Medication management and reporting technology

• US 9,070,267 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2014
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hanson, Mark Andrew, Manson, Elizabeth Leslie
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, MIRZA F
• Application Number:
  US14/461,702
• Publication Number:
  US 20140354435A1
• Time in Patent Office: 316 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/7.21, 340/311.2, 340/572.1, 340/286.07, 340/691.6, 340/539.12, 340/540, 705/2, 705/5, 705/8, 705/9, 705/7.18, 705/3, 600/300, 600/301, 600/529, 600/538, 604/131, 604/189, 604/66, 604/189.66, 128/920, 128/925, 128/200.14, 128/904, 128/114.1, 379/106.02
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2505/07 Home care
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1113 Local tracking of patients, e.g. in a hospital or private home
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1128 using image analysis A61B5/1127 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4833 Assessment of subject's compliance to treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 12/00 Accommodation for nursing, e.g. in hospitals, not covered by groups A61G1/00 - A61G11/00, e.g. trolleys for transport of medicaments or food service or tea-tables, trolleys or wagons A47B31/00; Prescription lists
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0069 Trays for holding or distributing medicines display trays A47F3/14; serving trays A47G23/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0418 with electronic history memory
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0427 with direct interaction with a dispensing or delivery system
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0481 working on a schedule basis
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/049 automatically changing in response to a schedule deviation by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/24 Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 23/00 Alarms responsive to unspecified undesired or abnormal conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

Medication management and reporting technology, in which output from at least one sensor configured to sense physical activity in a building in which medication of a patient is located is monitored and a determination is made to capture one or more images of the medication based on the monitoring. A camera is used to capture an image of the medication and the captured image is analyzed to detect a state of the medication. Information regarding a schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient is accessed and an expected state of the medication is determined. The detected state is compared with the expected state and a determination is made that the patient has departed from the schedule based on the comparison revealing that the detected state does not match the expected state. A message indicating the departure from the schedule is sent based on the determination.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

monitoring activity of a patient based on output from at least one sensor of a monitoring system configured to monitor a building in which medication of the patient is located;

accessing a routine of taking medication associated with the patient;

comparing monitored activity of the patient with the routine of taking medication associated with the patient;

accessing information regarding a schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient;

determining an expectation that the patient will take the medication at a next appropriate time that complies with the schedule based on comparison of the monitored activity of the patient with the routine of taking medication associated with the patient;

providing, by a processing device, a reminder to take the medication at the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule based on determined expectation indicating that the patient is expected to miss taking the medication at the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule; and

withholding the reminder to take the medication at the next appropriate time and continuing to monitor the activity of the patient based on the determined expectation indicating that the patient is expected to take the medication at the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the monitored activity of the patient with the routine of taking medication associated with the patient comprises:

determining past medication consumption history related to the patient'"'"'s taking of medication in accordance with the schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient; and

comparing the monitored activity of the patient with the past medication consumption history and the schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring activity of the patient comprises:

monitoring a location of a mobile device used by the patient;

monitoring output of at least one motion sensor of the monitoring system that monitors the building in which medication of the patient is located; and

monitoring output of at least one contact sensor of the monitoring system that monitors the building in which medication of the patient is located.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the reminder to take the medication at the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule comprises:

providing a reminder to the patient that includes one or more user interface controls that enable the patient to indicate a time by which the patient expects to take the medication;

receiving, based on user input provided by the patient using the one or more user interface controls, an indication of a time by which the patient expects to take the medication, the time by which the patient expects to take the medication being after the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule;

determining that the time by which the patient expects to take the medication is within an acceptable range from the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule;

based on the determination that the time by which the patient expects to take the medication is within the acceptable range from the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule, adjusting the schedule based on the indication of the time by which the patient expects to take the medication; and

handling verification of consumption of the medication and alerting related to consumption of the medication based on the adjusted schedule.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring, over time, activity of the patient during a period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication;

determining past activity of the patient;

analyzing the monitored activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication with respect to the past activity of the patient;

determining whether an issue exists related to the patient'"'"'s taking of the medication based on the analysis of the monitored activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication with respect to the past activity of the patient; and

providing an alert based on a determination that an issue exists related to the patient'"'"'s taking of the medication.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring, over time, activity of the patient during a period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication;

determining expected activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication;

analyzing the monitored activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication with respect to the expected activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication;

determining whether an issue exists related to the patient'"'"'s taking of the medication based on the analysis of the monitored activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication with respect to the expected activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication; and

providing an alert based on a determination that an issue exists related to the patient'"'"'s taking of the medication.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring, over time, activity of the patient during a period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication;

determining past activity of the patient;

determining expected activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication;

analyzing the monitored activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication with respect to the past activity of the patient and the expected activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication;

determining whether an issue exists related to the patient'"'"'s taking of the medication based on the analysis of the monitored activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication with respect to the past activity of the patient and the expected activity of the patient during the period of time in which the patient is scheduled to take the medication; and

providing an alert based on a determination that an issue exists related to the patient'"'"'s taking of the medication.

8. The method of claim 7:

wherein determining whether an issue exists related to the patient'"'"'s taking of the medication comprises determining whether the analysis indicates that the patient is not taking the medication, determining whether the analysis indicates that the medication is not working as expected, and determining whether the analysis indicates that the medication is causing the patient to suffer one or more side effects; and

wherein providing the alert comprises;

providing an alert that indicates that the patient is not taking the medication based on a determination that the analysis indicates that the patient is not taking the medication,

providing an alert that indicates that the medication is not working as expected based on a determination that the analysis indicates that the medication is not working as expected, and

providing an alert that indicates that the medication is causing the patient to suffer one or more side effects based on a determination that the analysis indicates that the medication is causing the patient to suffer one or more side effects.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring output from at least one sensor configured to sense physical activity in a building in which medication of a patient is located;

based on the monitoring of output from the at least one sensor, determining to collect additional information regarding the medication, the additional information being different than output from the at least one sensor;

based on determination to collect the additional information regarding the medication, collecting the additional information regarding the medication;

analyzing the additional information collected to detect a state of the medication at a time of collecting the additional information;

based on accessed information regarding the schedule, determining an expected state of the medication at the time of collecting the additional information that complies with the schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient;

comparing detected state of the medication with the expected state of the medication that complies with the schedule;

based on the comparison revealing that the detected state of the medication does not match the expected state of the medication, determining that the patient has departed from the schedule; and

based on the determination that the patient has departed from the schedule, handling, by a processing device, departure from the schedule.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining past medication consumption history related to the patient'"'"'s taking of medication in accordance with the schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient,

wherein handling the departure from the schedule comprises handling the departure from the schedule based on the past medication consumption history related to the patient'"'"'s taking of medication in accordance with the schedule.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining activity of the patient and at least one caregiver after determining the departure from the schedule,

wherein handling the departure from the schedule comprises handling the departure from the schedule based on the activity of the patient and at least one caregiver after determining the departure from the schedule.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining whether activity exists within the building in which the medication of the patient is located after determining the departure from the schedule,

wherein handling the departure from the schedule comprises:

based on a determination that activity does not exist within the building in which the medication of the patient is located, providing a remote alert to a remote device that is located outside of the building; and

based on a determination that activity exists within the building in which the medication of the patient is located;

providing a local alert within the building;

monitoring for a confirmation in response to the local alert, the confirmation indicating that the departure from the schedule is being handled;

based on monitoring for the confirmation, determining that the confirmation has not been received within a threshold amount of time after providing the local alert; and

escalating the local alert to the remote alert to the remote device that is located outside of the building based on the determination that the confirmation has not been received within the threshold amount of time after providing the local alert.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, based on the comparison of the detected state of the medication with the expected state of the medication, a degree of the departure from the schedule;

determining past medication consumption history related to the patient'"'"'s taking of medication in accordance with the schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient; and

determining activity of the patient and at least one caregiver after determining the departure from the schedule,

wherein handling the departure from the schedule comprises handling the departure from the schedule based on determined degree of the departure from the schedule, the past medication consumption history related to the patient'"'"'s taking of medication in accordance with the schedule, and the activity of the patient and at least one caregiver after determining the departure from the schedule.

14. The method of claim 9:

wherein monitoring output from at least one sensor configured to sense physical activity in a building in which medication of a patient is located comprises monitoring output of a motion sensor configured to detect motion in a room in which the medication is located; and

wherein determining to collect additional information regarding the medication comprises;

detecting motion in the room in which the medication is located based on the output of the motion sensor, and

determining to collect additional information regarding the medication based on the detection of motion in the room in which the medication is located.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein handling the departure from the schedule comprises:

determining, based on the comparison of the detected state of the medication with the expected state of the medication, a degree of the departure from the schedule;

determining a destination for a message indicating the departure from the schedule based on determined degree of departure; and

sending the message indicating the departure from the schedule to the determined destination.

16. The method of claim 9:

wherein determining to collect additional information regarding the medication comprises determining to capture one or more images of the medication;

wherein collecting the additional information regarding the medication comprises capturing, with a camera positioned to include the medication within a field of view of the camera, an image of the medication;

wherein analyzing the additional information collected to detect a state of the medication at a time of collecting the additional information comprises analyzing the captured image of the medication to detect a state of the medication at a time of capturing the image; and

wherein determining an expected state of the medication at the time of collecting the additional information that complies with the schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient comprises determining an expected state of the medication at the time of capturing the image that complies with the schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient.

17. The method of claim 9:

wherein determining to collect additional information regarding the medication comprises determining to request the patient to provide additional information regarding consumption of the medication using a user interface device of the patient;

wherein collecting the additional information regarding the medication comprises requesting the additional information from the patient and determining the additional information regarding consumption of the medication based on any response received from the user interface device of the patient;

wherein analyzing the additional information collected to detect a state of the medication at a time of collecting the additional information comprises analyzing determined additional information regarding consumption of the medication to detect a state of the medication at a time of requesting the additional information from the patient; and

wherein determining an expected state of the medication at the time of collecting the additional information that complies with the schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient comprises determining an expected state of the medication at the time of requesting the additional information from the patient that complies with the schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient.

18. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising;

monitoring activity of a patient based on output from at least one sensor of a monitoring system configured to monitor a building in which medication of the patient is located;

accessing a routine of taking medication associated with the patient;

comparing monitored activity of the patient with the routine of taking medication associated with the patient;

accessing information regarding a schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient;

determining an expectation that the patient will take the medication at a next appropriate time that complies with the schedule based on comparison of the monitored activity of the patient with the routine of taking medication associated with the patient;

providing a reminder to take the medication at the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule based on determined expectation indicating that the patient is expected to miss taking the medication at the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule; and

withholding the reminder to take the medication at the next appropriate time and continuing to monitor the activity of the patient based on the determined expectation indicating that the patient is expected to take the medication at the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule.

19. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

monitoring activity of a patient based on output from at least one sensor of a monitoring system configured to monitor a building in which medication of the patient is located;

accessing a routine of taking medication associated with the patient;

comparing monitored activity of the patient with the routine of taking medication associated with the patient;

accessing information regarding a schedule by which the medication should be taken by the patient;

determining an expectation that the patient will take the medication at a next appropriate time that complies with the schedule based on comparison of the monitored activity of the patient with the routine of taking medication associated with the patient;

providing a reminder to take the medication at the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule based on determined expectation indicating that the patient is expected to miss taking the medication at the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule; and

withholding the reminder to take the medication at the next appropriate time and continuing to monitor the activity of the patient based on the determined expectation indicating that the patient is expected to take the medication at the next appropriate time that complies with the schedule.