Prescription data processing system for determining new therapy starts

• US 7,069,226 B1
• Filed: 07/07/1999
• Issued: 06/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emdeon Corporation (WebMD Health Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Synetic, Incorporated
• Inventors: Kleinfelter, William M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thomas, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Morgan, Robert W.
• Application Number:
  US09/348,774
• Time in Patent Office: 2,547 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 705/3
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

Prescription data representing a prescription for a particular drug is arranged into records. Each record includes fields for identifying a patient and a subscriber, and for indicating the date for dispensing the drug and the drug dosage, among other things. Based on the information in the fields, a prescribed drug is identified as a new therapy or a continuation therapy. In addition, a therapy switch is ascertained on the basis of the drug identified as the new therapy for a patient.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for processing prescription data representing a plurality of prescription drugs, said method comprising the steps of:

arranging received prescription data that corresponds to a first prescription drug into a new record of a predetermined format containing an identifier for identifying said patient and further containing a first name of said first prescription drug;

accessing a plurality of pre-stored records of said predetermined format, each pre-stored record containing information on a plurality of prescription drugs previously prescribed for respective patients;

comparing said identifier in said new record with each identifier located in the pre-stored records to find a matching pre-stored record associated with said patient;

comparing said first name of said first prescription drug with a second name of a second prescription drug located in the found matching pre-stored record; and

identifying said first prescription drug as a new therapy start for said patient if said first name is not substantially identical to said second name.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining whether types of said first and second names are brand or generic if said first name is not substantially identical to said second name, converting one of said first and second names to the type of the remaining name if the types are different, and ascertaining an equivalency between said first and second names based on the converted name.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising collecting the pre-stored records over a predetermined time interval.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined format further contains a date of dispensing said prescription drug to said patient and a dosage of said prescription drug.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising calculating a last day when said patient has taken said second prescription based on said date of dispensing and on said dosage if said first and last names are substantially identical, determining a length of time elapsed between said last day of taking said second prescription drug and a first day of dispensing said first prescription drug, and identifying said first prescription drug as newly prescribed for said patient if said length of time exceeds a predetermined time interval.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising obtaining each pre-stored record for said patient, accessing a list of illnesses to determine each illness treatable by each respective prescription drug contained in said each pre-stored record, accessing said list of illnesses to determine an illness treatable by said first prescription drug identified as newly prescribed, and ascertaining whether said first prescription drug is a replacement for another prescription drug previously taken by said patient.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising calculating a last day when said patient has taken said another prescription drug based on said date of dispensing and on said dosage, determining a length of time elapsed between said last day of taking said another prescription drug and a first day of dispensing said first prescription drug, and identifying said first prescription drug as said replacement if said length of time does not exceed a predetermined time interval.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined format further contains a prescriber name, a prescriber address, and a patient zip code.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising selecting every prescription drug identified as newly prescribed for each patient over a predetermined time interval, and sorting the selected prescription drugs according to at least one criterion selected from the following:

a prescriber'"'"'s name, a prescriber'"'"'s address, a patient'"'"'s zip code, a prescriber'"'"'s specialty, a pharmaceutical sales territory, national-based reporting, ICD9 code.

10. A computer system for processing prescription data representing a plurality of prescription drugs, comprising:

means for arranging received prescription data that corresponds to a first prescription drug into a new record of a predetermined format containing an identifier for identifying said patient and further containing a first name of said first prescription drug;

means for accessing a plurality of pre-stored records of said predetermined format, each pre-stored record containing information on a plurality of prescription drugs previously prescribed for respective patients;

means for comparing said identifier in said new record with each identifier located in the pre-stored records to find a matching pre-stored record associated with said patient;

means for comparing said first name of said first prescription drug with a second name of a second prescription drug located in the found matching pre-stored record; and

means for identifying said first prescription drug as a new therapy start for said patient if said first name is not substantially identical to said second name.

11. The system according to claim 10, further comprising means for determining whether types of said first and second names are brand or generic if said first name is not substantially identical to said second name, means for converting one of said first and second names to the type of the remaining name if the types are different, and means for ascertaining an equivalency between said first and second names based on the converted name.

12. The system according to claim 10, further comprising means for collecting the pre-stored records over a predetermined time interval.

13. The system according to claim 10, wherein said predetermined format further contains a date of dispensing said prescription drug to said patient and a dosage of said prescription drug.

14. The system according to claim 13, further comprising means for calculating a last day when said patient has taken said second prescription based on said date of dispensing and on said dosage if said first and last names are substantially identical, means for determining a length of time elapsed between said last day of taking said second prescription drug and a first day of dispensing said first prescription drug, and means for identifying said first prescription drug as newly prescribed for said patient if said length of time exceeds a predetermined time interval.

15. The system according to claim 13, further comprising means for obtaining each pre-stored record for said patient, means for accessing a list of illnesses to determine each illness treatable by each respective prescription drug contained in said each pre-stored record, means for accessing said list of illnesses to determine an illness treatable by said first prescription drug identified as newly prescribed, and means for ascertaining whether said first prescription drug is a replacement for another prescription drug previously taken by said patient.

16. The system according to claim 15, further comprising means for calculating a last day when said patient has taken said another prescription drug based on said date of dispensing and on said dosage, means for determining a length of time elapsed between said last day of taking said another prescription drug and a first day of dispensing said first prescription drug, and means for identifying said first prescription drug as said replacement if said length of time does not exceed a predetermined time interval.

17. The system according to claim 10, wherein said predetermined format further contains a prescriber name, a prescriber address, and a patient zip code.

18. The system according to claim 17, further comprising means for selecting every prescription drug identified as newly prescribed for each patient over a predetermined time interval, and means for sorting the selected prescription drugs according to at least one criterion selected from the following:

a prescriber'"'"'s name, a prescriber'"'"'s address, a patient'"'"'s zip code, a prescriber'"'"'s specialty, a pharmaceutical sales territory, national-based reporting, ICD9 code.

19. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a program code for, when executed, causing a computer to perform a method for processing prescription data representing a plurality of prescription drugs, said method comprising:

arranging received prescription data that corresponds to a first prescription drug into a new record of a predetermined format containing an identifier for identifying said patient and further containing a first name of said first prescription drug;

accessing a plurality of pre-stored records of said predetermined format, each pre-stored record containing information on a plurality of prescription drugs previously prescribed for respective patients;

comparing said identifier in said new record with each identifier located in the pre-stored records to find a matching pre-stored record associated with said patient;

comparing said first name of said first prescription drug with a second name of a second prescription drug located in the found matching pre-stored record; and

identifying said first prescription drug as a new therapy start for said patient if said first name is not substantially identical to said second name.

20. A computer implemented method for processing prescription data using a plurality of pre-stored prescription data records, each of which comprises a patient identifier identifying a patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the identified patient of the respective record, the method comprising:

receiving a first prescription data record comprising a patient identifier identifying a first patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the first patient;

comparing the patient identifier of the first prescription data record to the patient identifier of each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records to find a pre-stored prescription data record having a patient identifier matching the patient identifier of the first prescription data record;

determining whether the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record is related to the drug identifier of the first prescription data record;

identifying the drug being prescribed to the first patient as a new therapy start for the first patient if the drug identifier of the first prescription data record is not related to the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record.

21. The method of claim 20, where the step of determining comprises identifying the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record as being related to the drug identifier of the first prescription data record if the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record matches the drug identifier of the first prescription data record.

22. The method of claim 21, where a drug identifier is of one of two types, one type of drug identifier being an identifier to a brand name drug and the other type of drug identifier being an identifier to a generic drug corresponding to a brand name drug, and where the step of determining comprises:

prior to the step of identifying, if the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record and the drug identifier of the first prescription data record are not of the same type, converting either the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record or the drug identifier of the first prescription data record to the other type of drug identifier.

23. The method of claim 22, where a database provides a correspondence between brand name drugs and their corresponding generic drugs, and where the step of converting comprises:

if the drug identifier being converted is of the type that identifies a brand name drug, searching the database to find the generic drug corresponding to the brand name drug identified by the drug identifier being converted and modifying the drug identifier being converted to identify the found generic drug; and

if the drug identifier being converted is of the type that identifies a generic drug, searching the database to find the brand name drug corresponding to the generic drug identified by the drug identifier being converted and modifying the drug identifier being converted to identify the found brand name drug.

24. The method of claim 20, where the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records are collected over a predetermined time interval.

25. The method of claim 20, where each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the respective record was dispensed and a drug dosage describing the dosage prescribed for the drug being prescribed of the respective record, and where the first prescription data record further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record was dispensed, and where the method further comprises:

if the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record is related to the drug identifier of the first prescription data record, calculating a last day the drug being prescribed of the matching pre-stored prescription data record was taken based on the dispensing date and drug dosage for the drug being prescribed of the matching pre-stored prescription data record;

determining a length of time between the last day calculated and the dispensing date of the drug being prescribed of the first prescribed data record; and

identifying the drug being prescribed to the first patient as a new therapy start for the first patient if the length of time determined exceeds a predetermined time interval.

26. A computer implemented method for processing prescription data using a plurality of pre-stored prescription data records, each of which comprises a patient identifier identifying a patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the identified patient of the respective record, the method comprising:

receiving a first prescription data record comprising a patient identifier identifying a first patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the first patient;

comparing the patient identifier of the first prescription data record to the patient identifier of each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records to find all pre-stored prescription data records having a patient identifier matching the patient identifier of the first prescription data record;

identifying all the illnesses treatable by the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record;

for each matching pre-stored prescription data record, identifying all the illnesses treatable by the drug being prescribed of the respective pre-stored prescription data record; and

determining whether the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record is a therapy switch based on the illnesses treatable by the drug being prescribed of the first prescription and the illnesses treatable by any drug being prescribed of any of the matching pre-stored prescription data records.

27. The method of claim 26, where a database lists the illnesses treatable by drugs, and where the step of identifying all the illnesses treatable by a drug being prescribed comprises:

for a given drug being prescribed, searching the database to find the given drug; and

identifying all the illnesses listed in the database as treatable by the found drug.

28. The method of claim 26, where each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the respective record was dispensed and a drug dosage describing the dosage prescribed for the drug being prescribed of the respective record, and where the first prescription data record further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record was dispensed, and where the step of determining comprises:

identifying one of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records where the drug being prescribed of the identified record treats an illness that the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record also treats;

calculating a last day the drug being prescribed of the identified record was taken based on the dispensing date and drug dosage for the drug being prescribed of the identified record;

determining a length of time between the last day calculated and the dispensing date of the drug being prescribed of the first prescribed data record; and

identifying the drug being prescribed to the first patient as a therapy switch for the first patient if the length of time determined does not exceed a predetermined time interval.

29. The method of claim 26, where the step of deter comprises identifying the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record as a therapy switch if any illness treatable by the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record matches any illness treatable by any drug being prescribed of any of the matching pre-stored prescription data records.

30. A computer system for processing prescription data using a plurality of pre-stored prescription data records, each of which comprises a patient identifier identifying a patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the identified patient of the respective record, the system comprising:

means for receiving a first prescription data record comprising a patient identifier identifying a first patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the first patient;

means for comparing the patient identifier of the first prescription data record to the patient identifier of each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records to find a pre-stored prescription data record having a patient identifier matching the patient identifier of the first prescription data record;

means for determining whether the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record is related to the drug identifier of the first prescription data record;

means for identifying the drug being prescribed to the first patient as a new therapy start for the first patient if the drug identifier of the first prescription data record is not related to the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record.

31. The system of claim 30, where the means for determining identifies the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record as being related to the drug identifier of the first prescription data record if the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record matches the drug identifier of the first prescription data record.

32. The system of claim 31, where a drug identifier is of one of two types, one type of drug identifier being an identifier to a brand name drug and the other type of drug identifier being an identifier to a generic drug corresponding to a brand name drug, and where the means for determining comprises:

means for converting either the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record or the drug identifier of the first prescription data record to the other type of drug identifier if the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record and the drug identifier of the first prescription data record are not of the same type.

33. The system of claim 32, where a database provides a correspondence between brand name drugs and their corresponding generic drugs, and

where the means for converting searches the database to find the generic drug corresponding to the brand name drug identified by the drug identifier being converted and modifies the drug identifier being converted to identify the found generic drug if the drug identifier being converted is of the type that identifies a brand name drug, and

where the means for converting searches the database to find the brand name drug corresponding to the generic drug identified by the drug identifier being converted and modifies the drug identifier being converted to identify the found brand name drug if the drug identifier being converted is of the type that identifies a generic drug.

34. The system of claim 30, where the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records are collected over a predetermined time interval.

35. The system of claim 30, where each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the respective record was dispensed and a drug dosage describing the dosage prescribed for the drug being prescribed of the respective record, and where the first prescription data record further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record was dispensed, and where the system further comprises:

means for calculating a last day the drug being prescribed of the matching pre-stored prescription data record was taken based on the dispensing date and drug dosage for the drug being prescribed of the matching pre-stored prescription data record if the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record is related to the drug identifier of the first prescription data record;

means for determining a length of time between the last day calculated and the dispensing date of the drug being prescribed of the first prescribed data record; and

means for identifying the drug being prescribed to the first patient as a new therapy start for the first patient if the length of time determined exceeds a predetermined time interval.

36. A computer system for processing prescription data using a plurality of pre-stored prescription data records, each of which comprises a patient identifier identifying a patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the identified patient of the respective record, the system comprising:

means for receiving a first prescription data record comprising a patient identifier identifying a first patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the first patient;

means for comparing the patient identifier of the first prescription data record to the patient identifier of each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records to find all pre-stored prescription data records having a patient identifier matching the patient identifier of the first prescription data record;

means for identifying all the illnesses treatable by the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record;

means for identifying, for each matching pre-stored prescription data record, all the illnesses treatable by the drug being prescribed of the respective pre-stored prescription data record; and

means for determining whether the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record is a therapy switch based on the illnesses treatable by the drug being prescribed of the first prescription and the illnesses treatable by any drug being prescribed of any of the matching pre-stored prescription data records.

37. The system of claim 36, where a database lists the illnesses treatable by drugs, and where the means for identifying all the illnesses treatable by a drug being prescribed comprises:

means for searching the database, for a given drug being prescribed, to find the given drug; and

means for identifying all the illnesses listed in the database as treatable by the found drug.

38. The system of claim 36, where the means for determining identifies the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record as a therapy switch if any illness treatable by the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record matches any illness treatable by any drug being prescribed of any of the matching pre-stored prescription data records.

39. The system of claim 36, where each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the respective record was dispensed and a drug dosage describing the dosage prescribed for the drug being prescribed of the respective record, and where the first prescription data record further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record was dispensed, and where the means for determining comprises:

means for identifying one of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records where the drug being prescribed of the identified record treats an illness that the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record also treats;

means for calculating a last day the drug being prescribed of the identified record was taken based on the dispensing date and drug dosage for the drug being prescribed of the identified record;

means for determining a length of time between the last day calculated and the dispensing date of the drug being prescribed of the first prescribed data record; and

means for identifying the drug being prescribed to the first patient as a therapy switch for the first patient if the length of time determined does not exceed a predetermined time interval.

40. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code, when executed, causing a computer to implement a method for processing prescription data using a plurality of pre-stored prescription data records, each of which comprises a patient identifier identifying a patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the identified patient of the respective record, the method comprising:

receiving a first prescription data record comprising a patient identifier identifying a first patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the first patient;

comparing the patient identifier of the first prescription data record to the patient identifier of each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records to find a pre-stored prescription data record having a patient identifier matching the patient identifier of the first prescription data record;

determining whether the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record is related to the drug identifier of the first prescription data record;

identifying the drug being prescribed to the first patient as a new therapy start for the first patient if the drug identifier of the first prescription data record is not related to the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record.

41. The computer program product of claim 40, where the step of determining comprises identifying the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record as being related to the drug identifier of the first prescription data record if the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record matches the drug identifier of the first prescription data record.

42. The computer program product of claim 40, where a drug identifier is of one of two types, one type of drug identifier being an identifier to a brand name drug and the other type of drug identifier being an identifier to a generic drug corresponding to a brand name drug, and where the step of determining comprises:

prior to the step of identifying, if the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record and the drug identifier of the first prescription data record are not of the same type, converting either the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record or the drug identifier of the first prescription data record to the other type of drug identifier.

43. The computer program product of claim 40, where a database provides a correspondence between brand name drugs and their corresponding generic drugs, and where the step of converting comprises:

if the drug identifier being converted is of the type that identifies a brand name drug, searching the database to find the generic drug corresponding to the brand name drug identified by the drug identifier being converted and modifying the drug identifier being converted to identify the found generic drug; and

if the drug identifier being converted is of the type that identifies a generic drug, searching the database to find the brand name drug corresponding to the generic drug identified by the drug identifier being converted and modifying the drug identifier being converted to identify the found brand name drug.

44. The computer program product of claim 40, where the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records are collected over a predetermined time interval.

45. The computer program product of claim 40, where each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the respective record was dispensed and a drug dosage describing the dosage prescribed for the drug being prescribed of the respective record, and where the first prescription data record further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record was dispensed, and where the method further comprises:

if the drug identifier of the matching pre-stored prescription data record is related to the drug identifier of the first prescription data record, calculating a last day the drug being prescribed of the matching pre-stored prescription data record was taken based on the dispensing date and drug dosage for the drug being prescribed of the matching pre-stored prescription data record;

determining a length of time between the last day calculated and the dispensing date of the drug being prescribed of the first prescribed data record; and

identifying the drug being prescribed to the first patient as a new therapy start for the first patient if the length of time determined exceeds a predetermined time interval.

46. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code, when executed, causing a computer to implement a method for processing prescription data using a plurality of pre-stored prescription data records, each of which comprises a patient identifier identifying a patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the identified patient of the respective record, the method comprising:

receiving a first prescription data record comprising a patient identifier identifying a first patient and a drug identifier identifying a drug being prescribed to the first patient;

comparing the patient identifier of the first prescription data record to the patient identifier of each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records to find all pre-stored prescription data records having a patient identifier matching the patient identifier of the first prescription data record;

identifying all the illnesses treatable by the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record;

for each matching pre-stored prescription data record, identifying all the illnesses treatable by the drug being prescribed of the respective pre-stored prescription data record; and

determining whether the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record is a therapy switch based on the illnesses treatable by the drug being prescribed of the first prescription and the illnesses treatable by any drug being prescribed of any of the matching pre-stored prescription data records.

47. The computer program product of claim 46, where a database lists the illnesses treatable by drugs, and where the step of identifying all the illnesses treatable by a drug being prescribed comprises:

for a given drug being prescribed, searching the database to find the given drug; and

identifying all the illnesses listed in the database as treatable by the found drug.

48. The computer program product of claim 46, where the step of determining comprises identifying the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record as a therapy switch if any illness treatable by the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record matches any illness treatable by any drug being prescribed of any of the matching pre-stored prescription data records.

49. The computer program product of claim 46, where each of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the respective record was dispensed and a drug dosage describing the dosage prescribed for the drug being prescribed of the respective record, and where the first prescription data record further comprises a dispensing date on which the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record was dispensed, and where the step of determining comprises:

identifying one of the plurality of pre-stored prescription data records where the drug being prescribed of the identified record treats an illness that the drug being prescribed of the first prescription data record also treats;

calculating a last day the drug being prescribed of the identified record was taken based on the dispensing date and drug dosage for the drug being prescribed of the identified record;

determining a length of time between the last day calculated and the dispensing date of the drug being prescribed of the first prescribed data record; and

identifying the drug being prescribed to the first patient as a therapy switch for the first patient if the length of time determined does not exceed a predetermined time interval.