Abstract: Apparatus and methods relating to a memory storing, for a population having different medical treatments, each member of the population's medical treatment data for at least one of a disease, an ailment, and a disability and corresponding cost data for the medical treatment; a digital computer, which: accesses the memory to obtain the stored data and then processes the stored data, including: grouping the data according to types of the medical treatments received to produce groupings for each said at least one of the disease, the ailment, and the disability; computing, from the groupings of the types of treatments received, to produce a measure of comparative cost effectiveness of the medical treatments; and applying the measure to the population produce a comparative effectiveness of the medical treatments; generating output which includes the produced the comparative effectiveness of the medical treatments; and an output device which disseminates the output.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and article, illustratively as a method of using an apparatus to computer-process digital data to produce, store, and disseminate output related to medical or health information.

Abstract: A process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, and improvements, illustratively as method of using a machine, the method including: storing data of a population in memory; computing, by a computer accessing the data stored in the memory, a probability of at least one future medical treatment needed by at least one individual having data in the data of a population; ascribing, by the computer applying the computed probabilities, each said individual with one of a plurality of risk stratifications for each said future medical treatment; and producing, by the computer communicating to an output device, output including at least one said ascribed individual in association with the one of the risk stratifications. The method can also include forming, by the computer accessing the data stored in the memory, an association of travel by an individual and a health consequence as a result of the travel by the individual; and generating, at the output device, output including the association.

Abstract: A method for establishing certifiable patient informed consent for a medical procedure, where, in one embodiment, the patient interacts with a video training system until mastery of all required information is successfully achieved. Training techniques which permit elicitation of measurable behaviors from a patient as a guide to discerning the level of knowledge of the patient are utilized. Certification is only granted when the measurable behavior approximately coincide with the legal and medical standards for establishing informed consent. The system is capable of adapting to various medical procedures, as well as various patient attitudes and knowledge bases, while still maintaining a level of consistency throughout. In one embodiment, a minimum probability of understanding may be preset, and the training procedure will continue until the actual statistical probability of understanding is at least equal to the preset minimum.

Abstract: A method for establishing certifiable patient informed consent for a medical procedure, where, in one embodiment, the patient interacts with a video training system until mastery of all required information is successfully achieved. Training techniques which permit elicitation of measurable behaviors from a patient as a guide to discerning the level of knowledge of the patient are utilized. Certification is only granted when the measurable behavior approximately coincide with the legal and medical standards for establishing informed consent. The system is capable of adapting to various medical procedures, as well as various patient attitudes and knowledge bases, while still maintaining a level of consistency throughout. In one embodiment, a minimum probability of understanding may be preset, and the training procedure will continue until the actual statistical probability of understanding is at least equal to the preset minimum.

Abstract: A method for establishing certifiable patient informed consent for a medical procedure, where, in one embodiment, the patient interacts with a video training system until mastery of all required information is successfully achieved. Training techniques which permit elicitation of measurable behaviors from a patient as a guide to discerning the level of knowledge of the patient are utilized. Certification is only granted when the measurable behavior approximately coincide with the legal and medical standards for establishing informed consent. The system is capable of adapting to various medical procedures, as well as various patient attitudes and knowledge bases, while still maintaining a level of consistency throughout. In one embodiment, a minimum probability of understanding may be preset, and the training procedure will continue until the actual statistical probability of understanding is at least equal to the preset minimum.

Abstract: A method for establishing certifiable patient informed consent for a medical procedure, where, in one embodiment, the patient interacts with a video training system until mastery of all required information is successfully achieved. Training techniques which permit elicitation of measurable behaviors from a patient as a guide to discerning the level of knowledge of the patient are utilized. Certification is only granted when the measurable behavior approximately coincide with the legal and medical standards for establishing informed consent. The system is capable of adapting to various medical procedures, as well as various patient attitudes and knowledge bases, while still maintaining a level of consistency throughout. In one embodiment, a minimum probability of understanding may be preset, and the training procedure will continue until the actual statistical probability of understanding is at least equal to the preset minimum.

Abstract: A method for establishing certifiable patient informed consent for a medical procedure, where, in one embodiment, the patient interacts with a video training system until mastery of all required information is successfully achieved. Training techniques which permit elicitation of measurable behaviors from a patient as a guide to discerning the level of knowledge of the patient are utilized. Certification is only granted when the measurable behavior approximately coincide with the legal and medical standards for establishing informed consent. The system is capable of adapting to various medical procedures, as well as various patient attitudes and knowledge bases, while still maintaining a level of consistency throughout. In one embodiment, a minimum probability of understanding may be preset, and the training procedure will continue until the actual statistical probability of understanding is at least equal to the preset minimum.