Identifying Trusted Providers

Abstract

A computer-implemented method includes receiving a request from a consumer associated with a first medical service provider to engage in real time with a medical service provider over the Internet. The method also includes in response to the received request, displaying a list of medical service providers to the consumer on a user interface. The method also includes providing an indicator associated with a particular medical service provider in the list of medical service providers if the particular medical service provider is a trusted medical service provider identified by the first medical service provider.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 receiving, by a computer, a request from a consumer associated with a first medical service provider to engage in a real time consultation with a medical service provider;   generating by the computer a list of medical service providers available to engage with the consumer, with the list including one or more trusted medical service providers, and with a trusted medical service provider being a medical service provider receiving a recommendation from the first medical service provider;   receiving, by the computer, a selection of a medical service provider from the list of medical service providers;   transmitting, to a computing device associated with the consumer, information indicating whether the selected medical service provider is a trusted medical service provider that has been recommended by the first medical service provider.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the first medical service provider comprises a provider that has previously been engaged with the patient. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the first medical service provider comprises a primary care physician of the consumer. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 receiving a request from the computing device associated with the consumer to engage with a medical service provider specializing in a particular area of medical practice and trusted; and   transmitting, to the computing device associated with the consumer, information indicative of a name of at least one of the one or more trusted medical service providers specializing in the particular area of medical practice.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 accessing information indicative of a hierarchy of medical service providers associated with the first medical service provider, the hierarchy including trusted medical service providers identified by the first medical service provider and medical service providers identified by the trusted medical service providers.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 receiving feedback from the consumer about a particular one of the one or more trusted medical service providers; and   providing the feedback to the-first medical service provider.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 causing compensation to be provided to the first medical service provider if the consumer engages with a medical service provider included in the list of medical service providers.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 subsequent to an engagement between a consumer and a particular medical service provider, receiving feedback from the consumer related to the engagement;   generating a provider rating based, at least in part, on the received feedback; and   displaying the provider rating in a provider profile for the particular medial service provider, the provider rating reflecting a quality of an interaction of the particular medical service provider with consumers.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 generating data for a graphical user interface that when rendered on a display device displays for the consumer the list of medical service providers.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising:
 updating the data for the graphical user interface to render on the display device a visual indicator associated with the selected medical service provider, the visual indicator indicating that the selected medical service provider is a trusted medical service provider that has been recommended by the recommending medical service provider.   
     
     
         31 . A computer program product residing on a non-transitory computer readable medium for providing broker services to consumers and service providers in real time, the computer program product comprising instructions for causing a computer to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a request from a consumer associated with a first medical service provider to engage in a real time consultation with a medical service provider;   generating a list of medical service providers available to engage with the consumer, with the list including one or more trusted medical service providers, and with a trusted medical service provider being a medical service provider receiving a recommendation from the first medical service provider;   receiving a selection of a medical service provider from the list of medical service providers;   transmitting, to a computing device associated with the consumer, information indicating whether the selected medical service provider is a trusted medical service provider that has been recommended by the first medical service provider.   
     
     
         32 . The computer program product of  claim 31 , wherein the first medical service provider comprises a provider that has previously been engaged with the patient. 
     
     
         33 . The computer program product of  claim 31 , wherein the first medical service provider comprises a primary care physician of the consumer. 
     
     
         34 . The computer program product of  claim 31 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving a request from the computing device associated with the consumer to engage with a medical service provider specializing in a particular area of medical practice and trusted; and   transmitting, to the computing device associated with the consumer, information indicative of a name of at least one of the one or more trusted medical service providers specializing in the particular area of medical practice.   
     
     
         35 . The computer program product of  claim 31 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 causing compensation to be provided to the first medical service provider if the consumer engages with a medical service provider included in the list of medical service providers.   
     
     
         36 . An apparatus comprising:
 a processor; and   a computer program product residing on a computer readable medium for providing broker services to consumers and service providers, the computer program product comprising instructions for causing the processor to perform operations comprising:   receiving a request from a consumer associated with a first medical service provider to engage in a real time consultation with a medical service provider;   generating a list of medical service providers available to engage with the consumer, with the list including one or more trusted medical service providers, and with a trusted medical service provider being a medical service provider receiving a recommendation from the first medical service provider;   receiving a selection of a medical service provider from the list of medical service providers;   transmitting, to a computing device associated with the consumer, information indicating whether the selected medical service provider is a trusted medical service provider that has been recommended by the first medical service provider.   
     
     
         37 . The apparatus of  claim 36 , wherein the first medical service provider comprises a provider that has previously been engaged with the patient. 
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 36 , wherein the first medical service provider comprises a primary care physician of the consumer. 
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 36 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving a request from the computing device associated with the consumer to engage with a medical service provider specializing in a particular area of medical practice and trusted; and   transmitting, to the computing device associated with the consumer, information indicative of a name of at least one of the one or more trusted medical service providers specializing in the particular area of medical practice.   
     
     
         40 . The apparatus of  claim 36 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 causing compensation to be provided to the first medical service provider if the consumer engages with a medical service provider included in the list of medical service providers.