System and method for reception, analysis, and annotation of prescription data

• US 7,847,970 B1
• Filed: 04/15/2005
• Issued: 12/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ArXium, Inc. (Van Humbeck Family)
• Original Assignee: AutoMed Technologies Incorporated (Cencora, Inc.)
• Inventors: McGrady, R. Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams; Kimberly A
• Application Number:
  US11/107,962
• Time in Patent Office: 2,062 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.1, 358/1.15, 358/402, 358/403, 358/527, 382/115, 705/2, 705/3, 715/203, 715/231, 715/233, 715/235, 715/512, 345/179, 345/581, 345/634
• US Class Current: 358/1.18
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/08 Biomedical applications
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing

Abstract

An exemplary medication order processing system (10) includes a plurality of nursing stations (12, 14, 16). Physician orders prescribing medications for patients are faxed from the nursing stations to a computer which is included in an interchange fax station (28) located at the pharmacy. Physician orders for medications are selectively sent to either a priority or normal fax number based on the urgency associated with delivering the medication to the patient. The interchange fax station is operative to prioritize the orders and to present them to pharmacists working at pharmacist work stations (40, 42). Pharmacist work stations are enabled to review, electronically annotate, and input orders reviewed at the pharmacy work station into a pharmacy order system of the facility. Input to the pharmacy order system results in the medication being administered to the patient. Pharmacists are also enabled to handle discrepancies and to present issues to the originators of the orders so as to resolve questions before the input of the medication order into the pharmacy order system.

Claims

1. Method comprising:

(a) storing a physician medical order received at a pharmacy as an electronic image;

(b) displaying at least a portion of the electronic image on a display screen of a pharmacist work station located at a pharmacy, wherein the pharmacist work station includes at least one electronic image annotation tool;

(c) operating the at least one electronic image annotation tool to provide at least one electronic marking in the electronic image while the portion is displayed on the display screen, wherein the portion with the at least one electronic marking thereon is displayed on the display screen;

(d) storing the electronic image with the at least one marking as an annotated physician medical order;

(e) operating the work station to select an electronic image of a physician medical order for display;

(f) responsive to the selection in (e), automatically displaying on the display screen a zoomed-in defined portion of the selected electronic image;

wherein the defined portion comprises an electronic image quadrant, wherein the electronic image quadrant is one of a plurality of user-selectable electronic image quadrants, wherein step (f) includes automatically displaying on the display screen a zoomed-in quadrant of the electronic image selected in step (e).

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein step (c) includes operating the at least one electronic image annotation tool to provide an electronic marking comprising at least one of a checkmark, a highlighting, a writing, a drawing, a note with user-added text, and a note with predefined text.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein step (d) includes storing an electronic image of an annotated physician medical order in a manner that allows an annotation history of a physician medical order to be reviewed at the work station.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein step (a) includes storing an electronic image of an originally received physician medical order in a first file, wherein step (d) includes storing the at least one electronic marking in a second file, wherein the second file is different from the first file.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein prior to step (a), adding a verification code to an electronic image of an originally received physician medical order, wherein step (a) includes storing the electronic image with the verification code.

6. The method according to claim 1 and further comprising:

(g) prior to step (a), receiving at the pharmacy the physician medical order sent from a medical station remotely located from the pharmacy via facsimile transmission;

(h) sending the annotated physician medical order from the pharmacy to the medical station via facsimile transmission.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the work station enables the printing of an annotated physician medical order with or without at least one marking corresponding to the at least one electronic marking, and further comprising:

(g) operating the work station to select how an annotated physician medical order is to be printed; and

(h) responsive to step (e), either;

printing the annotated physician medical order with the at least one marking, or

printing the annotated physician medical order without the at least one marking.

8. Method comprising:

(a) storing a physician medical order received at a pharmacy as an electronic image;

(b) displaying at least a portion of the electronic image on a display screen of a pharmacist work station located at a pharmacy, wherein the pharmacist work station includes at least one electronic image annotation tool;

(c) operating the at least one electronic image annotation tool to provide at least one electronic marking in the electronic image while the portion is displayed on the display screen, wherein the portion with the at least one electronic marking thereon is displayed on the display screen;

(d) storing the electronic image with the at least one marking as an annotated physician medical order;

(e) placing physician medical orders received at the pharmacy into an electronic order prioritizing queue, wherein at least a portion of the queue is displayable on the display screen;

wherein orders at a top area of the queue have a higher priority than orders at a bottom area of the queue, and further comprising;

(f) operating the work station to place an order on hold, wherein placing an order on hold temporarily moves the order to a position at the bottom of the queue until a time limit is reached causing the order to be moved to the top of the queue.

9. The method according to claim 8 wherein step (f) includes positioning the order at the bottom of the queue until one of a timeout value and a hold timeout limit is reached causing the order to be moved to the top of the queue, wherein a time period of the hold timeout limit is greater than a time period of the time out value, wherein the time period of the hold timeout limit corresponds to a maximum time that an order can be placed on hold, enabling an order to be placed on hold more than once.

10. Method comprising:

(a) storing at a pharmacy, an electronic image of a physician medical order,

wherein the electronic image is stored in a first file as part of an original physician medical order,

wherein the pharmacy includes a pharmacist work station,

wherein the pharmacist work station enables the displaying of the original physician medical order;

(b) displaying the electronic image on a display screen of the pharmacist work station,

wherein the pharmacist work station includes at least one electronic image annotation tool,

wherein the at least one electronic image annotation tool is usable to provide at least one electronic marking to the electronic image,

wherein the at least one electronic marking comprises at least one of a checkmark, a highlighting, a writing, a drawing, a note with user-added text, and a note with predefined text;

(c) using the at least one electronic image annotation tool while the electronic image is being displayed on the display screen, in providing the at least one electronic marking to the electronic image,

wherein the providing causes the electronic image to be displayed on the display screen with the at least one electronic marking thereon;

(d) storing the at least one electronic marking in a second file as part of an annotated physician medical order,

wherein the second file is different from the first file;

wherein the annotated physician medical order includes the electronic image with the at least one electronic marking thereon,

wherein the pharmacist work station enables the displaying of the annotated physician medical order;

(e) subsequent to (d), operating the pharmacist work station to select display of either;

(ei) the original physician medical order, or

(eii) the annotated physician medical order; and

(f) responsive at least in part to (e), either;

(fi) displaying the electronic image without the at least one electronic marking thereon responsive to (ei), wherein the first file is displayed, or

(fii) displaying the electronic image with the at least one electronic marking thereon responsive to (eii), wherein the second file is displayed layered over the first file.

11. The method according to claim 10 and further comprising:

(g) placing physician medical orders stored at the pharmacy into an electronic order-prioritizing queue, wherein at least a portion of the Queue is displayable on the display screen; and

(h) displaying at least a portion of the electronic image along with at least a portion of the queue on the same display screen.

12. The method according to claim 10 wherein the pharmacist work station is operative to cause the display screen to display a user interface including annotation tool icons, wherein selection of a displayed annotation tool icon is operative cause selection of a particular electronic image annotation tool corresponding to the displayed icon, and further comprising

(g) prior to step (c), selecting a particular electronic image annotation tool via a displayed annotation tool icon.

13. The method according to claim 10

wherein (e) includes operating the pharmacist work station to select display of the annotated physician medical order,

wherein (f) includes displaying the electronic image with the at least one electronic marking thereon, wherein the second file is displayed layered over the first file.

14. The method according to claim 10 wherein step (c) includes operating the at least one electronic image annotation tool to provide an electronic marking comprising a checkmark.

15. The method according to claim 10 wherein step (c) includes operating the at least one electronic image annotation tool to provide an electronic marking comprising a highlighting.

16. The method according to claim 10 wherein step (c) includes operating the at least one electronic image annotation tool to provide an electronic marking comprising a writing.

17. The method according to claim 10 wherein step (c) includes operating the at least one electronic image annotation tool to provide an electronic marking comprising a drawing.

18. The method according to claim 10 wherein step (c) includes operating the at least one electronic image annotation tool to provide an electronic marking comprising a note with user-added text.

19. The method according to claim 10 wherein step (c) includes operating the at least one electronic image annotation tool to provide an electronic marking comprising a note with predefined text.

20. The method according to claim 10 wherein the physician medical order comprises a prescription,

wherein (c) includes annotating the prescription by providing the at least one electronic marking to an electronic image of the prescription while the electronic image of the prescription is being displayed on the display screen,

wherein (fii) includes displaying the annotated prescription by displaying the electronic image of the prescription with the at least one electronic marking thereon.