Patent ID: 7827041

Claim:
A workflow management method for processing a drug prescription in a pharmacy, the method being performed by execution of a computer readable program by a computer system, the method comprising: receiving a drug prescription transaction including one or more prescriptions; entering data related to the drug prescription transaction into the computer system to initiate the drug prescription transaction; estimating and recording in the computer system a date and a time by which the drug prescription transaction will be fulfilled and available to a customer for pick up, wherein estimating a date and a time for pick up includes entering an estimated pick up time, the estimated pick up time being determined relative to an estimated pick up time for one or more of a plurality of other prescription transactions requiring fulfillment and arranged in at least one work queue stored in the computer system in accordance with their pick up times; checking the pharmacy drug inventory to confirm whether the one or more prescriptions of the prescription transaction can be fulfilled; receiving data related to an insurance adjudication review or a refill authorization of the prescription transaction; resetting in the computer the estimated pick up time of the prescription transaction in response to receiving data related to at least one of: (i) insufficient drug inventory for fulfillment of the one or more prescriptions-, (ii) problems associated with the insurance adjudication review, and (iii) a number of prescription transactions in the work queue, and, if the prescription transaction cannot be fulfilled within a maximum period of time identified by the computer system, recording a reset estimated pick up time of the prescription transaction in the computer system; entering the prescription transaction in the work queue for fulfillment; and prioritizing in real time the position of the prescription transaction in the work queue in accordance with its estimated pick up or reset estimated pick up time relative to the pick up times of the other prescription transactions in the work queue.