Apparatus for and method of administering a decision procedure

Abstract

A computer system for performing an interactive assessment of the risk of an event, has a computer monitor to present to a user of the system a series of questions and potential responses, and a keyboard or other device to select a response to the question. The system can administer complex inverted tree type decision algorithms, in which the questions that are presented to the user, depend upon the response to the previous question, and an assessment of the risk of an event is presented to the user whenever they reach the terminus point in the decision tree. The risk assessment algorithm is data driven and a risk assessment is defined by entries in a file, which is available over a network. The system provides options so each user may view the path through the sequence of questions and answers, and interact with the risk assessment, in a manner customized for their own interactive session.

1 - 22 . (cancelled)  
     
     
         23 . A method of displaying an interactive decision structure, the method comprising the steps of: 
 (a) controlling an amount of information regarding the decision structure that is to be visualized;    (b) receiving interactive responses corresponding to the decision structure visualized; and    (c) displaying at least a portion of the decision structure based on said controlling step (a) and the interactive responses received in said receiving step (b).    
     
     
         24 . The method of displaying as recited in  claim 23 , the method further comprising the step of: 
 (d) highlighting a decision path through the decision structure based on the received interactive responses.    
     
     
         25 . The method of displaying as recited in  claim 23 , wherein the decision structure comprises a series of questions and potential responses associated with each question; 
 wherein said receiving step (b) comprises the step of allowing a user to input a response to a given question; and    wherein said displaying step (c) redraws the displayed portion of the decision structure based on the response input by the user.    
     
     
         26 . The method of displaying as recited in  claim 25 , wherein the decision structure comprises a predetermined sequence of questions, wherein individual questions are sequentially displayed as part of the decision structure after each interactive response received in said receiving step (b).  
     
     
         27 . The method of displaying as recited in  claim 25 , wherein the decision structure permits interactive responses to different questions to lead to the same subsequent question in the decision path.  
     
     
         28 . The method of displaying as recited in  claim 25 , wherein the decision structure may be alternatively displayed in a text mode and a tree mode.  
     
     
         29 . The method of displaying as recited in  claim 28 , wherein, when the decision structure is displayed in a text mode, a series of questions and associated responses are displayed in full text.  
     
     
         30 . The method of displaying as recited in  claim 28 , wherein, when the decision structure is displayed in a tree mode, a series of question blocks representing questions are arranged in an inverted tree structure connected by lines representing associated responses to respective questions.  
     
     
         31 . The method of displaying as recited in  claim 30 , wherein, in a tree mode, said controlling step (a) comprises the step of inputting preference data from a user to control the number of levels that are to be displayed above and below a current question block as the displayed portion of the decision structure; and 
 wherein the decision structure represents an assessment of a risk of an event occurring.    
     
     
         32 . The method of displaying as recited in  claim 24 , wherein said highlighting step (d) comprises: 
 highlighting a border of a current question in the decision structure; and    displaying the decision path using heavy weighted lines relative to the remaining lines of the portion of the decision structure displayed.    
     
     
         33 . A computer system for administering a decision procedure, the computer system comprising: 
 a first computer having a monitor, wherein said first computer administers a decision procedure to a user; and    a second computer, wherein said second computer transfers to said first computer a decision procedure definition file that defines the decision procedure to be administered by the client program at said first computer;    wherein a program executed on said first computer comprises the steps of:    (i) visually displaying on the monitor at least a portion of the decision procedure as an inverted tree structure;    (ii) allowing the user to input responses to said first computer; and    (iii) updating the decision procedure to reflect the most recent response by the user.    
     
     
         34 . The computer system as recited in  claim 33 , further comprising a computer network, wherein both said first and second computers are coupled to said computer network, and wherein said second computer transfers the decision procedure definition file to said first computer over said computer network using a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).  
     
     
         35 . The computer system as recited in  claim 34 , wherein a non-persistent connection is initiated between said first and second computers until the definition file is transferred to said first computer.  
     
     
         36 . The computer system as recited in  claim 33 , wherein the decision procedure is a self-administrated risk assessment based on a series of questions and responses to such questions.  
     
     
         37 . The computer system as recited in  claim 36 , wherein the risk assessment is a medical risk assessment for predicting whether a patient admitted to an emergency room with chest pain has a risk of presenting myocardial infarction.  
     
     
         38 . The computer system as recited in  claim 36 , wherein the definition file includes: 
 (a) a description of the risk that is being assessed;    (b) text of each question in the risk assessment;    (c) identification of the first question in said risk assessment;    (d) text of the allowable responses associated with each question; and    (e) action to be taken in response to a question during the risk assessment, wherein the action is either the specification of a subsequent question to be displayed or that the risk assessment is completed.    
     
     
         39 . The computer system as recited in  claim 33 , wherein said second computer is a network server comprising a mass storage device for storing a plurality of decision procedure definition files, and wherein said first computer is one of a plurality of client computers requesting a selected one of the plurality of decision procedure definition files stored in the mass storage device.  
     
     
         40 . A method of using a computer system to administer an assessment, wherein a user inputs a request to initiate administration of the assessment, a local search for an assessment definition file is made, an assessment definition file is retrieved from a remote location if the definition file is not found in the local search, administration of the assessment is begun with display of a question, receipt of user input response associated with the question, and display of one of a series of questions is made based on user input responses to a previous question until the series of questions terminates, and an assessment value is output associated with the termination of the series of questions.  
     
     
         41 . The method recited in  claim 40 , wherein the administered assessment categorizes the user as belonging to a group based on the input responses received from the user during administration of the assessment.  
     
     
         42 . The method recited in  claim 41 , wherein the administered assessment value indicates a risk of occurrence of an event associated with membership in the group.  
     
     
         43 . A method of updating a risk assessment algorithm made available to users, the method comprising: 
 maintaining at least one risk assessment definition on a server node of a computer network;    providing access to the server for use in administering a risk assessment; and    replacing the at least one risk assessment definition with a new definition and making the new definition immediately available in all subsequent risk assessments.