Patent ID: 8010385
Filing Date: 2011-08-30
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computing system implemented process for providing healthcare consumers advance notice of changes in network status of their healthcare service providers comprising: obtaining electronic data indicating one or more healthcare service providers previously used by a given healthcare consumer; obtaining data indicating a given healthcare insurance plan used by the given healthcare consumer; obtaining electronic data indicating all in-network healthcare service providers for the given healthcare insurance plan used by the given healthcare consumer; analyzing, by a computer, the electronic data indicating one or more healthcare service providers previously used by the given healthcare consumer and the electronic data indicating in-network healthcare service providers for the given healthcare insurance plan used by the given healthcare consumer and identifying at least one healthcare service provider used by the given healthcare consumer whose status has changed either from an in-network provider to an out-of-network provider or from an out-of-network provider to an in-network provider for the given healthcare insurance plan used by the given healthcare consumer, the process being operable to be able to determine both kinds of changes, the both kinds of changes comprising a change from an in-network provider to an out-of-network provider and a change from an out-of-network provider to an in-network provider; and notifying the given healthcare consumer of the at least one healthcare service provider used by the given healthcare consumer whose status has changed, providing the given consumer data representing one or more potential in-network replacement healthcare service providers for any identified at least one healthcare service provider used by a given healthcare consumer that is no longer an in-network healthcare service provider for the given healthcare insurance plan used by the given healthcare consumer, the one or more potential in-network replacement healthcare service providers being at least partly determined using healthcare data associated with a community of users similarly situated to the consumer.