BACKGROUND

(a) Field

[0001] The subject matter disclosed generally relates to a system for managing and processing medical consultations.

(b) Related Prior Art

[0002] Physicians, generally speaking, work in teams or networks and refer their patients to other depending on their specialty. The same applies with referrals to other health professionals. These referral chains are either formal, such as an in-hospital network of doctors divided into departments and divisions, or informal, as between a primary care practitioner in the community setting and a locally-based specialist physician.

[0003] The manner of access of these networks at the current time consists largely of written requests in the form of consultation notes, relayed physically or electronically from the referring physician to the consulting party, or telephone calls from one physician to another. These methods of communication are un-necessarily expensive, burdensome, slow and untimely. Indeed, they imply interactivity between the agents forming the network, where the interactivity may imply refusals. Current communications involve phone calls and consultation notes, therefore network interactivity implies delays which can easily add up.

[0004] Additionally, physician remuneration often takes the form of billing on a fee-for-service basis, under which telephone consultations may fall, depending on local policy and payment structures. These billing events require often the cross transmission of certain pieces of information, often verbally, between referee and consultant physicians. This aspect, too, lacks streamlining that could significantly improve efficiency of the whole process.

[0005] Therefore there is a need in the market for a telecommunication system and method which allow for streamlining the process and offer solutions to the inefficiency and cost of this transaction. This telecommunication system can reduce the number of times delays add up during network interactions between agents of the network.

SUMMARY

[0006] The embodiments describe a telecommunication system and method which allow for:

1 . Offering consultations to all physicians and healthcare professionals who sign up for the application on a geo-located proximity-based, sequential basis. The sequential offering is made automatically by querying the client devices belonging to the telecommunication system and significantly reduces the number of agents of the network to which queries are made, while also reducing the delay of a single refusal. This creates far more opportunities for consultation, as well as far more streamline consultation processes, than traditional pick-up-the- telephone-and-call consultations or consultation notes.

2. Determining, by querying client devices belonging to the telecommunication system in real-time, the eligibility and on- the-spot interest and availability of a physician to answer the clinical question at hand;

3. Providing improved patient care for the patient benefiting from the instantaneous specialist opinion, possibly saving travel time, reducing the number of consultations and speeding access to timely care;

4. Streamlining the billing transaction for the physicians' party to the call by storing and saving all of the information necessary for easy download and submission to billing agencies, where the storing and saving of relevant billing information is made by the telecommunication system through which interactions between agents of the network occur.

[0007] In one aspect, there is provided a telecommunication system comprising a communication enabled computing device, which comprises a first memory for storing instructions, a second memory for storing a database of user profiles, and a processor operably connected to the first memory and to the second memory, and for executing the instructions causing the processor to: send to a first remote client device of a referring user, through a communication network, a signal encoded according to a communication protocol to cause the client device to: - display a page encoded to be interactive; - receive user input data through the first remote client device only when the page is being displayed, the user input data comprising criteria about a service being requested; and - send to the processor of the server, through the communication network, a signal encoded, according to the communication protocol, to contain the user input data.

[0008] The instructions also causing the processor to filter the database of user profiles based on the criteria of the user input data to identify eligible consulting user profiles; get, in the database, a location associated to each one of the eligible consulting user profiles and to a profile associated to the referring user; among the eligible consulting user profiles, select a subset of eligible consulting user profiles, namely the potential consulting users, based on a geographical proximity of each potential consulting users to the referring user; and sequentially contact each potential consulting user, starting from a closest potential consulting user, until a potential consulting user accepts a referral request sent from the computing device to a second remote client device associated with that potential consulting user.

[0009] In another aspect, there is provided a telecommunication system comprising a server, which comprises a first memory for storing instructions, a second memory for storing a database of user profiles, and a processor operably connected to the first memory and to the second memory, and for executing the instructions causing the processor to: - send to a first remote client device of a referring user, through a communication network, a signal encoded according to a communication protocol to cause the client device to:

- display a page encoded to be interactive;

- receive user input data through the first remote client device only when the page is being displayed, the user input data comprising criteria about a service being requested; and

- send to the processor of the server, through the communication network, a signal encoded, according to the communication protocol, to contain the user input data;

[0010] The instructions also causing the processor to filter the database of user profiles based on the criteria of the user input data to identify eligible consulting user profiles; get, in the database, a location associated to each one of the eligible consulting user profiles and to a profile associated to the referring user; among the eligible consulting user profiles, identify the closest one to the referring user, namely the potential consulting user; and send to a second remote client device associated with the potential consulting user, through a communication network, a signal encoded, according to a communication protocol, to contain an indication that the potential consulting user has been identified.

[0011] In an embodiment, the processor of the server is for executing the instructions further causing the processor to: send, through the communication network, a signal encoded according to the communication protocol to a plurality of remote client devices of registered users, each one of the of remote client devices comprising a geolocation device and a processor, the signal causing the processor of each one of the remote client devices to: query the geolocation device within the remote client device to get a location thereof; and send to the processor of the server, through the communication network, a signal encoded, according to the communication protocol, to contain the location; and update the database of user profiles with newly received locations.

[0012] In an embodiment, the processor of the server is for executing the instructions further causing the processor to: receive, through the communication network, a signal encoded according to the communication protocol from a plurality of remote client devices of registered users, each one of the of remote client devices comprising a network communication module being assigned an IP address by the communication network and a processor, the signal containing the IP address; query another server to get approximately a location of the remote client device; and send to the processor of the server, through the communication network, a signal encoded, according to the communication protocol, to contain the location; and update the database of user profiles with newly received locations.

[0013] In an embodiment, the processor filters the database of user profiles based on criteria including availability and professional specialty by checking which of the eligible consulting user profiles have the availability and professional specialty specified by the referring user.

[0014] In another embodiment, the processor filters the database of user profiles based on a given value of availability to generate a list of the eligible consulting user profiles who have the given value of availability and sends a signal to the remote client devices causing the remote client devices to display a list of these eligible consulting user profiles.

[0015] In an embodiment, the processor sends the signal causing the remote client devices to display a list of these eligible consulting user profiles further causes causing the remote client devices to allow interaction with the list through the remote client devices to allow a communication to take place between one of the remote client devices and a remote client device to which is associated to one of these eligible consulting user profiles with which interaction takes place, the communication occurring via the server.

[0016] In an embodiment, the communication network is the internet, the communication protocol is a SSL protocol (Transport Layer Security/Secure Socket Layer), and the user input data further comprise user authentication data.

[0017] In another aspect, there is provided a telecommunication system comprising a client device of a referring user, which comprises a memory for storing instructions and a processor operably connected to the memory and being adapted to execute the instructions to: - display a page; - receive user input data through the page, the user input data comprising criteria about a service being requested; and send a signal comprising the user input data to a remote server, which cause the remote server to:

- filter a database of user profiles based on the criteria of the user input data to identify eligible consulting user profiles;

- get, in the database, a location associated to each one of the eligible consulting user profiles and to a profile associated to the referring user;

- among the eligible consulting user profiles, identify the closest one to the referring user, namely the potential consulting user; and

- send a signal to another client device associated with the potential consulting user.

[0018] In an embodiment, the client device of the referring user further comprises a geolocation device, wherein the processor of the client device of the referring user is for executing the instructions further causing the processor to:

- query the geolocation device get a location thereof; and

- send to the processor of the server, through the communication network, a signal encoded, according to the communication protocol, to contain the location to have the server update the database of user profiles with the location of the client device of the referring user.

[0019] In another embodiment, the client device of the referring user further comprises a network communication module being assigned an IP address by the communication network, wherein the processor of the client device of the referring user is for executing the instructions further causing the processor to: - send, through the communication network, a signal encoded according to the communication protocol to the server, the signal containing the IP address to have the server get an approximate location associated thereto and update the database of user profiles with the approximate location of the client device of the referring user.

[0020] The processor of the client device of the referring user may be adapted for executing the instructions further causing the processor to send to the processor of the server, through the communication network, a signal encoded, according to the communication protocol, to contain the criteria including availability and professional specialty to cause the processor of the server to filter the database of user profiles based on by checking which of the eligible consulting user profiles have the availability and professional specialty specified by the referring user.

[0021] In an embodiment, the processor of the client device of the referring user may also be adapted for executing the instructions further causing the processor to send to the processor of the server, through the communication network, a signal encoded, according to the communication protocol, to contain the criteria including a given value of availability and professional specialty to cause the processor of the server to filter the database of user profiles based on availability to generate a list of the eligible consulting user profiles who have the given value of availability and to send a signal to the client device of the referring user causing the client device of the referring user to display a list of these eligible consulting user profiles. [0022] In a further embodiment, the processor of the client device of the referring user may also be adapted for executing the instructions further causing the processor to display a list of the eligible consulting user profiles allowing interaction with the list to allow a communication to take place between the client device of the referring user and a remote client device to which is associated to one of these eligible consulting user profiles with which interaction takes place, the communication occurring via the server.

[0023] The client device of the referring user may comprise a display and a speaker, and the client device of the one of these eligible consulting user profiles further comprises a camera and a microphone, wherein the instructions executable by any one of the client device of the consulting user and the client device of the referring user, allow the any one of the client device of the consulting user and the client device of the referring user to initiate a video call only if the user input data comprises the acceptation, the video call comprising filming using the camera and the microphone and reproducing the video using the display and the speaker.

[0024] In a further aspect, there is provided a telecommunication system comprising a client device of a consulting user, which comprises a memory for storing instructions and a processor operably connected to the memory and being adapted to execute the instructions to:

[0025] - receive, from a remote server, a signal encoded, according to the communication protocol, to contain information about a service being requested by a referring user; display an interactive page, the page having a content based on the information about service being requested; receive user input data through the interactive page, the user input data comprising one of an acceptation and a refusal; and send a signal comprising the user input data to a remote server, which cause the remote server to:

- receive the signal comprising the user input data; - if the user input data comprises an acceptation, store the user input data in a database; and

- if the user input data comprises an acceptation, send a signal indicative of the user input data to another client device associated with the referring user to generate an indication of the acceptation on the other client device.

[0026] If the user input data comprises a refusal, the processor is adapted to execute the instructions to send a signal comprising the user input data to a remote server, which cause the remote server to send another signal encoded, according to the communication protocol, to contain information about the service to another client device associated to another consulting user.

[0027] In an embodiment, the client device of the consulting user may further comprise a camera and a microphone, and the other client device of the referring user comprises a display and a speaker, wherein the instructions executable by any one of the client device of the consulting user and the other client device of the referring user, allow the any one of the client device of the consulting user and the other client device of the referring user to initiate a video call only if the user input data comprises the acceptation, the video call comprising filming using the camera and the microphone and reproducing the video using the display and the speaker.

[0028] As will be realized, the subject matter disclosed and claimed is capable of modifications in various respects, all without departing from the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the drawings and the description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive and the full scope of the subject matter is set forth in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which: [0030] Fig. 1 is a screenshot illustrating a page for entering profile information by a user, according to an embodiment;

[0031] Fig. 2 is a screenshot illustrating a page for requesting a medical consultation, according to an embodiment;

[0032] Fig. 3 is a screenshot illustrating a page for directly requesting a medical consultation, according to an embodiment;

[0033] Figs. 4A-4C are screenshots illustrating a page illustrating a user profile with an availability indicator set to different values, according to an embodiment;

[0034] Fig. 5 is a screenshot illustrating a page listing medical consultations requested, according to an embodiment;

[0035] Fig. 6 is a screenshot illustrating a page for viewing potential consulting users and their availability for taking a medical consultation, according to an embodiment;

[0036] Fig. 7 is a screenshot illustrating a user profile page with a button for directly requesting a medical consultation to that user, according to an embodiment;

[0037] Fig. 8 is a screenshot illustrating a page for requesting a clinic consultation, according to an embodiment;

[0038] Fig. 9 is a schematic illustrating the system comprising a server in communication with client devices via a communication network, according to an embodiment; and

[0039] Fig. 10 is a schematic illustrating the workings of a server and of a client device in communication with the server, according to an embodiment.

[0040] It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] In embodiments there are disclosed a system and a method for managing medical consultations using information technologies that can significantly streamline the process.

[0042] The present document discloses a telecommunication system comprising a server and client devices associated to a referring user and potential consulting users. The system comprises instructions to get, from the referring user, information about the case for which a consultation is requested. The user input information is used to determine which users are eligible. The system also collects the location of the referring user and of the eligible consulting users and orders in a list the eligible consulting users according to their proximity with the referring user. The eligible consulting users are then sequentially contacted via their client device, according to the order of the list, until a first one accepts to perform the consultation.

[0043] The telecommunication system for managing medical consultations, shown in Figs. 9 and 10, comprises a server 500 for executing instructions which manage the medical consultations in order to reduce the number of avoidable delay occurrences during the process of a medical referral, to reduce the time delay between different delay occurrences and to integrate other related functionalities of data processing (e.g., billing, video consultation, etc.) within the telecommunication system through which medical referrals are performed. The server 500 is a computing device which comprises at least the following elements: a processor 510 for executing the instructions, a memory 520, operably connected to the processor 510, for storing the instructions, a memory 530 for storing data related to the medical consultations, and a signal input/output 540. Memories 520 and 530 can be the same memories, or be distinct devices. The communication input/output 540 allows the server 500 to enter in communication with remote devices, most interestingly with a client device 600 (or a plurality thereof), via signals sent through a communication network 700 such as the internet.

[0044] The referrals between healthcare professionals are performed across a network of agents (i.e., interacting parties forming the network), wherein each agent has a client device 600 remote from the server 500 and from other client devices and in remote communication with the server 500. The server is programmed to perform the tasks of the telecommunication system in combination with a plurality of client devices. This includes sending data to the client devices for installing an application therein, and subsequent data exchange between the client devices and the server. The server 500 and the client devices 600, as well as a telecommunication network 700 for linking them together, are therefore essential for the telecommunication system described herein. Communication between the client devices 600 and the serve 500 are done by sending a signal (i.e., electromagnetic signal) over the telecommunication network 700, which is normally wireless and comprises nodes across a geographical region for receiving and transmitting signals. These signals are emitted and/or received according to a communication protocol that makes the signals decodable so that data can be stored in the encoding, the data including both the address(es) of the server or client device where the signal is sent and actual contents. The telecommunication network 700 can be the internet, in which case the communication protocol can be HTTP or other variants thereof, where an additional layer for security can be added, for example an SSL protocol (Transport Layer Security/Secure Socket Layer). Using the telecommunication system may require the user to enter a password, certificate or other piece of authentication into the interactive document to enable the use of other functionalities of the interactive document.

[0045] The client device 600 is the computing device through which a user gets access to the system. Examples of client devices 600a, 600b and 600c are shown in Figure 9. According to an embodiment, the client device 600 is a geolocation-enabled device, such as a smartphone or a tablet. Other types of computing devices, such as a laptop or desktop computer, can be used in a geolocation-enabled embodiment, since they are usually eatable with the internet network being used, for example. However, locating a desktop computer is not very straightforward or accurate. A GPS-enabled device such as a smartphone is thus preferable. However, as will be explained further below, providing a device which is not enabled for geolocation is also possible, since the address provided by the users and stored in the database can be used to determine where the consultation should take place and where the users are during working hours. Approximate geolocation by IP address can also be sufficiently precise in low-density areas where the identity of the town is a sufficient piece of information to know travel times between places. The IP address depends on the node by which the network 700 is accessed, and is known by the server 500 when signals (e.g., queries) are received from the client devices; conversion of the IP address to an approximate location can be made by submitting the IP address to dedicated websites installed on servers (thereby requiring server-to-server communication). Therefore, the client device 600 must comprise at least one of the following: an input and memory for entering and storing a permanent location; a geolocation device; or a network communication module 640 that can be used to identify a geolocated node in the telecommunication network 700 by which the client device 600 accesses the telecommunication network 700 for determining an approximate location. Other methods for obtaining the approximate geolocation are also possible for example through the device's internal geolocation device (GPS) etc. the base station to which a cellular data signal is obtained, the location of a router from which a Wifi signal is obtained, etc.

[0046] The method for managing medical consultations comprises executing the instructions stored on the memory 520 by the processor 510 and using the information stored in the memory 530 to produce a signal. The signal that is produced is to be interpreted by the client device 600 to produce an interactive document 10.

[0047] The client device 600 comprises a display 690 so that the user can actually see the interactive document that the client device 600 produced based on the signal received from the server 500. According to an embodiment, the interactive document 10 is a web page. According to another embodiment, the interactive document 10 is a graphical user interface (GUI) page of an application (e.g., mobile application, software installed on a computer, etc.).

[0048] As every computing device, the client device 600 comprises a processor 610 for executing instructions and a memory 620 for storing instructions and data. Data can be inputted and outputted as signals via the communication input/output 640, which is for communicating with remote devices using a communication network 700 such as the internet (either wired or wireless).

[0049] The interactive document that is generated by the client device 600 can show information, and also allows user input (thereby making the document interactive). Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of an interactive document for a profile creation.

[0050] Indeed, the first time the system is used by the user, the user likely needs to subscribe to the system. Doing so requires that the user enters personal and professional information. For that purpose, the client device 600a (and more generally all client devices 600) comprises a user input device 650. For smartphones and similar devices, the user input device 650 is the display 690, which is a touch screen. Other input devices can be provided, such as a keyboard or a mouse.

[0051] Fig. 1 shows that the interactive document 10 comprises input boxes, in which the user can enter information, and labels for the input boxes. Section 14 is the portion of the interactive document 10 in which input boxes and labels are provided, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

[0052] Since the system is primarily intended for physicians, professional information related to the medical practice need to be entered, as well as contact information (address, phone, email, etc.) and billing information. For instance, the user enters their medical specialty and medical practice number. The medical specialty will be used by the system to categorize the user as a professional of that medical specialty.

[0053] The medical practice number may have various purposes, such as license validation and billing. Knowing the medical practice number can indeed allow the system to perform a verification that the user is actually the physician they pretend to be. The system can also comprise an input to allow the subscribing user to submit proof of professional licensure in the region of interest.

[0054] In jurisdictions in which medical bills are paid by the government to the physician, the medical practice number gives the identity of the physician. Transmission of bills bearing the medical practice number to the government body can thus be performed.

[0055] Once the user has entered all relevant information through an interface as shown in Fig. 1 , the information is sent by the client device 600 to the server 500 via the communication network 700, and stored in the memory 630. According to an embodiment, the information is stored in a database on the memory 530.

[0056] Once the user has a completed profile, they may use the system for actually managing medical consultations. According to an embodiment, a log-in step is required, as for various web sites or applications.

[0057] The system inherently implies that more than one user uses the system; otherwise no managing could take place. The system is useful if a user, namely a referring user 20, asks for a medical consultation, and if at least one (other) user, namely the consulting user 30, is available for providing a medical consultation.

[0058] Fig. 2 shows a page on which the referring user 20 can ask for a consultation. This page is an interactive document 10 generated and displayed by the client device 600a, based on a signal received from the server 500 via the communication network 700. This is performed after the user completed a profile, or simply after they logged in.

[0059] This page is a consultation managing interactive document. As shown in Fig. 2, the page can be displayed for outgoing consultations and/or for ingoing consultations. The referring user 20 is primarily interested by outgoing consultations. The referring user 20 will select the button indicating that a new consultation object is to be created within the interactive document 10. Section 12 is the portion of the interactive document 10 in which buttons are provided. When selecting the button for a new consultation, a plurality of input boxes, with their accompanying label, are provided on the interactive document. The referring user 20 enters the information into the input boxes using the client device 600a. The information relates to the patient for which a consultation is requested. Most useful information includes the medical specialty for which a medical consultation is requested (e.g., cardiology, neurology, etc.), which is used in determining to which consulting users 30 the request will be sent, the code describing the service to be performed (e.g., ICD-10 codes) for billing purposes and the patient insurance number (or any other equivalent ID) which will also be used for billing purposes. Other information may include a title for the requested consultation, a description, or the time or date at which the consultation request will expire.

[0060] Upon confirmation by the referring physician, the consultation information is then sent back by the client device 600a to the server 500 via the communication network 700 and stored on memory 530. The instructions stored on memory 520 are executed by the processor 510 to perform steps that aim at finding a suitable consulting user 30.

[0061] The processor 510 analyzes the newly provided information about the consultation. The medical specialty of the consultation is used by the processor 510 to filter all profiles stored in the memory 530 are keep only those who belong to that medical specialty, i.e., the potential consulting users 30 who are actually eligible to perform the consultation.

[0062] Moreover, according to an embodiment, profiles may be characterized by an availability state (available or not available) which can be managed by each user using their client device 600 and viewed by the server 500 in real time. In this case, the processor 510 filters profiles to keep only those who are tagged as available.

[0063] The processor 510 then compares the location of the referring user 20 with the location associated to all (filtered) profiles to identify nearby potential consulting users 30, preferably the closest ones.

[0064] To perform this step, the location of the referring user 20 and of the other users needs to be present in the memory 530. This can be accomplished in two ways.

[0065] The first way is by having the user, upon their subscribing to the system, provide the address (i.e., location) of their working place (clinic, hospital, other address). Doing this works if the user always works at this working office and will always request consultations from there. In practice, using the workplace address (e.g., the address of the clinic or hospital) is sufficient since physicians are normally available for consultations during working hours, when they are at their workplace or nearby. If a physician is temporarily available for consultations outside of their usual workplace (e.g., if they are "moonlighting"), they can input their new location into the user interface so that new address is known by the server 500, which will use it when building a list of potential consulting users 30. [0066] Another way of getting the location information is by having the client device 600, using the geo-location device 690 within the client device, inform the server 500 of the current location of the client device 600. This works if the user and the client device 600 are at the same location. Doing this allows for a better knowledge of the actual position of the referring user 20s as well as that of potential consulting users 30. It means that the application which implements the system on the client device 600 needs to repeatedly get the current location of the client device 600 and send that information to the server 500, where the profile's location is also repeatedly updated. Alternatively, the node of the network 700 through which the network i700 is accessed by the client deice 600 can be used to determine an approximate location of the client device 600. The database on the server 500 is therefore updated with real-time information about users' location, contributing to a better quality of determination of the best- located potential consulting users of the telecommunication system and rejecting distant users from any consideration, thereby saving the time that would be required to ask for a referral that would not be accepted due to the distance between the referring user 20 and the potential consulting user 30.

[0067] In either way, the location associated to a profile is known and stored in the memory 530 for access by the processor 510. The processor 510 can thus compare locations to find the distance (or estimated walking time, or estimated driving time, or another similar measure) between the location of the referring user 20 and other suitable consulting users 30 that resulted from the filtering step.

[0068] The processor 510 is adapted to identify the closest one of the consulting users 30 (or the one who will be able to arrive earliest), namely the closest consulting user 30a, as shown in Fig. 9. The processor 510 will then identify the client device 600b associated to the closest consulting user 30a and send a request signal, via the communication network 700 and according to a communication protocol, to that client device 600b. The request signal is interpreted by the client device 600b which can, for example, perform a push notification. The request signal may also be embodied as a signal carrying an email, an automatic phone call, or a text message.

[0069] The system needs to be able to adapt if the potential consulting user 30a to which a request signal was sent is not available. For example, the potential consulting user 30a can open the web page or application of the system and input into that page a notification that they are not able to perform the consultation for which their help is requested. The potential consulting user 30a can also be unable to see and respond to the request. In this case, the system needs to use a maximum time frame after which the potential consulting user 30a is characterized as unavailable and withdrawn from the list (until reactivated by the user 30a). In other words, the system may be configured so that if the user 30a does not respond to a request for consultation within the maximum time frame, that user 30a will be removed from the list until they re-activate their availability. According to an embodiment, this maximum time frame is three minutes.

[0070] After receiving a refusal signal (i.e., a signal in which there is encoded an interpretable information that the referral for consultation is refused) from the client device 600b of the potential consulting user 30a, or after having waited more than the maximum time period set out for the request, the processor 510 identifies the second potential consulting user 30b on the list (e.g., the second closest one) and send the request signal to the client device 600c of that potential consulting user 30b. This can be repeated as long as required until a potential consulting user (30a, 30b or another user 30) accepts the consultation. The overall duration of finding the consultant is thereby reduced compared to the telephone or consultation note currently used, where refusals can take much time to be signified.

[0071] Indeed, upon receiving a request signal, the client device (600b, 600c) can display an interactive document that requests the potential consulting user 30 to select if they accept or refuse. For example, this choice can be offered by displaying buttons on the display of the client device 600, as exemplified in Figure 2 at section 12.

[0072] When the potential consulting user 30a chooses to accept the consultation, a signal is sent by the client device 600b to the server 500 which can later deal with this information. In fact, the consultation object, for which information was already known, is linked to the profile of the consulting user 30a who accepted the consultation, and is saved for future use.

[0073] It should be noted that the consultation as such is not performed via the system.

[0074] Since all information is stored in the memory 530, the server 500 is adapted to have its processor 510 generate a report of all consultations performed by a given user, and send a signal to the client device 600b of that user which can then interpret that signal to display the report, as seen in the report section 16 of Fig. 5. This report can be used by the consulting user 30 for integration into their own billing process (to a government body, to insurance companies, to patients, etc.). According to an embodiment, the report is automatically sent by the processor at a given time interval (for example, once each month). The report may be displayable on the user interface, or may inserted in a document such as a PDF file, the document being downloadable through the user interface or sent by email to the email address provided by the user.

[0075] According to an embodiment, this kind of report can be used by the processor 510 to generate a bill document. A signal is then sent by the processor 510, usually via an email protocol to a client email address, or to a printer, in order to send the bill for services provided by the operator of the system to the users of the system. [0076] According to an embodiment, the referring user 20 is provided with an interactive document 10 (produced by the client device 600a using a signal received from the server 500 via the communication network 700) that allows for rating the physician who provided the consultation. The requested user may thus privately enter rating information (e.g., star rating, closed-end questions, etc.) into the interactive document. This information, after being entered into the inputs of the interactive document and confirmed by the referring user 20, is then sent back by the client device 600a to the server 500 via the communication network 700 and stored on memory 530. According to an embodiment, the rating is used by the operator of the system so that the operator knows that some consulting users 30 do or do not produce quality work. According to another embodiment, the rating is public and shown to the referring user 20 so that the referring user 20 can reject potential consulting users 30 based on their poor rating.

[0077] According to an embodiment, the referring user 20 is provided with an interactive document 10 (produced by the client device 600a using a signal received from the server 500 via the communication network 700) that allows for entering preferences as to whom consultations are offered. For example, the referring user 20 may prefer that a given professional perform consultation in a given specialty. This preference can be prioritized over the geographical proximity between users. According to an embodiment, the referring user 20 can have its client device 600a send a request to the server 500 to know if their "preferred" consulting user 30 is available in real-time, i.e., if the "preferred" consulting user 30 is marked as being "on-call". According to an embodiment, the "list" of potential consulting users 30 comprises only the "preferred" consulting user 30, and if the "preferred" consulting user 30 rejects the proposition or does not answer under the maximum time frame, the referring user 20 will have the choice to try again with the whole network of consulting users 30. According to an embodiment, both conditions (geographical proximity and preference for one or some professionals) are weighted and listed accordingly. [0078] According to an embodiment, the user who is a potential consulting user 30 is provided with an interactive document 10 (produced by the client device 600b using a signal received from the server 500 via the communication network 700) that allows for entering preferences as to which kinds of consultations are preferred, or which conditions need to be met. For example, a potential consulting user 30 working at a rheumatology clinic can include to their profile that they only want to perform consultations after certain blood tests and x-rays are done. This information is uploaded to the profile, and then downloadable by referring users 20. Other relevant documents may be included in a similar fashion. Referring users 20 will be able to streamline care and reduce the number of unnecessary consultations due to absent or incomplete clinical information using these protocols.

[0079] It should be noted that a single user may occupy two roles at the same time: referring user for their own patients and consulting user for patients of other physicians. The system allows for using the client device 600 for both functionalities at the same time.

[0080] Various ways of implementing the system can be contemplated. However, the presence of computing devices (i.e., the server 500 and the client devices 600) is essential to have the system actually work, especially when it comes to accessing information relating to the availability or not of the different participating users which necessitates a system in order to make this information available to the referring users in real time. Another aspect is the making available in real time of participating users and their location since new users may join and other one may leave.

[0081] According to an embodiment, the system is further adapted to generate interactive documents that allow interaction, via the server 500, between the client devices of the physician and the pharmacist while preserving the confidentiality and the rules of drug prescription during the exchange of information via the server 500. [0082] Currently the pharmacist either calls or faxes a request for renewal of medication, for advice or clarification of a medical prescription or to provide commentary on particular points such as drug-drug interactions.

[0083] In an embodiment of the system, there is provided an interface as displayed upon the interpretation of the interactive document by the client device of the pharmacist, in which the pharmacist can login and create a profile as described above. They can then create a drug prescription template, which may include, for instance the request for re-prescription of a drug or set of drugs. This interactive document embodied as a prescription template can then be sent to the client device of the physician via the server 500 to be approved, modified and approved or rejected by the physician on their client device which allows such interactivity.

[0084] The identity verification and security process can be done in several ways, such as biometric/fingerprint identification software, or two-step authentication such as an independent code sent to the mobile device of the physician via an app or via email.

[0085] In return the physician can create templates directed to a pharmacy, which could be located within the mobile application or website by pharmacist/pharmacy name, street location, listed and sorted by pharmacy chain name or brand. A medical prescription is added to the template; it may include drug prescriptions, such as might be found on a standard prescription, or more complex orders or requests such as "please provide my patient with instruction and supervision on the use of asthma inhalers" or "...self-injection techniques for insulin for diabetics" or "...counseling on a high-calcium diet to prevent osteoporotic fractures" and so on.

[0086] According to an embodiment, the system is adapted to have enhanced video consultations performed via the interactive document it generates. The geo-located physician consultation management system described above can be paired with a videoconferencing function whereby the consulting physician can be virtually present in the room (i.e., the consulting physician can see and be seen, talk and hear what happens in the room via the client device located in the room), in the manner of telemedicine and assist the consulting doctor with the examination, provide direction on techniques such as ultrasonography, or injection of joints or minor procedures as well as witness by distance the current clinical state of the patient and even question them directly. The consulting physician can then offer a more informed response to the clinical query of the referring physician with regards to the patient investigation and treatment, and will also be able to form a baseline opinion regarding the follow-up care should the patient be referred onto their own offices or hospitals.

[0087] The system can be used to capacity to reach the public. For instance, a family medicine or specialist office may want to either offer private or profit-generating consultations to their patient base, or free online consultations. Private or profit-generating consultations to the patient base can be offered in the form of an on-call system. For instance, a subscriber to this service may have access to their pediatrician's office; if one's child gets ill and the parents want to know whether or not to bring them into the clinic to see the doctor or whether to treat symptoms at home, the patient/family can call the specific clinic on-call function via the application and reach the doctor via the application by videoconference or voice communication and receive analysis and advice.

[0088] Alternatively, as a manner to drive business to their clinic, a private family medicine clinic or cosmetic medicine clinic can offer free online consultations with their physicians in the same manner.

[0089] In addition to pharmacists, other professionals who might be interested in coming along and offering their services via the system might include, without limitation: physiotherapists, osteopaths, nutritionists and so on. These people or clinics would be able to list their services and location on their profile page and the physician would be able to send along a geo-located or proximity based consultation request to the clinic in much the same manner as the physician geo-located consult, and as shown in Fig. 7. The clinic could accept or reject the request.

[0090] According to an embodiment, the system can be integrated to a system for managing Electronic Medical Records (EMRs). For example, the application could be integrated by introducing an icon into a variety of EMR interfaces as a tunnel-out service, or directly into the EMR software applications.

[0091] In addition to the network type of consultation described above, there is further provided a direct, doctor-to-doctor type of consultation. Instead of typing in your consultation and sending it off to a geo-located proximity-based algorithm to locate an available consultant, you can select a physician from among the user "network", as shown in Fig. 6, and press a button to consult him or her directly (this is defined as a "direct consultation"), as shown in Figs. 3 or 7. The same information is inputted to create a request: patient health insurance number, brief description, a photo or document might be uploaded. According to an exemplary embodiment, the expiry time is automatically set at 24h. The receiving doctor can accept or refuse in the same way that a network consult allows. If accepted, the billing information is saved to the report file and can be downloaded in the template

[0092] The ability to set Medmobile to three different alert levels: on-call "green" (to receive all calls, both direct and network calls), as shown in Fig. 4A where an availability indicator 19 is provided, direct call only "yellow" (no network calls accepted, but direct consultations are accepted), as shown in Fig. 4B, or off- call "red" (do not disturb), as shown in Fig. 4C. These statuses will be shown on the network screen as green, red or yellow dots next to the name and photo of the users (as shown in Fig. 6 where the availability indicators 19 of other users are shown). [0093] An in-person consultation can be generated and received. In the personal profile information, doctors who sign up are asked to input clinic information such as clinic e-mail and fax numbers. A referring doctor would use this function if a telephone consultation is not required and they simply want a patient to be seen in-person in the consultant's clinic. A referring doctor would then select the specific consultant from within the network list, much as though they were sending a direct consultation (as shown in Fig. 6) but instead of direct consultation, they select "Create a clinic consultation" (shown in Fig. 7). As shown in Fig. 8, a form is generated wherein the consultation question or brief description of the case is inputted along with the patient health insurance number, and the patient's contact information which can be manually inputted or uploaded using a photo from the smart phone. The sender/referring doctor then can choose to send either via e-mail, or via fax. The fax uses an external API (Interfax).

[0094] As shown in Fig. 8, an interactive document embodied as a "QuickPage" can be generated by the system. Unlike the formal "telephone consultation", which involves a patient who may or may not be known to the consultant doctor, and can be billed to the billing entity (e.g., public or private insurer), sometimes physicians simply want general advice, or a quick comment on a blood test, ECG or other clinical finding without requesting an in-depth formal consultation. A QuickPage is a direct consultation, as described above, but not requiring the patient information. A brief description can be entered, and a photo can be uploaded. According to an exemplary embodiment, a shorter but undetermined expiry time can be set. In this embodiment, neither accepting nor rejecting the push notification will result in any information to be stored to the billing report.

[0095] According to an embodiment, the telecommunication system described herein can be used in combination with other systems used in the healthcare system, such as calendar and schedule of physicians and healthcare professionals in a hospital. The list of potential consulting users 30 can therefore be further filtered according to the list of scheduled personnel at a given time to gain time and improve efficiency in the selection. A communication between the server 500 of the telecommunication system described herein and the server containing schedules must be provided for signals transmission enabling data exchange (queries and responses) between these servers.

[0096] Other functionalities may also be added to the interactive documents, for example a chat or other instant messaging functions that allow instant comments to be communicated between users of the system. For example, the potential consulting user may ask for further details before accepting a consultation.

[0097] While preferred embodiments have been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from this disclosure. Such modifications are considered as possible variants comprised in the scope of the disclosure.