SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PHARMACY ADMINISTRATION

• US 20090254377A1
• Filed: 06/12/2009
• Published: 10/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eric K. Steen, Jean Pfeiffer, Michael A. Koch, Thomas J. Wilverding, William John Brandon
• Original Assignee: Eric K. Steen, Jean Pfeiffer, Michael A. Koch, Thomas J. Wilverding, William John Brandon
• Inventors: Steen, Eric K., Koch, Michael A., Wilverding, Thomas J., Pfeiffer, Jean, Brandon, William John
• Granted Patent: US 8,229,885 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A pharmaceutical administrative system with a pharmacy and a service center network for preparing and dispensing medication. The pharmacy network prepares orders for medication from various customers for various patients. By retrieving information from a global database in the service center network, the pharmacy network conveys patient, customer and formulary information to users of the pharmacy network. Also, the pharmacy network prepares medication specific labels to identify and verify the contents of the medication. Furthermore, the pharmacy network provides additional safeguards and information, including balancing orders and displaying and/or generating hardcopies of solubility curves, to a health care provider using the pharmacy network with the additional ability to customize the medication.

Claims

1-15. -15. (canceled)

16. A pharmacy client system receiving and processing orders for medication, the pharmacy client system comprising:

an order maintenance unit configured to create an order for medication for at least one customer and at least one patient;

a formulary unit coupled to the order maintenance and presenting information about the medication to the order maintenance unit;

a customer unit coupled to the order maintenance unit and presenting information relating to contact and purchasing information for the at least one customer ordering the medication; and

a patient unit coupled to the order maintenance unit and the customer unit and presenting information relating to contact and medical information for the at least one patient;

wherein the order maintenance unit is configured to modify the ingredients of the medication and to validate the modifications to the ingredients of the medication.

17. The pharmacy client system of claim 16 wherein the medication is an intravenous solution.

18. The pharmacy client system of claim 17 wherein the order maintenance unit is configured to validate the modifications to the ingredients by generating a calcium phosphate solubility curve for the medication.

19. The pharmacy client system of claim 18 wherein the order maintenance unit is further configured to determine calcium and phosphate content in the medication and to compare the calcium and phosphate content to the calcium phosphate solubility curve for the medication.

20. The pharmacy client system of claim 19 wherein the order maintenance unit is further configured to provide a warning when the calcium and phosphate content does not match the calcium phosphate solubility curve for the medication.

21. The pharmacy client system of claim 20 wherein the order maintenance unit is configured to generate medication specific labels for the medication.

22. The pharmacy client system of claim 21 wherein the medication specific labels for the medication includes information about a refractive index of the intravenous solution.

23. The pharmacy client system of claim 22 wherein the medication specific labels for the medication includes information about a level of potassium in the intravenous solution calculated using flame photometry.

24. The pharmacy client system of claim 23 wherein the modifications to the ingredients of the medication includes modifications to caloric content of the medication.

25. The pharmacy client system of claim 24 wherein the order maintenance unit is configured to validate the modifications to the caloric content in the medication by comparing the modifications to predetermined amounts of caloric content in predefined medications.

26. The pharmacy client system of claim 23 wherein the modifications to the ingredients of the medication includes modifications to electrolytes in the medication.

27. The pharmacy client system of claim 26 wherein the order maintenance unit is configured to validate the modifications to the electrolytes in the medication by comparing the modifications to predetermined amounts of electrolytes in predefined medications.

28. In a pharmaceutical administrative system, a method of dispensing medication comprising:

creating a record for an order for a medication;

retrieving information regarding the medication;

generating a medication specific label including information about the medication; and

validating the order for the medication.

29. The method of dispensing medication of claim 28 wherein the medication is an intravenous solution.

30. The method of dispensing medication of claim 29 wherein generating a medication specific label includes a refractive index of the intravenous solution.

31. The method of dispensing medication of claim 29 wherein generating a medication specific label includes a level of potassium of the medication determined by using flame photometry.

32. The method of dispensing medication of claim 30 further comprising:

testing the intravenous solution to determine the refractive index of the intravenous solution; and

comparing the refractive index of the intravenous solution included with the generated medication specific label to the determined refractive index of the intravenous solution tested.

33. The method of dispensing medication of claim 31 further comprising:

testing the medication to determine the level of potassium of the medication; and

comparing the level of potassium of the medication included with the generated medication specific label to the determined level of potassium of the medication tested.

34. The method of dispensing medication of claim 33 wherein testing the medication to determine the level of potassium of the medication is performed by using flame photometry.

35. The method of dispensing medication of claim 29 wherein validating of the order comprises balancing caloric content of the medication.

36. The method of dispensing medication of claim 29 wherein validating of the order comprises balancing percentages of electrolytes in the medication.

37. The method of dispensing medication of claim 29 further comprising modifying ingredients in the medication.

38. The method of dispensing medication of claim 29 wherein validating of the order comprises:

determining quantities of calcium and phosphate in the medication;

calculating the ratio of calcium to phosphate;

comparing the ratio to predetermined amounts calcium and phosphate for the medication.

39. The method of dispensing medication of claim 29 wherein validating of the order comprises:

determining quantities of calcium and phosphate in the medication;

determining percentages of amino acid, dextrose and drug additive in the medication;

identifying predetermined calcium phosphate solubility curve data based on the percentages of amino acid, dextrose and drug additive in the medication;

generating a graphical representation of the calcium phosphate solubility curve data identified; and

plotting the amount of calcium to the amount of phosphate relative to the graphical representation of the calcium phosphate solubility curve.

40. The method of dispensing medication of claim 38 further comprising:

identifying other predetermined calcium phosphate solubility curve data similar to the predetermined calcium phosphate solubility curve data identified based on the percentages of amino acid, dextrose and drug additive in the medication;

selectively generating a graphical representation of one of the other calcium phosphate solubility curve data identified.