Patent ID: 8731979

Claim:
A method for assisting a patient with selection of at least one provider and at least one facility for an identified medical procedure comprising: receiving by a processor an indication of the identified medical procedure for the patient; accessing by the processor medical plan information for the patient, wherein the medical plan information includes in-network and out-of-network information for providers and facilities available to the patient for performing the identified medical procedure; evaluating by the processor the medical plan information and determining combinations of one or more providers and one or more facilities available to handle the identified medical procedure for the patient; providing by the processor a list of options for handling the at least one medical procedure for the patient, the options including both in-network and out-of-network options and the options being ranked according to least cost over a predetermined period of time, wherein each option includes one or more providers and one or more facilities for performing the at least one medical procedure; and further wherein at least one out-of-network option costs less over the predetermined period of time than one or more in-network options.