Researchers Submit Patent Application, “Health Management Platform”, for Approval (USPTO 20220013217): Patent Application

2022 FEB 01 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Washington, D.C., NewsRx journalists report that a patent application by the inventor Vogel, Jeffrey (Boston, MA, US), filed on November 13, 2019, was made available online on January 13, 2022.

No assignee for this patent application has been made.

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Millions of people incur or develop physical injuries or ailments every year, many seeking medical attention to recover from such injuries and ailments. While some people are injured as a result of participating in athletic activities (e.g., professional, amateur, and recreational athletics), many individuals suffer injuries in the workplace, which can be very expensive for an employer or payer. The costs associated with an employee absence incurred by employers and payers include both direct and indirect costs, and are directly correlated with the profitability of the employer. The direct costs include items such as insurance premiums, medical expenses, legal expenses, sick pay, disability income and administrative fees, while the indirect costs include items such as lost productivity, overtime, replacement worker expenses, investigation expenses and decreased product quality. The costs associated with employee absences continue to escalate, and are estimated to exceed $1 trillion per year in the United States alone.

“To improve profitability, employers have traditionally opted to focus the majority of their efforts on improving functions or departments that generate revenues, often devoting little or no attention to the practice of health management. However, given the increasingly negative effect that employee health costs are having on the bottom line of many employers, greater efforts are now being directed to proactively managing employee injuries and ailments to reduce the costs associated therewith.

“Although many employers now realize the strategic importance of managing workplace injuries, the effective implementation of such management has been relatively difficult. As currently practiced by many employers, workplace injury management is a very fragmented, regulatory laden, form-burdened, manual process that involves a number of different entities. Such entities can include, for example, a case manager, human resource personnel, physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, attorneys, insurance carriers, third-party administrators, and governmental personnel. Workplace injury management can require both extensive internal (e.g., department to department, employer to employee) and external (e.g., employer to physician, employer to attorney) communications, and each entity involved in the process can generate a great deal of information that collectively comprise the content of a particular case.

“Recent advances in telemedicine, however, have promoted the use of online portals and mobile applications with promise to improve completion rates of injury recovery plans. While certain rehabilitation applications have been implemented, with an aim to improve patient adherence and proper application of at home therapy, such applications still have common drawbacks. For example, current injury recovery systems rely on delivering simple plans to injured individuals, which puts the onus on the individual to stay motivated and on track, ultimately leading to lower recovery rates. In particular, injured workers face a multitude of challenges, from pain control and an understanding of “what should I expect in my recovery course (expectation management)”, to anxiety, and communication challenges with employers. Current systems do not address the various issues that an injured worker faces and instead simply focus on treating the physical aspect of the injury, as opposed to the psychosocial aspects. In particular, studies suggest that improved return-to-work rates rely on treating the aspects of recovery that do not explicitly focus on the physical rehabilitation, highlighting the importance of managing the person as a whole. However, current systems lack any real structured means to harness this type of injury recovery and management. Current systems lack personalization to ensure that the employee is receiving the specific care and involvement from the employer and care providers that they require, thereby resulting in lower recovery rates and extended absences from work, subsequently increasing the overall costs for the employer.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventor’s summary information for this patent application: “The present invention recognizes the drawbacks of current health service systems, particularly within the workplace environment, and provides a cloud-based health management platform to address such drawbacks.

“Aspects of the invention may be accomplished by using a health management platform providing at least a first web portal or user interface (UI) with which an employee patient may interact via an associated computing device, such as a smartphone or tablet or PC. The platform is configured to initially assess and stratify the employee into one of a plurality of risk groups based on specific data provided by the employee, such as the specific details about the injury and personal details about the employee. Each risk group is associated with a respective level of guidance and care provider involvement estimated to be necessary in order to facilitate the employee’s compliance with an injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan. In turn, the platform generates and provides a personal injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan tailored to the employee based on the risk group in which the employee has been placed and the specific data provided by the employee. The injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan includes a physical recovery component and a psychosocial health component that is tailored to a risk group into which the employee is initially placed. The platform further includes at least a second web portal or UI with which an employer or care provider associated with the employee may interact, via an associated computing device, so as to monitor the employee’s progress and participation with the plan.

“The platform provides a suite of features to keep both the employee and the employer and/or care providers in continuous contact and engaged with one another, thereby providing the employee with the feeling of support in their recovery process, as opposed to simply providing recovery exercises and treatments and expecting the employee to complete the plans. For example, the platform further allows allow employers and/or care providers to maintain continuous engagement with the employee, either by way of fully-automated, or semi-automated, or fully personalized communications to ensure that personal attention is provided to the employee as needed, such as answering any questions the employee may have, as well as following up with the employee to see how they are feeling, physically and/or mentally. The platform also allows for the scheduling of events included in the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan, such as appointments/consultations with care providers, specific physical treatments or exercises, and the like, and further provides reminders/alerts to the employee of such events so as to keep the employee on track. The platform further allows for the employer and/or care provider to modify the plan as needed.

“Accordingly, the health management platform of the present disclosure addresses the drawbacks of current health service systems, namely the lack of personalization in current systems. In particular, the health management platform of the present disclosure delivers focused, customized, engaging, and relevant content through continuous engagement between the employee and the employer and/or care providers. The cloud-based platform is conveniently designed such that an employee is able to interact with their injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan via their mobile device, such as their smartphone, requiring very little time and effort. This similarly benefits the employer and care providers. Accordingly, such a system is not overwhelming for employees, yet focused on building healthy behaviors and ultimately improving participation with any given plan and recovery from injuries and/or further preventing injuries. The health management platform of the present invention allows for a team (i.e., employer, insurer, care providers, etc.) to effectively manage communications with the employee and track progress, wherein such a combination of communication and engagement helps employees/patients feel better supported and connected to their employers, which are key qualities in driving better recovery rates. In particular, the system of the present invention focuses on both the physical and psychosocial aspects of recovery, specifically focusing on the psychosocial aspects independent from physical aspects and is configured to establish a coherent relationship therebetween, improving the overall outcome for injury recovery and prevention. In particular, recent literature suggests a system consistent with the present disclosure may result in a 40% improvement in recovery and return-to work rates, which may equate to about 35-45% direct cost savings among those at high risk for longer-term disability.

“Certain aspects of the invention relate to a system for providing health management services. The system includes a computer server configured to receive, from a first user, first user data associated with an injury of the first user and stratify, based on the first user data, the first user into one of a plurality of risk groups, wherein each risk group associated with a respective level of guidance and care provider involvement in order to facilitate the first user’s compliance with an injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan. The computer server is further configured to generate the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan tailored to the first user based, at least in part, on which risk group the first user has been placed. The injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan comprises a physical recovery component and a psychosocial health component that is tailored to the risk group into which the first user has been placed, wherein the plan is accessible to the first user via a first portal provided on a cloud-based platform.

“In some embodiments, the psychosocial component of the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan comprises transmission of one or more communication messages to the first user. The risk groups may comprise a first risk group associated with a low level of guidance and care provider involvement, a second risk group associated with a medium level of guidance and care provider involvement greater than the low level, and a third risk group associated with a high level of guidance and care provider involvement greater than the medium level. It should be noted, however, that in other embodiments, the number of risk groups may be more or less. The computer server is configured to transmit the one or more communication messages to the first user based, at least in part, on the level of guidance and care provider involvement associated with the risk group in which the first user has been placed. In some embodiments, at the low level of guidance and care provider involvement, the communication messages comprise automated, chatbot-based communications, at the medium level of guidance and care provider involvement, the communication messages comprise a combination of automated, chatbot-based communications and personal, human-based communications, and at the high level of guidance and care provider involvement, the communication messages comprise personal, human-based communications.

“In some embodiments, tailoring of the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan to the first user comprises automatically predicting, based on real-time analysis of the first user data and risk group data, a level of care to be associated with the plan and types of content to be provided to the first user as part of the physical recovery and psychosocial health components of the plan. In some embodiments, the first user data comprises at least one of injury data, personal data associated with the first user, and preference data associated with the first user’s preferred level of guidance for injury recovery and/or injury prevention.

“The injury data may comprise information associated with the injury, the information including, but not limited to, location of the injury on the first user’s body, symptoms of injury, self-reported pain scale value associated with injury, limitations in function associated with injury, date of injury occurrence, and activity performed by first user at the time of injury occurrence. The personal data may comprise traits and characteristics of the first user selected from the group consisting of: name; date of birth, height, weight, gender, medical history, comorbidity, and smoking status. The preference data may comprise at least one of a self-reported preferred level of guidance and/or care provider involvement related the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan and self-reported level of experience with injury recovery and/or injury prevention.

“In some embodiments, the physical recovery and psychosocial health components of the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan includes, but is not limited to, one or more suggested consultations with a care provider, one or more suggested injury recovery and/or injury prevention treatments, and one or more communication messages to be transmitted to the first user. The one or more suggested injury recovery and/or injury prevention treatments may comprise physical exercises. The one more communication messages may comprise questions concerning at least one of the first user’s current physical health status, the first user’s current psychosocial health status, and the first user’s participation with the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan.”

There is additional summary information. Please visit full patent to read further.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A system for providing health management services, the system comprising a computer server configured to: receive, from a first user, first user data associated with an injury of the first user; stratify, based on the first user data, the first user into one of a plurality of risk groups, each risk group associated with a respective level of guidance and care provider involvement in order to facilitate the first user’s compliance with an injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan; and generate the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan tailored to the first user based, at least in part, on which risk group the first user has been placed, wherein the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan comprises a physical recovery component and a psychosocial health component that is tailored to the risk group into which the first user has been placed, wherein the plan is accessible to the first user via a first portal provided on a cloud-based platform.

“2. The system of claim 1, wherein the psychosocial component of the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan comprises transmission of one or more communication messages to the first user.

“3. The system of claim 2, wherein the risk groups comprise a first risk group associated with a low level of guidance and care provider involvement, a second risk group associated with a medium level of guidance and care provider involvement greater than the low level, and a third risk group associated with a high level of guidance and care provider involvement greater than the medium level.

“4. The system of claim 3, wherein the computer server is configured to transmit the one or more communication messages to the first user based, at least in part, on the level of guidance and care provider involvement associated with the risk group in which the first user has been placed.

“5. The system of claim 4, wherein: at the low level of guidance and care provider involvement, the communication messages comprise automated, chatbot-based communications; at the medium level of guidance and care provider involvement, the communication messages comprise a combination of automated, chatbot-based communications and personal, human-based communications; and at the high level of guidance and care provider involvement, the communication messages comprise personal, human-based communications.

“6. The system of claim 1, wherein tailoring of the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan to the first user comprises automatically predicting, based on real-time analysis of the first user data and risk group data, a level of care to be associated with the plan and types of content to be provided to the first user as part of the physical recovery and psychosocial health components of the plan.

“7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first user data comprises at least one of injury data, personal data associated with the first user, and preference data associated with the first user’s preferred level of guidance for injury recovery and/or injury prevention.

“8. The system of claim 7, wherein the injury data comprises information associated with the injury, the information selected from the group consisting of: location of the injury on the first user’s body; symptoms of injury; self-reported pain scale value associated with injury; limitations in function associated with injury; date of injury occurrence; and activity performed by first user at the time of injury occurrence.

“9. The system of claim 7, wherein the personal data comprises traits and characteristics of the first user selected from the group consisting of: name; date of birth, height, weight, gender, medical history, comorbidity, and smoking status.

“10. The system of claim 7, wherein the preference data comprises at least one of a self-reported preferred level of guidance and/or care provider involvement related the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan and self-reported level of experience with injury recovery and/or injury prevention.

“11. The system of claim 1, wherein the physical recovery and psychosocial health components of the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan are selected from the group consisting of: one or more suggested consultations with a care provider; one or more suggested injury recovery and/or injury prevention treatments; and one or more communication messages to be transmitted to the first user.

“12. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more suggested injury recovery and/or injury prevention treatments comprise physical exercises.

“13. The system of claim 11, wherein the one more communication messages comprise questions concerning at least one of the first user’s current physical health status, the first user’s current psychosocial health status, and the first user’s participation with the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan.

“14. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer server is configured to monitor the first user’s participation and engagement with the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan based, at least in part, on the first user’s interaction with at least one of the physical recovery and psychosocial health components.

“15. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer server is configured to receive at least one of: feedback indicating whether the first user has attended the one or more suggested consultations with the care provider and/or whether the first user has started and/or completed the one or more suggested injury recovery and/or injury prevention treatments; and one or more responses from the first user to one or more communication messages transmitted to the first user.

“16. The system of claim 15, wherein, based on real-time analysis of the first user’s feedback and/or the one or more responses from the first user, the computer server is configured to adjust the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan.

“17. The system of claim 16, wherein adjustments to the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan comprise one or more adjustments to the physical recovery component and/or psychosocial component selected from the group consisting of: adjusting frequency of the one or more initially suggested consultations with a care provider; updating the plan to include one or more additional suggested consultations with one or more additional care providers; updating the plan to include one or more additional suggested injury recovery and/or injury prevention treatments; updating the plan to remove the one or more initially suggested injury recovery and/or injury prevention treatments; adjusting frequency of the one or more communication messages to be transmitted to the first user; and adjusting the content of the one or more communication messages to be transmitted to the first user.

“18. The system of claim 16, wherein, based on real-time analysis of the first user’s feedback and/or the one or more responses from the first user, the computer server is configured to re-stratify the first user into one of the plurality of risk groups.

“19. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer server is configured to track participation and engagement data related to the first user’s participation and engagement with the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan, wherein tracking participation and engagement data comprises aggregating and storing the participation and engagement data in a database.

“20. The system of claim 19, wherein the participation and engagement data is accessible to at least the first user via the first portal provided on the cloud-based platform and further accessible to at least an authorized second user via a second portal provided on the cloud-based platform.

“21. The system of claim 20, wherein the computer server is configured to communicate and exchange data, over a network, with a first computing device associated with the first user and a second computing device associated with the second user.

“22. The system of claim 21, wherein the first portal provides an interface on the first computing device with which the first user can interact and the second portal provides and interface on the second computing device with which the second user can interact for the management of the first user’s injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan and/or monitoring of the first user’s participation and engagement with the injury recovery and/or injury prevention plan.

“23. The system of claim 20, wherein the first user is an employee of a company and the second user is selected from the group consisting of an administrative staff member of the company, a management member of the company, and a care provider for providing physical and/or psychosocial care to the first user.

“24. The system of claim 23, wherein the care provider is selected from the group consisting of a physician, physician assistant, psychologist, psychiatrist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, social worker, therapist, counselor, and life coach.”

There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.

For additional information on this patent application, see: Vogel, Jeffrey. Health Management Platform. Filed November 13, 2019 and posted January 13, 2022. Patent URL: https://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220220013217%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20220013217&RS=DN/20220013217

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