Patent ID: 7379964

Claim:
A method for a first healthcare provider to consult a second healthcare provider regarding at least one of diagnosis and treatment of a patient, the method comprising: receiving a request for a consultation over a network submitted by the first healthcare provider via a first machine, the request including consult data; storing the consult data in a database; transmitting a notification over the network to the second healthcare provider in response to receiving the request for a consultation the notification informing the second healthcare provider that a request for a consultation has been received; receiving a request for the consult data over the network from the second healthcare provider; transmitting the consult data over the network to a second machine in response to the request for the consult data; receiving a consultation over the network submitted by the second healthcare provider, the consultation including the second healthcare provider's assessment and/or diagnosis based on the consult data; storing the consultation in the database; transmitting a notification over the network to the first healthcare provider in response to receiving the consultation from the second healthcare provider, the notification informing the first healthcare provider that a consultation has been received; receiving a request to view the consultation over the network from the first healthcare provider; transmitting the consultation over the network to the first machine in response to the request to view the consultation; transmitting a request for approval to use the consultation for medical educational purposes over the network to the first healthcare provider; receiving an approval to use the consultation for medical educational purposes over the network from the first healthcare provider; and electronically identifying the consultation as usable for medical education purposes in response to the approval received from the first healthcare provider.