Method and apparatus for improving on-line purchasing

• US 7,162,437 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2000
• Issued: 01/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Walgreen Co. (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Drugstore.com Incorporated (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Inventors: Varadan, Vijay, Shaak, Karen, Gramling, Alex Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Coggins; Wynn
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zurita; Jaime E.
• Application Number:
  US09/478,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20020198784A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,560 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/3, 705/14
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

On-line purchasing of products from an electronic commerce (e.g., a Web page) seller is improved by providing samples to users at little or no cost in exchange for feedback that is provided to other users considering purchasing the product. A subset of products available for purchase from an electronic commerce site are provided for a sampling program to users. A predetermined number of users are allowed to sample the product. Feedback from the users are solicited and tracked to provide additional information to the seller and/or potential purchasers.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for processing medical information at a server over a network, the method comprising:

presenting, in electronic format via a Web server, information related to a set of medicine products available of purchase that can be ordered electronically over an Internet, the set of medicine products including prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs;

offering, via the electronic format via the Web server, to a requestor a sample of a medicine product in the set of medicine products, the offered sample of the medicine product being one of the prescription drugs and OTC drugs;

receiving a request from the requestor for the sample of the medicine product from the set of medicine products over the Internet;

searching a user database coupled to the Web server regarding information associated with the requestor to determining whether the requestor is eligible to receive the offered sample, the information associated with the requestor including at least one of demographic information of the requestor, a number of samples previously distributed to the requestor, a history with respect to providing timely feedback by the requestor;

if the requestor is eligible to receive the sample of the medicine product, causing a requested sample to be shipped to a physical address provided by the requestor in response to the request, including transmitting an email to a distribution center indicating one or more medicine products of the sample to be delivered to the requestor;

soliciting, from the requestor, feedback based on characteristics of the sample by transmitting an electronic form to the requestor within a predetermined period of time from which the sample is received by the requestor, the electronic form including a link linked to a Web page from which the requestor can fill in the feedback;

sending a reminder to remind the requestor to provide feedback regarding the sample received by the requester if the feedback is not received within the predetermined period of time;

compiling feedback received from the requestor with previously collected feedback from other requestors; and

presenting the compiled feedback in a user-readable format and publishing the compiled feedback on a publicly accessible Web page so that subsequent users are able access the compiled feedback provided by users that received the samples.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the requestor is a previously registered user through the Web server, wherein the method further comprises:

a front-end server coupled to the Web server determining a list of previous orders from the requestor, the list of previous orders of medicines from the requestor being stored in a front-end data store coupled to the Web server and the front-end server;

categorizing the list of previous orders based on at least one of date, type of medicines ordered, medicines currently being processed, including the prescription drugs and OTC drugs;

presenting the list of previous orders to the requester including other medicines related to at least a portion of the list of previous orders;

sending a reminder to the requester for refilling at least a portion of the list of previous orders if time to reorder is within a second predetermined period of time; and

enabling the requester to authorize a refill of a prescription of at least a portion of the previous orders of medicines.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the front-end data store is configured to provide and receive data to and from the Web server, the front-end data store storing at least one of catalog data, pharmacy data, user data, and order data,

wherein the catalog data is related to OTC products available from a Web site hosted by the Web server, the catalog data including at least one of categories to which the OTC products belong, brand information for the OTC products, ingredient lists, and pricing information associated with the OTC products,

wherein the pharmacy data is related prescription products available from the Web site, the pharmacy data including at least one of drug names, dosage information, overdoes information, missed dose information, and pricing information,

wherein the user data is related to users of the Web site, the user data including at least one of user names, passwords, and patient information for individuals other than the user, and

wherein the order data is related to current and/or previous orders of the medicines, the order data including at least one of a purchased order and inventory associated with the purchased order.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

the front-end server communicating with the front-end data store to process orders and to update the catalog data and the pharmacy data;

maintaining merchandising information within a merchandising database coupled to the front-end server, the merchandising information including at least one of purchase orders and inventory;

the front-end server periodically executing a batch process to search the front-end data store for new orders; and

the front-end server analyzing the order data to determine whether the new orders have been placed since a previous batch has been executed, wherein order data associated with the new orders is retrieved from the front-end data store and forwarded to a back-end server coupled to the front-end server for processing the new orders.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

the back-end server transmitting billing information associated with the new orders to a billing server coupled to the back-end server, the billing information including at least one of shipping and billing addresses;

the billing server performing billing operations based on the billing information provided by the back-end server, including contacting a financial facility for a credit card payment;

the back-end server separating the new orders into a prescription order and an OTC order;

the back-end server forwarding the prescription order to a prescription distribution center coupled to the back-end server for distributing the prescription order to the requestor; and

the back-end server forwarding the OTC order to an OTC distribution center coupled to the back-end server for distributing the OTC order to the requestor.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

in response to a prescription order from a user, the Web server writing the prescription order into the front-end data store;

the front-end server periodically polling the front-end data store to determine whether the prescription order has been placed; and

in response to the prescription order, the front-end server forwarding the prescription order to a prescription distribution center for processing the prescription order,

wherein the prescription distribution center is selected based on a shipping address associated with the prescription order, a geographical location of the prescription distribution center, and inventory of the prescription distribution center.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

in response to the prescription order, the prescription distribution center returning an acknowledge message back to the back-end server indicating whether the prescription has been processed successfully and the acknowledge message including a patient identifier (ID) assocaied with the user, wherein the back-end server routes the acknowledge message to the front-end server;

the front-end server storing the acknowledge message in the front-end data store;

the front-end server notifying the user placing the prescription order regarding a status of the prescription order based on the acknowledge message;

in response to the acknowledge message indicating as a success, the front-end server generating a medical data message having the patient ID, the medical data message including at least one of allergen information, currently prescribed medications, and current medical conditions of a patient associated with the patient ID; and

the front-end server routing the medical data message to the back-end server which routes the medical data message to the Prescription distribution center.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

in response to a status returned from the prescription distribution center, the front-end server generating a medical insurance message, the medical insurance message including at least one of the patient ID, an insurance carrier, an insurance plan ID, a group ID in which the patient associated with the patient ID belongs, and insurance card information, the insurance card information including the insurance carrier, a card holder name, the insurance plan ID, the group ID, and relationship information indicating a relationship of the patient and the card holder; and

the front-end server routing the insurance message to the back-end server which forwards the insurance message to the prescription distribution center.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

in response to a returned message from the distribution center indicating a successful process of the insurance message, the front-end server generating a prescription data message, including at least one of a name of a doctor treating the patient, a phone number of the doctor, a pharmacy name and phone number, a prescription ID, and transfer information;

the front-end server sending the prescription data message to the back-end server which routes the prescription data message to the prescription distribution center; and

the front-end server receiving a return message indicating whether the prescription data message has been processed successfully by the distribution center,

wherein a successful return message includes at least one of the prescription ID, national drug code, quantity information, refill information, prescription label information, dosage information, strength information, packaging information, pricing information, usage instructions, and contact information of the doctor.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

the front-end server generating a pre-fill order prior to contacting the financial facility to cause the prescription order to be processed prior to a completion of financial information with the financial facility, wherein the pre-fill order is used to cause at least one of a drug utilization review, a substitution review, and a medical insurance adjudication;

during the drug utilization review, analyzing a current medical condition of the patient receiving the prescription, a medical history of the patient, and other drugs previously used by the patient to determine whether the prescription is safe for the patient;

during the substitution review, determining whether the patient will receive a name brand medication or a generic equivalent of the name brand medication; and

during the insurance adjudication, an associated insurance company determining benefits of an insurance plan and payments required from the patient for the prescription order.

11. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause one or more electronic systems to perform a method for processing medical information, the method comprising:

presenting, in electronic format via a Web server, information related to a set of medicine products available for purchase and that can be ordered electronically over an Internet, the set of medicine products including prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs;

offering, via the electronic format via the Web server, to a requestor a sample of a medicine product in the set of medicine products, the offered sample of the medicine product being one of the prescription drugs and OTC drugs;

receiving a request from a requestor for the sample of the medicine product from the set of medicine products over the Internet;

searching a user database coupled to the Web server regarding information associated with the requestor to determining whether the requestor is eligible to receive the offered sample, the information associated with the requestor including at least one of demographic information of the requestor, a number of samples previously distributed to the requestor, a history with respect to providing timely feedback by the requestor;

if the requestor is eligible to receive the sample of the medicine product, causing a requested sample to be shipped to a physical address provided by the requestor in response to the request, including transmitting an email to a distribution center indicating one or more medicine products of the sample to be delivered to the requestor;

soliciting, from the requestor, feedback based on characteristics of the sample by transmitting an electronic form to the requestor within a predetermined period of time from which the sample is received by the requestor, the electronic form including a link linked to a Web page from which the requestor can fill in the feedback;

sending a reminder to remind the requestor to provide feedback regarding the sample received by the requester if the feedback is not received within the predetermined period of time;

compiling feedback received from the requestor, if any with previously collected feedback from other requestors; and

presenting the compiled feedback in a user-readable format and publishing the compiled feedback on a publicly accessible Web page so that subsequent users are able access the compiled feedback provided by users that received the samples.

12. The machine-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the requestor is a previously registered user through the Web server, wherein the method further comprises:

a front-end server coupled to the Web server determining a list of previous orders from the requestor, the list of previous orders of medicines from the requestor being stored in a front-end data store coupled to the Web server and the front-end server;

categorizing the list of previous orders based on at least one of date, type of medicines ordered, medicines currently being processed, including the prescription drugs and OTC drugs;

presenting the list of previous orders to the requester including other medicines related to at least a portion of the list of previous orders;

sending a reminder to the requester for refilling at least a portion of the list of previous orders if time to reorder is within a second predetermined period of time; and

enabling the requester to authorize a refill of a prescription of at least a portion of the previous orders of medicines.

13. The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the front-end data store is configured to provide and receive data to and from the Web server, the front-end data store storing at least one of catalog data, pharmacy data, user data, and order data,

wherein the catalog data is related to OTC products available from a Web site hosted by the Web server, the catalog data including at least one of categories to which the OTC products belong, brand information for the OTC products, ingredient lists, and pricing information associated with the OTC products,

wherein the pharmacy data is related prescription products available from the Web site, the pharmacy data including at least one of drug names, dosage information, overdoes information, missed dose information, and pricing information,

wherein the user data is related to users of the Web site, the user data including at least one of user names, passwords, and patient information for individuals other than the user, and

wherein the order data is related to current and/or previous orders of the medicines, the order data including at least one of a purchased order and inventory associated with the purchased order.

14. The machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

the front-end server communicating with the front-end data store to process orders and to update the catalog data and the pharmacy data;

maintaining merchandising information within a merchandising database coupled to the front-end server, the merchandising information including at least one of purchase orders and inventory;

the front-end server periodically executing a batch process to search the front-end data store for new orders; and

the front-end server analyzing the order data to determine whether the new orders have been placed since a previous batch has been executed, wherein order data associated with the new orders is retrieved from the front-end data store and forwarded to a back-end server coupled to the front-end server for processing the new orders.

15. The machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

the back-end server transmitting billing information associated with the new orders to a billing server coupled to the back-end server, the billing information including at least one of shipping and billing addresses;

the billing server performing billing operations based on the billing information provided by the back-end server, including contacting a financial facility for a credit card payment;

the back-end server separating the new orders into a prescription order and an OTC order;

the back-end server forwarding the prescription order to a prescription distribution center coupled to the back-end server for distributing the Prescription order to the requestor; and

the back-end server forwarding the OTC order to an OTC distribution center coupled to the back-end server for distributing the OTC order to the requestor.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

in response to a prescription order from a user, the Web server writing the prescription order into the front-end data store;

the front-end server periodically polling the front-end data store to determine whether the prescription order has been placed; and

in response to the prescription order, the front-end server forwarding the prescription order to a prescription distribution center for processing the prescription order,

wherein the prescription distribution center is selected based on a shipping address associated with the prescription order, a geographical location of the prescription distribution center, and inventory of the prescription distribution center.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises:

in response to the prescription order, the prescription distribution center returning an acknowledge message back to the back-end server indicating whether the prescription has been processed successfully and the acknowledge message including a patient identifier (ID) assocaied with the user, wherein the back-end server routes the acknowledge message to the front-end server;

the front-end server storing the acknowledge message in the front-end data store;

the front-end server notifying the user placing the prescription order regarding a status of the prescription order based on the acknowledge message;

in response to the acknowledge message indicating as a success, the front-end server generating a medical data message having the patient ID, the medical data message including at least one of allergen information, currently prescribed medications, and current medical conditions of a patient associated with the patient ID; and

the front-end server routing the medical data message to the back-end server which routes the medical data message to the prescription distribution center.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

in response to a status returned from the prescription distribution center, the front-end server generating a medical insurance message, the medical insurance message including at least one of the patient ID, an insurance carrier, an insurance plan ID, a group ID in which the patient associated with the patient ID belongs, and insurance card information, the insurance card information including the insurance carrier, a card holder name, the insurance plan ID, the group ID, and relationship information indicating a relationship of the patient and the card holder; and

the front-end server routing the insurance message to the back-end server which forwards the insurance message to the prescription distribution center.

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises:

in response to a returned message from the distribution center indicating a successful process of the insurance message, the front-end server generating a prescription data message, including at least one of a name of a doctor treating the patient, a phone number of the doctor, a pharmacy name and phone number, a prescription ID, and transfer information;

the front-end server sending the prescription data message to the back-end server which routes the prescription data message to the prescription distribution center; and

the front-end server receiving a return message indicating whether the prescription data message has been processed successfully by the distribution center,

wherein a successful return message includes at least one of the prescription ID, national drug code, quantity information, refill information, prescription label information, dosage information, strength information, packaging information, pricing information, usage instructions, and contact information of the doctor.