Standing order database search system and method for internet and intranet application

Abstract

An internet and/or intranet based database search system and method for conducting searches of highly confidential records such as individual patient medical records and to automate the process of securing required approvals to make such records available to a properly authorized and authenticated requesting party. The system's central premise is that the patient has a fundamental right to the confidentiality of their personal medical records and should control that right through specific, informed consent each time that a party requests to receive them. It reinforces the widely held conception of privacy in general as well as of the sanctity of the doctor/patient relationship by granting the doctor the right, subject to the patient's express permission, to initiate a search request. At the same time, it provides an expedited and cost-efficient means for transfer of such records as demanded by many healthcare reform proposals and gives the repositories where these records are held the right to stipulate the specific terms and conditions that must be fulfilled before they will release documents entrusted to their care, thereby substantially reducing the risk of litigation alleging breaches of patient confidentiality. And it carries out all of these legitimate interests in a way that is fast, simple to use and easy to audit. The system optionally includes a billing mechanism to pay for any added cost associated with providing this additional protection; and in its preferred embodiment, is applicable to both digital as well as non-digital records.

1 . A computer-implemented method of brokering health-related data, comprising:
 receiving, from a requesting entity, a network request for health-related data pertaining to individuals;
 identifying health-related data satisfying the request; 
 applying one or more policies to the identified health-related data; wherein the policies define access restrictions to the identified health-related data of the respective individuals to whom the identified health-related data pertains and wherein the applied polices are defined by the respective individuals to whom the identified health-related data pertains; and 
 returning to the requesting entity, via a network communication, a portion of the health-related data as permitted by the applied policies and which satisfies the network request. 
   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, prior to returning the portion of the health-related data to the requesting entity, requesting permission from the respective individuals to whom the health-related data pertains. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, receiving a network request from a given one of the individuals to modify the respective policy of the given individual. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the applied policies specifies a level of anonymity for the respective individual. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the applied policies specifies that the identity of the respective individual may not be disclosed, while health related data of the respective individual may be disclosed. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising charging a fee to the requesting entity for the portion of health-related data. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, from a requesting entity, another network request configured to identify qualified participants for a clinical trial;   accessing the one or more policies; wherein the policies define selection criteria specifying under which conditions the respective individuals are willing to participate in clinical trials; and   on the basis of the selection criteria, identifying one or more individuals who satisfy the network request configured to identify qualified participants for the clinical trial.   
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the network request specifies at least one of: the name of the respective requesting entities and a manner in which the requested health-related data is to be used. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the network request specifies that the requested health-related data is to be used for a clinical trial and wherein whether the portion of the health-related data returned to the requesting entity includes health-related data for a given individual depends on whether the respective policy for the given individual indicates a willingness to participate in clinical trials. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the network request specifies that the requested health-related data is to be used for a research project, and wherein whether the portion of the health-related data returned to the requesting entity includes health-related data for a given individual depends on whether the respective policy for the given individual allows accessibility to the health-related data of the given individual for use in research projects. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the access restrictions defined by the policies are based on how the requested health-related data is to be used by the requesting entity. 
   
   
       12 . A computer-implemented method of brokering health-related data, comprising:
 receiving, from a requesting entity, a first network request for health-related data pertaining to individuals;   identifying health-related data satisfying the request;   applying one or more policies to the identified health-related data; wherein the policies define access restrictions to the identified health-related data of the respective individuals to whom the identified health-related data pertains; wherein the applied polices are defined by the respective individuals to whom the identified health-related data pertains; and wherein at least one of the applied policies specifies that the identity of the respective individual is to remain anonymous, while health-related data of the respective individual may be disclosed;   returning, via a network communication, a portion of the health-related data as permitted by the applied policies and which satisfies the first network request;   receiving, from the requesting entity, a second network request indicating an interest in contacting the anonymous individual; and   notifying the anonymous individual of the second network request while maintaining the anonymity of the anonymous individual relative to the requesting entity.   
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 receiving a third network request configured to identify qualified participants for a clinical trial;   accessing the one or more policies; wherein the policies define selection criteria specifying under which conditions the respective individuals are willing to participate in clinical trials; and   on the basis of the selection criteria, identifying one or more individuals who satisfy the third network request configured to identify qualified participants for the clinical trial.   
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the access restrictions defined by the policies are based on how the requested health-related data is to be used by the requesting entity. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising charging a fee to the requesting entity for the portion of health-related data. 
   
   
       16 . A system, comprising:
 a database containing health-related data pertaining to individuals;   a plurality of attributes defining access restrictions to the health-related data, wherein the polices are defined by the respective individuals to whom the identified health-related data pertains;   a work flow agent configured to:   receive, from requesting entities, network requests for the health-related data;   identify health-related data satisfying the request and the access restrictions of the policies; and   return, via a network communication, a portion of the health-related data as permitted by the policies and which satisfies the respective network requests.   
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the request specifies at least one of: the name of the respective requesting entities and a manner in which the requested health-related data is to be used. 
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the attributes define further selection criteria specifying under which conditions the respective individuals are willing to participate in clinical trials and wherein the broker is further configured to:
 receive network requests configured to identify qualified participants for a clinical trial;   access the policies; and   on the basis of the selection criteria, identify one or more individuals who satisfy the network requests configured to identify qualified participants for the clinical trial.   
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 16 , further comprising a registration database for storing registration information from the requesting entities; the registration information comprising at least one of a name of the requesting entities and a manner in which the requested health-related data is to be used; and wherein the broker is further configured to identify the health-related data on the basis of the registration information. 
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the broker is further configured to charge a fee to the requesting entity for the portion of health-related data returned to the requesting entity.