Abstract: An internet and/or intranet based database search system and method for conducting searches of highly confidential records such as individual patient medical records and to automate the process of securing required approvals to make such records available to a properly authorized and authenticated requesting party. The system's central premise is that the patient has a fundamental right to the confidentiality of their personal medical records and should control that right through specific, informed consent each time that a party requests to receive them. It reinforces the widely held conception of privacy in general as well as of the sanctity of the doctor/patient relationship by granting the doctor the right, subject to the patient's express permission, to initiate a search request.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system and method for scheduling appointments at any time with a professional, such as a doctor, dentist, veterinarian, or the like, or a professional service, such as a medical testing facility and the like, even when the office of the professional or professional service is closed. The system and method relate to an asynchronous Internet, intranet, and extranet-compatible 24-hour appointment scheduling interface for making such appointments. As such, they support open-standards architecture, provide an interface for proprietary system architecture, permit off-line review and posting, permit access controls and virus protection, allow central scheduling without loss of distributed control, support encrypted messaging to ensure privacy, and include context-sensitive help.

Abstract: A system for the extraction of a hydrocarbon fuel from a hydrocarbon fuel-bearing ore comprising means for mining the ore, a plurality of portative retorts for processing the mined ore to produce a hydrocarbon fuel, means for transporting the mined ore to each of said retorts, means coupled to said transport means for regulating the amount of ore transported to a respective retort, and at least one storage device coupled to the retorts for collecting and storing the hydrocarbon fuel. Also disclosed is the method of extracting a hydrocarbon fuel from a hydrocarbon fuel-bearing ore comprising the steps of mining the ore, transporting the ore to a plurality of portative retorts in which the ore is processed to produce a hydrocarbon fuel fluid, and moving the retorts in consonance with movement of the mining of said ore.