Method and system for aligning prescriptions to a user-selected date
First Claim
1. A method for aligning refill dates associated with a plurality of prescriptions for a customer to a single alignment date, each prescription for a medication, at least a portion of the method embodied in a set of machine-readable instructions executed on a computer processor and stored on a tangible medium, the method comprising:
- receiving a selection of a plurality of prescriptions to align;
determining, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, a remaining day supply, the remaining day supply indicative of a number of days of the medication the customer has remaining;
calculating a next adjudication date for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions;
selecting as a latest adjudication date, from the plurality of calculated next adjudication dates, the next adjudication date occurring on the latest date;
calculating an earliest final alignment date;
receiving a selection of a final alignment date occurring on or after the earliest final alignment date;
calculating an alignment adjudication date;
determining, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, whether a short fill is required so that the customer does not exhaust the remaining day supply of the medication before the final alignment date;
calculating via the computer processor a short-fill day supply for any prescription requiring a short fill;
determining via the computer processor a date by which the customer will receive the short fill for any prescription requiring a short-fill;
determining via the computer processor, for any prescription requiring a short fill, whether the customer will receive the short fill for the prescription before the date by which the customer will exhaust the remaining day supply of the medication;
calculating via the computer processor a short-fill quantity for any prescription for which the customer will receive the required short fill for the prescription prior to exhausting the remaining day supply of the medication;
marking any prescription for which a short fill is required, but for which the customer cannot receive the required short fill for the prescription before exhausting the remaining day supply of the medication corresponding to the prescription;
performing the following if one or more prescriptions are marked;
(i) recalculating via the computer processor the next adjudication date for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions;
(ii) selecting via the computer processor as the latest adjudication date, from the plurality of recalculated next adjudication dates, the next adjudication date occurring on the latest date;
(iii) recalculating via the computer processor the earliest final alignment date;
(iv) receiving via the computer processor a selection of a second final alignment date occurring on or after the recalculated earliest final alignment date;
(v) recalculating via the computer processor the alignment adjudication date;
(vi) determining via the computer processor, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, using the recalculated dates, whether a short fill is required so that the customer does not exhaust the remaining day supply of the medication before the second final alignment date;
recalculating via the computer processor the short-fill day supply for any prescription requiring a short fill;
adjudicating via the computer processor each of the selected prescriptions on or after the recalculated alignment adjudication date;
filling each of the selected prescriptions; and
providing to the customer by the second final alignment date each of the medications corresponding to the selected prescriptions; and
performing, for each of the selected prescriptions, the following if none of the prescriptions are marked;
(a) filling and providing to the customer the short-fill quantity for any prescription requiring a short fill;
(b) adjudicating via the computer processor each of the selected prescriptions on or after the alignment adjudication date;
(c) filling each of the selected prescriptions; and
(d) providing to the customer by the final alignment date each of the medications corresponding to the selected prescriptions.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method facilitate alignment of refill dates associated with a plurality of prescriptions, such that each of the plurality of prescriptions requires a refill on the same date, thus limiting the number of occasions on which a customer must visit the pharmacy to retrieve refills of the aligned prescriptions, and increasing the likelihood that the customer will comply with the medication regimen. The system and method facilitate the alignment of the refill dates to an arbitrary user-selected date, while maintaining compliance with one or more rules governing the adjudication of the prescriptions.
-
Citations
39 Claims
-
1. A method for aligning refill dates associated with a plurality of prescriptions for a customer to a single alignment date, each prescription for a medication, at least a portion of the method embodied in a set of machine-readable instructions executed on a computer processor and stored on a tangible medium, the method comprising:
-
receiving a selection of a plurality of prescriptions to align; determining, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, a remaining day supply, the remaining day supply indicative of a number of days of the medication the customer has remaining; calculating a next adjudication date for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions; selecting as a latest adjudication date, from the plurality of calculated next adjudication dates, the next adjudication date occurring on the latest date; calculating an earliest final alignment date; receiving a selection of a final alignment date occurring on or after the earliest final alignment date; calculating an alignment adjudication date; determining, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, whether a short fill is required so that the customer does not exhaust the remaining day supply of the medication before the final alignment date; calculating via the computer processor a short-fill day supply for any prescription requiring a short fill; determining via the computer processor a date by which the customer will receive the short fill for any prescription requiring a short-fill; determining via the computer processor, for any prescription requiring a short fill, whether the customer will receive the short fill for the prescription before the date by which the customer will exhaust the remaining day supply of the medication; calculating via the computer processor a short-fill quantity for any prescription for which the customer will receive the required short fill for the prescription prior to exhausting the remaining day supply of the medication; marking any prescription for which a short fill is required, but for which the customer cannot receive the required short fill for the prescription before exhausting the remaining day supply of the medication corresponding to the prescription; performing the following if one or more prescriptions are marked; (i) recalculating via the computer processor the next adjudication date for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions; (ii) selecting via the computer processor as the latest adjudication date, from the plurality of recalculated next adjudication dates, the next adjudication date occurring on the latest date; (iii) recalculating via the computer processor the earliest final alignment date; (iv) receiving via the computer processor a selection of a second final alignment date occurring on or after the recalculated earliest final alignment date; (v) recalculating via the computer processor the alignment adjudication date; (vi) determining via the computer processor, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, using the recalculated dates, whether a short fill is required so that the customer does not exhaust the remaining day supply of the medication before the second final alignment date; recalculating via the computer processor the short-fill day supply for any prescription requiring a short fill; adjudicating via the computer processor each of the selected prescriptions on or after the recalculated alignment adjudication date; filling each of the selected prescriptions; and providing to the customer by the second final alignment date each of the medications corresponding to the selected prescriptions; and performing, for each of the selected prescriptions, the following if none of the prescriptions are marked; (a) filling and providing to the customer the short-fill quantity for any prescription requiring a short fill; (b) adjudicating via the computer processor each of the selected prescriptions on or after the alignment adjudication date; (c) filling each of the selected prescriptions; and (d) providing to the customer by the final alignment date each of the medications corresponding to the selected prescriptions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method for aligning refill dates associated with a plurality of prescriptions for a customer to a single alignment date, each prescription for a medication, at least a portion of the method embodied in a set of machine-readable instructions executed on a processor and stored on a tangible medium, the method comprising:
-
receiving a selection of a plurality of prescriptions to align; determining, via a computer processor, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, a remaining day supply, the remaining day supply indicative of how many days of medication the customer has remaining; receiving a selection of a final alignment date, wherein the final alignment date is different from at least one of the refill dates associated with one of the plurality of prescriptions for the customer; determining, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, whether a short fill is required so that the customer does not exhaust the remaining day supply of the medication before the final alignment date; calculating via the computer processor, one or both of a short-fill day supply and a short-fill quantity for any prescription requiring a short fill; filling and providing to the customer any required short fill, based on either the short-fill quantity or the short-fill day supply for any prescription; and filling each of the selected prescriptions. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
-
-
32. A system for aligning refill dates associated with a plurality of prescriptions for a customer to a single alignment date, each prescription for a medication, the system comprising:
-
a network; a computer coupled to the network; a database coupled to the computer; and an alignment engine configured to run on the computer to determine parameters associated with the alignment of the plurality of prescriptions, the alignment engine configured to; receive a selection of a plurality of prescriptions to align; receive a selection of a final alignment date, wherein the final alignment date is different from at least one of the refill dates associated with one of the plurality of prescriptions for the customer; and calculate a short-fill parameter. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
-
-
38. A method for aligning refill dates associated with a plurality of prescriptions for a customer to a single alignment date, each prescription for a medication, a portion of the method embodied in a set of machine-readable instructions executed on a processor and stored on a tangible medium, the method comprising:
-
receiving a selection of a plurality of prescriptions to align; determining via the computer processor, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, a remaining day supply, the remaining day supply indicative of how many days of medication the customer has remaining; receiving a selection of a final alignment date, wherein the final alignment date is different from at least one of the refill dates associated with one of the plurality of prescriptions for the customer; determining via the computer processor, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, whether the customer will exhaust the remaining day supply of the medication before the selected final alignment date; filling and providing one intermediate fill of the medication for each of the selected prescriptions for which the customer will exhaust the remaining day supply of the medication before the selected alignment date; and filling each of the selected prescriptions. - View Dependent Claims (39)
-
Specification