ASSOCIATINGLOCATIONSWITHHEALTHCAREEVENTS
ABSTRACT
Thedisclosedsubjectmatterrelatestocomputerimplementedmethodsfor
associatinglocationswithhealthcareevents.Inoneaspect,amethodincludesreceiving
locationdatafromalocationawareclientdevice.Thelocationdataincludeslatitudeand
longitudeinformation.Themethodfurtherincludesdetermining,basedonthereceived
locationdata,aroutinetravelpatternofauserassociatedwiththelocationawareclient
device.Themethodfurtherincludesdetectingananomalyintheroutinetravelpattern.
Themethodfurtherincludesdetectingahealthcareevent.Thehealthcareeventcanbea
visittoahealthcarefacilityand/orahealthcaretransaction.Themethodfurtherincludes
correlatingtheanomalyintheroutinetravelpatternoftheuserwiththehealthcareevent.
Themethodfurtherincludesassociatingoneormorehealthcareeventlocationstothe
healthcareeventbasedonthecorrelation.
PROBLEMSTATEMENT
Healthcareeventsinonelocationcanaffectotherlocations.Asanexample,an
infectiousdiseasecanspreadfromonelocationtoanother.Asanotherexample,invisible
noxiousgasesemittedinonelocationcanspreadtoanotherlocation.Trackingthe
geographicoccurrenceandspreadofhealthcareevents(e.g.,illnesses)canleadtoagreater
understandingoftheunderlyingcauses,andthereforecanbebeneficialintakingeffective
countermeasures(e.g.,preventingfutureoutbreaks).Manyapproacheshavebeentakento
trackanddisplaytheoccurrenceandspreadofhealthcareevents.Forexample,theCenter
forDiseaseControlandPrevention(CDC)providesaweeklyheatmapofinfluenza
activity,basedonweeklyinfluenzaactivityestimatesreportedbystateandterritorial
epidemiologists.Becausesuchreportsarecreatedbasedoninformationsuppliedbya
numberofmedicalsources,thereportsareinherentlyoutofdate.Bythetimethedatais
received,compiled,andpresented,thatdatamaynolongeraccuratelyreflecttheactual
spreadofthedisease.
Anotherapproachintrackinganddisplayingtheoccurrenceandspreadofdiseases
hasbeentorelyoninformationvoluntarilysuppliedbyconsumers.Thisapproachhasits
ownweaknesses.Forexample,inorderforthisapproachtosucceed,alargenumberof
individuals
mustaffirmativelysupplyinformationrelatedtotheoccurrenceofthedisease.
Furthermore,withoutanincentive,mostpeoplemaynotparticipateinsucha
timeconsumingactivity.
Thusitmaybedesirabletohaveasystemandmethodforautomaticallycollecting
anddisplayingtheoccurrenceandspreadofillnesses.Thisdocumentdescribessystems
andtechniquesforassociatinggeographicallocationswithdiseases.
DETAILEDDESCRIPTION
Theproposedcomputerimplementedsystemandmethodprovidesforassociating
locationswithhealthcareevents.Thesystemworksinavarietyofways.Inoneaspectof
thesubjecttechnology,thesystemreceiveslocationdata(e.g.GPScoordinates)froma
locationawareclientdevice.Thesystemanalyzesthereceivedlocationdatatodetermine
aroutinetravelpatternofauserassociatedwiththelocationawareclientdevice.The
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systemdetectsananomaly(e.g.,stayinghomeonaworkday,notgoingtoworkona
workday)intheusersroutinetravelpattern.Thesystemalsodetectsahealthcareevent.
Thehealthcareeventcanbeavisittoahealthcarefacility(e.g.,adoctorsoffice,ahospital,
apharmacy,anurgentcareclinic).Thesystemcorrelatestheanomalyintheroutinetravel
patternwiththehealthcareevent.Basedonthecorrelation,thesystemcanassociateoneor
morelocations(healthcareeventlocations)withthehealthcareevent.Thehealthcare
eventlocationscanbetheusershome,theusersworkplace,theuserscurrentlocation,or
alocationthattheuserhasvisitedwithinacertaintimeperiodbeforeand/orafterthe
occurrenceofthehealthcareevent.
Informationcollectedfromapluralityofuserscanthenbeusedtounderstandthe
occurrence,location,andspreadofdiseases.Theinformationcanalsobesuperimposedon
amaptovisuallyrepresenttheoccurrence,location,andspreadofdiseases.
FIG.1illustratesanexampleofanarchitecture100forassociatinglocationswith
healthcareevents.Thearchitecture100includesclientdevices110andservers170
connectedoveranetwork140.
Theclientdevices110canbe,forexample,mobilecomputers,tabletcomputers,
mobiledevices(e.g.,asmartphoneorPDA),desktopcomputers,settopboxes(e.g.,fora
television),videogameconsoles,navigationdevices(e.g.,GPSbasednavigationdevices)
oranyotherdeviceshavingappropriateprocessingcapabilities,communications
capabilities,andmemory.Eachclientdevice110isconfiguredtoincludeaninputdevice,
andanoutputdevicetodisplayinformationtotheuser.
Theclientdevices110canbeconnectedtothenetwork140.Thenetwork140can
includeanyoneormoreofapersonalareanetwork(PAN),alocalareanetwork(LAN),a
campusareanetwork(CAN),ametropolitanareanetwork(MAN),awideareanetwork
(WAN),abroadbandnetwork(BBN),theInternet,andthelike.Further,thenetwork140
caninclude,butisnotlimitedto,anyoneormoreofthefollowingnetworktopologies,
includingabusnetwork,astarnetwork,aringnetwork,ameshnetwork,astarbus
network,treeorhierarchicalnetwork,andthelike.
Someoftheclientdevices110canbelocationaware.Thetermlocationawareas
usedhereinencompassesitsplainandordinarymeaning,including,butnotlimitedtoany
devicewhichiscapableofdeterminingitslocation.Forexample,asmartphone110L
illustratedinFIG.1iscapableofdeterminingitslocationbasedonaGPSsignalreceived
fromGPSsatellites120.Thatis,thesmartphone110Lmaybeconsideredalocationaware
clientdevice.
Locationawarenessmaybeachievedthroughavarietyoflocationsensing
techniques.Forexample,thesmartphone110Lmaybecapableofdeterminingitslocation
basedontechniquesinvolvingmultilateration.Thelocationsensingtechniquesmaybe
basedonand/orappliedtocommunicationssignalsreceivedfromcommunicationstowers
122.Similarly,thesmartphone110Lmaybecapableofdeterminingitslocationbasedon
IPgeolocationtechniques.
Whilesomeoftheclients110(e.g.,thesmartphone110L)maybelocationaware,
otherclients110maynotbelocationaware.Forexample,iftheclientdevicedoesnot
havetherequisitehardware(e.g.,aGPSreceiver)ortherequisitesoftware(e.g.,for
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performingIPgeolocationtechniques),theclientdevicemaybenotbelocationaware.As
anexample,adesktopcomputer110NillustratedinFIG.1maynotbelocationaware.
Theservers170canbeforexample,standaloneservers,sharedservers,dedicated
servers,cluster/gridservers(e.g.,aserverfarm),orcloudservers.Eachoftheservers170
mayincludeoneormoreprocessors,communicationsmodules,andmemory.Theservers
170maybeconfiguredtodistributeworkload(e.g.,forloadbalancing)acrossmultiple
servers.Theservers170areconfiguredtoreceivelocationdatafromlocationawareclient
devices,suchasthelocationawaresmartphone110L.Thelocationdataincludeslatitude
andlongitudeinformation.
Itshouldbenotedthatregardlessofhowlocationinformationisobtained,
appropriateeffortsmaybeundertakentoinformtheuseroftheuseofthatinformation,and
toprotecttheusersprivacyrights.
Forexample,duringtheinitialsignupprocess,anexplanatorynoticemaybe
providedtotheuser,providingnotificationoftheuseoflocationinformation.
Furthermore,inexampleaspects,theusermayberequestedtoprovideexplicitconsentso
thatlocationinformationisnotusedunlesstheusergrantspermission.Additionally,the
usermaybenotifiedthattheusermaywithdrawconsentatanytime.
Aftertheinitialsignupprocess,ausermayberemindedthattheuserslocation
informationisbeingused.Forexample,theusermaybeprovidedperiodicreminders(e.g.,
viaemail)oftheuseoftheuserslocationinformation.Similarly,avisualindicator,e.g.,a
dot,anarrow,acompass,abar,orthelike,maybedisplayedwithinagraphicaluser
interfacetoindicatetotheuserthattheuserslocationinformationisbeingused.
Inadditiontotheexamplesprovidedabove,stepsmaybetakentoanonymize
and/orencryptuserspecificinformationsuchasIPaddresses,cookieIDs,location
informationandthelike.Similarly,effortsmaybeundertakentolimittheretentionof,and
toallowtheusertomodify(e.g.,alter,delete),theuserslocationinformation.
Insituationsinwhichsystemsdiscussedherecollectpersonalinformationabout
users,ormaymakeuseofpersonalinformation,theusersmaybeprovidedwithan
opportunitytocontrolwhetherprogramsorfeaturescollecttheirspecificuserinformation
(e.g.,informationaboutauserssocialnetwork,socialactionsoractivities,profession,a
userspreferences,orauserscurrentlocation),ortocontrolweatherand/orhowtoreceive
contentfromthecontentserverthatmaybemorerelevanttotheuser.Inaddition,certain
datamaybetreatedinoneormorewaysbeforeitisstoredorused,sothatpersonally
identifiableinformationisremovedorobscured.Forexample,ausersidentitymaybe
treatedsothatnopersonallyidentifiableinformationcanbedeterminedfortheuser,ora
usersgeographiclocationmaybegeneralized(suchastoacity,Zipcode,orstatelevel),
sothataparticularlocationofausercannotbedetermined.Thus,theusermayhave
controloverhowinformationiscollectedabouttheuserandusedbyanysystemdisclosed
herein.
FIG.2isablockdiagram200illustratinganexampleofalocationawareclient
device110Landaserver170inthearchitecture100ofFIG.1accordingtocertainaspects
ofthedisclosure.
Thelocationawareclientdevice110Lincludesaninputdevice202,anoutput
device204,aprocessor220,acommunicationsmodule222,andmemory240.Theinput
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device202canbeatouchscreen,amouse,akeyboard,oranyotherdevicetoenableauser
tosupplyinput206totheclientdevice110L.Theoutputdevice204canbeadisplay
screen.Input206receivedviatheinputdevice202canbeprocessedlocallyontheclient
device110and/ortheserver170.
Thelocationawareclientdevice110Lisconnectedtothenetwork140viaa
communicationsmodule222.Thecommunicationsmodule222isconfiguredtointerface
withthenetwork140tosendandreceiveinformation,suchasdata(e.g.,locationdata
246),requests,responses,andcommandstootherdevicesonthenetwork140.The
communicationsmodule222canbe,forexample,amodemorEthernetcard.
The
memory
240includessoftwareinstructions242anddata244toenable
interactionwiththeserver170.Thememory240includesagraphicaluserinterface250
whichallowsausertointeractwiththelocationawareclientdevice110L,andcanbeused
todisplayinformationtotheuser.Thegraphicaluserinterface250maybeinstalled
locallyatthelocationawareclientdevice110Land/ordownloadedfromtheserver170.
Thelocationawaremodule224iscapableofdeterminingitsgeographiclocation
usinganyoneormoretechniques.Forexample,thelocationawaremodule224mayusea
GPSsignalreceivedfromGPSsatellites120todetermineitslocation.Similarly,the
locationawaremodule224mayrelyonlocationsensingtechniques(e.g.,basedand/or
appliedoncommunicationssignalsreceivedfromcommunicationstowers122)to
determineitslocation.Thelocationawaremodule224canprovidelocationdata246(e.g.,
latitudeandlongitudeinformation)totheserver170.
Theserver170includesamemory280,aprocessor260,andacommunications
module262.Thememory280includessoftwareinstructionsthatcanbereadbythe
processor260toimplementahealthcareeventmodule282forassociatinglocationswith
healthcareevents.Thehealthcareeventmodule282receiveslocationdata246fromthe
locationawareclientdevice110L.Thelocationdata246includeslatitudeandlongitude
information.
Thehealthcareeventmodule282determinesbasedonthereceivedlocationdata
246,aroutinetravelpatternofauserassociatedwiththelocationawareclientdevice
110L.Thehealthcareeventmodule282detectsananomalyintheroutinetravelpatternof
theuser.Thehealthcareeventmodule282detectsahealthcareevent.Thehealthcare
eventcanbeavisittoahealthcarefacilityand/orahealthcaretransaction.
Thehealthcarefacilitycanbeahospital,adoctorsoffice,anurgentcareclinic,a
pharmacy,avitaminstore,oranylocationwhereausercanreceivehealthrelatedservices
and/orproducts.Thehealthcaretransactioncanbeanytypeofinteractionorexchange
withthehealthproductand/orserviceprovider.Examplesofahealthcaretransactioncan
includemakingapurchaseat,orto,ahealthcarefacility,havingaprescriptionfilled,
makinginsurancecopayment,oranyotherinteractionwhichcanbedetectedbasedon
systemaccessibleinformation.
Withregardtoapaymentmadetoahealthcarefacility,itshouldbenotedthatthe
paymentmayoccurand/orbedetectedatatimewhentheusermaynotbephysically
presentatthehealthcarefacility.Thedetectedpaymentmaystillbeconsidereda
healthcaretransaction.
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Thehealthcareeventmodule282correlatestheanomalyintheroutinetravel
patternoftheuser,withthehealthcareevent.Basedonthecorrelation,thehealthcare
eventmodule282associatesoneormorehealthcareeventlocationstothehealthcareevent.
Thehealthcareeventmodule282stores(e.g.,asdata284inthememory284)the
healthcareeventandtheassociatedhealthcareeventlocation(s).
Theserver170isconnectedtothenetwork140viaacommunicationsmodule262.
Thecommunicationsmodule262isconfiguredtointerfacewiththenetwork140tosend
andreceiveinformation,suchasdata(e.g.,locationdata246),requests,responses,and
commandstootherdevicesonthenetwork140.Thecommunicationsmodule262canbe,
forexample,amodemorEthernetcard.
Theprocessor260oftheserver170isconfiguredtoexecuteinstructions,suchas
instructionsphysicallycodedintotheprocessor260,instructionsreadfromthememory
280,oracombinationofboth.Asanexample,theprocessor260oftheserver170
executesinstructionsforassociatinglocationswithhealthcareevents.
Oncetheinstructionsfromthememory280areloaded,theprocessor260is
configuredtoreceivelocationdata(e.g.,246)fromalocationawareclientdevice(e.g.,
110L).Thelocationdateincludeslatitudeandlongitudeinformation.Theprocessor260is
furtherconfiguredtodeterminebasedonthereceivedlocationdata(e.g.,246),aroutine
travelpatternoftheuserassociatedwiththelocationawareclientdevice(e.g.,110L).The
processor260isfurtherconfiguredtodetectananomalyintheroutinetravelpattern.The
processor260isfurtherconfiguredtodetectahealthcareevent.Thehealthcareeventcan
beavisittoahealthcarefacilityand/orhealthcaretransaction.Theprocessor260isfurther
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configuredtocorrelatetheanomalyintheroutinetravelpatternoftheuserwiththe
healthcareevent.Theprocessor260isfurtherconfiguredtoassociateatleastone
healthcareeventlocationtothehealthcareevent,basedonthecorrelation.Theprocessor
260isfurtherconfiguredtostorethehealthcareeventandtheassociatedhealthcare
location(s).
FIG.3illustratesanexampleofaprocess300forassociatinglocationswith
healthcareevents.Althoughprocess300isdescribedhereinwithreferencetothesystems
ofFIGS.1and2,process300isnotlimitedtosuch,andcanbeperformedbyothersystems
and/orconfigurations.
Instep310,locationdata246isreceivedfromalocationawareclientdevice110L.
Thelocationdataincludeslatitudeandlongitudeinformation.Locationdatamayalso
includetimeinformation.Thetimeinformationmaybethetimeatwhichthe
locationawareclientdevice110Lisataparticularlocation.Iftimeinformationisnot
includedinthelocationdata246,atimeatwhichthelocationdata246isreceivedbythe
server170isassociatedwiththatlocationdata246.
Asausertravelsfromonelocationtoanother,hislocationawareclientdevice
110Lcandetectitscurrentlocationataparticulartime.Thiscurrentlocationisreceived
bythesystemaslocationdata246,whichmayincludelatitude,longitude,andtime
information.
Thelocationdata246maybereceivedviathenetwork140asitisgenerated.
Alternatively,thelocationawareclientdevice110Lmaystorethelocationdata246locally
andtransmititinbatches.Forexample,alocationawareclientdevice110Lmaytransmit
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thelocationdata246atintervals.Similarly,thelocationawareclientdevice110Lmay
transmitlocationdata246basedonnetworkconditions.Forexample,thelocationaware
clientdevice110Lmaytransmitlocationdata246whenanetworkconnectionexistsand/or
ismoresuitablefortransmissionoflocationdata246.
Intheeventthatalocationawareclientdevice110Lcannotconnectdirectlytothe
network140,thelocationdata246canbereviewedviaanintermediatedevice.Asan
example,locationdata246maybereceivedfromaGPSbasednavigationdeviceinstalled
inanautomobile,viaanintermediatedevicesuchasasmartphone,tabletcomputer,laptop
computer,desktopcomputer,andsoon.
Instep320,basedonthereceivedlocationdata246,aroutinetravelpatternofa
userassociatedwiththelocationawareclientdevice110Lisdetermined.Inorderto
determinetheroutinetravelpattern,thereceivedlocationdata246isanalyzedinlightof
thetimewhenthedatawascollectedand/orreceivedbythesystem.Thatis,byanalyzing
theuserslocationatparticulartimes,theusersroutinetravelpatterncanbedetermined.
Forexample,ifthelocationdata246indicatesthattheusertravelsfromanorigin
locationtoadestinationlocationonweekdaymornings,andthenremainsatthat
destinationlocationforseveralhoursduringtheday,thisinformationmaybetreatedasan
indicationthattheoriginlocationistheusersresidenceandthedestinationlocationisthe
usersworkplace.
Similarly,ifthelocationdata246indicatesthattheusertravelsfromanorigin
locationtoadestinationlocationonweekdayevenings,andthenremainsatthatdestination
locationforseveralhoursduringthenight,thisinformationmaybetreatedasanindication
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thattheoriginlocationistheusersworkplaceandthedestinationlocationistheusers
residence.
Inanalyzingroutinetravelpatterns,particularemphasisisplacedonfrequently
visitedlocations.Furthermore,adesignationisassociatedwiththefrequentlyvisited
locations.Intheprecedingexample,thefrequentlyvisitedlocationsweredesignatedasthe
usersresidence,andtheusersworkplace.
Informationinferredabouttheusermaybesupplementedorsubstitutedwith
informationreceivedfromtheuser.Forexample,inaddition,orasanalternativeto
inferringadesignationforalocation,adesignationcanbereceivedfromtheuser.For
example,theusercanspecifythelocationsastheirresidence,theirworkplace,andsoon.
Similarly,inaddition,orasanalternativetodeterminingauserspresencebasedon
locationdata246receivedfromtheuserslocationawareclientdevice110L,theusermay
announcetheirpresenceataparticularlocation.Forexample,theusermayperforma
checkinassociatedwithaparticularlocation(e.g.,theusersresidence,theusers
workplace).Thetermcheckinasusedhereinencompassesitsplainandordinary
meaning,including,butnotlimitedtoanytypeofindicationand/orannouncementofthe
userspresenceataparticularlocation.
Tominimizethelongtermimpactofafrequentlyvisitedlocation,thesignificance
oflocationdata246reducesovertime.Thisisreferredtoasthetimedecayaspectof
locationdata246.Thus,ifforexample,theusermovesfromoneresidencetoanother,the
routinetravelpatternscanbeupdatedtoreflecttheusersnewroutinetravelpatterns.
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Instep330,ananomalyisdetectedintheroutinetravelpattern.Anydeviation
fromtheroutinetravelpatternmaybeconsideredananomaly.Asanexample,takinga
newroutetoafrequentlyvisitedlocationand/ortravelingtoanewlocationmaybe
consideredananomaly.
Nottravelingtoafrequentlyvisitedlocationmaybeconsideredananomaly.For
example,auserwhousuallytravelsfromhometoworkoneveryworkday,stayshomeona
particularworkday,theusersstayinghomemaybeconsideredananomaly.
Anyinformationthatisaccessiblebythesystemmayalsobeconsidered.System
accessibleinformationmayincludepublicholidays,localnews,informationprovidedon
employerwebsites,schoolclosings,weatherforecastsand/oradvisories,andsoon.
Furthermore,systemaccessibleinformationmayincludeauser'sfinancialtransactions,
addressbook,socialnetworks,email,phonecall,text,andwebbrowsinghistory.
Instep340ahealthcareeventisdetected.Thehealthcareeventcanbeavisittoa
healthcarefacilityand/orahealthcaretransaction.Thehealthcarefacilitycanbeahospital,
adoctor'soffice,anurgentcareclinic,apharmacy,avitaminstore,oranylocationwherea
usercanreceivehealthrelatedservices,and/orproducts.Thehealthcaretransactioncanbe
anytypeofinteractionorexchangewiththehealthproductand/orserviceprovider.
Examplesofahealthcaretransactioncanincludemakingapurchaseatahealthcarefacility,
havingaprescriptionfilled,makinginsurancecopayment,oranyotherinteractionwhich
canbedetectedbasedonsystemaccessibleinformation.
Instep350,theanomalyintheroutinetravelpatternoftheuserandthehealthcare
eventarecorrelated.Forexample,iftheanomalyisauserdoesnotgotowork(e.g.,the
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userstayshomefromwork),andtheuseralsovisitsadoctor'soffice,thisinformationmay
betreatedasanindicationthattheusermaynotbefeelingwell.
Theanomalyandthehealthcareeventarecorrelatedtominimizefalsepositives.
Forexample,ausermaynotgotowork(e.g.takeavacationday)totakehischildrentoan
amusementpark.Notgoingtoworkmaybedetectedasananomalyintheroutinetravel
pattern.However,becauseahealthcareevent(e.g.,avisittoadoctor'soffice)maynotbe
detected,therequisitecorrelationmaynotbepresent.
Inperformingthecorrelation,thedurationofthehealthcareeventisalsoconsidered
withinthecontextofalocation.Thatis,ahealthcareeventofaparticulardurationatone
locationmaybetreateddifferentlywhenconsideredinthecontextofadifferentlocation.
Asanexample,ifauservisitsadoctorsofficeforafewminutes,therelativelyshort
durationofthevisitmaybetreatedasanindicationthattheusermaynothavehadan
appointment,andthusmaynotbesick.However,iftheuservisitsapharmacyforafew
minutes,therelativelyshortdurationofthevisitmaybesufficienttoconductahealthcare
transaction(e.g.,haveaprescriptionfilled).Consequently,thevisittothepharmacymay
betreatedasanindicationthattheusermaynotbefeelingwell.
Inperformingthecorrelation,theusersroutinetravelpatternmaybeanalyzedfor
indicationsofarepeatingpatternofhealthcareevents.Asanexample,ifauservisitsa
hospitaleveryday,theregularityoftheusersvisitsmaybetreatedasanindicationthatthe
usermaybeemployedatthehospital.Asanotherexample,iftheuservisitsthehospital
foranhoureachday,theregularityofthevisitmaybetreatedasanindicationthattheuser
maybevisitingsomeone.Incontrast,iftheuserstaysovernightatahospital,basedonthe
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irregularityand/ortheextendeddurationofthevisit,thisinformationmaybetreatedasan
indicationthattheusermaynotbefeelingwell.
Inperformingthecorrelation,thelocationsvisitedpriortoand/orsubsequenttothe
healthcareeventarealsoconsidered.Forexample,ifauserstopsatapharmacyforafew
minutes,ahealthcareeventmaybedetected.However,iftheuserthenproceedstogoto
theusersworkplace,thisinformationmaybetreatedasanindicationthattheusermay
havestoppedforareasonotherthannotfeelingwell.Forexample,theusermayhave
stoppedtopurchasesoda,havearoutineprescriptionfilled,orhaveaprescriptionfilledfor
apersonotherthantheuser(e.g.,theuserschildren).
Instep360,oneormorelocationsareassociatedwiththehealthcareevent,based
onthecorrelation.Locationsassociatedwiththehealthcareeventmaybereferredtoas
healthcareeventlocations.Thehealthcareeventlocationsassociatedwithaparticular
healthcareeventmayincludetheuser'sresidence,workplace,and/orcurrentlocation.
Furthermore,anylocationvisitedbytheuserwithinacertaintimeperiodbeforeand/or
afterthehealthcareeventmayalsobeassociatedwiththehealthcareevent.
Thehealthcareeventandtheassociatedhealthcareeventlocation(s)maybe
aggregatedand/orrepresentedvisually.Forexample,thehealthcarelocationsmaybe
superimposedonamap.Asanotherexample,awarmercolor(e.g.,red,orange)maybe
associatedwithanareawithalargernumberofhealthcareevents,andacoolercolor(e.g.,
blue,purple)maybeassociatedwithanareawithasmallernumberofhealthcareevents.
Suchavisualrepresentationmaybereferredtoasaheatmap.Theheatmapmaybeused
toconveythelocationand/orspreadofillnesses.
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DRAWINGS
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