Patent Publication Number: US-2015081320-A1

Title: Platform for connecting medical information to services for medical care

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority as a continuation to U.S. Non-provisional application Ser. No. 12/630,696, filed on Dec. 3, 2009, entitled “PLATFORM FOR CONNECTING MEDICAL INFORMATION TO SERVICES FOR MEDICAL CARE,” the entirety of which is here by incorporated by reference, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/200,762 filed Dec. 3, 2008, entitled “MOBILE PHONE PLATFORM FOR CONNECTING PROBLEMS, CAUSATIVE CONDITIONS, AND FACILITY BASED INFORMATION FOR COMPLEX SYSTEMS INTO ACTIONABLE SERVICES FOR SERVICE PROVISION AND COST ANALYSIS,” the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/200,763, filed Dec. 3, 2008, entitled “MOBILE PHONE PLATFORM FOR CONNECTING SYMPTOM, DISEASE, PROCEDURE, AND FACILITY BASED INFORMATION INTO ACTIONABLE SERVICES FOR MEDICAL CARE AND COST ANALYSIS,” the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a system and associated functionality for identifying facilities and service providers, as well as providing other information, based on user inputs concerning symptoms or conditions. The invention is particularly useful for providing information about medical providers based on inputs concerning symptoms, e.g., via a mobile platform such as a cell phone or PDA. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In a variety of contexts, it is difficult for a layperson or other user to obtain actionable information regarding needed products or services because of various barriers between the user&#39;s indication of what the user needs and existing data concerning available products or services. The case of a layperson or other user desiring information regarding medical services is illustrative. Many sources of information are available to identify medical facilities and service providers based on specialty. Such sources of information include telephone books and web-based resources. Unfortunately, while a layperson or other user typically knows what symptoms are being presented or, in some cases, what type of medical consultation is desired (e.g., a check-up or a colonoscopy), in many cases the user will not necessarily know what specialty is needed. That is, a layperson with particular symptoms may not be able to determine that those symptoms indicate a particular condition requiring the service of a particular type of specialist, for instance, a gastroenterologist. 
     Even if the user could somehow identify the correct specialty to address the user&#39;s need, a number of obstacles may remain. For example, the user may be faced with the complication of identifying an “in network” service provider for his health plan, and/or identifying an appropriate service provider or facility close to the user&#39;s location (which may be particularly problematic when the user is traveling or is otherwise unfamiliar with the area). In view of all of these obstacles, the user may have difficulty in timely obtaining actionable information regarding medical services, e.g., what facility/type of specialist is needed, which appropriate specialists are in-network, which of those in-network specialists are nearby, where are the medical providers and what are the directions to get there, what other information is available to describe the user&#39;s condition, is the specialist/provider available and what are the wait times or other latency periods, is there anything the user needs to know or do until professional treatment is available, etc. It will be appreciated that the inability to timely obtain such information can be annoying in the best of circumstances but hazardous in some cases. 
     The ability to quickly and easily obtain information regarding medical care services would benefit not only lay people but also skilled service providers such as physicians, nurses and EMTs. For example, an EMT professional (and those under the EMT&#39;s care) may benefit from access to substantially real-time information identifying nearby facilities/physicians available to treat patients as well as wait times, traffic delays, preferred driving directions, etc. Nurses and physicians may be happy to have assistance in confirming diagnoses and identifying appropriate specialists for referrals. While various diagnostic tools and service resources are available, the existing tools and resources often do not effectively provide the needed specific information based on the types of user inputs that are available as a practical matter. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to providing user-specific, actionable information that meaningfully connects the user seeking information to the information sought such that the user may make informed decisions regarding the topic upon which information is sought and in turn act on the information provided. In this regard, in accordance with the present invention, not only is the user provided access to available information on a topic, but also is provided actionable information in the form of information specific to the user. 
     A particularly useful application of the present invention is in the medical field. Despite the existence of a vast amount of medical information, particularly on the Internet, there still exists a need for a system that provides information based on specific user needs and that allows a user to take action based on that information. 
     Therefore, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing access to actionable medical information. In addition to the ability to navigate the information provided, the invention provides specific information that enables the user to resolve a unique need that the user may have. For instance, the invention may allow a user to input information regarding (i) a symptom; (ii) a disease or condition; (iii) a procedure; or (iv) a medical facility or provider, and receive actionable information regarding that user&#39;s needs as determined based on the user input. As such, the invention enables the user make a personalized decision regarding actions to address the needs of the user. 
     This actionable information may be associated with functionality of a computer-based processing system (a user device, remote network server and/or other platform) that allows the user to take action to address a medical event in the most appropriate manner. This functionality may include providing connectivity to act on the actionable information by way of a telephone network, a data network, e-mail, instant messaging or the like. The functionality may also include determining a location of the user to provide user specific information corresponding to local or nearby facilities or medical providers. For instance, the actionable information may be useful for calling a medical provider, calling a nurse line, performing a structured web search, accessing video content, mapping facilities, or calling facilities directly. 
     Moreover, the invention enables tailoring the actionable information provided to the user based on one or more of the user, a network accessed by the user, and/or a characteristic of either or both the user and/or the network. For instance, as stated above, the invention may involve determining a location of a user. Thus, the information provided may correspond to the location of a user. Furthermore, other information may be used to tailor the information to individual users. By way of example, a user may be able to indicate to a user device, or an associated system may be otherwise able to obtain, information relating to a healthcare network (e.g., an insurance provider) to which the user belongs. Furthermore, the invention may be capable of presenting information regarding a medical specialist in response to inputs by the user. Additional functionality to assist medical professionals may be facilitated as well. For instance, medical professionals may use the invention to verify or assist in determining a diagnosis or may use the invention to assist in providing recommendations and referrals to patients. Furthermore, real-time information regarding facilities may be provided by the invention to assist in making medical decisions by medical professionals. For instance, the invention may provide estimates regarding latency to doctor consultation times. Such information may be compiled using a variety of parameters, including traffic, facility loads, doctor staffing, or other factors that determine patient wait times. As such, patients may be directed to facilities such that the latency to doctor consultation time is diminished. 
     In this regard, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method and apparatus (“utility”) is provided for identifying an in-network medical provider or health professional based on symptoms. The utility involves receiving, at a computer-based processing system (e.g., a local user device or remote server), information regarding a symptom from a user. For example, the user may enter a textual description of a symptom or select a symptom from a menu of pre-defined symptoms. The utility further involves correlating, using the processing system, the symptom to conditions that present the symptom and obtaining healthcare network information regarding a healthcare network to which the user belongs. For example, the user may provide healthcare network information directly to the processing system, the system may be able to determine a healthcare network for a user based on the user accessing a network, or the system may be operative to infer an association with a healthcare network based on some other user information (e.g., the user&#39;s employer, military status, location, etc.). The utility also involves identifying a medical provider, using the processing system based on the condition and the healthcare network information and presenting information regarding a medical provider to the user. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a utility is provided for identifying a medical provider or health professional based on symptoms and a location of the user. The utility involves receiving, at a computer-based processing system, information regarding a symptom from a user and correlating the symptom to a condition. The utility further involves acquiring information regarding a location of the user. For example, the processing system may acquire the location of the user from the user (or a user device) or it may determine the location of the user by another method e.g., a cell identification (for a network cell, cell sector or microcell), time difference of arrival, angle of arrival, etc. The utility may involve identifying, using the processing system, a medical provider based on at least the condition and the location of the user and presenting information regarding the medical provider to the user. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a user device is provided for obtaining medical information. The user device includes input structure for receiving healthcare network information regarding a healthcare network to which a user belongs and symptom information regarding a symptom of the user. The user device also includes a network interface for transmitting patient information based at least in part on the healthcare network information and the symptom information to a network platform and receiving responsive medical provider information from the platform. The user device also includes output structure for providing the medical provider information to the user. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a computer-based processing system for providing medical information is provided. The system includes input structure for receiving information regarding a symptom from a user. The system further includes a processor in operative communication with at least one database containing information regarding a condition. The processor is operative to obtain healthcare network information regarding a healthcare network to which the user belongs. For example, the processor may receive healthcare network information from the user or may obtain such information indirectly (e.g., by way of a network accessed by the user or information regarding a user not directly indicative of a healthcare network). The processor is also operative to access the database and correlate the information regarding a symptom and a condition and to identify a medical provider based on the condition and the healthcare network information. The system also includes output structure for providing information regarding the medical provider to the user. The computer-based processing system can be locally resident on a user device, remotely resident on one or more network platforms, or distributed over the local device and remote platform(s). 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present invention and further advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an embodiment of a user device in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting a method in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart depicting a further method in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIGS. 4-28  are screen shots illustrating various functionality in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which at least will assist in illustrating the various pertinent features of the present invention. In this regard, the following description is presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the following teachings, and skill and knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiments described herein are further intended to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention as described or in other embodiments and with various modifications required by the particular applications or uses of the present invention. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view showing a user device  10  in accordance with the present invention. The user device  10  may generally be a computer-based processing system. The user device  10  may be executed using, among other components, a microprocessor, memory, a data bus, I/O components, and the like. The user device  10  may further be embodied in a variety of systems and devices. Examples of such systems and devices include desktop computers, laptop computer, mobile phones, PDAs, other handheld devices, or the like. The functionality described below may be executed locally on the user device  10 , remotely on one or more network platforms or distributed between the user device  10  and remote network platform(s). For example, at least some of this functionality may be implemented by an application running locally on the device  10 . Alternatively or additionally, at least some logic may be web-based such that at least some of the functionality is executed as a web application in a browser using scripts or other language (e.g., HTML, Java, Script, etc.). Additionally, the user device  10  may be embodied as a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, other handheld PDA device, or the like. When the user device  10  is embodied in a mobile device, the functionality may be executed from the mobile device and reside in memory thereof or may be executed as a web application as described above. 
     The user device  10  may be functional to access a number of data repositories herein termed databases. These databases, for instance, may include a procedure database  12 , a disease/condition database  14 , a symptoms database  16 , and a provider database  18 . Other databases could be provided consistent with the description provided below. By way of example, the procedure database  12  may include information regarding medical procedures. This information may include steps of each procedure, the type of medical specialist capable of performing the procedure, possible complications of the procedure, average cost of the procedure, or other information regarding the procedure. 
     The user device  10  may also access a disease database  14 . The disease database  14  may contain information regarding diseases or medical conditions. The database  14  may include information about the disease or medical condition, such as the description of the disease, tests that may be run to determine or diagnose the disease, common symptoms of the disease and common treatments of the disease. 
     The user device may also access a symptoms database  16 . The symptoms database  16  may include information regarding possible symptoms suffered by individuals as a result of a medical conditions or diseases. The symptom database  16  may include information regarding conditions or diseases that present the symptoms contained in the symptom database  16 . The symptom database  16  may further include information regarding symptoms (e.g., drugs or techniques used to alleviate symptoms, etc.). 
     Additionally, the user device  10  may access a provider database  18 . The provider database  18  may include information about a number of medical providers including, but not limited to, emergency rooms, urgent care clinics, retail clinics, specialists, physicians, pharmacies, or other medical providers. Moreover, the provider database  18  may include information regarding each medical provider such as insurance network information, information regarding facilities (e.g. hours of operation, location, staffing information, real-time wait times, etc. or other information), as well as reviews or user comments about each medical provider. 
     For any database accessible by the user device  10 , in one embodiment, the database(s) may be resident on the device upon which the associated functionality is executed. In this regard, the databases may be stored locally in memory accessible by a processor of the user device  10  to execute the functionality in accordance with the description provided below. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the databases may be stored at a remote location that may be accessed by the user device  10  via a network or other means. For example, the databases may be stored on a remote server accessible by the user device by utilizing the Internet or other wide area network. As a further alternative, the databases, or any one thereof, may be distributed as between the user device  10  and one or more remote network servers. 
     Additionally, the user device  10  may be in operative communication with one or more communication networks. These communication networks may include, by way of example a data network  20 , a telephone network  22 , an e-mail client  24 , a chat service  26 , other communication networks, or a combination of the foregoing. For instance, the user device  10  may include the ability to connect to the internet, access e-mail clients, or utilize chat services. If the user device  10  is embodied as a mobile device such as mobile phone, the user device  10  may utilize integrated functionality of the mobile device to connect to the networks. 
     The illustrated user device  10  may include input structure. Furthermore, the user device  10  may include output structure. In one embodiment of the user device  10 , the input structure and output structure may be integrated into a user interface  28 . The user interface  28  may allow users to interact with the user device  10 . The user interface  28  may include any known means of interaction with an electronic device such as for example, a keyboard, mouse, touch screen display, voice command, or any other known means in the art. Additionally, the user interface  28  may include a display or other device capable of displaying information to a user. Other input structure may be provided, for example, a communication gateway for receiving data. For instance, the input structure could be an input port of a network server or the like that facilitates receipt of data (e.g., using an communication protocol such as http, ftp, TCP/IP, etc.). Similarly, the output structure could comprise an output port of network server or the like that facilitates transmission of data. 
     The user device  10  may also utilize a location determination module  30  in order to determine and/or relay the location of a user. The location services  30  may be provided using several techniques known in the art. For instance, the location services  30  may utilize existing information stored in memory in order to determine the location of the user. In this regard, the user may have a profile stored in the on their computer containing information such as the user&#39;s home address, work address, or general geographic location. This information may be accessed by the user device  10  to ascertain information about the location of a user. Alternatively, the location services  30  may utilize integrated functionality of the user device  10  (e.g., the user device  10  may include location resolving devices). For example, the device may be equipped with a GPS receiver capable of determining the location of a user using the device or logic for determining the location of the device based on network structures (e.g., handset-based cell location, cell sector, microcell, angle of arrival, time difference of arrival, signal strength, etc.). The user device  10  in turn may utilize this location information. Other methods of providing a user location may include network-based location determination technologies and accessing location information from a location gateway of a wireless network. Accordingly, the location information may be obtained from the user device  10  or another source. 
     The user device  10  may also be operative to receive personalized medical information or may employ other means of determining personalized medical information for the user. The personalized medical information may comprise healthcare network information  32  and may include information regarding a user&#39;s insurance policy or other healthcare network to which the user belongs. The user device  10  may obtain the healthcare network information  32  in a variety of manners. For instance, the user may simply input healthcare network information  32 . Alternatively, the user device  10  may determine healthcare network information  32  for the user based on a network accessed by the user (e.g., if the user accesses an insurance provider&#39;s website or otherwise logs into a healthcare network provider&#39;s network). Alternatively, the user device  10  may obtain the healthcare network information  32  by inferring a healthcare network to which the user belongs based on information provided by the user not directly related to healthcare network information (e.g., the user&#39;s employer, military status, age, etc.) Furthermore, the healthcare network information  32  may include a patient history or family medical history. User device  10  may be operative to send to or to receive personalized medical information regarding a user&#39;s condition, diseases, medical history or other information about the user. 
     Additionally, the user device  10  may be in communication with a number of service providers  36 . These may include many different kinds of healthcare or other types of service providers. For instance, the service providers  36  may provide advertisement information or other information (medical and otherwise) to users by way of the user device  10  for use by the user. Alternatively, the user device may access the service provider&#39;s content and use the content in the execution of user device  10 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 2 , a flow chart is provided that depicts certain functionality of the user device  10  and/or other platform. The user device may obtain ( 35 ) information regarding a user&#39;s healthcare network as was described above. In  FIG. 2 , the user inputs ( 36 ) a symptom or chooses a symptom from a list that may be contained in the symptom database  16 . The user device  10  then correlates ( 38 ) the selected symptom to medical conditions or diseases characterized as commonly associated with the selected symptom. Also, the conditions or diseases commonly associated with the presenting symptom may be displayed to the user by way of the user interface  28 . The user can then select ( 40 ) a disease or condition of interest from the list correlated ( 38 ) conditions or disease. In this regard, the user device may display ( 42 ) information about the selected disease or condition including all information associated with the disease as is contained in the disease database  14 . This information is displayed to the user such that the user may choose to further explore the information regarding the disease. That is, the disease information may be displayed at various levels allowing the user to explore the information about the disease from various levels of specificity. 
     The user may be presented ( 44 ) with and may select from a provider list of capable providers that can treat or provide therapy for the disease or condition selected. This may include displaying a plurality of types of providers stratified by the severity level of either the condition or symptom. In return, facilities that have the capabilities to address the symptom or disease selected may be presented to the user. For instance, if the disease selected is life threatening or of an emergency nature, the display may show that the facilities capable of providing treatment are limited to emergency rooms. Alternatively, less severe or serious diseases or conditions selected may be correlated to other facilities such as physicians, pharmacies, urgent care facilities or other medical providers based on the severity of the disease selected. 
     The user device may acquire ( 45 ) user location information. Again, the user device may use a location determination module  30  as described above to acquire ( 45 ) information that allows the user device to determine a location of the user. Furthermore, the user device may provide ( 46 ) a location based listing of the facilities corresponding to the facilities displayed. Again, this may utilize the location determination module  30  such that the location of a user may be determined and referenced against the location of the capable providers in the provider database  18  in order to provide a listing of nearby capable providers to the user. For example, the providers may be filtered based on a location parameter (e.g., radius of 5, 10, 20 miles) and/or may be ordered for presentation based on proximity. In this regard, the user can input the symptoms that are presenting and in turn can be provided actionable information including an appropriate medical facility that is nearby and capable of treating the possible disease or conditions of the user. 
     Turning to  FIG. 3 , an additional process in accordance with the invention is depicted using a flowchart. In  FIG. 3 , the user device  10  and/or other platform obtains ( 48 ) user healthcare network information. This may include information about a user&#39;s insurance provider or plan information. The healthcare network information may be obtained from the user directly, by way of logging into a healthcare network&#39;s website, or other means of obtaining user healthcare network information. The user provides ( 50 ) the user device  10  symptom information corresponding to a symptom of the user. The user device correlates ( 52 ) the selected identified symptoms to possible conditions or diseases that present the symptoms provided ( 50 ). Additionally, the user device may acquire ( 54 ) user location information, for instance by way of the location determination module  30 . The user device may provide ( 56 ) specialist information to the user regarding the possible diseases or conditions correlated ( 52 ) to the symptoms. This specialist information may be tailored to both an appropriate provider that is within the user&#39;s healthcare network as well as one that is nearby. In this regard, the user device may provide the user information about local medical facilities that are capable of treating the disease or conditions from which the user may be suffering as well as providing information about providers or healthcare facilities in the user&#39;s network. 
     A description of certain functionality of the invention will now be presented in the context of an application executed on a user device  10  wherein the user device  10  is embodied in a mobile device, such as a cell phone with internet and location services. While user device  10  is shown as being executed on a mobile device, it is to be understood that similar or the same functionality may be provided in other types of user device executions such as a user device embodied as a desktop computer, laptop computer, or other device. 
     In  FIG. 4 , the user device may initialize a computer program and present to a user a welcome screen  52 . The welcome screen  52  may include a capability of allowing the user to indicate whether the condition from which they are suffering is an emergency. This emergency selection  54  may consist of simply asking the user if the situation for which they are seeking information as an emergency. If the condition does comprise an emergency, the user may select “Yes” such that the mobile phone on which the program is running may activate the telephone network of the phone in order to dial an emergency number, such as 911. Alternatively, the user may select “No,” such that the program proceeds. As can be seen in  FIG. 5 , a symptoms list  56  may be presented to the user after the initial welcome screen  52  and emergency selection  54 . The symptoms list  56  may include a listing of all the database entries for items in the symptoms database  16  corresponding to diseases or medical conditions. The symptoms may be sorted by alphabetical order, or by category or other intuitive organization, to allow the symptoms to be found more easily. The symptom list  56  may include a lay description of the medical symptom as well as or instead of a medical description. Additionally, the symptoms may be searched by way of a symptom search box  58 . The user may select any one of the symptoms  56  in order to be provided more information regarding that symptom. 
     Of note, in  FIG. 5 , navigation of the user device  10  may generally be facilitated by way of buttons or links presented in the user interface. A link may be presented for symptoms  60 , diseases  62 , procedures  64  and providers  66  such that these links may be used as shortcuts for users. For example, the symptoms list  56  may be accessed at any time by clicking on or selecting the symptoms link  60 . Similarly, the other links may be used to navigate to other lists or information as will be discussed further below. 
     In  FIG. 6  the diseases link  62  has been selected by the user such that a disease list  68  is presented to the user. Similar to the symptoms list  60 , the disease list  68  may include a list of diseases or medical conditions contained in the disease database  14 . Again, the diseases may be sorted by alphabetical order such that the diseases may be found more easily or alternatively a disease search box  70  may be provided. In this regard, the user may navigate the list of diseases contained in the disease database  14  in order to select a disease of interest to the user. 
     In a similar manner,  FIG. 7  shows the screen displayed when the procedure link  54  is selected such that a procedure list  72  is presented to the user. Again, the procedure list  72  may contain a listing of entries of the procedure database  12 . The procedures list  72  may be arranged in alphabetical order such that the procedure may be found more easily. Alternatively, the user may search using procedure search box  74  in order to search for procedures of interest by name. 
       FIG. 8  shows a screen that may be presented to the user when the provider&#39;s link  66  is selected. The user may be presented a provider-type selection screen  76 . Using the provider-type selection screen  76 , the user may select from a variety of different healthcare provider types including, but not limited to; emergency departments, urgent care clinics, retail clinics, physicians and pharmacies. Users may also be presented with a cost information link  78  that may provide cost information regarding the different types of providers in the list  76  as shown in  FIG. 14 . Additionally provided in the provider&#39;s page link  66  may be a location services field  80 . The user may be presented the option to provide a location (e.g., by way of a zip code input) or to use the location determining module  30  of the device to provide the user device  10  (e.g., integrated GPS receiver). Additionally, the user may selectively determine the search radius such that only providers within certain distances, (e.g., 10 miles, 20 miles, 50 miles or some other distance) may be displayed. As an example, in  FIG. 9 , provider list  82  corresponding to emergency departments within a 10 mile radius of the user may be displayed. That is, a provider&#39;s list  82  is populated with entries from the provider database  12  corresponding to emergency departments within a 10 mile radius of the user using the user device  10 . The provider list  82  may sort by distance from the user. 
     As seen in  FIG. 10 , a provider may be selected in order to obtain more information about a provider listed in the provider list  82 . The provider information screen  84  may include information about the selected provider. This information may include the provider address; telephone number; the map and directions to the provider and the provider&#39;s website; or other information including, for example, informational videos, current wait times, staffing levels, etc. As can be seen in  FIG. 11 , the provider information screen  84  may also include a quality report links that may be used to direct the user to information about the selected provider. There may also be provided a cost negotiation link to information regarding negotiating a bill from the selected provider. Also listed on the provider information screen  84  may be one or more links to a series of videos  130  such as the one depicted in  FIG. 12 . In this regard, utilizing the user device  10 , the user may access multiple sources of information including videos or other provider information. Of note, the provider information may further include a map  88  as seen in  FIG. 13  that may show the location of providers. 
       FIG. 15  shows a disease correlation list  92 . The disease correlation list  92  may be presented after a user selects a symptom from the symptoms list  60  corresponding to a symptom which they may be presenting. For instance, in  FIG. 15 , the symptom “headache” has been selected from these symptoms list. Accordingly, some possible medical conditions associated with a headache maybe represented to the user in a disease correlation list  92 . From the disease correlation list  92 , the user may select a disease from the list of diseases or medical conditions associated with the symptom they may be presenting.  FIG. 17  shows an option of the disease correlation list  92  wherein the diseases may be sorted by a variety of filters. For instance, the filter options may include filtering the diseases presented in the disease correlation list  92  into disease classes corresponding to common diseases, pediatric diseases, or life threatening diseases. In this manner, the diseases included in the disease correlation list  92  may be sorted by a variety of options by the user. 
     With further reference to  FIG. 16 , the user may have selected meningioma (brain tumor) from a disease list, for example. In this regard, a disease information screen  94  may be presented to the user. From the disease information screen, the user may select from a variety of information listings about the disease including, but not limited to, a description of the disease, possible tests to determine the existence of the disease, symptoms of the disease, as well as common treatments associated with the disease. Additionally, a plurality of links may be presented to the user, such as for instance, the ability to search the web with particular guided searches dealing with the selected disease, advice lines, provider list tailored to the disease, or other medical websites for which the user may obtain information. 
       FIG. 18  shows a screen that may be presented to the user if the description option is selected in the disease information screen  94 . The disease information screen  96  presents a brief description of the disease. Additionally, in the disease description screen  96  a plurality of options may be presented from which the user may choose. These may include a “Find or Provider” link  98 , an “Advice Line” link  100  and a “Search Web” link  102 .  FIG. 19  shows a provider-type selection screen  76  that may be presented if the “Find a Provider” link  98  is chosen. As can be seen, the provider-type selection  76  may be similar to that shown with reference to  FIG. 8 , where the provider-type selection screen  76  was accessed from the provider link  66 . However, the provider-type selection screen  76 , when accessed from the finer provider link  98 , may differ in that severity indications  104  related to the disease selected may be included. For instance, in  FIG. 19 , based on the severity of the disease selected (the brain tumor), indications may be presented to the user indicating the appropriate facility from which treatment could be rendered from the stratified list of providers based on the severity level each provider is equipped to treat. In the example shown in  FIG. 19 , the appropriate facility is designated by the severity indications  104  (e.g., emergency departments as well as physicians). Of note, also included in this provider screen may be a location services field  80  similar to the one presented in  FIG. 8  wherein the user may manually input or rely on location services  30  of the user device  10  in order to provide location of the user. 
       FIG. 20  includes an advice line screen  106  that may be accessed by selecting the “Advice Line” link  100  as shown in  FIG. 18 . When the user selects the “Advice Line” link  100 , the user may be presented with two options. One may be to connect to the physician advice line, while the other option may include connected to a nurse advice line.  FIG. 21  shows an embodiment of the physician advice line screen  108 . For instance, the physician advice line  108  may include a description of the services provided by the physician advice line as well as a telephone number corresponding to the physician advice line. In this embodiment, a call link  110  may be provided wherein the telephone network  22  of the mobile device may be activated to place the call directly to the physician advice line. Alternatively, if the nurse advice line is selected in  FIG. 20  from the advice line screen  106 , a nurse advice line screen (shown in  FIG. 22 )  112  may be presented. The nurse advice line screen may similarly contain a call link  110  enabling the user device  10  to activate the telephone network  22  of the mobile device in order to dial the nurse advice line. The nurse advice line screen  112  may differ from the physician advice line screen  108  in that the nurse advice line screen may be based on the health network information provided by the user. As can be seen, the nurse advice line screen  112  may include information specific to the designated healthcare provider. As such, the user may have indicated or obtained information regarding a health care network. In this regard, when the nurse advice line screen is presented  112 , the number for the device line may be particularly directed to the network in which the user is provided service. 
       FIG. 23  includes a web search screen  114  that may be displayed to the user when the web search link  102  is selected. The web search screen  114  may include a plurality of pre-defined web searches based on conditions identified in the disease information screen  94 . For instance, the plurality of pre-defined web searches may include symptoms of the disease, a diagnosis of the disease, causes of the disease, prognosis of the disease, treatment of the disease, latest research on the disease, images of the disease or videos pertaining to the disease. As a result, a directed web search may be conducted by simply choosing one of the links presented in the web search  114 . In this regard, the user device  10  may provide the user a directed web search capability such that specific pre-defined web searches may be correlated to a selected disease and may be presented to the user. 
     Returning to  FIG. 16 , on the disease information screen  94 , the user may select a test link such that they are presented with a disease test screen  116 . The disease test screen  116  (shown in  FIG. 24 ) may include a description of tests or procedures undertaken in order to diagnosis or identify a selected disease. Also, a medical specialist corresponding to the disease may be included in the disease test screen  116  such that the user may readily identify a specialist in order to treat the disease that has been selected. This may allow a user to determine the specialist needed to treat the particular disease or condition that the user is researching. Accordingly, the user may restrict a provider search to this limited specialty as will be described further below. 
     Additionally, from the disease information screen  94 , the user may access a symptom screen  118 . The symptom screen  118  (shown in  FIG. 25 ) may present the user with a list of common symptoms associated with the selected disease identified in the disease information screen  94 . 
     Alternatively, the user may select from the disease information screen  94 , a disease treatment screen  120  (shown in  FIG. 26 ). The disease treatment screen  120  may present to the user a list of potential or possible treatments related to the treatment of the disease identified in the disease information screen  94 . Alternatively, a web resources screen  122  may be presented by selection of the disease information screen  94 . One such example of a web link information screen  122  presented in  FIG. 27 . As can be seen in  FIG. 27 , the web link information screen  122  may include a plurality of links to online resources containing information about the disease selected in the disease information screen  94 . 
       FIG. 28  shows a specialty selection screen  124 . The specialty screen  124  may include provider list that may be accessed by way of either provider link  66  or a provider info screen  84 . The specialty selection screen  124  may allow a user to filter the provider list  82  by the specialty of the provider. In this regard, the user may sort the providers that have been provided corresponding to the location of the provider or by the provider&#39;s specialty. 
     In this regard, the user may, after having researched a disease or symptom, determine the specialist most appropriate to provide treatment for the disease or symptom of interest. The user may then also use the user device  10  to determine nearby specialist capable of providing treatment. Further still, if the user has indicated a healthcare network to which they belong, the provider list may be further narrowed to show only providers within the user&#39;s healthcare network. If the user still desires information regarding the available specialists, the user device  10  may be used to access such information (e.g., cost information, user reviews of providers, administrative information regarding each provider, promotional information about providers, etc.). 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description is to be considered as exemplary and not restrictive in character. For example, certain embodiments described hereinabove may be combinable with other described embodiments and/or arranged in other ways (e.g., process elements may be performed in other sequences). Moreover, while the invention has primarily been described in the context of obtaining actionable medical information, various aspects of the invention are applicable in other contexts. For example, the invention can be adapted to obtain legal information, information regarding vehicle repairs and in other contexts, for example, where there are barriers in matching the needs of a user to actionable information regarding the subject matter. Accordingly, it should be understood that only some embodiment and variants thereof have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.