System and method for providing pharmaceutical data in a secure and affordable manner

• US 7,577,580 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2003
• Issued: 08/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IMS Software Services Ltd. (IQVIA Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: IMS Software Services Ltd. (IQVIA Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hontz, Karrie, Mann, Stephen, Dilworth, Valerie
• Primary Examiner(s): LAFORGIA, CHRISTIAN A
• Application Number:
  US10/524,925
• Publication Number:
  US 20060106639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,191 Days
• Field of Search: 705/10
• US Class Current: 705/7.38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/40 relating to drugs, e.g. their side effects or intended usage

Abstract

A system and method for evaluating the performance of a first at least one of a plurality of outlets is provided. The system includes a computer system configured to execute a data access application, wherein the data access application includes a plurality of user accounts, wherein each of the plurality of user accounts includes a user group, and wherein a second at least one of the plurality of outlets is associated with the user group. The system also including a data storage device configured to store market measures from a portion of the plurality of outlets and industry-standard market measures, wherein the data access application allows a user to access the industry-standard market measures and data associated with the outlets associated with the user group of user'"'"'s user account.

Claims

1. A data analysis system for evaluating the performance of a first at-least one of a plurality of pharmacy outlet(s) in a pharmacy chain, there being several such pharmacy chains in the marketplace, the system comprising:

a computer system coupled to a centralized database common to all the pharmacy chains in the marketplace, wherein the database houses;

(1) confidential pharmaceutical information related to all the pharmacy chains, wherein the confidential information related to a particular pharmacy chain includes market measures of its plurality of pharmacy outlets, and

(2) reference files including industry-standard market measures;

(3) a plurality of data records, wherein each of the data records includes an outlet name, an organization name, and a parent name; and

a data access application providing user/outlet-access to the database from a second one of the plurality of pharmacy outlets, wherein the data access application is configured to provide user/outlet access to (a) reference files including the industry-standard market measures, and (b) only to data associated with the second one of the plurality of pharmacy outlets'"'"' pharmacy chain while keeping the confidential information related to other pharmacy chains inaccessible.

2. The data analysis system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of outlets is a retail sales location.

3. The data analysis system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of outlets is a pharmaceutical sales location.

4. The data analysis system of claim 1, wherein the computer system receives market measures from the portion of the plurality of outlets through the transceiver.

5. The data analysis system of claim 4, wherein the computer system receives the market measures from users utilizing the data access application.

6. The data analysis system of claim 4, wherein the computer system generates industry-standard market measures based at least in part on the market measures from the portion of the plurality of outlets.

7. The data analysis system of claim 1 wherein the pharmacy chain is associated with at least one of the plurality of outlets associated with a particular organization name.

8. A method for evaluating the performance of at least one of a plurality of pharmacy outlets in a pharmacy chain, there being several such pharmacy chains in the marketplace comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a username and password from a user associated with a second pharmacy outlet;

(b) verifying that the username and password correspond to a user account, wherein the user account includes a reference to the pharmacy chain to which the second pharmacy outlet belongs;

(c) receiving a request for a report comparing data associated with at least one outlet associated with the pharmacy chain to industry-standard market measures;

(d) if the first and second pharmacy outlets belong to a common pharmacy chain, accessing a database that houses;

confidential pharmaceutical information related to all the pharmacy chains, wherein the confidential information related to a particular pharmacy chain includes market measures of its plurality of pharmacy outlets, and reference files including industry-standard market measures;

wherein accessing the database comprises accessing only the confidential information related to the common pharmacy chain and the reference files including industry-standard market measures to generate the report;

(e) receiving data describing at least one of the plurality of outlets, wherein the data describing each of the at least one of the plurality of outlets includes an outlet name, an organization name, and a parent name

(f) transmitting the report to the user.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

(e) receiving market measures corresponding to one of the at least one outlet associated with the pharmacy chain.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the market measures include all pertinent transactions from the one of the at least one outlet.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the plurality of outlets is a retail sales location.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the plurality of outlets is a pharmaceutical sales location.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

(f) receiving market measures from the portion of the plurality of outlets.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

(g) generating industry-standard market measures based at least in part on the market measures received from the portion of the plurality of outlets.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of:

(i) storing a plurality of data records following the step (h), wherein each of the plurality of data records includes an outlet name, an organization name, and a parent name.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the pharmacy chain is associated with at least one of the plurality of outlets associated with a particular parent name.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the pharmacy chain is associated with at least one of the plurality of outlets associated with a particular organization name.