Method and system for aligning a plurality of prescription refills to multiple alignment dates

• US 8,275,634 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2011
• Issued: 09/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walgreen Co. (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Walgreen Co. (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Inventors: Palazzolo, Christina M., Pankow, Greg, Nadas, Gyula Jozsef, Oh, Hee Kyu, Liccardo, Peter, Webb, Guirong Zhou, Dorfman, Steve Scott, Khullar, Rishi, Tebbe, Laura Jean
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Connor, Gerald J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WINSTON III, EDWARD B
• Application Number:
  US13/214,769
• Publication Number:
  US 20120004929A1
• Time in Patent Office: 400 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2- 4, 600300-301
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients

Abstract

The method, system and user-interface allows alignment of refill dates associated with a plurality of prescriptions to a plurality of alignment dates, such that a plurality of selected prescriptions require refills on each of the plurality of alignment dates, 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 recommended medication regimen.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium having machine-executable instructions stored thereon, the instructions operable, when executed by a processor, to cause the processor to:

receive a selection of a plurality of prescriptions to align;

determine, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, a next fill date, wherein the next fill date is the date the prescription was last filled, incremented by a pre-alignment day supply for the prescription;

compute at least one alignment date corresponding to at least one of a quickest alignment option, a lowest cost alignment option, or a medication status alignment option, wherein the medication status alignment option is based on a status of at least one medication as a generic medication or a brand name medication;

compute an alignment cost for at least one of the quickest alignment option, the lowest cost alignment option, the medication status alignment option, or one or more custom alignment options;

receive a plurality of alignment date selections, each corresponding to one of the quickest alignment option, the lowest cost alignment option, the medication status alignment option, or a one of the one or more custom alignment options, wherein each selected alignment date is selected for at least two prescriptions;

determine for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions any intervening fill dates for the prescription between the current date and the one or more alignment dates associated with the selected prescription; and

determine for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions whether each of the alignment dates requires a reduced fill and, for each prescription for which it is determined that a reduced fill is required, further determine;

(a) a reduced-fill date on which the reduced fill occurs;

(b) a reduced-fill day supply for the reduced fill; and

(c) a reduced-fill cost for the reduced fill;

(d) wherein the reduced-fill date for each prescription requiring a reduced fill is the intervening fill date for the prescription that is closest to the selected alignment date; and

(e) wherein the reduced-fill day supply for the prescription is the number of days from the reduced-fill date to the selected alignment date.

2. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, the instructions further operable to cause the processor to:

store, for each of a plurality of customers, a customer record comprising a customer identifier indicative of a customer, and one or more prescriptions;

retrieve one or more customer records;

retrieve the one or more prescriptions associated with each of the one or more retrieved records;

determine whether each of the retrieved prescriptions is eligible for prescription alignment;

determine for each of the at least one customer records whether prescription alignment would violate rules of a third-party payor associated with the indicated customer; and

determine, for each of the at least one customer records, whether prescription alignment would violate applicable regulations in effect pertaining to the prescription alignment.

3. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, the instructions further operable to cause the processor to:

determine a benchmark date for the plurality of selected prescriptions, the benchmark date associated with a benchmark prescription; and

repeat the following steps until an alignment date is selected;

(a) compare the benchmark date to the latest of the plurality of determined next fill dates;

(b) select the benchmark date as the selected alignment date if the benchmark date is later than or the same as the latest of the determined next fill dates; and

(c) select as the benchmark date, if the benchmark date is earlier than the latest of the determined next fill dates, a subsequent next fill date for the benchmark prescription.

4. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein the instructions operable to determine a benchmark date corresponding to the quickest alignment option comprise instructions operable to select the latest of the plurality of determined next fill dates as the benchmark date.

5. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 3 wherein the instructions operable to determine a benchmark date corresponding to the lowest cost alignment option comprise instructions operable to:

group the plurality of selected prescriptions by next fill date, wherein a prescription group may comprise a single prescription or a plurality of prescriptions;

determine a pre-alignment cost for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions;

calculate the total of the pre-alignment costs for each of the prescription groups;

find the one or more prescription groups having the highest total pre-alignment cost;

select, where only one prescription group has the highest total pre-alignment cost, a next fill date for that prescription group, as the benchmark date; and

select, where more than one prescription group has the highest total pre-alignment cost, the latest of the next fill dates corresponding to the prescription groups having the highest total pre-alignment cost.

6. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 5 wherein each prescription of a group of prescriptions constitutes a benchmark prescription and further wherein instructions operable to select a subsequent next fill date for the benchmark prescription as the benchmark date for the benchmark prescription further comprise instructions operable to:

repeat, for each prescription of the one or more groups of prescriptions having the highest total pre-alignment cost, each of the following steps until each prescription of the one or more groups of prescriptions having the highest total pre-alignment cost has a benchmark date later than or the same as the latest next fill date;

(i) determine a subsequent next fill date for the prescription, wherein the subsequent next fill date for the prescription is determined according to the pre-alignment day supply for the prescription;

(ii) compare the determined subsequent next fill date to the latest next fill date; and

(iii) set the benchmark date for the prescription to the determined subsequent next fill date if the determined subsequent next fill date is later than or the same as the latest next fill date.

7. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6, further comprising instructions operable to cause the processor to select as the alignment date, where each of the benchmark prescriptions has a different cost than each other benchmark prescription, the benchmark date of the benchmark prescription having the highest cost.

8. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6, further comprising instructions operable to cause the processor to select as the alignment date, where each of the benchmark prescriptions has the same cost as each other benchmark prescription, the benchmark date of the benchmark prescription having the earliest benchmark date after the latest next fill date.

9. A user-interface employed in a system for aligning a plurality of pharmaceutical prescriptions to a plurality of alignment dates, the user-interface comprising:

one or more user-interface screens being generated and displayed by a computer,

one or more controls indicating a plurality of prescriptions selected for alignment and allowing a user to edit the selected prescriptions;

an indication, for each of the plurality of selected prescriptions, of each of a last fill date, a quantity supplied, a pre-alignment day supply, and a pre-alignment cost;

one or more controls indicating a plurality of prescription alignment dates and allowing the user to edit one or more of the plurality of prescription alignment dates;

an indication of zero or more of the plurality of selected prescriptions that will require a reduced fill, a reduced-fill date for each required reduced fill, a reduced-fill day supply to be provided on each reduced-fill date, and a reduced-fill cost of each required reduced fill;

an indication of a post-alignment day supply for each prescription at each alignment date; and

a control indicating a post-alignment cost at each alignment date and allowing the user to edit the post-alignment day supply for each of the alignedprescriptions;

wherein a printable version of the displayed information may be generated;

wherein the prescription alignment may be confirmed.

10. The user-interface of claim 9 wherein the control indicating each of the prescription alignment dates initially reflects either an alignment date associated with a lowest cost option or an alignment date associated with a fastest alignment option, and wherein the control indicating each of the alignment dates may be toggled between the lowest cost option and the fastest alignment option, or manually edited.