Patent ID: 7765146

Claim:
A medical cost adjusting method for determining a medical cost for a medical service provided by a medical institution to a patient, implemented using a computer system including: at least one patient terminal used by at least one patient, at least one medical institution terminal used by at least one medical institution, at least one third party terminal used by at least one third party who is not a session member, and a session server in communication with the at least one patient terminal and the at least one medical institution terminal via a communication network, wherein the session server stores and processes data entered from the at least one patient terminal, the at least one medical institution terminal, and the at least one third party terminal, the method comprising the steps of: (a) conducting a regular auction to set the price of a medical treatment to be provided to a patient by a medical institution by: (i) receiving at the session server via the communication network an offered medical cost for the medical treatment as an ask price of at least one medical institution, using the session server, transmitted from the at least one medical institution terminal; and (ii) receiving at the system server via the communication network an amount offered to be paid by the at least one patient for said medical service as a bid price of the at least one patient, transmitted from the at least one patient terminal; (b) using the session server to adjust a bid price and an ask price so that an auction trade can be carried out, by: (i) adding to the bid price and subtracting from the ask price amounts of portions of proceeds of a lottery held among a plurality of unspecified many parties, wherein a winning lottery number thereof is determined at least on the basis of a value obtained by converting an average stock price in at least one stock market to a selected currency based on a currency exchange rate at a predetermined time; and (ii) adding to the bid price or subtracting from the ask price the amount of a donation to a patient or to a medical institution, respectively, from a third party who is not a session member; (c) using the session server to determine session members as parties who are directly concerned in the setting of a price for the medical treatment by combining the regular auction with a reverse auction; (d) using the session server to execute an auction trade by said session members; and (e) using the session server to end the auction when at least one medical institution presents an ask price which, as adjusted in step (b), is lower than or equal to said bid price presented by said at least one patient, as adjusted in step (b), or when a predetermined auction ending time is reached.