Systems and methods for determining pharmaceutical consultation compliance

• US 8,589,186 B1
• Filed: 11/01/2010
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walgreen Co. (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Walgreen Co. (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Inventors: Nadas, Gyula J., Johnson, Michael R., Fields, Anthony James
• Primary Examiner(s): Morgan, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUNTER, SEAN KRISTOPHER
• Application Number:
  US12/917,147
• Time in Patent Office: 1,114 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 705/3
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0607 Regulated
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients

Abstract

Systems and methods of determining pharmaceutical consultation compliance are disclosed, including generating and storing a plurality of consultation recording blocks corresponding to fillings of prescription orders for patients. The consultation recording blocks may include multiple consultation entries, where each consultation entry corresponds to a particular pharmaceutical consultation that is desired or required to occur in conjunction with a prescription fill for a particular patient. The consultation entries may be populated in conjunction with respective filling of prescription orders and work flow stages therein, or on demand. A request for pharmaceutical consultation compliance may be received, and a response to the request may be determined based on information from at least some portions of the consultation entries, such as a status portion, an authorization portion and/or other portions.

Claims

1. A method for determining medication consultation compliance, comprising:

generating, at a computing device, a plurality of medication consultation blocks, each pharmaceutical medication consultation block corresponding to a respective patient and including one or more medication consultation entries,

each medication consultation entry corresponding to a respective medication consultation including a consultation, a conference or a discussion between a representative of a pharmacy enterprise and the respective patient or an agent of the respective patient, and an occurrence of the medication consultation is required to comply with a requirement, and

the each medication consultation entry having a respective plurality of portions including;

a status field for indicating a status of the respective medication consultation, and an authorization field for indicating an authorization of the respective medication consultation by an authorizing party;

storing the plurality of medication consultation blocks in a memory accessible by the computing device;

populating at least some of the respective plurality of portions of a particular medication consultation entry of a particular medication consultation block corresponding to a particular patient based on a filling of a particular prescription order for the particular patient;

receiving, at the computing device, a request corresponding to medication consultation compliance with the requirement;

determining, by the computing device, at least one of a consultation-compliant set of medication consultation entries that comply with the requirement or a consultation-non-compliant set of pharmaceutical medication consultation entries that do not comply with the requirement based on the at least some of the status fields and at least some of the authorization fields of the medication consultation entries of the plurality of medication consultation blocks; and

sending, by the computing device in response to the request, an indication of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set of pharmaceutical medication consultation entries or the consultation-non-compliant set of pharmaceutical medication consultation entries.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective plurality of portions of each medication consultation entry further includes a location field for indicating a location of the respective medication consultation, and wherein determining the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set is further based on at least some of the location fields of the medication consultation entries of the plurality of medication consultation blocks.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective plurality of portions of each medication consultation entry further includes a provider field for indicating a provider of the respective medication consultation, and wherein determining the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set is further based on at least some of the provider fields of the medication consultation entries of the plurality of medication consultation blocks.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective plurality of portions of each pharmaceutical medication consultation entry further includes a type field for indicating a type of the respective medication consultation, and wherein determining the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set is further based on at least some of the type fields of the pharmaceutical medication consultation entries of the plurality of pharmaceutical medication consultation blocks.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective plurality of portions of each medication consultation entry further includes a resolution field for indicating a resolution of the respective medication consultation, and wherein determining the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set is further based on at least some of the resolution fields of the medication consultation entries of the plurality of medication consultation blocks.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the filling of the particular prescription order includes a plurality of stages of a work flow tracked by the computing device and including a data entry stage, a drug utilization review stage, a prescription order fill stage, a third party validation stage, and a payment stage, and generating the particular pharmaceutical medication consultation block comprises generating a first medication consultation entry corresponding to a first stage of the work flow and generating a second medication consultation entry corresponding to a second stage of the work flow.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein generating the first medication consultation entry comprises automatically generating, by the computing device, the first medication consultation entry based on an entry into or an exit from the first stage of the work flow.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising blocking a progression of the filling of the particular prescription order through the plurality of stages of the work flow when at least one of the first medication consultation entry or the second medication consultation entry is unpopulated, and resuming the progression through the plurality of stages of the work flow when the at least one of the first medication consultation entry or the second pharmaceutical medication consultation entry is at least partially populated.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

generating a second medication consultation block corresponding to a different prescription order for the particular patient;

generating a third medication consultation block corresponding to an over-the-counter product and to the particular patient;

or

generating a fourth medication consultation block corresponding to a service and to the particular patient.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the indication of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set comprises at least one of:

displaying the indication of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set on a user input interface device coupled to the computing device, storing the indication of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set in the memory accessible by the computing device or in another memory, or transmitting the indication of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set using a network interface of the computing device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the indication of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set includes sending at least one of the respective plurality of portions of each of the medication consultation entries included in the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set.

12. A system for determining medication consultation compliance, comprising:

a computing device including a memory and a processor;

a display device communicatively coupled to the computing device; and

computer-executable instructions stored in the memory of the computing device and executable by the processor for;

generating a plurality of pharmaceutical medication consultation blocks, each medication consultation block corresponding to a respective patient and including one or more medication consultation entries,

each medication consultation entry corresponding to a respective pharmaceutical medication consultation including a consultation, a conference or a discussion between a representative of a pharmacy enterprise and the respective patient or an agent of the respective patient, and an occurrence of the medication consultation is required to comply with a requirement, and

the each medication consultation entry having a respective plurality of portions including a status field corresponding to a status of the respective medication consultation; and

storing the plurality of pharmaceutical medication consultation blocks in the memory of the computing device or in another memory accessible by the computing device;

populating at least some of the respective plurality of portions of a particular medication consultation entry of a particular medication consultation block corresponding to a particular patient based on a filling of a particular prescription order for the particular patient;

receiving a request corresponding to medication consultation compliance with the requirement;

determining at least one of a consultation-compliant set of medication consultation entries that comply with the requirement or a consultation-non-compliant set of pharmaceutical medication consultation entries that do not comply with the requirement based on at least some of the status fields of at least some of the medication consultation entries of the plurality of ˜

medication consultation blocks; and

sending, in response to the request, an indication of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set of consultation entries or the consultation-non-compliant set of pharmaceutical medication consultation entries.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one of:

the respective plurality of portions of each medication consultation entry further includes a location field corresponding to a location of the respective medication consultation, and the determining of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set of the plurality of medication consultation blocks is further based on at least some of the location fields of at least some of the ˜

medication consultation entries of the plurality of medication consultation blocks;

the respective plurality of portions of each medication consultation entry further includes a provider field corresponding to a provider of the respective medication consultation, and the determining of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set of the plurality of medication consultation blocks is further based on at least some of the provider fields of at least some of the medication consultation entries of the plurality of medication consultation blocks;

the respective plurality of portions of each medication consultation entry further includes a type field corresponding to a type of the respective medication consultation, and the determining of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set of the plurality of medication consultation blocks is further based on at least some of the type fields of at least some of the medication consultation entries of the plurality of medication consultation blocks;

the respective plurality of portions or each medication consultation entry further includes a resolution field corresponding to a resolution of the respective medication consultation, and the determining of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set of the plurality of medication consultation blocks is further based on at least some of the resolution fields of at least some of the medication consultation entries of the plurality of pharmaceutical medication consultation blocks;

or

the respective plurality of portions or each medication consultation entry further includes an authorization field corresponding to an authorization of the respective medication consultation by an authorizing party, and the determining of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set of the plurality of medication consultation blocks is further based on at least some of the authorization fields of at least some of the medication consultation entries of the plurality of medication consultation blocks.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the indication of the at least one of the consultation-compliant set or the consultation-non-compliant set is an audit report.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the respective plurality of portions of each medication consultation entry further includes an authorization field corresponding to an authorization of the respective medication consultation by an authorizing party, and wherein at least one of:

the authorizing party is a pharmacist, or the authorizing party is a different party than a provider of the respective medication consultation.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the filling of the particular prescription order includes a plurality of stages of a work flow tracked by the computing device, the plurality of stages including a data entry stage, a drug utilization review stage, a prescription order fill stage, a third party validation stage, and a payment stage;

the particular prescription order corresponds to a first drug prescribed for the particular patient;

the particular pharmaceutical medication consultation entry is a first medication consultation entry corresponding to the first drug and to a first stage of the work flow, and the particular medication consultation block includes a second medication consultation entry corresponding to a second stage of the work flow.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first medication consultation entry is automatically generated based on an entry into or an exit from the first stage of the work flow.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the particular medication consultation block is a first pharmaceutical medication consultation block, and the plurality of medication consultation blocks includes a second particular medication consultation block corresponding to the particular patient and corresponding to at least one of:

a second particular prescription order for the particular patient, an over-the-counter product, or a service.

19. A system for determining medication consultation compliance, comprising:

a computing device including a memory and a processor;

a user input interface device and a data storage entity each coupled to the computing device;

a plurality of medication consultation blocks stored in the data storage entity,

each pharmaceutical medication consultation block corresponding to a respective patient and to a respective medication consultation including a consultation, a conference or a discussion between a representative of a pharmaceutical pharmacy enterprise and the respective patient or an agent of the respective patient, and an occurrence of the medication consultation is required to comply with a requirement,

the each ˜

medication consultation block including one or more medication consultation entries,

each pharmaceutical medication consultation entry having a set of ˜

medication consultation fields including a status field corresponding to a status of the respective medication consultation and an authorization field corresponding to an authorization of the respective medication consultation by an authorizing party,

a particular medication consultation entry corresponding to a particular stage in a work flow corresponding to a filling of a particular prescription order for a particular drug prescribed for a particular patient, and

the work flow including a plurality of stages including a data entry stage, a drug utilization review stage, a prescription order fill stage, a third party validation stage, and a payment stage, the particular stage occurring prior to the payment stage, and the payment stage is a last stage of the work flow; and

first computer-executable instructions stored on the memory of the computing device and executable by the processor for;

automatically generating the particular medication consultation entry based on the particular stage of the work flow;

receiving, via the user input interface device, information corresponding to the particular medication consultation entry; and

populating the particular medication consultation entry with the received information; and

second computer-executable instructions stored on the memory of the computing device and executable by the processor for generating and sending a compliance response in response to a request, the compliance response including an indication of at least one of a consultation-compliant set of the medication consultation entries or a consultation-non-compliant set of the medication consultation entries determined based on at least some of the status fields and at least some of the authorization fields of at least some of the medication consultation entries of the plurality of medication consultation blocks.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein at least one of:

one of the plurality of medication consultation blocks further includes a second particular medication consultation entry corresponding to a second particular stage of the work flow;

or

the plurality of medication consultation blocks includes a second medication consultation block corresponding to the particular patient and corresponding to one of;

a second particular prescription order for the particular patient, an over-the-counter product, or a service.