
the respective account information record for the virtual money
account for the customer within virtual money account database
114o, issue a notification of such to account management service
122 that includes the unique virtual money account identifier
generated for the respective account information record for the
customer within the virtual money account database, and account
management service 122 can be configured to, in response to
receiving such a notification, access database server 112 to store
the unique virtual money account identifier within the respective
account information record for the user within customer profile
database 114a.
[0121] In some exemplary embodiments, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to facilitate the tracking and
management of promotional credits that may be offered by the
providers of healthcare marketplace system 100 to registered users
of server system 110 for taking certain actions within the system
in association with their registered accounts. For example, the
providers of marketplace system 100 may offer a promotion to
potential customer users in which each user, upon completing
registration of a respective customer account with server system
110, will receive a credit of a specified amount of funds (for
instance, a credit of $25) that the customer user may use to
purchase services and/or products offered within marketplace system
100 by provider users that are registered with server system 110.
Virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured to, in such an
example, upon accessing database server 112 to create the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the customer within virtual money account database 114o, also
access database server 112 to instantiate a new virtual fund object
corresponding to the specified amount of funds for the promotional
credit within the container of virtual fund objects included in the
respective account information record. In this regard, virtual
payment system manager 170 can generate a unique identifier for the
new virtual fund object being created and define the attributes of
the object to include an indication of the value of the
corresponding virtual funds, the unique identifier generated for
the object, an indication that the original funding source is a
credit that was conveyed by the providers of marketplace system
100, a creation timestamp for the object, an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object are not presently
allocated to use as payment for an offered service or product
purchased within the marketplace system, and, optionally, an
indication of an expiration date for the promotional credit by
which the customer user must use the credited funds to purchase
services and/or products offered within marketplace system 100.
[0122] In such an example, virtual payment system manager 170 can
be configured to further access database server 112 to also
instantiate a corresponding new virtual fund object for the
promotional credit within the container of virtual fund objects
included in the respective account information record for a
respective virtual money account that is being maintained within
virtual money account database 114o for an entity that provides the
marketplace system (which may have already been established, for
example, by a backend administrator of server system 110). More
specifically, virtual payment system manager 170 can generate a
unique identifier for the new virtual fund object being created and
define the attributes of the object to include an indication of the
value of the corresponding virtual funds as a negative value, the
unique identifier generated for the object, an indication that the
original funding source is a corresponding amount of real currency
held within an external financial account maintained by the
providers of marketplace system 100 (and thereby owed to the
virtual payment system by the marketplace system providers), and a
creation timestamp for the object. Virtual payment system manager
170 can also be configured to, upon creating the corresponding
virtual fund objects for the promotional credit within the
respective account information records for the virtual money
accounts for the customer user and the entity that provides the
marketplace system within virtual money account database 114o,
update the total balance values and available balance values
included in the sets of general information within the respective
account information records for the respective virtual money
accounts appropriately to reflect the newly-created virtual fund
objects.
[0123] In this example, for purpose of tracking the newly-created
corresponding virtual fund objects for the promotional credit, the
indication that the original funding source is a credit conveyed by
the providers of marketplace system 100 included within the
attributes for the virtual fund object instantiated within the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the customer within virtual money account database 114o can
include the unique virtual money account identifier for the
respective account information record established for the entity
that provides the marketplace system within virtual money account
database 114o as well the unique identifier for the corresponding
virtual fund object for the promotional credit created within the
respective account information record for the respective virtual
money account maintained for the entity that provides the
marketplace system. In this regard, virtual payment system manager
170 can be configured to, upon making a determination that the
promotional credit will ultimately not be used by the customer user
(for instance, in response to the customer user deleting customer
account registered for the user with server system 100 or to
recognizing an expiration date for the promotional credit, as
defined within the attributes for the virtual fund object
corresponding to the promotional credit created within the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the customer has passed), access database server 112 to move
the virtual fund object corresponding to the promotional credit
created within the container of virtual fund objects included in
the respective account information record for the respective
virtual money account for the customer to the container of virtual
fund objects included in the respective account information record
for the respective virtual money account that is being maintained
within virtual money account database 114o for the entity that
provides the marketplace system (thereby effectively representing a
transfer of the virtual funds corresponding to the promotional
credit from the virtual money account for the customer user back to
the virtual money account for the entity that provides the
marketplace system), update the set of accounting details included
in the sets of general information within the respective account
information records for the respective virtual money accounts to
indicate that the corresponding promotional credit was not used for
a purchase within the marketplace system, and update the total
balance values and available balance values included in the sets of
general information within the respective account information
records for the respective virtual money accounts appropriately to
reflect the newly-created virtual fund objects. Alternatively,
virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured to, upon
making such a determination that the promotional credit will
ultimately not be used by the customer user, access database server
112 to, rather than representing a transfer of the virtual funds
back to the respective virtual money account for the entity that
provides the marketplace system as described above, simply delete
the virtual fund objects corresponding to the promotional credit
from the respective account information records for the respective
virtual money accounts for both the customer and the entity that
provides the marketplace system.
[0124] In exemplary embodiments, the user interface implemented by
account management service 122 may be further configured to provide
user interface controls for requesting authorization for payment of
a predetermined fee to gain access to the ability to make prepaid
purchases of healthcare services and products offered within
marketplace system 100. Such a fee may be, for example, a one-time
charge or a periodic charge (such as a monthly, biannual, or annual
fee). In conjunction with such a payment authorization request, the
user interface controls provided by account management service 122
may also be implemented to prompt the user to input the payment
information specifying an external funding source the user will use
for payment of the predetermined access fee. The payment
information input by the user may be an instruction to use the
billing information included within the respective account
information record established for the user within customer profile
database 114a or submission of alternative payment information such
as, for example, information pertaining to a bank account or other
depository institution from which an ACH payment or the like was
made, credit or debit card information, or other electronic payment
information (such as information for utilizing an account the user
has with an online payment service such as PayPal, an online wallet
provider such as Google Wallet, or any another entity facilitating
payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet),
which may be for an account maintained for the user or an account
maintained for another person or entity that the user is authorized
to utilize for this purpose.
[0125] Account management service 122 can be configured to, upon
the authorization and appropriate payment information being
provided by the user, access a corresponding third-party payment
servicing system and utilize the payment information to direct the
payment servicing system to transfer the amount for the payment
authorized by the user from the account servicer of the external
funding source specified by the user to a financial account
maintained by the providers of marketplace system 100. Generally,
electronic financial transactions conducted in association with any
third-party payment servicing systems, external funding sources,
and external financial accounts as described herein can be
encrypted and performed in association with appropriate mechanisms
to authenticate users and determine whether users are authorized to
perform an indicated financial transaction. Of course, it should be
appreciated that any third-party payment servicing systems,
external funding sources, and external financial accounts described
herein, as well as any encryption, authentication, and
authorization mechanisms associated therewith, are not necessarily
components or required elements of exemplary embodiments of the
present invention. In this regard, the respective account
information record established for the user within customer profile
database 114a can further include an account status that is managed
by account management service 122 for the user indicating whether
the user is presently provided with the ability to make prepaid
purchases of healthcare services and products offered within
marketplace system 100.
[0126] Upon a user registering a customer account with server
system 110 to establish an account information record within
customer profile database 114a and logging into his or her customer
account (for example, by accessing a login user interface element
or a login screen within the user interface implemented by customer
portal 120 to provide the user name and password associated with
the account), the user then proceeds with purchasing any offered
service or product for which the session data object for the
session with application server 116 that is being maintained for
the user includes an indication that the user has selected for
purchasing. For example, upon the user selecting an option within
the user interface implemented by navigation and search services
124 to navigate to a customer purchase page, the user can initiate
a purchasing session with purchasing service 126 to purchase one or
more of the offered items indicated as having been selected by the
user in the session data object in association with the registered
customer account for the user.
[0127] Purchasing service 126 may be configured, for example, to
implement a user interface that includes one or more pages with
user interface controls accessible by the user to guide the user
through the purchasing process and prompt the user to input and
make selections of various types of information. For example, a
purchase information section may be included within a payment page
provided within the user interface that includes a respective entry
for each offered item indicated as having been selected by the user
in the session data object. For each offered product for which a
respective entry is included in the purchase information section,
the entry may include, for example, information retrieved from
pharmacy profile database 114e, available products database 114i,
product offer database 114j, service offer database 114h (if the
particular product is being purchased in association with an
offered service for which the respective information record in
service offer database 114h includes an indication that the
provider that is offering the service through the system has
associated the service offer with the product), and the session
data object such as pharmacy name, product name along with any
dosage level, form of the medicine, and quantity for a prescription
drug or size option for a medical supply, and an indication of
whether a prescription is required to purchase the product. Each
entry for an offered product that is included in the purchase
information section may further include user interface controls
accessible by the user to remove the offered product from the
purchase information section (and correspondingly direct purchasing
service 126 to remove the indication the offered product as having
been selected in the session data object) and/or to adjust a
product quantity to be purchased by the user and a price for
purchasing the offered product that is calculated based on the
product quantity specified by the user and the discounted price for
the product that is specified in the information record for the
offered product within product offer database 114j or, where the
particular product is being purchased in association with an
offered service for which the respective information record in
service offer database 114h includes an indication that the
provider that is offering the service through the system has
associated the service offer with the product, service offer
database 114h, or, for prescription drugs, a price that is
calculated based on the specified discounted price in relation to
the quantity specified by the user.
[0128] For each offered service for which a respective entry is
included in the purchase information section, the entry may
include, for example, information retrieved from physician profile
database 114b, available services database 114g, service offer
database 114h, and the session data object such as the name of the
physician that will perform the service, a service name, and an
indication of whether the service is being offered as a primary
service of a bundled set. Each entry for an offered service that is
included in the purchase information section may further include
user interface controls accessible by the user to remove the
offered service from the purchase information section (and
correspondingly direct purchasing service 126 to remove the
indication the offered service as having been selected in the
session data object) and/or to adjust a service quantity to be
purchased by the user, and a price for purchasing the offered
service that is calculated based on the service quantity specified
by the user and the discounted price for the service that is
specified in the information record for the offered service within
service offer database 114h in relation to the quantity specified
by the user.
[0129] In addition, for each entry for an offered service included
in the purchase information section that is being offered as a
primary service of a bundled set of services or one or more
services and one or more products, the entry may further include
user interface controls accessible by the user to present
additional information about the bundled set and make additional
selections regarding the offered service. The additional
information may include, for example, information retrieved from
physician profile database 114b, available services database 114g,
service offer database 114h, available products database 114i, and
product offer database 114j, such as a service name for each
secondary service, the name of physician that will perform each
secondary service, an indication of whether each secondary service
is required or optional, a name for each bundled product,
information describing the pharmacy provider from which each
bundled product is being offered for purchase within the bundled
set, an indication of whether each bundled product is required or
optional, an indication of whether a prescription is required for
each bundled product, and an indication of whether the primary
service is required to be performed at an outside facility. In
association with each secondary service or bundled product for
which an indication that the secondary service or product is
optional is presented, the additional information may further
include the discounted price for the secondary service or bundled
product that is specified in the information record for the offered
service within service offer database 114h, and an associated user
interface control may be provided that allows the user to select
whether to purchase the optional secondary service or bundled
product in association with the offered service. In association
with an indication that the primary service is required to be
performed at an outside facility, the additional information may
further include name and location information for each facility for
which information is specified in the information record for the
offered service within service offer database 114h, and, if
information is specified for more than one facility in the
information record for the offered service, the facility fee for
each specified facility may be presented in association with a user
interface control that is provided to allow the user to select one
of the facilities at which to have the primary service performed.
Purchasing service 126 can be configured to, based on any optional
secondary service, product, and facility selections that are made
by the user with respect to an entry for an offered service
included in the purchase information section that is being offered
as a primary service of a bundled set, recalculate and update the
price for purchasing the offered service that is presented in the
entry for the offered service. In exemplary embodiments, default
initial settings for any optional secondary service, optional
product, and multiple facility selections for a service being
offered as a primary service of a bundled set and, thereby, the
default initial price for purchasing the offered service that is
presented in the entry for the offered service, may be based on a
selection to purchase each optional secondary service and optional
product and a selection of the facility having the lowest facility
fee.
[0130] The purchase information section included within the user
interface implemented for the payment page may further include a
total price for the purchase that is equal to a sum of the
respective price for purchasing the corresponding offered item
included for each entry included in the purchasing information
section. In exemplary embodiments, purchasing service 126 may be
configured to adjust the total price based on any applicable state
taxes or any discount codes submitted by the user. In this regard,
purchasing service 126 may be further implemented to provide a user
interface element allowing a user to submit any applicable discount
codes to application server 116.
[0131] Upon the user reviewing the information provided in the
purchase information section and making any desired modifications
and selections via the user interface controls implemented within
the payment page, the user may then proceed to access further user
interface controls implemented within a payment section of the
payment page to make a prepaid purchase of the one or more offered
items for which respective entries are included in the purchase
information section in a single transaction with purchasing service
126 by submitting customer purchase information specifying a
funding source to use for purchasing the one or more offered items
and providing an authorization for server system 110 to issue a
request to the funding source for funds in the amount of the total
price for the purchase listed in the purchase information section.
For this purpose, the user interface controls implemented within a
payment section may include a button that is accessible by the user
to provide authorization for the request to be issued to the
specified funding source (for example, a "Submit" or "Purchase"
button) along suitable user interface elements accessible by the
user to input the purchase information specifying the funding
source to use for the purchase. The purchase information input by
the user may be an instruction to use the billing information
included within the respective account information record for the
customer account of the user within customer profile database 114a
or submission of alternative purchase information such as, for
example, bank account information, credit or debit card
information, or other electronic payment information (such as
information for utilizing an account the user has with PayPal or
any another entity facilitating payments and money transfers to be
made through the Internet). The purchase information may, for
example, specify an account maintained for the user, an account
maintained for another person or entity that the user is authorized
to utilize for this purpose, or an entity that has arranged to be
invoiced and provide reimbursement for purchases of healthcare
services and products made by the user within marketplace system
100. In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system is
implemented within server system 110, the purchase information may
also, for example, specify a corresponding amount of virtual funds
to utilize from the respective virtual money account established
for the user within the virtual payment system that is indicated as
being presently available for the user to use for purchases within
marketplace system 100. More specifically, such available virtual
funds would correspond to any virtual fund objects presently
assigned to the user in the respective account information record
maintained within virtual money account database 114o for the user
that include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds for
the object are not presently allocated to use as payment for an
offered service or product already purchased within the marketplace
system by the user and, thus, the corresponding amount of virtual
funds that may be specified in such purchase information by the
user from the current available balance value that is maintained by
virtual payment system manager 170 within the respective account
information record maintained within virtual money account database
114o for the user.
[0132] As described in greater detail below, upon the authorization
and appropriate customer purchase information being provided by the
user, for each offered item included within the purchase, the
manner in which the purchase by the user is processed by purchasing
service 126, as well as any further operations that need to be
performed by the user, may vary depending on whether the offered
item is a service or product, whether a prescription is required to
purchase an offered product, whether an offered service is being
purchased in association with any associated products specified in
the respective information record for an offered service within
service offer database 114h, and whether an offered service is
offered as a primary service of a bundled set of services or one or
more services and one or more products. As also described below,
the manner in which the purchase is processed by purchasing service
126 may also depend on the particular type of customer purchase
information provided by the user as well as whether a virtual
payment system that is implemented within server system 110 will be
used for facilitating the transaction for the purchase.
[0133] More particularly, for processing payment for each product
that is being offered through a pharmacy registered with server
system 110 for which a prescription is not required for the
purchase, purchasing service 126 may be configured to utilize the
customer purchase information provided by the user to issue a
request for the portion of the total purchase price authorized by
the user that is allocated for the offered product to the funding
source specified in the purchase information. For example, for
situations in which the purchase information specifies an entity
that has agreed to be invoiced and provide reimbursement for
purchases of healthcare services and products made by the user
within marketplace system 100 as the funding source to use,
purchasing service 126 may issue the request in the form of an
invoice that is generated to be submitted to the funding source. In
this example, purchasing service 126 may be further configured to
electronically transmit the generated invoice to the specified
funding source for reimbursement (for instance, via email to an
email account maintained for this purpose by the specified funding
source or to a third-party servicing system that is maintained on
behalf of or by the funding source for receiving invoices of this
type) or, alternatively, the generated invoice may be made
available for an administrator of server system 110 to access and
manually submit to the funding source for reimbursement. The
information regarding how such an invoice is to be submitted to the
funding source may be specified in conjunction with the purchase
information provided by the user or, alternatively, may be
maintained within server system 110 based on a pre-established
agreement between the providers of marketplace system 100 and the
funding source for this purpose. Purchasing service 126 can be
further configured to credit or otherwise direct a disbursement of
funds to be made to, if the product offer being purchased is
offered through a pharmacy registered with server system 110, the
financial account specified by the compensation information
included in the account information record within pharmacy profile
database 114e of the pharmacy that is offering the product with the
corresponding payment amount that is specified to be transferred to
the pharmacy indicated by the respective information record in
product offer database 114j for the offered product. Upon
reimbursement for the invoiced amount being received from the
funding source, a financial account maintained by the providers of
marketplace system 100 can be credited with any negotiated or
contracted commission fee for offering the product for purchase via
the system (which may be, for example, a fixed percentage of the
payment amount and/or a flat fee).
[0134] In another example, for situations in which the customer
purchase information specifies an account maintained for the user
or an account maintained for another person or entity that the user
is authorized to utilize for this purpose, purchasing service 126
may be configured to access a corresponding third-party payment
servicing system provided by or on behalf of the specified funding
source and utilize the customer purchase information to issue a
request directing the payment servicing system to transfer the
portion of the total purchase price authorized by the user that is
allocated for the offered product from a corresponding financial
account, credit or otherwise direct a disbursement of funds to be
made to the financial account specified by the compensation
information included in the account information record within
pharmacy profile database 114e of the pharmacy that is offering the
product with the corresponding payment amount that is specified to
be transferred to the pharmacy in the respective information record
in product offer database 114j for the offered product, and credit
a financial account maintained by the providers of marketplace
system 100 with any negotiated or contracted commission fee for
offering the product for purchase via the system (which may be, for
example, a fixed percentage of the payment amount and/or a flat
fee).
[0135] In another example, for exemplary embodiments in which a
virtual payment system is implemented within server system 110,
purchasing service 126 can be configured to, if the purchase
information submitted by the customer user specifies a
corresponding amount of available virtual funds to utilize from the
respective virtual money account established for the user within
the virtual payment system for the purchase, initiate the payment
processing by providing a notification of such a specification in
the purchase information to virtual payment system manager 170
(along with any other information that would be needed by the
virtual payment system manager to facilitate aspects of the
transaction processing within the virtual payment system such as,
for instance, the unique virtual money account identifier that is
associated with the respective account information record for the
customer within virtual money account database 114o). In this
regard, purchasing service 126 can be further configured to, if the
purchase information submitted by the customer user specifies an
applicable discount or coupon code to use for the purchase of the
offered product (which, as discussed above, may be described by
information items included in the respective information record
that is maintained for the pharmacy within pharmacy profile
database 114e or maintained for the offer of the product being
purchased within product offer database 114j), also include
information describing the discount in the notification provided to
virtual payment system manager 170 and, where appropriate due to
the use of the coupon code by the customer for the purchase of the
offered product being processed, access data store 114 via database
server 112 to update the corresponding information record within
which the discount is described to indicate that the coupon code
not presently valid for use.
[0136] Upon receiving such a notification from purchasing service
126, virtual payment system manager 170 then operates to access the
respective account information record for the customer within
virtual money account database 114o to select one or more of the
virtual fund objects presently assigned to the user in the
respective account information record to use for facilitating the
processing of payment of the purchase price for the offered
product. More particularly, virtual payment system manager 170 is
configured to select one or more of the virtual fund objects from
the virtual fund objects in the respective account information
record for the user that include an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object are not presently
allocated to use as payment for an offered service or product
already purchased within the marketplace system by the user (in
other words, the virtual fund objects that are considered available
to the user for purchases). In this regard, if the notification
provided from purchasing service 126 includes information
describing a discount being used by the customer for the purchase
of the offered product, virtual payment system manager 170 can
operate to access database server 112 to instantiate a new virtual
fund object corresponding to a specified amount of funds for the
discount within the container of virtual fund objects included in
the respective account information record for the customer within
virtual money account database 114o. For this operation, virtual
payment system manager 170 can generate a unique identifier for the
new virtual fund object being created and define the attributes of
the object to include an indication of the value of the
corresponding virtual funds for the discount amount being applied
for the purchase, the unique identifier generated for the object,
an indication that the original funding source is a discount made
available by the pharmacy that is offering the product for purchase
via marketplace system 100 with respect to a purchase of the
offered product by a customer user registered with the system
(which may include indications of a particular coupon code input by
the customer when making the purchase and the unique identifier for
the respective information record within which information
describing the discount is included that is maintained for the
pharmacy within pharmacy profile database 114e or for the offer of
the product being purchased within product offer database 114j), a
creation timestamp for the object, and an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object is presently allocated
to use as payment for the purchase of the offered product being
processed (along with the unique transaction identifier for the
respective information record for the purchase of the product that
is generated by purchasing service 126 and maintained within
transaction information database 114k as described below). In
addition, upon creating the corresponding virtual fund object for
the discount amount being applied for the purchase within the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the customer user within virtual money account database 114o,
virtual payment system manager 170 can further operate to update
the total balance value included in the set of general information
within the respective account information record to reflect the
newly-created virtual fund object.
[0137] For the purpose of selecting the one or more of the virtual
fund objects presently assigned to the user in the respective
account information record to use for facilitating the processing
of payment of the purchase price for the offered product, virtual
payment system manager 170 can be implemented to utilize any
suitable algorithm or rules-based decision making process in
exemplary embodiments. For example, virtual payment system manager
170 can be configured to sequentially select virtual fund objects
from the virtual fund objects that are presently assigned to the
user in the respective account information record for user to use
for facilitating the processing of payment of the purchase price
for the offered product until the indicated values of the
corresponding virtual funds for the sequentially selected objects
sum to an amount of virtual funds that is at least equal to the
corresponding amount of available virtual funds specified in the
purchase information submitted by the customer user for the
purchase according to a chronological order in which the objects
from which the selection is being made were assigned to the user
(for instance, using a first-in-first-out method based on the
respective timestamps indicating when the objects were created or
stored within the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record for the user), an ascending
or descending order of the indicated values of the virtual funds
for the objects from which the selection is being made, a type of
the indicated funding source for the virtual funds based on which
the object was created from which the selection is being made (for
instance, virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured to
select any virtual fund objects that are created based on
promotional credits or discounts associated with the particular
purchase being made prior to selecting any virtual fund objects
that are created based on another type of funding source), or any
other suitable methodology or combination of suitable
methodologies.
[0138] Continuing in the present example, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to, upon selecting one or more of the
virtual fund objects in the respective account information record
for the respective virtual money account for the customer to use
for facilitating the processing of payment for the offered product,
facilitate the transaction processing within the virtual payment
system by accessing data store 114 via database server 112 to
direct a transfer of the selected virtual fund objects from the
container of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the customer user that is maintained within
virtual money account database 114o to the container of virtual
fund objects in the respective account information record for the
pharmacy for which payment for the product when purchased through
the system is to be directed that is maintained within virtual
money account database 114o. For this purpose, virtual payment
system manager 170 can be configured to identify the respective
account information record maintained within virtual money account
database 114o for the pharmacy to which payment for the purchased
product is to be directed based on the unique virtual money account
identifier for the respective account information record for the
virtual money account for the pharmacy that is included in the
respective information record for the offer of the product being
purchased from the pharmacy, and virtual payment system manager 170
can be configured to perform the transfer of the selected virtual
fund objects from the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record for the customer user until
the indicated values of the corresponding virtual funds for the
selected objects sum to an amount of virtual funds that is at least
equal to an amount of virtual funds corresponding to the payment
amount that is specified to be transferred to the pharmacy in the
respective information record for the offer of the product being
purchased.
[0139] More specifically, to perform the transfer of each of the
selected virtual fund objects corresponding to the specified
payment amount, virtual payment system manager 170 can be
configured to access database server 112 to move the virtual fund
object within the container of virtual fund objects included in the
respective account information record for the respective virtual
money account for the customer to the container of virtual fund
objects included in the respective account information record for
the respective virtual money account that is being maintained
within virtual money account database 114o for the pharmacy to
which payment for the purchased product is to be directed, update
the attributes for the object now located within the respective
account information record for the pharmacy to indicate that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object have been transferred as
part of the payment process for the purchase of the offered product
along with the unique transaction identifier for the respective
information record for the purchase of the product that is
generated by purchasing service 126 and maintained within
transaction information database 114k as described below, and
update the total balance values and available balance values
included in the sets of general information within the respective
account information records for the respective virtual money
accounts of the customer and pharmacy appropriately to reflect the
transfer of the virtual fund object. In this regard, virtual
payment system manager 170 can be further configured to, upon
directing a move of a selected virtual fund object that corresponds
to a specified amount of funds for a discount being applied for the
purchase from the container of virtual fund objects included in the
respective account information record for the respective virtual
money account of the customer to the container of virtual fund
objects included in the respective account information record for
the respective virtual money account for the pharmacy to which
payment for the purchased product is to be directed, update the
attributes for the object now located within the respective account
information record for the pharmacy to modify the indication of the
value of the corresponding virtual funds for the object from the
value of the discount amount being applied for the purchase to a
value of zero (so that the application of the discount offered by
the pharmacy for the purchase does not alter the total and
available balance values included in the set of general information
within the respective account information record for the respective
virtual money account of the pharmacy.
[0140] In the present exemplary embodiment, if the transfer of the
final selected virtual fund object for the virtual funds
corresponding to the payment amount that is specified for the offer
of the product being purchased to the respective account
information record for the respective virtual money account that is
maintained the pharmacy would result in the indicated values of the
corresponding virtual funds for the objects being transferred
summing to an amount of virtual funds that is greater than, rather
than equal, to the amount of virtual funds corresponding to the
payment amount, virtual payment system manager 170 can be
configured to, rather than moving the final selected object in the
manner in which the other selected objects are moved to effect the
transfer as described, perform the transfer for this final selected
object by "splitting" the object in a manner that will result in
the corresponding amount of virtual funds transferred being equal
to the amount of virtual funds corresponding to the payment amount.
More specifically, to perform such a splitting operation, virtual
payment system manager 170 can be configured to calculate the
remaining amount of virtual funds that would be needed to be
transferred to result in the amount of virtual funds transferred
being equal to the amount of virtual funds corresponding to the
payment amount (for example, by subtracting the sum of the
indicated values of the corresponding virtual funds for the other
selected objects that are being moved from the respective account
information record for the customer to that of the pharmacy from
the amount of virtual funds corresponding to the payment amount),
access database server 112 to update the indication of the value of
the virtual funds for the final selected object in the respective
account information record for the customer to represent a
reduction or deduction of the calculated amount from the indicated
value, and access database server 112 to instantiate a new virtual
fund object corresponding to the calculated amount of virtual funds
within the container of virtual fund objects included in the
respective account information record that is maintained for the
pharmacy within virtual money account database 114o. In this
regard, virtual payment system manager 170 can generate a unique
identifier for the new virtual fund object being created and define
the attributes of the object to include an indication of the value
of the corresponding virtual funds as the calculated value, the
unique identifier generated for the object, an indication of the
original funding source that is the same as that of the final
selected object in the respective account information record for
the customer for which the indicated value of virtual funds was
updated to reflect a corresponding deduction of virtual funds, a
creation timestamp for the object, and an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object have been transferred as
part of the payment process for the purchase of the offered product
along with the unique transaction identifier for the respective
information record for the purchase of the product that is
generated by purchasing service 126 and maintained within
transaction information database 114k as described below. In
addition, virtual payment system manager 170 can further access
database server 112 to perform an update of the total balance
values and available balance values included in the sets of general
information within the respective account information records for
the respective virtual money accounts of the customer and pharmacy
appropriately to reflect the reduced amount of the indicated value
of the final selected object within the respective virtual money
accounts for the customer and the indicated value of the
corresponding newly-instantiated object within the respective
virtual money accounts for the pharmacy.
[0141] In the present exemplary embodiment, virtual payment system
manager 170 can also be configured to, upon completing the transfer
of the amount of virtual funds corresponding to the payment amount
that is specified to be transferred to the pharmacy in the
respective information record for the offer of the product being
purchased, update the set of accounting details included in the
sets of general information within the respective account
information records for the respective virtual money accounts to
reflect the operations performed by virtual payment system manager
170 to effect the transfer of virtual funds corresponding to the
payment amount via the virtual payment system implemented within
server system 110 for facilitating the purchase of the offered
product within the marketplace system.
[0142] Further continuing in the present example, for exemplary
embodiments in which the purchase price that is determined by
purchasing service 126 for the offered product further includes, in
addition to the payment amount that is specified to be transferred
to the pharmacy in the respective information record within product
offer database 114j for the offer of the product being purchased, a
negotiated or contracted commission fee for offering the product
for purchase via the system, virtual payment system manager 170 can
also be configured to, upon selecting one or more of the virtual
fund objects in the respective account information record for the
respective virtual money account for the customer to use for
facilitating the processing of payment for the offered product,
facilitate the transaction processing within the virtual payment
system by accessing data store 114 via database server 112 to
direct a transfer of the selected virtual fund objects from the
container of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the customer user that is maintained within
virtual money account database 114o to the container of virtual
fund objects in the respective account information record
established for the entity that provides the marketplace system
within virtual money account database 114o. For this purpose,
virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured to identify
the respective account information record maintained within virtual
money account database 114o for the entity that provides the
marketplace system based on the unique virtual money account
identifier for the respective account information record for the
virtual money account for the entity, and virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to perform the transfer of the
selected virtual fund objects from the container of virtual fund
objects in the respective account information record for the
customer user until the indicated values of the corresponding
virtual funds for the selected objects sum to an amount of virtual
funds that is at least equal to an amount of virtual funds
corresponding to the commission fee that is specified to be
transferred to the providers of the marketplace system. More
specifically, virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured
to perform this transfer of the amount of virtual funds
corresponding to the commission fee by transferring the selected
virtual fund objects corresponding to the specified commission fee
from the respective account information record for the virtual
money account for the customer to the respective account
information record for the virtual money account for the entity in
a manner similar to that which is described above with reference to
the transfer the selected virtual fund objects corresponding to the
specified payment amount from the respective account information
record for the virtual money account for the customer to the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the pharmacy to which payment for the purchased product is
specified to be directed, including making suitable corresponding
updates to the attributes for the objects that are now located
within the respective account information record for the entity as
a result of the operations performed to effect the transfer,
updates to the indication of the value of the virtual funds for any
final selected object in the respective account information record
for the customer for which a splitting operation was performed,
updates to the total balance values and available balance values
included in the sets of general information within the respective
account information records for the respective virtual money
accounts of the customer and the entity, and updates to the set of
accounting details included in the sets of general information
within the respective account information records for the
respective virtual money accounts to reflect the operations
performed by virtual payment system manager 170 to effect the
transfer of virtual funds corresponding to the commission fee via
the virtual payment system implemented within server system 110 for
facilitating the purchase of the offered product within the
marketplace system.
[0143] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon effecting the transfers of virtual funds corresponding to
the payment amount for the offer of the product being purchased to
the respective virtual money account for the pharmacy and virtual
funds corresponding to any associated commission fee to the
respective virtual money account for the entity that provides the
marketplace system via the virtual payment system implemented
within server system 110 as described above, provide a notification
to purchasing service 126 of completion of the operations that are
performed by virtual payment system manager 170 for facilitating
the purchase of the offered product within the marketplace
system.
[0144] In another example with respect to exemplary embodiments in
which a virtual payment system is implemented within server system
110, the purchase information submitted by the customer user via
the user interface controls implemented within the payment page by
purchasing service 126 for the offered product may specify as the
funding source to use for purchasing the product as, rather than a
corresponding amount of available virtual funds from the respective
virtual money account established for the user as described above
for the previous example, an external account maintained for the
user (for instance, an instruction to use the billing information
included within the respective account information record
established for the user within customer profile database 114a or a
submission of alternative payment information for a different
external account maintained by or for the user), an account
maintained for another person or entity that the user is authorized
to utilize for this purpose, or an entity that has arranged to be
invoiced and provide reimbursement for purchases of healthcare
services and products made by the user within marketplace system
100. In such embodiments, purchasing service 126 can be configured
to, upon suitable authorization for the corresponding payment
information being provided by the user, initiate the payment
processing by utilizing the customer purchase information provided
by the user to issue a request for the portion of the total
purchase price authorized by the user that is allocated for the
offered product to the funding source specified in the purchase
information in a similar manner as described above for processing
payment for a product that is being offered through a pharmacy
registered with server system 110 for which a prescription is not
required for the purchase in situations where the virtual payment
system is not utilized. Rather than crediting or otherwise
directing a disbursement of funds to be made to the financial
account specified by the compensation information included in the
account information record within pharmacy profile database 114e of
the pharmacy that is offering the product with the corresponding
payment amount that is specified to be transferred to the pharmacy
in the respective information record in product offer database 114j
for the offered product, however, purchasing service 126 can
instead be configured to, by issuing a request directing the
payment servicing system to perform a transfer of the portion of
the total purchase price authorized by the user that is allocated
for the offered product from a corresponding financial account or
otherwise upon reimbursement for an invoiced amount being received
from the specified funding source (or upon having sufficient
confirmation that such a reimbursement will be received from the
funding source), credit or otherwise direct a disbursement of funds
corresponding to the portion of the total purchase price (which may
include, in addition to the corresponding payment amount that is
specified to be transferred to the pharmacy in the respective
information record in product offer database 114j for the offered
product, a negotiated or contracted commission fee for the offering
of the product for purchase via marketplace system 100 by the
pharmacy) to be made to the financial account that is maintained by
the providers of the system in association with the virtual payment
system.
[0145] In this regard, purchasing service 126 can also be further
configured to, if the purchase information submitted by the
customer user specifies an applicable discount or coupon code to
use for the purchase of the offered product, rather than issuing a
request to the funding source specified in the customer purchase
information for an amount of funds corresponding to the full
portion of the total purchase price authorized by the user that is
allocated for the offer of the product by the pharmacy being
purchased and then crediting the amount of funds corresponding to
this full portion of the total purchase price to be made to the
financial account that is maintained by the providers of the system
in association with the virtual payment system, instead identify
the value of the discount to be applied based on the respective
information record within which information describing the discount
is included that is maintained for the pharmacy within pharmacy
profile database 114e or for the offer of the product being
purchased within product offer database 114j, issue a request to
the funding source specified in the customer purchase information
for an amount of funds corresponding to the full portion of the
total purchase price less the identified value of the discount, and
credit the amount of funds corresponding to this full portion of
the total purchase price less the identified value of the discount
to be made to the financial account that is maintained by the
providers of the system.
[0146] In the present example, purchasing service 126 can further
be configured to, upon initiating payment processing for the
product offer being purchased and crediting or disbursement of
funds corresponding to the purchase price (less any discount amount
applied) for the product to the financial account that is
maintained by the providers of marketplace system 100 as discussed
above, provide a notification of such to virtual payment system
manager 170, which may include any appropriate information that
would be needed by the virtual payment system manager to facilitate
aspects of the transaction processing within the virtual payment
system such as, for instance, a specification of the purchase
information submitted by the customer, the unique virtual money
account identifiers that are respectively associated with the
respective account information record for the customer user and the
pharmacy within virtual money account database 114o, and the unique
product offer identifier included in the respective information
record in product offer database 114j for the offer of the product
being purchased. In this regard, purchasing service 126 can be
further configured to, if the purchase information submitted by the
customer user specifies an applicable discount or coupon code to
use for the purchase of the offered product, also include
information describing the discount in the notification provided to
virtual payment system manager 170 and, where appropriate due to
the use of the coupon code by the customer for the purchase of the
offered product being processed, access data store 114 via database
server 112 to update the corresponding information record within
which the discount is described to indicate that the coupon code
not presently valid for use.
[0147] Upon receiving such a notification from purchasing service
126, virtual payment system manager 170 then operates to access,
via database server 112, the container of virtual fund objects in
the respective account information record for the virtual money
account of the customer that is being maintained within virtual
money account database 114o to instantiate, for facilitating the
processing of payment of the purchase price for the offered
product, a new virtual fund object corresponding to the payment
amount that is indicated by the respective information record in
product offer database 114j for the offered product to be initially
assigned to the customer and, if the purchase price that is
determined by purchasing service 126 for the offered product
further includes a negotiated or contracted commission fee for
offering the product for purchase via the system, a new virtual
fund object corresponding to the commission fee to be initially
assigned to the customer. In this regard, if the notification
provided from purchasing service 126 includes information
describing a discount being used by the customer for the purchase
of the offered product, the new virtual fund object instantiated by
virtual payment system manager 170 will be for an amount of funds
that corresponds to the payment amount indicated by the respective
information record for the offered product less the identified
value of the discount specified as an amount of funds in the
notification, and virtual payment system manager 170 can further
operate to access database server 112 to instantiate a new virtual
fund object corresponding to a specified amount of funds for the
discount to be initially assigned to the customer.
[0148] More specifically, virtual payment system manager 170 can
generate a unique identifier for each new virtual fund object being
created and define the attributes of each object to include an
indication of the value of the corresponding virtual funds (that
is, a value of virtual funds corresponding to the indicated payment
amount or commission fee), the unique identifier generated for the
object, an indication that the original funding source based on
which the object was created is the funding source that was
specified by the user in the submitted purchase information or,
where appropriate, a discount made available by the pharmacy that
is offering the product for purchase (which may include indications
of a particular coupon code input by the customer when making the
purchase and the unique identifier for the respective information
record within which information describing the discount is included
that is maintained for the pharmacy within pharmacy profile
database 114e or for the offer of the product being purchased
within product offer database 114j), a creation timestamp for the
object, and an indication that the corresponding virtual funds for
the object are presently allocated to use as payment for the
purchase of the offered product in association with the unique
transaction identifier for the respective information record for
the purchase that is generated by purchasing service 126 and
maintained within transaction information database 114k as
described below (along with a further indication of whether the
object corresponds to the indicated payment amount, the commission
fee, or a discount being applied). As discussed above, the
indicated value of a virtual fund object is the apparent value of
the corresponding virtual funds as represented to participants
within the system that corresponds to an amount of real currency
that is held in an external financial account maintained by the
providers of marketplace system 100. Virtual payment system manager
170 can also be configured to, upon creating the virtual fund
object(s) within the respective account information record for the
virtual money account for the customer user within virtual money
account database 114o, update the total balance value included in
the set of general information within the respective account
information record for the virtual money accounts to reflect the
values of the newly-created virtual fund object(s).
[0149] Continuing in the present example, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to, upon instantiating the virtual
fund object(s) in the respective account information record for the
respective virtual money account for the customer to use in
facilitating the processing of payment for the offered product,
facilitate the transaction processing within the virtual payment
system by accessing data store 114 via database server 112 to
direct a transfer of the instantiated virtual fund object
corresponding to the payment amount and any instantiated virtual
fund object corresponding to a discount being applied for the
purchase from the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record for the customer user that is
maintained within virtual money account database 114o to the
container of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the pharmacy for which payment for the
product when purchased through the system is to be directed that is
maintained within virtual money account database 114o. For this
purpose, virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured to
identify the respective account information record maintained
within virtual money account database 114o for the pharmacy to
which payment for the purchased product is to be directed based on
the unique virtual money account identifier for the respective
account information record for the virtual money account for the
pharmacy that is included in the respective information record for
the offer of the product being purchased from the pharmacy, and
virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured to perform the
transfer of each corresponding virtual fund object by moving the
object from the container of virtual fund objects in the respective
account information record for the customer user to the container
of virtual fund objects included in the respective account
information record for the respective virtual money account that is
being maintained within virtual money account database 114o for the
pharmacy to which payment for the purchased product is to be
directed, updating the attributes for the object(s) now located
within the respective account information record for the pharmacy
to indicate that the corresponding virtual funds for the object
have been transferred as part of the payment process for the
purchase of the offered product along with the unique transaction
identifier for the respective information record for the purchase
of the product maintained within transaction information database
114k as described below. In this regard, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be further configured to, upon directing a move of
a virtual fund object that corresponds to a specified amount of
funds for a discount being applied for the purchase from the
container of virtual fund objects included in the respective
account information record for the respective virtual money account
of the customer to the container of virtual fund objects included
in the respective account information record for the respective
virtual money account for the pharmacy to which payment for the
purchased product is to be directed, update the attributes for the
object now located within the respective account information record
for the pharmacy to modify the indication of the value of the
corresponding virtual funds for the object from the value of the
discount amount being applied for the purchase to a value of zero
(so that the application of the discount offered by the pharmacy
for the purchase does not alter the total and available balance
values included in the set of general information within the
respective account information record for the respective virtual
money account of the pharmacy.
[0150] Likewise, if the purchase price that is determined by
purchasing service 126 for the offered product further includes a
negotiated or contracted commission fee for offering the product
for purchase via the system, virtual payment system manager 170 can
also be configured to further facilitate the transaction processing
within the virtual payment system by identifying the respective
account information record maintained within virtual money account
database 114o for the entity that provides the marketplace system
based on the unique virtual money account identifier for the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the entity that is maintained within virtual money account
database 114o and accessing data store 114 via database server 112
to direct a transfer of the instantiated virtual fund object
corresponding to the commission fee from the container of virtual
fund objects in the respective account information record for the
customer user to the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record established for the entity in
a manner similar to that which is described above with reference to
the transfer the virtual fund objects corresponding to the payment
amount from the respective account information record for the
virtual money account for the customer to the respective account
information record for the virtual money account for the pharmacy
to which payment for the purchased product is specified to be
directed, including making suitable corresponding updates to the
attributes for the objects that are now located within the
respective account information record for the entity as a result of
the operations performed to effect the transfer.
[0151] Upon completing the transfer(s) of the virtual fund
object(s), virtual payment system manager 170 can also be
configured to access data store 114 via database server 112 to
perform corresponding updates to the total balance values and
available balance values included in the sets of general
information within the respective account information records for
the respective virtual money accounts of the customer, the
pharmacy, and the entity that provides the marketplace system to
appropriately to reflect the transfer(s) of the virtual fund
object(s), and perform corresponding updates to the set of
accounting details included in the sets of general information
within the respective account information records for the
respective virtual money accounts to reflect the operations
performed by virtual payment system manager 170 to effect the
transfer(s) of virtual funds corresponding to the purchase of the
offered product within the marketplace system via the virtual
payment system implemented within server system 110. Virtual
payment system manager 170 can also be configured to, upon
effecting the transfers of virtual funds corresponding to the
payment amount for the offer of the product being purchased via the
virtual payment system implemented within server system 110 as
described above, provide a notification to purchasing service 126
of completion of the operations that are performed by virtual
payment system manager 170 for facilitating the purchase of the
offered product within the marketplace system.
[0152] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon effecting the transfers of the created virtual fund
object(s) as described above, provide a notification to purchasing
service 126 of completion of the operations that are performed by
virtual payment system manager 170 for facilitating the purchase of
the offered product within the marketplace system.
[0153] In a further example for exemplary embodiments in which a
virtual payment system is implemented within server system 110, the
purchase information submitted by the customer user may
alternatively specify a combination of a corresponding amount of
virtual funds to utilize from the respective virtual money account
established for the customer within the virtual payment system that
is indicated as being presently available for the customer to use
for purchases within marketplace system 100 that is less than the
portion of the total purchase price authorized by the customer that
is allocated for the offered product and an additional external
funding source of an account maintained for the customer, an
account maintained for another person or entity that the customer
is authorized to utilize for this purpose, or an entity that has
arranged to be invoiced and provide reimbursement for purchases of
healthcare services and products made by the customer within the
system to use for an amount equal to the difference between the
portion of the total purchase price that is allocated for the
offered product and the specified amount of virtual funds to
utilize from the respective virtual money account established for
the customer. In this example, purchasing service 126 can be
configured to initiate the payment processing by determining this
difference amount, utilizing the customer purchase information
provided by the customer user to issue a request for the determined
difference amount to the external funding source specified in the
purchase information, crediting or otherwise directing a
disbursement of funds corresponding to the difference amount to be
made to the financial account that is maintained by the providers
of the system in association with the virtual payment system, and
providing a notification of the purchase information as specified
by the customer user in this manner to virtual payment system
manager 170 (along with any other information that would be needed
by the virtual payment system manager to facilitate aspects of the
transaction processing within the virtual payment system, which may
include, if the purchase information submitted by the customer user
specifies an applicable discount or coupon code to apply for the
purchase of the offered product, information describing the
discount).
[0154] Upon receiving such a notification from purchasing service
126, virtual payment system manager 170 then first operates to
access, via database server 112, the container of virtual fund
objects in the respective account information record for the
virtual money account of the customer that is being maintained
within virtual money account database 114o to instantiate a new
virtual fund object corresponding to the determined difference
amount for which the purchasing service issued a request to the
external funding source specified in the purchase information (in a
manner similar to that described in the example provided above for
instantiating a new virtual fund object corresponding to the
payment amount that is indicated by the respective information
record in product offer database 114j for the offered product) and,
if the notification provided from purchasing service 126 includes
information describing a discount being applied by the customer for
the purchase of the offered product, instantiate a new virtual fund
object corresponding to a specified amount of funds for the
discount to be initially assigned to the customer.
[0155] Upon the new virtual fund object(s) being created in the
container of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the virtual money account of the customer in
this manner, virtual payment system manager 170 then operates to
facilitate the processing of payment of the purchase price for the
offered product by proceeding in substantially the same manner as
described above for the example in which the notification from
purchasing service 126 indicates that the purchase information
submitted by the customer user specifies an amount of available
virtual funds to utilize from the respective virtual money account
established for the customer for the purchase that corresponds to
the full purchase price of the product. There is, however, one
notable difference in the operations performed by virtual payment
system manager 170 to facilitate the payment processing in the
present example. In particular, as described above, when proceeding
in this manner, virtual payment system manager 170 first operates
to access the respective account information record for the
customer within virtual money account database 114o to select one
or more of the virtual fund objects presently assigned to the
customer in the respective account information record to use for
facilitating the processing of payment. For purposes of performing
this operation in the present example, the methodology that is used
by virtual payment system manager 170 for selecting the one or more
of the virtual fund objects to use for facilitating the processing
of payment is specifically implemented to select any virtual fund
objects that are created based on the determined difference amount
for which the purchasing service issued a request to the external
funding source specified in the purchase information and based on
promotional credits or discounts associated with the particular
purchase being made prior to selecting any virtual fund objects
that are created based on another type of funding source.
[0156] As similarly described above with reference to the previous
examples, upon completing the transfers of the created and selected
virtual fund objects in the present example, virtual payment system
manager 170 can also be configured to access data store 114 via
database server 112 to perform corresponding updates to the total
balance values and available balance values included in the sets of
general information within the respective account information
records for the respective virtual money accounts of the customer,
the pharmacy, and the entity that provides the marketplace system
to appropriately to reflect the transfers of the virtual fund
objects, and perform corresponding updates to the set of accounting
details included in the sets of general information within the
respective account information records for the respective virtual
money accounts to reflect the operations performed by virtual
payment system manager 170 to effect the transfers of virtual funds
corresponding to the purchase of the offered product within the
marketplace system via the virtual payment system implemented
within server system 110. Virtual payment system manager 170 can
also be configured to, upon effecting the transfers of the created
and selected virtual fund objects via the virtual payment system
implemented within server system 110 as described above, provide a
notification to purchasing service 126 of completion of the
operations that are performed by virtual payment system manager 170
for facilitating the purchase of the offered product within the
marketplace system.
[0157] In the present exemplary embodiment, purchasing service 126
can be configured to, for each product offer being purchased that
is offered through a pharmacy registered with server system 110,
upon the payment for the purchase of the offered product being
processed as described above, navigate the user interface to a
purchase confirmation page and send an electronic confirmation
message to the customer user and an electronic notification to the
pharmacy administrator, for example, by way of email utilizing the
contact information specified in the respective account information
records for the customer and the pharmacy. Purchasing service 126
can be also be configured to generate a respective information
record for the completed purchase with corresponding information
within transaction information database 114k, including generating
a unique transaction identifier for the respective information
record for the purchase of the product. The respective information
generated by purchasing service 126 for the completed purchase can
indicate that the purchase has been made through a pharmacy
registered with server system 110 and that the purchase will be
redeemed through this pharmacy.
[0158] It should be noted that while the additional examples
provided below describing the various manners in which payment may
be processed by purchasing service 126 for different types of
healthcare products and services are described in terms of
circumstances in which the customer purchase information specifies
an account maintained for the user or an account maintained for
another person or entity that the user is authorized to utilize for
this purpose, the payment processing that is performed in these
examples should not considered to be limited to these circumstances
and may also be performed, for instance, for circumstances in which
the customer purchase information specifies an entity that has
agreed to be invoiced and provide reimbursement for purchases of
healthcare services and products made by the user within
marketplace system 100 in a manner similar to that described above
in relation to payment processing for offered products for which a
prescription is not required for the purchase.
[0159] For processing payment for each offered product that is
being offered through a pharmacy registered within server system
110 for which a prescription is required for the purchase,
purchasing service 126 may be configured to, upon the user
accessing the user interface on the payment page to provide
authorization for payment, navigate the user interface to a
prescription submission page prior to processing the payment for
the offered prescription product. Prescription submission page can
be implemented by purchasing service 126 to provide user interface
controls for allowing the user to submit the required prescription
information for purchasing the offered product. For example,
prescription submission page may be implemented to provide a
drop-down menu accessible by the user to select from a plurality of
options for submitting the required prescription information. The
plurality of options may include, for example, emailing an image of
a prescription document to an email address for an account
maintained in association with server system 110 for such a
purpose, faxing a copy of a prescription document to a fax number
utilized in association with server system 110 for such a purpose,
uploading a copy of a prescription document to application server
116, completing information fields of a respective predefined
fillable form for generating a prescription document for the
particular product within the user interface, and indicating that
the prescription will be submitted by the customer user or a
physician user at a later time (for example, in situations in which
the user has not yet been written a prescription for the product by
a physician user). If the user selects either the option to email
an image of a prescription document or the option to fax a copy of
the prescription document, prescription submission page can be
implemented to present a display of instructions for the user to
follow to submit the prescription document according to the
selected option. If the user selects the option to uploading a copy
of a prescription document, prescription submission page can be
implemented to provide suitable user interface controls for
allowing the user to perform this operation.
[0160] If the user selects the option to complete a respective
predefined fillable form for generating a prescription document,
purchasing system 126 can be configured access the information for
rendering such a respective predefined fillable form that is
maintained within available products database 114i for the
corresponding product and render the form within the user
interface. Such a form may include a number of fields for receiving
various pieces of information concerning the user (such as name,
address, and other relevant information), the prescription product
(such as name, dosage, form of the medicine, quantity, a
recommended frequency for administering the product or other
instructions, and refill information for a continuing
prescription), and the medical specialist that prescribed the
product (such as name, practice group, a phone number or other
preferred contact information, and a date on the product was
prescribed) for the user as input. In exemplary embodiments,
purchasing system 126 may be configured to automatically populate
certain fields (for example, fields for receiving information
concerning the user may be automatically populated based on
information included in the respective account information records
that is maintained for the user within customer profile database
114a), which the information for other fields can be manually input
by the user via the user interface. Upon the appropriate fields of
the fillable form being suitably populated, the user can select
user interface element to submit the form to purchasing service
126, which can be configured to then generate a prescription
document based on the information submitted.
[0161] Upon the prescription document being received from the user,
from a physician registered with server system 110, or generated
based on information provided by the user, the prescription
document can be released to the pharmacy specified for the offered
product within product offer database 114j (which may be performed
manually by an administrator for marketplace system 100, such as by
fax or postal mail, or automatically by server system 110 by
electronic transmission, such as within an email message to the
pharmacy, according to contact information specified in the account
information record for the pharmacy maintain within pharmacy
profile database 114e). Upon receiving the prescription document,
the pharmacy can perform a verification of the prescription
document, for example, by contacting the medical specialist listed
as having prescribed the product.
[0162] While awaiting submission and/or verification of the
prescription document, purchasing service 126 may be configured to
utilize the purchase information provided by the user to issue a
request for the portion of the total purchase price authorized by
the user that is allocated for the offered product to the funding
source specified in the purchase information. For example,
purchasing service 126 may be configured to access a corresponding
third-party payment servicing system provided by or on behalf of
the specified funding source and utilize the purchase information
to issue a request directing the account servicer for a
corresponding financial account to place a hold on funds for the
portion of the total purchase price authorized by the user that is
allocated for the offered product. Upon a notification of any
necessary submission and verification of the prescription document
being received, purchasing service 126 can be configured to access
the corresponding third-party payment servicing system and utilize
the purchase information specified by the user to direct the
account servicer for the corresponding financial account to release
the hold and direct the payment servicing system to transfer the
portion of the total purchase price authorized by the user that is
allocated for the offered product from the corresponding financial
account, credit or otherwise direct a disbursement of funds to be
made to the financial account specified by the compensation
information included in the account information record within
pharmacy profile database 114e of the pharmacy with the
corresponding payment amount that is specified to be transferred to
the pharmacy in the respective information record in product offer
database 114j for the offered product, and credit a financial
account maintained by the providers of marketplace system 100 with
any negotiated or contracted commission fee for offering the
product for purchase via the system. Purchasing service 126 can be
configured to, upon processing the payment for the purchase of the
offered product, navigate the user interface to a purchase
confirmation page and send an electronic confirmation message to
the customer user and an electronic notification to the pharmacy
administrator, for example, by way of email utilizing the contact
information specified in the respective account information records
for the customer and the pharmacy.
[0163] Purchasing service 126 can be also be configured to generate
a respective information record for the completed purchase with
corresponding information within transaction information database
114k, which initially indicates that the purchase has not yet been
redeemed and includes, among other information, an indication that
a prescription has been received by the customer user or, if the
user selected the option on the prescription submission page to
indicate that the prescription will be submitted at a later time,
an indication that a prescription has not yet been received by the
customer user. Purchasing service 126 can also be configured to,
upon processing the payment for the purchase of the offered
product, generate a voucher for the customer user within the user
interface for the purchased product that can be utilized by the
customer user to redeem the purchase and receive the product from
the pharmacy registered with server system 110 through which the
purchased product was being offered (the providers of marketplace
system 100 can have pre-arranged agreements with pharmacy providers
registered with the system that the providers will agree to honor
such vouchers generated by purchasing service 126 for purchased
products). The information included in such a voucher can include,
for example, identifying information for the customer user,
identifying and contact information for the pharmacy at which the
purchase of the product will be redeemed, a description of the
purchased product, a confirmation number for the purchase, which
may be generated by purchasing service 126 based on the unique
transaction identifier that is included in the respective
information record for the purchase that is maintained within
transaction information database 114k, and instructions for
redeeming the voucher. The confirmation number may also be provided
in the electronic confirmation message to the customer user and an
electronic notification to the pharmacy registered with server
system 110 through which the purchased product was being offered.
The voucher can be presented to the user within the user interface,
for example, as printable and/or machine readable form.
[0164] In another example, for exemplary embodiments in which a
virtual payment system is implemented within server system 110,
purchasing service 126 and virtual payment system manager 170 may
be configured to, for processing payment for each offered product
that is being offered through a pharmacy registered within server
system 110 for which a prescription is required for the purchase,
initiate and facilitate the payment processing in a manner similar
to the examples described above for processing payment for a
product that is being offered through a pharmacy registered with
server system 110 for which a prescription is not required. There
are, however, some notable differences in the operations performed
by virtual payment system manager 170 to facilitate the payment
processing for situations in which a prescription is required for
the purchase of the product. In particular, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to, upon creating and/or selecting
one or more of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the respective virtual money account for the
customer to use for facilitating the processing of payment for the
offered product (as performed according to the information
pertaining to the submitted customer purchase information included
in the notification received from purchasing server 126), rather
than immediately directing a transfer of each object created and/or
selected for facilitating the purchase within the virtual payment
system from the container of virtual fund objects in the respective
account information record for the customer user that is maintained
within virtual money account database 114o, instead proceed to
access data store 114 to update the attributes defining each
created and/or selected object in the container of virtual fund
objects in the respective account information record for the
customer user that is maintained within virtual money account
database 114o to include, if not already present, an indication
that the corresponding virtual funds for the object are presently
allocated to use as payment for the purchase of the offered product
by the customer within the marketplace system in association with
the unique transaction identifier for the respective information
record for the purchase that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k.
[0165] In this regard, virtual payment system manager 170 can also
be configured to identify, for situations in which a selection of
one or more of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the respective virtual money account for the
customer to use for facilitating the processing of payment for the
offered product is performed, any situation for which, upon a
subsequent transfer of the selected objects for the virtual funds
corresponding to the payment amount that is specified for the offer
of the product being purchased or for the virtual funds
corresponding to a commission fee being performed, the transfer of
the final selected virtual fund object for the corresponding
virtual funds would result in the indicated values of the
corresponding virtual funds for the objects being transferred
summing to an amount of virtual funds that is greater than, rather
than equal, to the amount of virtual funds corresponding to the
payment amount or the commission fee. For each such situation
identified, virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured to
access data store 114 to perform an operation of splitting the
final selected object within the container of virtual fund objects
in the respective account information record for the respective
virtual money account for the customer user that is maintained
within virtual money account database 114o. More specifically, to
perform the splitting operation for such a situation, virtual
payment system manager 170 can be configured to calculate the
remaining amount of virtual funds that would be needed to be
transferred in conjunction with values of the corresponding virtual
funds for the other selected objects to result in the amount of
virtual funds transferred being equal to the amount of virtual
funds corresponding to the payment amount or commission fee, update
the indication of the value of the virtual funds for the final
selected object in the respective account information record for
the respective virtual money account for the customer to represent
a reduction or deduction of the calculated amount from the
indicated value, and access database server 112 to instantiate a
new virtual fund object corresponding to the calculated amount of
virtual funds within the container of virtual fund objects included
in the respective account information record for the respective
virtual money account for the customer. In this regard, virtual
payment system manager 170 can generate a unique identifier for the
new virtual fund object being created and define the attributes of
the object to include an indication of the value of the
corresponding virtual funds as the calculated value, the unique
identifier generated for the object, an indication of the original
funding source that is the same as that of the final selected
object in the respective account information record for the
respective virtual money account for the customer for which the
indicated value of virtual funds was updated to reflect a
corresponding deduction of virtual funds, a creation timestamp for
the object, and an indication that the corresponding virtual funds
for the object are presently allocated to use as payment for the
purchase of the offered product by the customer within the
marketplace system in association with the unique transaction
identifier for the respective information record for the purchase
that is maintained within transaction information database 114k.
Virtual payment system manager 170 can further identity this
newly-created virtual object as the final selected object to be
transferred when performing a subsequent transfer of the selected
objects for the virtual funds corresponding to the payment amount
or for the virtual funds corresponding to a commission fee while
removing the object previously identified as the final selected
object to be transferred from the set of objects that are selected
to be transferred to facilitate the processing of payment for the
payment amount or the commission fee, such that the attributes of
the object previously identified as the final selected object
include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds for the
object are not presently allocated to use as payment for an offered
service or product purchased within the marketplace system by the
customer (in other words, an indication that the corresponding
virtual funds for the object are presently available for the
customer user to use for purchases within the marketplace system,
although it should further be noted that, in exemplary embodiments,
circumstances may arise where an object that was split after having
been previously identified as the final selected object to be
transferred from the set of objects that are selected to be
transferred to facilitate the processing of payment for the payment
amount may then become included in the set of objects that are
selected to be transferred to facilitate the processing of payment
for the commission fee).
[0166] In the present example, virtual payment system manager 170
can also be configured to, upon updating the attributes defining
each virtual fund object in the container of virtual fund objects
in the respective account information record for the customer user
that is maintained within virtual money account database 114o that
has been created and/or selected to be used in facilitating the
processing of payment for the offered product and performing any
necessary splitting of objects as described above, access data
store 114 to update the total balance values and available balance
values included in the set of general information within the
respective account information record for the respective virtual
money account of the customer to reflect the updates to the
attributes defining each of the created and/or selected objects.
Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured to, upon
creating and/or selecting the virtual fund objects to be used in
facilitating the processing of payment for the offered product,
performing any necessary splitting of objects, and updating the
information maintained in the respective account information record
for the customer user that is maintained within virtual money
account database 114o as described above, provide a notification to
purchasing service 126 that these operations for facilitating the
purchase of the offered product within the virtual payment system
have been completed.
[0167] The result of these operations being performed by the
virtual payment system manager 170 is to effectively place a hold
on an amount of virtual funds presently assigned to the customer in
the respective virtual money account for the customer that
corresponds to the purchase price for the offer of the product that
is being purchased from the pharmacy by the customer, as each
object that is created and/or selected in the container of virtual
fund objects in the respective account information record for the
virtual money account of the customer user will be defined with an
indication that the corresponding virtual funds for the object are
presently allocated to use as payment for the purchase of the
offered product such that the corresponding virtual funds for the
object will not be included within the available balance value in
the set of general information within the respective account
information record for the respective virtual money account of the
customer that is dynamically calculated by virtual payment system
manager 170.
[0168] In the present example, as will be described in greater
detail below, this effective hold on an amount of virtual funds in
the respective virtual money account for the customer that
corresponds to the purchase price for the offer of the product that
is being purchased from the pharmacy by the customer is maintained
by virtual payment system manager 170 until either the purchase of
the product is cancelled or until sufficient information is
received to trigger the virtual payment system manager to continue
with facilitating processing of the payment for the transaction. In
exemplary embodiments, the information that is deemed sufficient to
trigger such further processing by virtual payment system manager
170 may be, for example, confirmation of receipt and any necessary
verification of the prescription document and/or confirmation that
the purchase of the offered product has been redeemed by customer.
Such a confirmation may be received by virtual payment system
manager 170, for example, in the form of a notification transmitted
by purchasing service 126 or transaction processing service 136.
Accordingly, through the implementation of the virtual payment
system within server system 110 in the present example, the
customer is assured that the payment for the purchase of the
offered product will not be released from the respective virtual
money account for the customer and made available for disbursement
to the pharmacy if the product is not or cannot be satisfactorily
delivered to the customer, while the pharmacy can also be assured
that it will receive payment for the purchase of the product if the
product is satisfactorily delivered to the customer.
[0169] Continuing in the present example, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to, upon confirmation that sufficient
information has been received to trigger continuation of
facilitating processing of the payment for the transaction, then
proceed to access virtual money account database 114o via database
server 112 to direct a transfer, via the virtual payment system
implemented within server system 110 in a manner similar to the
examples described above for processing payment for a product that
is being offered through a pharmacy registered with server system
110 for which a prescription is not required, of each created
and/or selected virtual fund object corresponding to the payment
amount from the container of virtual fund objects in the respective
account information record for the virtual money account for the
customer to the container of virtual fund objects in the respective
account information record for the virtual money account for the
pharmacy to which payment for the purchased product is specified to
be directed and each created and/or selected virtual fund object
corresponding to the commission fee from the container of virtual
fund objects in the respective account information record for the
virtual money account for the customer to the container of virtual
fund objects in the respective account information record for the
virtual money account established for the entity that provides the
marketplace system, including making suitable corresponding updates
to the attributes for each object that is now located within the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
of the pharmacy or the entity as a result of the operations
performed to effect the transfer. Such corresponding updates to the
attributes defining each object that has been transferred can
include, for example, updating the attributes to include an
indication that the corresponding virtual funds for the object are
not presently allocated to use as payment for an offered service or
product purchased within the marketplace system and an indication
that the corresponding virtual funds for the object have already
been transferred to the respective virtual money account of the
participant for which the respective account information record
within which the object is now maintained was established as part
of the payment process for the purchase of the offered product
within the marketplace system along with the unique transaction
identifier for the respective information record for the purchase
that is maintained within transaction information database
114k.
[0170] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon effecting the transfers of each created and/or selected
virtual fund object in the present example as described above,
perform corresponding updates to the total balance values and
available balance values included in the sets of general
information within the respective account information records for
the respective virtual money accounts of the customer, the
pharmacy, and the entity that provides the marketplace system as
needed to appropriately to reflect the transfer(s) of the virtual
fund object(s), perform corresponding updates to the set of
accounting details included in the sets of general information
within the respective account information records for the
respective virtual money accounts as needed to reflect the
operations performed by virtual payment system manager 170 to
effect the transfer(s) of virtual funds corresponding to the
purchase of the offered product within the marketplace system via
the virtual payment system implemented within server system 110,
and provide a notification to purchasing service 126 of completion
of the operations that are performed by virtual payment system
manager 170 for facilitating the purchase of the offered product
within the marketplace system.
[0171] In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, for
processing payment for each product that is being offered in
association with a respective information record for an offered
service within service offer database 114h, purchasing service 126
can be configured to process the purchase of the associated product
in a manner that is similar to the manner in which the purchasing
service is configured to process the purchase for each product that
is being directly offered through a pharmacy registered with server
system 110. In this regard, if the associated product is being
purchased through a pharmacy that is not registered with the system
but affiliated with the provider offering the service with which
the product is associated (as specified in the respective
information record for an offered service within service offer
database 114h), purchasing service 126 can be configured to (upon
receiving notification of any necessary submission and verification
of any required prescription document being received by the
pharmacy) credit or otherwise direct the disbursement of funds to
be made to the financial account specified by the compensation
information included in the account information record within
physician profile database 114b, practice group profile database
114c, or hospital system profile database 114d of the provider for
which the respective information record for the offered service
within service offer database 114h indicates payment for the
product when purchased through the system in association with the
service is to be directed with the corresponding payment amount
that is specified to be transferred to the provider as indicated by
the respective information record in service offer database 114h
for the offered service. In such situations where the associated
product is being purchased through a pharmacy that is not
registered with the system but affiliated with the provider
offering the service with which the product is associated,
purchasing service 126 can be configured to send an electronic
notification to one or more of the non-registered pharmacy (if
contact information for receiving electronic communication is
specified for the non-registered pharmacy in the information
describing the pharmacy that is included in the respective
information record in service offer database 114h for the offered
service), the provider for which the respective information record
for the offered service within service offer database 114h
indicates payment for the product when purchased through the system
in association with the service is to be directed, and the
physician user that is designated as performing the offered service
in the information record for the purchased service within service
offer database 114h. In exemplary embodiments, purchasing service
126 can be configured to determine whether to send an electronic
notification to each of these one or more parties based on
information specified in the respective information record in
service offer database 114h for the offered service.
[0172] Moreover, for processing each purchase of a product that is
being offered in association with a respective information record
for an offered service within service offer database 114h,
purchasing service 126 can also be configured to include, in the
respective information record for the completed purchase within
transaction information database 114k, the unique procedure offer
identifier of the information record for the associated purchased
service within service offer database 114h and the unique physician
account identifier for the account information record within
physician profile database 114b of the physician user that is
designated as performing the associated purchased service in the
information record for the service within service offer database
114h. Additionally, for processing each purchase of a product that
is being offered in association with a respective information
record for an offered service within service offer database 114h,
being purchased through a pharmacy that is not registered with the
system but affiliated with the provider offering the service with
which the product is associated, and requires a prescription to be
written, purchasing service 126 can also be configured to, upon the
prescription document being received from the user, from a
physician registered with server system 110, or generated based on
information provided by the user, release the prescription document
to the pharmacy using the information describing the pharmacy that
is specified in the respective information record for an offered
service within service offer database 114h.
[0173] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, for processing payment for
each product that is being offered in association with a respective
information record for an offered service within service offer
database 114h, purchasing service 126 and virtual payment system
manager 170 may be configured to initiate and facilitate the
payment processing in a manner that is substantially similar to the
examples described above for processing payment for a product that
is being offered through a pharmacy directly registered with server
system 110. In this regard, if the associated product is being
purchased through a pharmacy that is not registered with the system
but affiliated with the provider offering the service with which
the product is associated (as specified in the respective
information record for an offered service within service offer
database 114h), the notification of the purchase information
submitted by the customer user that purchasing service 126
transmits to virtual payment system manager 170 can include the
unique virtual money account identifier that is associated with the
respective account information record within virtual money account
database 114o for the provider for which the respective information
record for the offered service within service offer database 114h
indicates payment for the product when purchased through the system
in association with the service is to be directed. In the present
example, virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured to
identify the respective account information record maintained
within virtual money account database 114o for the particular
provider to which payment for the purchased product is to be
directed based on the unique virtual money account identifier
provided in the notification and, when effecting the transfer(s) of
virtual funds corresponding to the purchase of the offered product
within the marketplace system via the virtual payment system in the
manner described above, direct a transfer of each created and/or
selected virtual fund object corresponding to the payment amount
that is specified to be transferred to the particular provider to
which payment for the purchased product is to be directed (as
indicated by the respective information record in service offer
database 114h for the offered service) from the container of
virtual fund objects in the respective account information record
for the virtual money account for the customer to the container of
virtual fund objects in the respective account information record
for the virtual money account for the provider. In exemplary
embodiments of the present invention, for processing payment for
each offered service that is not being offered in conjunction with
a bundled set, purchasing service 126 may be configured to utilize
the purchase information provided by the user to issue a request
for the portion of the total purchase price authorized by the user
that is allocated for the offered service to the funding source
specified in the purchase information. For example, purchasing
service 126 may be configured to access a corresponding third-party
payment servicing system provided by or on behalf of the specified
funding source and utilize the purchase information to issue a
request directing the payment servicing system to transfer the
portion of the total purchase price authorized by the user that is
allocated for the offered service from the account servicer of a
corresponding financial account to a financial account maintained
by the providers of marketplace system 100, at which point the
financial account is credited with any negotiated or contracted
commission fee for handling the purchase and holds the payment
amount to be transferred to the provider for which payment for the
service is to be directed (as specified in service offer database
114h) until an indication is received that the purchased service
has been performed by the physician that is specified in service
offer database 114h for performing the service (as described in
greater detail below).
[0174] Purchasing service 126 can be configured to, upon processing
the payment for the purchase of the offered service, navigate the
user interface to a purchase confirmation page and send an
electronic confirmation message to the customer user and electronic
notifications to the physician user that will be performing the
service and the provider user for the offered service (as specified
according to the information record for the offered service within
service offer database 114h), for example, by way of email
utilizing the contact information specified in the respective
account information records for the customer, the physician, and
the provider for the offered service. Purchasing service 126 can be
also be configured to generate a respective information record for
the completed purchase with corresponding information within
transaction information database 114k, which initially indicates
that the purchase has not yet been redeemed. In exemplary
embodiments in which the respective information record for the
purchased service within service offer database 114h indicates that
the provider that is offering the service through the system has
associated the corresponding service offer with one or more
healthcare products, the respective information record for the
completed purchase with corresponding information within
transaction information database 114k that is generated by
purchasing service 126 can further include the unique transaction
identifier that is used by application server 116 to uniquely
identify the information record in transaction information database
114k for each purchase of an associated product that has been made
via the system by the registered customer user in association with
the purchase of the service.
[0175] Purchasing service 126 can also be configured to, upon
processing the payment for the purchase of the offered service,
generate a voucher for the customer user within the user interface
for the purchased service that can be utilized by the customer user
to redeem the purchase and receive the service from the physician
specified for the offered service (the providers of marketplace
system 100 can have pre-arranged agreements with providers
registered with the system that the providers will agree to honor
such vouchers generated by purchasing service 126 for purchased
services). An example of such a voucher is illustrated in FIG. 4A.
As depicted in the example, example voucher 400 can be generated to
include identifying information for the customer user 402,
identifying and contact information for the physician specified for
the offered service 404, a description of the purchased service
406, a confirmation number 408 for the purchase, which may be
generated by purchasing service 126 based on the unique transaction
identifier that is included in the respective information record
for the purchase that is maintained within transaction information
database 114k, and instructions for redeeming the voucher 410. The
confirmation number may also be provided in the electronic
confirmation message to the customer user and electronic
notifications to the physician user that will be performing the
service and the provider user for the offered service sent by
purchasing system 126 to the customer user. The voucher can be
presented to the user within the user interface, for example, as
printable and/or machine readable form.
[0176] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, for processing payment for
each offered service that is not being offered in conjunction with
a bundled set, purchasing service 126 and virtual payment system
manager 170 may be configured to initiate and facilitate the
payment processing for the service in a manner that is similar to
the examples described above for processing payment for a product
that is being offered through a pharmacy registered with server
system 110 for which a prescription is required for the purchase. A
primary notable difference from these examples is that, in the
present example, the notification of the purchase information
submitted by the customer user that purchasing service 126
transmits to virtual payment system manager 170 can include the
unique virtual money account identifier that is associated with the
respective account information record within virtual money account
database 114o for the provider for which the respective information
record for the offered service within service offer database 114h
indicates the payment amount for the offered service when purchased
through the system is to be directed.
[0177] In this regard, similar to the examples described above for
processing payment for a purchase of an offered product for which a
prescription is required for the purchase, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to, upon creating and/or selecting
one or more of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the respective virtual money account for the
customer to use for facilitating the processing of payment for the
offered service (as performed in response to and according to the
information pertaining to the submitted customer purchase
information included in the notification received from purchasing
server 126), rather than immediately directing a transfer of each
object created and/or selected for facilitating payment processing
for the purchase of the offered service within the virtual payment
system from the container of virtual fund objects in the respective
account information record for the customer user that is maintained
within virtual money account database 114o, instead proceed to
access data store 114 to update the attributes defining each
created and/or selected object in the container of virtual fund
objects in the respective account information record for the
customer user that is maintained within virtual money account
database 114o to include, if not already present, an indication
that the corresponding virtual funds for the object are presently
allocated to use as payment for the purchase of the offered service
by the customer within the marketplace system in association with
the unique transaction identifier for the respective information
record for the purchase that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k. Virtual payment system manager 170 can
also be configured to, upon creating and/or selecting the virtual
fund objects to be used in facilitating the processing of payment
for the offered product, performing any necessary splitting of
objects, and updating the information maintained in the respective
account information record for the customer user that is maintained
within virtual money account database 114o as described above,
provide a notification to purchasing service 126 that these
operations for facilitating payment processing for the purchase of
the offered service within the virtual payment system have been
completed.
[0178] Accordingly, the result of these operations being performed
by the virtual payment system manager 170 is to effectively place a
hold on an amount of virtual funds presently assigned to the
customer in the respective virtual money account for the customer
that corresponds to the purchase price for the offer of the service
that is being purchased by the customer from the provider that is
offering the service, as each object that is created and/or
selected in the container of virtual fund objects in the respective
account information record for the virtual money account of the
customer user will be defined with an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object are presently allocated
to use as payment for the purchase of the offered service such that
the corresponding virtual funds for the object will not be included
within the available balance value in the set of general
information within the respective account information record for
the respective virtual money account of the customer that is
dynamically calculated by virtual payment system manager 170. Such
an effective hold on an amount of virtual funds in the respective
virtual money account for the customer that corresponds to the
purchase price for the offer of the service being purchased by the
customer can be maintained by virtual payment system manager 170
until either the purchase of the service is cancelled or until
sufficient information is received to trigger the virtual payment
system manager to continue with facilitating processing of the
payment for the transaction. In exemplary embodiments, the
information that is deemed sufficient to trigger such further
processing by virtual payment system manager 170 may be, for
example, confirmation that the purchase of the offered service has
been redeemed by the customer such that the customer has received
the service from the corresponding physician that is specified as
performing the service in the respective information record for the
offered service within service offer database 114h. Such a
confirmation may be received by virtual payment system manager 170,
for example, in the form of a notification transmitted by
purchasing service 126 or transaction processing service 136 that a
voucher generated by the purchasing service for the customer user
within the user interface for the purchased service has been
utilized by the customer user to redeem the purchase (as will be
described in greater detail below). Accordingly, through the
implementation of the virtual payment system within server system
110 in the present example, the customer is assured that the
payment for the purchase of the offered service will not be
released from the respective virtual money account for the customer
and made available for disbursement to the provider for which the
respective information record for the offered service indicates the
payment amount for the offered service is to be directed if the
service is be satisfactorily rendered for the customer in
accordance with the conditions of the purchase, while the provider
for which the payment amount for the offered service is to be
directed can also be assured that it will receive payment for the
purchase of the service if the product is satisfactorily rendered
for the customer.
[0179] Continuing in the present example, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to, upon receiving confirmation that
the purchase of the offered service has been redeemed by the
customer, identify the respective account information record
maintained within virtual money account database 114o for the
particular provider to which payment for the purchased service is
to be directed based on the unique virtual money account identifier
provided in the notification from purchasing service 126 and then
proceed to access virtual money account database 114o via database
server 112 to direct a transfer, via the virtual payment system
implemented within server system 110 in a manner similar to
examples described above, of each created and/or selected virtual
fund object corresponding to the payment amount for the offered
service from the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the customer to the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the provider to which payment for the purchased service is to
be directed (as indicated by the respective information record in
service offer database 114h for the offered service) and each
created and/or selected virtual fund object corresponding to any
commission fee from the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the customer to the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
established for the entity that provides the marketplace system,
including making suitable corresponding updates to the attributes
for each object that is now located within the respective account
information record for the virtual money account of the provider or
the entity as a result of the operations performed to effect the
transfer. Such corresponding updates to the attributes defining
each object that has been transferred can include, for example,
updating the attributes to include an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object are not presently
allocated to use as payment for an offered service or product
purchased within the marketplace system and an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object have already been
transferred to the respective virtual money account of the
participant for which the respective account information record
within which the object is now maintained was established as part
of the payment process for the purchase of the offered service
within the marketplace system along with the unique transaction
identifier for the respective information record for the purchase
that is maintained within transaction information database
114k.
[0180] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon effecting the transfers of each created and/or selected
virtual fund object in the present example as described above,
perform corresponding updates to the total balance values and
available balance values included in the sets of general
information within the respective account information records for
the respective virtual money accounts of the customer, the provider
to which payment for the purchase of the offered service is to be
directed, and the entity that provides the marketplace system as
needed to appropriately to reflect the transfer(s) of the virtual
fund object(s), perform corresponding updates to the set of
accounting details included in the sets of general information
within the respective account information records for the
respective virtual money accounts as needed to reflect the
operations performed by virtual payment system manager 170 to
effect the transfer(s) of virtual funds corresponding to the
purchase of the offered service within the marketplace system via
the virtual payment system implemented within server system 110,
and provide a notification to purchasing service 126 of completion
of the operations that are performed by virtual payment system
manager 170 for facilitating the purchase of the offered service
within the marketplace system.
[0181] In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, for
processing payment for each offered service that is being offered
as a primary service in conjunction with a bundled set of services
or one or more services and one or more products, purchasing
service 126 may be configured to utilize the purchase information
provided by the user to issue a request for the portion of the
total purchase price authorized by the user that is allocated for
the offered service to the funding source specified in the purchase
information. For example, purchasing service 126 may be configured
to access a corresponding third-party payment servicing system
provided by or on behalf of the specified funding source and
utilize the purchase information to issue a request directing the
payment servicing system to transfer the portion of the payment
amount authorized by the user that is allocated for the offered
service from the account servicer of a corresponding financial
account to a financial account maintained by the providers of
marketplace system 100, at which point the financial account is
credited with any negotiated or contracted commission fee for
handling the purchase and holds the remainder of the payment amount
portion. In contrast to the processing performed by purchasing
service 126 for offered services or offered products that are not
being offered in conjunction with a bundled set, however, a
respective sub-portion of the payment amount for the offered
service is held separately with respect to the primary service,
each secondary service, each bundled product, and any facility
specified for the purchased offered service (according to the
payment amount specified to be transferred to the respective
provider(s) or facility for which payment for the offered service
is to be directed for each particular aspect of the bundled set as
specified in the respective information record for the offered
service within service offer database 114h), and each sub-portion
is held until an indication is received that the corresponding
service has been performed by the physician that is specified in
service offer database 114h for performing the procedure, the
corresponding product has been received by the user from the
pharmacy that is specified in service offer database 114h, or the
corresponding facility has been used with respect to the primary
service (as described in greater detail below).
[0182] Purchasing service 126 can be configured to, upon processing
the payment for the purchase of the offered service that is being
offered as a primary service in conjunction with a bundled set,
navigate the user interface to a purchase confirmation page and
send an electronic confirmation message to the customer user and
electronic notifications to the each physician that will perform a
service of the bundled set, each pharmacy from which a purchased
product is offered within the bundled set, and the provider user
for the offered service (as specified according to the information
record for the offered service within service offer database 114h),
for example, by way of email utilizing the contact information
specified in the respective account information records for the
customer, each physician, each pharmacy, and the provider for the
offered service. Purchasing service 126 can be also be configured
to generate a respective information record for the completed
purchase with corresponding information within transaction
information database 114k, which initially indicates that the
purchase has not yet been redeemed with respect to the primary
service, each secondary service, each bundled product, and any
facility specified for the purchased offered service. In exemplary
embodiments, for each purchased product included in the bundled set
for which a prescription is required to purchase the product,
purchasing service 126 can be configured to process submission and
verification of a prescription in a manner similar to that
described above for processing payments for offered products that
are being offered through pharmacies registered within server
system 110 for which a prescription is required for the purchase
(for example, by implementing a submission page to provide user
interface controls for allowing a customer or physician user to
submit the required prescription information for purchasing the
offered product) and to update the prescription information
included within the respective information record for the completed
purchase with corresponding information within transaction
information database 114k accordingly.
[0183] Purchasing service 126 can also be configured to, upon
processing the payment for the purchase of the offered service that
is being offered as a primary service in conjunction with a bundled
set, generate a voucher for the customer user within the user
interface for the purchased service that can be utilized by the
customer user to redeem the purchase and thereby receive the
service from the corresponding physician specified for each of the
services of the bundled set and receive the product from the
corresponding pharmacy specified for each of the products of the
bundled set (the providers of marketplace system 100 can have
pre-arranged agreements with providers registered with the system
that the providers will agree to honor such vouchers generated by
purchasing service 126 for purchased services and products). An
example of such a voucher that is generated for a purchase of a
bundled set is illustrated in FIG. 4B. As depicted in the example,
example voucher 400 can be generated to include identifying
information for the customer user 402, identifying and contact
information for each physician specified for a service, each
pharmacy specified for a product, and any facility included in the
offered service 404, a description of each service and product of
the purchased service 406, a confirmation number 408 for the
purchase, which may be generated by purchasing service 126 based on
the unique transaction identifier that is included in the
respective information record for the purchase that is maintained
within transaction information database 114k, and instructions for
redeeming the voucher 410. The confirmation number (or any other
suitable redemption information such as a one or two dimensional
bar code, a QR code, or any other form of machine readable
information) may also be provided in the electronic confirmation
message to the customer user and electronic notifications to each
physician user that will be performing a service, each pharmacy
that will be providing a product, and the provider user for the
offered service sent by purchasing service 126 to the customer
user. The voucher can be presented to the user within the user
interface, for example, as printable and/or machine readable form.
In exemplary embodiments, for each purchased product included in
the bundled set for which a prescription is required to purchase
the product, the redemption information included in the voucher for
receiving the product from the corresponding pharmacy specified for
the product may not become valid until a notification of any
necessary submission and verification of the prescription document
has been received by purchasing service 126.
[0184] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, for facilitating payment
processing for each offered service that is being offered as a
primary service in conjunction with a bundled set of services or
one or more services and one or more products (for which, as
discussed above, a single payment for the bundled set will be
disbursed to different provider for different services and products
in the bundled set), purchasing service 126 and virtual payment
system manager 170 may be configured to initiate and facilitate the
payment processing for each service, any facility use, and any
commission fee included in the bundled set or otherwise involved in
the purchase of in the bundled set in a manner that is generally
similar to the examples described above for processing payment for
each offered service that is not being offered in conjunction with
a bundled set, and to initiate and facilitate the payment
processing for any product included in the bundled set in a manner
that is generally similar to the examples described above for
processing payment for each product that is being offered in
association with a respective information record for an offered
service within service offer database 114h (including with respect
to whether a prescription is required for the purchase of the
product). There are, however, various notable differences between
these examples and the present example, particularly with respect
to additional details that are maintained by virtual payment system
manager 170 for purposes of tracking the facilitation of the
payment processing performed within the virtual payment system for
each service, product, facility use, and commission fee included in
the bundled set or otherwise involved in the purchase of the
bundled set.
[0185] As a first aspect of these differences, the notification of
the purchase information submitted by the customer user that
purchasing service 126 transmits to virtual payment system manager
170 can include an indication that the particular purchase for
which payment processing is to be facilitated within the virtual
payment system is a purchase of a service that is being offered as
a primary service in conjunction with a bundled set; the unique
procedure offer identifier for the offering of the primary service
in conjunction with particular bundled set included in the
respective information record for the offer within service offer
database 114h; for a service that is indicated in the respective
information record for the offer of the bundled set within service
offer database 114h to be a primary service of the bundled set, the
unique procedure identifier for the information record within
available services database 114g for the service, the unique
virtual money account identifier that is associated with the
respective account information record within virtual money account
database 114o for the provider for which payment for the primary
service when purchased through the system is to be directed, and
the payment amount to be transferred to the provider for which
payment for performing the primary service is to be directed; if
the respective information record for the offer of the bundled set
within service offer database 114h includes an indication that the
primary service is to be performed at an outside facility, the
facility fee, and the unique virtual money account identifier that
is associated with the respective account information record within
virtual money account database 114o for the financial account that
is used by the facility for receiving a facility fee as specified
by the compensation information included in the respective
information record for the offer of the bundled set within service
offer database 114h; for any service that is indicated in the
respective information record for the offer of the bundled set to
be a secondary service of the bundled set and is included in the
purchase being made by the customer user, the unique procedure
identifier for the information record within available services
database 114g for the secondary service or, when provided, the
secondary procedure identifier that is included in the respective
information record for the primary service in available services
database 114g to uniquely identify the particular secondary service
in association with the unique procedure identifier for the offered
primary service of a bundled set, the unique virtual money account
identifier that is associated with the respective account
information record within virtual money account database 114o for
the provider for which payment for the secondary service when
purchased through the system as part of the bundled set is to be
directed, and the compensation amount to be transferred to the
provider for which payment for performing the secondary service is
to be directed; and, for any product indicated in the respective
information record for the offer of the bundled set as being
associated with offer for the bundled set and is included in the
purchase being made by the customer user, the unique product
identifier that is used to identify the information record for the
product within available products database 114i or the bundled
product identifier that is included in the information record for
the primary service in the available services database 114g to
uniquely identify the particular product in association with the
unique procedure identifier for the offered primary service of the
bundled set), an indication of whether a prescription is required
to purchase the product, the unique virtual money account
identifier that is associated with the respective account
information record within virtual money account database 114o for
the provider for which payment for the product when purchased
through the system in association with the primary service is to be
directed, and the payment amount to be transferred to the provider
for which payment for purchasing the product is to be directed.
[0186] In response to and according to the information pertaining
to the submitted customer purchase information included in the
notification received from purchasing server 126, virtual payment
system manager 170 can be configured to, for each service, any
facility use, any product, and any commission fee included in the
bundled set or otherwise involved in the purchase of in the bundled
set, create and/or select one or more of virtual fund objects in
the respective account information record for the respective
virtual money account for the customer to use for facilitating the
processing of payment for the service, facility use, product, or
commission fee in a manner that is generally similar to the
corresponding examples described above with respect to facilitation
of payment processing within the virtual payment system.
Particularly for purposes of facilitating payment processing for
each offered service that is being offered as a primary service in
conjunction with a bundled set, upon creating and/or selecting each
virtual fund object corresponding to the payment amount for the
primary service in the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record for the customer user that is
maintained within virtual money account database 114o, virtual
payment system manager 170 can be configured to, when accessing
data store 114 to update the attributes defining each such object,
include an indication that the virtual fund object corresponds to a
primary service of a bundled set, the unique procedure identifier
for the respective information record within available services
database 114g for the service, and an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object are presently allocated
to use as payment for the purchase of the offered bundled set by
the customer within the marketplace system in association with the
unique transaction identifier for the respective information record
for the purchase that is maintained within transaction information
database 114k. Similarly, upon creating and/or selecting each
virtual fund object corresponding to the payment amount for any
secondary service of the bundled set in the container of virtual
fund objects in the respective account information record for the
customer user that is maintained within virtual money account
database 114o, virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured
to, when accessing data store 114 to update the attributes defining
each such object, include an indication that the virtual fund
object corresponds to a secondary service of a bundled set, the
unique procedure identifier for the information record within
available services database 114g for the secondary service or the
secondary procedure identifier that is included in the information
record for the primary service in available services database 114g,
and an indication that the corresponding virtual funds for the
object are presently allocated to use as payment for the purchase
of the offered bundled set by the customer within the marketplace
system in association with the unique transaction identifier for
the respective information record for the purchase that is
maintained within transaction information database 114k.
[0187] Likewise, upon creating and/or selecting each virtual fund
object corresponding to the payment amount for any product
associated with the bundled set in the container of virtual fund
objects in the respective account information record for the
customer user that is maintained within virtual money account
database 114o, virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured
to, when accessing data store 114 to update the attributes defining
each such object, include an indication that the virtual fund
object corresponds to a product of a bundled set, the unique
product identifier that is used to identify the information record
for the product within available products database 114i or the
bundled product identifier that is included in the information
record for the primary service in available services database 114g
to uniquely identify the particular product in association with the
unique procedure identifier for the offered primary service, and an
indication that the corresponding virtual funds for the object are
presently allocated to use as payment for the purchase of the
offered bundled set by the customer within the marketplace system
in association with the unique transaction identifier for the
respective information record for the purchase that is maintained
within transaction information database 114k.
[0188] In addition, upon creating and/or selecting each virtual
fund object corresponding to the facility fee for any use of a
facility for performing the primary service of the bundled set in
the container of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the customer user that is maintained within
virtual money account database 114o, virtual payment system manager
170 can be configured to, when accessing data store 114 to update
the attributes defining each such object, include an indication
that the virtual fund object corresponds to a facility fee for a
bundled set and an indication that the corresponding virtual funds
for the object are presently allocated to use as payment for the
purchase of the offered bundled set by the customer within the
marketplace system in association with the unique transaction
identifier for the respective information record for the purchase
that is maintained within transaction information database 114k.
Finally, upon creating and/or selecting each virtual fund object
corresponding to any commission fee for the bundled set in the
container of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the customer user that is maintained within
virtual money account database 114o, virtual payment system manager
170 can be configured to, when accessing data store 114 to update
the attributes defining each such object, include an indication
that the virtual fund object corresponds to a commission fee for a
bundled set and an indication that the corresponding virtual funds
for the object are presently allocated to use as payment for the
purchase of the offered bundled set by the customer within the
marketplace system in association with the unique transaction
identifier for the respective information record for the purchase
that is maintained within transaction information database
114k.
[0189] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon creating and/or selecting the virtual fund objects to be
used in facilitating the processing of payment for each aspect of
the offered bundled set, performing any necessary splitting of
objects, and updating the information maintained in the respective
account information record for the customer user that is maintained
within virtual money account database 114o as described above
(including performing updates to the total balance value and
available balance value included in the set of general information
within the respective account information record), provide a
notification to purchasing service 126 that these operations for
facilitating payment processing for the purchase of the offered
service within the virtual payment system have been completed.
Accordingly, the result of these operations being performed by the
virtual payment system manager 170 is to effectively place a hold
on an amount of virtual funds presently assigned to the customer in
the respective virtual money account for the customer that
corresponds to the purchase price for the offer of the bundled set
that is being purchased by the customer from the provider that is
offering the bundled set and, more specifically, effectively place
a respective hold, for each of the primary service, any secondary
service, any associated product, any facility use, and any
commission fee associated with the purchase of the offer of the
bundled set by the customer, on an amount of virtual funds in the
respective virtual money account for the customer that corresponds
to the payment amount for service or product, the facility fee, or
the commission fee, as the corresponding virtual funds for each
object that is created and/or selected in the container of virtual
fund objects in the respective account information record for the
virtual money account of the customer user for the purchase will
not be included within the available balance value in the set of
general information within the respective account information
record for the respective virtual money account of the customer
that is dynamically calculated by virtual payment system manager
170.
[0190] The respective hold that is effectively placed on the
corresponding amount of virtual funds in the respective virtual
money account for the customer for each of the primary service, any
secondary service, any associated product, any facility use, and
any commission fee associated with the purchase of the offer of the
bundled set by the customer can be maintained by virtual payment
system manager 170 until either a corresponding cancellation with
respect to the purchase is perform or until sufficient information
is received to trigger the virtual payment system manager to
continue with facilitating processing of the payment for the
corresponding aspect of the transaction for the bundled set.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that, for processing payment for
each associated product included in the bundled set that is being
purchased for which a prescription is not required, virtual payment
system manager 170 can be configured to facilitate the payment
processing for the associated product in a manner that is
substantially similar to the examples described above for
processing payment for each product that is being offered in
association with a respective information record for an offered
service within service offer database 114h for which a prescription
is not required. In other words, virtual payment system manager 170
can be configured to, upon creating and/or selecting the one or
more of virtual fund objects in the respective account information
record for the respective virtual money account for the customer to
use for facilitating the processing of payment for the associated
product for which a prescription is not required, immediately
direct a transfer of each such object from the container of virtual
fund objects in the respective account information record for the
customer user that is maintained within virtual money account
database 114o to the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record within virtual money account
database 114o for the provider to which payment for the associated
product when purchased through the system in association with the
bundled set is to be directed (as indicated by the unique virtual
money account identifier that is associated with the respective
account information record within virtual money account database
114o for the provider as provided in the notification received from
purchasing service). That is, virtual payment system manager 170
may not require any information to be received to trigger the
virtual payment system manager to continue with facilitating
processing of the payment for each associated product included in
the purchase of the offer of the bundled set by the customer for
which a prescription is not required and, therefore, would not
effectively place a respective hold on the amount of virtual funds
in the respective virtual money account for the customer
corresponding to the payment amount for the associated product.
[0191] In exemplary embodiments, with respect to the respective
hold that is effectively placed on the corresponding amount of
virtual funds in the respective virtual money account for the
customer for each other aspect associated with the purchase of the
offer of the bundled set by the customer can be maintained by
virtual payment system manager 170, the information that is deemed
sufficient to trigger such further processing by virtual payment
system manager 170 to release the hold may be, for each of the
primary service and any secondary service included in the bundled
set, confirmation that the purchase of the service has been
redeemed by the customer such that the customer has received the
service from the corresponding physician that is specified as
performing the service in the respective information record for the
offer of the bundled set within service offer database 114h; for
each of any associated product included in the bundled set for
which a prescription is required, confirmation of receipt and any
necessary verification of the prescription document and/or
confirmation that the purchase of the offered product has been
redeemed by customer; for any use of a facility for performing the
primary service of the bundled set, confirmation that the purchase
of the service has been redeemed by the customer such that the
customer has received the primary service from the corresponding
physician that is specified as performing the primary service in
the respective information record for the offer of the bundled set;
and, for any commission fee associated with the purchase of the
offer of the bundled set, confirmation that the purchase of each
other aspect of the bundled set for which redemption by the
customer is required has been redeemed by the customer. Such a
confirmation may be received by virtual payment system manager 170,
for example, in the form of corresponding notifications transmitted
by purchasing service 126 or transaction processing service 136,
which may, for instance, specify that a voucher generated by the
purchasing service for the customer user within the user interface
for the purchase of the bundled set has been utilized by the
customer user to redeem the purchase with respect to a
corresponding service or product included in the bundled set.
[0192] In a manner similar to the corresponding examples previously
above, for purposes of the present example, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to, upon receiving the particular
information that is deemed sufficient to trigger the virtual
payment system manager to continue with facilitating processing of
the payment for any corresponding aspect of the transaction for the
bundled set as described above, identify the respective account
information record maintained within virtual money account database
114o for the virtual money account of the corresponding participant
(for example, a provider, a facility, or the entity that provides
marketplace system) to which payment for the particular aspect of
the bundled set (for example, a service, an associated product, a
facility use, or a commission fee) is to be directed (which may be
based on the corresponding unique virtual money account identifier
provided in the notification from purchasing service 126 for the
corresponding participant) and then proceed to access virtual money
account database 114o via database server 112 to direct a transfer,
via the virtual payment system implemented within server system 110
in a manner similar to examples described above, of each created
and/or selected virtual fund object corresponding to the payment
amount or fee for the particular aspect from the container of
virtual fund objects in the respective account information record
for the virtual money account for the customer to the container of
virtual fund objects in the respective account information record
for the virtual money account for the corresponding provider to
which payment for the particular aspect of the bundled set,
including making suitable corresponding updates to the attributes
for each object that is now located within the respective account
information record for the virtual money account of the
corresponding participant as a result of the operations performed
to effect the transfer.
[0193] Accordingly, while the customer is able to make a prepaid
purchase of a bundled set of services or one or more services and
one or more products as a single item having a specified total
purchase price in a single payment transaction with server system
110 by submitting customer purchase information specifying a
funding source to use for purchasing the offered bundled set as
described above, through the implementation of the virtual payment
system within server system 110 as described in the present
example, a corresponding amount of virtual funds for a respective
sub-portion of the total purchase price for the offered bundled set
is maintained separately within a respective virtual money account
for the customer for each of the primary service, any secondary
service, any associated product, any facility specified for the
performing the primary service, and any commission fee associated
with the purchase of the bundled set, and, for each of these
aspects associated with the purchase of the bundled set, the
corresponding amount of virtual funds for the respective
sub-portion of the total purchase price for that aspect can be held
in the respective virtual money account for the customer until an
indication is received that a corresponding service has been
performed by the physician that is specified in service offer
database 114h for performing the procedure, a corresponding product
has been delivered to the user from the pharmacy that is specified
in service offer database 114h, a corresponding facility has been
used with respect to the primary service, or, in the case of a
commission fee, that all services and products included in the
bundled set have been rendered or delivered, thereby facilitating a
tiered or staged disbursement of the corresponding amounts of
virtual funds for the respective sub-portions of the total purchase
price for the different aspects of the purchase of the offered
bundled set over time from the respective virtual money account for
the customer to the respective virtual money accounts for the
different corresponding participants (for example, a provider, a
facility, or the entity that provides marketplace system) to which
payment for the different aspects of the bundled set are specified
to be directed. As a result, the customer can be assured that the
payment for each particular aspect of the purchase of the offered
bundled will not be released from the respective virtual money
account for the customer and made available for disbursement to the
participant for which the payment amount or fee for that particular
aspect is specified to be directed until the corresponding
conditions of the transaction for that particular aspect have been
satisfactorily met, while each participant for which a payment
amount or fee for the purchase of the offered bundled set is to be
directed can also be assured that it will be able to receive the
specified payment for the particular aspect of the bundled set for
which the participant is identified as being the party to which the
payment for that aspect is to be directed upon the corresponding
conditions of the transaction for that particular aspect being
satisfactorily met.
[0194] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon effecting the transfers of each created and/or selected
virtual fund object for each different aspect of the purchase of
the bundled set in the present example as described above, perform
corresponding updates to the total balance values and available
balance values included in the sets of general information within
the respective account information records for the respective
virtual money accounts of the customer and the participant to which
payment for the particular aspect of the purchase is to be directed
as needed to appropriately to reflect the transfer(s) of the
virtual fund object(s), perform corresponding updates to the set of
accounting details included in the sets of general information
within the respective account information records for the
respective virtual money accounts as needed to reflect the
operations performed by virtual payment system manager 170 to
effect the transfer(s) of virtual funds corresponding to the
payment for the particular aspect of the purchase of the offered
bundled set within the marketplace system via the virtual payment
system implemented within server system 110, and provide a
notification to purchasing service 126 of completion of the
operations that are performed by virtual payment system manager 170
for facilitating the payment for the particular aspect of the
purchase within the marketplace system.
[0195] Referring again to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in
FIG. 2, customer portal 120 may also be configured to, upon a user
having a customer account registered with server system 110 logging
into his or her customer account (for example, by accessing a login
user interface element or a login screen within the user interface
implemented by application server 116 to provide the user name and
password associated with the account), provide a user interface
element within the user interface that is accessible by the user to
access various account management functions through a profile
management interface provided by account management service 122.
For example, such a profile management interface may be implemented
to allow the customer user to manage personal information, view a
history of purchase transactions performed by the user within
server system 110 (and relevant information for each purchase
including voucher redemption status), submit any required
prescriptions for purchases of offered products that have been
made, manage and review any continuing prescriptions, and print
vouchers generated for services and products purchased and
otherwise access voucher redemption information.
[0196] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, the various account
management functions that are accessible by a logged-in customer
user through the profile management interface provided by account
management service 122 can also include functions for allowing the
customer user to manage and view information pertaining to the
respective virtual money account for the customer within the
virtual payment system, including the virtual funds that are
created by virtual payment system manager 170 and utilized for
transactions that are conducted within marketplace system in
relation to purchases of services and products being offered by
providers within the system, manage and facilitate the creation and
disbursement of virtual funds within the respective virtual money
account for the customer with respect to one or more external
financial accounts that are utilized by the customer user for such
purposes, and perform various other functions involving the virtual
funds within the respective virtual money account for the customer
with respect to transactions that are conducted within marketplace
system in relation to purchases of services and products being
offered by providers within the system such as, for example,
refunds for, cancellations of, and other modifications with respect
to transactions and purchases that are conducted by the customer
user within marketplace system. Generally, account management
service 122 can be configured to, for implementing these functions,
interact and communicate with virtual payment system manager 170 to
direct the virtual payment system manager to access virtual money
account database 114o via database server 112 to retrieve,
maintain, and perform modifications to the respective information
account record that is maintained for the virtual money account for
the customer user as necessary for the particular functions being
performed in response to inputs received from the customer user
through the profile management interface. In the present exemplary
embodiment, the functions for allowing the customer user to manage
and view information pertaining to the respective virtual money
account for the customer within the virtual payment system can be
implemented by account management service 122 by providing user
interface elements within the profile management interface that are
accessible by the customer to, for example, be presented with
details such as the total balance value that is dynamically
calculated by virtual payment system manager 170 for all virtual
fund objects included in the container of the respective account
information record for the virtual money account of the customer,
the available balance value that is dynamically calculated by
virtual payment system manager 170 for all virtual fund objects
included in the container of the respective account information
record for which there is not an indication that the corresponding
virtual funds for the object are presently allocated to use as
payment for a purchased service or product, the allocated balance
value that is dynamically calculated by virtual payment system
manager 170 for all virtual fund objects included in the container
of the respective account information record for which there is an
indication that the corresponding virtual funds for the object are
presently allocated to use as payment for a purchased service, a
tabular representation of information regarding the virtual funds
assigned to the virtual money account for the customer with
respective entries for the virtual fund objects included in the
container of the respective account information record and
information about each entry generated based of the plurality of
attributes that define the virtual fund object for the entry and
accounting details pertaining to transactions conducted within the
virtual payment system with respect to the object as recorded by
virtual payment system manager 170 in the set of general
information in the respective account information record (such as,
for instance, the value of the corresponding virtual funds for the
object, the original funding source based on which the object was
created, and whether the corresponding virtual funds for the object
are presently available to the customer or allocated to use as
payment for an offered service or product purchased within the
marketplace system by the participant along with information
pertaining to transactions for which the object has been or is now
presently allocated), and a set of notifications regarding
transactions conducted within the virtual payment system with
respect to the virtual funds assigned to the virtual money account
for the customer (such as redemptions that have been performed with
respect to virtual funds that had been allocated within the virtual
money account for the customer to use as payment for a purchased
service that has been rendered or a purchased product that has been
delivered, expirations of any virtual funds were created and
conveyed to the virtual money account for the customer based on
promotional credits or discounts, and other important updates
regarding the virtual money account for the customer). In exemplary
embodiments, account management service 122 can also be configured
to generate periodic reports of all transactions conducted within
the virtual payment system with respect to the virtual funds
assigned to the virtual money account for the customer for a
particular period along with other relevant details pertaining the
virtual money account for the customer, such corresponding balance
values calculated for virtual fund objects included in the
container of the respective account information record for the
virtual money account of the customer, and send the generated
reports to the customer by utilizing the contact information
specified in the respective account information record for the
customer within customer profile database 114a (for instance,
sending the generated report as an electronic document to the
customer by way of email utilizing an email address specified for
the customer within the contact information).
[0197] In exemplary embodiments, the function for allowing the
customer user to facilitate the creation of virtual funds within
the respective virtual money account for the customer through an
external financial account can be implemented by account management
service 122 by providing user interface elements within the profile
management interface that are accessible by the customer to submit
a funding request for a transfer of actual funds from a specified
external financial account into the virtual payment system to
thereby acquire or purchase an amount of virtual funds
corresponding to the requested amount of actual funds that will be
assigned to the respective virtual money account for the customer
and thereby available for the customer to use when making purchases
of services and products that are offered by providers registered
with server system 110 via the virtual payment system. More
specifically, such a funding request submitted by the customer via
suitable user interface controls implanted within the profile
management interface can specify an amount of actual funds to use
for funding the respective virtual money account for the customer
and, as the funding source from which the specified amount of
actual funds are to be acquired, an external account maintained for
the user (for instance, an instruction to use the billing
information included within the respective account information
record established for the user within customer profile database
114a or a submission of alternative payment information for a
different external account maintained by or for the user), an
account maintained for another person or entity that the user is
authorized to utilize for this purpose, or an entity that has
arranged to be invoiced and provide reimbursement for purchases
made by the user within marketplace system 100.
[0198] Account management service 122 can be configured to, in
reply to such a funding request being submitted by a customer and
suitable authorization for the corresponding funding information
being provided by the customer, initiate processing of the funding
request by utilizing the information specified by the customer to
issue a request for the amount of actual funds authorized by the
customer to the funding source specified by the user in the funding
request. For example, for situations in which the funding request
specifies an entity that has agreed to be invoiced and provide
reimbursement for purchases made by the customer within marketplace
system 100 as the funding source, account management service 122
may issue the request in the form of an invoice that is generated
to be submitted to the funding source and, upon reimbursement for
the invoiced amount being received from the specified funding
source (or upon having sufficient confirmation that such a
reimbursement will be received from the funding source), credit or
otherwise direct a disbursement of the specified amount of actual
funds to be made to the financial account maintained for the entity
that provides the marketplace system. In another example, for
situations in which the funding request specifies an account
maintained for the user or an account maintained for another person
or entity that the user is authorized to utilize for this purpose,
account management service 122 may be configured to access a
corresponding third-party payment servicing system provided by or
on behalf of an account servicer for the specified funding source
and issue a request directing the payment servicing system to
transfer the amount of actual funds authorized by the customer from
a corresponding financial account and credit or otherwise direct a
disbursement of the specified amount of actual funds to be made to
the financial account maintained for the entity that provides the
marketplace system.
[0199] Account management service 122 can also be configured to, in
reply to such a funding request being submitted by a customer and
suitable authorization for the corresponding funding information
being provided by the customer, provide a notification of the
funding request to virtual payment system manager 170 (along with
any other information that would be needed by the virtual payment
system manager to create corresponding virtual funds within the
virtual payment system such as, for instance, the unique virtual
money account identifier that is associated with the respective
account information record for the customer within virtual money
account database 114o). Upon receiving such a notification from
account management service 122, virtual payment system manager 170
then operates to access, via database server 112, the container of
virtual fund objects in the respective account information record
for the virtual money account of the customer that is being
maintained within virtual money account database 114o to
instantiate a new virtual fund object corresponding to the amount
of actual funds specified in the request to be initially assigned
to the customer.
[0200] More specifically, virtual payment system manager 170 can
generate a unique identifier for the new virtual fund object being
created and define the attributes of the object to include an
indication of the value of the corresponding virtual funds (that
is, a value of virtual funds corresponding to amount of actual
funds specified in the funding request), the unique identifier
generated for the object, an indication that the original funding
source based on which the object was created is the funding source
that was specified by the customer in the funding request, a
creation timestamp for the object, and an indication that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object are not presently
allocated to use as payment for an offered service or product
purchased within the marketplace system by the participant (and,
thus, available to the customer to use for any such purchases).
Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured to, upon
creating the new virtual fund object within the respective account
information record for the virtual money account for the customer
user within virtual money account database 114o, update the total
balance and available balance values included in the set of general
information within the respective account information record for
the virtual money account to reflect the value of the newly-created
virtual fund object, update the set of accounting details
pertaining to transactions conducted within the virtual payment
system with respect to the container of virtual fund objects
included in the respective account information record for the
virtual money account for the customer user to reflect the creation
of the new virtual fund object, and provide a notification to
account management service 122 of completion of the operations
performed to create the new virtual fund object within the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the customer.
[0201] In this regard, because account management service 122 may,
in some implementations, operate to provide a notification of a
funding request submitted by a customer user to virtual payment
system manager 170 prior to or in conjunction with issuing a
request for the amount of actual funds authorized by the customer
to the funding source specified by the user in the funding request,
the corresponding virtual funds that the virtual payment system
manager operates to create within the respective virtual money
account for the customer in response to the notification can be
cleared and available for the customer to utilize for making
purchases of services and products being offered by providers
within the marketplace system essentially immediately. In these
implementations, account management service 122 can also be
configured to, if a corresponding financial account that is
specified as the funding source is not able to satisfy the request
issued for the amount of actual funds authorized by the customer or
if reimbursement is not received from an entity that has agreed to
be invoiced and provide reimbursement for purchases made by the
customer within marketplace system 100 that specified as the
funding source, provide a notification of such to virtual money
payment manager 170, which can be implemented to, in response to
receiving such a notification, access virtual money account
database 114o via database server 112, reverse or undue the
operations that were performed to instantiate the new virtual fund
object corresponding to the amount of actual funds specified in the
request within the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
of the customer.
[0202] In exemplary embodiments, the function for allowing the
customer user to request a disbursal of virtual funds assigned to
the respective virtual money account for the customer to one or
more external financial accounts that are utilized by the customer
user for such purposes can be implemented by account management
service 122 by providing user interface elements within the tabular
representation of information regarding the virtual funds assigned
to the virtual money account for the customer that can be presented
within the profile management interface that are accessible by the
customer to submit a selection of one or more corresponding entries
included in the tabular representation for virtual fund objects
included in the container of the respective account information
record for performing a disbursal of an amount of real funds
corresponding the aggregate sum of the values of the virtual funds
for virtual fund objects that correspond to the one or more entries
selected by the customer within the tabular representation. In this
regard, the particular entries within the tabular representation
that will accessible by the customer for selecting to include for
such a disbursal request via the user interface elements
implemented within the profile management interface for this
purpose will be those for which the attributes defining the
corresponding virtual fund objects include both an indication that
the corresponding virtual funds for the object are not allocated to
use as payment for an offered service or product purchased within
the marketplace system by the customer and an indication that the
original funding source based on which the object was created is a
funding source that is neither a credit that was conveyed by the
providers of marketplace system 100 nor a discount made available
by a provider registered with the system with respect to a purchase
by the customer of a service or product offered by the provider by
a customer user registered with the system (as such credits and
discounts were not originally created within the virtual payment
system based on a transfer of actual funds from an external
account).
[0203] Account management service 122 can also be configured to, in
reply to such a disbursal request being submitted by a customer for
a set of selected entries in the tabular representation and
suitable authorization information being provided by the customer,
provide a notification of the disbursal request to virtual payment
system manager 170 along with any other information that would be
needed by the virtual payment system manager to effect the
disbursal of corresponding virtual funds from the virtual money
account for the customer within the virtual payment system such as,
for instance, the unique virtual money account identifier that is
associated with the respective account information record for the
customer within virtual money account database 114o and the unique
identifier that was generated by the virtual payment system manager
for each virtual fund object within the respective account
information record for the virtual money account for the customer
that corresponds to an entry in the tabular representation selected
by the customer for the disbursal request.
[0204] Upon receiving such a notification from account management
service 122, virtual payment system manager 170 then operates to
access, via database server 112, the container of virtual fund
objects in the respective account information record for the
virtual money account of the customer that is being maintained
within virtual money account database 114o to delete the virtual
fund object corresponding to each entry selected by the customer
for the disbursal request from the respective account information
records for the virtual money account for the customer. Virtual
payment system manager 170 can also be configured to, upon deleting
the virtual fund objects corresponding to the selections specified
by the customer in the disbursal request, update the total balance
and available balance values included in the set of general
information within the respective account information record for
the virtual money account to reflect a deduction in each of these
balance values that corresponds to the aggregate sum of the values
of the virtual funds for virtual fund objects that have been
deleted, update the set of accounting details pertaining to
transactions conducted within the virtual payment system with
respect to the container of virtual fund objects included in the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the customer user to reflect each deletion of a virtual fund
object, and provide a notification to account management service
122 of completion of the operations performed to effect the
disbursal of virtual funds within the respective account
information record for the virtual money account for the customer.
Such a notification may include an indication of the value of the
corresponding virtual funds and an indication of the original
funding source for each object deleted by virtual payment system
manager 170 in accordance with the disbursal request.
[0205] Account management service 122 can be configured to, in
reply to receiving such a notification from virtual payment system
manager 170 of completion of the operations performed to effect the
disbursal of virtual funds within the virtual payment system for
the disbursal request submitted by the customer, effect a transfer
or otherwise direct a disbursement, for each virtual fund object
deleted by virtual payment system manager 170 in accordance with
the disbursal request, of an amount of actual funds corresponding
to the value of the corresponding virtual funds for the object from
the financial account maintained by the providers of marketplace
system 100 in association with the virtual payment system to the
original funding source based on which the deleted object had been
created. For example, where the attributes defining a virtual fund
object deleted in accordance with the disbursal request submitted
by the customer indicated the funding source based on which the
object had been created to be an account maintained for the user or
an account maintained for another person or entity that the user is
authorized to utilize for this purpose (such as a bank account or
other depository institution from which an ACH payment or the like
was made, credit or debit card information, or other electronic
payment information such as information for utilizing an account
with an online payment service such as PayPal, an online wallet
provider such as Google Wallet, or any another entity facilitating
payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet),
account management service 122 can operate to access a
corresponding third-party payment servicing system provided by or
on behalf of an account servicer for the indicated funding source
for the deleted object and issue a request directing the payment
servicing system to effect a transfer of an amount of actual funds
corresponding to the value of the corresponding virtual funds for
the object from the financial account maintained for the entity
that provides marketplace system 100 in association with the
virtual payment system to the account specified as the indicated
funding source based on which the deleted object had been created.
As another example, where the attributes defining a virtual fund
object deleted in accordance with the disbursal request submitted
by the customer indicated the funding source based on which the
object had been created to be cash or an entity that has agreed to
be invoiced and provide reimbursement for purchases made by the
customer within marketplace system 100, account management service
122 can operate to access a corresponding third-party payment
servicing system provided for or on behalf of the financial account
maintained for the entity that provides the marketplace system in
association with the virtual payment system and issue a request
directing the payment servicing system to deduct an amount of
actual funds corresponding to the value of the corresponding
virtual funds for the object from the financial account maintained
for the entity, issue a check in this amount of actual funds to the
customer or entity that has agreed to be invoiced and provide
reimbursement for purchases made by the customer (as specified by
corresponding information included in the respective account
information record for the customer that is maintained within
customer profile database 114a), and mail the check to the customer
or entity that has agreed to be invoiced and provide reimbursement
for purchases made by the customer (as also specified by
corresponding information included in the respective account
information record for the customer that is maintained within
customer profile database 114a). As yet another example, account
management service 122 can operate to access a corresponding
third-party payment servicing system provided for or on behalf of
an account servicer for the indicated funding source for the
deleted object and issue a request directing the payment servicing
system to effect a transfer of an amount of actual funds
corresponding to the value of the corresponding virtual funds for
the object from the financial account maintained for the entity
that provides marketplace system 100 in association with the
virtual payment system to a financial account specified in the
billing information included within the respective account
information record established for the user within customer profile
database 114a. This final example may be performed by account
management service 122, for instance, as a default disbursal
operation or in response to unsuccessful attempt to effect a
transfer or otherwise direct a disbursement of an amount of actual
funds corresponding to the value of the corresponding virtual funds
for the object to the actual original funding source based on which
the deleted object had been created.
[0206] In exemplary embodiments, account management service 122 can
also implement functionality for allowing customer users registered
with server system 110 to submit cancellation requests for
purchases of services and products offered within marketplace
system 100 by providers registered with server system 110 for which
the purchases of the offered services and products by the customer
users have not yet been redeemed and directing virtual payment
system manager 170 to process the cancellations for such unredeemed
purchases of the offered services and products within the virtual
payment system in accordance with the cancellation requests. More
specifically, the function for allowing a customer user to request
a cancellation of a purchase of a service or product by the
customer within the marketplace system that has yet to be redeemed
can be implemented by account management service 122 within the
profile management interface that, as described above, allows
customer users to view a history of transactions for purchases
performed by the user within server system 110 that includes
voucher redemption status for each purchase. In this regard, the
profile management interface can be implemented to provide, for
each of the listed purchases for which the voucher redemption
status for any service or product included in the purchase
indicates that the purchase of the service or product has not been
performed, a user interface element in association with each
service or product included in the purchase for which the voucher
redemption status indicates the service or product has not been
redeemed that is accessible by the customer user to submit a
cancellation request for the purchase with respect to the
unredeemed service or product via the user interface.
[0207] Account management service 122 can also be configured to, in
reply to such a cancellation request being submitted by a customer
for cancellation of a purchase of a service or product made by the
customer within the marketplace system that has yet to be redeemed,
provide a notification of the cancellation request to virtual
payment system manager 170 along with any other information that
would be needed by the virtual payment system manager to effect the
cancellation within the virtual money account for the customer
within the virtual payment system such as, for instance, the unique
virtual money account identifier that is associated with the
respective account information record for the customer within
virtual money account database 114o, the unique transaction
identifier for the respective information record for the purchase
that is generated by purchasing service 126 and maintained within
transaction information database 114k, and, if the unredeemed
service or product for which the customer has submitted the
cancellation request is an aspect of a purchase for a bundled set
of services or one or more services and one or more products,
additional information pertaining to the bundled set as will be
described in greater detail below.
[0208] For situations in which the unredeemed service or product
for which the customer has submitted the cancellation request is
not an aspect of a purchase for a bundled set, virtual payment
system manager 170 can be configured to, upon receiving such a
notification from account management service 122, access, via
database server 112, the container of virtual fund objects in the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
of the customer that is being maintained within virtual money
account database 114o to identify, using the information included
in the notification, each virtual fund object corresponding to the
payment amount for the unredeemed service or product and any
virtual fund object corresponding to a commission fee applied for
the purchase of the unredeemed service or product within the
container of virtual fund objects. For each such virtual fund
object identified within the container of virtual fund objects in
the respective account information record for the customer user
(other than any identified objects for which the attributes
defining the object include an indication that the original funding
source based on which the object was created is a discount that was
applied with respect to the purchase of the unredeemed service or
product by the customer), virtual payment system manager 170 can
then operate to modify the attributes defining the object to
indicate that the corresponding virtual funds for the object are
not presently allocated to use as payment for the purchase of any
offered service or product by the customer within the marketplace
system and remove any indication of the unique transaction
identifier for the respective information record for the purchase
that is maintained within transaction information database 114k.
For each such identified object for which the attributes defining
the object include an indication that the original funding source
based on which the object was created is a discount that was
applied with respect to the purchase of the unredeemed service or
product by the customer and made available by the provider that is
offering the unredeemed service or product for purchase via
marketplace system 100, virtual payment system manager 170 can
operate to simply delete the identified objects that correspond to
the applied discount from the respective account information record
for the virtual money account for the customer.
[0209] Accordingly, the result of these operations being performed
by the virtual payment system manager 170 is to effectively release
the hold on the virtual funds presently assigned to the customer in
the respective virtual money account for the customer that
correspond to the purchase of the offered service or product for
which the cancellation request was submitted such that the
corresponding virtual funds for each identified object (other than
any identified objects that correspond to an applied discount) will
be included within the available balance value in the set of
general information within the respective account information
record for the respective virtual money account of the customer
that is dynamically calculated by virtual payment system manager
170.
[0210] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon effecting the cancellation request with respect to each
identified virtual fund object, perform corresponding updates to
the available balance value and, where necessary, the total balance
value included in the set of general information within the
respective account information record for the respective virtual
money account of the customer, perform corresponding updates to the
set of accounting details included in the set of general
information within the respective account information record as
needed to reflect the operations performed by the virtual payment
system manager to effect the cancellation request with respect to
each identified object, and provide a notification to account
management service 122 of completion of the operations that are
performed by the virtual payment system manager for effecting
cancellation request with respect to each identified object (which
may further include, if the operations performed by the virtual
payment system manager to effect the cancellation request included
deleting any object corresponding to a discount that was applied
for the customer with respect to the cancelled purchase of the
unredeemed service or product, information describing the applied
discount). In response to receiving the completion notification
from virtual payment system manager 170, account management service
122 can access, via database server 112, the respective information
record for the purchase that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k to perform updates to the information
included in the respective information record for the purchase to
reflect the cancellation being performed for the unredeemed service
or product; if information describing an applied discount is
included in the notification, access data store 114 via database
server 112 to update the corresponding information record within
which the applied discount is described to indicate that the coupon
code is now valid for use (if necessary according to the terms of
the particular discount); and, in conjunction with account
management service 131, where appropriate, transmit notifications
of the cancellation of the unredeemed service or product to any
providers registered with server system 110 for which the
cancellation is relevant.
[0211] For situations in which the unredeemed service or product
for which the customer has submitted the cancellation request is an
aspect of a purchase for a bundled set, the information included in
the notification of the cancellation request provided by account
management service 122 to virtual payment system manager 170 for
effecting the cancellation within the virtual money account for the
customer within the virtual payment system can further include, if
the cancellation request is for an unredeemed primary service of
the purchased bundled set, an indication that the cancellation
corresponds to the primary service of a bundled set, the unique
procedure identifier for the respective information record within
available services database 114g for the primary service, and
indication of whether the use of a facility is specified for
performing the primary service of the bundled set; if the
cancellation request is for an unredeemed secondary service of the
purchased bundled set, an indication that the cancellation
corresponds to a secondary service of a bundled set and the unique
procedure identifier for the information record within available
services database 114g for the secondary service or the secondary
procedure identifier that is included in the information record for
the primary service in available services database 114g; and, if
the cancellation request is for an unredeemed product associated
with the purchased bundled set, an indication that the cancellation
corresponds to a product associated with the purchased bundled set
and the unique product identifier that is used to identify the
information record for the product within available products
database 114i or the bundled product identifier that is included in
the information record for the primary service in available
services database 114g to uniquely identify the particular product
in association with the unique procedure identifier for the offered
primary service. In exemplary embodiments, the information included
in the notification of the cancellation request provided by account
management service 122 to virtual payment system manager 170 may
further include information pertaining to whether the cancellation
of the unredeemed aspect of the purchased bundled set will also
involve a corresponding cancellation of (or modification to) any
commission fee that was applied for the purchase of the bundled
set.
[0212] Virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured to,
upon receiving such a notification from account management service
122, access, via database server 112, the container of virtual fund
objects in the respective account information record for the
virtual money account of the customer that is being maintained
within virtual money account database 114o to identify, using the
information included in the notification, each virtual fund object
corresponding to the payment amount for the unredeemed service or
product of the purchased bundled set selected for cancellation, any
virtual fund object corresponding to a facility fee for the
purchased bundled set if the cancellation request corresponds to a
primary service of a purchased bundled set, and, if the
notification specifies that the cancellation for the unredeemed
service or product of the purchased bundled set involves a
corresponding cancellation of an applied commission fee for the
purchase of the bundled set, any virtual fund object corresponding
to a commission fee applied for the purchase of the bundled set
within the container of virtual fund objects. For each such virtual
fund object identified within the container of virtual fund objects
in the respective account information record for the customer user
(other than any identified objects for which the attributes
defining the object include an indication that the original funding
source based on which the object was created is a discount that was
applied with respect to the purchase of the bundled set by the
customer), virtual payment system manager 170 can then operate to
modify the attributes defining the object to indicate that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object are not presently
allocated to use as payment for the purchase of any offered service
or product by the customer within the marketplace system and remove
any indication of the unique transaction identifier for the
respective information record for the purchase that is maintained
within transaction information database 114k. For each such
identified object for which the attributes defining the object
include an indication that the original funding source based on
which the object was created is a discount that was applied with
respect to the purchase of the bundled set by the customer and made
available by the provider that is offering the bundled set for
purchase via marketplace system 100, virtual payment system manager
170 can operate to simply delete the identified objects that
correspond to the applied discount from the respective account
information record for the virtual money account for the
customer.
[0213] Accordingly, the result of these operations being performed
by the virtual payment system manager 170 is to effectively release
the hold on the virtual funds presently assigned to the customer in
the respective virtual money account for the customer that
correspond to the unredeemed service or product of the purchased
bundled set for which the cancellation request was submitted such
that the corresponding virtual funds for each identified object
(other than any identified objects that correspond to an applied
discount) will be included within the available balance value in
the set of general information within the respective account
information record for the respective virtual money account of the
customer that is dynamically calculated by virtual payment system
manager 170, while each object within the container of virtual fund
objects in the respective account information record for the
virtual money account of the customer that corresponds to any other
unredeemed service or product of the purchased bundled set for
which the cancellation request was not submitted will continue to
include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds for each
object presently allocated to use as payment for the purchase of
that other unredeemed service or product of the bundled set by the
customer within the marketplace system such that the effective hold
placed on the corresponding virtual funds for that other unredeemed
service or product will remain in place. Virtual payment system
manager 170 can also be configured to, if the notification from
account management service 122 specifies that the cancellation for
the unredeemed service or product of the purchased bundled set
involves, rather than a corresponding cancellation, a specified
modification of an applied commission fee for the purchase of the
bundled set, access, via database server 112, the container of
virtual fund objects in the respective account information record
for the virtual money account of the customer that is being
maintained within virtual money account database 114o to identify
any virtual fund object corresponding to a commission fee applied
for the purchase of the bundled set within the container of virtual
fund objects and perform any suitable operations necessary to
reflect the specified modification of the applied commission fee
within the respective virtual money account for the customer (which
may involve, for example, modifying the attributes defining only a
subset of the objects in the container of virtual fund objects in
the respective account information record for the virtual money
account of the customer that are identified as corresponding to the
applied commission fee and/or performing a splitting operation for
one of the objects identified as corresponding to the applied
commission fee).
[0214] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon effecting the cancellation request with respect to each
identified virtual fund object for the specified unredeemed service
or product of the purchased bundled set as described above, perform
corresponding updates to the available balance value and, where
necessary, the total balance value included in the set of general
information within the respective account information record for
the respective virtual money account of the customer, perform
corresponding updates to the set of accounting details included in
the set of general information within the respective account
information record as needed to reflect the operations performed by
the virtual payment system manager to effect the cancellation
request with respect to each identified object, and provide a
notification to account management service 122 of completion of the
operations that are performed by the virtual payment system manager
for effecting cancellation request with respect to each identified
object (which may further include, if the operations performed by
the virtual payment system manager to effect the cancellation
request included deleting any object corresponding to a discount
that was applied for the customer with respect to the cancelled
purchase of the unredeemed service or product, information
describing the applied discount).
[0215] In response to receiving the completion notification from
virtual payment system manager 170, account management service 122
can access, via database server 112, the respective information
record for the purchase that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k to perform updates to the information
included in the respective information record for the purchase to
reflect the cancellation being performed for the unredeemed service
or product; if information describing an applied discount is
included in the notification, access data store 114 via database
server 112 to update the corresponding information record within
which the applied discount is described to indicate that the coupon
code is now valid for use (if necessary according to the terms of
the particular discount); and, in conjunction with account
management service 131, where appropriate, transmit notifications
of the cancellation of the unredeemed service or product to any
providers registered with server system 110 for which the
cancellation is relevant.
[0216] For situations in which an unredeemed service for which the
customer has submitted the cancellation request is not simply an
aspect of but, rather, an entire purchased bundled set of services
or one or more services and one or more products for which the
purchase has not been redeemed with respect to any services and
products included in the bundled have been redeemed, the
information included in the notification of the cancellation
request provided by account management service 122 to virtual
payment system manager 170 for effecting the cancellation within
the virtual money account for the customer within the virtual
payment system can simply further include, in conjunction with the
unique transaction identifier for the respective information record
for the purchase that is maintained within transaction information
database 114k, an indication that the cancellation corresponds to
all aspects of the bundled set. Virtual payment system manager 170
can be configured to, upon receiving such a notification from
account management service 122, access, via database server 112,
the container of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the virtual money account of the customer
that is being maintained within virtual money account database 114o
to identify, using the information included in the notification,
each virtual fund object corresponding to the each unredeemed
aspect of the purchased bundled set selected for cancellation,
modify the attributes defining each such object identified (other
than any identified objects for which the attributes defining the
object include an indication that the original funding source based
on which the object was created is a discount that was applied with
respect to the purchase of the bundled set by the customer) to
indicate that the corresponding virtual funds for the object are
not presently allocated to use as payment for the purchase of any
offered service or product by the customer within the marketplace
system and remove any indication of the unique transaction
identifier for the respective information record for the purchase
of the bundled that is maintained within transaction information
database 114k, and simply delete any identified objects
corresponding to a discount that was applied with respect to the
purchase of the bundled set by the customer from the respective
account information record for the virtual money account for the
customer.
[0217] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon effecting the cancellation request with respect to each
identified virtual fund object for the purchased bundled set as
described above, perform corresponding updates to the available
balance value and, where necessary, the total balance value
included in the set of general information within the respective
account information record for the respective virtual money account
of the customer, perform corresponding updates to the set of
accounting details included in the set of general information
within the respective account information record as needed to
reflect the operations performed by the virtual payment system
manager to effect the cancellation request with respect to each
identified object, and provide a notification to account management
service 122 of completion of the operations that are performed by
the virtual payment system manager for effecting cancellation
request with respect to each identified object. In response to
receiving the completion notification from virtual payment system
manager 170, account management service 122 can access, via
database server 112, the respective information record for the
purchase of the bundled set that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k to perform updates to the information
included in the respective information record for the purchase to
reflect the cancellation being performed for the purchase of the
bundled set; if information describing an applied discount is
included in the notification, access data store 114 via database
server 112 to update the corresponding information record within
which the applied discount is described to indicate that the coupon
code is now valid for use if necessary according to the terms of
the particular discount; and, in conjunction with account
management service 131, where appropriate, transmit notifications
of the cancellation of the unredeemed service or product to any
providers registered with server system 110 for which the
cancellation is relevant.
[0218] In exemplary embodiments, account management service 122 can
also implement functionality for allowing customer users registered
with server system 110 to submit refund requests for purchases of
services and products offered within marketplace system 100 by
providers registered with server system 110 for which the purchases
of the offered services and products by the customer users have
already been redeemed and directing virtual payment system manager
170 to process the refunds for such redeemed purchases of the
offered services and products within the virtual payment system in
accordance with the refund requests. In general, application server
116 may be configured to enable the processing of refund requests
that is performed by components of the applicable server to be
available for each purchase of a service or product offered within
marketplace system 100 by a customer registered with server system
110 for which a notification has been received that processing of a
refund for the purchase has been suitably approved (which may be,
for instance, an approval for the refund from the provider that is
offering the purchased service or product for sale within the
marketplace system). The operation of configuring the relevant
components of application server 116 to enable the processing of a
refund request for which suitable approval has been provided may
be, for example, performed by a back-end administrator of server
system 110 or automatically by the application server in response
to receiving a notification submitted as input by a back-end
administrator of the server system that suitable approval for
processing of a refund for a purchase of a service or product
offered within the marketplace system has been received.
[0219] More specifically, the function for allowing a customer user
to request a refund for a purchase of a service or product by the
customer within the marketplace system that has been redeemed can
be implemented by account management service 122 within the profile
management interface that, as described above, allows customer
users to view a history of transactions for purchases performed by
the user within server system 110 that includes a voucher
redemption status for each purchase. In this regard, the profile
management interface can be implemented to provide, for each of the
listed purchases for which the voucher redemption status for any
service or product included in the purchase indicates that the
purchase of the service or product has been performed and for which
suitable approval for the processing of a refund request has been
provided, a user interface element in association with each service
or product included in the purchase for which the voucher
redemption status indicates the service or product has been
redeemed and for which suitable approval for the processing of a
refund request has been provided that is accessible by the customer
user to submit a refund request for the purchase with respect to
the redeemed service or product via the user interface.
[0220] Account management service 122 can also be configured to, in
reply to such a refund request being submitted by a customer for
refund of a purchase of a service or product made by the customer
within the marketplace system that has been redeemed, provide a
notification of the refund request to virtual payment system
manager 170 along with any other information that would be needed
by the virtual payment system manager to effect the refund within
the virtual payment system such as, for instance, the unique
virtual money account identifiers that are associated with the
respective account information records within virtual money account
database 114o for the customer and the provider for which payment
for rendering the service or delivering the product is specified to
be directed in the respective information record for the offer of
the purchased service or product within service offer database
114h, the unique transaction identifier for the respective
information record for the purchase that is generated by purchasing
service 126 and maintained within transaction information database
114k, and, if the redeemed service or product for which the
customer has submitted the refund request is an aspect of a
purchase for a bundled set of services or one or more services and
one or more products, additional information pertaining to the
bundled set. Virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured
to, upon receiving such a notification from account management
service 122, review the set of accounting details pertaining to
transactions conducted within the virtual payment system with
respect to the container of virtual fund objects included in the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
of the provider for which payment for rendering the service or
delivering the product is specified to be directed to determine
whether, with respect to the corresponding virtual funds that were
transferred to the virtual money account of the provider to
facilitate payment processing for the redeemed service or product
for which the customer has submitted the refund request, the
virtual payment system manager has already effected a disbursal of
these corresponding funds from the virtual money account for the
provider within the virtual payment system. Likewise, if a
commission fee was applied for the purchase of the redeemed service
or product for which the refund request was submitted or the refund
request corresponds to a primary service of a purchase of bundled
set in which a facility fee was included in the purchase price of
the bundled set for a use of a facility for performing the primary
service, virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured to
review the set of accounting details pertaining to transactions
conducted within the virtual payment system with respect to the
container of virtual fund objects included in the respective
account information record for the virtual money account of the
entity that provides marketplace system 100 or the financial
account that is specified for receiving the facility fee by the
compensation information included in the respective information
record for the offer of the bundled set within service offer
database 114h to determine whether, with respect to the
corresponding virtual funds that were transferred to the virtual
money account of the entity or the financial account that is
specified for receiving the facility fee to facilitate payment
processing for the redeemed service or product, the virtual payment
system manager has already effected a disbursal of these
corresponding funds from the virtual money account for the entity
or the financial account that is specified for receiving the
facility fee within the virtual payment system.
[0221] For situations in which the redeemed service or product for
which the customer has submitted the refund request is not an
aspect of a purchase for a bundled set, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to, upon each determination that a
disbursal of the corresponding virtual funds that were transferred
to the respective virtual money account of the provider for which
payment for rendering the service or delivering the product is
specified to be directed or the entity that provides marketplace
system 100 to facilitate payment processing for the redeemed
service or product has not been effected, access, via database
server 112, the container of virtual fund objects in the respective
account information record for the virtual money account of the
provider or the entity that is being maintained within virtual
money account database 114o to identify, using the information
included in the notification, each virtual fund object
corresponding to the payment amount or any commission fee for the
purchase of the redeemed service or product within the container of
virtual fund objects. For each such virtual fund object identified
within the container of virtual fund objects in the respective
account information record for the provider or the entity (other
than any identified objects for which the attributes defining the
object include an indication that the original funding source based
on which the object was created is a discount that was applied with
respect to the purchase of the redeemed service or product by the
customer), virtual payment system manager 170 can then operate to
direct a transfer of the identified objects from the container of
virtual fund objects in the respective account information record
for the provider or the entity that is maintained within virtual
money account database 114o to the container of virtual fund
objects in the respective account information record for the
customer that is maintained within virtual money account database
114o, modify the attributes defining the object to indicate that
the corresponding virtual funds for the object are not presently
allocated to use as payment for the purchase of any offered service
or product by the customer within the marketplace system and have
not been transferred to the participant for which the account
information record within which the object is maintained was
established as part of the payment process for an offered service
or product purchased within the marketplace system, and remove any
indication of the unique transaction identifier for the respective
information record for the purchase that is maintained within
transaction information database 114k. For each such identified
object for which the attributes defining the object include an
indication that the original funding source based on which the
object was created is a discount that was applied with respect to
the purchase of the redeemed service or product by the customer and
made available by the provider that is offering the redeemed
service or product for purchase via marketplace system 100, virtual
payment system manager 170 can operate to simply delete the
identified objects that correspond to the applied discount from the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the provider.
[0222] Additionally, for such situations in which the redeemed
service or product for which the customer has submitted the refund
request is not an aspect of a purchase for a bundled set, virtual
payment system manager 170 can be configured to, upon each
determination that a disbursal of the corresponding virtual funds
that were transferred to the respective virtual money account of
the provider or the entity that provides marketplace system 100 to
facilitate payment processing for the redeemed service or product
has already been effected, access, via database server 112, the
container of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the virtual money account of the provider or
the entity that is being maintained within virtual money account
database 114o to instantiate a corresponding new virtual fund
object for the payment amount (less any discount that was applied
with respect to the purchase of the redeemed service or product by
the customer) or the commission fee within the container of virtual
fund objects included in the respective account information record
for the respective virtual money account of the provider or the
entity that is being maintained within virtual money account
database 114o. More specifically, virtual payment system manager
170 can generate a unique identifier for the new virtual fund
object being created and define the attributes of the object to
include an indication of the value of the corresponding virtual
funds as a negative value or virtual funds corresponding to the
payment amount or the commission fee, the unique identifier
generated for the object, an indication that the original funding
source is a corresponding amount of real currency held within the
external financial account that is specified within the set of
general information of the respective account information record
for the provider as being used in connection with transactions
performed by provider within the virtual payment system or
maintained by the entity that provides marketplace system 100 in
association with the virtual payment system (and thereby owed to
the virtual payment system by the provider or the entity that
provides the marketplace system), and a creation timestamp for the
object.
[0223] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured to
access, via database server 112, the respective account information
record for the virtual money account of the customer user that
submitted the refund request that is maintained within virtual
money account database 114o to review the set of accounting details
included in the respective account information record that pertain
to the transactions conducted within the virtual payment system for
processing payment for the purchase of the redeemed service or
product for which the refund request was submitted to ascertain a
respective state of each virtual fund object that was transferred
from the respective account information record for the virtual
money account of the customer to the respective account information
record for the respective virtual money account of the provider or
the entity to effect the payment processing for the purchase of the
redeemed service or product for which the refund request was
submitted at the time immediately prior to the attributes defining
the object being updated to indicate that the corresponding virtual
funds for the object were allocated to use as payment for the
redeemed service or product. Virtual payment system manager 170 can
then operate to, based on this review of the set of accounting
details included in the respective account information record for
the virtual money account for the customer, instantiate a
corresponding new virtual fund object within the container of
virtual fund objects included in the respective account information
record for the customer for each virtual fund object that was
transferred to effect the payment processing for the purchase of
the redeemed service or product for which the refund request was
submitted (other than any objects for which the attributes that
defined the object indicated that the original funding source based
on which the object was created is a discount that was applied with
respect to the purchase of the redeemed service or product by the
customer) in which the set of attributes that define the
corresponding new object instantiated for each object that was
transferred is initialized to match the respective state of the
object that was transferred at the time immediately prior to the
attributes defining the object being updated to indicate that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object were allocated to use as
payment for the redeemed service or product for which the refund
request was submitted.
[0224] Accordingly, the result of these operations being performed
by the virtual payment system manager 170 is, regardless of whether
a disbursal of any of the corresponding virtual funds that were
transferred to the respective virtual money account of the provider
or the entity that provides marketplace system 100 to facilitate
payment processing for the redeemed service or product has already
been effected, to process the refund request by effectively
crediting the amount the virtual funds that correspond to the
purchase of the offered service or product for which the refund
request was submitted to the respective virtual money account for
the customer and debiting the amount the virtual funds that
correspond to the purchase of the offered service or product for
which the refund request was submitted from the respective virtual
money account for the provider or the entity, whereby the
corresponding virtual funds for each identified or
newly-instantiated object (other than any identified objects that
correspond to an applied discount) will be included within the
available balance value in the set of general information within
the respective account information record for the respective
virtual money account of the customer that is dynamically
calculated by virtual payment system manager 170.
[0225] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon effecting the refund request with respect to each
identified or newly-instantiated virtual fund object, perform
corresponding updates to the available balance values and the total
balance values included in the sets of general information within
the respective account information records for the respective
virtual money accounts of the customer and the provider or the
entity, perform corresponding updates to the accounting details
included in the sets of general information within the respective
account information records for the respective virtual money
accounts of the customer and the provider or the entity as needed
to reflect the operations performed by the virtual payment system
manager to effect the refund with respect to each identified or
newly instantiated object, and provide a notification to account
management service 122 of completion of the operations that are
performed by the virtual payment system manager for effecting the
refund request with respect to each identified or
newly-instantiated object (which may further include, if the
operations performed by the virtual payment system manager to
effect the refund included deleting any object corresponding to a
discount that was applied for the customer with respect to the
refunded purchase of the redeemed service or product, information
describing the applied discount). In response to receiving the
completion notification from virtual payment system manager 170,
account management service 122 can access, via database server 112,
the respective information record for the purchase that is
maintained within transaction information database 114k to perform
updates to the information included in the respective information
record for the purchase to reflect the refund being performed for
the redeemed service or product; if information describing an
applied discount is included in the notification, access data store
114 via database server 112 to update the corresponding information
record within which the applied discount is described to indicate
that the coupon code is now valid for use (if necessary according
to the terms of the particular discount); and, in conjunction with
account management service 131, where appropriate, transmit
notifications of the refund of the redeemed service or product to
any providers registered with server system 110 for which the
refund is relevant.
[0226] For situations in which the redeemed service or product for
which the customer has submitted the refund request is an aspect of
a purchase for a bundled set, the information included in the
notification of the refund request provided by account management
service 122 to virtual payment system manager 170 for effecting the
refund for the customer within the virtual payment system can
further include the same set of information regarding the redeemed
aspect of the purchase of the bundled set as that which is
described in the examples provided above as being additionally
included in a notification of a cancellation request for an
unredeemed aspect of a purchase for a bundled set provided by
account management service 122 to virtual payment system manager
170 with respect to the unredeemed aspect. For example, the
information included in the notification of the refund request may
further include information pertaining to whether the refund of the
redeemed aspect of the purchased bundled set will also involve a
corresponding refund of (or modification to) any commission fee
that was applied for the purchase of the bundled set.
[0227] For such situations in which the redeemed service or product
for which the customer has submitted the refund request is an
aspect of a purchase for a bundled set, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to, upon each determination that a
disbursal of the corresponding virtual funds that were transferred
to the respective virtual money account of the provider for which
payment for the aspect of the purchased bundled set is specified to
be directed, the entity that provides marketplace system 100, or a
financial account that is specified for receiving a facility fee
for the purchased bundled set if the refund request corresponds to
a primary service of the purchased bundled set to facilitate
payment processing for the redeemed aspect of the bundled set has
not been effected, access, via database server 112, the container
of virtual fund objects in the respective account information
record for the virtual money account of the provider or the entity
that is being maintained within virtual money account database 114o
to identify, using the information included in the notification,
each virtual fund object corresponding to the payment amount, any
commission fee, or any facility fee for the purchase of the
redeemed aspect of the bundled set within the container of virtual
fund objects. For each such virtual fund object identified within
the container of virtual fund objects in the respective account
information record for the provider, the entity, or the financial
account that is specified for receiving a facility fee (other than
any identified objects for which the attributes defining the object
include an indication that the original funding source based on
which the object was created is a discount that was applied with
respect to the purchase of the offered bundled set by the
customer), virtual payment system manager 170 can then operate to
direct a transfer of the identified objects from the container of
virtual fund objects in the respective account information record
for the provider, the entity, or the financial account that is
specified for receiving a facility fee that is maintained within
virtual money account database 114o to the container of virtual
fund objects in the respective account information record for the
customer that is maintained within virtual money account database
114o, modify the attributes defining the object to indicate that
the corresponding virtual funds for the object are not presently
allocated to use as payment for the purchase of any offered service
or product by the customer within the marketplace system and have
not been transferred to the participant for which the account
information record within which the object is maintained was
established as part of the payment process for an offered service
or product purchased within the marketplace system, and remove any
indication of the unique transaction identifier for the respective
information record for the purchase of the bundled set that is
maintained within transaction information database 114k. For each
such identified object for which the attributes defining the object
include an indication that the original funding source based on
which the object was created is a discount that was applied with
respect to the purchase of the offered bundled set by the customer
and made available by the provider that is offering the bundled set
for purchase via marketplace system 100, virtual payment system
manager 170 can operate to simply delete the identified objects
that correspond to the applied discount from the respective account
information record for the virtual money account for the provider
for which payment for the aspect of the purchased bundled set is
specified to be directed.
[0228] Additionally, for such situations in which the redeemed
service or product for which the customer has submitted the refund
request is an aspect of a purchase for a bundled set, virtual
payment system manager 170 can be configured to, upon each
determination that a disbursal of the corresponding virtual funds
that were transferred to the respective virtual money account of
the provider for which payment for the aspect of the purchased
bundled set is specified to be directed, the entity that provides
marketplace system 100, or a financial account that is specified
for receiving a facility fee for the purchased bundled set if the
refund request corresponds to a primary service of the purchased
bundled set to facilitate payment processing for the redeemed
service or product has already been effected, access, via database
server 112, the container of virtual fund objects in the respective
account information record for the virtual money account of the
provider, the entity, or the financial account that is specified
for receiving a facility fee that is being maintained within
virtual money account database 114o to instantiate a corresponding
new virtual fund object for the payment amount (less any discount
that was applied with respect to the purchase of the redeemed
service or product by the customer), the commission fee, or the
facility fee within the container of virtual fund objects included
in the respective account information record for the respective
virtual money account of the provider, the entity, or the financial
account that is specified for receiving a facility fee that is
being maintained within virtual money account database 114o. More
specifically, virtual payment system manager 170 can generate a
unique identifier for the new virtual fund object being created and
define the attributes of the object to include an indication of the
value of the corresponding virtual funds as a negative value or
virtual funds corresponding to the payment amount, the commission
fee, or the facility fee, the unique identifier generated for the
object, an indication that the original funding source is a
corresponding amount of real currency held within the external
financial account that is specified within the set of general
information of the respective account information record for the
provider as being used in connection with transactions performed by
provider within the virtual payment system, maintained by the
entity that provides marketplace system 100 in association with the
virtual payment system, or specified for receiving a facility fee
for the purchased bundled set by the compensation information
included in the respective information record for the offer of the
bundled set within service offer database 114h (and thereby owed to
the virtual payment system by the provider, the entity that
provides the marketplace system, or the owner of the financial
account specified for receiving the facility fee), and a creation
timestamp for the object.
[0229] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured to
access, via database server 112, the respective account information
record for the virtual money account of the customer user that
submitted the refund request that is maintained within virtual
money account database 114o to review the set of accounting details
included in the respective account information record that pertain
to the transactions conducted within the virtual payment system for
processing payment for the purchase of the aspect of the bundled
set for which the refund request was submitted to ascertain a
respective state of each virtual fund object that was transferred
from the respective account information record for the virtual
money account of the customer to the respective account information
record for the respective virtual money account of the provider,
the entity, or the financial account that is specified for
receiving the facility fee to effect the payment processing for the
redeemed aspect of the purchase of the bundled set for which the
refund request was submitted at the time immediately prior to the
attributes defining the object being updated to indicate that the
corresponding virtual funds for the object were allocated to use as
payment for the purchase of the bundled set. Virtual payment system
manager 170 can then operate to, based on this review of the set of
accounting details included in the respective account information
record for the virtual money account for the customer, instantiate
a corresponding new virtual fund object within the container of
virtual fund objects included in the respective account information
record for the customer for each virtual fund object that was
transferred to effect the payment processing for the redeemed
aspect of the purchase of the bundled set for which the refund
request was submitted (other than any objects for which the
attributes that defined the object indicated that the original
funding source based on which the object was created is a discount
that was applied with respect to the purchase of the offered
bundled set by the customer) in which the set of attributes that
define the corresponding new object instantiated for each object
that was transferred is initialized to match the respective state
of the object that was transferred at the time immediately prior to
the attributes defining the object being updated to indicate that
the corresponding virtual funds for the object were allocated to
use as payment for the purchase of the bundled with respect to
which the refund request was submitted.
[0230] Accordingly, the result of these operations being performed
by the virtual payment system manager 170 is, regardless of whether
a disbursal of any of the corresponding virtual funds that were
transferred to the respective virtual money account of the provider
for which payment for the aspect of the purchased bundled set is
specified to be directed, the entity that provides marketplace
system 100, or the financial account that is specified for
receiving a facility fee for the purchased bundled set to
facilitate payment processing for the redeemed aspect of the
purchase of the bundled set has already been effected, to process
the refund request by effectively crediting the amount the virtual
funds that correspond to the redeemed aspect of the purchase of the
bundled set for which the refund request was submitted to the
respective virtual money account for the customer and debiting the
amount the virtual funds that correspond to the redeemed aspect of
the purchase of the bundled set for which the refund request was
submitted from the respective virtual money account for the
provider, the entity, or the financial account that is specified
for receiving a facility fee, whereby the corresponding virtual
funds for each identified or newly-instantiated object (other than
any identified objects that correspond to an applied discount) will
be included within the available balance value in the set of
general information within the respective account information
record for the respective virtual money account of the customer
that is dynamically calculated by virtual payment system manager
170, and each object that corresponds to any other redeemed service
or product of the purchased bundled set for which the refund
request was not submitted and was transferred from the container of
virtual fund objects in the respective account information record
for the virtual money account of the customer to facilitate payment
processing for the purchase of the bundled set will continue to
remain in the container of virtual fund objects in the respective
account information record for the virtual money account of the
participant to which the object was transferred.
[0231] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon effecting the refund request with respect to each
identified or newly-instantiated virtual fund object, perform
corresponding updates to the available balance values and the total
balance values included in the sets of general information within
the respective account information records for the respective
virtual money accounts of the customer and the provider for which
payment for the aspect of the purchased bundled set is specified to
be directed, the entity that provides marketplace system 100, or
the financial account that is specified for receiving a facility
fee for the purchased bundled set, perform corresponding updates to
the accounting details included in the sets of general information
within the respective account information records for the
respective virtual money accounts of the customer and the provider,
the entity, or the financial account that is specified for
receiving a facility fee as needed to reflect the operations
performed by the virtual payment system manager to effect the
refund with respect to each identified or newly instantiated
object, and provide a notification to account management service
122 of completion of the operations that are performed by the
virtual payment system manager for effecting the refund request
with respect to each identified or newly-instantiated object (which
may further include, if the operations performed by the virtual
payment system manager to effect the refund included deleting any
object corresponding to a discount that was applied for the
customer with respect to the refund for the redeemed aspect of the
purchased bundled set, information describing the applied
discount). In response to receiving the completion notification
from virtual payment system manager 170, account management service
122 can access, via database server 112, the respective information
record for the purchase that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k to perform updates to the information
included in the respective information record for the purchase to
reflect the refund being performed for the purchase of the bundled
set; if information describing an applied discount is included in
the notification, access data store 114 via database server 112 to
update the corresponding information record within which the
applied discount is described to indicate that the coupon code is
now valid for use (if necessary according to the terms of the
particular discount); and, in conjunction with account management
service 131, where appropriate, transmit notifications of the
refund of the redeemed service or product to any providers
registered with server system 110 or holders of financial accounts
for which the refund is relevant.
[0232] For situations in which a redeemed service for which the
customer has submitted a refund request is not simply an aspect of
but, rather, an entire purchased bundled set of services or one or
more services and one or more products for which the purchase has
been redeemed with respect to each service and product included in
the bundled set, the information included in the notification of
the refund request provided by account management service 122 to
virtual payment system manager 170 for effecting the refund for the
customer within the virtual payment system can simply further
include, in conjunction with the unique transaction identifier for
the respective information record for the purchase that is
maintained within transaction information database 114k, an
indication that the cancellation corresponds to all aspects of the
bundled set. Virtual payment system manager 170 can be configured
to, upon receiving such a notification from account management
service 122, access, via database server 112, virtual money account
database 114o and respectively process the refund for each service
and product included in the purchased bundled set in the same
manner as described in the examples provided above for processing a
refund request submitted by a customer for redeemed service or
product that is an aspect of a purchase for a bundled set.
[0233] Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured
to, upon effecting the refund request with respect to each
identified or newly-instantiated virtual fund object for the
purchase of the bundled set, perform corresponding updates to the
available balance values and the total balance values included in
the sets of general information within the respective account
information records for the respective virtual money accounts of
the customer and each provider for which payment for an aspect of
the purchased bundled set is specified to be directed, the entity
that provides marketplace system 100, and any financial account
that is specified for receiving a facility fee for the purchased
bundled set as necessary, perform corresponding updates to the
accounting details included in the sets of general information
within the respective account information records for the
respective virtual money accounts of the customer and the provider,
the entity, and any financial account that is specified for
receiving a facility fee as needed to reflect the operations
performed by the virtual payment system manager to effect the
refund for the purchase of the bundled set with respect to each
identified or newly instantiated object, and provide a notification
to account management service 122 of completion of the operations
that are performed by the virtual payment system manager for
effecting the refund request with respect to each identified or
newly-instantiated object (which may further include, if the
operations performed by the virtual payment system manager to
effect the refund included deleting any object corresponding to a
discount that was applied for the customer with respect to the
refund for the redeemed aspect of the purchased bundled set,
information describing the applied discount). In response to
receiving the completion notification from virtual payment system
manager 170, account management service 122 can access, via
database server 112, the respective information record for the
purchase of the bundled set that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k to perform updates to the information
included in the respective information record for the purchase to
reflect the refund having been performed; if information describing
an applied discount is included in the notification, access data
store 114 via database server 112 to update the corresponding
information record within which the applied discount is described
to indicate that the coupon code is now valid for use (if necessary
according to the terms of the particular discount); and, in
conjunction with account management service 131, where appropriate,
transmit notifications of the refund of the redeemed aspects of the
purchase of the bundled set to any providers registered with server
system 110 or holders of financial accounts for which the refund is
relevant.
[0234] As noted above, in exemplary embodiments, a user operating a
client system to access application server 116 via a corresponding
client application executing on the client system may be provided
with a user interface element on any page implemented by navigation
and search service 124 that is accessible by the user to initiate a
registration with server system 110, and navigation and search
service 124 may be configured to, in response a user accessing the
user interface element, provide further user interface controls for
allowing the user to specify a type of user account that the user
intends to register with server system 110.
[0235] Upon the user indicating an intention to register as a
physician user, the user will be able to initiate a registration
session with account management service 131 to register a physician
account with server system 110, as well as to register a respective
account information record for a virtual money account for the
physician within virtual money account database 114o in exemplary
embodiments in which a virtual payment system is implemented within
the server system. Account management service 131 may be
configured, for example, to implement a user interface that
includes a series of pages with user interface controls accessible
by the user to guide the user through the account registration
process and prompt the user to input various types of information
or media to be maintained by database server 112 within a
respective account information record that is established for the
user within physician profile database 114b such as, for example,
name, practice specialty, office location(s) and hours, a profile
picture, contact information (such as an email address and/or a
telephone number), biographical information (such as awards,
honors, publications, patient testimonials, and other information
that can be helpful for marketing the physician to customers
accessing the system), URLs or references to websites and social
media profiles, compensation information (indicating a financial
account for receiving payment for purchases of services offered by
the physician via the system), information pertaining to outside
facilities that are used for particular services performed by the
physician (for example, information pertaining to particular
hospitals or clinics such as name, address, contact information,
facility fee, and compensation information indicating a financial
account that is used by the facility for receiving a facility fee),
information pertaining to affiliated pharmacies that are not
registered with the system but may be used for offering products in
association with services offered by the physician for purchase
through the system (for example, name, location, contact
information, and compensation information indicating a financial
account that is used for receiving payment for products offered
from the affiliated pharmacy in association with services offered
by the physician), and any other suitable identifying or
descriptive information. In exemplary embodiments in which a
virtual payment system is implemented within the server system,
account management service 131 may also be configured to, in
response to receiving information input from the physician user via
the user interface during the account registration process
information pertaining to one or more outside facilities that are
used for particular services performed by the physician or
affiliated pharmacies that are not registered with the system,
instruct virtual payment system manager 170 to register a
respective account information record for a respective virtual
money account for each such facility or affiliated pharmacy within
virtual money account database 114o. In this regard, the items of
information included in the set of general information of the
respective account information record created to register the
virtual money account for such a facility or affiliated pharmacy
may specify the indication of the financial account that is used by
the facility for receiving a facility fee or by the affiliated
pharmacy for receiving payment for products offered from the
affiliated pharmacy as information indicative of an external
financial account that is used for purposes of receiving
disbursements from the virtual payment system.
[0236] The user interface may also be implemented by account
management service 131 to prompt the user to specify any affiliated
pharmacies or for any group practice or hospital affiliation codes.
In this regard, account management service 131 may be implemented
to provide user interface controls allowing the user to search for
pharmacies registered with server system 110 (for example, by
name), access pharmacy profile database 114e to locate account
information records for pharmacies matching the search criteria,
and provide user interface controls allowing the user to register
an affiliation within server system 110 with any pharmacy returned
in the search. Account management service 131 may further be
implemented to provide user interface controls allowing the user to
register a new pharmacy account for an affiliated pharmacy with
server system 110 (as well as to register a respective account
information record for a virtual money account for such a pharmacy
within virtual money account database 114o in exemplary embodiments
in which a virtual payment system is implemented within the server
system) in a manner similar to that described below for pharmacy
registration and may also provide an option for the user to
indicate whether electronic messages sent by server system 110 in
association with products offered in conjunction with services
offered by the physician user and provided by the pharmacy should
be delivered to an email address for the pharmacy, an email address
for the physician user, or both.
[0237] Account management service 131 can be configured to access
database server 112 to create the respective account information
record for the user within physician profile database 114b based on
the information input by the user during the registration process.
Account management service 131 can be further configured to
generate the unique physician account identifier for the created
account information record, which may be used, for example, to
index and reference the created account information record within
database server 112. For any group practice or hospital affiliation
codes submitted by the user, account management service 131 can be
configured to include the unique physician account identifier for
the created account information record in the account information
record for the practice group that is maintained within practice
group profile database 114c for each practice group corresponding
to a submitted group practice affiliation code, in the account
information record for the hospital system that is maintained
within hospital system profile database 114d for each hospital
system corresponding to a submitted hospital affiliation code, and
in the account information record for the pharmacy that is
maintained within pharmacy profile database 114c for each specified
pharmacy affiliation, as well as include the corresponding hospital
system, group practice, and pharmacy account identifiers within the
account information record for the user within physician profile
database 114b. The created account information record can also be
identified with a unique user name and protected by a password,
which can be used by the user to log into the associated physician
account when accessing application server 116.
[0238] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, account management service
131 can be configured to, in response to a conducting a
registration session with a user to register a physician account
for the user with server system 110, issue a notification to
virtual payment system manager 170 to create a respective virtual
money account for the physician within the virtual payment system
and provide the virtual payment system manager with corresponding
information obtained during the registration session with the user
for this purpose, such as an indication that the respective account
information record to be created within the virtual money account
database is for a physician user that has registered with the
server system and the unique account identifier generated for the
respective account information record for the physician account
within physician profile database 114b. Virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to, in response to receiving such a
notification, access database server 112 to create a respective
account information record for a virtual money account for the
physician user within virtual money account database 114o based on
the corresponding registration information provided in conjunction
with the notification. In this regard, virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to generate the unique virtual money
account identifier for the respective account information record
being created for the physician within virtual money account
database 114o, which may be used, for example, to index and
reference the created account information record within database
server 112, instantiate the container of virtual fund objects
included in the respective account information record as an empty
container that does not have any virtual fund objects, and, in view
of the container being empty, set the balance value for the
respective account information record to an initial value of zero.
Virtual payment system manager 170 can also be configured to, upon
creating the respective account information record for the virtual
money account for the physician within virtual money account
database 114o, issue a notification of such to account management
service 131 that includes the unique virtual money account
identifier generated for the respective account information record
for the physician within the virtual money account database, and
account management service 131 can be configured to, in response to
receiving such a notification, access database server 131 to store
the unique virtual money account identifier within the respective
account information record for the user within physician profile
database 114b.
[0239] In exemplary embodiments, the user interface implemented by
account management service 131 may be further configured to provide
user interface controls for requesting authorization for payment of
a predetermined fee to gain access to the ability to offer
healthcare services for purchase within marketplace system 100.
Such a fee may be, for example, a one-time charge or a periodic
charge (such as a monthly, biannual, or annual fee). In conjunction
with such a payment authorization request, the user interface
controls provided by account management service 131 may also be
implemented to prompt the user to input the payment information
specifying the funding source the user will use for payment of the
predetermined access fee. The payment information input by the user
may be an instruction to use the compensation information included
within the respective account information record established for
the user within physician profile database 114b or submission of
alternative payment information such as, for example, information
pertaining to a bank account or other depository institution from
which an ACH payment or the like was made, credit or debit card
information, or other electronic payment information (such as
information for utilizing an account the user has with an online
payment service such as PayPal, an online wallet provider such as
Google Wallet, or any another entity facilitating payments and
money transfers to be made through the Internet). Account
management service 131 can be configured to, upon the authorization
and appropriate payment information being provided by the user,
access a corresponding third-party payment servicing system and
utilize the payment information to direct the payment servicing
system to transfer the amount for the payment authorized by the
user from the account servicer of the user to a financial account
maintained by the providers of marketplace system 100.
Alternatively, the user interface implemented by account management
service 131 may be configured to provide user interface controls
for receiving an activation code to gain access to the ability to
offer healthcare services for purchase within marketplace system
100 or may be configured to provide such access to the user in
response to receiving a particular group or hospital affiliation
code from the user. In this regard, the respective account
information record established for the user within physician
profile database 114b can further include an account status that is
managed by account management service 131 for the user indicating
whether the user is presently provided with the ability to offer
healthcare services for purchase within marketplace system 100.
[0240] Upon a user registering a physician account with server
system 110 to establish an account information record within
physician profile database 114b and logging into his or her
physician account (for example, by accessing a login user interface
element or a login screen within the user interface implemented by
navigation and search service 124 to provide the user name and
password associated with the account), the user may be directed to
a physician account page implemented by provider portal 130 that
provides a set of user interface controls that can be accessed by
the user to access functionality provided by procedure management
service 133 to offer healthcare services for purchase by customer
users registered with the system, functionality provided by
transaction processing service 136 to request payment for purchased
services that have been performed, and to access various account
management functions provided by account management service
131.
[0241] Upon the user indicating an intention to offer a healthcare
service for purchase (for example, by selecting a "Offer Service"
tab within the physician account page implemented by provider
portal 130), the user will be able to initiate a service offering
with procedure management service 133 to offer a healthcare service
for purchase via server system 110. Procedure management service
133 may be configured, for example, to implement a user interface
that includes a series of pages with user interface controls
accessible by the user to guide the user through the service
offering process and prompt the user to input various types of
information to be maintained by database server 112 within a
respective information record that is established in association
with the unique physician account identifier for the physician
within service offer database 114h. For example, the user may be
provided with a drop-down menu providing a list of selectable
medical specialties and, upon selecting a particular medical
specialty, the user can be presented with a list of selectable
healthcare services for which an information record for the service
is maintained within available services database 114g in
association with the specialty.
[0242] Upon the user selecting a particular service from this list,
procedure management service 133 can assist the user with offering
the service for purchase and establish the respective information
record for the offered service within service offer database 114h
by populating the information record with the unique procedure
identifier for the information record within available services
database 114g for the selected service, the unique account
identifier for the account information record for the physician
user within physician profile database 114b as both the provider
that is offering the service through the system and the physician
user will perform the service, a location at which the service will
be performed, the unique account identifier for the account
information record (within physician profile database 114b,
practice group profile database 114c, or hospital system profile
database 114d) of the provider for which payment for the service
when purchased through the system is to be directed (or,
alternatively, other financial account information) as indicated by
user input received from the physician user, a payment amount to be
transferred to the provider or other financial account for which
payment for the service is to be directed as specified by user
input received from the physician user, a discounted price for
purchasing the service within marketplace system 100 (which may be
calculated, for example, by adding a negotiated commission fee to
the payment amount specified by the physician user), a regular
price for the service when the service is purchased outside of the
system, additional descriptive information that may be provided via
input received from the physician user, a procedure offer
identifier, and any other suitable information (such as an
indication that the service is required to be performed at an
outside facility and relevant facility information as specified by
user input received from the physician user).
[0243] In exemplary embodiments, procedure management service 133
can be further configured to assist the user with offering one or
more healthcare products for purchase in association with the
offered service for purchase and further populate the respective
information record for the offered service within service offer
database 114h with, for each product that is to be associated with
the offered service, information that may include an indication of
whether the product is optional or required in association with
performance of the primary service, the unique product identifier
that is used to identify an information record for the product
within available products database 114i, a product offer identifier
that uniquely identifies the information record within product
offer database 114j for the offering of the particular product by a
pharmacy that is affiliated with the provider offering the
particular service within the system (or the offering of the
particular product by a pharmacy that is registered with the system
but not affiliated with the provider offering the particular
service), and, if the particular product is to be offered by a
pharmacy that is not registered with the system but affiliated with
the provider offering the particular service (for example, an
on-site pharmacy), relevant information describing the pharmacy, a
discounted price for purchasing the particular product from the
non-registered, affiliated pharmacy in association with a purchase
of the offered service from the physician user, a regular price for
purchasing the product from the non-registered, affiliated
pharmacy, the unique account identifier for the account information
record (within physician profile database 114b, practice group
profile database 114c, or hospital system profile database 114d) of
the provider for which payment for the product when purchased
through the system in association with the service is to be
directed, and a payment amount to be transferred to the provider
for which payment for purchasing the product is to be directed.
[0244] As discussed above, when a payment for an offered service is
processed by purchasing service 126, a financial account maintained
by the providers of marketplace system 100 holds the payment amount
to be transferred to the provider for which payment for the service
is to be directed until an indication is received that the
purchased service has been performed by the physician that is
specified in service offer database 114h for performing the
service. Purchasing service 126 can also generate a respective
information record for the completed purchase within transaction
information database 114k, which initially indicates that the
purchase has not yet been redeemed with respect to a purchase of an
individual service or with respect to each service for a purchase
of a bundled set, and generate a voucher for the customer user to
use with respect to the purchased service to redeem the purchase by
receiving the service from the physician specified for each service
included in the purchase. Such a voucher can include a confirmation
number or other redemption code for the purchase.
[0245] Upon the user indicating an intention to request payment for
a purchased service that has been performed (for example, by
selecting a "Voucher Processing" tab within the physician account
page implemented by provider portal 130), the user will be able to
initiate a voucher processing session with transaction processing
service 136. In particular, transaction processing service 136 may
be configured, for example, to implement a voucher history page
within the user interface that presents information relevant to the
physician user for a list of purchases for which the respective
information record for the purchase that is maintained within
transaction information database 114k includes the unique physician
account identifier for the physician user within physician profile
database 114b as the physician user that is designated as
performing a service included the purchase (for example, a primary
or secondary service for a bundled set of services or one or more
services and one or more products). The relevant information for
each listed purchase may include, for example, the voucher
confirmation number or redemption code, name and contact
information for the customer user, a description of the service the
physician user is designated as performing for the purchase, a
purchase date, and a voucher redemption status. Such a voucher
history page may also be accessed in association with the user
account for the physician user to verify vouchers presented by
customers requesting to have a service performed in association
with a voucher.
[0246] The voucher history page can also provide a user interface
element in association with each of the listed purchases for which
the voucher redemption status for the service the physician user is
designated as performing indicates the service has not been
performed that is accessible by the physician user to submit a
verification to application server 116 that the physician user has
performed the service for the customer user in accordance with the
purchase. Transaction processing service 136 can be configured to,
upon such a verification being submitted, initiate a transfer of
the payment amount specified for the service performed by the
physician user in service offer database 114h and held in the
financial account maintained by the providers of marketplace system
100 to the financial account listed for receiving the payment
amount for service that is specified in service offer database
114h. Alternatively, in exemplary embodiments in which a virtual
payment system is implemented within server system 110, transaction
processing service 136 can be configured to, upon such a
verification being submitted, submit a notification to virtual
payment system manager 170 that the purchased service has been
rendered for the customer user to redeem the purchase in
conjunction with the unique transaction identifier for the
respective information record for the purchase of the service that
is maintained within transaction information database 114k.
Additionally, if the service performed by the physician is a
primary service of a bundled set for which a particular outside
facility that has been selected for performing the primary service,
transaction processing service 136 can be configured to initiate a
transfer or otherwise direct a disbursement of the facility fee
specified for the service performed by the physician user in
service offer database 114h and held in the financial account
maintained by the providers of marketplace system 100 to the
financial account for the facility that is indicated by the
compensation information for the facility. Transaction processing
service 136 can be configured to update the indication of whether
the purchase has been redeemed with respect to that particular
service (and facility if one is associated with the service in the
purchase) and include the redemption date for that particular
service in the information record for the purchased service that is
maintained within transaction information database 114k. In
addition, transaction processing service 136 can further be
configured to send electronic notifications to the customer user,
the physician user, and the provider user for the offered service
(as specified according to the corresponding information records
within service offer database 114h and transaction information
database 114k), for example, by way of email utilizing the contact
information specified in the respective account information records
for the customer, the physician, and the provider for the offered
service.
[0247] In exemplary embodiments, transaction processing service 136
can further be configured to, for each purchase of an offered
product for which a prescription is required for the purchase that
is being offered through a pharmacy registered within server system
110 or a pharmacy that is not registered with the system but
affiliated with the physician, and for which the respective
information record in transaction information database 114k for the
purchase indicates that the physician user will be writing the
prescription or otherwise providing an offered service purchased
through the system with which the purchase of the offered product
is associated, allow the physician user to navigate the user
interface to a prescription submission page that is implemented to
provide user interface controls for allowing the physician user to
submit the required prescription information for purchasing the
offered product on behalf of the purchasing customer user (for
example, by selecting a "Prescription Submission" tab within the
physician account page implemented by provider portal 130). For
example, prescription submission page may be implemented to provide
a drop-down menu accessible by the physician user to select from a
plurality of options for submitting the required prescription
information. The plurality of options may include, for example,
emailing an image of a prescription document to an email address
for an account maintained in association with server system 110 for
such a purpose, faxing a copy of a prescription document to a fax
number utilized in association with server system 110 for such a
purpose, uploading a copy of a prescription document to application
server 116, and completing information fields of a respective
predefined fillable form for generating a prescription document for
the particular product within the user interface. In addition,
transaction processing service 136 can be further configured to, in
response to such a submission of required prescription information
by the physician user, update the information record for the
purchase in transaction information database 114k accordingly and
send electronic notifications to the customer user, the pharmacy
that is specified in the information record for the purchase in
transaction information database 114k as providing the product, and
the provider user for the offered product (as specified according
to the corresponding information records within product offer
database 114j, service offer database 114h, and/or transaction
information database 114k), for example, by way of email utilizing
the contact information specified in the respective account
information records for the customer, the pharmacy (or the
physician if the pharmacy is not registered with the system but
affiliated with the physician), and the provider for the offered
service. In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, transaction processing
service 136 can be configured to, upon such a submission and any
necessary verification of required prescription information being
completed, submit a notification to virtual payment system manager
170 that the required prescription information for the purchased
product has been received in conjunction with the unique
transaction identifier for the respective information record for
the purchase of the product that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k.
[0248] Upon the user indicating an intention within the physician
account page implemented by provider portal 130 to access various
account management functions, the user can access various user
interface elements provided by account management service 131 to,
for example, manage personal and payment or purchase information,
manage information pertaining to services offered for purchase by
the physician user, manage group practice, hospital, and pharmacy
affiliations, and view a history of transactions performed for
services offered for purchase by the physician user within server
system 110 (and relevant information for each purchase including
voucher redemption status).
[0249] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, the various account
management functions that are accessible by a logged-in physician
user through the user interface implemented by the account
management service 131 can also include functions for allowing the
physician user to manage and view information pertaining to the
respective virtual money account for the physician within the
virtual payment system, including information pertaining to the
virtual funds that are transferred to the respective virtual money
account for the physician user by virtual payment system manager
170 with regard to transactions conducted within marketplace system
in relation to purchases of services and products being offered by
the physician or offered by another provider and rendered by the
physician for which the respective information records for the
offers within service offer database 114h and product offer
database 114j indicates payment for the offers when purchased
through the system is to be directed to the physician user, manage
and facilitate the disbursement of virtual funds within the
respective virtual money account for the physician with respect to
an external financial account that is utilized by the physician
user for such purposes, and perform various other functions with
respect to transactions that are conducted within marketplace
system that involve virtual funds within the respective virtual
money account for the physician or within the respective virtual
money account for a customer user and presently allocated to use as
payment for a purchase of an offered service or product for which
the respective information record for the offer within service
offer database 114h or product offer database 114j indicates
payment for the offer when purchased through the system is to be
directed to the physician user such as, for example, cancellations
of and other modifications with respect to transactions and
purchases that are conducted within marketplace system. Generally,
account management service 131 can be configured to, for
implementing these functions, interact and communicate with virtual
payment system manager 170 to direct the virtual payment system
manager to access virtual money account database 114o via database
server 112 to retrieve, maintain, and perform modifications to the
respective information account record that is maintained for the
virtual money account for the physician user as necessary for the
particular functions being performed in response to inputs received
from the physician user through the user interface implemented by
the account management service 131.
[0250] In the present exemplary embodiment, the functions for
allowing the physician user to manage and view information
pertaining to the respective virtual money account for the
physician within the virtual payment system can be implemented by
account management service 131 by providing user interface elements
within the user interface that are accessible by the customer to,
for example, be presented with details such as the total balance
value that is dynamically calculated by virtual payment system
manager 170 for all virtual fund objects included in the container
of the respective account information record for the virtual money
account of the physician, a tabular representation of information
regarding the virtual funds assigned to the virtual money account
for the physician with respective entries for the virtual fund
objects included in the container of the respective account
information record and information about each entry generated based
of the plurality of attributes that define the virtual fund object
for the entry and accounting details pertaining to transactions
conducted within the virtual payment system with respect to the
object as recorded by virtual payment system manager 170 in the set
of general information in the respective account information record
(such as, for instance, the value of the corresponding virtual
funds for the object and the particular offered service or product
purchased within the marketplace system for which the corresponding
virtual funds were transferred as payment to the respective virtual
money account for the physician), and a set of notifications
regarding transactions conducted within the virtual payment system
with respect to the virtual funds assigned to the virtual money
account for the physician (such as redemptions that have been
performed with respect to virtual funds that have been transferred
to the virtual money account for the physician to use as payment
for a purchased service that has been rendered or a purchased
product that has been delivered and other important updates
regarding the virtual money account for the physician). In
exemplary embodiments, account management service 131 can also be
configured to generate periodic reports of all transactions
conducted within the virtual payment system with respect to the
virtual funds assigned to the virtual money account for the
physician for a particular period along with other relevant details
pertaining the virtual money account for the physician, such
corresponding balance values calculated for virtual fund objects
included in the container of the respective account information
record for the virtual money account of the physician, and send the
generated reports to the physician by utilizing the contact
information specified in the respective account information record
for the physician within physician profile database 114b (for
instance, sending the generated report as an electronic document to
the physician by way of email utilizing an email address specified
for the physician within the contact information).
[0251] In exemplary embodiments, the function for allowing the
physician user to request a disbursal of virtual funds assigned to
the respective virtual money account for the physician to the
external financial account that is indicated as being used for
purposes of receiving disbursements in the respective account
information record for the physician user maintained within virtual
money account database 114o can be implemented by account
management service 131 by providing user interface elements within
the tabular representation of information regarding the virtual
funds assigned to the virtual money account for the physician
presented within the user interface that are accessible by the
physician to submit a selection of one or more corresponding
entries included in the tabular representation for virtual fund
objects included in the container of the respective account
information record for performing a disbursal of an amount of real
funds corresponding the aggregate sum of the values of the virtual
funds for virtual fund objects that correspond to the one or more
entries selected by the physician within the tabular
representation. In this regard, the particular entries within the
tabular representation that will accessible by the customer for
selecting to include within such a disbursal request via the user
interface elements implemented by account management service 131
within the user interface for this purpose will not include those
for which the attributes defining the corresponding virtual fund
objects include an indication that the original funding source
based on which the object was created is a funding source not a
discount made available with respect to a purchase by a customer
user registered with the system of a service or product offered
within marketplace system 100. Moreover, in exemplary embodiments,
account management service 131 can be configured to require the
entries selected from the tabular representation by a physician for
disbursal requests for virtual funds assigned to the respective
virtual money account for the physician to include a selection of
each entry that corresponds to a virtual fund object included in
the container of the respective account information record for
which the value of the corresponding virtual funds for the object
is indicated to be a negative value, and to not accept disbursal
requests submitted by a physician if the aggregate sum of the
values of the virtual funds for virtual fund objects that
correspond to the one or more entries selected by the physician
within the tabular representation is less than zero. Alternatively,
in exemplary embodiments, account management service 131 can be
configured to not accept disbursal requests submitted by a
physician if the aggregate sum of the values of the virtual funds
for all virtual fund objects included in the container of the
respective account information record for the physician that do not
correspond to the one or more entries selected by the physician
within the tabular representation is less than zero.
[0252] Account management service 131 can also be configured to, in
reply to accepting such a disbursal request submitted by a
physician for a set of selected entries in the tabular
representation and suitable authorization information being
provided by the physician, provide a notification of the disbursal
request to virtual payment system manager 170 along with any other
information that would be needed by the virtual payment system
manager to effect the disbursal of corresponding virtual funds from
the virtual money account for the physician within the virtual
payment system such as, for instance, the unique virtual money
account identifier that is associated with the respective account
information record for the physician within virtual money account
database 114o and the unique identifier that was generated by the
virtual payment system manager for each virtual fund object within
the respective account information record for the virtual money
account for the physician that corresponds to an entry in the
tabular representation selected by the physician for the disbursal
request.
[0253] Upon receiving such a notification from account management
service 131, virtual payment system manager 170 then operates to
access, via database server 112, the container of virtual fund
objects in the respective account information record for the
virtual money account of the physician that is being maintained
within virtual money account database 114o to delete the virtual
fund object corresponding to each entry selected by the physician
for the disbursal request from the respective account information
records for the virtual money account for the physician. Virtual
payment system manager 170 can also be configured to, upon deleting
the virtual fund objects corresponding to the selections specified
by the physician in the disbursal request, update the total balance
and available balance values included in the set of general
information within the respective account information record for
the virtual money account to reflect a deduction in each of these
balance values that corresponds to the aggregate sum of the values
of the virtual funds for virtual fund objects that have been
deleted, update the set of accounting details pertaining to
transactions conducted within the virtual payment system with
respect to the container of virtual fund objects included in the
respective account information record for the virtual money account
for the physician user to reflect each deletion of a virtual fund
object, and provide a notification to account management service
131 of completion of the operations performed to effect the
disbursal of virtual funds within the respective account
information record for the virtual money account for the physician
that includes an indication of the aggregate value of the
corresponding virtual funds for the objects deleted by virtual
payment system manager 170 in accordance with the disbursal
request.
[0254] Account management service 131 can be configured to, in
reply to receiving such a notification from virtual payment system
manager 170 of completion of the operations performed to effect the
disbursal of virtual funds within the virtual payment system for
the disbursal request submitted by the physician, effect a transfer
or otherwise direct a disbursement of an amount of actual funds
corresponding to the aggregate value of the corresponding virtual
funds for the objects deleted by the virtual payment system manager
from the financial account maintained by the providers of
marketplace system 100 in association with the virtual payment
system to the external financial account that is indicated as being
used for purposes of receiving disbursements in the respective
account information record for the physician user maintained within
virtual money account database 114o (such as a bank account or
other depository institution from which an ACH payment or the like
can be made, credit or debit card information, or other electronic
payment information such as information for utilizing an account
with an online payment service such as PayPal, an online wallet
provider such as Google Wallet, or any another entity facilitating
payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet). For
example, account management service 131 can operate to access a
corresponding third-party payment servicing system provided by or
on behalf of an account servicer for the indicated external
financial account and issue a request directing the payment
servicing system to effect a transfer of an amount of actual funds
corresponding to the aggregate value of the corresponding virtual
funds for the virtual funds objects deleted by virtual payment
system manager 170 from the financial account maintained for the
entity that provides marketplace system 100 in association with the
virtual payment system to the specified external financial account.
As another example, for situations in which the respective account
information record for the physician user maintained within virtual
money account database 114o does not include an indication of an
external financial account that is being used for purposes of
receiving disbursements or in which the payment servicing system is
not able to effect a transfer of an amount of actual funds from the
financial account maintained for the entity that provides
marketplace system 100 to a specified external financial account
for the physician, account management service 131 can operate to
access a corresponding third-party payment servicing system
provided for or on behalf of the financial account maintained for
the entity that provides the marketplace system in association with
the virtual payment system and issue a request directing the
payment servicing system to deduct an amount of actual funds
corresponding to the aggregate value of the corresponding virtual
funds for the deleted virtual fund objects from the financial
account maintained for the entity, issue a check in this amount of
actual funds to the physician, and mail the check to the physician
user (based on the corresponding information included in the
respective account information record for the physician that is
maintained within physician profile database 114b). As yet another
example, account management service 131 can operate to access a
corresponding third-party payment servicing system provided for or
on behalf of an account servicer for the indicated funding source
for the deleted object and issue a request directing the payment
servicing system to effect a transfer of an amount of actual funds
corresponding to the aggregate value of the corresponding virtual
funds for the deleted objects from the financial account maintained
for the entity that provides marketplace system 100 in association
with the virtual payment system to a financial account specified in
the compensation information included within the respective account
information record established for the user within physician
profile database 114b.
[0255] In exemplary embodiments, virtual payment system manager 170
can also be configured to automatically perform periodic disbursals
of all virtual funds assigned to the respective virtual money
account for the physician to the external financial account that is
indicated as being used for purposes of receiving disbursements in
the respective account information record for the physician user
maintained within virtual money account database 114o. For example,
virtual payment system manager 170 may be configured to perform
such an automatic disbursal of all virtual funds assigned to the
respective virtual money account for the physician on a daily,
monthly, or weekly basis. The particular intervals at which virtual
payment system manager 170 is configured to perform such automatic
disbursal may, for instance, be set by a back-end administrator of
server system 110 or by the physician user via an account
management function that is accessible through the user interface
implemented by the account management service 131. Virtual payment
system manager 170 can be configured to perform such an automatic
disbursal of all virtual funds assigned to the respective virtual
money account for the physician by operating in the same manner as
the virtual payment system manager would in response to receiving a
notification from account management service 131 of a disbursal
request submitted by the physician user in the example described
above for which all virtual fund objects within the respective
account information record for the virtual money account for the
physician have been selected by the physician for the disbursal
request (including, for instance, not performing the automatic
disbursal if the aggregate sum of the values of all virtual funds
assigned to the respective virtual money account for the physician
is less than zero).
[0256] In exemplary embodiments, where virtual payment system
manager 170 is configured to perform automatic periodic disbursals
of all virtual funds assigned to the respective virtual money
accounts for a plurality of provider users at the same interval,
account management service 131 can be configured to, in reply to
receiving notifications from virtual payment system manager 170 of
completion of the operations performed to effect the plurality of
automatic periodic disbursals of virtual funds from the respective
virtual money accounts for the plurality of providers within the
virtual payment system, generate an ACH/NACHA file with a
corresponding entry for each of the disbursements and transmit the
generated ACH/NACHA file to an account servicer for the financial
account maintained for the entity that provides marketplace system
100 in association with the virtual payment system to instruct the
account servicer to effect, for each of the plurality of provider
users for which virtual payment system manager 170 performed an
automatic periodic disbursal within the virtual payment system, a
transfer of an amount of actual funds corresponding to the
aggregate value of the corresponding virtual funds for the deleted
virtual fund objects for the provider from the financial account
maintained for the entity to the external financial account that is
indicated as being used for purposes of receiving disbursements in
the respective account information record for the provider user
maintained within virtual money account database 114o.
[0257] Referring again to FIG. 2, in exemplary embodiments, when a
user operating a client system to access application server 116 via
a corresponding client application executing on the client system
initiates a registration with server system 110 and specifies an
intention to register as a practice group administrator (for
example, via a user interface element on any page implemented by
navigation and search service 124), the user will be able to
initiate a registration session with account management service 131
to register a practice group account with server system 110, as
well as to register a respective account information record for a
virtual money account for the practice group within virtual money
account database 114o in exemplary embodiments in which a virtual
payment system is implemented within the server system. Account
management service 131 may be configured, for example, to implement
a user interface that includes a series of pages with user
interface controls accessible by the user to guide the user through
the account registration process and prompt the user to input
various types of information or media to be maintained by database
server 112 within a respective account information record that is
established for the user within practice group profile database
114c such as, for example, practice group name, location and hours,
contact information (such as an email address and/or a telephone
number), URLs or references to websites and social media profiles
for the practice group, information pertaining to outside
facilities that are used for particular procedures by physicians
affiliated with the practice group (for example, information
pertaining to particular hospitals or clinics such as name,
address, contact information, facility fee, and compensation
information indicating a financial account that is used by the
facility for receiving a facility fee), compensation information
(indicating a financial account for receiving payment for purchases
of services that are performed by affiliated physicians via the
system), and any other suitable identifying or descriptive
information. In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment
system is implemented within the server system, account management
service 131 may also be configured to, in response to receiving
information input from the practice group administrator via the
user interface during the account registration process information
pertaining to one or more outside facilities that are used for
particular services performed by physicians affiliated with the
practice group, instruct virtual payment system manager 170 to
register a respective account information record for a respective
virtual money account for each such facility within virtual money
account database 114o. In this regard, the items of information
included in the set of general information of the respective
account information record created to register the virtual money
account for such a facility may specify the indication of the
financial account that is used by the facility for receiving a
facility fee as information indicative of an external financial
account that is used for purposes of receiving disbursements from
the virtual payment system.
[0258] The user interface may also be implemented by account
management service 131 to prompt the user to specify affiliated
physician users, specify affiliated pharmacies, and enter any
hospital affiliation codes. In this regard, account management
service 131 may be implemented to provide user interface controls
allowing the user to search for physician users registered with
server system 110 (for example, by name and/or email address),
access physician profile database 114a to locate account
information records for physician users matching the search
criteria, and provide user interface controls allowing the user to
register an affiliation within server system 110 with any physician
user returned in the search. Account management service 131 may
further be implemented to provide user interface controls allowing
the user to register a new physician account for an affiliated
physician with server system 110 in a manner similar to that
described above for physician users registration (as well as to
register a respective account information record for a virtual
money account for such a physician within virtual money account
database 114o in exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment
system is implemented within the server system) and may also
provide an option for the user to indicate whether electronic
messages sent by server system 110 in association with services
offered the practice group and performed by the physician user
should be delivered to an email address for the physician, an email
address for the practice group, or both.
[0259] Likewise, account management service 131 may be implemented
to provide user interface controls allowing the user to search for
pharmacies registered with server system 110 (for example, by
name), access pharmacy profile database 114e to locate account
information records for pharmacies matching the search criteria,
and provide user interface controls allowing the user to register
an affiliation within server system 110 with any pharmacy returned
in the search. Account management service 131 may further be
implemented to provide user interface controls allowing the user to
register a new pharmacy account for an affiliated pharmacy with
server system 110 in a manner similar to that described below for
pharmacy registration (as well as to register a respective account
information record for a virtual money account for such a pharmacy
within virtual money account database 114o in exemplary embodiments
in which a virtual payment system is implemented within the server
system) and may also provide an option for the user to indicate
whether electronic messages sent by server system 110 in
association with products included in bundled sets offered the
practice group and provided by the pharmacy should be delivered to
an email address for the pharmacy, an email address for the
practice group, or both.
[0260] Account management service 131 can be configured to access
database server 112 to create the respective account information
record for the user within practice group profile database 114a
based on the information input by the user during the registration
process. Account management service 131 can be further configured
to generate the unique practice group account identifier for the
created account information record, which may be used, for example,
to index and reference the created account information record
within database server 112. For any affiliated physician users or
pharmacies or hospital affiliation codes specified by the user,
account management service 131 can be configured to include the
unique practice group account identifier for the created account
information record in the account information record for the
physician that is maintained within physician profile database 114a
for each specified physician user, in the account information
record for the hospital system that is maintained within hospital
system profile database 114d for each hospital system corresponding
to a submitted hospital affiliation code, and in the account
information record for the pharmacy that is maintained within
physician profile database 114a for each specified pharmacy, as
well as include the corresponding hospital system, physician, and
pharmacy account identifiers within the account information record
for the user within practice group profile database 114c. The
created account information record can also be identified with a
unique user name and protected by a password, which can be used by
the user to log into the associated practice group account when
accessing application server 116.
[0261] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, account management service
131 can be configured to, in response to a conducting a
registration session with a user to register a practice group
account for the user with server system 110, issue a notification
to virtual payment system manager 170 to create a respective
virtual money account for the practice group within the virtual
payment system and provide the virtual payment system manager with
corresponding information obtained during the registration session
with the user for this purpose, such as an indication that the
respective account information record to be created within the
virtual money account database is for a practice group
administrator that has registered with the server system and the
unique account identifier generated for the respective account
information record for the practice group account within practice
group profile database 114c. Virtual payment system manager 170 can
be configured to, in response to receiving such a notification,
access database server 112 to create a respective account
information record for a virtual money account for the practice
group within virtual money account database 114o based on the
corresponding registration information provided in conjunction with
the notification in a manner similar to that which is described
above for creating a respective account information record for a
virtual money account for a physician user and then issue a
notification of such to account management service 131 that
includes the unique virtual money account identifier generated for
the respective account information record for the practice group
within the virtual money account database, and account management
service 131 can be configured to, in response to receiving such a
notification, access database server 131 to store the unique
virtual money account identifier within the respective account
information record for the user within practice group profile
database 114c.
[0262] In exemplary embodiments, the user interface implemented by
account management service 131 may be further configured to provide
user interface controls for requesting authorization for payment of
a predetermined fee to gain access to the ability to offer
healthcare services for purchase within marketplace system 100.
Such a fee may be, for example, a one-time charge or a periodic
charge (such as a monthly, biannual, or annual fee). The fee may
also be assessed for each new physician account registered with
server system 110 by the user as an affiliated physician of the
practice group. Account management service 131 can be configured
to, upon the authorization and appropriate payment information
being provided by the user via the user interface controls provided
by account management service 131, access a corresponding
third-party payment servicing system and utilize the payment
information to direct the payment servicing system to transfer the
amount for the payment authorized by the user from the account
servicer of the user to a financial account maintained by the
providers of marketplace system 100. Alternatively, the user
interface implemented by account management service 131 may be
configured to provide user interface controls for receiving an
activation code to gain access to the ability to offer healthcare
services for purchase within marketplace system 100 or may be
configured to provide such access to the user (and/or any new
physician accounts registered for affiliated physicians by the user
with server system 110) in response to receiving a particular group
or hospital affiliation code from the user. In this regard, the
respective account information record established for the user
within practice group profile database 114c can further include an
account status that is managed by account management service 131
for the user indicating whether the practice group is presently
provided with the ability to offer healthcare services for purchase
within marketplace system 100.
[0263] Upon a user registering a practice group account with server
system 110 to establish an account information record within
practice group profile database 114c and logging into his or her
practice group account (for example, by accessing a login user
interface element or a login screen within the user interface
implemented by navigation and search service 124 to provide the
user name and password associated with the account), the user may
be directed to a practice group account page implemented by
provider portal 130 that provides a set of user interface controls
that can be accessed by the user to access functionality provided
by procedure management service 133 to offer healthcare services
performed by affiliated physicians for purchase by customer users
registered with the system, functionality provided by transaction
processing service 136 to request payment for purchased services
that have been performed, and to access various account management
functions provided by account management service 131.
[0264] Upon the user indicating an intention to offer a healthcare
service for purchase (for example, by selecting a "Offer Service"
tab within the practice group account page implemented by provider
portal 130), the user will be able to initiate a service offering
with procedure management service 133 to offer a healthcare service
performed by affiliated physicians for purchase via server system
110. Procedure management service 133 may be configured, for
example, to implement a user interface that includes a series of
pages with user interface controls accessible by the user to guide
the user through the service offering process and prompt the user
to input various types of information to be maintained by database
server 112 within a respective information record that is
established within service offer database 114h in association with
the unique practice group account identifier for the practice
group. For example, the user may be provided with a drop-down menu
providing a list of selectable medical specialties and, upon
selecting a particular medical specialty, the user can be presented
with a list of selectable healthcare services for which an
information record for the service is maintained within available
services database 114g in association with the specialty.
[0265] Upon the user selecting a particular service from this list,
procedure management service 133 can assist the user with offering
the service for purchase and establish the respective information
record for the offered service within service offer database 114h.
In particular, procedure management service 133 can present the
user with a selectable list of the physician users affiliated with
the practice group from which the user can submit an indication one
or more of the affiliated physicians with which to offer the
service in conjunction with the practice group account. For each
selected affiliated physician user, procedure management service
133 can establish a respective information record for the offered
service within service offer database 114h by populating the
information record with the unique procedure identifier for the
information record within available services database 114g for the
selected service, the unique account identifier for the account
information record for the practice group within physician profile
database 114b as the provider that is offering the service through
the system, the unique account identifier for the account
information record for the physician user within physician profile
database 114b as the physician user will perform the service, a
location at which the service will be performed, the unique account
identifier for the account information record (within physician
profile database 114b, practice group profile database 114c, or
hospital system profile database 114d) of the provider for which
payment for the service when purchased through the system is to be
directed (or, alternatively, other financial account information)
as indicated by user input received from the practice group
administrator, a payment amount to be transferred to the provider
or other financial account for which payment for the service is to
be directed as specified by user input received from the practice
group administrator, a discounted price for purchasing the service
within marketplace system 100 (which may be calculated, for
example, by adding a negotiated commission fee to the payment
amount specified by the practice group administrator), a regular
price for the service when the service is purchased outside of the
system, additional descriptive information that may be provided via
input received from the practice group administrator, a procedure
offer identifier, and any other suitable information (such as an
indication that the service is required to be performed at an
outside facility and relevant facility information as specified by
user input received from the practice group administrator).
[0266] In exemplary embodiments, procedure management service 133
can be further configured to assist the user with offering one or
more healthcare products for purchase in association with the
offered service for purchase and further populate the respective
information record for the offered service within service offer
database 114h with, for each product that is to be associated with
the offered service, information that may include an indication of
whether the product is optional or required in association with
performance of the primary service, the unique product identifier
that is used to identify an information record for the product
within available products database 114i, a product offer identifier
that uniquely identifies the information record within product
offer database 114j for the offering of the particular product by a
pharmacy that is affiliated with the provider offering the
particular service within the system (or the offering of the
particular product by a pharmacy that is registered with the system
but not affiliated with the provider offering the particular
service), and, if the particular product is to be offered by a
pharmacy that is not registered with the system but affiliated with
the provider offering the particular service (for example, an
on-site pharmacy), relevant information describing the pharmacy, a
discounted price for purchasing the particular product from the
non-registered, affiliated pharmacy in association with a purchase
of the offered service from the group practice user, a regular
price for purchasing the product from the non-registered,
affiliated pharmacy, the unique account identifier for the account
information record (within physician profile database 114b,
practice group profile database 114c, or hospital system profile
database 114d) of the provider for which payment for the product
when purchased through the system in association with the service
is to be directed, and a payment amount to be transferred to the
provider for which payment for purchasing the product is to be
directed.
[0267] In exemplary embodiments, procedure management service 133
can also assist the practice group administrator with offering
services for purchase as a bundled set of services or one or more
services and one or more products within marketplace system 100 and
establishing the respective information record for the service
offered as a bundled set within service offer database 114h. In
particular, procedure management service 133 can present the user
with an option to indicate that a particular service selected by
the user should be offered as a primary service of a bundled set
or, alternatively, the information record for a particular service
selected by the user that is maintained within available services
database 114g can include an indication that the service can be
offered by providers within marketplace system 100 as a primary
service of a bundled set of a plurality of services or one or more
services and one or more products.
[0268] For a selected service for which such an indication is
provided, procedure management service 133 may be configured, for
example, to implement user interface controls accessible by the
user to guide the user through the process for offering the
selected service as a primary service of a bundled set and prompt
the user to input various types of information to populate a
respective information record that is established in association
with the unique practice group account identifier for the practice
group within service offer database 114h. Procedure management
service 133 can first present the user with a selectable list of
the physician users affiliated with the practice group from which
the user can submit an indication of affiliated physicians with
which to offer the primary service in conjunction with the practice
group account and then populate the information pertaining to the
primary service in the information record with the unique procedure
identifier for the information record within available services
database 114g for the selected service, the unique account
identifier for the account information record for the practice
group within physician profile database 114b as the provider that
is offering the primary service through the system, the unique
account identifier for the account information record for the
physician user within physician profile database 114b as the
physician user will perform the primary service, a location at
which the primary service will be performed, the unique account
identifier for the account information record (within physician
profile database 114b, practice group profile database 114c, or
hospital system profile database 114d) of the provider for which
payment for the primary service when purchased through the system
is to be directed (or, alternatively, other financial account
information) as indicated by user input received from the practice
group administrator, a payment amount to be transferred to the
provider or other financial account for which payment for the
primary service is to be directed as specified by user input
received from the practice group administrator, a discounted price
for purchasing the primary service within marketplace system 100
(which may be calculated, for example, by adding a negotiated
commission fee to the payment amount for the primary service
specified by the practice group administrator), a regular price for
the primary service when the primary service is purchased outside
of the system, additional descriptive information that may be
provided via input received from the practice group administrator,
a procedure offer identifier, and any other suitable
information.
[0269] Procedure management service 133 can then receive an
indication, either from the information record for a particular
service selected by the user that is maintained within available
services database 114g or through selections made by the user of
services offered by affiliated physicians for which an information
record for the offered service is maintained within service offer
database 114h, of one or more secondary services to be included in
the bundled set. Procedure management service can then populate the
information pertaining to each secondary service in the information
record with the unique procedure identifier for the information
record within available services database 114g for the secondary
service (or the secondary procedure identifier that is included in
the available services database 114g to uniquely identify the
particular secondary service in association with the unique
procedure identifier for the offered primary service where the
information record for the primary service being offered in the
available services database 114g includes an indication that the
service is offered as a primary service of a bundled set), the
unique physician account identifier for the account information
record within physician profile database 114b of the physician user
that will perform the secondary service, a location at which the
service will be performed, the unique account identifier for the
account information record (within physician profile database 114b,
practice group profile database 114c, or hospital system profile
database 114d) of the provider for which payment for the primary
service when purchased through the system is to be directed (or,
alternatively, other financial account information) as indicated by
user input received from the practice group administrator, a
payment amount to be transferred to the provider or other financial
account for which payment for the secondary service is to be
directed as specified by user input received from the practice
group administrator, a discounted price for purchasing the
secondary service within marketplace system 100 (which may be
calculated, for example, by adding a negotiated commission fee to
the payment amount for the secondary service specified by the
practice group administrator), a regular price for the secondary
service when the secondary service is purchased outside of the
system, and an indication of whether performance of the secondary
service is optional or required in association with performance of
the primary service.
[0270] Likewise, procedure management service 133 can also receive
an indication, either from the information record for a particular
service selected by the user that is maintained within available
products database 114i or through selections made by the user of
products offered by affiliated pharmacies for which an information
record for the product is maintained within product offer database
114j, of one or more products to be included in the bundled set.
Procedure management service can then populate the information
pertaining to each product in the information record with the
unique product identifier that is used to identify the information
record for the product within available products database 114i (or
the bundled product identifier that is included in the information
record for the primary service in the available services database
114g to uniquely identify the particular product in association
with the unique procedure identifier for the offered primary
service where the information record for the primary service being
offered in the available services database 114g includes an
indication that the service is offered as a primary service of a
bundled set), the unique pharmacy account identifier for the
account information record within pharmacy profile database 114e of
the pharmacy provider from which the product will be offered for
purchase within the bundled set, an indication of whether a
prescription is required to purchase the product, the unique
physician account identifier for the account information record
within physician profile database 114b of the affiliated physician
user that would be writing the prescription if a prescription is
required to purchase the product (for example, the physician user
that would be performing the primary service), an indication of
whether the pharmacy provider from which the product will be
offered for purchase within the bundled set is affiliated with
either of the provider that is offering the service through the
system or the physician user that will perform the primary service,
a discounted price for purchasing the offered product as part of
the bundled set within marketplace system 100, a regular price for
the secondary service when the service is purchased outside of the
system from the pharmacy provider from which the product will be
offered for purchase within the bundled set, the unique account
identifier for the account information record (within physician
profile database 114b, practice group profile database 114c,
hospital system profile database 114d, or pharmacy profile database
114e) of the provider for which payment for the product when
purchased through the system as part of the bundled set is to be
directed, a payment amount to be transferred to the provider for
which payment for performing the secondary service is to be
directed, and indication of whether the product is optional or
required in association with performance of the primary
service.
[0271] Procedure management service can further populate the
information in the information record with an indication of whether
the primary service is to be performed at an outside facility and,
if the primary service is to be performed at an outside facility,
items of information pertaining to each of one or more facilities
that may be used to perform the primary service such as, for
example, name, address, contact information, facility fee, and
compensation information indicating a financial account that is
used by the facility for receiving a facility fee (as specified by
user input received from the practice group administrator).
[0272] Upon the user indicating an intention to request payment for
a purchased service that have been performed (for example, by
selecting a "Voucher Processing" tab within the practice group
account page implemented by provider portal 130), the user will be
able to initiate a voucher processing session with transaction
processing service 136. In particular, transaction processing
service 136 may be configured, for example, to implement a voucher
history page within the user interface that presents information
relevant to the practice group administrator for a list of
purchases for which the respective information record for the
purchase that is maintained within transaction information database
114k includes the unique practice group account identifier for the
practice group within practice group profile database 114c as the
provider that is offering the service for purchase (for example, a
primary or secondary service for a bundled set). The relevant
information for each listed purchase may include, for example, the
voucher confirmation number or redemption code, name and contact
information for the customer user, a description of the service the
physician user is designated as performing for the purchase, a
purchase date, and a voucher redemption status.
[0273] The voucher history page can also provide a user interface
element in association with each of the listed purchases for which
the voucher redemption status for the service indicates the service
has not been performed that is accessible by the practice group
user to submit a verification to application server 116 that the
affiliated physician user specified as performing the service has
performed the service for the customer user in accordance with the
purchase. Transaction processing service 136 can be configured to,
upon such a verification being submitted, initiate a transfer of
the payment amount specified for the service performed by the
affiliated physician user in service offer database 114h and held
in the financial account maintained by the providers of marketplace
system 100 to the financial account listed for receiving the
payment amount for service that is specified in service offer
database 114h. Alternatively, in exemplary embodiments in which a
virtual payment system is implemented within server system 110,
transaction processing service 136 can be configured to, upon such
a verification being submitted, submit a notification to virtual
payment system manager 170 that the purchased service has been
rendered for the customer user to redeem the purchase in
conjunction with the unique transaction identifier for the
respective information record for the purchase of the service that
is maintained within transaction information database 114k.
Additionally, if the service performed by the physician is a
primary service of a bundled set for which a particular outside
facility that has been selected for performing the primary service,
transaction processing service 136 can be configured to initiate a
transfer of the facility fee specified for the service performed by
the physician user in service offer database 114h and held in the
financial account maintained by the providers of marketplace system
100 to the financial account for the facility that is indicated by
the compensation information for the facility. Transaction
processing service 136 can be configured to update the indication
of whether the purchase has been redeemed with respect to that
particular service (and facility if one is associated with the
service in the purchase) and include the redemption date for that
particular service in the information record for the purchased
service that is maintained within transaction information database
114k. In addition, transaction processing service 136 can further
be configured to send electronic notifications to the customer
user, the physician user, and the provider user for the offered
service (as specified according to the corresponding information
records within service offer database 114h and transaction
information database 114k), for example, by way of email utilizing
the contact information specified in the respective account
information records for the customer, the physician, and the
provider for the offered service.
[0274] Upon the user indicating an intention within the practice
group account page implemented by provider portal 130 to access
various account management functions, the user can access various
user interface elements provided by account management service 131
to, for example, manage profile and payment or compensation
information for both the practice group and affiliated physicians,
manage information pertaining to services and products offered for
purchase by the practice group, affiliated physicians, and
affiliated pharmacies, manage physician, hospital system, and
pharmacy affiliations, and view a history of transactions performed
for services offered for purchase by the practice group within
server system 110 (and relevant information for each purchase
including voucher redemption status).
[0275] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, the various account
management functions that are accessible by a logged-in practice
group administrator through the user interface implemented by the
account management service 131 can also include functions for
allowing the practice group administrator to manage and view
information pertaining to the respective virtual money account for
the practice group within the virtual payment system, including
information pertaining to the virtual funds that are transferred to
the respective virtual money account for the practice group by
virtual payment system manager 170 with regard to transactions
conducted within marketplace system in relation to purchases of
services and products being offered by the practice group or
offered by another provider for which the respective information
records for the offers within service offer database 114h and
product offer database 114j indicates payment for the offers when
purchased through the system is to be directed to the practice
group, manage and facilitate the disbursement of virtual funds
within the respective virtual money account for the practice group
with respect to an external financial account that is utilized by
the practice group for such purposes, and perform various other
functions with respect to transactions that are conducted within
marketplace system that involve virtual funds within the respective
virtual money account for the practice group or within the
respective virtual money account for a customer user and presently
allocated to use as payment for a purchase of an offered service or
product for which the respective information record for the offer
within service offer database 114h or product offer database 114j
indicates payment for the offer when purchased through the system
is to be directed to the practice group such as, for example,
cancellations of and other modifications with respect to
transactions and purchases that are conducted within marketplace
system.
[0276] In general, account management service 131 can be configured
to implement these functions for a practice group administrator by
operating and interacting with virtual payment system manager 170
in substantially the same manner as described above for
implementing corresponding account management functions for a
physician user registered with server system 110 with respect to
the virtual payment system, including, for example, the functions
of generating periodic reports of all transactions conducted within
the virtual payment system with respect to the virtual funds
assigned to the virtual money account for the practice period for a
particular period and handling requests for disbursals of virtual
funds assigned to the respective virtual money account for the
practice group. Likewise, in exemplary embodiments, virtual payment
system manager 170 can also be configured to automatically perform
periodic disbursals of all virtual funds assigned to the respective
virtual money account for the practice group to the external
financial account that is indicated as being used for purposes of
receiving disbursements in the respective account information
record for the practice group maintained within virtual money
account database 114o in substantially the same manner as described
above for performing such automatic periodic disbursals for
respective virtual money accounts of physician users.
[0277] In exemplary embodiments, when a user operating a client
system to access application server 116 via a corresponding client
application executing on the client system initiates a registration
with server system 110 and specifies an intention to register as a
hospital system administrator (for example, via a user interface
element on any page implemented by navigation and search service
124), the user will be able to initiate a registration session with
account management service 131 to register a hospital system
account with server system 110, as well as to register a respective
account information record for a virtual money account for the
hospital system within virtual money account database 114o in
exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system is
implemented within the server system. Account management service
131 may be configured, for example, to implement a user interface
that includes a series of pages with user interface controls
accessible by the user to guide the user through the account
registration process and prompt the user to input various types of
information or media to be maintained by database server 112 within
a respective account information record that is established for the
user within hospital system profile database 114d such as, for
example, contact information (such as an email address and/or a
telephone number), information pertaining to outside facilities
that can be used for particular procedures by physicians affiliated
with the hospital system (for example, information pertaining to
particular hospitals or clinics such as name, address, contact
information, facility fee, and compensation information indicating
a financial account for that is used by the facility for receiving
a facility fee), compensation information (indicating a financial
account for receiving payment for purchases of services performed
by affiliated physicians via the system), and any other suitable
identifying or descriptive information. In exemplary embodiments in
which a virtual payment system is implemented within the server
system, account management service 131 may also be configured to,
in response to receiving information input from the hospital system
administrator via the user interface during the account
registration process information pertaining to one or more outside
facilities that are used for particular services performed by
physicians affiliated with the hospital system, instruct virtual
payment system manager 170 to register a respective account
information record for a respective virtual money account for each
such facility within virtual money account database 114o. In this
regard, the items of information included in the set of general
information of the respective account information record created to
register the virtual money account for such a facility may specify
the indication of the financial account that is used by the
facility for receiving a facility fee as information indicative of
an external financial account that is used for purposes of
receiving disbursements from the virtual payment system.
[0278] The user interface may also be implemented by account
management service 131 to prompt the user to specify affiliated
physician users and enter any practice group affiliation codes. In
this regard, account management service 131 may be implemented to
provide user interface controls allowing the user to search for
physician users registered with server system 110 (for example, by
name and/or email address), access physician profile database 114a
to locate account information records for physician users matching
the search criteria, and provide user interface controls allowing
the user to register an affiliation within server system 110 with
any physician user returned in the search. Account management
service 131 may also provide an option for the user to indicate
whether electronic messages sent by server system 110 in
association with services offered (or sold on-site) by the hospital
system and performed by the affiliated physician user should be
delivered to an email address for the physician, an email address
for the hospital system, or both.
[0279] Likewise, account management service 131 may be implemented
to provide user interface controls allowing the user to search for
pharmacies registered with server system 110 (for example, by
name), access pharmacy profile database 114e to locate account
information records for pharmacies matching the search criteria,
and provide user interface controls allowing the user to register
an affiliation within server system 110 with any pharmacy returned
in the search. Account management service 131 may further be
implemented to provide user interface controls allowing the user to
register a new pharmacy account for an affiliated pharmacy with
server system 110 in a manner similar to that described below for
pharmacy registration (as well as to register a respective account
information record for a virtual money account for such a pharmacy
within virtual money account database 114o in exemplary embodiments
in which a virtual payment system is implemented within the server
system) and may also provide an option for the user to indicate
whether electronic messages sent by server system 110 in
association with products included in bundled sets offered the
practice group and provided by the pharmacy should be delivered to
an email address for the pharmacy, an email address for the
hospital system, or both.
[0280] Account management service 131 can be configured to access
database server 112 to create the respective account information
record for the user within hospital system profile database 114d
based on the information input by the user during the registration
process. Account management service 131 can be further configured
to generate the unique hospital system account identifier for the
created account information record, which may be used, for example,
to index and reference the created account information record
within database server 112. For any affiliated physician users,
affiliated pharmacies, or group practice affiliation codes
specified by the user, account management service 131 can be
configured to include the unique hospital system account identifier
for the created account information record in the account
information record for the physician that is maintained within
physician profile database 114a for each affiliated physician user,
in the account information record for the practice group that is
maintained within practice group profile database 114c for each
practice group corresponding to a submitted hospital affiliation
code, and in the account information record for the pharmacy that
is maintained within pharmacy profile database 114e for each
affiliated pharmacy, as well as include the corresponding practice
group, physician, and pharmacy account identifiers within the
account information record for the user within hospital system
profile database 114d. The created account information record can
also be identified with a unique user name and protected by a
password, which can be used by the user to log into the associated
hospital system account when accessing application server 116.
Moreover, the created account information record can also be
identified with a respective unique user name and protected by a
password for any other users authorized to access the associated
hospital system account when accessing application server 116. As
noted above, a hospital system account may be associated with and
accessible by a plurality of users having different levels of
access rights to the various functionality provided within provider
portal 130 for hospital system accounts.
[0281] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, account management service
131 can be configured to, in response to a conducting a
registration session with a user to register a hospital system
account for the user with server system 110, issue a notification
to virtual payment system manager 170 to create a respective
virtual money account for the hospital system within the virtual
payment system and provide the virtual payment system manager with
corresponding information obtained during the registration session
with the user for this purpose, such as an indication that the
respective account information record to be created within the
virtual money account database is for a hospital system
administrator that has registered with the server system and the
unique account identifier generated for the respective account
information record for the hospital system account within hospital
system profile database 114d. Virtual payment system manager 170
can be configured to, in response to receiving such a notification,
access database server 112 to create a respective account
information record for a virtual money account for the hospital
system within virtual money account database 114o based on the
corresponding registration information provided in conjunction with
the notification in a manner similar to that which is described
above for creating a respective account information record for a
virtual money account for a physician user and then issue a
notification of such to account management service 131 that
includes the unique virtual money account identifier generated for
the respective account information record for the hospital system
within the virtual money account database, and account management
service 131 can be configured to, in response to receiving such a
notification, access database server 131 to store the unique
virtual money account identifier within the respective account
information record for the user within hospital system profile
database 114d.
[0282] In exemplary embodiments, the user interface implemented by
account management service 131 may be further configured to provide
user interface controls for requesting authorization for payment of
a predetermined fee to gain access to the ability to offer
healthcare services for purchase within marketplace system 100.
Such a fee may be, for example, a one-time charge or a periodic
charge (such as a monthly, biannual, or annual fee). Account
management service 131 can be configured to, upon the authorization
and appropriate payment information being provided by the user via
the user interface controls provided by account management service
131, access a corresponding third-party payment servicing system
and utilize the payment information to direct the payment servicing
system to transfer the amount for the payment authorized by the
user from the account servicer of the user to a financial account
maintained by the providers of marketplace system 100.
Alternatively, the user interface implemented by account management
service 131 may be configured to provide user interface controls
for receiving an activation code to gain access to the ability to
offer healthcare services for purchase within marketplace system
100 or may be configured to provide such access to the user in
response to receiving a particular hospital affiliation code from
the user. In this regard, the respective account information record
established for the user within hospital system profile database
114d can further include an account status that is managed by
account management service 131 for the user indicating whether the
hospital system is presently provided with the ability to offer
healthcare services for purchase within marketplace system 100.
[0283] Upon a hospital system administrator registering a hospital
system account with server system 110 to establish an account
information record within practice group profile database 114c and
an authorized user logging into the hospital system account (for
example, by accessing a login user interface element or a login
screen within the user interface implemented by navigation and
search service 124 to provide the user name and password associated
with the account), the user may be directed to a hospital system
account page implemented by provider portal 130 that provides a set
of user interface controls that can be accessed by the user to
access functionality provided for users of hospital system
accounts.
[0284] In exemplary embodiments, the functionality that is provided
within provider portal 130 for users of hospital system accounts
can be substantially similar to the functionality that may be
provided within provider portal 130 for users of practice group
accounts as described for the non-limiting examples discussed
above. For instance, provider portal 130 can implement
functionality within the user interface allowing a user of a
hospital system account to offer a healthcare service for purchase
within marketplace system 100 (in association with an affiliated
physician or a physician that is affiliated with an affiliated
practice group), offering one or more healthcare products for
purchase in association with an offered service for purchase (in
association with both an affiliated physician or a physician that
is affiliated with an affiliated practice group and an affiliated
pharmacy or a pharmacy that is affiliated with an affiliated
practice group or physician), offering services for purchase as a
bundled set of services or one or more services and one or more
products within marketplace system 100, access a voucher history
page within the user interface that presents information relevant
to the hospital group user for a list of purchases for which the
respective information record for the purchase that is maintained
within transaction information database 114k includes the unique
hospital system account identifier for the hospital system within
hospital system profile database 114d as the provider that is
offering the service for purpose (for example, a primary or
secondary service for a bundled set), initiate a voucher processing
session to submit a verification and request payment processing for
a purchased service that have been performed, and access various
account management functions to, for example, manage profile and
payment or compensation information for both the hospital system
and affiliated pharmacies and physicians, manage information
pertaining to services and products offered by both the hospital
system and affiliated physicians for purchase, manage physician,
group practice, and pharmacy affiliations, and view a history of
transactions performed for services and products offered for
purchase by the hospital system within server system 110 (and
relevant information for each purchase including voucher redemption
status).
[0285] Likewise, in exemplary embodiments in which a virtual
payment system is implemented within server system 110, the various
account management functions that are accessible by a logged-in
hospital system administrator through the user interface
implemented by the account management service 131 can also include
functions for allowing the hospital system administrator to manage
and view information pertaining to the respective virtual money
account for the hospital system within the virtual payment system,
including information pertaining to the virtual funds that are
transferred to the respective virtual money account for the
hospital system by virtual payment system manager 170 with regard
to transactions conducted within marketplace system in relation to
purchases of services and products being offered by the hospital
system or offered by another provider for which the respective
information records for the offers within service offer database
114h and product offer database 114j indicates payment for the
offers when purchased through the system is to be directed to the
hospital system, manage and facilitate the disbursement of virtual
funds within the respective virtual money account for the hospital
system with respect to an external financial account that is
utilized by the hospital system for such purposes, and perform
various other functions with respect to transactions that are
conducted within marketplace system that involve virtual funds
within the respective virtual money account for the hospital system
or within the respective virtual money account for a customer user
and presently allocated to use as payment for a purchase of an
offered service or product for which the respective information
record for the offer within service offer database 114h or product
offer database 114j indicates payment for the offer when purchased
through the system is to be directed to the hospital system such
as, for example, cancellations of and other modifications with
respect to transactions and purchases that are conducted within
marketplace system.
[0286] In general, account management service 131 can be configured
to implement these functions for a hospital system administrator by
operating and interacting with virtual payment system manager 170
in substantially the same manner as described above for
implementing corresponding account management functions for a
physician user registered with server system 110 with respect to
the virtual payment system, including, for example, the functions
of generating periodic reports of all transactions conducted within
the virtual payment system with respect to the virtual funds
assigned to the virtual money account for the practice period for a
particular period and handling requests for disbursals of virtual
funds assigned to the respective virtual money account for the
hospital system. Likewise, in exemplary embodiments, virtual
payment system manager 170 can also be configured to automatically
perform periodic disbursals of all virtual funds assigned to the
respective virtual money account for the hospital system to the
external financial account that is indicated as being used for
purposes of receiving disbursements in the respective account
information record for the hospital system maintained within
virtual money account database 114o in substantially the same
manner as described above for performing such automatic periodic
disbursals for respective virtual money accounts of physician
users.
[0287] In exemplary embodiments, the functionality that is provided
within provider portal 130 for users of hospital system accounts
can vary in certain respects from the functionality that may be
provided within provider portal 130 for users of practice group
accounts. For example, with respect to physicians that are
affiliated with the hospital system account, users of hospital
system accounts may only be provided with access rights (for
example, to view, modify, and specify in a service being offered by
the hospital system for purchase) to services offered for purchase
by affiliated physician users that have been specified by the
physician users as being hospital procedures with respect to the
physician accounts. Hospital system users may also be provided with
functionality to, as an alternative to selecting a service by
accessing a list of selectable medical specialties when initiating
a service offering with procedure management service 133 to offer a
service performed by affiliated physicians for purchase via server
system 110, submit a search query for a service by inputting
descriptive terms or a medical code number that is used to identify
the service (for example, according to the CPT code set) or access
a list of affiliated physicians and, upon selecting a particular
affiliated physician from the list, be presented with a list of
selectable healthcare services for which an information record for
the service is maintained within service offer database 114h that
indicates the selected physician as the physician that will perform
the service. In addition, because a hospital system may be more
likely to offer a higher quantity of services for purchase as a
bundled set within marketplace system 100 than other types of
provider users, the functionality implemented by provider portal
130 within the user interface for allowing a user of a hospital
system account to manage information pertaining to services offered
by the hospital system for purchase and to view a history of
transactions performed for services offered for purchase by the
hospital system within server system 110 may include an additional
user interface element that is accessible by a user for the
hospital system account to manage and view information pertaining
to only services that are offered by the hospital system as a
bundled set.
[0288] In exemplary embodiments, healthcare marketplace system 100
may be further implemented to provide an interactive pricing tool
for use by healthcare service providers in setting prices for
healthcare services being offered to prospective patients through
the system, including bundled sets of services for which the
network-based application facilitates a disbursed distribution of
the payment among multiple service providers that perform services
(or provide use of a health care facility for performing a service)
included in a bundled set of services. Such exemplary embodiments,
as described in greater detail below, can provide mechanisms for
assisting providers with determining a fee schedule for services to
be offered for purchase via server system 110 and provide
interactive features to help ensure that providers will be able to
receive compensation amounts that are accurately reflective of the
business costs, desired returns, and value placed by providers for
services they provide for patients, taking into account factors
that may include training costs, utilizing up-to-date technologies,
qualifications, length of time in practice, reputation, skills,
amount of charity care given, geographic area, and other relevant
factors. Exemplary embodiments can thereby assist in reducing the
amount of overhead necessary to establish and monitor a
well-developed and maintained fee schedule that is market
sensitive, fiscally responsible, and organizationally sound,
particularly for bundled payment arrangements for services that are
delivered by two or more providers during a single episode of care
for a patient.
[0289] Referring now to FIG. 6, a schematic diagram illustrating an
example network architecture for healthcare marketplace system 100
within which an exemplary embodiment of a provider pricing tool in
accordance with the present invention is implemented. It should of
course be understood that FIG. 6 is intended as an example, not as
an architectural limitation for different embodiments of the
present invention, and therefore, the particular elements depicted
in FIG. 6 should not be considered limiting with regard to the
environments within which exemplary embodiments of the present
invention may be implemented.
[0290] In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the particular
components that are utilized for providing the provider pricing
tool are integrated within system 100 in conjunction with the
components of the system as described above with reference to the
exemplary embodiments illustrated FIGS. 1 and 2. More specifically,
the pricing tool 137 is shown in FIG. 6 as being implemented within
procedure management service 133 included within provider portal
130, and data store 114 further comprises a service pricing
information database 114m and a cost adjustment information
database 114n that are maintained by database server 112, are
accessed by application server 116 via database services provided
at a front end by database server 112, and retain information
collected from a variety of data sources that is utilized in
providing the services offered via the provider pricing tool within
the network service provided by the application server, as
described below in greater detail.
[0291] In the present exemplary embodiment, service pricing
information database 114m is used to maintain information records
with extensive medical cost data for an exhaustive set of
healthcare services that can be offered by providers registered
with server system 110 for purchase by customer users registered
with the server system, and cost adjustment information database
114n is used to maintain a comprehensive set of data pertaining to
location-based pricing adjustments that can be applied to the
medical cost data maintained in service pricing information
database 114m based on, for example, geographic zones or particular
facilities within which healthcare services may be performed. In
exemplary embodiments, the respective information records for
healthcare services that are maintained in service pricing
information database 114m and the information that populates the
respective information record for each service can be created and
maintained by a back-end administrator of server system 110.
Likewise, the information that populates cost adjustment
information database 114n can also be compiled and maintained by
such a back-end administrator. The information used to populate the
information maintained in service pricing information database 114m
and cost adjustment information database 114n can be compiled based
on medical information and cost data sourced from a number of
public and private healthcare information sources and can be
continually updated in response to updates to the information
sources to ensure that the underlying medical pricing and cost
adjustment data upon which the information compiled in service
pricing information database 114m and cost adjustment information
database 114n is based is up-to-date.
[0292] While service pricing information database 114m is being
described in the present exemplary embodiment as being a separate
database that is maintained within data store 114, in view of the
overlap between the sets of information maintained within service
pricing information database 114m and available services database
114g, in exemplary embodiments, the information records maintained
in service pricing information database 114m can be maintained by
database server 112 in a group with or otherwise integrated with
available services database 114g. In particular, as with available
services database 114g, for each service for which an information
record is maintained within service pricing information database
114m, various items of information relevant to the service, such as
name, procedure detail, one or more medical specialties with which
the procedure is commonly associated, one or more medical code
numbers identifying the service according to nomenclature used by
formal medical classification systems (for example, one or more
codes that are used to identify or correspond to the service
according to the CPT code set and/or one or more codes that is used
to identify or correspond to the service according to the
Healthcare Common Procedure Coding Systems (HCPCS) code set), a
service identifier that is used by application server 116 to
uniquely identify the particular service, and any other suitable
information may be included in the respective information record
for the service that is maintained within service pricing
information database 114m. Moreover, for purposes of utilization by
pricing tool 137 as will be described below, the items of
information included within the respective information record for
each service that is maintained within service pricing information
database 114m can further include a procedure category within which
the service is determined to be categorized as a sub-procedure (for
example, according to formal or typical medical classifications for
procedures or otherwise configured in any suitable manner by a
back-end administrator of server system 110) and a set of pricing
information that is more comprehensive than the examples of cost
information described above with reference to available services
database 114g.
[0293] Additionally, in exemplary embodiments, in a manner that is
similar to available services database 114g, the information record
for each service that is maintained within service pricing
information database 114m may further include an indication of
whether the service can be (or is required to be) offered by
providers within marketplace system 100 as an individual primary
service or as a primary service of a bundled set of a plurality of
services (for which a single payment for the bundled set of
services will be disbursed to different provider for each of the
services in the bundled set). In such embodiments, for each service
for which the information record includes an indication that the
service is offered as a primary service of a bundled set of
services, various items of additional information relevant to the
bundled set of services associated with the service that is
indicated to be a primary service may be included in the respective
information record for the primary service that is maintained
within service pricing information database 114m.
[0294] Such items of information relevant to the bundled set of
services included in the respective information record for a
primary service within service pricing information database 114m
may include, for example, items of information describing one or
more secondary services associated with the primary service (such
as name, a medical code number such as a CPT code identifying the
service according to the nomenclature used by a formal medical
classification system, and a secondary procedure identifier that is
used by application server 116 to uniquely identify the particular
secondary service in association with the unique procedure
identifier for the primary service), one or more procedure or
service identifiers for other services for which an information
record is maintained within available services database 114g and/or
service pricing information database 114m that are considered to be
secondary services associated with the primary service, an
indication of whether performance of each of the one or more
secondary services is optional or required in association with
performance of the primary service, an indication of whether the
primary service is required to be performed at an outside facility,
and, if the primary service is a procedure that is required to be
performed at an outside facility, a medical code number identifying
the use of the facility in association with the primary service
according to the nomenclature used by a formal medical
classification system (for example, an Ambulatory Payment
Classification (APC) code for a service that is considered to be a
facility outpatient service or a diagnosis related group (DRG) code
for a service that is considered to be a facility inpatient
service). In addition, in such embodiments, for each service for
which the information record includes an indication that the
service is offered as a primary service of a bundled set of
services, the pricing information that is included in the
respective information record for the primary service that is
maintained within service pricing information database 114m can
include respective pricing information for each of the primary
service, the one or more secondary services, and, if required, the
use of an outside facility for the primary service individually. In
exemplary embodiments, the items of information relevant to the
bundled set of services included in the respective information
record for a primary service may further include an indication of
whether each of one or more secondary services associated with the
primary service is an anesthesia procedure or a pathology
procedure.
[0295] As noted above, the information used to populate the
information records within service pricing information database
114m can be compiled based on medical information and cost data
sourced from a number of public and private healthcare information
sources. In exemplary embodiments, the set of pricing information
that is maintained for the primary service of each information
record within service pricing information database 114m can be
compiled based on data available from the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) associated with the CMS's
Resource-Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) and its underlying
Relative Value Units (RVUs) and conversion factors (CFs) in
conjunction with other reference sources, such as, for example,
current versions of the AMA CPT book, HCPCS information, Medicare
RBRVS, RBRVS Data Manager, and Medicare's National Correct Coding
Initiative (NCCI), and similar resources.
[0296] For example, the information used to populate the set of
pricing information included within the respective information
record for each service that is maintained within service pricing
information database 114m can be obtained from CMS standardized
physician payment schedule data as determined by the RBRVS and the
underlying RVUs and CFs that are associated with the CPT code
and/or HCPCS code assigned to the service. In general, the CMS uses
the RBRVS to measure the total amount of physician resources
required to provide a specific physician service such that, in the
RBRVS system, payments for services are determined by the resource
costs needed to provide them. The total amount of physician
resources is referred to as the service's "relative value" and is
divided into three "relative value unit" (RVU) components:
physician work, practice expense, and professional liability
insurance. The RBRVS determines each service's work, practice
expense and professional liability insurance RVUs. The physician
work RVUs are updated each year to account for changes in medical
practice and are determined based on factors that include the time
it takes to perform the service; the technical skill, physical
effort, mental effort, and judgment required to perform the
service; and the stress on the physician resulting from the
service's potential risk to the patient. The practice expense RVU
measures physician resources used to provide a particular service,
which can include expenses associated with the physician's use of
nonclinical personnel to provide the service and expenses for
office space, equipment, and supplies. In this regard, the value of
the practice expense RVU component for a particular service will
depend upon whether an outside facility would be used by the
physician providing the service. For this reason, with respect to
procedures that may require the use of an outside facility, the
RBRVS provides both a facility practice expense RVU measure and a
non-facility practice expense RVU measure for each of these
procedures. In exemplary embodiments, for each such procedure for
which the RBRVS provides both a facility practice expense RVU
measure and a non-facility practice expense RVU measure, respective
information records can be maintained for the service as a facility
service and for the service as a non-facility service within
service pricing information database 114m. The professional
liability insurance RVU component is designed to reflect the cost
of obtaining medical liability insurance. The relative value for a
particular service is derived by summing the values of the three
RVU components determined for the service, and a standard national
rate for the service is then calculated by multiplying this
combined relative value for the service by a conversion factor (a
monetary amount that is determined and updated on a quarterly basis
by the CMS and may vary between particular services or service
categories, for example, in relation to CPT code ranges). In
exemplary embodiments, the standard national rate derived in this
manner for each service and the underlying RVUs and CFs that are
associated with the CPT code and/or HCPCS code assigned to the
service can be included in the set of pricing information of the
respective information record for the service within service
pricing information database 114m.
[0297] In the present exemplary embodiments, for use in conjunction
with the physician service pricing information within service
pricing information database 114m, a corresponding set of cost
adjustment data can be compiled and maintained within cost
adjustment information database 114n that can be applied to account
for geographical variances in physician costs. The cost adjustment
data can, for instance, be compiled from and/or determined based
upon the Geographic Practice Cost Indices (GPCIs), which is used
along with RVUs in Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) provided
by CMS to determine allowable payment amounts for medical
procedures in a manner that reflects geographical variations in
practice cost. GPCIs are used to help standardize the differences
in resource costs incurred in operating a private medical practice
across geographic areas when those costs are compared with the
national average costs for the physician work, practice expense,
and malpractice insurance components of the fee schedule. More
specifically, the CMS has established a GPCI for every Medicare
payment locality for each of the three relative value unit
components for a procedure (that is, the RVUs for work, practice
expense, and malpractice), and the GPCIs are applied in the
calculation of a fee schedule payment amount by multiplying the RVU
for each component times the GPCI for that component. A listing of
the current GPCI locality structure, including state, locality area
(and when applicable, counties assigned to each locality area), and
the corresponding GPCIs for each locality, can be obtained from the
CMS website, and this information can be compiled and maintained
within cost adjustment information database 114n by a back-end
administrator of server system 110. In exemplary embodiments, a
specific cost adjustment factor can be determined based on the GPCI
information for each designated locality area and maintained within
cost adjustment information database 114n. For example, a standard
rate adjustment factor for each designated locality area can be
determined by calculating an average (or any other suitable
aggregate- or composite-based) factor by which the corresponding
GPCIs for the locality impact the standard national rate derived
for each service. As another example, such a standard rate
adjustment factor for each designated locality area can be derived
directly from the Geographic Adjustment Factor (GAF) that is
determined for the locality by CMS. The GAF for each designated
locality area is calculated as the weighted average of the three
GPCIs, where the weights are the percentage of RVUs nationally made
up by the PW, PE, and MP RVUs.
[0298] In another example, for each service for which the
information record within service pricing information database 114m
includes an indication that the service is offered as a primary
service of a bundled set of services along with an indication that
the primary service is required to be performed at an outside
facility, the respective pricing information that is included in
the information record for the use of the outside facility can be
determined by whether the use of the outside facility is classified
as a facility outpatient service or a facility inpatient service.
For instance, for each facility outpatient service, the respective
pricing information that is included in the information record for
the use of the outside facility can be obtained from the APC price
data that is maintained in association with CPT or HCPCS procedure
codes by CMS. CMS assigns individual services classified according
to HCPCS codes to APCs based on similar clinical characteristics
and similar costs. Thus, APCs are essentially line-level fee
schedules in which each HCPCS code for a service is assigned to one
of hundreds of individual APCs, and for almost every APC, the fee
is determined by multiplying a prospectively established scaled
relative weight for the service's clinical APC by a conversion
factor (CF) to arrive at a national unadjusted payment rate for the
APC. National unadjusted payment rates for each HCPCS code for
which separate payment is made that applies to the date of service
can be compiled from the published addendums located at
www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-forService-Payment/HospitalOutpatien-
tPPS/HospitalOutpatient-Regulations-and-Notices.html on the CMS web
site.
[0299] Accordingly, in exemplary embodiments, for each service for
which a respective information record is maintained within service
pricing information database 114m and a corresponding APC is
provided by CMS, the corresponding national unadjusted payment rate
for the facility outpatient service can be included in the set of
pricing information of the respective information record for the
service within service pricing information database 114m. In this
regard, while the identification of such corresponding national
unadjusted payment rates for services for which the respective
information record within service pricing information database 114m
includes a HCPCS medical code for identifying the service will be
straightforward, identifying of such corresponding national
unadjusted payment rates for services for which the respective
information record within service pricing information database 114m
includes another medical code number, such as a CPT code, for
identifying the service will require an additional mapping step.
For example, the particular national unadjusted payment rate for an
facility outpatient service that is included in the pricing
information of a respective information record maintained within
service pricing information database 114m that includes a CPT code
identifying the service may be determined by mapping the CPT code
for the service to a corresponding HCPCS code, and then identifying
the national unadjusted payment rate that corresponds to the mapped
HCPCS code. For this purpose, in exemplary embodiments, for each
service for which an information record is maintained within
service pricing information database 114m, the items of information
relevant to the service can further include a mapping between a CPT
code identifier for the service and an HCPCS code identifier for
the service. In exemplary embodiments, such mapping information can
be determined and compiled within the information records of
service pricing information database 114m by a back-end
administrator of system 110.
[0300] In the present exemplary embodiment, for use in conjunction
with the facility outpatient service pricing information within
service pricing information database 114m discussed above, a
corresponding set of cost adjustment data can be compiled and
maintained within cost adjustment information database 114n that
can be applied to account for geographic differences. The cost
adjustment data for the facility outpatient service pricing
information can, for instance, be compiled from and/or determined
based upon the facility wage index that is maintained by the CMS.
To account for geographic differences in input prices in
determining allowable payment amounts for facility outpatient
services, CMS further adjusts a labor portion of the national
unadjusted payment rate (60 percent) by a facility wage index for
the area where payment is being made (the remaining 40 percent
non-labor portion is not adjusted). Presently, the wage index that
is used by the CMS for this purpose is the inpatient prospective
payment system (IPPS) wage index with all adjustments. In exemplary
embodiments, the facility wage index information can be obtained
from CMS and maintained within cost adjustment information database
114n.
[0301] In a similar manner, the respective pricing information that
is included in information record for the use of the outside
facility for each facility inpatient service can be obtained from
the Medicare Severity-DRG (MS-DRG) price data that is maintained by
CMS. Under the IPPS payment system for the operating costs of acute
care hospital inpatient stays that is based on prospectively set
rates, each case is categorized into a diagnosis-related group
(DRG), which is a group of patients with similar clinical problems
that are expected to require similar amounts of hospital resources,
and whereby diagnoses and procedures assigned according to ICD-9-CM
codes determine the MS-DRG assignment. Each DRG has a payment
weight assigned to it that is based on the average resources used
to treat Medicare patients in that DRG, and this payment weight is
multiplied by an associated base payment rate that consists of a
labor component and a non-labor component. These base payment
rates, which are also known as standardized payment amounts for
operating payments and the Federal rate for capital payments, are
set by CMS for the operating and capital costs that efficient
facilities would be expected to incur in furnishing covered
inpatient services. Operating payments cover labor and supply
costs. Capital payments cover costs for depreciation, interest,
rent, and property-related insurance and taxes. The IPPS sets a
national operating base rate and a national capital base rate each
fiscal year.
[0302] As there is not a one-to-one match between MS-DRG assignment
and CPT or HSPCS codes, compiling the facility inpatient service
pricing information within service pricing information database
114m based on the MS-DRG price data requires an additional data
mapping step. For example, the particular DRG payment rate
information that is included in the respective pricing information
of an information record for the use of the outside facility for
each facility inpatient service may be determined by identifying
the CPT code or HCPCS code for the services and then mapping the
identified code for the service to a corresponding MS-DRG
assignment. This mapping operation can be performed by a back-end
administrator of system 110 based on information available from
various sources, such as private insurance medical policy websites,
coverage decision information available from CMS, published
technology assessment reports, IPPS information available from CMS,
and the like. In this regard, because there will not be a
one-to-one correspondence between services identified by CPT or
HCPCs codes and the MS-DRG assignments such that many services will
correspond to multiple MS-DRG assignments, the facility inpatient
service pricing information to be included in the respective
information record for each such service within service pricing
information database 114m can be derived from the price data for
the multiple corresponding MS-DRG assignments. For example, the
facility inpatient service pricing information included in the
respective information record for such a service can be determined
by calculating an average of the payment weights for the multiple
corresponding MS-DRG assignments. In another example, the facility
inpatient service pricing information included in the respective
information record for such a service can be determined by simply
selecting the lowest of the payment weights for the multiple
corresponding MS-DRG assignments.
[0303] Upon such a mapping being performed for each service for
which the information record within service pricing information
database 114m includes an indication that the service is offered as
a primary service of a bundled set of services along with an
indication that the primary service is performed as a facility
inpatient service, the DRG payment weight derived for the MS-DRG(s)
mapped to the particular service, along with the current national
operating base rate and a national capital base rate set by IPPS,
can be included in the set of pricing information of the respective
information record for the service within service pricing
information database 114m.
[0304] In the present exemplary embodiment, for use in conjunction
with the facility inpatient service pricing information within
service pricing information database 114m discussed above, a
corresponding set of cost adjustment data can be compiled and
maintained within cost adjustment information database 114n that
can be applied to account for geographic differences. Similar to
the example discussed above with regard to the cost adjustment data
for the facility outpatient service pricing information, the cost
adjustment data for the facility inpatient service pricing
information can, for instance, be compiled from and/or determined
based upon the facility wage index that is maintained by the CMS.
As noted above, in exemplary embodiments, the facility wage index
information can be obtained from CMS and maintained within cost
adjustment information database 114n.
[0305] In this regard, it should be noted that certain services for
which the respective information record within service pricing
information database 114m includes an indication that the service
is offered as a primary service of a bundled set of services along
with an indication that the primary service is required to be
performed at an outside facility may facilitate a mapping of the
use of the outside facility to both facility outpatient service
price data and facility inpatient service price data. In exemplary
embodiments, for such services, a back-end administrator of server
system 110 can make a determination of which set of facility price
data is more suitable to include in the set of pricing information
of the information record. For example, such a determination may be
based upon whether the particular service is more typically
performed as a facility outpatient service or a facility inpatient
service. In alternative exemplary embodiments, for each service for
which the respective information record within service pricing
information database 114m includes an indication that the service
is offered as a primary service of a bundled set of services along
with an indication that the primary service is required to be
performed at an outside facility for which the use of the outside
facility can be mapped to both facility outpatient service price
data and facility inpatient service price data, respective
information records can be maintained for the service as an
outpatient facility service and for the service as an inpatient
facility service within service pricing information database
114m.
[0306] In some exemplary embodiments, for each service for which
the information record within service pricing information database
114m includes an indication that the service is offered as a
primary service of a bundled set of services along with an
indication that the primary service is required to be performed at
an outside facility, the respective pricing information that is
included in the information record for the use of the outside
facility can include, in addition to or as an alternative to the
facility pricing information discussed above, corresponding
facility pricing information that is applicable for situations in
which the use of the outside facility is classified as, rather than
a facility outpatient service or a facility inpatient service, an
Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) service. An ASC is a distinct type
of facility entity that operates exclusively for the purpose of
furnishing surgical services to patients who do not require
hospitalization and in which the expected duration of services does
not exceed 24 hours following admission.
[0307] In such exemplary embodiments, the respective pricing
information that is included in each information record for which
an indicated use of the outside facility may be provided as an ASC
service, the respective pricing information that is included in the
information record for the use of the outside facility as an ASC
service can be obtained from the Ambulatory Surgical Center Fee
Schedule (ASCFS) that is maintained by CMS, under which each
procedure that is approved by CMS for payment as an ASC service is
classified into one of nine payment groups based on their cost
similarity (rather than clinical similarity). For most procedures
covered under the ASC system, the payment rate is the product of a
relative weight and an ASC conversion factor, which is set lower
than the conversion factor that is used with respect to facility
outpatient services, and CMS sets the national payment rate for
each of the nine payment groups equal to an estimated median cost
of procedures in that group. Accordingly, in exemplary embodiments,
for each service for which a respective information record is
maintained within service pricing information database 114m that
includes an indication that the primary service is required to be
performed at an outside facility and for which the primary service
can be mapped to corresponding procedure that is approved by CMS
for payment as an ASC service, the corresponding national payment
rate for the payment group under which the ASC service is
classified can be included in the set of pricing information of the
respective information record for the service. As the CMS
classifies procedures in the ASC system according to HCPCS codes,
such a mapping can be implemented, for example, in a manner similar
to that described above with reference to facility outpatient
services to identify ASC national payment rates for corresponding
services.
[0308] Additionally, in such exemplary embodiments, for use in
conjunction with the ASC service pricing information within service
pricing information database 114m discussed above, a corresponding
set of cost adjustment data can be compiled and maintained within
cost adjustment information database 114n that can be applied to
account for geographic differences. The cost adjustment data for
the ASC service pricing information can, for instance, be compiled,
in a manner similar to the cost adjustment data for the facility
outpatient service pricing information described above, from and/or
determined based upon the ASC wage index information that is
maintained by the CMS. To account for geographic differences in
input prices in determining allowable payment amounts for ASC
services, CMS further adjusts a labor portion of the national
unadjusted payment rate (50 percent) by an ASC wage index for the
area where payment is being made (the remaining 50 percent
non-labor portion is not adjusted). Thus, in exemplary embodiments,
the ASC wage index information can be obtained from CMS and
maintained within cost adjustment information database 114n.
[0309] In another example, for each service for which the
information record within service pricing information database 114m
includes an indication that the service is offered as a primary
service of a bundled set of services along with an indication that
a secondary service associated with the primary service is an
anesthesia procedure, the respective pricing information that is
included in the information record for the associated anesthesia
procedure can be compiled from the anesthesia pricing information
that is maintained by CMS. For this purpose, different types of
services involving administration of anesthesia are assigned
corresponding CPT codes, and each anesthesia code is assigned a
base unit that reflects the difficulty of the procedure and
inherent risks. For determining allowable payment amounts for
anesthesia services, CMS utilizes the following formula:
(Time Units+Base Units).times.Conversion Factor=Anesthesia Fee
Amount.
[0310] In this regard, anesthesia time is a continuous time period
from the start of anesthesia to the end of an anesthesia service,
and one time unit corresponds to a 15-minute interval, or fraction
thereof, starting from the time the physician begins to prepare the
patient for induction and ending when the patient may safely be
placed under post-operative supervision and the physician is no
longer in personal attendance. The conversion factors are listed by
the CMS according to locality. Thus, the conversion factor in the
formula listed above will correspond to the locality of the
performing provider.
[0311] Accordingly, in exemplary embodiments, for each service for
which the respective information record within service pricing
information database 114m includes an indication that the service
is offered as a primary service of a bundled set of services along
with an indication that a secondary service associated with the
primary service is an anesthesia procedure, corresponding
anesthesia base rate information for the anesthesia service that is
derived from the anesthesia pricing information maintained by CMS
can be included in the set of pricing information of the respective
information record for the service within service pricing
information database 114m. For use in conjunction with the
anesthesia service pricing information within service pricing
information database 114m, the corresponding locality anesthesia
conversion factors can be compiled and maintained within cost
adjustment information database 114n. In this regard, it should be
noted that while certain primary services will have associated
anesthesia procedures that correspond to a specific anesthesia CPT
code, other primary services may have associated procedures that
correspond to multiple anesthesia CPT codes. Thus, for each service
for which the respective information record within service pricing
information database 114m includes an indication that a secondary
service associated with the primary service is an anesthesia
procedure for which a respective anesthesia CPT code is provided,
the corresponding anesthesia base rate information for the
anesthesia service to be included in the set of pricing information
of the respective information record can be derived, for example,
by multiplying the corresponding base unit assigned the anesthesia
code by a typical or expected number of time units for performing
the particular type of anesthesia procedure. Such a typical or
expected number of time units can be determined, for example, by a
back-end administrator of server system 110. For each service for
which the respective information record within service pricing
information database 114m includes an indication that a secondary
service associated with the primary service is an anesthesia
procedure for which there is not a one-to-one correspondence
between the primary service and an anesthesia code assignment for
the associated anesthesia procedure, the corresponding anesthesia
base rate information for the anesthesia service to be included in
the set of pricing information of the respective information record
can be derived, for example, from the base rate for each of
multiple corresponding anesthesia code assignments. For example,
the corresponding anesthesia base rate information included in the
respective information record for such a service can be determined
by calculating an average of the base rates for the multiple
corresponding anesthesia code assignments and then multiplying the
calculated average base unit by a typical or expected number of
time units for performing the particular type of anesthesia
procedure. In another example, the corresponding anesthesia base
rate information included in the respective information record for
such a service can be determined by simply selecting the lowest of
the base rates for the multiple corresponding anesthesia code
assignments and then and then multiplying the selected lowest base
unit by a typical or expected number of time units for performing
the particular type of anesthesia procedure.
[0312] In another example, for each service for which the
information record within service pricing information database 114m
includes an indication that the service is offered as a primary
service of a bundled set of services along with an indication that
a secondary service associated with the primary service is a
pathology procedure, the pricing information that is included in
the respective information record for the pathology service can be
obtained from the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS)
maintained by CMS in association with the CPT coding for surgical
pathology. More specifically, in exemplary embodiments, for each
service for which the information record includes an indication
that a secondary service associated with the primary service is a
pathology procedure, the corresponding CPT code can be identified
for the pathology service, and the laboratory fee that corresponds
to the identified CPT code can be identified from the CLFS and
included as a pathology rate in the set of pricing information of
the respective information record for the service within service
pricing information database 114m.
[0313] As described above, healthcare marketplace system 100 is
implemented as a client/server system that includes central server
system 110, which is commonly accessed by each user of the system
through operation of any of client systems 140 that are operatively
coupled to the central server system via a communication network
150. Each client system 140 is a user terminal or other client
device implementing software for and running a respective client
application 142 for accessing services provided via a network-based
application (also referred to herein as a network service)
implemented by application server 116, and application server 116
can implement a user interface on the client application within
which the client application renders the information served by the
application server so that users of connected client systems 140
can access various services provided by the application server with
relative ease by operating a corresponding client application 142.
In exemplary embodiments, the user interface can be a web-based
user interface, implemented as a web-based software application
hosting a corresponding website that provides a number of web pages
(that is, screens) to offer the services implemented by application
server 116 to users. For example, a user can access the
corresponding website and, thereby, the services provided by the
application server using a web browser implemented within a client
application 142 executing on a client system 142.
[0314] In exemplary embodiments, to access the functionality
provided by pricing tool 137, a provider user, upon registering a
provider account with server system 110 (for example, a physician,
practice group, or hospital system account) to establish an account
information record within the corresponding profile database
maintained within data store 114 and logging into his or her
physician account, the user may be directed to a provider account
page implemented by provider portal 130 that provides a set of user
interface controls that can be accessed by the user to access
functionality provided by procedure management service 133 to offer
healthcare services for purchase by customer users registered with
the system. As noted above, in the present exemplary embodiment,
the accessible functionality provided by procedure management
service 133 in this regard includes the functionality provided by
pricing tool 137.
[0315] In particular, upon the provider user indicating an
intention to utilize pricing tool in conjunction with offering
healthcare services for purchase via server system 110 (for
example, by selecting a "Service Pricing Tool" tab within the
provider account page implemented by provider portal 130), the user
will be directed to an interactive service pricing page with
information that is generated based on the information maintained
in the respective information record for the provider within the
corresponding profile database maintained within data store 114 and
the respective information records for healthcare services that are
maintained in service pricing information database 114m. Price
setting tool 137 may be configured, for example, to implement the
interactive service pricing page to provide the provider user with
detailed pricing information and recommended rates for services
that may be offered by the provider for purchase via server system
110, as well as various user interface controls accessible by the
user to perform adjustments to the recommended rates as
desired.
[0316] FIG. 7A is a screen shot illustrating a first example of a
graphical user interface provided by such a service pricing page
700 for a user accessing provider portal 130 in association with a
registered hospital system account. In the example illustrated in
FIG. 7A, the user interface provided at service pricing page 700
includes a medical specialty drop-down menu 702, a locality
adjustment section 704, a recommended rate adjustment section 706,
a detailed pricing information section 708, and a set of selectable
buttons 710a ("Email Prices"), 710b ("Save Changes"), and 710c
("Take Live"), the use of which will be described in greater detail
below. Drop-down menu 702 provides a list of selectable medical
specialties (for example, orthopedics, general surgery, cardiac
imaging, etc.), and pricing tool is implemented to, in response to
the user selecting a particular medical specialty using drop-down
menu 702, configure the user interface options and populate the
information displayed within locality adjustment section 704,
recommended rate adjustment section 706, and detailed pricing
information section 708 in accordance with the selected medical
specialty and further based on information maintained in the
respective information record for the provider that is maintained
within hospital system profile database 114d, information that is
maintained in the respective information records for each service
indicated as being commonly associated with the selected medical
specialty within service pricing information database 114m, and
information maintained within cost adjustment information database
114n, which, as discussed above, can be accessed by pricing tool
137 via database services provided at a front end by database
server 112.
[0317] For instance, in the example screen shot illustrated in FIG.
7A, the user has selected "Radiology" from medical specialty
drop-down menu 702, and pricing tool 137 has, in response to this
selection, configured the user interface options and populated the
information displayed within locality adjustment section 704,
recommended rate adjustment section 706, and detailed pricing
information section 708 in accordance with the selection of
"Radiology" from drop-down menu 702. More specifically, as shown in
FIG. 7A, locality adjustment section 704 has been configured to
include a physician locality section and a facility section in
response to the selection of "Radiology" from drop-down menu 702.
The physician locality section is provided for making pricing
adjustments based on the locality of a physician that is affiliated
with the hospital system and would be performing the radiology
services being priced. The facility section is included within
locality adjustment section 704 in response to pricing tool 137
recognizing that the respective information records for services
indicated as being commonly associated with the selected medical
specialty of radiology within service pricing information database
114m include information records having an indication that the
service is a primary service of a bundled set of services that is
required to be performed at an outside facility and is provided for
making pricing adjustments based on the facility that is affiliated
with the hospital system at which the radiology services being
priced would be performed.
[0318] In the present example, the physician locality section
includes a physician location field 704a and a physician location
rate field 704b, and the facility section includes a facility field
704c and a facility rate field 704d. The physician location field
704a is for receiving and displaying an entry specifying the
location of a physician that would be performing the services
indicated as being commonly associated with the selected medical
specialty of radiology within service pricing information database
114m, and the physician location rate field 704b is configured to
provide a rate adjustment factor for the pricing information
included in detailed pricing information section 708 for the
services indicated as being commonly associated with radiology. In
exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be configured to derive
an initial physician location entry based on the location
associated with physician affiliation(s) included in hospital
system profile database 114d and include this derived physician
location entry as a default value within physician location field
704a. Physician location rate field 704b is provided for receiving
and displaying a geographic adjustment rate for physician services
that, by default, is derived based on information maintained in
cost adjustment information database 114n and provided by pricing
tool 137 in correspondence with the physician location entry that
is currently specified within physician location field 704a. More
particularly, in exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be
configured to access the physician rate cost adjustment data in
cost adjustment information database 114n that corresponds to the
physician location entry that is currently specified within
physician location field 704a (for example, a standard rate
adjustment factor determined for a designated locality area that
encompasses the specified physician location entry) and derive a
corresponding geographic adjustment rate that is displayed as a
default value within physician location rate field 704b.
[0319] In the present example, pricing tool 137 is further
configured to allow the provider user accessing service pricing
page 700 to proceed to enter text corresponding to a desired
location of the physician that would perform the services
associated with the selected medical specialty within physician
location field 704a. In this regard, pricing tool 137 may be
configured to require that the text entered by the user in
physician location field 704a correspond to a particular locality
area for which corresponding physician rate adjustments are
maintained in cost adjustment information database 114n. In
exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be configured to, in
response to the provider user accessing physician location field
704a to specify a particular physician location, provide a list of
suggested physician locations that correspond to designated
locality areas for which cost adjustment data is maintained in cost
adjustment information database 114n and are determined to be
similar to the text being entered by the user in physician location
field 704a from which the user can select a desired value for the
location of the physician that would be performed the services
associated with the medical specialty selected from drop-down menu
702. The list of suggested physician locations provided by pricing
tool 137 can further include an option for the user to select a
standard, national physician rate rather than a particular
geographic location. In response to a specification of a new
physician location within physician location field 704a, pricing
tool 137 can be configured to dynamically access the physician rate
cost adjustment data in cost adjustment information database 114n
that corresponds to the newly-specified physician location entry
that is currently specified within physician location field 704a
and derive a corresponding geographic adjustment rate that is
displayed as the current value within physician location rate field
704b. In the present example, pricing tool 137 is also configured
to allow the provider user to directly access physician location
rate field 704b and specify a desired value for the geographic
adjustment rate that will override the particular geographic
adjustment rate that is derived by pricing tool 137 based on the
physician location entry within physician location field 704a and
displayed as the current value within physician location rate field
704b. The effect of such an entry being submitted within physician
rate field 704b will be described below with reference to detailed
pricing information section 708.
[0320] Similarly, with reference to the facility section of
locality adjustment section 704 in the present example, facility
field 704c is for receiving and displaying an entry specifying the
name of a particular outside facility that would be used to perform
services that are indicated as being commonly associated with the
selected medical specialty of radiology and as being a primary
service of a bundled set of services that is required to be
performed at an outside facility within service pricing information
database 114m, and the facility rate field 704d is configured to
provide a rate adjustment factor for the pricing information
included in detailed pricing information section 708 for the
facility fee for services indicated as being commonly associated
with radiology. In exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be
configured to derive an initial outside facility entry based on the
facility affiliation(s) included the respective information record
for the hospital system account in hospital system profile database
114d being used to access the pricing tool 137 functionality via
provider portal 130 and include this derived facility entry as a
default value within facility field 704c. Facility rate field 704d
is provided for receiving and displaying an adjustment rate for
facility services that, by default, is derived and provided by
pricing tool 137 in correspondence with the characteristics of the
facility that is currently specified as the entry within facility
field 704c. In exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be
configured to retrieve the characteristic information for the
facility that is currently specified as the entry within facility
field 704c from the information included for affiliated facilities
within the respective information record for the hospital system
account within hospital system profile database 114d, and pricing
tool 137 can be configured to access the cost adjustment data
pertaining to facility services in cost adjustment information
database 114n corresponding to the characteristics of the facility
that is currently specified as the entry within facility field 704c
and apply to the corresponding facility cost adjustment data to
derive a corresponding facility adjustment rate that is displayed
as a default value within facility rate field 704d.
[0321] In the present example, pricing tool 137 is further
configured to allow the provider user accessing service pricing
page 700 to proceed to enter text corresponding to a name of a
desired outside facility at which the services associated with the
selected medical specialty would be performed within facility field
704c. In this regard, pricing tool 137 may be configured to require
that the text entered by the user in facility field 704c correspond
to the name of a particular facility specified in the facility
affiliations included the respective information record for the
hospital system account in hospital system profile database 114d
being used to access the pricing tool 137 functionality via
provider portal 130. In exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can
be configured to, in response to the provider user accessing
facility field 704c to specify a particular facility name, provide
a list of names of suggested facilities that are determined to be
similar to the text being entered by the user in facility field
704c from which the user can select a desired value for the name of
the facility at which the services associated with the medical
specialty selected from drop-down menu 702 would be performed. The
list of suggested facility names provided by pricing tool 137 can
further include an option for the user to select a standard,
national facility rate rather than an adjustment rate for a
particular facility. In response to a specification of a new
facility within facility field 704c, pricing tool 137 can be
configured to dynamically access the cost adjustment data
pertaining to facility services in cost adjustment information
database 114n corresponding to the characteristics retrieved from
the information included for affiliated facilities within the
respective information record for the hospital system account
within hospital system profile database 114d for the
newly-specified facility entry within facility field 704c and apply
to the corresponding facility cost adjustment data to derive a
corresponding facility adjustment rate that is displayed as the
current value within facility rate field 704d. In the present
example, pricing tool 137 is also configured to allow the provider
user to directly access facility rate field 704d and specify a
desired value for the facility adjustment rate that will override
the particular facility adjustment rate that is derived by pricing
tool 137 based on the facility entry within facility field 704c and
displayed as the current value within facility rate field 704d. The
effect of such an entry being submitted within facility rate field
704d will be described below with reference to detailed pricing
information section 708.
[0322] With continued reference to the example screen shot
illustrated in FIG. 7A, pricing tool 137 has, in response to the
user selection "Radiology" from medical specialty drop-down menu
702, configured the user interface options and populated the
information displayed within rate adjustment section 706. More
specifically, as shown in FIG. 7A, rate adjustment section 706 has
been configured to include a physician rate adjustment field 706a
and a facility rate adjustment field 706b in response to the
selection of "Radiology" from drop-down menu 702. Physician rate
adjustment field 706a is provided for making a general pricing
adjustment to the pricing information included in detailed pricing
information section 708 for physician fees for the services
indicated as being commonly associated with radiology as desired by
the provider user that may be based on any budgetary considerations
specific to the provider and/or physician. Facility rate adjustment
field 706b is included within rate adjustment section 706 in
response to pricing tool 137 recognizing that the respective
information records for services indicated as being commonly
associated with the selected medical specialty of radiology within
service pricing information database 114m include information
records having an indication that the service is a primary service
of a bundled set of services that is required to be performed at an
outside facility and is provided for making a general pricing
adjustment to the pricing information included in detailed pricing
information section 708 for physician fees for the services
indicated as being commonly associated with radiology as desired by
the provider user that may be based on any budgetary considerations
specific to the provider and/or facility.
[0323] More specifically, physician rate adjustment field 706a is
provided to allow the provider user accessing the functionality
provided by pricing tool 137 via provider portal 130 to enter a
percentage value by which physician fees listed in detailed pricing
information section for the services indicated as being commonly
associated with radiology will be multiplied, and facility rate
adjustment field 706b is likewise provided to allow the provider
user to enter a percentage value by which outside facility fees
listed in detailed pricing information section for the services
indicated as being commonly associated with radiology will be
multiplied. In exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be
configured to initially specify and display default percentage
values within physician rate adjustment field 706a and facility
rate adjustment field 706b, which may be determined and set by a
back end administrator of server system 110 based on budgetary
considerations for typical providers. Such default percentages
values can be used in the initial calculations used to generate the
initial pricing information that is displayed in detailed pricing
information section 708 for physician fees and outside facility
fees for the services indicated as being commonly associated with
radiology. Pricing tool 137 can be further configured to, in
response to each instance of the provider user accessing rate
adjustment section 706 to enter new percentage values within
physician rate adjustment field 706a or facility rate adjustment
field 706b, re-calculate and update the pricing information for
physician fees and outside facility fees that is displayed in
detailed pricing information section 708 for the services indicated
as being commonly associated with radiology.
[0324] With continued reference to the example screen shot
illustrated in FIG. 7A, as noted above, pricing tool 137 has, in
response to the user selection "Radiology" from medical specialty
drop-down menu 702, configured the user interface options and
populated the information displayed within detailed pricing
information section 708. In general, as shown in FIG. 7A, detailed
pricing information section 708 is generated by pricing tool 137 as
a table with various interactive user interface controls that
includes a procedure column 711, a facility price column 712, a
physician price column 713, an additional fee column 714, and a
total amount column 715.
[0325] The information in procedure column 711 is generated by
pricing tool 137 to include a row entry for each procedure category
listed in the respective information records for services that are
maintained in service pricing information database 114m and include
an indication that the service is commonly associated with the
medical specialty selected via drop-down menu 702, which is
"Radiology" for the example screen shot depicted in FIG. 7A. For
instance, the procedure categories listed in procedure column 711
in the present example include "Bone Density DXA Extremity"
radiology procedures, "Bone Density DXA Scan" radiology procedures,
and "Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study" radiology procedures. As
further illustrated in FIG. 7A for the example of the "Bone Density
DXA Extremity" radiology procedures listing in procedure column
711, detailed pricing information section 708 is implemented to
include user interface elements that are accessible by the user to
expand the information listed for each procedure category to
display information pertaining to the specific services for which
the respective information records maintained in service pricing
information database 114m indicate the service is categorized under
that procedure category, as well as corresponding user interface
elements that are accessible by the user to collapse any set of
information listed for a procedure category that has been expanded
in the user interface.
[0326] In the present example, the expanded information for the
"Bone Density DXA Extremity" radiology procedures listing includes
row entries for a "Dxa bone density/peripheral" service and a
"Fracture assessment via dxa" service. As further illustrated in
FIG. 7A, the expanded information for a particular procedure
category further includes, for each service categorized as a
sub-procedure of the procedure category, a medical code number used
to identify the service (for example, a CPT code), a base facility
rate, a base physician rate, an adjusted facility rate, and an
adjusted physician rate. The base physician rate for each service
listed in the expanded display is obtained by pricing tool 137 from
standard national physician rate derived for the service as
described above that is stored within the respective information
record maintained for the service within service pricing
information database 114m for display within detailed pricing
information section 708, and the adjusted physician rate for each
service listed in the expanded display is calculated by pricing
tool 137 for display within detailed pricing information section
708 by multiplying the corresponding base physician rate by both
the current value that is specified in physician location rate
field 704b of locality adjustment section 704 and the current
percentage value that is specified in physician rate adjustment
field 706a of recommended rate adjustment section 706. Likewise,
the base facility rate for each service listed in the expanded
display is obtained by pricing tool 137 from the national or
otherwise derived base facility rates for the use of an outside
facility in conjunction with the service that is stored within the
respective information record maintained for the service within
service pricing information database 114m for display within
detailed pricing information section 708, and the adjusted facility
rate for each service listed in the expanded display is calculated
by pricing tool 137 for display within detailed pricing information
section 708 by multiplying the corresponding base facility rate by
both the current value that is specified in facility location rate
field 704d of locality adjustment section 704 and the current
percentage value that is specified in facility rate adjustment
field 706b of recommended rate adjustment section 706.
[0327] In the present example, as further illustrated in FIG. 7A,
the expanded information for a particular procedure category
further includes a physician price field 711a that specifies a
price that will be set by the provider user for each of the
services that have been categorized under the expanded procedure
category and a facility price field 711b that specifies a price
that will be applied by the provider user for the use of an outside
facility for each of the services that have been categorized under
the expanded procedure category. By providing a mechanism that
enables the user to determine and utilize the same pricing values
for each of the services that have been categorized under the same
procedure category, pricing tool 137 can simplify the task of
setting a fee schedule for a provider.
[0328] In exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be configured
to derive and include initial, default price values within
physician price field 711a and physician price field 711a. For
example, pricing tool 137 can derive and set the default price
value within physician price field 711a as the average of the
adjusted physician rates for all services listed in the expanded
display for a procedure category. Likewise, pricing tool 137 can
derive and set the default price value within facility price field
711b as the average of the adjusted facility rates for all services
listed in the expanded display for a procedure category. In
exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be configured to
provide an option via user interface controls for the user to
select a particular method from a list of methods that can be
employed by pricing tool 137 to derive and set the price values
within each of physician price field 711a and facility price field
711b. For example, pricing tool 137 can be configured to enable the
user select between using the average of the corresponding adjusted
rates for all services listed in the expanded display for a
procedure category for the price values within each of physician
price field 711a and facility price field 711b or the highest of
the corresponding adjusted rates for all services listed in the
expanded display for a procedure category for the price values
within each of physician price field 711a and facility price field
711b. A provider user may, for instance, be inclined to select the
option to use the highest of the corresponding adjusted rates for
all services listed in the expanded display for a procedure
category for the price values within physician price field 711a or
facility price field 711b, rather than the average, where the
provider only offers services under that procedure category for
which corresponding adjusted rates are on the higher end of the
spectrum for the procedure category or where the provider expects
that a majority of purchases of the services listed in the expanded
display for that procedure category will be for the services for
which corresponding adjusted rates are on the higher end of the
spectrum for the procedure category. In exemplary embodiments,
pricing tool 137 can be further configured to allow the provider
user accessing service pricing page 700 to access each of physician
price field 711a and facility price field 711b to input particular
price values within these fields. For instance, based on a review
of the pricing information provided within detailed pricing
information section 708 for the services listed in the expanded
display for a procedure category, a provider user may determine
that, based on expected purchases of the services listed in the
expanded display for that procedure category, certain price values
will be more representative of the costs for providing the services
listed in the expanded display.
[0329] As further indicated in the example screen shot illustrated
in FIG. 7A, the row entry for a particular procedure category will
include a pricing value under physician price column 713 that
corresponds to the pricing value that is specified within physician
price field 711a in the expanded display for the procedure
category, and, likewise, the row entry for a particular procedure
category will include a pricing value under facility price column
712 that corresponds to the pricing value that is specified within
facility price field 711b in the expanded display for the procedure
category. In this regard, pricing tool 137 can be configured to
dynamically update the pricing values provided under physician
price column 713 and facility price column 712 in response to
changes to the price values within physician price field 711a and
facility price field 711b respectively. As discussed above, in
exemplary configurations of pricing tool 137, such changes to the
price values within physician price field 711a and facility price
field 711b in the expanded display for a particular procedure
category may occur in response to changes to any of the current
values that are specified in physician location rate field 704b and
facility location rate field 704d of locality adjustment section
704, the current percentage values that are specified in physician
rate adjustment field 706a and facility rate adjustment field 706b
of recommended rate adjustment section 706, changes in the
particular method employed by pricing tool 137 to derive and set
the price values within each of physician price field 711a and
facility price field 711b, and direct entries of particular price
values by a provider user within physician price field 711a and
facility price field 711b.
[0330] In exemplary embodiments, the row entry for a particular
procedure category can include a pricing value under additional fee
column 714 that lists an additional fee amount that would be
included in the price for offering any service listed in the
expanded display for a procedure category for purchase via
marketplace system 100. For example, such a fee may correspond to a
negotiated or contracted commission fee for offering a service for
purchase via the system (for example, a fixed percentage of the
price for a service and/or a flat fee). As further illustrated in
FIG. 7A, the row entry for a particular procedure category can
include a pricing value under total amount column 715 that is
provided as a sum of the price values listed under facility price
column 712, physician price column 713, and, if included,
additional fee column 714 in the row entry for a particular
procedure category. This represents the actual price at which each
service listed in the expanded display for a procedure category
would be offered for purchase via marketplace system 100 as a
bundled set of services from the provider user accessing service
pricing page 700 via provider portal 130.
[0331] In some exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be
further configured to provide an option via user interface controls
implemented within service pricing page 700 for a provider user
that is accessing the service pricing page and has selected a
medical specialty from drop-down menu 702 for which pricing tool
137 recognizes that the respective information records for services
indicated as being commonly associated with the selected medical
specialty within service pricing information database 114m include
information records having an indication that the service is a
primary service of a bundled set of services that is required to be
performed at an outside facility to specify that the pricing
information for the use of the outside facility included in service
pricing page 700 should be populated based on the ASC pricing
information maintained within service pricing information database
114m and cost adjustment information database 114n. For example,
pricing tool 137 can be configured to, in response to a provider
user making such a specification within service pricing page 700,
such as by specifying a new facility within facility field 704c
that is an ASC, dynamically repopulate the information displayed
within locality adjustment section 704, recommended rate adjustment
section 706, and detailed pricing information section 708 based on
the ASC pricing information maintained within service pricing
information database 114m and information maintained within cost
adjustment information database 114n that corresponds to the
location of the newly-specified ASC facility.
[0332] In exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be further
configured to provide an option via user interface controls
implemented within detailed pricing information section 708 for a
provider user accessing service pricing page 700 to review and
determine pricing for offering services via marketplace system 100
for a particular medical specialty selected from drop-down menu 702
to delete certain procedure categories and particular procedures
from the detailed pricing information section of the service
pricing page interface. Such an option may be useful for a provider
user, for example, when the provider user is not planning to any of
the services listed in the expanded display for a particular
procedure category or any specific services that are listed as
sub-procedures in the expanded display for a particular procedure
category for purchase via marketplace system 100. In such exemplary
embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be further configured to provide
an option via user interface controls to review any procedure
categories deleted by the provider user and reset detailed pricing
information section 708 to revert to listing any deleted procedure
categories.
[0333] As noted above and further illustrated in FIG. 7A, the user
interface provided at service pricing page 700 in the present
example also includes a set of accessible user interface controls
710a ("Email Prices"), 710b ("Save Changes"), and 710c ("Take
Live"). For purposes of the present example, these user interface
controls are provided within service pricing page 700 as selectable
buttons. In the present exemplary embodiment, pricing tool 137 can
be configured to, in response to a provider user selecting "Save
Changes" button 710b, generate an information record that includes
indications of all of the information currently specified within
each of the various fields included within service pricing page 700
and each of the various options currently selected by the provider
user within user interface of the service pricing page for the
particular medical specialty selected by the user from drop-down
menu 702 and store this generated information record within or
otherwise in association with the respective account information
record maintained within the corresponding profile database of data
store 114 for the provider account in association with which the
provider user is conducting the present session with provider
portal 130 to access functionality provided by the pricing tool via
the service pricing page. Upon such a corresponding information
record being generated and stored by pricing tool 137 for the
provider user in this manner and the provider user navigating away
from service pricing page 700 or logging out of the provider
account being used to access services provided by application
server 116 via provider portal 130 in association with the
respective account information record maintained within the
corresponding profile database of data store 114 for the provider
account, pricing tool 137 can be configured to, in response to the
next time the provider user is logged in to the provider account,
accesses the functionality provided by pricing tool 137 via the
service pricing page, and selects the same particular medical
specialty via drop-down menu 702, retrieve the information record
that was stored in association with the respective account
information record maintained within the corresponding profile
database of data store 114 for the provider account and configure
the initial information specified within each of the various fields
included within and the initial settings for the service pricing
page in accordance with the information included within this
document when rendering the service pricing page.
[0334] In the present exemplary embodiment, pricing tool 137 can be
configured to, in response to a provider user selecting "Email
Prices" button 710a, provide user interface controls for allowing
the user to specify an email address and send an electronic
document that includes indications of the pricing information
currently displayed within detailed pricing information section 708
of service pricing page 700 for the particular medical specialty
presented selected by the user from drop-down menu 702 to the
specified email address. Pricing tool 137 can be configured to, in
response to the provider user specifying an email address and
selecting the option to send a corresponding document via these
user interface controls, generate such an electronic document (such
as, for example, a Microsoft Excel document) and send the generated
document to the specified email address. A provider user may wish
to utilize this functionality, for example, to send the information
currently displayed within detailed pricing information section 708
of service pricing page 700 to an email address utilized by the
provider user or in association with the provider account for
subsequently performing a review of this information without
logging in to the provider account being used to access services
provided by application server 116 via provider portal 130 or,
alternatively, to send the information included in the document
generated by pricing tool 137 to an email address utilized by a
physician that would be performing services currently displayed
within detailed pricing information section 708 of service pricing
page 700 or an outside facility that would be used for performing
such services for informational purposes and/or for approval of the
relevant pricing information.
[0335] Finally, with reference to the present example, pricing tool
137 can be configured to, in response to a provider user selecting
"Take Live" button 710c, automatically initiate, on behalf of the
provider user, a service offering with procedure management service
133 to offer each of the services currently included within
detailed pricing information section 708 of service pricing page
700 for the particular medical specialty presented selected by the
user from drop-down menu 702 for purchase via server system 110 and
establish the respective information record for the offered service
within service offer database 114h in accordance with the
information currently specified within the service pricing page for
the service and any associated information maintained within data
store 114 (such as, for example, the unique procedure identifier
for the information record within available services database 114g
for the service, the unique account identifier for the account
information record within physician profile database 114b for the
physician user will perform the service, a location at which the
service will be performed, the unique account identifier for the
account information record within the corresponding profile
database of the provider for which payment for the service when
purchased through the system is to be directed, a price for
purchasing the service within marketplace system 100, etc.). In
this manner, pricing tool 137 can provide a mechanism for a
provider to offer a large number of services for purchase via
marketplace system 100 by customer users registered with the system
without having to perform full set of operations described above
for accessing functionality provided by procedure management
service 133 to offer each of the services individually.
[0336] FIG. 7B is a screen shot illustrating a second example of a
graphical user interface provided by service pricing page 700 for a
user accessing provider portal 130 in association with a registered
hospital system account. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7B, the
user has selected "General Surgery" from medical specialty
drop-down menu 702, and pricing tool 137 has, in response to this
selection, configured the user interface options and populated the
information displayed within locality adjustment section 704, rate
adjustment section 706, and detailed pricing information section
708 in accordance with the selection of "General Surgery" from
drop-down menu 702. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7B,
locality adjustment section 704 has been configured to include, in
addition to the physician locality section and the facility section
described above with reference to the example illustrated in FIG.
7C, an anesthesia locality section in response to the selection of
"General Surgery" from drop-down menu 702. The anesthesia locality
section is included within locality adjustment section 704 in
response to pricing tool 137 recognizing that the respective
information records for services indicated as being commonly
associated with the selected medical specialty of general surgery
within service pricing information database 114m include
information records having an indication that the service is a
primary service of a bundled set of services for which a secondary
service associated with the primary service in the bundled set is
an anesthesia procedure and is provided for making pricing
adjustments based on the locality at which the general surgery
services being priced (and, thus, the associated anesthesia
procedure) would be performed.
[0337] In the present example, the anesthesia locality section
includes an anesthesia location field 704e and an anesthesia
location rate field 704f. The anesthesia location field 704e is for
receiving and displaying an entry specifying the location at which
the services indicated as being commonly associated with the
selected medical specialty of general surgery within service
pricing information database 114m would be performed, and the
anesthesia location rate field 704f is configured to provide a rate
adjustment factor for the pricing information included in detailed
pricing information section 708 for the services indicated as being
commonly associated with radiology. In exemplary embodiments,
pricing tool 137 can be configured to derive an initial anesthesia
location entry based on the location associated with physician
affiliation(s) included in hospital system profile database 114d
and include this derived physician location entry as a default
value within anesthesia location field 704e. In other exemplary
embodiments, and in the example screen shot illustrated in FIG. 7B,
pricing tool 137 can be configured to specify that a standard,
national anesthesia rate is being used as a default value within
anesthesia location field 704e rather than a particular geographic
location. Anesthesia location rate field 704f is provided for
receiving and displaying a geographic adjustment rate for physician
services that, by default, is derived and provided by pricing tool
137 in correspondence with the anesthesia location entry that is
currently specified within anesthesia location field 704e. More
particularly, in exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be
configured to access the information pertaining to anesthesia rate
adjustments in service pricing information database 114n
corresponding to the anesthesia location entry that is currently
specified within anesthesia location field 704e and derive a
corresponding geographic adjustment rate that is displayed as a
default value within anesthesia location rate field 704e. The
corresponding geographic adjustment rate can be derived, for
example, based on a ratio of the CMS anesthesia conversion factor
to a standard, national anesthesia conversion factor.
[0338] In the present example, pricing tool 137 is further
configured to allow the provider user accessing service pricing
page 700 to proceed to enter text corresponding to a desired
location within anesthesia location field 704e at which the
services associated with the selected medical specialty would be
performed. In this regard, pricing tool 137 may be configured to
require that the text entered by the user in within anesthesia
location field 704e correspond to a particular locality area for
which corresponding anesthesia rate adjustments are maintained in
cost adjustment information database 114n. In exemplary
embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be configured to, in response to
the provider user accessing within anesthesia location field 704e
to specify a particular physician location, provide a list of
suggested locations that correspond to designated locality areas
for which anesthesia cost adjustment data is maintained in cost
adjustment information database 114n and are determined to be
similar to the text being entered by the user in anesthesia
location field 704e from which the user can select a desired value
for the location at which the services associated with the medical
specialty selected from drop-down menu 702 would be performed. The
list of suggested anesthesia locations provided by pricing tool 137
can further include an option for the user to select a standard,
national anesthesia adjustment rate rather than a particular
geographic location, which pricing can be configured to recognize
as corresponding to a standard, national anesthesia conversion
factor. In response to a specification of a new location within
anesthesia location field 704e, pricing tool 137 can be configured
to dynamically access the information pertaining to physician rate
adjustments in geographic factors database 114n corresponding to
the newly-specified physician location entry within anesthesia
location field 704e and derive a corresponding geographic
adjustment rate that is displayed as the current value within
anesthesia location rate field 704f. In the present example,
pricing tool 137 is also configured to allow the provider user to
directly access anesthesia location rate field 704f and specify a
desired value for the geographic adjustment rate that will override
the particular geographic adjustment rate that is derived by
pricing tool 137 based on the location entry within anesthesia
location field 704e and displayed as the current value within
anesthesia location rate field 704f The effect of such an entry
being submitted within anesthesia rate field 704f will be described
below with reference to detailed pricing information section
708.
[0339] With continued reference to the example screen shot
illustrated in FIG. 7B, as noted above, pricing tool 137 has, in
response to the user selection "General Surgery" from medical
specialty drop-down menu 702, configured the user interface options
and populated the information displayed within rate adjustment
section 706. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7B, rate
adjustment section 706 has been configured to include, in addition
to a physician rate adjustment field 706a and a facility rate
adjustment field 706b as described above with reference to the
example screen shot shown in FIG. 7A, an anesthesia rate adjustment
field 706c in response to the selection of "Radiology" from
drop-down menu 702. Anesthesia rate adjustment field 706c is
included within rate adjustment section 706 in response to pricing
tool 137 recognizing that the respective information records for
services indicated as being commonly associated with the selected
medical specialty of general surgery within service pricing
information database 114m include information records having an
indication that the service is a primary service of a bundled set
of services for which a secondary service associated with the
primary service in the bundled set is an anesthesia procedure and
is provided for making a general pricing adjustment to the pricing
information included in detailed pricing information section 708
for anesthesia fees for the services indicated as being commonly
associated with general surgery as desired by the provider user
that may be based on any budgetary considerations specific to the
provider or physician.
[0340] More specifically, anesthesia rate adjustment field 706c is
provided to allow the provider user accessing the functionality
provided by pricing tool 137 via provider portal 130 to enter a
percentage value by which anesthesia fees listed in detailed
pricing information section 708 for the services indicated as being
commonly associated with general surgery will be multiplied. In
exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be configured to
initially specify and display a default percentage value within
anesthesia rate adjustment field 706c, which may be determined and
set by a back end administrator of server system 110 based on
budgetary considerations for typical providers. Such a default
percentages value can be used in the initial calculations used to
generate the initial pricing information that is displayed in
detailed pricing information section 708 for anesthesia fees for
the services indicated as being commonly associated with general
surgery. Pricing tool 137 can be further configured to, in response
to each instance of the provider user accessing rate adjustment
section 706 to enter a new percentage value within anesthesia rate
adjustment field 706c, re-calculate and update the pricing
information for anesthesia fees that is displayed in detailed
pricing information section 708 for the services indicated as being
commonly associated with general surgery.
[0341] With continued reference to the example screen shot
illustrated in FIG. 7B, as noted above, pricing tool 137 has, in
response to the user selection "General Surgery" from medical
specialty drop-down menu 702, configured the user interface options
and populated the information displayed within detailed pricing
information section 708. In general, as shown in FIG. 7B, detailed
pricing information section 708 is generated by pricing tool 137 as
a table with various interactive user interface controls that
includes, in addition to procedure column 711, facility price
column 712, physician price column 713, additional fee column 714,
and total amount column 715, an anesthesia price column 716. As
illustrated in FIG. 7B, the expanded information for a particular
procedure category further includes, for each service categorized
as a sub-procedure of the procedure category, in addition to a
medical code number used to identify the service, a base facility
rate, a base physician rate, an adjusted facility rate, and an
adjusted physician rate as described above with reference to FIG.
7A, a base anesthesia rate and an adjusted anesthesia rate. In
exemplary embodiments, the base anesthesia rate for each service
listed in the expanded display can be derived by pricing tool 137
for display within detailed pricing information section 708 by
accessing service pricing information to obtain the corresponding
anesthesia base rate, accessing cost adjustment information
database 114m to obtain a standard, national anesthesia conversion
factor, and multiplying the obtained anesthesia base rate by the
obtained national anesthesia conversion factor, and the adjusted
anesthesia rate for each service listed in the expanded display is
calculated by pricing tool 137 for display within detailed pricing
information section 708 by multiplying the corresponding base
anesthesia rate for the service listed in the expanded display by
both the current value that is specified in anesthesia location
rate field 704e of locality adjustment section 704 and the current
percentage value that is specified in anesthesia rate adjustment
field 706f of recommended rate adjustment section 706.
[0342] In the present example, as further illustrated in FIG. 7B,
the expanded information for a particular procedure category
further includes, in addition to physician price field 711a and
facility price field 711b, an anesthesia price field 711c that
specifies a price that will be applied by the provider user for
each anesthesia service performed in association with the services
that have been categorized under the expanded procedure category.
In exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be configured to
derive and include an initial, default price value within
anesthesia price field 711c. For example, pricing tool 137 can
derive and set the default price value within anesthesia price
field 711c as the average of the adjusted anesthesia rates for all
services listed in the expanded display for a procedure category.
In exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be configured to
provide an option via user interface controls for the user to
select a particular method from a list of methods that can be
employed by pricing tool 137 to derive and set the price values
within anesthesia price field 711c. For example, pricing tool 137
can be configured to enable the user select between using the
average of the corresponding adjusted anesthesia rates for all
services listed in the expanded display for a procedure category
for the price values within anesthesia price field 711c or the
highest of the corresponding adjusted anesthesia rates for all
services listed in the expanded display for a procedure category
for the price values within anesthesia price field 711c. In
exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be further configured
to allow the provider user accessing service pricing page 700 to
access anesthesia price field 711c to input a particular price
value within this field.
[0343] As further indicated in the example screen shot illustrated
in FIG. 7B, the row entry for a particular procedure category will
include a pricing value under anesthesia price column 716 that
corresponds to the pricing value that is specified within
anesthesia price field 711c in the expanded display for the
procedure category. In this regard, pricing tool 137 can be
configured to dynamically update the pricing value provided under
anesthesia price column 716 in response to changes to the price
value within anesthesia price field 711c. As discussed above, in
exemplary configurations of pricing tool 137, such changes to the
price value within anesthesia price field 711c in the expanded
display for a particular procedure category may occur in response
to changes to any of the current value that is specified in
anesthesia location rate field 704f of locality adjustment section
704, the current percentage value that is specified in anesthesia
rate adjustment field 706c of recommended rate adjustment section
706, changes in the particular method employed by pricing tool 137
to derive and set the price value within anesthesia price field
711c, and direct entries of a particular price value by a provider
user within anesthesia price field 711c. As further illustrated in
FIG. 7B, the row entry for a particular procedure category can
include a pricing value under total amount column 715 that is
provided as a sum of the price values listed under facility price
column 712, physician price column 713, anesthesia price column
716, and, if included, additional fee column 714 in the row entry
for a particular procedure category. This represents the actual
price at which each service listed in the expanded display for a
procedure category would be offered for purchase via marketplace
system 100 as a bundled set of services from the provider user
accessing service pricing page 700 via provider portal 130. In
exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be further configured
to provide an option via user interface controls implemented within
service pricing page 700 for a provider user that is accessing the
service pricing page 700 and has selected a medical specialty from
drop-down menu 702 for which pricing tool 137 recognizes that the
respective information records for services indicated as being
commonly associated with the selected medical specialty within
service pricing information database 114m include information
records having an indication that the service is a primary service
of a bundled set of services that a secondary service associated
with the primary service in the bundled set is an anesthesia
procedure to not include information and options pertaining to the
associated anesthesia procedures and anesthesia pricing information
within the service pricing page for the selected medical specialty.
Pricing tool 137 can be configured to, in response to a provider
user selecting this option within service pricing page 700 (for
example, by de-selecting a checkbox), remove any information and
options pertaining to the associated anesthesia procedures and
anesthesia pricing information from the service pricing page for
the selected medical specialty. For instance, upon a provider user
selecting such an option within the example screen shot shown in
FIG. 7B, pricing tool 137 can operate to reconfigure the user
interface for service pricing page 700 to resemble the user
interface illustrated in the example screen shot shown in FIG.
7A.
[0344] FIG. 7C is a screen shot illustrating a third example of a
graphical user interface provided by service pricing page 700 for a
user accessing provider portal 130 in association with a registered
hospital system account. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7C, the
user has selected "GI" (gastroenterology) from medical specialty
drop-down menu 702, and pricing tool 137 has, in response to this
selection, configured the user interface options and populated the
information displayed within locality adjustment section 704, rate
adjustment section 706, and detailed pricing information section
708 in accordance with the selection of "GI" from drop-down menu
702. In particular, pricing tool 137 has, in response to the user
selection "GI" from medical specialty drop-down menu 702,
recognized that the respective information records for services
indicated as being commonly associated with the selected medical
specialty of gastroenterology within service pricing information
database 114m include information records having an indication that
the service is a primary service of a bundled set of services that
a secondary service associated with the primary service in the
bundled set is a pathology service. In this regard, pricing tool
137 has configured the user interface options and populated the
information displayed within detailed pricing information section
708 based on this recognition. In general, as shown in FIG. 7C,
detailed pricing information section 708 is generated by pricing
tool 137 as a table with various interactive user interface
controls that includes, in addition to procedure column 711,
facility price column 712, physician price column 713, additional
fee column 714, and total amount column 715, a pathology price
column 717.
[0345] As illustrated in FIG. 7C, the expanded information for a
particular procedure category further includes, for each service
categorized as a sub-procedure of the procedure category, in
addition to a medical code number used to identify the service, a
base facility rate, a base physician rate, an adjusted facility
rate, and an adjusted physician rate as described above with
reference to FIG. 7A, a base pathology rate. The base pathology
rate for each service listed in the expanded display is obtained by
pricing tool 137 from the pathology rate for the service that is
stored within the respective information record maintained for the
service within service pricing information database 114m for
display within detailed pricing information section 708.
[0346] In the present example, as further illustrated in FIG. 7C,
the expanded information for a particular procedure category
further includes, in addition to physician price field 711a and
facility price field 711b, a pathology price field 711d that
specifies a price that will be applied by the provider user for
each pathology service performed in association with the services
that have been categorized under the expanded procedure category.
In exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be configured to
derive and include an initial, default price value within pathology
price field 711d. For example, pricing tool 137 can derive and set
the default price value within pathology price field 711d as the
average of the base pathology rates for all services listed in the
expanded display for a procedure category. In exemplary
embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be further configured to allow
the provider user accessing service pricing page 700 to access
pathology price field 711d to input a particular price value within
this field.
[0347] As further indicated in the example screen shot illustrated
in FIG. 7C, the row entry for a particular procedure category will
include a pricing value under pathology price column 717 that
corresponds to the pricing value that is specified within pathology
price field 711d in the expanded display for the procedure
category. In this regard, pricing tool 137 can be configured to
dynamically update the pricing value provided under pathology price
column 717 in response to changes to the price value within
pathology price field 711d. As further illustrated in FIG. 7B, the
row entry for a particular procedure category can include a pricing
value under total amount column 715 that is provided as a sum of
the price values listed under facility price column 712, physician
price column 713, pathology price column 717, and, if included,
additional fee column 714 and anesthesia price column 716 in the
row entry for a particular procedure category. This represents the
actual price at which each service listed in the expanded display
for a procedure category would be offered for purchase as a bundled
set of services via marketplace system 100 from the provider user
accessing service pricing page 700 via provider portal 130.
[0348] In exemplary embodiments, pricing tool 137 can be further
configured to provide an option via user interface controls
implemented within service pricing page 700 for a provider user
that is accessing the service pricing page 700 and has selected a
medical specialty from drop-down menu 702 for which pricing tool
137 recognizes that the respective information records for services
indicated as being commonly associated with the selected medical
specialty within service pricing information database 114m include
information records having an indication that the service is a
primary service of a bundled set of services that a secondary
service associated with the primary service in the bundled set is a
pathology service to not include information and options pertaining
to the associated pathology services and pathology pricing
information within the service pricing page for the selected
medical specialty. Pricing tool 137 can be configured to, in
response to a provider user selecting this option within service
pricing page 700 (for example, by de-selecting a checkbox), remove
any information and options pertaining to the associated pathology
services and pathology pricing information from the service pricing
page for the selected medical specialty. For instance, upon a
provider user selecting such an option within the example screen
shot shown in FIG. 7C, pricing tool 137 can operate to reconfigure
the user interface for service pricing page 700 to resemble the
user interface illustrated in the example screen shot shown in FIG.
7A or FIG. 7B.
[0349] In exemplary embodiments, the functionality that is provided
within provider portal 130 for users of hospital system accounts
can further include a set of user interface controls implemented by
service selling service 135 that can be accessed by a user of a
hospital system account to sell prepaid purchases of services to a
customer in-person by operating a client system located at, for
example, a medical clinic being visited by the customer to access
application server 116. In this regard, service selling service 135
may provide functionality allowing a user of a hospital system
account to sell, in addition to services that are offered for
purchase by the hospital within server system 100, services that
are constructed by a user of a hospital system account, including
bundled sets of services or one or more services and one or more
products, in accordance with treatments specifications for the
customer and instructions received from the customer (such as a
selection of a particular facility or a particular affiliated
physician for performing a particular service) through operation of
the client system. Service selling service 135 may provide such
functionality in manner similar to the functionality provided by
procedure management service 133 discussed above for allowing a
user of a hospital system account to establish a service offering
to offer a healthcare service performed by affiliated physicians
for purchase via server system 110. In this regard, service selling
service 135 may also provide functionality for allowing the user of
a hospital system account to perform such an in-person sale of a
service to a customer in association with a customer account that
is registered with server system 110 for the customer and, if the
customer does not have a registered account, to perform
registration session to register a customer account for the user
with server system 110 based on information specified from the
customer by providing functionality similar to the functionality
provided by account management service 122 discussed above for
customer registration sessions (as well as to register a respective
account information record for a virtual money account for the
customer within virtual money account database 114o in exemplary
embodiments in which a virtual payment system is implemented within
server system 110) and perform the in-person sale of the service in
association with the newly-registered customer account.
[0350] In addition, service selling service 135 may also provide
functionality similar to the functionality described above as being
provided by purchasing service 126 for processing payment for such
an in-person sale of a service to a customer (which may include,
for exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system is
implemented within server system 110, functionality corresponding
to that implemented by purchasing service 126 to operate in
conjunction with virtual payment system manager 170 to facilitate
processing of payment for a purchase of a service within the
virtual payment system). For example, service selling service 135
can be implemented to, upon processing the customer payment for the
purchase of such a constructed service, generate a voucher within
the user interface for the in-person purchased service that can be
utilized by the customer to redeem the purchase, which may be
presented within the user interface at the client system in a form
that allows the user of the hospital system to print a copy of the
voucher to provide to the customer.
[0351] Referring again to FIG. 2, in exemplary embodiments, when a
user operating a client system to access application server 116 via
a corresponding client application executing on the client system
initiates a registration with server system 110 and specifies an
intention to register as a pharmacy administrator (for example, via
a user interface element on any page implemented by navigation and
search service 124), the user will be able to initiate a
registration session with account management service 131 to
register a pharmacy account with server system 110, as well as to
register a respective account information record for a virtual
money account for the pharmacy within virtual money account
database 114o in exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment
system is implemented within the server system. Account management
service 131 may be configured, for example, to implement a user
interface that includes a series of pages with user interface
controls accessible by the user to guide the user through the
account registration process and prompt the user to input various
types of information to be maintained by database server 112 within
a respective account information record that is established for the
user within pharmacy profile database 114e such as, for example,
name, location(s) and hours, contact information (such as an email
address and/or a telephone number), URLs or references to websites
and social media profiles, compensation information (indicating a
financial account for receiving payment for purchases of products
offered by the pharmacy via the system), and any other suitable
identifying information. The user interface may also be implemented
by account management service 131 to prompt the user to specify any
affiliated physicians or for any group practice or hospital
affiliation codes. In this regard, account management service 131
may be implemented to provide user interface controls allowing the
user to search for physicians, group practices, and hospital
systems registered with server system 110 (for example, by name),
access physician profile database 114b, practice group profile
database 114c, and hospital system profile database 114d to locate
account information records for providers matching the search
criteria, and provide user interface controls allowing the user to
register an affiliation within server system 110 with any
physicians, group practices, and hospital systems returned in the
search
[0352] Account management service 131 can be configured to access
database server 112 to create the respective account information
record for the pharmacy within pharmacy profile database 114e based
on the information input by the user during the registration
process. Account management service 131 can be further configured
to generate the unique pharmacy account identifier for the created
account information record, which may be used, for example, to
index and reference the created account information record within
database server 112. For any specified affiliated physician users
or group practice or hospital affiliation codes submitted by the
user, account management service 131 can be configured to include
the unique pharmacy account identifier for the created account
information record in the account information record for the
physician that is maintained within physician profile database 114b
for each specified affiliated physician user, in the account
information record for the practice group that is maintained within
practice group profile database 114c for each practice group
corresponding to a submitted practice group affiliation code, and
in the account information record for the hospital system that is
maintained within hospital system profile database 114d for each
hospital system corresponding to a submitted hospital affiliation
code, as well as include the corresponding hospital system, group
practice, and physician account identifiers within the account
information record for the user within pharmacy profile database
114e. The created account information record can also be identified
with a unique user name and protected by a password, which can be
used by the pharmacy administrator to log into the associated
physician account when accessing application server 116.
[0353] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, account management service
131 can be configured to, in response to a conducting a
registration session with a user to register a pharmacy account for
the user with server system 110, issue a notification to virtual
payment system manager 170 to create a respective virtual money
account for the pharmacy within the virtual payment system and
provide the virtual payment system manager with corresponding
information obtained during the registration session with the user
for this purpose, such as an indication that the respective account
information record to be created within the virtual money account
database is for a pharmacy administrator that has registered with
the server system and the unique account identifier generated for
the respective account information record for the pharmacy account
within pharmacy profile database 114c. Virtual payment system
manager 170 can be configured to, in response to receiving such a
notification, access database server 112 to create a respective
account information record for a virtual money account for the
pharmacy within virtual money account database 114o based on the
corresponding registration information provided in conjunction with
the notification in a manner similar to that which is described
above for creating a respective account information record for a
virtual money account for a physician user and then issue a
notification of such to account management service 131 that
includes the unique virtual money account identifier generated for
the respective account information record for the pharmacy within
the virtual money account database, and account management service
131 can be configured to, in response to receiving such a
notification, access database server 131 to store the unique
virtual money account identifier within the respective account
information record for the user within pharmacy profile database
114c.
[0354] In exemplary embodiments, the user interface implemented by
account management service 131 may be further configured to provide
user interface controls for requesting authorization for payment of
a predetermined fee to gain access to the ability to offer
healthcare products for purchase within marketplace system 100.
Such a fee may be, for example, a one-time charge or a periodic
charge (such as a monthly, biannual, or annual fee). Account
management service 131 can be configured to, upon an authorization
and appropriate payment information being provided by the user,
access a corresponding third-party payment servicing system and
utilize the payment information to direct the payment servicing
system to transfer the amount for the payment authorized by the
user from the account servicer of the user to a financial account
maintained by the providers of marketplace system 100.
Alternatively, the user interface implemented by account management
service 131 may be configured to provide user interface controls
for receiving an activation code to gain access to the ability to
offer healthcare products for purchase within marketplace system
100. In this regard, the respective account information record
established for the pharmacy administrator within pharmacy profile
database 114e can further include an account status that is managed
by account management service 131 for the user indicating whether
the pharmacy is presently provided with the ability to offer
healthcare products for purchase within marketplace system 100.
[0355] Upon a user registering a pharmacy account with server
system 110 and logging into the pharmacy account (for example, by
accessing a login user interface element or a login screen within
the user interface implemented by navigation and search service 124
to provide the user name and password associated with the account),
the user may be directed to a pharmacy account page implemented by
provider portal 130 that provides a set of user interface controls
that can be accessed by the user to access functionality provided
by product management service 134 to offer healthcare products for
purchase by customer users registered with the system and to access
various account management functions provided by account management
service 131.
[0356] Upon the user indicating an intention to offer a healthcare
product for purchase (for example, by selecting a "Offer Product"
tab within the pharmacy account page implemented by provider portal
130), the user will be able to initiate a product offering with
product management service 134 to offer a healthcare product for
purchase via server system 110. Product management service 134 may
be configured, for example, to implement a user interface that
includes a series of pages with user interface controls accessible
by the user to guide the user through the product offering process
and prompt the user to input various types of information to be
maintained by database server 112 within a respective information
record that is established in association with the unique pharmacy
account identifier for the pharmacy within product offer database
114j. For example, the user may be provided with menu options
providing access to an alphabetical list of selectable prescription
drugs and an alphabetical list of selectable medical supplies and,
upon selecting one of the lists, the user can select a particular
product from the selected list.
[0357] Upon the user selecting a particular product, product
management service 134 can assist the user with offering the
product for purchase and establish the respective information
record for the offered product within product offer database 114j
by populating the information record with the unique product
identifier for the information record within available products
database 114i for the selected product, the unique account
identifier for the account information record for the pharmacy
within pharmacy profile database 114e as the provider that is
offering the product through the system, a payment amount to be
transferred to the pharmacy for a purchase of the product as
specified by user input received from the pharmacy administrator, a
discounted price for purchasing the product within marketplace
system 100 (which may be calculated, for example, by adding a
negotiated commission fee to the payment amount specified by the
pharmacy administrator), a regular price for the product when the
product is purchased outside of the system, additional descriptive
information that may be provided via input received from the
pharmacy administrator, a product offer identifier, and any other
suitable information (such as an indication that the product is
required to be purchased in association with a prescription from a
medical specialist). As discussed above, when a payment for an
offered product is processed by purchasing service 126, if a
prescription is required to purchase the offered product, a
financial account maintained by the providers of marketplace system
100 may hold the payment amount to be transferred to the provider
for which payment for the product is to be directed until an
indication is received that a prescription has been submitted and
verified for the purchased product. Similarly, when a payment for a
product that is included within a bundled set is processed by
purchasing service 126, a financial account maintained by the
providers of marketplace system 100 may hold the payment amount to
be transferred to the provider for which payment for the product is
to be directed until an indication is received that the product has
been provided by the pharmacy that is specified in service offer
database 114h for providing the product. Purchasing service 126 can
be also be configured to generate a respective information record
for the completed purchase with corresponding information within
transaction information database 114k, which may, in some exemplary
embodiments, initially indicate that the purchase has not yet been
redeemed with respect to a purchase of an individual product or
with respect to each product that is included in a purchase of a
bundled set, and generate a voucher for the customer user to use
with respect to the purchased product to redeem the purchase by
receiving the product from the pharmacy. Such a voucher can include
a confirmation number or other redemption code for the
purchase.
[0358] Upon the user indicating an intention to request processing
of payment for a purchased product that has been provided (for
example, by selecting a "Voucher Processing" tab within the
pharmacy account page implemented by provider portal 130), the user
will be able to initiate a voucher processing session with
transaction processing service 136. In particular, transaction
processing service 136 may be configured, for example, to implement
a voucher history page within the user interface that presents
information relevant to the pharmacy for a list of purchases of
offered products for which the respective information record for
the purchase that is maintained within transaction information
database 114k includes the unique pharmacy account identifier for
the pharmacy within pharmacy profile database 114e as the pharmacy
that is designated as providing a product that is included the
purchase (for example, a product included in a bundled set). The
relevant information for each listed purchase may include, for
example, the voucher confirmation number or redemption code, name
and contact information for the customer user, a description of the
product the pharmacy is designated as providing for the purchase, a
purchase date, and a voucher redemption status. Such a voucher
history page may also be accessed in association with the user
account for the pharmacy to verify vouchers presented by customers
requesting to have a product provided in association with a
voucher.
[0359] The voucher history page can also provide a user interface
element in association with each of the listed purchases for which
the voucher redemption status for the product the pharmacy is
designated as providing indicates the product has not been provided
that is accessible by the pharmacy user to submit a verification to
application server 116 that the pharmacy has provided the product
for the customer user in accordance with the purchase. Transaction
processing service 136 can be configured to, upon such a
verification being submitted, initiate a transfer of the payment
amount specified for the product provided by the pharmacy in
product offer database 114j or service offer database 114h and held
in the financial account maintained by the providers of marketplace
system 100 to the financial account listed for receiving the
payment amount for product that is specified in product offer
database 114j or service offer database 114h. Alternatively, in
exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system is
implemented within server system 110, transaction processing
service 136 can be configured to, upon such a verification being
submitted, submit a notification to virtual payment system manager
170 that the purchased product has been delivered to the customer
user to redeem the purchase in conjunction with the unique
transaction identifier for the respective information record for
the purchase of the product that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k. Transaction processing service 136 can
be configured to update the indication of whether the purchase has
been redeemed with respect to that particular product and include
the redemption date for that particular product in the information
record for the purchase that is maintained within transaction
information database 114k. In addition, transaction processing
service 136 can further be configured to send electronic
notifications to the customer user and the provider user for the
purchased offer (as specified according to the corresponding
information records within product offer database 114j, service
offer database 114h, and/or transaction information database 114k),
for example, by way of email utilizing the contact information
specified in the respective account information records for the
customer and the provider for the purchased offer.
[0360] Upon the user indicating an intention within the pharmacy
account page implemented by provider portal 130 to access various
account management functions, the pharmacy administrator can access
various user interface elements provided by account management
service 131 to, for example, manage pharmacy and payment or
compensation information, manage information pertaining to products
offered for purchase by the pharmacy, manage group practice,
hospital, and physician affiliations, and view a history of
transactions performed for products offered for purchase by and
from the pharmacy within server system 110.
[0361] In exemplary embodiments in which a virtual payment system
is implemented within server system 110, the various account
management functions that are accessible by a logged-in pharmacy
administrator through the user interface implemented by the account
management service 131 can also include functions for allowing the
pharmacy administrator to manage and view information pertaining to
the respective virtual money account for the pharmacy within the
virtual payment system, including information pertaining to the
virtual funds that are transferred to the respective virtual money
account for the pharmacy by virtual payment system manager 170 with
regard to transactions conducted within marketplace system in
relation to purchases of products being offered by the pharmacy or
offered by another provider for which the respective information
records for the offers product offer database 114j indicates
payment for the offers when purchased through the system is to be
directed to the pharmacy, manage and facilitate the disbursement of
virtual funds within the respective virtual money account for the
pharmacy with respect to an external financial account that is
utilized by the pharmacy for such purposes, and perform various
other functions with respect to transactions that are conducted
within marketplace system that involve virtual funds within the
respective virtual money account for the pharmacy or within the
respective virtual money account for a customer user and presently
allocated to use as payment for a purchase of an offered product
for which the respective information record for the offer within
product offer database 114j indicates payment for the offer when
purchased through the system is to be directed to the pharmacy such
as, for example, cancellations of and other modifications with
respect to transactions and purchases that are conducted within
marketplace system.
[0362] In general, account management service 131 can be configured
to implement these functions for a pharmacy administrator by
operating and interacting with virtual payment system manager 170
in substantially the same manner as described above for
implementing corresponding account management functions for a
physician user registered with server system 110 with respect to
the virtual payment system, including, for example, the functions
of generating periodic reports of all transactions conducted within
the virtual payment system with respect to the virtual funds
assigned to the virtual money account for the practice period for a
particular period and handling requests for disbursals of virtual
funds assigned to the respective virtual money account for the
pharmacy. Likewise, in exemplary embodiments, virtual payment
system manager 170 can also be configured to automatically perform
periodic disbursals of all virtual funds assigned to the respective
virtual money account for the pharmacy to the external financial
account that is indicated as being used for purposes of receiving
disbursements in the respective account information record for the
pharmacy maintained within virtual money account database 114o in
substantially the same manner as described above for performing
such automatic periodic disbursals for respective virtual money
accounts of physician users.
[0363] Referring again to FIG. 8, a schematic diagram of an example
network architecture for healthcare marketplace system 100 is
illustrated within which an exemplary embodiment of a virtual
payment system in accordance with the present invention is
implemented. It should of course be understood that FIG. 8 is
intended as an example, not as an architectural limitation for
different embodiments of the present invention, and therefore, the
particular elements depicted in FIG. 8 should not be considered
limiting with regard to the environments within which exemplary
embodiments of the present invention may be implemented.
[0364] In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the particular
components that are utilized for providing the virtual payment
system are integrated within system 100 in conjunction with the
components of the system as described above and herein below with
reference to the exemplary embodiments illustrated FIGS. 1 and 2.
In particular, as depicted in FIG. 8, application server 116 is
further implemented to include virtual payment system manager 170,
which, for purposes of performing the various operations described
in the examples provided above pertaining to exemplary embodiments
in which a virtual payment system is implemented within server
system 110, is in communication with account management service 122
and purchasing service 126 of customer portal 120 and account
management service 131; service selling service 135, and
transaction processing service 136 of provider portal 130; and
database server 112. As also depicted in FIG. 8, data store 114
further comprises virtual money account database 114o, which is
maintained by database server 112, is accessed by application
server 116 via database services provided at a front end by the
database server, and retains information pertaining to virtual
money accounts maintained in the virtual payment system and virtual
funds that have been created within the virtual payment system that
is utilized in managing and tracking the exchange of virtual funds
within the virtual payment system that is provided by the
application server as described above with reference to exemplary
embodiments in which a virtual payment system is implemented within
server system 110.
[0365] In the present exemplary embodiment, virtual payment system
manager 170 is shown in FIG. 8 as including a virtual account
management module 171, a transaction tracking module 172, a
communication module 173, a virtual fund creation and disbursement
module 174, a virtual payment processing module 175, and an
adjustment processing module 176. In general, the various modules
implemented within virtual payment system manager 170 in the
present exemplary embodiments are configured to interact with one
another, customer portal 120, provider portal 130, and data store
114 via database server 112 to perform the various operations
described in the examples provided above pertaining to exemplary
embodiments in which a virtual payment system is implemented within
server system 110.
[0366] More specifically, with respect to the various operations
performed within the virtual payment system in the examples
provided above, virtual account management module 171 can, for
example, be configured to access virtual money account database
114o to create respective account information records for
respective virtual money accounts of participants to transactions
conducted within marketplace system 100 within the virtual payment
system, access virtual money account database 114o to retrieve,
maintain, perform modifications to respective information account
records as necessary in response to participants that are logged-in
to server system 110 accessing the account management functions
provided by account management service 122 or account management
service 131 to manage and view information pertaining to the
respective virtual money accounts for the participants within the
virtual payment system, and implement functionality for processing
funding requests within the virtual payment system. Transaction
tracking module 172 can, for example, be configured to dynamically
perform updates to the accounting details pertaining to
transactions conducted within the virtual payment system that are
included in the respective account information records for the
respective virtual money accounts for participants to transactions
conducted within marketplace system 100 in response to such
transactions being conducted, dynamically calculate and perform
updates to the balance values that are included within the general
information in the respective account information records for the
respective virtual money accounts in response to transactions
conducted within the virtual payment system, dynamically perform
processing for handling virtual fund objects that have been created
within the virtual money account based on promotional credits that
have expired in response to such expirations occurring, and
dynamically perform processing for reversing payment processing
operations performed within the virtual payment system for
purchases of offered services and products that have not been
redeemed within expiration periods specified for such purchases in
response to the end of such expiration periods being reached
(which, for instance, may be performed in a manner that is
substantially similar to the processing described in the examples
provided above for processing cancellation requests submitted by
customer users within the virtual money system). Communication
module 173 can, for example, be configured to generate
notifications and reports with respect to virtual money accounts
managed and transactions conducted within the virtual payment
system, transmit generated notifications and reports to
corresponding components of customer portal 120 and provider portal
130, receive notifications and information from corresponding
components of customer portal 120 and provider portal 130, and
process such received notifications and information. Virtual fund
creation and disbursement module 174 can, for example, be
configured to implement functionality for creating or instantiating
new virtual fund objects within respective account information
records for virtual money accounts as needed for transactions
conducted within the virtual payment system, processing disbursal
requests within the virtual payment system (including functionality
for deleting virtual fund objects), and performing automatic
periodic disbursals for virtual money accounts within the virtual
payment system. Virtual payment processing module 175 can, for
example, be configured to implement functionality for performing
operations for facilitating payment processing within the virtual
payment system for purchases of offered services and products by
customers users registered with server system 110 (including
functionality for selecting virtual fund objects to use for
facilitating payment processing, performing any necessary splitting
of virtual fund objects, marking virtual fund objects as allocated
to use as payment for purchases of offered services or products to
place effective holds on virtual funds within the virtual payment
system, and directing transfers of virtual fund objects between the
respective account information records for participants to the
purchase transactions), as well as to perform corresponding updates
to the attributes defining the virtual fund objects within the
respective account information records in response to performing
such operations for facilitating payment processing within the
virtual payment system. Adjustment processing module 176 can, for
example, be configured to implement functionality for performing
operations for processing cancellation requests, refund requests,
and other modifications to purchases of offered services and
products for which payment processing is handled within the virtual
payment system, as well as to perform corresponding updates to the
attributes defining the virtual fund objects within the respective
account information records in response to performing such
operations for processing cancellation requests, refund requests,
and other modifications to purchases within the virtual payment
system.
[0367] In exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, because certain
healthcare information may be considered highly confidential,
marketplace system 100 can be implemented to provide for a
high-level of security for information transferred between client
applications executing on client systems 142 and application server
116. For illustration, whenever applicable, marketplace system 100
(for example, for operations and functionalities) may be
implemented to comply with requirements under the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). For example, if certain
type of information should not be accessible to a specific party
(for example, a prescription product manufacturer or service
provider) according to HIPAA requirements or other confidentiality
concerns, system 100 can implement information-control or
information-protection measures that ensure the specific party
cannot access that type of information. As another example, to
protect patient privacy, information transmitted over a computer or
communication network, such as information transmitted between
application server 116 and any client system 140 and electronic
messages transmitted by server system 110, can be encrypted. In
exemplary embodiments, system 100 can be HIPAA-validated to ensure
privacy and comply with all requirements.
[0368] Aspects of exemplary embodiments of the present invention
described herein can be implemented using one or more program
modules and data storage units. As used herein, the term "modules",
"program modules", "components", "systems", "tools", "utilities",
and the like include routines, programs, objects, components, data
structures, and instructions, or instructions sets, and so forth
that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data
types. As can be appreciated, the modules refer to computer-related
entities that can be implemented as software, hardware, firmware
and/or other suitable components that provide the described
functionality, and which may be loaded into memory of a machine
embodying an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Aspects
of the modules may be written in a variety of programming
languages, such as C, C++, Java, etc. The functionality provided by
modules used for aspects of exemplary embodiments described herein
can be combined and/or further partitioned.
[0369] As used herein, the terms "data storage unit," "data store",
"storage unit", and the like can refer to any suitable memory
device that may be used for storing data, including manual files,
machine readable files, and databases. The modules and/or storage
units can all be implemented and run on the same computing system
(for example, the exemplary computer system illustrated in FIG. 5
and described below) or they can be implemented and run on
different computing systems. For example, one or modules can be
implemented on a personal computer operated by a user while other
modules can be implemented on a remote server and accessed via a
network.
[0370] In exemplary embodiments, the client applications utilized
in exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be configured
for incorporation within any suitable network computing environment
as a plug-in, add-on, or extension. As used herein, the term
"plug-in" can refer to a software application or module program, or
one or more computer instructions, which may or may not be in
communication with other software applications or modules, that
interacts with a host application to provide specified
functionality, and which may include any file, image, graphic,
icon, audio, video, or any other attachment. In other exemplary
embodiments, the client applications can be implemented as a
standalone program that is run as a separate computer process, a
portable application, a native component of an automated software
testing tool, a part of a software bundle, or any other suitable
implementation.
[0371] In the preceding description, for purposes of explanation,
numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a
thorough understanding of the described exemplary embodiments.
Nevertheless, one skilled in the art will appreciate that many
other embodiments may be practiced without these specific details
and structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made.
[0372] Some portions of the exemplary embodiments described above
are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations
of operations on data bits within a processor-based system. The
operations are those requiring physical manipulations of physical
quantities. These quantities may take the form of electrical,
magnetic, optical, or other physical signals capable of being
stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated,
and are referred to, principally for reasons of common usage, as
bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the
like. Nevertheless, it should be noted that all of these and
similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical
quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these
quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from
the description, terms such as "executing" or "processing" or
"computing" or "calculating" or "determining" or the like, may
refer to the action and processes of a processor-based system, or
similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and
transforms data represented as physical quantities within the
processor-based system's storage into other data similarly
represented or other such information storage, transmission or
display devices.
[0373] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be
realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and
software. Exemplary embodiments can be realized in a centralized
fashion in one computer system or in a distributed fashion where
different elements are spread across several interconnected
computer systems. Any kind of computer system--or other apparatus
adapted for carrying out the methods described herein--is suited. A
typical combination of hardware and software could be a
general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, when
being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that
it carries out the methods described herein.
[0374] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention can also be
embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the
features enabling the implementation of the methods described
herein, and which--when loaded in a computer system--is able to
carry out these methods. Computer program means or computer program
as used in the present invention indicates any expression, in any
language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to
cause a system having an information processing capability to
perform a particular function either directly or after either or
both of the following: (a) conversion to another language, code or,
notation; and (b) reproduction in a different material form.
[0375] A computer system in which exemplary embodiments can be
implemented may include, inter alia, one or more computers and at
least a computer program product on a computer readable medium,
allowing a computer system, to read data, instructions, messages or
message packets, and other computer readable information from the
computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include
non-volatile memory, such as ROM, Flash memory, Disk drive memory,
CD-ROM, and other permanent storage. Additionally, a computer
readable medium may include, for example, volatile storage such as
RAM, buffers, cache memory, and network circuits. Furthermore, the
computer readable medium may comprise computer readable information
in a transitory state medium such as a network link and/or a
network interface, including a wired network or a wireless network,
that allow a computer system to read such computer readable
information.
[0376] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system
600 that can be used for implementing exemplary embodiments of the
present invention. Computer system 600 includes one or more
processors, such as processor 604. Processor 604 is connected to a
communication infrastructure 602 (for example, a communications
bus, cross-over bar, or network). Various software embodiments are
described in terms of this exemplary computer system. After reading
this description, it will become apparent to a person of ordinary
skill in the relevant art(s) how to implement the invention using
other computer systems and/or computer architectures.
[0377] Exemplary computer system 600 can include a display
interface 608 that forwards graphics, text, and other data from the
communication infrastructure 602 (or from a frame buffer not shown)
for display on a display unit 610. Computer system 600 also
includes a main memory 606, which can be random access memory
(RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 612. Secondary
memory 612 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 614 and/or a
removable storage drive 616, representing a floppy disk drive, a
magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc. Removable storage
drive 616 reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 618
in a manner well known to those having ordinary skill in the art.
Removable storage unit 618, represents, for example, a floppy disk,
magnetic tape, optical disk, etc. which is read by and written to
by removable storage drive 616. As will be appreciated, removable
storage unit 618 includes a computer usable storage medium having
stored therein computer software and/or data.
[0378] In exemplary embodiments, secondary memory 612 may include
other similar means for allowing computer programs or other
instructions to be loaded into the computer system. Such means may
include, for example, a removable storage unit 622 and an interface
620. Examples of such may include a program cartridge and cartridge
interface (such as that found in video game devices), a removable
memory chip (such as an EPROM, or PROM) and associated socket, and
other removable storage units 622 and interfaces 620 which allow
software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit
622 to computer system 600.
[0379] Computer system 600 may also include a communications
interface 624. Communications interface 624 allows software and
data to be transferred between the computer system and external
devices. Examples of communications interface 624 may include a
modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a
communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, etc. Software and data
transferred via communications interface 624 are in the form of
signals which may be, for example, electronic, electromagnetic,
optical, or other signals capable of being received by
communications interface 624. These signals are provided to
communications interface 624 via a communications path (that is,
channel) 626. Channel 626 carries signals and may be implemented
using wire or cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a cellular phone
link, an RF link, and/or other communications channels.
[0380] In this document, the terms "computer program medium,"
"computer usable medium," and "computer readable medium" are used
to generally refer to media such as main memory 606 and secondary
memory 612, removable storage drive 616, a hard disk installed in
hard disk drive 614, and signals. These computer program products
are means for providing software to the computer system. The
computer readable medium allows the computer system to read data,
instructions, messages or message packets, and other computer
readable information from the computer readable medium. The
computer readable medium, for example, may include non-volatile
memory, such as Floppy, ROM, Flash memory, Disk drive memory,
CD-ROM, and other permanent storage. It can be used, for example,
to transport information, such as data and computer instructions,
between computer systems. Furthermore, the computer readable medium
may comprise computer readable information in a transitory state
medium such as a network link and/or a network interface including
a wired network or a wireless network that allow a computer to read
such computer readable information.
[0381] Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are
stored in main memory 606 and/or secondary memory 612. Computer
programs may also be received via communications interface 624.
Such computer programs, when executed, can enable the computer
system to perform the features of exemplary embodiments of the
present invention as discussed herein. In particular, the computer
programs, when executed, enable processor 604 to perform the
features of computer system 600. Accordingly, such computer
programs represent controllers of the computer system.
[0382] While the invention has been described in detail with
reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those
skilled in the art that various changes and alternations may be
made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof
without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the
appended claims. In addition, many modifications may be made to
adapt a particular application or material to the teachings of the
invention without departing from the essential scope thereof.
[0383] Variations described for exemplary embodiments of the
present invention can be realized in any combination desirable for
each particular application. Thus particular limitations, and/or
embodiment enhancements described herein, which may have particular
limitations need be implemented in methods, systems, and/or
apparatuses including one or more concepts describe with relation
to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
[0384] Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited
to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode
contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the
invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of
the present application as set forth in the following claims,
wherein reference to an element in the singular, such as by use of
the article "a" or "an" is not intended to mean "one and only one"
unless specifically so stated, but rather "one or more." Moreover,
no claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35
U.S.C. .sctn.112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly
recited using the phrase "means for" or "step for." These following
claims should be construed to maintain the proper protection for
the present invention.
* * * * *
References