Systems and methods for notifying of duplicate product prescriptions

• US 8,548,824 B1
• Filed: 03/26/2010
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: McKesson Corp.
• Original Assignee: Mckesson Financial Holdings Limited (McKesson Corp.)
• Inventors: daCosta, Patricia A., Harris, Patrick I. Sr.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HIEP VAN
• Application Number:
  US12/748,129
• Time in Patent Office: 1,285 Days
• Field of Search: 705/3
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention may include systems and methods for notifying a prescriber or other entity of duplicate product prescriptions. According to one embodiment, a method for processing prescriptions is provided that may include the operations of: receiving a healthcare transaction that identifies a current prescribed product, a patient, and a current prescriber who prescribed the current prescribed product; retrieving patient history for the patient; determining the following based on the patient history: that the patient has previously received a previous equivalent product equivalent to the current prescribed product identified in the healthcare transaction and an identity of a previous prescriber of the previous equivalent product; and transmitting a notification to at least one of the previous prescriber or the current prescriber, wherein the notification identifies potential duplicate products.

Claims

1. A method for processing prescriptions, comprising:

receiving, by a service provider computer, a healthcare transaction that identifies a current prescribed product, a patient, and a current prescriber who prescribed the current prescribed product;

retrieving, by the service provider computer, patient history for the patient;

determining, by the service provider computer, based at least in part on the patient history;

that the patient has previously received a previous equivalent product that is equivalent to the current prescribed product identified in the healthcare transaction, and

an identity of a previous prescriber of the previous equivalent product;

determining that the previous prescriber is different from the current prescriber and that the previous prescriber and the current prescriber are not professionally associated;

transmitting a notification to at least one of;

(a) the previous prescriber;

(b) the current prescriber;

(c) a pharmacy;

or (d) the patient, wherein the notification identifies potential duplicate products; and

prior to transmitting the notification, analyzing the patient history for the patient to identify that the previous equivalent product was dispensed to the patient less than a predetermined period of time prior to a date associated with the healthcare transaction request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification is transmitted to the previous prescriber.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the patient has previously received the previous equivalent product comprises comparing the current prescribed product to stored data indicating a plurality of equivalent products, wherein equivalent products are determined based at least in part on at least one of:

(a) one or more active ingredients of the respective products;

(b) therapeutic effects provided by the respective products;

(c) conditions treated by the respective products, (d) dosage;

(e) strength;

or (f) chemical equivalency of the respective products.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification is a first notification, and further comprising transmitting a second notification to at least one of:

(a) the other of the previous prescriber or the current prescriber;

(b) a monitoring authority;

(c) a pharmacy computer;

(d) the patient;

or (e) law enforcement.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification is transmitted via one of:

(a) an email;

(b) a facsimile;

(c) a text message;

(d) a network-based message;

(e) an Internet-based message;

(f) mailed correspondence;

or (g) a telephonic notification.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the healthcare transaction is received from a first pharmacy computer for dispensing the current prescribed product at a first pharmacy, and wherein the previous equivalent product was dispensed to the patient at a second pharmacy not associated with the first pharmacy.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the healthcare transaction is received from a first pharmacy computer for dispensing the current prescribed product at a first pharmacy, and wherein the previous equivalent product was dispensed to the patient at the first pharmacy.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification comprises an identity of the patient, an identity of the previous equivalent product, a date associated with the previous equivalent product, an identity of the current prescribed product, and a date associated with the current prescribed product.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the healthcare transaction comprises one of:

(a) an electronic prescription order received from a prescriber computer;

or (b) a prescription claim request received from a pharmacy computer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the patient history is maintained by the service provider computer.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the patient history for the patient with information associated with the current prescribed product.

12. A system, comprising:

at least one memory for storing computer-executable instructions; and

at least one processor configured to access the memory and further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to;

receive a healthcare transaction that identifies a current prescribed product, a patient, and a current prescriber who prescribed the current prescribed product;

retrieve patient history for the patient;

determine, based at least in part on the patient history, that the patient has previously received a previous equivalent product equivalent to the current prescribed product identified in the healthcare transaction and an identity of a previous prescriber for the previous equivalent product;

determine that the previous prescriber is different from the current prescriber and that the previous prescriber and the current prescriber are not professionally associated; and

transmit a notification to at least one of;

(a) the previous prescriber;

(b) the current prescriber;

(c) a pharmacy;

or (d) the patient, wherein the notification identifies potential duplicate products,

wherein, prior to transmitting the notification, the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to analyze the patient history for the patient to identify that the previous equivalent product was dispensed to the patient less than a predetermined period of time prior to a date associated with the healthcare transaction request.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the notification is transmitted to the previous prescriber.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the memory further comprises stored data indicating a plurality of equivalent products, wherein equivalent products are determined based at least in part on at least one of:

(a) one or more active ingredients of the respective products;

(b) therapeutic effects provided by the respective products;

(c) conditions treated by the respective products, (d) dosage;

(e) strength;

or (f) chemical equivalency of the respective products.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the notification is transmitted via one of:

(a) an email;

(b) a facsimile;

(c) a text message;

(d) a network-based message;

(e) an Internet-based message;

(f) mailed correspondence;

or (g) a telephonic notification.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the healthcare transaction is received from a first pharmacy computer for dispensing the current prescribed product at a first pharmacy, and wherein the previous equivalent product was dispensed to the patient at one of:

(a) a second pharmacy not associated with the first pharmacy;

or (b) the first pharmacy.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the healthcare transaction comprises one of:

(a) an electronic prescription order received from a prescriber computer;

or (b) a prescription claim request received from a pharmacy computer.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to update the patient history for the patient with information associated with the current prescribed product.