Patient oriented point of care system and method

• US 7,490,049 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2002
• Issued: 02/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Express Scripts Strategic Development, Inc. (The Cigna Group)
• Original Assignee: Medco Health Solutions Incorporated (The Cigna Group)
• Inventors: Miller, Ian Michael, Petersen, Lynn A., Lo, Dorian King-Cheung, Whiteford, Donna T., Bavaro, Patrice, Schueth, Anthony J., Halloran, Mark J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilligan; C Luke
• Assistant Examiner(s): RINES, ROBERT D
• Application Number:
  US10/109,042
• Publication Number:
  US 20030187690A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,510 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 705/3, 701/32, 128/903, 128/920, 177/25.19, 604/20, 604/131
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/65 stored on portable record carriers, e.g. on smartcards, RFID tags or CD
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/903 Radio telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics

Abstract

Computer-assisted methods, systems and mediums for providing, to a physician, information relating to a patient. One embodiment of the present invention is a method that comprises the steps of collecting a prescription history that includes information relating to one or more prescriptions issued to the patient and a prescription purchase history, storing the prescription history and prescription purchase history of the patient into a database, and accessing, by the patient, the database for the stored prescription history and prescription purchase history of the patient. The prescription purchase history includes information relating to one or more prescription purchases made by the patient in accordance with the one or more prescriptions. The method also includes the steps of retrieving the prescription history and prescription purchase history by the patient, and communicating, by the patient, the retrieved prescription history and prescription purchase history to the physician via physically or electronically in order to assist the physician in providing medical services to the patient.

Claims

1. A computer-assisted method of providing, to a health care provider, information relating to a patient, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) collecting a prescription history that includes information relating to one or more prescriptions issued to the patient, a non-prescription purchase history, and a prescription purchase history that includes information relating to one or more prescription purchases made by the patient in accordance with the one or more prescriptions, said collecting step (a) further comprising;

(1) collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history information when the one or more prescriptions are issued by different health care providers; and

(2) collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history information when drugs prescribed in the one or more prescriptions are purchased from different pharmacists including, when information exists, a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company and mail delivery pharmacy;

(b) storing the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history information of the patient into a database when at least one of the one or more prescriptions are issued by at least one of different health care providers and different pharmacists;

(c) determining whether a drug formulary exists associated with a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient;

(d) generating, when it is determined that the drug formulary is not in existence, the drug formulary associated with the pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient by referencing a rules database, the drug formulary matches a formulary identification number of the patient, wherein the formulary identification number is consistent with different insurance carriers of the patient and specific to a formulary;

(e) accessing the information stored in the database for the prescription history, non prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history of the patient, wherein access will be granted only for the patient or a representative of the patient, under the direction of the patient or the representative, and under the authorization by the patient or the representative;

(f) retrieving the information relating to prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history by the patient or the representative; and

(g) at least one of printing and displaying, by the patient or the representative, the information retrieved relating to the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, prescription purchase history, and information associated with said formulary, wherein said formulary is associated with the patient'"'"'s insurance company for the health care provider in order to assist the health care provider in providing health care to the patient to prescribe for the patient the one or more prescriptions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (f) of printing by the patient comprises:

sending, by the patient, to the health care provider an electronic message that contains the retrieved prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the electronic message is delivered to a platform that is capable of receiving an electronic message.

4. The method, wherein step (b) of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

storing to the database information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and information relating to a drug formulary preferred by a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the steps of:

accessing, by the patient or the representative, the database for the stored information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary; and

retrieving the information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of:

printing the information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary and information relating to the retrieved prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history; and

presenting, by the patient or the representative, the printed information to the health care provider.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the printing step comprises the steps of:

combining the information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary and information relating to the retrieved prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history; and

formatting the combined information into a form presentable to the health care provider.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the health care provider is at least one of a physician, osteopath and pharmacist.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the representative of the patient is at least one of patient'"'"'s parent and patient'"'"'s guardian.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (b) of determining whether a drug formulary is in existence further comprises the steps of:

(a) compiling a database, wherein the generated formulary is stored;

(b) associating said formulary using said formulary ID;

(c) retrieving said formulary associated with said formulary ID; and

(d) displaying said formulary that are determined to match said formulary ID.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the determination whether a patient'"'"'s insurance plan allows said formulary to be displayed online and the determination of a formulary id specific to the patient.

12. A method of providing, to a health care provider, printed or displayed information relating to a patient'"'"'s health care, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) collecting a prescription history that includes information relating to one or more prescriptions issued to the patient, a non-prescription purchase history comprising at least one of herbal medicines, naturopathic medicines, and over-the-counter medicine, and a prescription purchase history that includes information relating to one or more prescription purchases made by the patient in accordance with the one or more prescriptions, said collecting step (a) further comprising;

(1) collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history information when the one or more prescriptions are issued by different health care providers; and

(2) collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history information when drugs prescribed in the one or more prescriptions are purchased from different pharmacists including, when information exists, a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company and mail delivery pharmacy;

(b) determining whether a drug formulary exists associated with a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient;

(c) generating, when it is determined that the drug formulary is not in existence, the drug formulary associated with the pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient by referencing a rules database, the drug formulary matches a formulary identification number of the patient, wherein the formulary identification number is consistent with different insurance carriers of the patient and specific to a formulary;

(d) storing the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history information of the patient into a database when at least one of the one or more prescriptions are issued by at least one of different health care providers and different pharmacists;

(e) storing to the database information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and information relating to the drug formulary;

(f) accessing the database for the stored information, wherein access is granted only for the patient or a representative of the patient, under the direction of the patient or the representative, and under the authorization by the patient or the representative;

(g) retrieving the accessed information; and

(h) at least one of printing and displaying, by the patient or the representative, the retrieved information and information associated with the formulary, wherein the formulary is associated with the patient'"'"'s insurance company, for the health care provider in order to assist the health care provider in providing medical services to the patient wherein the health care information is suitable for assisting the health care provider to render health care at a point of care to prescribe for the patient the one or more prescriptions.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein step (g) of printing by the patient comprises:

sending, by the patient or the representative, to the health care provider an electronic message that contains the retrieved information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the electronic message is delivered to a platform that is capable of receiving an electronic message.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the health care provider is at least one of a physician, osteopath and pharmacist.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the representative of the patient is at least one of patient'"'"'s parent and patient'"'"'s guardian.

17. A computer assisted system for providing, to a health care provider, printed or displayed information relating to a patient, said system comprising:

(a) means for collecting a prescription history that includes information relating to one or more prescriptions issued to the patient, a non-prescription purchase history comprising at least one of herbal medicines, naturopathic medicines, and over-the-counter medicine, and a prescription purchase history that includes information relating to one or more prescription purchases made by the patient in accordance with the one or more prescriptions, said means for collecting further comprising;

(1) means for collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history information when the one or more prescriptions are issued by different health care providers; and

(2) means for collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history information when drugs prescribed in the one or more prescriptions are purchased from different pharmacists including, when information exists, a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company and mail delivery pharmacy;

(b) means for storing the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history information of the patient into a database when at least one of the one or more prescriptions are issued by at least one of different health care providers and different pharmacists;

(c) means for determining whether a drug formulary exists associated with a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient;

(d) means for generating, when it is determined that the drug formulary is not in existence, the drug formulary associated with the pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient by referencing a rules database, the drug formulary matches a formulary identification number of the patient, wherein the formulary identification number is consistent with different insurance carriers of the patient and specific to a formulary;

(e) means for accessing the database for the prescription history, non-prescription history, and prescription purchase history information of the patient, wherein access is granted only for the patient, under the direction of the patient and under the authorization by the patient;

(f) means for retrieving the prescription history and prescription purchase history; and

(g) means for at least one of printing and displaying, for the patient, the retrieved prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, prescription purchase history and information associated with the formulary, wherein said formulary is associated with the patient'"'"'s insurance company for the prescriber health care provider in order to assist the provider in providing medical services to the patient, to thereby allow the health care provider to compare one or more issued prescriptions, non-prescription purchase history, and the prescription purchase history and prescribe the one or more prescriptions.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the means (f) for printing for the patient comprises:

means for sending, for the patient, to the health care provider an electronic message that contains the retrieved prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the electronic message is delivered to a platform that is capable of receiving an electronic message.

20. The system of claim 17 further comprising:

means for providing and storing to the database information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and information relating to a drug formulary preferred by a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient, wherein the pharmacy benefits and drug formulary information are suitable for assisting the health care provider to provide medical treatment to the patient.

21. The system of claim 20 further comprising:

means for accessing, for the patient, the database for the stored information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary; and

means for retrieving the information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary.

22. The system of claim 21 further comprising:

means for printing the information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary and information relating to the retrieved prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history, thereby allowing the patient to present the printed information to the health care provider.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the printing means comprises:

means for combining the information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary and information relating to the retrieved prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history; and

means for formatting the combined information into a form presentable to the health care provider.

24. The system of claim 17, wherein the health care provider is at least one of a physician, osteopath and pharmacist.

25. A system of providing, to a health care provider, printed or displayed information relating to a patient, said system comprising:

(a) means for collecting a prescription history that includes information relating to one or more prescriptions issued to the patient, a non-prescription purchase history comprising at least one of herbal medicines, naturopathic medicines, and over-the-counter medicine, and a prescription purchase history that includes information relating to one or more prescription purchases made by the patient in accordance with the one or more prescriptions and collecting pharmacy benefits and drug formulary preformed by pharmacy insurance carrier, said means for collecting further comprising;

(1) means for collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history information when the one or more prescriptions are issued by different health care providers; and

(2) means for collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history information when drugs prescribed in the one or more prescriptions are purchased from different pharmacists including, when information exists, a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company and mail delivery pharmacy;

(b) means for determining whether a drug formulary exists associated with a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient;

(c) means for generating, when it is determined that the drug formulary is not in existence, the drug formulary associated with the pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient by referencing a rules database, the drug formulary matches a formulary identification number of the patient, wherein the formulary identification number is consistent with different insurance carriers of the patient and specific to a formulary;

(d) means for storing the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history of the patient into a database and storing information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and information relating to a drug formulary preferred by a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient when at least one of the one or more prescriptions are issued by at least one of different health care providers and different pharmacists, wherein the pharmacy includes at least one of a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company, and mail delivery pharmacy;

(e) means for storing to the database information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and information relating to the drug formulary;

(f) means for accessing the information stored in the database, wherein access is granted only for the patient under the direction of the patient, and under the authorization by the patient, the database for the stored information;

(g) means for retrieving the accessed information; and

(h) means for at least one of printing and displaying, by or on behalf of the patient, the retrieved information for the health care provider and information associated with the formulary in order to assist the provider in providing medical services to the patient to prescribe for the patient the one or more prescriptions.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the means (g) for printing by the patient comprises:

means for sending, by or for the patient, to the provider an electronic message that contains the retrieved information.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the electronic message is at least one of a PDA message, PC message, pager message, and fax message.

28. The system of 25 wherein the health care provider is at least one of a physician, osteopath and pharmacist.

29. A computer readable medium for storing instructions being executed by one or more computers, the instructions directing the one or more computers for providing, to a medical care provider, prescription and insurance information relating to a patient, the instructions comprising implementation of the steps of:

(a) determining whether a drug formulary exists associated with a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient;

(b) generating, when it is determined that the drug formulary is not in existence, one or more prescription formularies preferred by a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient by referencing a rules database, the one or more prescription formularies that match a formulary identification number of the patient, wherein the formulary identification number is consistent with different insurance carriers of the patient and specific to a formulary;

(c) collecting a prescription history that includes information relating to one or more prescriptions issued to the patient, a non-prescription purchase history, and a prescription purchase history that includes information relating to one or more prescription purchases made by the patient in accordance with the one or more prescription formularies and insurance coverage, said collecting further comprising;

(1) collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history information when the one or more prescriptions are issued by different health care providers; and

(2) collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history information when drugs prescribed in the one or more prescriptions are purchased from different pharmacists including, when information exists, a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company and mail delivery pharmacy;

(d) storing the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history of the patient into a database and storing information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and information relating to a drug formulary preferred by a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient when at least one of the one or more prescriptions are issued by at least one of different health care providers and different pharmacists, wherein the pharmacy includes at least one of a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company, and mail delivery pharmacy;

(e) accessing the database for the stored prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription history of the patient, wherein access is granted only for the patient, under the direction of the patient and under the authorization by the patient;

(f) retrieving the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history; and

(g) at least one of printing and displaying the retrieved prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, prescription purchase history, and information associated with the formulary to the medical care provider in order to assist the medical care provider in providing medical services to the patient, wherein the accessing step and the communicating step are initiated by the patient to prescribe for the patient the one or more prescriptions.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the step (f) of printing by the patient comprises:

sending to the medical care provider an electronic message that contains the retrieved prescription history and prescription purchase history.

31. The medium of claim 30, wherein the electronic message is a PDA message.

32. The medium of claim 29 further comprising the step of:

storing to the database information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and information relating to a drug formulary preferred by a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient.

33. The medium of claim 32 further comprising the steps of:

accessing the database for the stored information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary; and

retrieving the information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary, wherein the accessing step is initiated by the patient.

34. The medium of claim 33 further comprising the steps of:

printing the information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary and information relating to the retrieved prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history, to thereby allow the patient to present the printed information to the medical care provider.

35. The medium of claim 34, wherein the printing step comprises the steps of:

combining the information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and the preferred drug formulary and information relating to the retrieved prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history; and

formatting the combined information into a form presentable to the medical care provider.

36. The medium of claim 29, wherein the medical care provider is at least one of a physician, osteopath and pharmacist.

37. A computer readable medium including instructions being executed by one or more computers, the instructions instructing the one or more computers for providing, to a physician, information relating to a patient, the instructions comprising implementation of the steps of:

(a) determining whether a drug formulary exists associated with a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient;

(b) generating, when it is determined that the drug formulary is not in existence, formulary information that matches a formulary identification number of the patient by referencing a rules database, wherein the formulary identification number is consistent with different insurance carriers of the patient and specific to a formulary;

(c) collecting a prescription history that includes information relating to one or more prescriptions issued to the patient, a non-prescription purchase history, and a prescription purchase history that includes information relating to one or more purchases made by the patient in accordance with the one or more prescriptions, insurance coverage and the formulary information and information relating to at least one of past prescriptions issued to the patient by either the treating physician or other physicians, whether or not the prescribed drugs have been purchased by the patient, when the prescribed drugs were purchased, the quantity of prescribed drugs purchased, the number of days past from a refill date when a prescription has not been refilled, when one or more prescriptions are issued by different health care providers, and when or more prescriptions are purchased from different pharmacists including, when information exists, a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company and mail delivery pharmacy;

(d) storing the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history of the patient into a database when at least one of the one or more prescriptions are issued by at least one of different health care providers and different pharmacists;

(e) accessing the information stored in the database, wherein access is granted for the patient, under the direction of the patient and under the authorization by the patient and further comprising allowing the patient to access information related to at least one of benefits, a prescription expense summary, and an account summary and allowing the patient to access stored information relating to family members of the patient and allowing the patient to access stored information relating to, at least one of, prescriptions filled by a mail prescription filler and prescriptions filled by a local pharmacy store;

(f) retrieving the accessed information;

(g) at least one of printing and displaying the retrieved information and information associated with the formulary for the physician in order to assist the physician in providing medical services to the patient, wherein the accessing step and the communicating step are initiated by the patient to prescribe for the patient the one or more prescriptions;

(h) collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history when the one or more prescriptions are issued by different physician;

(i) collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history information when drugs prescribed in the one or more prescriptions are purchased from different pharmacists wherein the different pharmacists include at least one pharmacy that delivers the one or more prescriptions via mail; and

(j) collecting the prescription history and prescription purchase history when one or more drug prescribed in the one or more prescriptions are purchased from different pharmacists that use different database to store the collected information.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the step (f) of printing by the patient comprises:

sending, by the patient, to the physician an electronic message that contains the retrieved information.

39. The medium of claim 38, wherein the electronic message is a PDA message.

40. The medium of claim 37, wherein the prescription information includes, at least one of:

a prescription number;

a prescribed drug name;

the name of the physician;

a number of remaining refills;

a date on which the prescription was received; and

a date on which the prescription was shipped.

41. The medium of claim 37, further comprising the steps of allowing the patient to perform at least one of:

locating a retail pharmacy;

requesting envelopes and forms for returning filled prescriptions;

printing a mail service form;

refilling or renewing a prescription;

requesting a new prescription;

starting with mail service; and

purchasing over-the-counter pharmaceutical and other products.

42. The medium of claim 37, wherein the step (f) of communicating by the patient comprises the steps of printing, by the patient, the retrieved information and additional information related to at least one of:

one or more requests made by the patient;

a formulary of drugs; and

a form to fax a prescription, to thereby allow the patient to present the printed information to the physician.

43. The medium of claim 37,

wherein the step (f) of communicating by the patient comprises the steps of printing, by the patient, the retrieved information, to thereby allow the patient to present the printed information to the physician;

and

wherein the patient is allowed to collect information relating to self-help using the printed information.

44. The medium of claim 37, wherein the step (f) of printing by the patient comprises the steps of printing, by the patient, the retrieved information and additional information relating to at least one of:

days past refill date;

information on one or more prescriptions that are currently in process or open that the patient has requested to renew;

information on one or more prescriptions that are currently in process or open that the patient has requested to fill by mail;

a type of coverage that is currently available to the patient;

a total number of days of drug supplies allowed to be dispensed to the patient;

a dollar amount to be paid by the patient when a generic medication is dispensed; and

a dollar amount to be paid by the patient when a brand name medication is dispensed, to thereby allow the patient to present the printed information to the physician.

45. The medium of claim 37, wherein the step (f) of printing by the patient comprises the step of:

creating a patient field in the database when the patient is a new patient.

46. The medium of claim 37, wherein the health care provider is at least one of a physician, osteopath and pharmacist.

47. A computer-assisted method of providing, to a physician, information relating to a patient, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) collecting a prescription history that includes information relating to one or more prescriptions issued to the patient, a non-prescription purchase history comprising at least one of herbal medicines, naturopathic medicines, and over-the-counter medicine, and a prescription purchase history that includes information relating to one or more prescription purchases made by the patient in accordance with the one or more prescriptions and information relating to at least one of past prescriptions issued to the patient by either the treating physician or other physicians, whether or not the prescribed drugs have been purchased by the patient, when the prescribed drugs were purchased, the quantity of prescribed drugs purchased, the number of days past from a refill date when a prescription has not been refilled, when one or more prescriptions are issued by different health care providers, and when or more prescriptions are purchased from different pharmacists including, when information exists, a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company and mail delivery pharmacy;

(b) storing the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history information of the patient into a database and storing information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and information relating to a drug formulary preferred by a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient when at least one of the one or more prescriptions are issued by at least one of different health care providers and different pharmacists, wherein the pharmacy includes at least one of a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company, and mail delivery pharmacy;

(c) determining whether a drug formulary exists associated with a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient;

(d) generating, when it is determined if there is a determination that the drug formulary is not in existence, a drug formulary preferred by a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient by referencing a rules database, the drug formulary matches a formulary identification number of the patient, wherein the formulary identification number is consistent with different insurance carriers of the patient and specific to a formulary;

(e) accessing the information stored in the database for the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history of the patient, wherein access is granted only for the patient or a representative of the patient, under the direction of the patient or the representative, and under the authorization by the patient or the representative;

(f) retrieving the information relating to prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history by the patient or the representative; and

(g) at least one of printing and displaying, by the patient or the representative, printing the information retrieved relating to the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, prescription purchase history, and information associated with the formulary, wherein said formulary is associated with the patient'"'"'s insurance company, to the physician in order to assist the physician in providing medical care to the patient to prescribe for the patient the one or more prescriptions.

48. A computer assisted system for providing, to a physician, information relating to a patient, said method comprising:

(a) means for collecting a prescription history that includes information relating to one or more prescriptions issued to the patient, a non-prescription purchase history comprising at least one of herbal medicines, naturopathic medicines, and over-the-counter medicine, and a prescription purchase history that includes information relating to one or more prescription purchases made by the patient in accordance with the one or more prescriptions and information relating to at least one of past prescriptions issued to the patient by either the treating physician or other physicians, whether or not the prescribed drugs have been purchased by the patient, when the prescribed drugs were purchased, the quantity of prescribed drugs purchased, the number of days past from a refill date when a prescription has not been refilled, when one or more prescriptions are issued by different health care providers, and when or more prescriptions are purchased from different pharmacists including, when information exists, a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company and mail delivery pharmacy;

(b) means for storing the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history information of the patient into a database and storing information relating to pharmacy benefits for the patient and information relating to a drug formulary preferred by a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient when at least one of the one or more prescriptions are issued by at least one of different health care providers and different pharmacists, wherein the pharmacy includes at least one of a retail pharmacy, pharmaceutical benefits management company, and mail delivery pharmacy;

(c) means for determining whether a drug formulary exists associated with a pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient;

(d) means for generating, when it is determined that the drug formulary is not in existence, a drug formulary associated with the pharmacy insurance carrier of the patient by referencing a rules database, the drug formulary matches a formulary identification number of the patient, wherein the formulary identification number is consistent with different insurance carriers of the patient and specific to a formulary;

(e) means for accessing the prescription history, non-prescription history, and prescription purchase history information of the patient stored in the database, wherein access is granted only for the patient under the direction of the patient and under the authorization by the patient, the database for the stored prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history information of the patient;

(f) means for retrieving the prescription history, non-prescription purchase history, and prescription purchase history; and

(g) means for at least one of printing and displaying, for the patient, the retrieved prescription history, prescription purchase history, and information associated with the formulary, wherein the formulary is associated with the patient'"'"'s insurance company to the physician provider in order to assist the provider in providing medical services to the patient, to thereby allow the physician to compare issued one or more prescriptions and the prescription purchase history and prescribe for the patient the one or more prescriptions.