SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING TARGETED PATIENT COMMUNICATIONS

• US 20090043609A1
• Filed: 12/18/2007
• Published: 02/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Walgreen Co. (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Walgreen Co. (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Inventors: Liccardo, Peter, Tebbe, Laura J., Dorfman, Steve S., Oh, Hee K., Nadas, Gyula J., Webb, Guirong Z.
• Application Number:
  US11/959,425
• Publication Number:
  US 20090043609A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063114 Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/00 Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism healthcare informatics G16H
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients

Abstract

A comprehensive medication management system is disclosed. The comprehensive medication management system offers a number of compliance related services that may be offered to patients in to improve medication therapy compliance. The system identifies compliance barriers facing individual patents and recommends services designed to overcome those barriers. The system further provides feedback to patients to document their progress. The system proactively identifies patients who may benefit from compliance services and blocks their transactions until the services are explained. The point of sale block may be expanded to other classes of patients so that the transactions of other classes of patients blocked and other messages delivered or some other customized interactions carried out. The medication management system may serve as a central repository of information about a patient'"'"'s medication treatment program and the medication management system may provide quick and easy access to a patient'"'"'s entire medication history to facilitate consultations between a pharmacist and the patient. The medication management system may generate lists of tasks for pharmacists to perform in order to deliver the compliance related services to individual patients.

Claims

1. A system for performing a customized interaction with targeted customers of a pharmacy, targeted customers sharing one or more defining characteristics, the system comprising:

a database storing a customer profile including an intervention flag;

a processor implementing an intervention engine configured to analyze a customer'"'"'s profile when the customer presents a prescription to be filled by the pharmacy in order to determine whether the customer has the one or more defining characteristics of targeted customers, and to set the intervention flag in the customer'"'"'s profile when the customer has the one or more defining characteristics of targeted customers;

a point of sale terminal for registering a sales transaction, the point of sale terminal configured to block the completion of a sales transaction with the customer for the prescription when the intervention flag is set in the customer'"'"'s profile; and

an interface for guiding a pharmacy attendant through the customized interaction with the customer.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface comprises a pharmacy workstation that includes an input for resetting the intervention flag in the customer'"'"'s profile when the customized interaction is complete.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the pharmacy workstation is configured to prepare a barcode to be included with prescription packaging, the point of sale terminal including a barcode reader for reading the barcode on the prescription packaging to identify the prescription and access the customer profile of the customer associated with the prescription.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the customized interaction comprises at least one of:

delivering a message to the customer;

gathering information from the customer;

or offering a service to the customer.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the customized interaction comprises offering a multi-dose packaging service to the customer when the customer has prescriptions for a plurality of maintenance medications.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the customized interaction is performed as a reimbursable service on behalf of a third party.

7. A method of performing a customized interaction with a customer of a pharmacy, the customer belonging to a targeted group of customers, the method comprising:

establishing criteria for determining whether individual customers belong to the group of targeted customers;

comparing information about the customer to the established criteria to determine whether the customer belongs to the targeted group of customers when the customer presents a prescription for medication to be filled by the pharmacy;

blocking a sales transaction at a point of sale when the customer attempts to purchase the medication when it has been determined that the customer belongs to the targeted group of customers; and

interacting with the customer according to the customized interaction.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the criteria for determining whether individual customers belong to the targeted group of customers comprise customers who have been prescribed maintenance medications and who are not receiving compliance assistance services.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the customized interaction comprises offering the customer compliance assistance services to the patient.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the compliance assistance service offered to the customer comprises a multi-dose packaging service for customers taking two or more maintenance medications.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the customized interaction comprises at least one of:

delivering a message to the customer;

gathering information from the customer;

or offering a service to the customer.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein the customized interaction is performed on behalf of a third party, the method further comprising billing the third party in exchange for providing the customized interaction.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein billing the third party comprises one of:

charging a flat fee for providing the customized interaction;

or charging a fee for each customized interaction performed with customers in the targeted group of customers.

14. A system for performing a customized interaction with a pharmacy customer belonging to a targeted group of pharmacy customers, the system comprising:

an intervention engine configured to identify the pharmacy customer as a member of the targeted group of pharmacy customers;

a point of sale terminal configured to block completion of a transaction for the purchase of prescription medication by the customer identified by the intervention engine as a member of the targeted group of pharmacy customers; and

an interface device configured to display elements of the customized interaction when the customer transaction is blocked at the point of sale.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the interface device includes an input for indicating that the customized interaction has been completed, the point of sale terminal allowing the transaction to proceed when the customized interaction is complete.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the customized interaction comprises delivering a message to the customer, the interface device being configured to display the message.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein the customized interaction comprises gathering information from the customer, the interface device being configured to display questions to be asked of the customer and to receive the customer'"'"'s responses to the questions.

18. The system of claim 14 wherein the customized interaction comprises offering a service to the customer, the interface device being configured to display the service and includes provisions for implementing the service on the customer'"'"'s behalf.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the customized interaction is provided as a reimbursable service on behalf of the third party.

20. A method for performing a customized interaction with a customer of a pharmacy, the method comprising:

determining whether the customer belongs to a targeted group of customers when the customer presents a prescription for medication to be filled by the pharmacy;

blocking a transaction for the purchase of the medication from being completed when it is determined that the customer belongs to the targeted group of customers;

displaying one or more elements of the customized interaction on a display device; and

performing the one or more elements of the customized interaction before allowing the transaction for the purchase of the medication to be completed.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein displaying the one or more elements of the customized interaction comprises displaying a message to be delivered to the customer.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein displaying the one or more elements of the customized interaction comprises displaying a question to be asked of the customer, and wherein performing one or more elements of the customized interaction comprises asking the customer the question and recording the customer'"'"'s response.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein displaying the one or more elements of the customized interaction comprises displaying a service to be offered to the customer.

24. The method of claim 20 further comprising billing a third party for performing the customized interaction.

25. A pharmacy tool for designing and implementing campaigns for performing customized interactions with targeted customers of a pharmacy, the tool comprising:

a web-enabled campaign administrator workstation; and

a webserver configured to send campaign design interface pages to the campaign administrator workstation;

whereby a campaign administrator may design a campaign by selecting attributes and components to be included in the campaign;

the webserver further configured to provide intervention rules to an intervention engine associated with a pharmacy medication management system based on the attributes and components selected by the campaign administrator.