Patent ID: 8224675

Claim:
A method for an insurance company to contract with medical image reading professionals, said method comprising: receiving, by a computing system of the insurance company, an application of a medical image reading professional who, to perform medical duties, receives medical information from a medical professional network manager and who has qualified to participate in a network of medical image reading professionals that the medical professional network manager manages, the medical image reading professional being identified as an expert in reading medical images of one or more anatomical regions, the medical professional network manager further having an agreement with the insurance company to identify to the insurance company an anatomical region captured in medical images read by medical image reading professionals in the network of medical image reading professionals; verifying, by the computing system, that the medical image reading professional is a member of the network of medical image reading professionals; approving, by the computing system, the application of the medical image reading professional in response to positively verifying that the medical image reading professional is a member of the network; establishing, by the computing system, the medical image reading professional as a payee in performing medical services; in response to the insurance company receiving a claim for payment to the medical image reading professional for reading a medical image of an identified anatomical region, verifying that the medical image reading professional is an expert in reading medical images of the identified anatomical region; making payment of the claim if the medical image reading professional is verified to be an expert in reading medical images of the identified anatomical region; and otherwise, denying payment on the claim.