Optimized drug supply logistical techniques

• US 10,566,087 B1
• Filed: 11/01/2018
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verity Solutions
• Original Assignee: Verity Solutions
• Inventors: Puckett, George
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilligan, Christopher L
• Application Number:
  US16/178,447
• Time in Patent Office: 474 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A facility for ordering drugs is described. For each of a number of different drugs, the facility maintains a single outpatient counter of administrations of the drug to outpatients that have not been used as a basis for reordering the drug. For a distinguished one of the drugs, based on the value of the counter of administrations of the distinguished drug, the facility places an order that reorders the distinguished drug at a discounted outpatient price level.

Claims

1. A computing system, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory having contents adapted to cause the computing system to, when the contents are executed by the at least one processor, perform a method, the method comprising;

maintaining, in the memory, a first indication represented as a first row in a database table, the first indication indicating a number of doses of a distinguished drug administered by a medical institution to outpatients that have not been used as a basis for ordering the distinguished drug at a discounted outpatient price level;

in response to each change to one or more database tables that indicate, at least in part, a current status of a plurality of drugs administered by the medical institution, causing automatic updating of the first indication by the at least one processor;

maintaining, in the memory, a second indication represented as a second row in a database table, the second indication indicating a number of doses of the distinguished drug administered by the medical institution to inpatients that have not been used as a basis for ordering the distinguished drug at a discounted inpatient price level;

in response to each change to the one or more database tables that indicate, at least in part, the current status of the plurality of drugs administered by the medical institution, causing automatic updating of the second indication by the at least one processor;

in response to determining, by the at least one processor, that a distinguished quantity of the distinguished drug should be ordered on behalf of the medical institution;

initializing, by the at least one processor, an empty set of planned orders for the distinguished drug;

initializing, by the at least one processor, a still-needed quantity of the distinguished drug to the distinguished quantity;

until the still-needed quantity is no larger than zero;

determining, by the at least one processor, whether the first indication indicates a number of doses exceeding a certain quantity in which the distinguished drug is available;

where the first indication indicates a number of doses at least as large as a certain quantity in which the distinguished drug is available, by the at least one processor performs;

identifying, among a plurality of suppliers, a supplier offering the certain quantity of the distinguished drug at the lowest discounted outpatient price;

adding to the set of planned orders a planned order for the certain quantity of the distinguished drug from the identified supplier at the identified supplier'"'"'s discounted outpatient price;

reducing the first indication by the certain quantity;

reducing the still-needed quantity by the certain quantity;

where (1) the first indication does not indicate a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity and (2) the second indication indicates a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity, by the at least one processor performs;

identifying, among the plurality of suppliers, a supplier offering the certain quantity of the distinguished drug at the lowest discounted inpatient price;

adding to the set of planned orders a planned order for the certain quantity of the distinguished drug from the identified supplier at the identified supplier'"'"'s discounted inpatient price;

reducing the second indication by the certain quantity;

reducing the still-needed quantity by the certain quantity;

where (1) the first indication does not indicate a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity and (2) the second indication does not indicate a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity, the at least one processor performs;

identifying, among the plurality of suppliers, a supplier offering the certain quantity of the distinguished drug at the lowest undiscounted price;

adding to the set of planned orders a planned order for the certain quantity of the distinguished drug from the identified supplier at the identified supplier'"'"'s undiscounted inpatient price;

reducing the still-needed quantity by the certain quantity; and

causing, by the at least one processor, the each of the planned orders of the set to be submitted to the corresponding supplier.

2. The computing system of claim 1, the method further comprising:

maintaining, in the memory, a list of administrations of the distinguished drug to outpatients that have not been used as a basis for reordering the distinguished drug at the discounted outpatient price level; and

in response to causing the orders of the set to be submitted;

for each order of the set that is at the identified supplier'"'"'s discounted outpatient price, the at least one processor performs;

selecting a number of administrations from the list maintained for the distinguished drug equal to the distinguished number of doses;

for each selected administration;

storing an indication that the selected administration was used as a basis for the submitted order; and

removing the selected administration from the list maintained for the distinguished drug.

3. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each value of dispensible drug identifier.

4. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each proprietary name.

5. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each nonproprietary name.

6. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each national drug code.

7. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each national package code.

8. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

maintaining, in a memory, a first indication represented as a first row in a database table, the first indication indicating a number of doses of a distinguished drug administered by a medical institution to outpatients that have not been used as a basis for ordering the distinguished drug at a discounted outpatient price level;

in response to each change to one or more database tables that indicate, at least in part, a current status of a plurality of drugs administered by the medical institution, causing automatic updating of the first indication by at least one processor;

maintaining, in the memory, a second indication represented as a second row in a database table, the second indication indicating a number of doses of the distinguished drug administered by the medical institution to inpatients that have not been used as a basis for ordering the distinguished drug at a discounted inpatient price level;

in response to each change to the one or more database tables that indicate, at least in part, the current status of the plurality of drugs administered by the medical institution, causing automatic updating of the second indication by the at least one processor;

in response to determining, by the at least one processor, that a distinguished quantity of the distinguished drug should be ordered on behalf of the medical institution;

initializing, by the at least one processor, an empty set of planned orders for the distinguished drug;

initializing, by the at least one processor, a still-needed quantity of the distinguished drug to the distinguished quantity;

until the still-needed quantity is no larger than zero;

determining, by the at least one processor, whether the first indication indicates a number of doses exceeding a certain quantity in which the distinguished drug is available;

where the first indication indicates a number of doses at least as large as a certain quantity in which the distinguished drug is available, the at least one processor performs;

identifying, among a plurality of suppliers, a supplier offering the certain quantity of the distinguished drug at the lowest discounted outpatient price;

adding to the set of planned orders a planned order for the certain quantity of the distinguished drug from the identified supplier at the identified supplier'"'"'s discounted outpatient price;

reducing the first indication by the certain quantity;

reducing the still-needed quantity by the certain quantity;

where (1) the first indication does not indicate a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity and (2) the second indication indicates a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity, the at least one processor performs;

identifying, among the plurality of suppliers, a supplier offering the certain quantity of the distinguished drug at the lowest discounted inpatient price;

adding to the set of planned orders a planned order for the certain quantity of the distinguished drug from the identified supplier at the identified supplier'"'"'s discounted inpatient price;

reducing the second indication by the certain quantity;

reducing the still-needed quantity by the certain quantity;

where (1) the first indication does not indicate a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity and (2) the second indication does not indicate a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity, the at least one processor performs;

identifying, among the plurality of suppliers, a supplier offering the certain quantity of the distinguished drug at the lowest undiscounted price;

adding to the set of planned orders a planned order for the certain quantity of the distinguished drug from the identified supplier at the identified supplier'"'"'s undiscounted inpatient price;

reducing the still-needed quantity by the certain quantity; and

causing, by the at least one processor, the each of the planned orders of the set to be submitted to the corresponding supplier.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

maintaining, in the memory, a list of administrations of the distinguished drug to outpatients that have not been used as a basis for reordering the distinguished drug at the discounted outpatient price level; and

in response to causing the orders of the set to be submitted;

for each order of the set that is at the identified supplier'"'"'s discounted outpatient price, the at least one processor performing;

selecting a number of administrations from the list maintained for the distinguished drug equal to the distinguished number of doses;

for each selected administration;

storing an indication that the selected administration was used as a basis for the submitted order; and

removing the selected administration from the list maintained for the distinguished drug.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each value of dispensible drug identifier.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each proprietary name.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each nonproprietary name.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each national drug code.

14. The method of claim 8 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each national package code.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing contents that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform actions comprising:

maintaining, in a memory, a first indication represented as a first row in a database table, the first indication indicating a number of doses of a distinguished drug administered by a medical institution to outpatients that have not been used as a basis for ordering the distinguished drug at a discounted outpatient price level;

in response to each change to one or more database tables that indicate, at least in part, a current status of a plurality of drugs administered by the medical institution, causing automatic updating of the first indication;

maintaining, in the memory, a second indication represented as a second row in a database table, the second indication indicating a number of doses of the distinguished drug administered by the medical institution to inpatients that have not been used as a basis for ordering the distinguished drug at a discounted inpatient price level;

in response to each change to the one or more database tables that indicate, at least in part, the current status of the plurality of drugs administered by the medical institution, causing automatic updating of the second indication;

in response to determining, that a distinguished quantity of the distinguished drug should be ordered on behalf of the medical institution;

initializing, an empty set of planned orders for the distinguished drug;

initializing, a still-needed quantity of the distinguished drug to the distinguished quantity;

until the still-needed quantity is no larger than zero;

determining, whether the first indication indicates a number of doses exceeding a certain quantity in which the distinguished drug is available;

where the first indication indicates a number of doses at least as large as a certain quantity in which the distinguished drug is available;

identifying, among a plurality of suppliers, a supplier offering the certain quantity of the distinguished drug at the lowest discounted outpatient price;

adding to the set of planned orders a planned order for the certain quantity of the distinguished drug from the identified supplier at the identified supplier'"'"'s discounted outpatient price;

reducing the first indication by the certain quantity;

reducing the still-needed quantity by the certain quantity;

where (1) the first indication does not indicate a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity and (2) the second indication indicates a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity;

identifying, among the plurality of suppliers, a supplier offering the certain quantity of the distinguished drug at the lowest discounted inpatient price;

adding to the set of planned orders a planned order for the certain quantity of the distinguished drug from the identified supplier at the identified supplier'"'"'s discounted inpatient price;

reducing the second indication by the certain quantity;

reducing the still-needed quantity by the certain quantity;

where (1) the first indication does not indicate a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity and (2) the second indication does not indicate a number of doses at least as large as the certain quantity;

identifying, among the plurality of suppliers, a supplier offering the certain quantity of the distinguished drug at the lowest undiscounted price;

adding to the set of planned orders a planned order for the certain quantity of the distinguished drug from the identified supplier at the identified supplier'"'"'s undiscounted inpatient price;

reducing the still-needed quantity by the certain quantity; and

causing the each of the planned orders of the set to be submitted to the corresponding supplier.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the actions further comprise:

maintaining, in the memory, a list of administrations of the distinguished drug to outpatients that have not been used as a basis for reordering the distinguished drug at the discounted outpatient price level; and

in response to causing the orders of the set to be submitted;

for each order of the set that is at the identified supplier'"'"'s discounted outpatient price;

selecting a number of administrations from the list maintained for the distinguished drug equal to the distinguished number of doses;

for each selected administration;

storing an indication that the selected administration was used as a basis for the submitted order; and

removing the selected administration from the list maintained for the distinguished drug.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each value of dispensible drug identifier.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each proprietary name.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each nonproprietary name.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each national drug code.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the maintained indications include no more than one first indication and one second indication for each national package code.