WO2022006441A1

WO2022006441A1 - System and method for determining and identifying a healthcare status

Info

Publication number: WO2022006441A1
Application number: PCT/US2021/040159
Authority: WO
Inventors: James C. BOHNSACK; Troy Bailey; Joseph Gonzalez; Glenn FIELD
Original assignee: Transunion Healthcare, Inc.
Priority date: 2020-07-02
Filing date: 2021-07-01
Publication date: 2022-01-06

Abstract

A healthcare status identification system and method that tracks different healthcare statuses of an individual from one or more different sources such that upon a screening request, the system and method determines the tracked healthcare status of the individual and verifies the healthcare status of the individual to others via a healthcare status identifier associated with the tracked healthcare status of the individual.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING AND IDENTIFYING A

HEALTHCARE STATUS

PRIORITY CLAIM

[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/047,707, filed on July 2, 2020, the entire contents of which is incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a system and method for determining a healthcare status of an individual and identifying the determined healthcare status to one or more third-parties. More particularly, various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and method for using one or more databases to track one or more healthcare test results of an individual and responsive to a request to verify the healthcare test results of the individual, distribute one or more healthcare status identifiers associated with the test results of the individual.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Global pandemics, such as the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), have substantially altered the way people interact with each other, from complying with stay-at- home/sheltering-in-place orders to practicing social distancing in public and/or private spaces. However, as stay-at-home/sheltering-in-place orders subside and individuals begin resuming activities that include relatively large quantities of people in relatively small spaces, such as the tens of thousands of people attending a sporting event at a sports venue, the hundreds of people flying on an airplane or the dozens of people commuting in a train car of a public transit system, a need exists to properly screen such individuals and employ a universal healthcare status identifier to verify a healthcare status of an individual prior to enabling that individual to partake in the activity and potentially put others at risk. Accordingly, the rise of global pandemics have led to a need for advanced health surveillance that is secure, reliable and accessible.

SUMMARY

[0004] The present disclosure generally relates to a healthcare status identification system and method that tracks different healthcare statuses of one or more individuals from one or more different sources such that upon a screening request associated with one of the individuals, the system and method determines and verifies the tracked healthcare status of that individual for use by that individual and/or one or more other individuals/entities.

[0005] More specifically, in certain embodiments, one or more components of the healthcare status identification system of the present disclosure maintains at least one healthcare status database associated with a plurality of individuals. The healthcare status database includes identification entries for one or more individuals, such as personally identifiable information for a particular individual, which the system utilizes to prevent fraud by verifying an identity of an individual prior to releasing any healthcare status information associated with that individual. The healthcare status database additional includes one or more healthcare status entries for one or more individuals, such as healthcare status information (e.g., positive/negative test results for one or more diseases/conditions and/or positive/negative antibody presence for one or more diseases/conditions) for a particular individual. In certain embodiments, the healthcare status entries for an individual are maintained as part of or otherwise communicated from a healthcare data system which receives and consolidates healthcare data from a plurality of sources, including hospitals, labs, clinics, and in-home tests. For example, following an individual scheduling, via a mobile device application associated with the system of the present disclosure, one or more Federal Drug Agency (FDA) approved tests to be conducted at a hospital and following the hospital determining whether an individual tests positive/negative for one or more diseases/conditions and/or tests positive/negative for the presence of antibodies for one or more diseases/conditions, a component of the hospital system communicates data to the system of the present disclosure which updates the healthcare status database to reflect the healthcare test results of the individual. Such a configuration of employing multiple sources of testing/test result provides that the healthcare status entries for each individual are current (i.e., reflective of the most recently administered test for the individual) even if the individual is tested by different healthcare entities/forms of testing at different points in time and/or at different locations.

[0006] In addition to maintaining one or more healthcare status databases which include relevant healthcare information on a plurality of individuals, in certain embodiments, upon an individual verifying their identity to one or more components of the system and the individual (or a third-party with the individual’s consent) requesting a verification of healthcare information associated with that individual, the system distributes such healthcare information, such as via the generation of a healthcare status identifier associated with the healthcare information. In these embodiments, the individual (or third-party) use the distributed healthcare information to verify that the individual tested positive/negative for one or more diseases/conditions and/or tested positive/negative for the presence of antibodies for one or more diseases/conditions. That is, similar to how a credit data system maintains credit data from a credit bureau and, following a verification of an identity of an individual, provides a credit and lending institution at least part of such credit data associated with that individual, the system of the present disclosure maintains healthcare data from one or more FDA approved testing sources and, following a verification of an identity of an individual, provides the individual (or a third-party) certain healthcare data (such as a distributable verification of one or more test results in the form of a healthcare status identifier) associated with that individual. With the confidence that the system provides verified, accurate and reliable test results pertaining to one or more diseases/conditions, certain establishments can properly screen individuals based on the received healthcare information associated with such individuals. Such an evidenced-based configuration thus enables certain establishments to welcome people whom qualify as low-risk patrons while screening out and turning away people whom unfortunately qualify as high-risk patrons.

[0007] In one example wherein the verified healthcare information takes the form of a healthcare status identifier usable by an individual to verify their healthcare status to one or more third parties, following the individual being tested for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19 and the positive results of the test being logged in a healthcare status database, the system of this example enables the individual to log into a mobile device application executed on a mobile device and request a verification that they have tested positive for the presence of antibodies to COVID- 19. In this example, following such a request, the system determines, based on one or more entries associated with the identified individual in the healthcare status database, that the individual has tested positive within the past month for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19. Responsive to this determination, the system generates a healthcare status identifier in the form of a machine readable code (such as a quick response (“QR”) code containing embedded information verifying that the individual has tested positive within the past month for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19) and communicates the machine readable code to the mobile device. In this example, to verify that they have tested positive within the past month for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19, the individual causes the machine readable code to be displayed by the mobile device application. In one instance, upon the machine readable code being scanned by a third-party system, such as a scanner coupled to a kiosk of a public transportation terminal, the third-party system accepts the healthcare status verified by the scanned machine readable code as a verification of the healthcare status of the individual. In another instance, In one instance, upon the machine readable code being scanned by a third-party system, such as a scanner coupled to a kiosk of a public transportation terminal, the third-party system communicates with one or more components of the system of the present disclosure to verify that the healthcare status of the individual is authentic and accurate.

[0008] In another example wherein the verified healthcare information is communicated in batch from the system of the present disclosure to one or more third-party systems to verify the healthcare status of a plurality of individuals associated with such third-parties, following a plurality of individuals being tested for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19, the results of such tests being logged in a healthcare status database and each of the individuals consenting to permit access of at least part of the healthcare status associated with that individual to a third-party, a component of a third-party system, such as a server associated with an airline boarding system or a server associated with a venue ticketing system, communicates with one or more components of the system of the present disclosure to request a batch of healthcare statuses for the plurality of individuals. In this example, upon receiving the request, the component of the system of the present disclosure determines, based on one or more entries associated with one or more of the individual in a maintained healthcare status database, a healthcare status for each of the plurality of individuals. The component of the system of the present disclosure communicates, in one or more batches, verified healthcare statuses to the component of the third-party system to verify the healthcare status of each of the individuals associated with the third-party system. The component of the third-party system then determines, based on the verified healthcare status, whether each of the individuals is permitted to undertake the activity associated with the third-party, such as board an airline flight. For example, a server associated with an airline boarding system may determine that any ticketed individual for an upcoming flight whom the system of the present disclosure has verified as having tested positive within the past two weeks for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19 remains a ticketed individual for the upcoming flight, an while any ticketed individual whom the system is unable to verify tested positive within the past two weeks for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19 cannot remain a ticketed individual for the upcoming flight. In this example, following the screening of the individuals based at least in part on the access to data maintained by the system of the present disclosure, the server associated with an airline boarding system proceeds with issuing electronic boarding passes to the ticketed individuals verified to have tested positive within the past two weeks for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19, wherein the electronic boarding passes function to not only permit the individuals to board the upcoming flight (i.e., undertake the activity associated with the third-party) but also function as a verification that the individuals with have tested positive within the past two weeks for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19.

[0009] As illustrated by these example embodiments, the system of the present disclosure operates to provide a relatively reliable and secure way for verified individuals to identify their healthcare status to enable proper screening of individuals whom may pose a threat to others. That is, as stay-at-home/sheltering-in-place orders subside and individuals begin resuming activities that include relatively large quantities of people in relatively small spaces, the systems and methods disclosed herein are configured to communicate verified healthcare status data and/or employ a universal healthcare status identifier to properly screen one or more individuals and verify a healthcare status of such individuals prior to enabling zero, one or more of those individuals to partake in the activity and potentially put others at risk.

[00010] These and other embodiments, and various permutations and aspects, will become apparent and be more fully understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, which set forth illustrative embodiments that are indicative of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [00011] The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

[00012] Figures 1A and IB are schematic flowchart diagrams illustrating processes of a healthcare status identification system in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00013] Figures 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D are example graphical user interfaces displayed on a mobile device in connection with the healthcare status identification system of one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00014] Figure 3 is a block diagram of one form of a computer or server having a memory element with a computer readable medium for implementing the healthcare status identification system of one embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[00015] The description that follows describes, illustrates and exemplifies one or more particular embodiments of the invention in accordance with its principles. This description is not provided to limit the invention to the embodiments described herein, but rather to explain and teach the principles of the invention in such a way to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to understand these principles and, with that understanding, be able to apply them to practice not only the embodiments described herein, but also other embodiments that may come to mind in accordance with these principles. The scope of the invention is intended to cover all such embodiments that may fall within the scope of the appended claims, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.

[00016] It should be noted that in the description and drawings, like or substantially similar elements may be labeled with the same reference numerals. However, sometimes these elements may be labeled with differing numbers, such as, for example, in cases where such labeling facilitates a more clear description. Additionally, the drawings set forth herein are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in some instances proportions may have been exaggerated to more clearly depict certain features. Such labeling and drawing practices do not necessarily implicate an underlying substantive purpose. As stated above, the specification is intended to be taken as a whole and interpreted in accordance with the principles of the invention as taught herein and understood to one of ordinary skill in the art.

[00017] With respect to the exemplary systems, components and architecture described and illustrated herein, it should also be understood that the embodiments may be embodied by, or employed in, numerous configurations and components, including one or more systems, hardware, software, or firmware configurations or components, or any combination thereof, as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, while the drawings illustrate exemplary systems including components for one or more of the embodiments contemplated herein, it should be understood that with respect to each embodiment, one or more components may not be present or necessary in the system.

[00018] It should also be noted that the disclosures made in this specification are in accordance with the principles of the embodiments(s), which are intended to be disclosed or interpreted to their broadest extent under the patent laws of the United States and other countries, and while such disclosure may describe or otherwise cover subject matter that may be regulated by other existing laws or regulations in the United States and other countries, including, without limitation, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), nothing in this disclosure is intended to suggest or imply noncompliance with any such law or regulation by the assignee. [00019] Turning to Figs. 1A and IB, which are schematic flowcharts of a healthcare status identification system in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure, upon a healthcare status verification request associated with an occurrence of an event 110, one or more components of the healthcare status identification system of the present disclosure interface with one or more components of an individual identification verification system to verify an identity of the individual associated with the healthcare status verification request 120. In these embodiments, the healthcare status verification request is associated with an occurrence of any suitable event which requires an additional level of security in the form of a verification of a healthcare status of an individual attempting to be associated with the event. For example, prior to enabling a first individual to enter a venue (e.g., a hotel, a school, a hospital or a restaurant) and/or participate in a public or private event (e.g., board an airplane, access a public transit system or attend a sporting event) and to comply with zero, one or more local, state or national health regulations, an operator of the venue or event requires a verification affiliated with a reliable testing source that the first individual is of a designated healthcare status. In these embodiments, the individual identification verification system includes any suitable system which maintains one or more secure databases including individual identifying information (e.g., name, date of birth, past or present addresses, social security number, past or present financial accounts) employed to verify an individual’s identity. Continuing with the above example, to ensure that a second individual whom is not of the designated healthcare status does not attempt to commit fraud by entering the venue posing as the first individual, the individual identification verification system utilizes individual identifying information associated with the first individual, such as a combination of public and private data of the first individual, to verify the identity of the first individual (and prevent the second individual from fraudulently entering the venue).

[00020] If the individual identification verification system fails to verify an identity of the individual associated with the healthcare status verification request, the healthcare status identification system notifies the requester that the individual’s identity cannot be verified and the healthcare status identification system is unable to provide a verified healthcare status, such as provide a healthcare status identifier, in association with the request. For example, if a server of the individual identification verification system detects identity fraud and/or fails to verify a mobile device associated with an individual requesting, via a mobile device application of the mobile device, a healthcare status verification, the server of the individual identification verification system communicates a request denial to the mobile device which displays, via the mobile device application, one or more messages that the healthcare status request is denied. [00021] On the other hand, if the individual identification verification system verifies the identity of the individual associated with the healthcare status verification request, one or more components of the healthcare status identification system access a healthcare status database (or interface with one or more components of a healthcare status system which maintains the healthcare status database) to obtain the healthcare status results, if any, of the individual associated with the healthcare status verification request 130.

[00022] In various embodiments, the healthcare status database includes any suitable secure database populated with a plurality of entries from a plurality of sources providing different test results which are consolidated in the healthcare status database for centralized maintenance and accessibility. The healthcare status database includes any suitable secure database including one or more entries associated with healthcare information (e.g., name, and healthcare history including tests administered, results of such tests, dates of such tests (in case such test results expire), location of such tests) employed to establish a verified healthcare status of an individual. [00023] In certain embodiments, as seen in Fig. IB, a plurality of testing locations 140 which administer one or more FDA approved tests for one or more diseases and/or conditions to a plurality of individuals are in communication with one or more components of the healthcare status identification system such that the results of these tests from these different testing sources are maintained in a centralized database. In various embodiments, the plurality of testing locations include one or more hospitals, one or more labs, one or more homes for home tests and one or more clinics. As seen in Fig. IB, the system of the present disclosure unites and centrally stores a plurality of test results from a plurality of testing locations such that test results may be relatively quickly accessed via a single interface without having to interface with each of the plurality of testing locations individually.

[00024] In certain embodiments wherein one or more tests are conducted remote from a user’s home, the healthcare status identification system of the present disclosure utilizes a personal device (e.g., a mobile device, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, or a laptop computer) to enable an individual to log into the healthcare status identification system to schedule, order and/or review the results for one or more tests. For example, as seen in Fig. 2A, following an individual downloading (from an application store or from one or more websites which are accessible directly by the individual and/or by a link opened by the individual) a mobile device application of a mobile device and creating an account/logging into an account associated with the individual, the mobile device 202 executing the mobile device application 204 enables the individual to search for and schedule a COVID-19 test to be conducted in an approved laboratory setting 206a. In this example, upon scheduling one or more tests, the mobile device application will cause demographic data associated with the individual and scheduling data to be communicated to a component of the selected laboratory, such as to one or more servers associated with the selected laboratory. It should be appreciated that the individual logs into an account associated with the healthcare status identification system via one or more of: an individual accessing, via an Internet browser of the personal device, a website associated with the healthcare status identification system and identifying themselves by inputting the individual’s unique username and password combination, an individual launching an application installed on the personal device and identifying themselves to one or more components part of or otherwise associated with the healthcare status identification system, and/or the utilization of any suitable biometric technology to identify themselves to one or more components part of or otherwise associated with the healthcare status identification system.

[00025] In certain embodiments wherein one or more tests are conducted remote from an individual’s home, upon completion of the test, the result of the test are communicated to the individual to review (via a personal device by logging into the healthcare status identification system) as well as to a component of the healthcare status identification system, such as a test result system 150, to maintain, in confidence, in association with the individual as an entry in the healthcare status database. For example, as seen in Fig. 2B, following a hospital completing a test that a patient is positive for COVID-19, the mobile device 202 executing the mobile device application 204 enables the individual to review the results of the test which may include instructions for the individual to follow, and resource information for the individual to access 206b. [00026] In certain other embodiments wherein one or more tests are conducted at an individual’s home, the healthcare status identification system of the present disclosure utilizes a personal device to enable an individual to log into the healthcare status identification system to record and validate the results of one or more self-administered tests. In these embodiments, the personal device interfaces with a component of the healthcare status identification system, such as a server of the test results system 150, to maintain, in confidence, the individual’s test results in association with the individual as an entry in the healthcare status database. For example, as seen in Fig. 2C, following an individual conducting an at-home COVID-19 antibody test, the mobile device 202 executing the mobile device application 204 enables the individual to record and validate the results of the self-administered test 206c.

[00027] As seen in Figs. 1 A and IB, after one or more healthcare tests are conducted and the results of such tests are reported back to the individual and further centralized in the healthcare status database and additionally following one or more components of the healthcare status identification system accessing a healthcare status database (or interfacing with one or more components of a healthcare status system which maintain the healthcare status database) to obtain the healthcare status results, if any, of the verified individual associated with the healthcare status verification request, in certain embodiments, the healthcare status identification system generates a healthcare status identifier 160 which is distributed to and accessible by one or more client/user devices 170 to enable the client/user devices to evidence a healthcare status for the verified individual. In these embodiments, the healthcare status identifier indicates a real time healthcare status of the individual associated with the healthcare status verification request (even if the real time healthcare status of the individual is that no healthcare information (e.g., test results) is associated with that individual). Such an indicated healthcare status enables an entity associated with the healthcare status verification request, such as a third-party wanting to screen potential customers, to then make an informed decision regarding whether or not to grant access to the individual to one or more venues and/or activities associated to the third-party. Such an indicated healthcare status further enables the individual associated with the healthcare status to provide verified evidence of their healthcare status to partake in certain activities reserved for individuals whom verify certain test results.

[00028] In one example embodiment of an operation of the healthcare status identification system of the present disclosure wherein a third-party requires a verified healthcare status identifier to screen out certain individuals that may pose a health risk, upon an occurrence of an event, such as a request from an individual to generate a boarding pass for an upcoming flight of an airline, a component of a third-party system, such as a server of the airline, communicates a healthcare status request for the individual.

[00029] In one embodiment wherein the identity of the individual has not yet been verified, the component of a third-party system communicates the healthcare status request for the individual to a component of an individual identification verification system, such as an identification verification server, which utilizes consumer data and/or public data to verify the identity of the individual. In this embodiment, the identity of the individual associated with the healthcare status request is verified by the individual as part of the healthcare status request (e.g., the individual verifies their identity when requesting the boarding pass for the upcoming flight). Following a verification of an identity of the individual, either the component of the individual identification verification system communicates the healthcare status request for the individual to a component which maintains the healthcare status database or the component of the individual identification verification system authorizes the component of the third-party system to communicate the healthcare status request for the individual to the component which maintains a healthcare status database.

[00030] In another embodiment wherein the identity of the individual was previously verified, the component of a third-party system communicates the healthcare status request for the individual to a component, such as a server, which maintains a healthcare status database. In this embodiment, since the nature of the transaction provides that an identity of an individual may be known and verified as part of the transaction, the identity of the individual associated with the healthcare status request is verified by the component of the individual identification verification system prior to the occurrence of the event (e.g., the individual verified their identity during the airline ticket purchasing process).

[00031] In these embodiments, upon the server of the healthcare status database determining a healthcare status for the individual (e.g., the individual has tested positive/negative for COVID-19 and/or the individual has tested positive/negative for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19), the server of the healthcare status database communicates data associated with the healthcare status for the individual to the component associated with the third-party, such as to the server of the airline. With verified information regarding the healthcare status of the individual, the component of the third-party, such as the server of the airline, determines whether or not to proceed with issuing a boarding pass for the upcoming flight. For example, if the healthcare status of the individual indicates that the individual has tested negative for COVID-19 and the individual has tested positive for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19, the component of the third-party, such as the server of the airline, determines to issue the individual a boarding pass for the upcoming flight as the individual has been screened by the system of the present disclosure and poses minimal to no risk to other passengers on the flight. On the other hand, if the healthcare status of the individual indicates that the individual has tested positive for COVID-19 or the individual has tested negative for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19, the component of the third-party, such as the server of the airline, determines not to issue a boarding pass for the upcoming flight as the individual may pose a risk to other passengers on the flight.

[00032] In another example embodiment of an operation of the healthcare status identification system of the present disclosure wherein a third-party requires a verified healthcare status identifier to screen out certain individuals that may pose a health risk, a third-party, such as a venue hosting a sporting event or a concert, informs individuals planning on attending the sporting event or concert that they need to verify their healthcare status prior to being permitted admittance to the venue. In this example, following an individual verifying their identity with a server associated with the venue (which operates with a component of an individual identification verification system, such as an identification verification server, that utilizes consumer data and/or public data to verify the identity of the individual), the server associated with the venue communicates a healthcare status request of the identified individual to a server which maintains a healthcare status database. Upon the server of the healthcare status database determining a healthcare status for the individual (e.g., the individual has tested positive/negative for COVID-19 and/or the individual has tested positive/negative for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19), the server of the healthcare status database communicates data associated with the healthcare status for the individual to the third-party, such as to the server associated with the venue. With verified information regarding the healthcare status of the individual, the third-party, such as the server associated with the venue, determines whether or not to proceed with generating supplemental admittance information (e.g., an electronic ticket associated with the healthcare status of the individual or a QR code embedded with the healthcare status of the individual) required to enter the venue. For example, if the healthcare status of the individual indicates that the individual has tested negative for COVID-19 and the individual has tested positive for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19, the third-party, such as the server associated with the venue, determines to issue the individual an electronic ticket to attend the event at the venue as the individual has been screened by the system of the present disclosure and poses minimal to no risk to other people at the venue. On the other hand, if the healthcare status of the individual indicates that the individual has tested positive for COVID-19 or the individual has tested negative for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19, the third-party, such as the server associated with the venue, determines not to issue an electronic ticket to attend the event at the venue because the individual may pose a risk to other people at the venue.

[00033] In another example embodiment of an operation of the healthcare status identification system of the present disclosure wherein an individual requires a verified healthcare status identifier to participate in certain activities/attend certain events, following an individual downloading a mobile device application to a mobile device and creating an account (which includes verifying their identity with a component of an individual identification verification system, such as an identification verification server, that utilizes consumer data and/or public data to verify the identity of the individual), the mobile device application communicates a healthcare status request of the identified individual to a server which maintains a healthcare status database. Upon the server of the healthcare status database determining a healthcare status for the individual (e.g., the individual has tested positive/negative for COVID-19 and/or the individual has tested positive/negative for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19), the server associated with the healthcare status database communicates data associated with the determined healthcare status for the individual to the mobile device application. In certain such embodiments, the determined healthcare status takes the form of a healthcare status identifier which indicates or is otherwise associated with a healthcare status for the individual. With verified information regarding their healthcare status that may be conveyed to others, the individual can proceed with participating in certain activities/attending certain events knowing they should not be screened out as potential health risks. For example, as seen in Fig. 2D, if the healthcare status of an individual indicates that the individual has tested positive for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19, the mobile device 202 executing the mobile device application 204 enables the individual to request the generation of a healthcare status identifier, such as a QR code, which the individual may present to confirm the results of their test 206d to one or more third parties. In this example, the individual utilizes the QR code (which is embedded with the healthcare status of the individual) to participate in an activity, such as accessing a mass-transit system configured to scan the QR code and verify the healthcare status of the individual or evidencing to a restaurant that they have tested positive for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19 and thus can dine at the restaurant with confidence. [00034] In certain other embodiments, after one or more healthcare tests are conducted and the results of such tests are reported back to the individual and further centralized in the healthcare status database and additionally following one or more components of the healthcare status identification system accessing a healthcare status database (or interfacing with one or more components of a healthcare status system which maintain the healthcare status database) to obtain the healthcare status results, if any, of the verified individual associated with the healthcare status verification request, the healthcare status identification system additionally or alternatively distributes the healthcare status results (of one or more individuals separately or in a batch) accessed from the healthcare status database to one or more components of a third-party system to enable the third-party system to verify a healthcare status for one or more individuals associated with the third party system.

[00035] In an example embodiment of an operation of the healthcare status identification system of the present disclosure wherein a third-party requires a verified healthcare status to screen out certain individuals that may pose a health risk, verified healthcare information is communicated in batch from the healthcare status identification system of the present disclosure to one or more third-party systems to verify the healthcare status of a plurality of individuals associated with such third-parties. In this example, following a plurality of individuals being tested for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19, the results of such tests being logged in a healthcare status database and each of the individuals consenting to permit access of at least part of the healthcare status associated with that individual to a third-party, a component of a third-party system, such as a server associated with an airline boarding system or a server associated with a venue ticketing system, communicates with one or more components of the system of the present disclosure to request a batch of healthcare statuses for the plurality of individuals. In this example, upon receiving the request, the component of the system of the present disclosure determines, based on one or more entries associated with one or more of the individual in a maintained healthcare status database, a healthcare status for each of the plurality of individuals. The component of the system of the present disclosure communicates, in one or more batches, verified healthcare statuses to the component of the third-party system to verify the healthcare status of each of the individuals associated with the third-party system. The component of the third-party system then determines, based on the verified healthcare status, whether each of the individuals is permitted to undertake the activity associated with the third-party, such as board an airline flight. For example, a server associated with an airline boarding system may determine that any ticketed individual for an upcoming flight whom the system of the present disclosure has verified as having tested positive within the past two weeks for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19 remains a ticketed individual for the upcoming flight, while any ticketed individual whom the system is unable to verify tested positive within the past two weeks for the presence of antibodies to COVID- 19 cannot remain a ticketed individual for the upcoming flight. In this example, following the screening of the individuals based at least in part on the access to data maintained by the system of the present disclosure, the server associated with an airline boarding system proceeds with issuing electronic boarding passes to the ticketed individuals verified to have tested positive within the past two weeks for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19, wherein the electronic boarding passes function to not only permit the individuals to board the upcoming flight (i.e., undertake the activity associated with the third-party) but also function as a verification that the individuals with have tested positive within the past two weeks for the presence of antibodies to COVID-19. [00036] As illustrated by at least the above example embodiments, the healthcare status identification system of the present disclosure operates to provide a relatively reliable and secure way for verified individuals to identify their healthcare status to enable proper screening of individuals whom may pose a threat to others. That is, as stay-at-home/sheltering-in-place orders subside and individuals begin resuming activities that include relatively large quantities of people in relatively small spaces, the systems and methods disclosed herein are configured to properly screen individuals and verify healthcare statuses of such individuals prior to the individuals partaking in the activity and potentially putting others at risk.

[00037] It should be appreciated that since the system disclosed herein enables healthcare information associated with one or more individuals to be communicated to one or more third- parties (with the individual’s consent) and/or conveyed to one or more third-parties via a universally accepted healthcare status identifier, in certain embodiments, the system enables the individual to opt-out of (or alternatively opt-into) this feature as well as enables the individual to configure notifications of when and how such healthcare information is distributed.

[00038] As described above, the FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computing device 300 housing executable software used to facilitate one or more components of the healthcare status identification system and/or one or more components of other systems, such as the individual identification verification system, which interface with one or more components of the healthcare status identification system. One or more instances of the computing device 300 may be utilized to implement any, some, or all of the components of any system disclosed herein. Computing device 300 includes a memory element 304 Memory element 304 may include a computer readable medium for implementing any component of any system disclosed herein, and for implementing particular system transactions. Memory element 304 may also be utilized to implement the healthcare status database. Computing device 300 also contains executable software, some of which may or may not be unique to the healthcare status identification system. [00039] In some embodiments, the healthcare status identification system is implemented in software, as an executable program, and is executed by one or more special or general purpose digital computer(s), such as a mainframe computer, a commodity server, a personal computer (desktop, laptop or otherwise), personal digital assistant, or other handheld computing device. Therefore, computing device 300 may be representative of any computer in which the healthcare status identification system resides or partially resides.

[00040] Generally, in terms of hardware architecture as shown in FIG. 3, computing device 300 includes a processor 302, a memory 304, and one or more input and/or output (I/O) devices 306 (or peripherals) that are communicatively coupled via a local interface 308. Local interface 308 may be one or more buses or other wired or wireless connections, as is known in the art. Local interface 308 may have additional elements, which are omitted for simplicity, such as controllers, buffers (caches), drivers, transmitters, and receivers to facilitate external communications with other like or dissimilar computing devices. Further, local interface 308 may include address, control, and/or data connections to enable internal communications among the other computer components.

[00041] Processor 302 is a hardware device for executing software, particularly software stored in memory 304. Processor 302 can be any custom made or commercially available processor, such as, for example, a Core series or vPro processor made by Intel Corporation, or a Phenom, Athlon or Sempron processor made by Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. In the case where computing device 300 is a server, the processor may be, for example, a Xeon or Itanium processor from Intel, or an Opteron-series processor from Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Processor 302 may also represent multiple parallel or distributed processors working in unison.

[00042] Memory 304 can include any one or a combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard drive, flash drive, CDROM, etc.). It may incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. Memory 304 can have a distributed architecture where various components are situated remote from one another, but are still accessed by processor 302. These other components may reside on devices located elsewhere on a network or in a cloud arrangement.

[00043] The software in memory 304 may include one or more separate programs. The separate programs comprise ordered listings of executable instructions for implementing logical functions. In the example of FIG. 3, the software in memory 304 may include the healthcare status identification system in accordance with the present disclosure, and a suitable operating system (O/S) 312. The operating system O/S 312 will depend on the type of computing device 300. Operating system 312 essentially controls the execution of other computer programs, such as the healthcare status identification system, and provides scheduling, input-output control, file and data management, memory management, and communication control and related services.

[00044] If computing device 300 is an IBM PC compatible computer or the like, the software in memory 304 may further include a basic input output system (BIOS). The BIOS is a set of essential software routines that initialize and test hardware at startup, start operating system 312, and support the transfer of data among the hardware devices. The BIOS is stored in ROM so that the BIOS can be executed when computing device 300 is activated.

[00045] Steps and/or elements, and/or portions thereof of the invention may be implemented using a source program, executable program (object code), script, or any other entity comprising a set of instructions to be performed. Furthermore, the software embodying the invention can be written as (a) an object oriented programming language, which has classes of data and methods, or (b) a procedural programming language, which has routines, subroutines, and/or functions. That is, computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB.NET, Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL 2002, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby and Groovy, or other programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on a local computer, partly on the local computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the local computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the local computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as a service such as a Software as a Service (SaaS). Components of the healthcare status identification system may also be written in a proprietary language developed to interact with these known languages.

[00046] I/O device 306 may include input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a scanner, a microphone, a touch screen, a bar code reader, or an infra-red reader. It may also include output devices such as a printer, a video display, an audio speaker or headphone port or a projector. I/O device 306 may also comprise devices that communicate with inputs or outputs, such as a short- range transceiver (RFID, Bluetooth, etc.), a telephonic interface, a cellular communication port, a router, or other types of network communication equipment. I/O device 306 may be internal to computing device 300, or may be external and connected wirelessly or via connection cable, such as through a universal serial bus port.

[00047] When computing device 300 is in operation, processor 302 is configured to execute software stored within memory 304, to communicate data to and from memory 304, and to generally control operations of computing device 300 pursuant to the software. The system 100 and operating system 312, in whole or in part, may be read by processor 302, buffered within processor 302, and then executed.

[00048] In the context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” may be any means that can store, communicate, propagate, or transport data objects for use by or in connection with the healthcare status identification system. The computer readable medium may be for example, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, propagation medium, or any other device with similar functionality. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: an electrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires, a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical). Note that the computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and stored in a computer memory. The healthcare status identification system can be embodied in any type of computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system or apparatus, such as a computer.

[00049] For purposes of connecting to other computing devices, computing device 300 is equipped with network communication equipment and circuitry. In a preferred embodiment, the network communication equipment includes a network card such as an Ethernet card, or a wireless connection card. In a preferred network environment, each of the plurality of computing devices 300 on the network is configured to use the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate with one another. It will be understood, however, that a variety of network protocols could also be employed, such as IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi, address resolution protocol ARP, spanning- tree protocol STP, or fiber-distributed data interface FDDI. It will also be understood that while a preferred embodiment of the invention is for each computing device 300 to have a broadband or wireless connection to the Internet (such as DSL, Cable, Wireless, T-l, T-3, OC3 or satellite, etc.), the principles of the invention are also practicable with a dialup connection through a standard modem or other connection means. Wireless network connections are also contemplated, such as wireless Ethernet, satellite, infrared, radio frequency, Bluetooth, near field communication, and cellular networks.

[00050] Any process descriptions or blocks in figures should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process, and alternate implementations are included within the scope of the embodiments of the invention in which functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art.

[00051] It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the invention are possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the invention without substantially departing from the spirit and principles of the invention. All such modifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the invention and protected by the following claims.

Claims

1. A healthcare status identification system comprising: a processor; and a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor responsive to a healthcare status verification event associated with an individual and following a verification of an identity of the individual, cause the processor to: access an entry associated with the individual in a healthcare status database, wherein the healthcare status database comprises a plurality of different healthcare status entries from a plurality of different testing sources, responsive to the accessed entry associated with the individual being indicative of a first test result for a medical condition, cause a first healthcare status identifier to be communicated, wherein the first healthcare status identifier is associated with participating in an activity, and responsive to the accessed entry associated with the individual being indicative of a second, different test result for the medical condition, cause a second, different healthcare status identifier to be communicated, wherein the second, different healthcare status identifier is not associated with participating in the activity.

2. The healthcare status identification system of Claim 1, wherein the verification of the identity of the individual occurs in association with data received from an individual identification verification system.

3. The healthcare status identification system of Claim 1, wherein the memory device stores a plurality of further instructions that, when executed by the processor responsive to the healthcare status verification event associated with the individual and following a failure to verify the identity of the individual, cause the processor to cause a healthcare status verification denial to be communicated.

4. The healthcare status identification system of Claim 1, wherein the entry associated with the individual comprises healthcare information.

5. The healthcare status identification system of Claim 1, wherein at least one of the first healthcare status identifier and the second, different healthcare status identifier is communicated to a mobile device associated with the individual.

6. The healthcare status identification system of Claim 1, wherein at least one of the first healthcare status identifier and the second, different healthcare status identifier is communicated to an entity associated with the healthcare status verification event.

7. The healthcare status identification system of Claim 1, wherein the communication of the first healthcare status identifier results in a creation of a machine-readable code associated with the first test result for the medical condition.

8. The healthcare status identification system of Claim 1, wherein the communication of the first healthcare status identifier results in a creation of an electronic ticket associated with the first test result for the medical condition.

9. A healthcare status identification system comprising: a processor; and a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor responsive to a request of a batch of healthcare statuses associated with a plurality of individuals, cause the processor to: for each of the plurality of individuals, access an entry associated with that individual in a healthcare status database, wherein the healthcare status database comprises a plurality of different healthcare status entries from a plurality of different testing sources, cause a batch verification of a first healthcare status entry to be communicated for each of the plurality of individuals associated with the first healthcare status entry in the healthcare status database, and for each of the plurality of individuals associated with a second, different healthcare status entry in the healthcare status database, do not cause any verification of the first healthcare status entry to be communicated.

10. The healthcare status identification system of Claim 9, wherein the request of the batch of healthcare statuses associated with the plurality of individuals occurs in association with a component of a third-party system and the batch verification is communicated to the component of the third-party system.

11. The healthcare status identification system of Claim 10, wherein the component of the third-party system comprises any of: a component of an airline boarding system and a component of a venue ticketing system.

12. The healthcare status identification system of Claim 9, wherein the batch verification of the first healthcare status entry is associated with permitted access to an event.

13. A method of operating a healthcare status identification system, the method comprising: responsive to a healthcare status verification event associated with an individual and following a verification of an identity of the individual: accessing, by a processor, an entry associated with the individual in a healthcare status database, wherein the healthcare status database comprises a plurality of different healthcare status entries from a plurality of different testing sources, responsive to the accessed entry associated with the individual being indicative of a first test result for a medical condition, communicating a first healthcare status identifier, wherein the first healthcare status identifier is associated with participating in an activity, and responsive to the accessed entry associated with the individual being indicative of a second, different test result for the medical condition, communicating a second, different healthcare status identifier, wherein the second, different healthcare status identifier is not associated with participating in the activity.

14. The method of Claim 13, wherein the verification of the identity of the individual occurs in association with data received from an individual identification verification system.

15. The method of Claim 13, further comprising, responsive to the healthcare status verification event associated with the individual and following a failure to verify the identity of the individual, communicating a healthcare status verification denial.

16. The method of Claim 13, wherein the entry associated with the individual comprises healthcare information.

17. The method of Claim 13, wherein at least one of the first healthcare status identifier and the second, different healthcare status identifier is communicated to a mobile device associated with the individual.

18. The method of Claim 13, wherein at least one of the first healthcare status identifier and the second, different healthcare status identifier is communicated to an entity associated with the healthcare status verification event.

19. The method of Claim 13, wherein the communication of the first healthcare status identifier results in a creation of a machine-readable code associated with the first test result for the medical condition.

20. The method of Claim 13, wherein the communication of the first healthcare status identifier results in a creation of an electronic ticket associated with the first test result for the medical condition.