Method and system for medical treatment review

Abstract

A method of medical treatment review. The method can include the steps of receiving patient data into a patient database in which the patient data at least includes a diagnosis of the patient and providing one or more treatment protocols for the patient for selection by a treating provider in which the treatment protocols are pre-approved for the patient diagnosis. The method can also include the steps of analyzing a selection of a treatment protocol by the treating provider and generating an authorization of the selected treatment protocol based on predefined criteria. Generating the authorization of the selected treatment protocol can include generating the authorization without any peer review if the selected protocol meets the predefined criteria or generating the authorization following peer review if the selected protocol does not meet the predefined criteria.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of medical treatment review, comprising:
 receiving patient data into a patient database, wherein the patient data at least includes a diagnosis of the patient;   providing one or more treatment protocols for the patient for selection by a treating provider, wherein the treatment protocols are pre-approved for the patient diagnosis;   analyzing a selection of a treatment protocol by the treating provider; and   generating an authorization of the selected treatment protocol based on predefined criteria.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating an authorization of the selected treatment protocol comprises generating the authorization without any peer review if the selected protocol meets the predefined criteria or generating the authorization following peer review if the selected protocol does not meet the predefined criteria. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the peer review comprises establishing a relationship between the treating provider and a treatment reviewer to determine whether to generate an authorization for the selected treatment protocol. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the treatment reviewer is a specialist in the field associated with the diagnosis of the patient and the provided treatment protocols. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the peer review further comprises seeking input from an authorized agent following the establishment of the relationship between the treating provider and the treatment reviewer. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 5 , further comprising the steps of:
 informing the treating provider of a status of the authorization; and   informing a primary care agent of the selected treatment protocol and any details of a peer review if such a review was conducted.   
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising determining whether to apply a normalization fee for the selected treatment protocol. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the normalization fee is applied to increase the amount of profit that the treating provider would realize for the selected treatment protocol. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the normalization fee is a flat rate fee to be paid to the treating provider per treatment session for the patient. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the number of treatment protocols available for selection by the treating provider if an initial selected treatment protocol was unsuccessful in treating the patient. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 , wherein adjusting the number of treatment protocols available for selection by the treating provider comprises eliminating from selection the initial selected treatment protocol that was unsuccessful in treating the patient and any equivalent treatment protocols. 
     
     
         12 - 15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . A method of treatment review by a treatment reviewer, comprising:
 receiving patient data and a selected treatment protocol for a patient from a treating provider, wherein the selected treatment protocol is part of an approved listing of treatment protocols;   conducting a peer review of the patient data and the selected treatment protocol by a treatment reviewer to determine whether to approve the selected protocol in view of other unselected treatment protocols that are part of the approved listing of treatment protocols, wherein conducting the peer review at least includes performing an exchange of information between the treatment reviewer and the treating provider; and   providing results of the peer review to the treating provider.   
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the peer review is conducted only if the selected treatment protocol is not automatically approved based on certain predefined criteria. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 16 , further comprising informing a primary care agent of the selected treatment protocol and any details of the peer review. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 16 , further comprising selectively conducting an appellate review of the peer review if the treating provider maintains the selection of the selected treatment protocol. 
     
     
         20 . A method of selecting a treatment protocol by a treating provider, comprising:
 entering patient data into a patient database;   selecting a treatment protocol from a list of pre-approved treatment protocols, wherein a treatment protocol is pre-approved based on the patient data;   receiving an authorization for the selected treatment protocol, wherein the authorization is automatically generated or generated following a peer review that determines that other unselected treatment protocols are unsuitable for the patient.   
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 20 , further comprising receiving a normalization fee for the selected treatment protocol based on predefined criteria, wherein the normalization fee is a flat rate that is received for treatment sessions for the patient and is higher than the amount of profit that the treating provider would receive based on a percentage fee of the selected treatment protocol. 
     
     
         22 . The method according  20 , wherein the patient is an existing patient and the number of treatment protocols that are available for selection is different than the number of treatment protocols that were available for selection at the initial entry of the patient data.