AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL ITEM DISPENSING, BILLING, AND INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

• US 20140337049A1
• Filed: 07/11/2012
• Published: 11/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deroyal Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Deroyal Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: DeBusk, Brian C., Sewell, Angela M., Jacobs, John G., Hodge, Gregory S., Lynch, Kevin E., Pittman, William G.
• Granted Patent: US 9,990,466 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/00 ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices
• 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

An inventory management system provided by an inventory management service provider senses removal of medical items from inventory to be dispensed to a patient. The system processes billing information to identify the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider, to identify a medical item supplier that is the preferred biller for the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider, and to determine whether the inventory management service provider is the identified preferred biller. If the inventory management service provider is the preferred biller, the system generates an invoice from the inventory management service provider to bill the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider. If the inventory management service provider is not the preferred biller, the system sends the billing information to the medical item supplier identified as the preferred biller, and generates a billing-only invoice directed to the medical item supplier identified as the preferred biller, which invoice is remit to the inventory management service provider.

Claims

1. An inventory management system for managing information regarding medical items dispensed in conjunction with medical treatment of patients of a medical facility, the inventory management system provided by an inventory management service provider that is also a medical item supplier, the inventory management system comprising:

one or more inventory sensors for sensing removal of one or more medical items from an inventory space of the medical facility to be dispensed to a patient, and for generating item usage information indicative of an identity and quantity of the one or more medical items removed;

one or more computers in communication with the one or more inventory sensors, the one or more computers configured to store and manage the item usage information and billing information for medical items dispensed to patients, the billing information including information regarding the patients, medical insurance providers and medical item suppliers, the billing information also including information that associates each of the patients with a medical insurance provider to which medical expenses incurred by the patent are to be billed, the billing information further including information that associates each medical insurance provider with a medical item supplier that is a preferred biller for the medical insurance provider; and

one or more software applications executed on the one or more computers associated with the medical facility, the one or more software applications including;

computer-executable instructions which, when executed, associate the item usage information with patient information that identifies the patient to which the one or more medical items are dispensed;

computer-executable instructions which, when executed, process the billing information to identify the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider;

computer-executable instructions which, when executed, process the billing information to identify the medical item supplier that is the preferred biller for the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider;

computer-executable instructions which, when executed, determine whether the inventory management service provider is the medical item supplier identified as the preferred biller for the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider;

computer-executable instructions which, when executed, generate an invoice from the inventory management service provider to bill the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider when it is determined that the inventory management service provider is the preferred biller for the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider; and

computer-executable instructions which, when executed, send the billing information to the medical item supplier identified as the preferred biller for the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider when it is determined that the inventory management service provider is not the preferred biller for the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more software applications include computer-executable instructions which, when executed, generate a billing-only invoice directed to the medical item supplier identified as the preferred biller for the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider when it is determined that the inventory management service provider is not the preferred biller for the patient'"'"'s medical insurance provider, wherein the billing-only invoice is remit to the inventory management service provider.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more computers comprise a customer computer associated with the medical facility and a service provider computer associated with the inventory management service provider that is in communication with the customer computer through a communication network, and wherein the one or more software applications are executed on one or both of service provider computer and the customer computer.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more inventory sensors include one or more of:

a weight sensor attached to a storage structure in the inventory space;

an RFID sensor for sensing the presence of an RFID tag attached to a medical item in the inventory space;

a bar code reader for scanning a barcode on a medical item; and

a digital camera for capturing an image of a medical item.

5. A computer-implemented method for managing information regarding medical items dispensed in conjunction with medical treatment of patients at a medical facility, wherein one or more steps of the method are performed on a computer system of an inventory management service provider that is also a medical item supplier, the method comprising:

(a) storing in a computer storage device billing information regarding medical items dispensed to patients of the medical facility, the billing information indicating an association between each patient and a medical insurance provider to which the patient'"'"'s medical expenses are to be billed, the billing information further indicating to an association between each medical insurance provider and a medical item supplier that is a preferred biller for the medical insurance provider;

(b) sensing removal of one or more medical items from an inventory space of the medical facility to be dispensed to a patient, the sensing performed using one or more inventory sensors disposed in the inventory space of the medical facility;

(c) generating item usage information indicative of an identity and quantity of the one or more medical items removed;

(d) associating the item usage information with patient information that identifies the patient to which the one or more medical items are dispensed;

(e) processing the billing information to identify the medical insurance provider of the patient to which the one or more medical items are dispensed;

(f) processing the billing information to identify the medical item supplier that is the preferred biller for the medical insurance provider identified in step (e);

(g) determining whether the inventory management service provider is the medical item supplier identified in step (f);

(h) when it is determined that the inventory management service provider is the medical item supplier identified in step (f), generating an invoice from the inventory management service provider to bill the medical insurance provider identified in step (e); and

(i) when it is determined that the inventory management service provider is not the medical item supplier identified in step (f), sending the billing information to the medical item supplier identified in step (f).

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising, when it is determined that the inventory management service provider is not the medical item supplier identified in step (f), generating a billing-only invoice for the medical item supplier identified in step (f), wherein the billing-only invoice is remit to the inventory management service provider.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein one or more of the steps are performed by a customer computer associated with the medical facility.