Pet and people care management system
A pet or human care management system and method are provided. In one embodiment, the system includes a portable electronic device carried by a care service provider to scan a care customer bar code at the location of a care visit to indicate the start and/or end of the care visit. The portable electronic device also includes a GPS component and transmits its location at a plurality of times during the care visit, such as to indicate the path of a scheduled walk. A website is employed to administrate the care management system, including scheduling walks, licensing care providers, and creating customer and care provider accounts.
1. An appointment management system for a pet care visit including a walk for a pet care customer's pet, comprising:
a pet caregiver portable electronic device including a portable electronic device microprocessor, a portable electronic device memory, and a geographic location sensing mechanism, wherein the pet caregiver portable electronic device is configured to receive data input and to determine its geographic location; and
a server including a server processor, a server memory, and wherein the server is configured to receive data input, the server operating a website storing user accounts for the pet care customer and the pet caregiver, permitting the pet caregiver and the pet care customer to schedule the per care visit on the website, and automatically storing appointment information and making the appointment information accessible for viewing on the pet caregiver personal electronic device and an electronic device of the pet care customer, the appointment information indicating at least one of a distance, a duration, and a route of the walk for the scheduled visit;
the server memory storing a code identifying the pet care customer and linked to information stored in the server memory identifying the customer's pet and a pet care appointment site at which the pet is located, and providing the caregiver access to the pet identifying information and the location of the pet care appointment site, as the pet caregiver logs into a user account of the pet caregiver on the website, and;
an image of the pet care customer code stored at the pet care appointment site on a medium readable by the portable electronic device, to enable the pet caregiver portable electronic device to reed the code at the pet care appointment site when placed in proximity to the customer code medium; and
the server programmed with instructions for the server processor to
receive a transmission of the code initiated by the pet caregiver at a beginning of the pet care visit from the pet caregiver portable electronic device located at the pet care appointment site,
compare the received code to the code identifying the pet care customer in the server,
subject to at least one precondition coded into the instructions, said at least one precondition including that the received code equal the stored code, perform a storing and displaying subroutine including instructions to:
store a pet care visit start time corresponding to a pet care visit start signal transmission from the pet caregiver portable electronic device, the start signal transmission initiated at the pet care visit start time from the pet care appointment site,
store a pet care visit end time corresponding to a pet care visit end signal received from the pet caregiver portable electronic device, the end signal transmitted at the pet care visit end time from the pet care appointment site,
store data received from the pet caregiver portable electronic device indicating time-sequenced geographic locations of the portable electronic device at a plurality of times, separated by regular intervals, between the pet care visit start time and the pet care visit end time, and
in response to the end signal from the pet caregiver portable electronic device, transmit data to the electronic device of the pet care customer to permit display on a display of the pet care customer electronic device the pet care visit start time, the pet care visit end time, and a visual map of a walk path constructed from said time-sequenced geographic locations of the pet caregiver portable electronic device at each of said plurality of times, to permit the pet care customer to confirm at a route of the walk,
the pet caregiver portable electronic device programmed with instructions for the pet caregiver portable electronic device microprocessor to record the geographic location of the pet caregiver portable electronic device at each of said plurality of times separated by the regular intervals and to transmit data representing said geographic location at each of said plurality of times to the server, and
the pet caregiver portable electronic device further comprising a clock and being further programmed with instructions to
detect whether a transmission signal is available to transmit the pet care visit start or end signal during the pet care visit start or and time, respectively; and
if the transmission signal is unavailable,
read and store the time from the clock when the input is received; and
transmit the pet care visit start or end signal and the corresponding stored time from the clock to the server when the transmission signal is available.
2. The system of claim 1 , said server memory further storing a database or at least one care provider login, the server further programmed with an instruction for the microprocessor to receive a care provider login transmitted from the portable electronic device, said at least one precondition on performing the storing and displaying subroutine further including that the received care provider login equal the stored care provider login.
3. The system of claim 1 , said storing and displaying subroutine further including instructions to transmit to said pet care customer electronic device, for display on said pet care customer electronic device display, a representation of a total distance traveled by said portable electronic device between the pet care visit start time and the pet care visit end time.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein said making the appointment information accessible to the caregiver personal electronic device and the pet care customer electronic device includes an action selected from
transmitting an email message to the respective caregiver or pet care customer, and
generating and storing a representation of the appointment information accessible by the caregiver or pet care customer on the website within the respective user account.