Compensated electronic consults

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for providing health care information to health care providers and for obtaining information pertaining to the practice of a health care provider by providing incentives for provision of such information.

1 . A system for providing incentives to a health care professional, the system comprising:
 a computer having computer-readable media stored in physical memory therein that is configured to cause the computer to:
 receive a request for access from a health care professional; 
 confirm that the health care professional is an authorized user; 
 retrieve a presentation for the health care professional to view, the presentation including information selected from the group consisting of information related to a pharmaceutical or medical product or service, a disease or medical condition, a diagnostic procedure, and a therapeutic or treatment protocol; 
 retrieve at least one question pertaining to the information included in the presentation, market research, or experiences and opinions of the health professional with respect to the health care professional's practice; 
 provide an incentive for the health care professional to answer the at least one question, the incentive comprising a donation to a charitable organization in a manner that is consistent with one or more opinions by a governmental agency that deems the donation not to be in violation of anti-kickback statutes; 
 receive an answer of the health care professional to the at least one question; and 
 generate instructions directing that a charitable contribution be made to the charitable organization of the health care professional's choice based at least on the donation amount associated with the received answer. 
   
     
     
         2 . A system for providing incentives to a health care professional, the system comprising:
 a computer having computer-readable media stored in physical memory therein that is configured to cause the computer to:
 provide a presentation for a health care professional to view, the presentation including information selected from the group consisting of information related to a pharmaceutical or medical product or service, a disease or medical condition, a diagnostic procedure, and a therapeutic or treatment protocol; 
 retrieve at least one question pertaining to the information included in the presentation, market research, or experiences and opinions of the health professional with respect to the health care professional's practice; and 
 provide an incentive for the health care professional to answer the at least one question, the incentive comprising a donation to a charitable organization in a manner that is consistent with one or more opinions by a governmental agency that deems the donation not to be in violation of anti-kickback statutes. 
   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the computer is further caused to:
 receive an answer of the health care professional to the at least one question; and   allocate the donation to the charitable organization of the health care professional's choice in response to the received answer.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the computer is further caused to:
 generate instructions directing that a charitable contribution be made to the charitable organization of the health care professional's choice based at least on the donation associated with the received answer.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the contribution is made to the charitable organization at a time after the answer to the at least one question is received. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the contribution is made to the charitable organization in real time upon receipt of the answer to the at least one question. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the computer is further caused to:
 receive a request for access from the health care professional; and   confirm that the health care professional is an authorized user prior to providing the presentation.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the health care professional is selected from the group consisting of: a physician, a nurse, a pharmacist, a medical technologist, a physical therapist, a clinician, a physician assistant, an optometrist, a naturopath, an osteopath, a chiropractor, a psychologist, and a dentist. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the donation is selected from the group consisting of: a monetary donation, food, clothing, heating fuel assistance, toys, appliances, and pharmaceuticals. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one question is designed to test the health care professional's comprehension of at least a portion of the information included in the presentation. 
     
     
         11 . A system for providing incentives to a health care professional, the system comprising:
 a computer having computer-readable media stored in physical memory therein that is configured to cause the computer to:
 provide a questionnaire to a health care professional pertaining to information selected from the group consisting of information related to a pharmaceutical or medical product or service, a disease or medical condition, a diagnostic procedure, a therapeutic or treatment protocol, market research, and experiences and opinions of the health professional with respect to the health care professional's practice; and 
 provide an incentive for the health care professional to answer the questionnaire, the incentive comprising a donation to a charitable organization in a manner that is consistent with one or more opinions by a governmental agency that deems the donation not to be in violation of anti-kickback statutes. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer is further caused to:
 receive at least one answer of the health care professional to the questionnaire; and   allocate the donation to the charitable organization of the health care professional's choice in response to the received answer.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer is further caused to:
 generate instructions directing that a charitable contribution be made to the charitable organization of the health care professional's choice based at least on the donation associated with the received at least one answer.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the contribution is made to the charitable organization at a time after the at least one answer is received. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the contribution is made to the charitable organization in real time upon receipt of the at least one answer. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer is further caused to:
 receive a request for access from the health care professional; and   confirm that the health care professional is an authorized user.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the health care professional is selected from the group consisting of: a physician, a nurse, a pharmacist, a medical technologist, a physical therapist, a clinician, a physician assistant, an optometrist, a naturopath, an osteopath, a chiropractor, a psychologist, and a dentist. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the donation is selected from the group consisting of: a monetary donation, food, clothing, heating fuel assistance, toys, appliances, and pharmaceuticals. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer is further caused to allow the health care professional to choose the charitable organization to which the donation is made. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the computer is further caused to present the health care professional with a list of a plurality of charitable organizations to choose from.