Abstract:
The present disclosure envisages a system and method for management of medical prescriptions, and particularly management of medical prescription refills. The present disclosure envisages a centralized system termed ‘RxRefillHub’ that receives and analyzes the medical prescriptions, and releases only one refill for each of the medical prescriptions at a time. The RxRefillHub also provides healthcare providers and patients with seamless access to the medical prescriptions thereby providing for easy modification of the medical prescriptions at any point of time post generation. The RxRefillHub provides ready access to all the information corresponding to the medical prescriptions generated for a specific patient, current refill status, medication history and details of the prescribing physician. The RxRefillHub also generates alerts when a term associated with a refill is nearing termination.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The embodiments herein claim the priority of the U.S. Provisional Patent Application with Ser. No. 62/339,862 filed on May 21, 2016, with the title “A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING MEDICINE PRESCRIPTION”, and the contents of which is included entirely as reference herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
       [0002]    The present disclosure is generally related to medical prescription management. The present disclosure is particularly related to Management of Medicine prescription refills. The present disclosure is more particularly related to improving safety and accuracy of Medicine prescription refills by establishing an RxRefillHub to centralize and standardize handling of refills. 
       Description of the Related Art 
       [0003]    Medicine prescriptions are required by authorities for proper dispensing of medications at the order of healthcare providers. Medicine prescriptions are generated and handled by a plurality of methods including paper prescriptions, verbal and electronic prescriptions transmitted by fax and other online methods. Many Medication prescriptions are accompanied by specified number of refills at the discretion of a corresponding prescribing authority. The number of prescription refills could be anywhere from 1-11 at the discretion of prescribing authority. Further, the number of prescription refills is also influenced by factors such as insurance benefits, diagnosis and the like. Due to the variable numbers of refills assigned to each of the prescriptions, many of the refills expire at different days and/or months for an individual patient. Renewal of these refills is time consuming, and is prone to errors and omissions given the functionalities and implementation of prior art refill management systems. 
         [0004]    The Medicine prescription refills are typically handled by a plurality of organizations including local, hospital and mail order pharmacies. Further, several government and insurance organizations also receive these transmitted Medicine prescription refills in the evolving healthcare system. Typically, the Medicine prescription refills are currently stored in a decentralized manner by the final contact pharmacy or processing entity. 
         [0005]    Once Medicine prescription refills are received and stored by the processing entity, either, if the healthcare provider decides to delete or modify the treatment, or if the patient does not need the prescription refill anymore or if the insurance company modifies the formulary prescription coverage, the refills are not available to a healthcare provider for any future modifications. 
         [0006]    Once Medicine prescription refills are received and stored by the processing entity, most refills are left active with the final holding entity. If the medication is no longer required or appropriate, these refills are many times filled by the patient in error. The current system of storage and handling of prescription refills and inability of physician to modify them due to a decentralized system often results in incorrect dispensing of refills. Further, once a Medicine prescription refill is stored in the pharmacy, it is not available to the patient for transfer to another pharmacy, thereby contributing to inconsistent communication between the patient and prescriber, prescriber and pharmacy, insurance formulary issues and ultimately, delay or an error in treatment. 
         [0007]    Once a Medicine prescription refill is stored in the pharmacy, it is difficult to analyze the medicine prescription for drug-drug interactions, duplication of treatment, incorrect dosing unless all the prescribed refills are performed by a single prescribing person, filled at a single pharmacy, and adjudicated by single payer, thus exposing the patient to significant risks and side effects. 
         [0008]    Once a Medicine prescription refill is stored in the pharmacy, it is difficult to analyze it for payer formulary changes, which results in denial of prescription refills, unnecessary delay in refills, denial of treatment, leading to additional work at multiple levels for the prescriber, pharmacy, payer or patient while exposing patient to additional risks from a delay in treatment. 
         [0009]    The current alert and refill system available for managing medicine prescriptions is tedious and prone to errors. It contributes to delays in treatment, an increase in healthcare costs and stress or dissatisfaction among healthcare providers, patients and payers. Many third-party organizations are involved in monitoring of appropriate utilization and safety of prescribed medications. The current medication associated risk monitoring system is fragmented and administered by different payers based on non-uniform criteria, funding availability and is not available to patients who are not enrolled in organized healthcare system, or get their care in a mixed payer system. 
         [0010]    The current medication associated risk monitoring system places an unnecessary burden on prescribing healthcare providers, payers, patients, pharmacies and is prone to errors at multiple levels, contributing to an increased risk of medication related errors. The current medication associated risk monitoring system also contributes to the increased cost of therapy for the patients, government and private payers by allowing dispensing of often unnecessary, ineffective, obsolete and sometime dangerous therapies. 
         [0011]    Hence, there is a need for a system and method for managing Medicine prescription refills. Furthermore, there is a need for a system and method that reduces the risks associated with medicine prescription refills, and improves the process of Managing medicine prescription refills. Also, there is a need for a system to optimize cost efficient, safe delivery method of prescription refills. 
       Objects 
       [0012]    The present disclosure envisages a system and method for Managing Medicine prescription refills, transmission and retrieval thereof. 
         [0013]    The primary object of the present disclosure is to create a clearing house for Medicine prescription refills named RxRefillHub. 
         [0014]    Yet another object of the present disclosure is to reduce errors related to Medicine prescription refills by using RxRefillHub. 
         [0015]    Yet another object of the present disclosure is to improve safety of Medicine prescription refills by reducing duplication and appropriate disposition of pending refills by RxRefillHub. 
         [0016]    Yet another object of the present disclosure is to improve cost efficiency related to Medicine prescription refills by RxRefillHub. 
         [0017]    Yet another object of the present disclosure is to improve transparency of Medicine prescription refills in various healthcare settings by standardizing and streamlining of the processes by RxRefillHub. 
         [0018]    Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide medication associated risk monitoring system to, all patients regardless of payer preferences and availability of funds. 
         [0019]    These and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of RxRefillHub read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0020]    The present disclosure envisages a system and method for improving safety and accuracy of Medicine prescription refills. Typically, a Medicine prescription refill is generated by a healthcare provider. The Medicine prescription refill is based on current standards of prescriptions as defined by State and Federal laws. Once the healthcare provider generates a Medicine prescription refill, it is transmitted to the centralized system envisaged by the present disclosure (referred to as an RxRefillHub hereafter). The RxRefillHub stores the Medicine prescription refills in a secure and compliant environment. The RxRefillHub releases the Medicine prescription refill to the pharmacy on request, only one refill at a time. The healthcare provider would receive an alert, when the refills are approaching a predetermined level at the RxRefillHub. The RxRefillHub would generate any drug interaction based on concurrent prescriptions for the patient. The RxRefillHub would receive formulary updates, alerts and generate preferred fomulary suggestions based on payer&#39;s preference and coverage. 
         [0021]    The RxRefillHub would enable the healthcare providers to add, delete or modify unused existing prescriptions refills stored at RxRefillHub, when warranted by a change in patient condition, payer status, formulary change and drug-drug interactions. The RxRefillHub enables patients to update their user profile, healthcare provider preferences, insurance information and assign preferred pharmacies to fill the Medicine prescription. The RxRefillHub also enables the patients to update their formularies as well as allow communication to prescribing physicians and pharmacies about changes in the formularies and preferred drugs. 
         [0022]    The RxRefillHub also enables urgent care and emergency healthcare providers to obtain single source current Medicine prescriptions, refill status, medication fill history and prescribing physician information in a compliant manner. 
         [0023]    The RxRefillHub provides medication associated risk monitoring system to all patients regardless of payer preferences and availability of funds. 
         [0024]    These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following description, while indicating the preferred embodiment and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not limitation. Certain changes and modifications could be implemented by one skilled in the art without deviating from the scope of the embodiments described herein, and the embodiments described herein should be construed as incorporating all such modifications. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0025]    The other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0026]      FIG. 1  illustrates a system-level diagram representative of a system facilitating transmission of Medicine prescriptions refills. 
           [0027]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram that outlines the functional components of RxRefillHub. 
           [0028]      FIG. 3  illustrates a flowchart for Medicine prescriptions refill management via RxRefillHub. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0029]    In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, that form a part hereof, and in which the specific embodiment, that may be practiced is shown by way of illustration. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiment and it is to be understood that the logical, mechanical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiment. The following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense. 
         [0030]      FIG. 1  illustrates a system diagram for the generation and transmission of Medicine prescription refill via a computing device  102 . In accordance with the present disclosure, the healthcare provider generates and transmits medicine prescriptions (suggesting predetermined number of Medicine refills) via the computing device  102  to a server  104  (referred to as an ‘RxRefillHub’ hereafter). The computing device  102  communicates with the RxRefillHub  104  through a communication network  106 . The examples of the communication network  106  include, but are not limited to the internet, an intranet, a radio frequency network, a telephone network, a satellite network. The healthcare provider also receives alerts via the computing device  102  and responds as indicated. The RxRefillHub  104  receives the Medicine prescriptions, subsequently stores the received prescription (refills), analyses the received prescriptions based on predetermined parameters, shares the results of analyses (of the medical prescriptions) with dispensing entities and generate alerts accessible to the concerned personnel via. RxRefillHub  104 . The alerts generated by&gt;the RxRefillHub  104  include at least one of a refill alert, alerts at request of pharmacy, alerts at request of patient, formulary alerts, duplicate refill alert, non-compliance alerts (generated based on the disposition of refills). 
         [0031]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of the RxRefillHub  104  and the functional components that periodically interact with the RxRefillHub  104 . Referring to FIG. 2 , there is shown an Electronic prescription database  202 , a Fax prescription database  204 , a Phone prescription database  206 , RxRefillHub  104 , a Pharmacy access module  212 , a Healthcare module  214  and a Payer module  216 . The medical prescription is received through either an Electronic prescription database  202  or a Fax prescription database  204  or a Phone prescription database  206 . 
         [0032]    The RxRefillHub  104  is configured to accept and store the Medicine prescriptions refills received. According to an embodiment of the herein, the RxRefillHub  104  is a computer implemented system that stores and updates the Medicine prescriptions including refills received. 
         [0033]    The RxRefillHub  104  fetches the data from the Electronic prescription database  202  and encrypts the data using a plurality of encryption techniques. According to an embodiment herein, the data is encrypted according to the compliance requirement of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA). The data received from the Electronic prescription database  202  is encrypted to ensure user privacy and prevent others from accessing the data without required permissions. 
         [0034]    According to an embodiment herein, the RxRefillHub  104  receives a prescription for one month supply of medicines with one or more refills (for example, four refills). The RxRefillHub  104  transmits a first dispense instruction for a single refill to the pharmacy via a Pharmacy access module  212  (shown in FIG. 2 ), while storing the prescription for the three remaining refills. Once the Pharmacy access module confirms dispensing of the medication refill by a pharmacy, the RxRefillHub  104  transmits a second refill instruction to the Pharmacy access module for future processing. The aforementioned process is repeated until a predefined number of remaining refills (prescribed by a healthcare provider) at RxRefillHub  104  is achieved. Once the predefined number is reached, the RxRefillHub  104  generates an alert to refill medication or deletes the prescription or generates an alert indicative of the expiry of medicine prescription and transmits the alert to a healthcare provider. The alerts for initiating a refill or the alerts to Healthcare providers are generated based on parameters such as the patient&#39;s health condition, ongoing needs, side-effect profiles, drug interaction, and benefit versus risk ratio. The RxRefillHub  104  provides an alert to the Healthcare provider when the pending refills drop below the predefined number, thereby avoiding a delay in processing of prescriptions to provide continuous care to patients. Subsequently, the RxRefillHub  104  communicates with the Healthcare provider regarding the maintenance of prescribed therapy. Further, the RxRefillHub  104  provides an alert to the Healthcare provider in case of an update in drug formulary requiring a change in prescription. 
         [0035]    According to an embodiment herein, the update in drug formulary generated by the RxRefillHub  104  is received by a Payer module  216 (shown in FIG. 2 ). The Payer module compares current prescription refills stored in the RxRefillHub  104  with the updated drug formulary to generate alerts for modification of prescription refills or generation of a new medication prescription. Thus, the Payer module in association with the RxRefillHub  104  helps in maintaining compliance with the prescribed therapy. 
         [0036]    According to an embodiment herein, a new prescription refill received by the RxRefillHub  104  by a new Healthcare provider is analyzed by the RxRefillHub  104 , for duplication of therapy, formulary adherence, drug interaction, patient&#39;s past experience on drug utilization. During analysis, each medicine mentioned in the prescription is checked for FDA-approved uses, contraindication, allergies, side effects, drug to drug interactions and warnings. After analyses, an alert is generated to the new Healthcare provider by the RxRefillHub  104 . Further, when a prescription refill is not processed by a pharmacy due to patient non-compliance, a non-compliance alert is generated to a Healthcare provider. The non-compliance alert enables a provider or patient to determine the appropriateness of refill, improve compliance, and request appropriate changes in medication. 
         [0037]    In accordance with an embodiment herein, in response to the alerts received from the RxRefillHub  104 , the Healthcare provider performs at least one of the actions including adding a refill, deleting a stored refill, and modifying a stored refill. 
         [0038]    The RxRefillHub  104  is a platform that analyses a plurality of responses to provide actionable insights required for understanding and analyzing a plurality of metrics to improve the safety of prescription refill, to improve communication, and to improve compliance. According to an embodiment herein, the RxRefillHub  104  fetches data front the Electronic prescription database  202 , interacts with Payer Module  216 , Pharmacy Access Module  212  and Healthcare provider module  214  to perform analysis based on a plurality of pre-determined parameters and guidelines. According to an embodiment herein, the plurality of parameters and guidelines are determined by responsible organizations such as Accountable Care Organization ACOs, Health Maintenance Organization HMOs, payers guidelines and best practices. The analytics also include predictive modeling using specific guidelines with metrics such as patient demographics, medical history and past medication usage of the patient, compliance issues, tolerability, effectiveness and side effects of drugs, formulary updates and availability of medicines to select an optimum treatment and generate medication plan. Based on the analysis, alerts are generated notifying benefits and risks involved in future treatment choices and Medicine prescription refills. The specific guidelines for initial treatment are based on respective disease state and its guiding associations. For example, the specific guidelines for diabetics care include guidelines from national and international diabetes association. In another example, communicable diseases care includes guidelines by world health organization and infectious disease association. 
         [0039]    The Pharmacy access module  212  receives the data from the RxRefillHub  104 . The Pharmacy access module  212  enables the patients to manage or route the prescription refills to their preferred pharmacies. The Pharmacy access module  212  generates alerts to the pharmacy about new prescriptions or refills for further processing. The Pharmacy access module  212  permits the pharmacies to receive the medicine prescriptions including one refill request at an instance, while storing the remaining refill requests in the RxRefillHub  104 . The module generates alerts based on available refills to Healthcare providers, patient, and other concerned entities. Further, the RxRefillHub  104  communicates with the Pharmacy access module  212  regarding the formulary updates from insurance providers to enable addition, deletion, and modification of remaining refills. 
         [0040]    The Healthcare provider module  214  receives alerts from RxRefillHub  104  about formulary updates, drug interactions and refill status. According to an embodiment herein, the alerts are based on the predetermined inputs assigned by the Healthcare provider. The alerts are received from a database on an electronic device of the Healthcare provider. The Healthcare provider module  214  also enables the healthcare providers to add, edit, and delete obsolete refills stored at RxRefillHub  104 . 
         [0041]    The Payer module  216  allows the update of payers&#39; formularies for use by RxRefillHub  104 . The Payer module  216  also provides medication associated risk monitoring system to all patients regardless of payer preferences and availability of funds. According to an embodiment herein, the RxRefillHub  104  provides a unified gateway to check a plurality of prescriptions associated with a patient and further monitor the risks and side effects posed by a combination of medicines. The Payer module  216  communicates with the RxRefillHub  104  to provide a unified gateway to perform checks and equilibrium test for at least one of the patient safety, workflow optimization (by improving coordination and communication), cost effective medication management by reducing wastage by inappropriate refills, errors in refills, and cost associated with side effects management from inappropriate use of medication. 
         [0042]    According to an embodiment herein, the Payer module  216  continuously monitors updates in formulary from insurance providers. The formulary updates are communicated with the RxRefillHub  104  to generate alerts to a healthcare provider, patient, and pharmacies. Thus, the safety, reduced wastage and smart decision making by coordinating storage and release of refills by RxRefillHub  104 . 
         [0043]    According to an embodiment herein, the RxRefillHub  104  enables Healthcare providers to add, delete, modify refills before, prior to release to the Pharmacy access module, when a request for a refill (for a new or existing condition) is received from a patient. Further, the RxRefillHub  104  analyses the refills in a unified gateway when a prescription refill is generated, when Pharmacy access module  212  dispenses the refill, and when the formulary change results in an alteration in medication schedule. 
         [0044]      FIG. 3  illustrates a flowchart for managing Medicine prescriptions refills using RxRefillHub  104  according to an embodiment herein. At first, the Medicine prescription refill is generated (Step  302 ). The Medicine prescription refill is generated through a plurality of modalities such as an electronic transmission, a fax, a phone and the like. 
         [0045]    Once the Medicine prescription refill is generated, it is transmitted to the RxRefillHub (Step  304 ). The Medicine prescription and refills are stored and analyzed (Step  306 ). According to an embodiment herein, once the Medicine prescription refill is analyzed, an alert is generated for its further processing (Step  316 ). According to an embodiment herein, Medicine prescription refill is available to be updated or managed by a plurality of users (Step  308 ,  310 ,  312 , 314 ). According to an embodiment herein, the responses received are compliant with HIPAA. Further, the received responses are encrypted to ensure user privacy and security. 
         [0046]    Advantageously, the embodiment herein provides a method and system for managing Medicine prescriptions refills. Further, the embodiment herein improves safety, and flexibility of Medicine prescriptions refills. Furthermore, the embodiment herein reduces wastage and enables smart decision making by coordinating storage and release of refills via an RxRefillHub. Also, the embodiment herein enables a Healthcare provider to, add, delete, modify refills prior to release to the Pharmacy access module, when a request for a refill (for a new or existing condition) is received from a patient. 
         [0047]    The foregoing description of the specific embodiment will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiment herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiment without departing from the generic concept, and therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiment. It is to he understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiment herein has been described in terms of preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiment herein can be practiced with modifications.