Method and apparatus for inter-pharmacy workload balancing using resource function assignments
First Claim
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1. A method of managing drug prescription orders within a network of pharmacy resources, comprising:
- identifying a drug type corresponding to an incoming prescription order at a first computing device of an information processing system connecting the network of pharmacy resources, the first computing device being associated with a first pharmacy resource;
determining that a second pharmacy resource in the network of pharmacy resources is assigned as a designated processing center for at least a portion of prescription orders for the drug type, wherein determining that the second pharmacy resource is assigned as the designated processing center comprises determining that the second pharmacy resource is assigned as the designated processing center based on a network demand for the drug type and a local capacity of the second pharmacy resource to process the at least a portion of prescription orders for the drug type; and
sending, by the first computing device via the information processing system to a second computing device associated with the second pharmacy resource, at least a portion of the incoming prescription order to the second pharmacy resource for processing, wherein processing each prescription order includes performing physical preparation of each prescription order and performing information processing of each prescription order, and wherein performing information processing of each prescription order includes authenticating each prescription order, validating any third party provider information, collecting payment information, and referencing drug information associated with the drug type.
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Abstract
The system distributes workload amongst a plurality of pharmacy resources that are connected by a computer network. Work orders are queued at each pharmacy resource and redistributed based on existing workload distribution, capacity of pharmacy resources, and/or product demand.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of managing drug prescription orders within a network of pharmacy resources, comprising:
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identifying a drug type corresponding to an incoming prescription order at a first computing device of an information processing system connecting the network of pharmacy resources, the first computing device being associated with a first pharmacy resource; determining that a second pharmacy resource in the network of pharmacy resources is assigned as a designated processing center for at least a portion of prescription orders for the drug type, wherein determining that the second pharmacy resource is assigned as the designated processing center comprises determining that the second pharmacy resource is assigned as the designated processing center based on a network demand for the drug type and a local capacity of the second pharmacy resource to process the at least a portion of prescription orders for the drug type; and sending, by the first computing device via the information processing system to a second computing device associated with the second pharmacy resource, at least a portion of the incoming prescription order to the second pharmacy resource for processing, wherein processing each prescription order includes performing physical preparation of each prescription order and performing information processing of each prescription order, and wherein performing information processing of each prescription order includes authenticating each prescription order, validating any third party provider information, collecting payment information, and referencing drug information associated with the drug type. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for managing drug prescription orders within a network of a plurality of pharmacy resources, the system comprising:
a set of computers coupled to an information processing system connecting the network of the plurality of pharmacy resources, wherein each of at least a subset of the set of computers is associated with at least one of the plurality of pharmacy resources and is programmed with instructions for; identifying a drug type corresponding to an incoming prescription order; determining that a first pharmacy resource of the plurality of pharmacy resources is assigned as a designated processing center for at least a portion of prescription orders for the drug type, wherein the first pharmacy resource of the plurality of pharmacy resources is assigned as the designated processing center for the at least a portion of prescription orders for the drug type based on at least one of;
an availability of the drug type of the first pharmacy resource, or a local capacity of the first pharmacy resource for processing the at least a portion of prescription orders for the drug type; andsending, via the information processing system to a first computer associated with the first pharmacy resource, at least a portion of the incoming prescription order to the first pharmacy resource for processing, wherein processing each prescription order includes performing physical preparation of each prescription order and performing information processing of each prescription order, and wherein performing information processing of each prescription order includes authenticating each prescription order, validating any third party provider information, collecting payment information, and referencing drug information associated with the drug type. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of distributing pharmacy prescription processing workload in a network of a plurality of pharmacy resources, comprising:
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associating each of the plurality of pharmacy resources with a different computer of a plurality of computers; communicatively coupling the plurality of computers via an information processing system; determining a network capacity of the plurality of pharmacy resources for a drug type based on at least one of;
a local capacity of each of the plurality of pharmacy resources for processing prescription orders for the drug type, or a local tally of prescription orders for the drug type at each of the plurality of pharmacy resources;determining a network demand for the drug type, wherein the network demand for the drug type is based on a total number of prescription orders for the drug type to be filled in the network of the plurality of pharmacy resources; assigning each of a subset of the plurality of pharmacy resources as a designated processing center for processing at least a portion of prescription orders for the drug type, the assigning based on the network demand and a part of the local capacities of the plurality of pharmacy resources for processing prescription orders for the drug type, wherein the part of the local capacities corresponds to processing the at least a portion of prescription orders for the drug type; and indicating, to at least one of the plurality of computers associated with a particular pharmacy resource, at least one of the subset of the plurality of pharmacy resources that are assigned as designated processing centers, wherein; each of the designated processing centers is enabled to process the at least a portion of prescription orders for the drug type, processing entire prescription orders for the drug type includes performing physical preparation and performing information processing, and at least one of the plurality of pharmacy resources is enabled to independently process a particular entire prescription order, and performing information processing for the particular prescription order for the drug type includes authenticating the particular prescription order, validating third party provider information, collecting payment information, and referencing drug information corresponding to the drug type. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification