Patent ID: 8346575

Claim:
An automated patient check-in, scheduling and prepayment system, comprising: a processor; a memory; and an application executing on the processor that receives a first message from a patient device, the first message containing patient information comprising at least one of demographic, health insurance, medication, and medical history, and further comprising requesting an appointment with a first health care provider (HCP) for the patient; wherein the system determines from at least one of an internet protocol (IP) address and a media access control (MAC) layer address included in the first message that the patient device is one of situated at a practice location of an HCP that is a subscriber to the automated patient check-in services and situated elsewhere; wherein, if the system determines that the patient device is presently not situated at a practice location of an HCP subscribing to the automated check-in services system, the system determines whether the first message designates an HCP for the requested appointment, wherein, if the system determines that the first message does not designate an HCP for the requested appointment, the system provides a listing of HCPs to the patient device for review and selection of a first HCP; wherein, if the system determines that the patient device is situated at a practice location of an HCP that is a subscriber to the automated check-in services system, the system processes a patient check-in by: electronically providing forms specific to the HCP, verifying insurance coverage, and determining the amount owed.