System and method for providing a multi-dimensional contextual platform for managing a medical practice

Abstract

A system and method is provided for generating a multi-dimensional contextual platform that may be used to manage, diagnose, and communicate with patients in a medical practice. In particular, the system may provide a website that may provide dynamic, avatar-based interfaces that include a doctor interface and a patient interface. A doctor may create a subscription with an operator of the website in order to find new patients and view patient health records across multiple dimensions. A patient may create a subscription with the operator to locate a doctor and maintain open communications with the doctor. Once subscribed, the doctor and patient may use the website to enhance the overall healthcare experience by using social networking aspects of the website to facilitate doctor and patient communication in real-time.

1 . A system for providing a multi-dimensional contextual platform for managing a medical practice, comprising:
 at least one networked computing device comprising:
 (a) a patient interface module configured to generate a patient interface for interacting with the system; 
 (b) a doctor interface module configured to:
 receive at least one medical record for each patient, and 
 generate an avatar-based doctor interface for displaying the plurality of patients and information from the at least one medical record, wherein the plurality of patients are each depicted as an avatar in the avatar-based doctor interface; and 
 
 (c) a social networking module configured to facilitate online communications between the patient interface and the avatar-based doctor interface. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a multi-dimensional database that stores the at least one medical record for each patient among a plurality of patients, wherein a dimension relates to an aspect of the at least one medical record.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the multi-dimensional database comprises a dimension selected from at least one of: a Medical Conditions dimension that relates to information that describes medical conditions suffered by the plurality of patients, a Medications dimension that relates to information that describes medications taken by the plurality of patients, Visits dimension that relates to information that describes visitations between a doctor and the plurality of patients, a Lab Reports dimension that relates to information that describes lab report results for the plurality of patients, or an Imaging Results dimension that relates to imaging results for the plurality of patients. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the doctor interface module is further configured to receive and display at least one patient event that describes relevant information for a patient. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the doctor interface module is further configured to display at least one patient event indicator that indicates the at least one patient event, wherein the at least one patient event indicator is displayed adjacent to a respective avatar representing the at least one patient on the avatar-based doctor interface. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one patient event indicator is displayed by the doctor interface module in real-time. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the doctor interface module is further configured receive a selection of the at least one patient event indicator and in response, cause the avatar-based doctor interface to display information for the patient event. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the patient interface module comprises a health record module configured to:
 determine whether access to the at least one health record is authorized; and   generate a display that includes the at least one health record when access is authorized.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one health record comprises a lab result. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one health record comprises an imaging result. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the patient interface module comprises an appointment module configured to:
 display a schedule of available appointments of at least one doctor associated with a patient;   receive a selection of at least one available appointment to schedule with the at least one doctor; and   schedule the at least one available appointment with the at least one doctor.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the appointment module is further configured to:
 display a plurality of methods by which the at least one available appointment is to be conducted, wherein a method describes a method of conducting the at least one available appointment; and   receive a selection of a method by which the at least one available appointment is to be conducted; and   generate an indication for the selected method.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the plurality of methods comprise a virtual method by which the at least one available appointment is to be conducted online. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the plurality of methods comprise an in-person method by which the at least one available appointment is to be conducted in-person. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the appointment module is further configured to:
 receive one or more patient comments related to an appointment that was conducted with the doctor; and   display the one or more patient comments when displaying the appointment.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the patient interface module further comprises a billing module configured to:
 generate an invoice related to patient services, wherein the invoice comprises one or more itemized charges that describes at least one medical service that was rendered and wherein the one or more itemized charges relates to a method by which the at least one service was rendered.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the billing module is further configured to process payment related to the invoice. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the doctor interface module further comprises a scheduling module configured to:
 receive an appointment request;   schedule an appointment in response to the appointment request; and   maintain a plurality of scheduled appointments, wherein the plurality of scheduled appointments includes the scheduled appointment.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the doctor interface module comprises a prevention module configured to generate a preventative maintenance display that includes preventative maintenance information that tracks preventative healthcare of a patient. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the preventative maintenance information displayed by the prevention module includes at least one expected growth chart and at least one actual growth chart. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the preventative maintenance information displayed by the prevention module includes a plurality of checkups to be performed. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the preventative maintenance information displayed by the prevention module includes a plurality of vaccinations to be performed. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the doctor interface module comprises a smart grouping module configured to:
 group the plurality of patients into one or more groups of patients; and   generate a display that includes the one or more groups of patients.   
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the smart grouping module is further configured to:
 group the plurality of patients automatically based on at least one medical condition that is commonly suffered among the grouped patients.   
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the smart grouping module is further configured to:
 group the plurality of patients automatically based on at least one medication that is commonly being taken by the grouped patients.   
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the smart grouping module is further configured to:
 receive a new group definition that indicates a new patient group;   receive an indication of at least one patient that is to be grouped according to the new group definition; and   add the at least one patient to the new patient group.   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the doctor interface module comprises a search module configured to:
 receive one or more search terms;   execute a search based on the one or more search terms;   generate a result set from the executed search that includes one or more patients; and   cause the avatar-based doctor interface to highlight respective avatars of the one or more patients of the result set.   
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the search module is further configured to:
 execute the search and generate the result set in real-time as the search terms are received; and   highlight the respective avatars of the one or more patients as the result set is generated in real-time.   
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the social networking module is further configured to:
 receive a rating of the doctor, wherein the rating is includes patient feedback regarding an appointment with the doctor.   
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an experts module configured to:
 receive an indication that a subscribed doctor is to be added to a team of experts for the patient; and   add the subscribed doctor to the team of experts in response to the indication, wherein a member of the team of experts has access to the at least one medical record of the patient.   
     
     
         31 . A medical record display device for displaying information from at least one medical record of a patient, comprising:
 a cloud view module comprising one or more processors configured to:
 receive the at least one medical record of a patient, wherein the at least one medical record comprises a plurality of dimensions that each describe an aspect of a health of the patient, and wherein at least one dimension comprises a first information element and a second information element that each represent medical information related to the at least one dimension; 
 receive a selection to display the at least one dimension; 
 determine a first location of the first information element and a second location of the second information element to be displayed on a user interface; 
 determine a first level of importance of the first information element relative to the second information element and a second level of importance of the second information element relative to the first information element; and 
 differentially display the first information element according to the first level of importance and the second information element according to the second level of importance. 
   
     
     
         32 . The medical record display device of  claim 31 , wherein the one or more processors of the cloud view module are further configured to:
 determine a first location of the first information element according to a first time the first information element appeared in the at least one medical record of the patient.   
     
     
         33 . The medical record display device of  claim 31 , wherein a first level of importance of the first information element is determined according to a first number of interactions between a doctor and the patient related to the first information element compared to a second number of interactions between the doctor and the patient related to the second information element, wherein the first information element is determined to be relatively more important than the second information element when the first number is greater than the second number. 
     
     
         34 . The medical record display device of  claim 31 , wherein a first level of importance of the first information element is determined according to a first level of severity of the first information element relative to a second level of severity of the second information element, wherein the first information element is relatively more important than the second information element when the first level of severity is greater than the second level of severity. 
     
     
         35 . The medical record display device of  claim 31 , wherein the first information element is displayed as a first geometric shape and the second information element is displayed as a second geometric shape, and wherein the first geometric shape is displayed as a larger geometric shape relative to the second geometric shape when the first information element is determined to be more important than the second information element. 
     
     
         36 . The medical record display device of  claim 31 , wherein the first information element is displayed as a first color and the second information element is displayed as a second color, and wherein the first color is displayed as a different color relative to the second color when the first information element is determined to be more important than the second information element. 
     
     
         37 . A medical record display device for displaying at least one medical record of a patient, comprising:
 a cloud view module comprising one or more processors configured to:
 receive the at least one medical record of a patient, wherein the at least one medical record comprises a plurality of dimensions that each describe an aspect of a health of the patient, and wherein each dimension comprises at least one information element that represents medical information related to the respective dimension; 
 receive a selection to display a dimension; 
 determine a first location of a dimension indicator that indicates the selected dimension and a second location of the at least one element to be displayed, wherein the dimension indicator is displayed as a focal point about which the at least one element is disposed; and 
 display the focal point and the at least one element. 
   
     
     
         38 . The medical record display device of  claim 37 , wherein the plurality of dimensions is selected from the group consisting of:
 a Medical Conditions dimension that describes medical conditions of the patient,   a Visits dimension that describes interactions with the patient,   a Medications dimension that describes medications taken by the patient,   a Lab Results dimension that describes laboratory results of the patient, or   an Imaging Results dimension that describes imaging results of the patient.   
     
     
         39 . The medical record display device of  claim 37 , wherein the at least one element comprises one or more properties that describe the at least one element, and wherein the one or more processors of the cloud view module are further configured to display the at least one element at a distance from the dimension indicator according to the one or more properties. 
     
     
         40 . The medical record display device of  claim 39 , wherein the at least one information element relates to a medication being taken by the patient and the one or more properties comprises a length of time the medication has been taken by the patient, and wherein the distance from the dimension indicator is determined based on the length of time. 
     
     
         41 . An adaptive medical record analysis device for providing an analysis of a medical record of a patient, comprising:
 an adaptive advising module comprising one or more processors configured to:
 receive consultation information related to the patient, wherein the consultation information includes at least one symptom suffered by the patient; 
 receive diagnostic information that includes information related to a diagnosis of a plurality of symptoms; 
 integrate the received consultation information with the received diagnostic information and correlate the at least one symptom with the plurality of symptoms; 
 generate decision support information based on the integration and correlation, wherein the decision support information includes at least one potential diagnosis of the at least one symptom; and 
 display the decision support information. 
   
     
     
         42 . The adaptive analysis device of  claim 41 , wherein the decision support information further comprises at least one suggested test to refine the at least one potential diagnosis, the adaptive analysis module comprising one or more processors further configured to:
 receive at least one result of the at least one suggested test; and   refine the decision support information based on the received at least one result.   
     
     
         43 . The adaptive analysis device of  claim 41 , the adaptive analysis module comprising one or more processors further configured to:
 receive refining information that includes at least one doctor input related to the patient; and   refine the decision support information based on the received refining information.   
     
     
         44 . The adaptive analysis device of  claim 41 , the adaptive analysis module comprising one or more processors further configured to:
 generate a treatment plan based on the decision support information, wherein the treatment plan includes at least one course of action that addresses the at least one symptom;   monitor an outcome of the treatment plan; and   integrate the outcome with the diagnostic information [for future reference].   
     
     
         45 . An account management device that generates a doctor invoice, comprising:
 an invoice module comprising one or more processors configured to:
 receive fee information that indicates a plurality of medical services and a plurality of billing factors, wherein each billing factor describes a fee to be charged for one or more of the plurality of medical services; 
 receive an indication that at least one medical service among the plurality of medical services has been performed; 
 determine an applicable billing factor for the at least one medical service that was performed; 
 generate at least one fee for the at least one medical service based on the at least one medical service that was performed and the applicable billing factor; and 
 generate an invoice that comprises the at least one fee. 
   
     
     
         46 . The account management device of  claim 45 , wherein a first billing factor describes a first fee to be charged for a first medical service that is performed and a second billing factor describes a second fee to be charged for a second medical service, wherein the first fee is different from the second fee according to a difference between the first medical service and the second medical service. 
     
     
         47 . The account management device of  claim 45 , wherein a first billing factor describes a first fee to be charged based on a first method of interaction and a second billing factor describes a second fee to be charged based on a second method of interaction, wherein the first fee is different from the second fee according to a difference between the first method of interaction and the second method of interaction. 
     
     
         48 . The account management device of  claim 47 , wherein the first method of interaction is selected from at least one of the following: email, instant messaging, in-office, house call, video conference, or tele-conference. 
     
     
         49 . The account management device of  claim 45 , wherein a first billing factor comprises a first weight that is applied to a particular fee for the at least one medical service based on a first method of interaction, and a second billing factor that comprises a second weight that is applied to the particular fee based on a second method of interaction, wherein the particular fee is weighted differently based on the first weight and the second weight such that the generated at least one fee is generated from the particular fee according to the first weight and the second weight. 
     
     
         50 . The account management device of  claim 45 , wherein a first billing factor describes a first fee to be charged based on a first time increment and a second billing factor describes a second fee to be charged based on a second time increment, wherein the first fee is different from the second fee according to a difference between the first time increment and the second time increment. 
     
     
         51 . A subscription management device for facilitating account management for a doctor and a patient, comprising:
 a subscription management module comprising one or more processors configured to:
 receive a doctor subscription from at least one doctor; 
 generate a doctor profile based on the doctor subscription; 
 receive a patient subscription from at least one patient; 
 generate a patient profile based on the patient subscription; 
 provide the at least one patient with the doctor profile for review; 
 receive an indication that the at least one patient has selected to receive medical care from the at least one doctor; and 
 transmit the indication to the at least one doctor. 
   
     
     
         52 . A computer-implemented method for providing a multi-dimensional contextual platform for managing a medical practice using at least one networked computing device, the method comprising:
 (a) generating, by the at least one networked computing device, a patient interface for interacting with the system;   (b) receiving, by the at least one networked computing device, at least one medical record for each patient;   (c) generating, by the at least one networked computing device, an avatar-based doctor interface for displaying the plurality of patients and information from the at least one medical record, wherein the plurality of patients are each depicted as an avatar in the avatar-based doctor interface; and   (d) facilitating, by the at least one networked computing device, online communications between the patient interface and the avatar-based doctor interface.