System and software of enhanced pharmaceutical operations in long-term care facilities and related methods

• US 8,554,574 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2012
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tech Pharmacy Services, LLC
• Original Assignee: Tech Pharmacy Services Incorporated (Partners Pharmacy LLC)
• Inventors: Moncrief, James W., Martins, James J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fuelling, Michael
• Application Number:
  US13/725,432
• Publication Number:
  US 20130104499A1
• Time in Patent Office: 291 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/30 Devices or methods for controlling or determining the quantity or quality or the material fed or filled
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A system, software and related methods of enhanced pharmaceutical operations in long term care facilities are provided. An embodiment of a system includes a long-term care facility pharmacy group management server, long-term care facility pharmacy management software associated with the long-term care facility pharmacy group management server to manage pharmacological operations in a plurality of long-term care facilities, a plurality of pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts each positioned in a long-term care facility remote from the long-term care facility pharmacy group management server and in communication therewith, a remote pharmacy group server in communication with the long-term care facility pharmacy group management server, and a plurality of pharmaceutical prescription document processors each positioned in a long-term care facility and in communication with the remote pharmacy group server or the long-term care facility pharmacy group management server.

Claims

1. A method of restructuring long-term care facility staff procedures for communication between one or more long-term care facility staff members, each located at a long-term care facility, and a long-term care facility remote pharmacy positioned remote from the long-term care facility, the method comprising the steps of:

installing one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts at each of the plurality of long-term care facilities operable by the one or more long-term care facility staff members, each of the at least one pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts being positioned remote from, and adapted to be in communication with, a long-term care facility pharmacy management server via a communications network, the long-term care facility pharmacy management server including non-transitory, tangible memory medium to store long-term care facility management computer programs including a patient prescription receiver to receive a digital image of a patient medication prescription order and a medication dispensing apparatus administrator to selectively remote control one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing cart functions;

verifying, at the long-term care facility remote pharmacy, one or more digital images of one or more patient medication prescription orders received from one or more pharmaceutical prescription document processors adapted to be in communication with one of the at least one pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts to thereby enhance reduction of medication order errors and reduce miscommunication between one or more long-term care facility staff members and the long-term care remote pharmacy;

adding, via the long-term care facility management computer programs, the one or more digital images of one or more patient medication prescription orders received from the one or more pharmaceutical prescription document processors via the communications network to memory of the long-term care facility pharmacy management server for verification by one or more long-term care facility remote pharmacy personnel;

verifying the one or more patient medication prescription orders in the memory of the long-term care facility pharmacy management server by comparing, via the long-term care facility management computer programs, the one or more digital images of the one or more patient medication prescription orders with one or more of a patient medication profile, a patient diagnosis profile, a patient insurance profile, and a drug interaction profile, to thereby enhance reduction of drug conflicts;

analyzing, via the long-term care facility management computer programs, the one or more patient medication prescription orders in the memory of the long-term care facility server to determine whether drug conflicts exist; and

transmitting dispensing instructions to the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts by the long-term care facility management computer programs via the communications network when no drug conflicts exist to thereby initiate dispensing of the one or more disposable individual patient dosing package at the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts; and

packaging, by the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts, one or more medications into one or more disposable individual patient dosing packages.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the method further includes the step of providing remote training to the one or more long-term care facility staff members from the long-term care facility remote pharmacy by selectively remotely controlling one or more functions, available to the one or more long-term care facility staff members from a terminal of one of the at least one pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts, by the long-term care facility management computer programs via the communications network responsive to input received from the one or more long-term care facility remote pharmacy personnel.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts is further adapted to be in communication with one or more video input devices, wherein the method further includes the step of displaying, at the long-term care facility remote pharmacy, one or more video images of at least one visually accessible functional component of one of the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts via the long-term care facility management computer programs over the communications network responsive to video signals received from the one or more video input devices and providing remote troubleshooting of the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts by the one or more long-term care facility remote pharmacy personnel responsive to the video image of the at least one visually accessible functional component of the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing cart.

4. A method of restructuring long-term care facility staff procedures for communication between one or more long-term care facility staff members, each located at a long-term care facility, and a long-term care facility remote pharmacy positioned remote from the long-term care facility, the method comprising the steps of:

installing one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts at each of the plurality of long-term care facilities operable by the one or more long-term care facility staff members, each of the at least one pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts being positioned remote from, and adapted to be in communication with, a long-term care facility pharmacy management server via a communications network, the long-term care facility pharmacy management server including non-transitory, tangible memory medium to store long-term care facility management computer programs including a patient prescription receiver to receive a digital image of a patient medication prescription order and a medication dispensing apparatus administrator to selectively remote control one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing cart functions, the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts being further adapted to be in communication with one or more video input devices;

providing remote training to the one or more long-term care facility staff members from the long-term care facility remote pharmacy by selectively remotely controlling one or more functions, available to the one or more long-term care facility staff members from a terminal of one of the at least one pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts, by long-term care facility management computer programs via the communications network responsive to input received from one or more long-term care facility remote pharmacy personnel;

verifying, at the long-term care facility remote pharmacy, one or more digital images of one or more patient medication prescription orders received from one or more pharmaceutical prescription document processors adapted to be in communication with one of the at least one pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts to thereby enhance reduction of medication order errors and reduce miscommunication between one or more long-term care facility staff members and the long-term care remote pharmacy;

adding, via the long-term care facility management computer programs, the one or more digital images of one or more patient medication prescription orders received from the one or more pharmaceutical prescription document processors via the communications network to memory of the long-term care facility pharmacy management server for verification by one or more long-term care facility remote pharmacy personnel;

verifying the one or more patient medication prescription orders in the memory of the long-term care facility pharmacy management server by comparing, via the long-term care facility management computer programs, the one or more digital images of the one or more patient medication prescription orders with one or more of a patient medication profile, a patient diagnosis profile, a patient insurance profile, and a drug interaction profile, to thereby enhance reduction of drug conflicts;

analyzing, via the long-term care facility management computer programs, the one or more patient medication prescription orders in the memory of the long-term care facility server to determine whether drug conflicts exist; and

transmitting dispensing instructions to the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts by the long-term care facility management computer programs via the communications network when no drug conflicts exist to thereby initiate dispensing of the one or more disposable individual patient dosing package at the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts;

packaging, by the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts, one or more medications into one or more disposable individual patient dosing packages; and

displaying, at the long-term care facility remote pharmacy, one or more video images of at least one visually accessible functional component of one of the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts via the long-term care facility management computer programs over the communications network responsive to video signals received from the one or more video input devices and providing remote troubleshooting of the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing carts by the one or more long-term care facility remote pharmacy personnel responsive to the video image of the at least one visually accessible functional component of the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing cart.