Patent Document ID: 20130226618
Application ID: 13854347
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A computer-based system having a memory and a processor which estimates a patient's future demand for healthcare services, comprising a software module running on a computer which analyzes a patient's drug history sex, and age, and based on this analysis infers a diagnosis for the patient; wherein the analysis done by the software modules comprises applying at least one rule which defines a relationship among a disease, drug usage expected to be associated with the disease, the sex of a person expected to be associated with the disease, and an age range of a person expected to be associated with the disease; and, wherein the at least one rule is applied to the patient's drug history based on a hierarchy of diseases, the hierarchy being a function, at least in part, of the severity of the disease to the patient's health, and further wherein the hierarchy of diseases is applied such that if the application of the rules yields a plurality of possible diseases, the most severe disease is associated with the patient.