Patent Issued for Cognitive interface privacy management (USPTO 11494516): Aetna Inc.

2022 NOV 29 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Aetna Inc. (Hartford, Connecticut, United States) has been issued patent number 11494516, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Lukas, Raymond (Maynard, MA, US).

This patent was filed on March 2, 2020 and was published online on November 8, 2022.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Individuals increasingly obtain health related information from automated sources. For example, an individual may request health information from a web browser, voice assistant, phone system, text messaging system, and other means. However, it is important to maintain confidentiality of health information. Private health information should not be shared publicly by an automated system.

“Some of the sources an individual uses to request health information may be accessed in private. For example, an individual may request health information from their own computer, in their own home, using a web browser. In some instances, the requests may be public. For example, an individual may request health information using a voice assistant. The voice assistant could then announce the requested health information. In this example, anyone nearby may hear the announcement containing the health information.

“Thus, if a request is made for private health information using a public source, private health information may be inadvertently shared publicly.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one embodiment, a method for providing independent situational awareness messages is provided. The method includes receiving, by a rendering engine, a request for information from an input interface. The rendering engine queries at least one data store in response to the request. The rendering engine obtains public content data and private content data from the data store. The rendering engine transmits the public content data over a public output interface. The rendering engine transmits the private content data over a private output interface.

“In another embodiment, a rendering server is provided. The server includes a processor and a non-transitory computer readable memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the rendering server to perform the steps. The steps include receiving, by a rendering engine, a request for information from an input interface. The rendering engine queries at least one data store in response to the request. The rendering engine obtains public content data and private content data from the data store. The rendering engine transmits the public content data over a public output interface. The rendering engine transmits the private content data over a private output interface.

“In yet another embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable memory storing instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform steps is provided. The steps include receiving, by a rendering engine, a request for information from an input interface. The rendering engine queries at least one data store in response to the request. The rendering engine obtains public content data and private content data from the data store. The rendering engine transmits the public content data over a public output interface. The rendering engine transmits the private content data over a private output interface.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method for providing independent situational awareness messages, the method comprising: receiving, by a rendering engine, a request for information from an input interface; querying, by the rendering engine, at least one data store in response to the request; obtaining, by the rendering engine, data from at least one data store, wherein the data comprises public content data and private content data; in response to obtaining private content data, providing a prompt indicating that private content data is responsive to the request for information; receiving a request to transmit the private content data over a private output interface; formatting the public content data using a template for the public output interface; formatting the private content data using a template for the private output interface; selecting the template for the private output interface from a plurality of private interface templates based on the private content data; selecting the private output interface from a plurality of private output interfaces based on a preference setting; transmitting, by the rendering engine, the public content data over a public output interface; and transmitting, by the rendering engine, the private content data over the private output interface.

“2. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of private output interfaces include at least one of a web interface, an instant message interface, and an automated voice interface.

“3. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting, by the rendering engine, the public content data over the private output interface.

“4. A rendering server comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory computer readable memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the rendering server to perform the steps comprising: receiving, by a rendering engine, a request for information from an input interface; querying, by the rendering engine, at least one data store in response to the request; obtaining, by the rendering engine, data from at least one data store, wherein the data comprises public content data and private content data; in response to obtaining private content data, providing a prompt indicating that private content data is responsive to the request for information; receiving a request to transmit the private content data over a private output interface; formatting the public content data using a template for the public output interface; formatting the private content data using a template for the private output interface; selecting the template for the private output interface from a plurality of private interface templates based on the private content data; selecting the private output interface from a plurality of private output interfaces based on a preference setting; transmitting, by the rendering engine, the public content data over a public output interface; and transmitting, by the rendering engine, the private content data over the private output interface.

“5. The server of claim 4 wherein the plurality of private output interfaces include at least one of a web interface, an instant message interface, and an automated voice interface.

“6. The server of claim 4, the steps further comprising transmitting, by the rendering engine, the public content data over the private output interface.

“7. A non-transitory computer readable memory storing instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform steps comprising: receiving, by a rendering engine, a request for information from an input interface; querying, by the rendering engine, at least one data store in response to the request; obtaining, by the rendering engine, data from at least one data store, wherein the data comprises public content data and private content data; in response to obtaining private content data, providing a prompt indicating that private content data is responsive to the request for information; receiving a request to transmit the private content data over a private output interface; formatting the public content data using a template for the public output interface; formatting the private content data using a template for the private output interface; selecting the template for the private output interface from a plurality of private interface templates based on the private content data; selecting the private output interface from a plurality of private output interfaces based on a preference setting; transmitting, by the rendering engine, the public content data over the public output interface; and transmitting, by the rendering engine, the private content data over a private output interface.

“8. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 7 wherein the plurality of private output interfaces include at least one of a web interface, an instant message interface, and an automated voice interface.”

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Lukas, Raymond. Cognitive interface privacy management. U.S. Patent Number 11494516, filed March 2, 2020, and published online on November 8, 2022.

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