Exam scheduling with customer configured notifications

Abstract

An exam scheduling device comprises a notification module configured to determine notifications for display to a scheduler in the process of scheduling an exam for a patient. The notifications presented to a particular scheduler may be selected based on one or more exam parameters associated with a patient, for example. Thus, only those notifications that are relevant to the exam parameters associated with a particular patient's exam are presented to the scheduler, and the scheduler is required to respond to only those notifications that a scheduling administrator has determined require a response.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A computer-implemented method for scheduling a patient for a medical exam, the method comprising:
 by one or more processors executing program instructions:
 providing a dynamically updateable graphical user interface configured to display information to a user, receive inputs from the user, and update the information displayed to the user in response to the inputs received from the user; 
 receiving, via the user interface, one or more exam parameters associated with a medical exam to be scheduled for a patient, wherein the one or more exam parameters include at least one of: patient information, an indication of a medical history, an indication of a facility, an indication of an exam modality, an indication of an insurance type, an experience level of the user, or an indication of a medical procedure; 
 selecting, from a notification data structure and based at least in part on the one or more exam parameters, one or more notifications for display to the user, wherein:
 the notification data structure includes at least associations between exam parameters and respective notifications, and 
 at least one of the one or more notifications comprises a hard question that requires a response from the user before scheduling of the medical exam may be completed; 
 
 providing, via the user interface, the one or more notifications including the hard question; 
 automatically determining whether the hard question has received a response from the user; and 
 in response to determining that the hard question did not receive a response from the user, automatically preventing completion of the exam scheduling. 
   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the one or more notifications comprises a warning that requires an acknowledgement from the user before scheduling of the medical exam may be completed, and wherein the method further comprises:
 by the one or more processors executing program instructions:
 providing, via the user interface, the warning; 
 automatically determining whether the warning has received an acknowledgement from the user; and 
 in response to determining that the warning did not receive an acknowledgement from the user, automatically preventing completion of the exam scheduling. 
   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising:
 by the one or more processors executing program instructions:
 determining, based at least in part on an exam parameter received, one or more options associated with another exam parameter; and 
 providing, in the user interface, the one or more options. 
 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the one or more notifications comprises a soft question that does not require a response or acknowledgement from the user in order to complete scheduling of the medical exam. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the one or more notifications comprises an informational notification that does not require a response or acknowledgement from the user in order to complete scheduling of the medical exam. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the user comprises at least one of: the patient, a relative of the patient, a clerical worker, or a scheduling agent, and wherein the method further comprises:
 by the one or more processors executing program instructions:
 accessing a scheduling rights data structure to determine whether or not the user is authorized to schedule the medical exam for the patient. 
   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the notification data structure further includes at least associations between notifications and respective required responses. 
     
     
         9 . A system comprising:
 a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith; and   one or more processors configured to execute the program instructions to cause the one or more processors to:
 provide a dynamically updateable graphical user interface configured to display information to a user, receive inputs from the user, and update the information displayed to the user in response to the inputs received from the user; 
 receive, via the user interface, one or more exam parameters associated with a medical exam to be scheduled for a patient, wherein the one or more exam parameters include at least one of: patient information, an indication of a medical history, an indication of a facility, an indication of an exam modality, an indication of an insurance type, an experience level of the user, or an indication of a medical procedure; 
 select, from a notification data structure and based at least in part on the one or more exam parameters, one or more notifications for display to the user, wherein:
 the notification data structure includes at least associations between exam parameters and respective notifications, and 
 at least one of the one or more notifications comprises a hard question that requires a response from the user before scheduling of the medical exam may be completed; 
 
 provide, via the user interface, the one or more notifications including the hard question; 
 automatically determine whether the hard question has received a response from the user; and 
 in response to determining that the hard question did not receive a response from the user, automatically prevent completion of the exam scheduling. 
   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the one or more notifications comprises a warning that requires an acknowledgement from the user before scheduling of the medical exam may be completed, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the one or more processors to:
 provide, via the user interface, the warning;   automatically determine whether the warning has received an acknowledgement from the user; and   in response to determining that the warning did not receive an acknowledgement from the user, automatically prevent completion of the exam scheduling.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the one or more processors to:
 determine, based at least in part on an exam parameter received, one or more options associated with another exam parameter; and   provide, in the user interface, the one or more options.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the one or more notifications comprises a soft question that does not require a response or acknowledgement from the user in order to complete scheduling of the medical exam. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the one or more notifications comprises an informational notification that does not require a response or acknowledgement from the user in order to complete scheduling of the medical exam. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the user comprises at least one of: the patient, a relative of the patient, a clerical worker, or a scheduling agent, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the one or more processors to:
 access a scheduling rights data structure to determine whether or not the user is authorized to schedule the medical exam for the patient.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the notification data structure further includes at least associations between notifications and respective required responses. 
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to:
 provide a dynamically updateable graphical user interface configured to display information to a user, receive inputs from the user, and update the information displayed to the user in response to the inputs received from the user;   receive, via the user interface, one or more exam parameters associated with a medical exam to be scheduled for a patient, wherein the one or more exam parameters include at least one of: patient information, an indication of a medical history, an indication of a facility, an indication of an exam modality, an indication of an insurance type, an experience level of the user, or an indication of a medical procedure;   select, from a notification data structure and based at least in part on the one or more exam parameters, one or more notifications for display to the user, wherein:
 the notification data structure includes at least associations between exam parameters and respective notifications, and 
 at least one of the one or more notifications comprises a hard question that requires a response from the user before scheduling of the medical exam may be completed; 
   provide, via the user interface, the one or more notifications including the hard question;   automatically determine whether the hard question has received a response from the user; and   in response to determining that the hard question did not receive a response from the user, automatically prevent completion of the exam scheduling.   
     
     
         17 . The computer program product of  claim 16 , wherein at least one of the one or more notifications comprises a warning that requires an acknowledgement from the user before scheduling of the medical exam may be completed, and wherein the program instructions are executable by one or more processors to further cause the one or more processors to:
 provide, via the user interface, the warning;   automatically determine whether the warning has received an acknowledgement from the user; and   in response to determining that the warning did not receive an acknowledgement from the user, automatically prevent completion of the exam scheduling.   
     
     
         18 . The computer program product of  claim 16 , wherein the program instructions are executable by one or more processors to further cause the one or more processors to:
 determine, based at least in part on an exam parameter received, one or more options associated with another exam parameter; and   provide, in the user interface, the one or more options.   
     
     
         19 . The computer program product of  claim 16 , wherein at least one of the one or more notifications comprises a soft question that does not require a response or acknowledgement from the user in order to complete scheduling of the medical exam. 
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 16 , wherein the user comprises at least one of: the patient, a relative of the patient, a clerical worker, or a scheduling agent, and wherein the program instructions are executable by one or more processors to further cause the one or more processors to:
 access a scheduling rights data structure to determine whether or not the user is authorized to schedule the medical exam for the patient.   
     
     
         21 . The computer program product of  claim 16 , wherein the notification data structure further includes at least associations between notifications and respective required responses.