IP Library Granted Patent US 8,712,031
Granted Patent B2
US 8,712,031 · App. 11/805,104 · Granted Apr 29, 2014

Visual physician office systems and methods

Inventors: David L. Wellons (Marietta, GA); Diane Brown Turcan (Smyrna, GA)
Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,712,031
App. No.
11/805,104
Granted
Apr 29, 2014
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods and systems are disclosed for enabling a virtual physician office (VPO) that uses a network-based physician practice application and leverages the assets of a shared, communications network of legacy systems. A data connection is established with a rule-based application dataserver of a telecommunications network facility to control access, sharing, notification, security, and/or management of electronic healthcare communications. Typically, the rule-based application dataserver is associated with a central office (“CO”), a mobile telephone switching center (“MTSO”), or a combination CO/MTSO.

Claims (46)

1. A method, comprising:

establishing a first data connection between a server and a physician office legacy system;

establishing a second data connection between the server and another physician office legacy system;

receiving an electronic healthcare communication over the first data connection that is associated with a sender's communications address and with a recipient's communications address, the electronic healthcare communication comprising an attachment that has been formatted according to the physician office legacy system;

comparing the recipient's communications address to a list of addresses;

when the recipient's communications address matches an entry in the list of addresses, then reformatting the electronic healthcare communication from a format compatible with the physician office legacy system to another format that is compatible with the another physician office legacy system; and

sending a reformatted electronic healthcare communication over the second data connection to the another physician office legacy system.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

reformatting the attachment into the another format that is compatible with the another physician office legacy system; and

sending a reformatted attachment to the another physician office legacy system.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein when the recipient's communications address does not match entries in the list of addresses, then comparing the recipient's communications address to a list of non-participants.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein when the recipient's communications address matches an entry in the list of non-participants, then reformatting the electronic healthcare communication to be compatible with a non-participant's system.

5. The method according to claim 4 , further comprising sending the reformatted electronic healthcare communication to the non-participant's system.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein when the recipient's communications address matches an entry in the list of non-participants, then reformatting the attachment to be compatible with the non-participant's system.

7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising sending a reformatted attachment to the non-participant's system.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining whether an integrated delivery system is associated with the another physician office legacy system.

9. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising gathering an incoming calling line identification associated with the electronic healthcare communication.

10. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising utilizing an address of a user group as a trigger that causes the electronic healthcare communication to be sent to the server.

11. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising utilizing an address of a user group as a trigger that causes an application to automatically run.

12. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising invoking a rule that automatically declines to reformat the electronic healthcare communication based on the recipient's communications address.

13. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising invoking a rule that automatically postpones reformatting the electronic healthcare communication based on the recipient's communications address.

14. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising retrieving a file that is linked to an incoming calling line identification associated with the electronic healthcare communication.

15. The method according to claim 14 , further comprising reformatting the file to the another physician office legacy system.

16. The method according to claim 14 , further comprising reformatting the file to a non-participant's system.

17. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising accessing a rule-based application dataserver providing a rule-based engine that categorizes the electronic healthcare communication.

18. The method according to claim 17 , wherein if the sender's communications address matches a registered communications address, then automatically categorizing the electronic healthcare communication as (1) data associated with an access agent, (2) data associated with a security agent, (3) data associated a messaging agent, (4) data associated with a transactional agent, (5) data associated with a troubleshooting agent, and (6) data associated with an application agent.

19. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing code that when executed causes the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

establishing a first data connection between a server and a physician office legacy system;

establishing a second data connection between the server and another physician office legacy system;

receiving an electronic communication over the first data connection that is associated with a sender's communications address and with a recipient's communications address, the electronic communication comprising an attachment that has been formatted according to the physician office legacy system;

comparing the recipient's communications address to a list of addresses;

categorizing the sender's communications address to a software agent;

determining a match between the recipient's communications address and an entry in the list of addresses;

reformatting the electronic communication from a format compatible with the physician office legacy system to another format that is compatible with the another physician office legacy system; and

sending a reformatted electronic communication to the another physician office legacy system at the recipient's communications address.

20. A non-transitory computer program product storing processor-executable instructions for performing a method of formatting healthcare information, the method comprising:

establishing a first data connection between a server and a physician office legacy system;

establishing a second data connection between the server and another physician office legacy system;

receiving an electronic communication associated with a sender's communications address and with a recipient's communications address, the electronic communication comprising an attachment that has been formatted according to the physician office legacy system;

comparing the recipient's communications address to a list of addresses;

categorizing the sender's communications address to a software agent;

automatically opening the software agent;

when the recipient's communications address matches an entry in the list of addresses, then reformatting the electronic communication from a format compatible with the physician office legacy system to another format that is compatible with the another physician office legacy system; and

sending a reformatted electronic communication to the another physician office legacy system at the recipient's communications address.

Assignments (6)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 17, 2019
From: AT&T DELAWARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INC.
To: AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, L.P.
Reel/Frame 051306/0718 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR'S NAME PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 019582 FRAME 0188. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Dec 16, 2019
From: TURCAN, DIANE BROWN; WELLONS, DAVID L.
To: BELLSOUTH INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 051896/0365 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Dec 13, 2019
From: BELLSOUTH INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION
To: AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INC.
Reel/Frame 051288/0913 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Dec 13, 2019
From: AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INC.
To: AT&T BLS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INC.
Reel/Frame 051289/0034 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Dec 13, 2019
From: AT&T BLS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INC.
To: AT&T DELAWARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INC.
Reel/Frame 051289/0037 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 25, 2007
From: TURCAN, DIANE B.; WELLONS, DAVID L.
To: BELLSOUTH INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 019582/0188 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 10351801 · Jan 27, 2003
Related Publication 20080091452A1 · Apr 17, 2008