Surgery – Miscellaneous
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-14
2001-10-23
Dvorak, Linda C. M. (Department: 3739)
Surgery
Miscellaneous
C128S904000, C128S906000, C705S002000, C705S003000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06305377
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a system and method to facilitate compliance with a prescribed medical regimen and ensure integrity of the prescribed medical regimen, and more particularly, to a system and method to monitor the patient usage of drugs prescribed by the patient's physician and to verify that a prescription meets reasonable standards for the drug involved.
2. Prior Art
Noncompliance with a prescribed medical regimen, especially the inaccurate use of prescription drugs, is one of the main reasons for most outpatient treatment failure, as well as a cause of serious, life threatening medical complications.
The seriousness of the problem has been long recognized by the medical community. Numerous studies have been undertaken in an effort to identify the causes of noncompliance of a medication regimen. Various causes identified by these studies include forgetfulness, number of medications prescribed, unclear instructions or a lack of written instructions, side effects of the medication, cost of the medication, inconvenient or complex dosing schedules, lack of a primary health care physician, or lack of prescribed medication information given by the primary health care physician.
In attempts to overcome one or more of these causes, various equipment and systems have been devised. Examples of such systems can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,954 which combines a special drug dispenser to be used by a patient in conjunction with a system which monitors the usage of the drugs by the patient. Another system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,542 wherein patients are automatically contacted by automatic telephone dialing and voice synthesizing equipment to remind them that their prescriptions need to be refilled. U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,238 discloses a system linking the physician, pharmacists, patient, and care provider for the purpose of monitoring medication usage and patient wellness. However, the various prior art systems have proven to be workable only in controlled environments. Even then they leave unsolved many of the numerous other causes of noncompliance.
A second problem relating to medical regimens is lack of easy checking procedures to determine if a prescription complies with a recommended regimen. Currently, the U.S. FDA publishes a Generic Product Identifier (GPI) which is a listing of available drugs coded by their generic chemical composition and a National Drug Code (NDC) which is a listing of available drugs coded by their trade names. However, neither the GPI nor the NDC contain drug reaction information. There does exist a collection of studies which describe known reactions for certain drugs. This collection of studies is referred to herein as the Knowledge Base Drug Code (KDC). In addition, there are other studies which have established classes based on composition of the components which make up a drug. However, a compilation of this available information has not been assembled for easy use.
Thus, there remains in the medical community the need for a system, and a method of using the system, that better ensures that a treating physician will be aware of all medications that a patient may be taking, that informs the treating physician of possible drug interactions or drug dosage and administering duration that are outside of recommended ranges, that permits contacting the patient when his medication is due regardless of where the patient may be located at that moment, that assists the treating physician in prescribing not only the best medication, but also a dosage and duration that is within recommended ranges, as well as a system that streamlines the number of medications that the patient is taking, and that incorporates automatic mail ordering, billing, and other business aspects of prescribing a medical regimen.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, one object of this invention is to provide a system which better addresses the causes contributing to the inaccurate use of prescription drugs and reducing noncompliance by a patient of the medical regimen prescribed for the patient.
Another object of this invention is to provide a system that identifies for the treating physician possible dosing, administering duration, or drug interaction problems that might result from a prescribed medication regimen.
Another object of this invention is to provide a system that has the ability to assist the treating physician in prescribing the best medical regimen for the patient and not merely the most convenient.
A further object of this invention is to provide a system that enables the treating physician to streamline the number of medications in a medical regimen, as well as to reduce polypharmacy problems.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a system that has the ability to contact patients no matter where they may be located at a particular time.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a system that has the ability to contact patients when their medication is due and not after the fact.
Another further object of this invention is to provide a system that has the ability to timely remind patients to refill prescriptions.
Another object of this invention is to provide a system that assists in the ordering of prescription refills in a manner that reduces costs to the entity paying for the prescriptions.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a system that can generate reports useful to the treating physician, the patient, the medication provider, and the medication regimen payment source.
Another object of this invention is to provide a system that assists in improving the communication between the treating physician and the patient, in notifying the patient of upcoming appointments, and in specifying procedures in the medical regimen that the patient should follow.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the ensuing descriptions of the invention.
Accordingly, a system to facilitate compliance with a prescribed medical regimen is provided, which comprises a computer system having a data storage unit containing stored pharmaceutical data, a central processing unit (CPU) programmed and operatively connected to the data storage unit to further store in the data storage unit patient data and patient prescription data, and an inputting unit operatively connected to the CPU to transmit patient data and patient prescription data to the CPU, and a reporting unit operatively connected to the CPU; the CPU being further programmed to compare the patient data, the patient prescription data, and the pharmaceutical data to determine if the patient prescription data is within an acceptable medication dosage range as defined by the pharmaceutical data, and to transmit the determination to the reporting unit.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the CPU is further programmed to compare the patient data, the patient prescription data and the pharmaceutical data to determine if the patient prescription data is within an acceptable medication administering duration range as defined by the pharmaceutical data, and to transmit the determination to the reporting unit.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the CPU is further programmed to compare the patient data, the patient prescription data and the pharmaceutical data to determine if the patient prescription data is within an acceptable medication maintenance dosage or within an acceptable medication acute dosage range as defined by the pharmaceutical data, and to transmit the determination to the reporting unit.
In still another preferred embodiment of the invention, the CPU is further programmed to generate from approved patient prescription data a patient message, and wherein the system further comprises a message receiving unit operatively connected to the CPU to receive the patient message from the CPU. In a more preferred embodiment, the message receiving unit will comprise a modem operatively connected to a transmission unit which can transmit the patient me
Portwood John W.
Portwood Michael T.
Dvorak Linda C. M.
Kearney R.
Roy, Kiesel, Keegan & DeNicola
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