Method, system, and computer program product for determining a narcotics use indicator

• US 8,688,477 B1
• Filed: 09/16/2011
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Appriss LLC
• Original Assignee: National Association Of Boards Of Pharmacy Foundation, Inc.
• Inventors: Huizenga, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Pauls, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TRANG T
• Application Number:
  US13/234,777
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 705/3
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for determining a narcotics use indicator to enable a physician, or other prescriber, to quickly review a numerical score that reflects a patient'"'"'s past drug use and is indicative of proper, or improper, future drug use. This score analyzes many aspects of a patient'"'"'s past activities to determine multiple individual indicator values that may be selectively weighted to create a final narcotics use indicator. Such individual indicator values may include a usage related indicator factoring in the patient'"'"'s past drug use, particularly the type of narcotics and controlled substances used; an instruction related indicator that may consider the patient'"'"'s past use of prescribers, quantity of prescriptions, or the number of open prescriptions from different prescribers; a dispensing related indicator that examines a patient'"'"'s use of pharmacies, in filling prescriptions; or even an auxiliary indicator that may reflect the patient'"'"'s number of active prescriptions.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for determining the likelihood of a proper prescription drug use by a patient, the method comprising:

obtaining a record from a prescription database wherein the record i) is indicative of the prescription drug use by the patient and ii) includes a plurality of prescriptions filled by the patient, each prescription including at least a prescriber, a prescription drug type, a prescription drug strength, and a prescription drug quantity;

generating, with one or more computer processors, a usage related indicator that indicates a ranking of a usage related quantity compared to a plurality of general population prescription drug use data, the usage related quantity based on at least the prescription drug type, the prescription drug strength, and the prescription drug quantity of two or more of the plurality of prescriptions;

generating, with the one or more computer processors, an instruction related indicator that indicates a ranking of an instruction related quantity compared to a plurality of general population prescription drug instruction data, the instruction related quantity based on at least the prescriber of two or more of the plurality of prescriptions;

applying, with the one or more computer processors, a weighted factor to at least one of the usage related indicator or the instruction related indicator to create an adjusted indicator; and

generating, with the one or more computer processors, a prescription drug use indicator based on at least the adjusted indicator, the prescription drug use indicator including a number.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the record includes a prescription for a narcotic;

wherein the prescription drug type is a narcotic type, the prescription drug strength is a narcotic strength, and the prescription drug quantity is a narcotic quantity; and

wherein generating the usage related indicator further includes the creation of a morphine equivalents unit indicator by transforming the narcotic type, the narcotic strength, and the narcotic quantity into a morphine equivalents unit quantity, and comparing the morphine equivalents unit quantity with the plurality of general population prescription drug use data to determine a morphine equivalents unit percentile for a given morphine equivalents unit period.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein applying the weighted factor further includes applying a usage weighted factor that is a narcotic usage weighted factor.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the morphine equivalents unit percentile is determined for at least two morphine equivalents unit periods and the narcotic usage weighted factor is applied to a multi period morphine equivalents unit percentile that is the average of the morphine equivalents unit percentiles.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein the record includes a prescription for a controlled substance;

wherein the prescription drug type is a controlled substance type, the prescription drug strength is a controlled substance strength, and the prescription drug quantity is a controlled substance quantity; and

wherein generating the usage related indicator further includes the creation of a controlled substance unit indicator that indicates a ranking of the controlled substance quantity compared to the plurality of general population prescription drug use data to determine a controlled substance unit percentile for a given controlled substance unit period.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein applying the weighted factor further includes applying a usage weighted factor that is a controlled substance usage weighted factor.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the controlled substance unit percentile is determined for at least two controlled substance unit periods and the controlled substance usage weighted factor is applied to a multi period controlled substance unit percentile that is the average of the controlled substance unit percentiles.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the record contains a prescription period and wherein generating the instruction related indicator further includes identifying a potential prescription overlap situation when the record includes at least two prescribers during a prescription overlap period, and creating of a prescription overlap indicator by determining a prescription overlap quantity that is the total number of days that the prescription period of the each prescriber coincide and comparing the prescription overlap quantity with the plurality of general population prescription drug use data to determine a prescription overlap percentile.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein applying the weighted factor further includes applying an instruction weighted factor that is an overlap weighted factor.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the prescription overlap percentile is determined for at least two prescription overlap periods and the overlap weighted factor is applied to a multi period prescription overlap percentile that is the average of the prescription overlap percentiles.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the instruction related indicator further includes the creation of a prescriber indicator that indicates a ranking of a prescriber quantity compared to the plurality of general population prescription instruction use data to determine a prescriber for a given prescriber period.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein applying the weighted factor further includes applying an instruction weighted factor that is a prescriber weighted factor.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the prescriber percentile is determined for at least two prescriber periods and the prescriber weighted factor is applied to a multiperiod prescriber percentile that is the average of the prescriber percentiles.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein each prescription includes a distributor, the method further comprising:

generating a dispensing related indicator that indicates a ranking of the distributor compared to the plurality of general population prescription drug dispensing data, and wherein the weighted factor is applied to at least one of the usage related indicator, the instruction related indicator, and the dispensing related indicator.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein generating the dispensing related indicator further includes the creation of a distribution source indicator that indicates a ranking of a distribution source quantity compared to the plurality of general population prescription drug dispensing data to determine a distribution source percentile for a given distribution source period.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein applying the weighted factor further includes applying a dispensing weighted factor.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the distribution source percentile is determined for at least two distribution source periods and the dispensing weighted factor is applied to a multiperiod distribution source percentile that is the average of the distribution source percentiles.

18. A computer-implemented method for determining the likelihood of proper prescription drug use by a patient, the method comprising:

obtaining a record from a prescription database on a server wherein the record i) is indicative of the prescription drug use by the patient and ii) includes a plurality of prescriptions filled by the patient, each prescription including at least a prescriber, a narcotic type, a narcotic strength, a narcotic quantity, and a prescription period;

generating, with one or more computer processors, a usage related indicator that indicates a ranking of a morphine equivalents quantity compared to a plurality of general population prescription drug use data to determine a morphine equivalents unit percentile for a given morphine equivalents unit period, the morphine equivalents quantity based on at least the narcotic type, the narcotic strength, and the narcotic quantity of two or more of the plurality of prescriptions;

generating, with the one or more computer processors, an instruction related indicator based on;

a) identifying a potential prescription overlap situation of at least two prescribers during a prescription overlap period, and creating a prescription overlap indicator by determining a prescription overlap quantity that is the total number of days that the prescription period of the each prescriber coincide and comparing the prescription overlap quantity with the plurality of general population prescription drug instruction data to determine a prescription overlap percentile, and

b) creating of a prescriber indicator that indicates a ranking of a prescriber quantity compared to the plurality of general population prescription drug instruction data to determine a prescriber percentile for a given prescriber period, the prescriber quantity based on at least the prescriber of two or more of the plurality of prescriptions;

applying, with the one or more computer processors,

i) an overlap weighted factor to the prescription overlap percentile,

ii) a prescriber weighted factor to the prescriber percentile, and

iii) a narcotic usage weighted factor to the morphine equivalents unit percentile; and

transforming the sum of the weighted percentiles from (i), (ii), and (iii) into a narcotics use indicator, the narcotics use indicator including a number.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the narcotics use indicator is at least a two digit number.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the narcotics use indicator is at least a three digit number wherein the last digit i) is an active prescription indicator and ii) represents a number of active prescriptions.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein

(A) the prescription overlap percentile is determined for at least two prescription overlap periods and the overlap weighted factor is applied to a multiperiod prescription overlap percentile that is the average of the prescription overlap percentiles,

(B) the prescriber percentile is determined for at least two prescriber periods and the prescriber weighted factor is applied to a multi period prescriber percentile that is the average of the prescriber percentiles, and

(C) the morphine equivalents unit percentile is determined for at least two morphine equivalents unit periods and the narcotic usage weighted factor is applied to a multiperiod morphine equivalents unit percentile that is the average of the morphine equivalents unit percentiles.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one of the overlap weighted factor, the prescriber weighted factor, or the narcotic usage weighted factor automatically is increased when a preset criteria for at least one of the usage related indicator and the instruction related indicator, is retrieved from the database.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the narcotic usage weighted factor is at least twice the overlap weighted factor, and the narcotic usage weighted factor is at least twice the prescriber weighted factor.