Referral request system

1. A method for electronically managing patient referrals, said method comprising in a network of interconnected computers:

causing a particular computer in the network of interconnected computers to execute instructions tied to the particular computer, said instructions being instructions for submitting a referral request by a first provider;

causing a particular computer in the network of interconnected computers to execute instructions tied to the particular computer, said instructions being instructions for accepting the referral request by a second provider;

causing a particular computer in the network of interconnected computers to execute instructions tied to the particular computer, said instructions being instructions for obtaining an insurance approval of the referral request;

causing a particular computer in the network of interconnected computers to execute instructions tied to the particular computer, said instructions being instructions for importing a medical record for a patient from a external system and exporting an updated medical record to the external system;

causing a particular computer in the network of interconnected computers to execute instructions tied to the particular computer, said instructions being instructions for updating the referral request with diagnostic information; and

causing a particular computer in the network of interconnected computers to execute instructions tied to the particular computer, said instructions being instructions for updating a status of the referral request.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network of interconnected computers comprises a server system.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the server system stores a referral request form.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the server system stores a referral data form corresponding to the referral request form.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first provider comprises a health care provider.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first provider comprises the patient submitting the referral request to the first provider or the second provider.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second provider comprises a health care provider.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein accepting the referral request further comprises:

monitoring the network by the second provider;

submitting an acknowledgment of the referral request;

placing the patient on a wait-list;

providing an appointment for the patient; and

examining the patient by the second provider.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the medical record comprises medical history information for the patient, the medical history information comprising personal medical information, family information, and social information.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein importing and exporting the medical record comprises entering the medical history information manually.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein importing and exporting the medical record comprises hyperlinking the medical history information to the external system.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein importing and exporting the medical record comprises an application programming interface (API).

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein importing and exporting the medical record comprises a paste and post method.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the paste and post method further comprises: selecting the medical history information from an external system; copying the medical history information; pasting the medical history information into a clipboard; matching the medical history information to a plurality of fields within the external system; and filling the plurality of fields with corresponding medical history information.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the diagnostic information comprises: a summary report of an office examination of the patient;

patient laboratory test results; and a list of medication prescribed by the second provider.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the updated referral request is returned to the first provider.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein updating the status of the referral request is performed by the first provider or second provider.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the status of the referral request comprises an indication of whether the patient has been seen by the second provider.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the status is filtered and sorted according to a category.

20. A computer-readable medium having encoded thereon software for electronically managing patient referrals, said software including instructions for causing a data processing apparatus, in a network of interconnected computers, to:

submit a referral request by a first provider;

accept the referral request by a second provider;

obtain an insurance approval of the referral request;

import a medical record for a patient from a external system and export the imported medical record to the external system;

update the referral request with diagnostic information; and

update a status of the referral request.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the network of interconnected computers comprises a server system.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the server system stores a referral request form.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the server system stores a referral data form corresponding to the referral request form.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the first provider comprises a health care provider.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the first provider comprises the patient submitting the referral request to the first provider or the second provider.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the second provider comprises a health care provider.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein accepting the referral request further comprises: monitoring the network by the second provider; submitting an acknowledgment of the referral request; placing the patient on a wait-list; providing an appointment for the patient; and examining the patient by the second provider.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the medical record comprises medical history information for the patient, the medical history information comprising personal medical information, family information, and social information.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein importing and exporting the medical record comprises entering the medical history information manually.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein importing and exporting the medical record comprises hyperlinking the medical history information to the external system.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein importing and exporting the medical record comprises using an application programming interface.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein importing and exporting the medical record comprises using a paste and post method.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 32 , wherein the paste and post method further comprises: selecting the medical history information from an external system; copying the medical history information; pasting the medical history information into a clipboard;

matching the medical history information to a plurality of fields within the external system; and filling the plurality of fields with corresponding medical history information.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the diagnostic information comprises: a summary report of an office examination of the patient; patient laboratory test results; and a list of medication prescribed by the second provider.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the updated referral request is returned to the first provider.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein updating the status of the referral request is performed by the first provider or second provider.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the status of the referral request comprises an indication of whether the patient has been seen by the second provider.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the status is filtered and sorted according to a category.

39. An apparatus for electronically managing patient referrals, said apparatus comprising:

in a network of interconnected computers, means for submitting a referral request from a first provider;

means for accepting the referral request by a second provider;

means for obtaining an insurance approval corresponding to the referral request;

means for importing a medical record for a patient from a external system and

means for exporting an updated medical record to the external system;

means for receiving diagnostic information from the second provider, the diagnostic information being used to update the updated medical record; and

means for updating a status of the referral request.

40. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the network of interconnected computers comprises a server system.

41. The apparatus of claim 40 wherein the server system stores a referral request form.

42. The apparatus of claim 40 wherein the server system stores a referral data form corresponding to the referral request form.

43. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the first provider comprises a health care provider.

44. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the first provider comprises the patient submitting the referral request to the first provider or the second provider.

45. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the means for accepting the referral request further comprises: monitoring the network by the second provider; submitting an acknowledgment of the referral request; placing the patient on a wait-list; providing an appointment for the patient; and

examining the patient by the second provider.

46. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the medical record comprises medical history information for the patient, the medical history information comprising personal medical information, family information, and social information.

47. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the means for importing and the means for exporting the medical record comprises entering the medical history information manually.

48. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the means for importing and the means for exporting the medical record comprises hyperlinking the medical history information to the external system.

49. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the means for importing and the means for exporting the medical record comprises an application programming interface (API).

50. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the means for importing and the means for exporting the medical record comprises a paste and post method.

51. The apparatus of claim of claim 50 , wherein the paste and post method further comprises:

selecting the medical history information from an external system;

copying the medical history information;

pasting the medical history information into a clipboard;

matching the medical history information to a plurality of fields within the external system; and

filling the plurality of fields with corresponding medical history information.

52. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the diagnostic information comprises:

a summary report of an office examination of the patient;

patient laboratory test results; and

a list of medication prescribed by the second provider.

53. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the updated referral request is returned to the first provider.

54. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the means for updating the status of the referral request is performed by the first provider or second provider.

55. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the status of the referral request comprises an indication of whether the patient has been seen by the second provider.

56. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the status is filtered and sorted according to a category.

57. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the second provider comprises a health care provider.