Computer implemented patient medication review system and process for the managed care, health care and/or pharmacy industry

• US 6,356,873 B1
• Filed: 11/10/1999
• Issued: 03/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Express Scripts Strategic Development, Inc. (The Cigna Group)
• Original Assignee: Merck-Medco Managed Care LLC (Merck & Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Teagarden, J. Russel, Angaran, David, Clotz, Michael, Kenreigh, Charlotte
• Primary Examiner(s): Rimell, Sam
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALLEN, AKIBA KANELLE
• Application Number:
  US09/437,157
• Time in Patent Office: 853 Days
• Field of Search: 705/3, 705/1, 705/500, 705/2
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• 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 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/924 Medical

Abstract

An interactive computer assisted method reviews, and analyzes, a patient one or more medications using a computer and a user associated therewith. The method includes the steps of pre-selecting patients to obtain a preliminary set of patients eligible for the interactive computer assisted method responsive to first predetermined criteria, and filtering the preliminary set of patients to identify and form a secondary set of patients from the preliminary set of patients having a greater likelihood of benefiting from the interactive computer assisted method responsive to second predetermined criteria. The method also includes the steps of enrolling a patient from the secondary set of patients, and communicating with the patient to obtain information to assist the user in determining whether therapy and/or medication issues are relevant. The method also includes the steps of preliminarily evaluating whether the therapy and medication issues are relevant responsive to the information, and communicating to a physician same. The method also includes the steps of determining whether the therapy and/or medication issues are relevant, and suggesting therapy changes, medication changes, or no changes for the patient.

Claims

1. An interactive computer assisted method of reviewing, analyzing, and prescribing a patient one or more medications using a computer and a user associated therewith, the user coordinating said interactive computer assisted method with at least one physician and at least one pharmacist, prior to the prescribing the patient of the one or more medications, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) pre-selecting patients to obtain a preliminary set of patients eligible for said interactive computer assisted method responsive to first predetermined criteria;

(b) filtering the preliminary set of patients to identify and form a secondary set of patients from the preliminary set of patients having a greater likelihood of benefiting from said interactive computer assisted method responsive to second predetermined criteria;

(c) enrolling at least one patient from the secondary set of patients;

(d) communicating, by the user, with the at least one patient to obtain information to assist the user in determining whether at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate;

(e) preliminarily evaluating, by the user, whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate responsive to the information;

(f) communicating, by the user, to a physician, the at least one of therapy and medication changes and the information;

(g) determining, by the physician, whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate responsive to the information, and prescribing at least one of the at least one of therapy and medication changes, at least one of other therapy and medication changes, and no therapy and medication changes for the at least one patient;

(h) confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with the pharmacist for the at least one of the at least one of therapy and medication changes, at least one of other therapy and medication changes, and no therapy and medication changes for the at least one patient, and receiving comments from the pharmacist relating thereto; and

(i) communicating, by the user, to the physician, the comments received from the pharmacist at least when the comments include a pharmacist opinion with respect to the at least one of therapy and medication changes and the information determined by the physician.

2. An interactive computer assisted method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with the patient.

3. An interactive computer assisted method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with a pharmacist for possible medication changes.

4. An interactive computer assisted method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of communicating, by the user, to a pharmacist, to obtain additional information to further assist the user in determining whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate.

5. An interactive computer assisted method according to claim 1, wherein the information includes at least one of patient demographics, patient'"'"'s physician(s), current medications, medication use pattern, over the counter medication use, patient understanding of treatment goals, adverse effects, compliance history, medical history, family history, hospitalization history, pertinent laboratory work, patient concerns and assessment, and patient satisfaction assessment.

6. An interactive computer assisted method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with a pharmacist of a mail order pharmacy for possible medication changes, and mailing medication to the patient.

7. An interactive computer assisted method of reviewing, analyzing, and prescribing a patient one or more medications using a computer and a user associated therewith, the user coordinating said interactive computer assisted method with at least one physician and at least one pharmacist, prior to the prescribing the patient of the one or more medications, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) pre-selecting patients to obtain a preliminary set of patients eligible for said interactive computer assisted method responsive to first predetermined criteria;

(b) filtering the preliminary set of patients to identify and form a secondary set of patients from the preliminary set of patients having a greater likelihood of benefiting from said interactive computer assisted method responsive to second predetermined criteria;

(c) enrolling, by at least one of the user using the computer and the computer, at least one patient from the secondary set of patients;

(d) communicating with the at least one patient to obtain information to assist the user in determining whether at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate, the information including at least one of patient demographics, patient'"'"'s physician(s), current medications, medication use pattern, over the counter medication use, patient understanding of treatment goals, adverse effects, compliance history, medical history, family history, hospitalization history, pertinent laboratory work, patient concerns and assessment, and patient satisfaction assessment;

(e) communicating, by the user, to the pharmacist, to obtain additional information to further assist the user in determining whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate;

(f) preliminarily evaluating, by the user, whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate responsive to the information and the additional information;

(g) communicating, by the user, to a physician, the at least one of therapy and medication changes, the information, and the additional information;

(h) determining, by the physician, whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate responsive to the information, and prescribing at least one of the at least one of therapy and medication changes, at least one of other therapy and medication changes, and no therapy and medication changes for the at least one patient;

(i) confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with the patient;

(j) confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with the pharmacist for the at least one of the at least one of therapy and medication changes, at least one of other therapy and medication changes, and no therapy and medication changes for the at least one patient, and receiving comments from the pharmacist relating thereto; and

(k) communicating, by the user, to the physician, the comments received from the pharmacist at least when the comments include a pharmacist opinion with respect to the at least one of therapy and medication changes and the information determined by the physician; and

(l) mailing medication to the patient responsive to at least one of the medication changes and the other medication changes.

8. An interactive computer assisted method of reviewing, analyzing, and prescribing a patient one or more medications using a computer and a user associated therewith, the user coordinating said interactive computer assisted method with at least one physician and at least one pharmacist, prior to the prescribing the patient of the one or more medications, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) pre-selecting patients to obtain a preliminary set of patients eligible for said interactive computer assisted method responsive to first predetermined criteria;

(b) filtering the preliminary set of patients to identify and form a secondary set of patients from the preliminary set of patients having a greater likelihood of benefiting from said interactive computer assisted method responsive to second predetermined criteria;

(c) enrolling, by the computer, at least one patient from the secondary set of patients;

(d) communicating with the at least one patient to obtain information to assist the user in determining whether at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate;

(e) preliminarily evaluating whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate responsive to the information;

(f) communicating by the computer, to a physician, the at least one of therapy and medication changes and the information; and

(g) determining, by the physician, whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate responsive to the information, and prescribing at least one of the at least one of therapy and medication changes, at least one of other therapy and medication changes, and no therapy and medication changes for the at least one patient; and

(h) confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with the pharmacist for the at least one of the at least one of therapy and medication changes, at least one of other therapy and medication changes, and no therapy and medication changes for the at least one patient, and receiving comments from the pharmacist relating thereto; and

(i) communicating, by the user, to the physician, the comments received from the pharmacist at least when the comments include a pharmacist opinion with respect to the at least one of therapy and medication changes and the information determined by the physician.

9. An interactive computer assisted method of reviewing, analyzing, and prescribing a patient one or more medications using a computer and a user associated therewith, the user coordinating said interactive computer assisted method with at least one physician and at least one pharmacist, prior to the prescribing the patient of the one or more medications, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) pre-selecting patients to obtain a preliminary set of patients eligible for said interactive computer assisted method responsive to first predetermined criteria;

(b) filtering the preliminary set of patients to identify and form a secondary set of patients from the preliminary set of patients having a greater likelihood of benefiting from said interactive computer assisted method responsive to second predetermined criteria;

(c) enrolling, by the at least one of the user and the computer, at least one patient from the secondary set of patients;

(d) communicating, by the at least one of the user and the computer, with the at least one patient to obtain information to assist the user in determining whether at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate;

(e) preliminarily evaluating, by the at least one of the user and the computer, whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate responsive to the information;

(f) communicating, by the at least one of the user and the computer, to a physician, the at least one of therapy and medication changes and the information; and

(g) determining, by the physician, whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate responsive to the information, and prescribing at least one of the at least one of therapy and medication changes, at least one of other therapy and medication changes, and no therapy and medication changes for the at least one patient;

(h) confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with the pharmacist for the at least one of the at least one of therapy and medication changes, at least one of other therapy and medication changes, and no therapy and medication changes for the at least one patient, and receiving comments from the pharmacist relating thereto; and

(i) communicating, by the user, to the physician, the comments received from the pharmacist at least when the comments include a pharmacist opinion with respect to the at least one of therapy and medication changes and the information determined by the physician.

10. An interactive computer assisted method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with the patient.

11. An interactive computer assisted method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with a pharmacist for possible medication changes.

12. An interactive computer assisted method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of communicating, by the user, to a pharmacist, to obtain additional information to further assist the user in determining whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate.

13. An interactive computer assisted method according to claim 9, wherein the information includes at least one of patient demographics, patient'"'"'s physician(s), current medications, medication use pattern, over the counter medication use, patient understanding of treatment goals, adverse effects, compliance history, medical history, family history, hospitalization history, pertinent laboratory work, patient concerns and assessment, and patient satisfaction assessment.

14. An interactive computer assisted method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with a pharmacist of a mail order pharmacy for possible medication changes, and mailing medication to the patient.

15. A computer program memory, storing computer instructions to implement an interactive computer assisted method of reviewing, analyzing, and prescribing a patient one or more medications using a computer and a user associated therewith, the user coordinating said interactive computer assisted method with at least one physician and at least one pharmacist, prior to the prescribing the patient of the one or more medications, the computer instructions including:

(a) pre-selecting patients to obtain a preliminary set of patients eligible for said interactive computer assisted method responsive to first predetermined criteria;

(b) filtering, by at least one of the user and the computer, the preliminary set of patients to identify and form a secondary set of patients from the preliminary set of patients having a greater likelihood of benefiting from said interactive computer assisted method responsive to second predetermined criteria;

(c) enrolling, by the at least one of the user and the computer, at least one patient from the secondary set of patients;

(d) communicating, by the at least one of the user and the computer, with the at least one patient to obtain information to assist the user in determining whether at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate;

(e) preliminarily evaluating, by the at least one of the user and the computer, whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate responsive to the information;

(f) communicating, by the at least one of the user and the computer, to a physician, the at least one of therapy and medication changes and the information; and

(g) determining, by the physician, whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate responsive to the information, and prescribing at least one of the at least one of therapy and medication changes, at least one of other therapy and medication changes, and no therapy and medication changes for the at least one patient;

(h) confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with the pharmacist for the at least one of the at least one of therapy and medication changes, at least one of other therapy and medication changes, and no therapy and medication changes for the at least one patient, and receiving comments from the pharmacist relating thereto; and

(i) communicating, by the user, to the physician, the comments received from the pharmacist at least when the comments include a pharmacist opinion with respect to the at least one of therapy and medication changes and the information determined by the physician.

16. A computer program memory according to claim 15, further comprising the instruction of confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with the patient.

17. A computer program memory according to claim 15, further comprising the instruction of confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with a pharmacist for possible medication changes.

18. A computer program memory according to claim 15, further comprising the instructions of communicating, by the user, to a pharmacist, to obtain additional information to further assist the user in determining whether the at least one of therapy and medication changes are appropriate.

19. A computer program memory according to claim 15, wherein the information includes at least one of patient demographics, patient'"'"'s physician(s), current medications, medication use pattern, over the counter medication use, patient understanding of treatment goals, adverse effects, compliance history, medical history, family history, hospitalization history, pertinent laboratory work, patient concerns and assessment, and patient satisfaction assessment.

20. A computer program memory according to claim 15, further comprising the instructions of confirming, by the user, the prescribing by the physician with a pharmacist of a mail order pharmacy for possible medication changes, and mailing medication to the patient.