WO2003046792A2

WO2003046792A2 - Pharmaceutical product sample distribution method and system

Info

Publication number: WO2003046792A2
Application number: PCT/CA2002/001825
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert Senji Kamino; Kevin O'connor; Michael Parker Ingham
Original assignee: Janssen-Ortho Inc.
Priority date: 2001-11-27
Filing date: 2002-11-27
Publication date: 2003-06-05
Also published as: PL369584A1; WO2003046792A3; CA2363874A1; AU2002365450A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of administering the dispensing of a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product to a patient by a dispensary. The method comprises first receiving a dispensing request from a dispensary, wherein the request includes data from a redeemed portable media representing a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product, the portable media being redeemed by a patient at the dispensary. The method then further comprises adjudicating the request using pharmaceutical product data from the portable media and reference pharmaceutical product data stored in a computer database of a pharmacy benefit manager of a pharmaceutical insurance claim adjudication system, and in the event that the request is approved, instructing the dispensary to dispense to the patient a sample quantity of the pharmaceutical product from the dispensary's general product inventory, as specified on the redeemed product media.

Description

Pharmaceutical Product Sample Distribution Method and System

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to distributing pharmaceutical products and in particular to administering the dispensing of sample quantities of a pharmaceutical product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The distribution of pharmaceutical product samples is a common and widespread practice in the pharmaceutical industry and offers a number of benefits. Physicians are given a chance to assess the merits of a pharmaceutical product, and patients can try the product for free or at a reduced cost. Product samples are particularly important to pharmaceutical manufacturers, who use the samples to promote their products, to create brand loyalty from both prescribers and patients, and to test market acceptance of newly introduced products.

In the 1980s it became evident that pharmaceutical products dispensed by pharmacists were not always products that had been distributed through proper distribution channels. One particular problem was the diversion of pharmaceutical product samples into the for-sale distribution chain. This and other schemes to provide pharmacists with pharmaceutical products that had not necessarily benefitted from the integrity of the traditional distribution system prompted the enactment in the United States of the Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA) of 1987.

The PDMA sought to close the loopholes in drug distribution and to assure the integrity of distributed pharmaceutical products by preventing the diversion of authorized drugs away from or unauthorized drugs into the normal stream of distribution. The PDMA creates a prohibition against the sale or other transfer of drug samples for any other purpose than sampling. In particular, the PDMA prohibits a person from selling, purchasing, trading any drug sample, or any drug sample "coupon", i.e. any form which may be redeemed, at no cost, or at a reduced cost, for a prescribed drug. Furthermore, the PDMA prohibits a person, other than a limited group including a licensed drug prescriber or a pharmacy, from distributing sample drugs. While the PDMA has been important in controlling unauthorized uses of drug samples, it has also created a burdensome regulatory regime for pharmaceutical manufacturers in the production, distribution and tracking of their pharmaceutical product samples.

The present system of distributing pharmaceutical samples is costly to the manufacturer, in part because of the measures required to comply with regulations, and in part because of the delicate nature of the pharmaceutical products: Sample products must be carefully placed into individual packages for distribution. Further, sales representatives responsible for providing prescribers with the sample products must take care in transporting the sample products to their client sites. The prescribers then must be careful to store the samples under carefully controlled conditions; unlike pharmacies, prescribers may not have the facilities for such proper storage. Inevitably, some samples are destroyed or damaged, either during packaging, distribution, or storage.

Furthermore, in spite of the enactment of the PDMA, there remains the problem of prescribers substituting samples for for-purchase versions of pharmaceutical products in therapeutic treatment. This of course^* robs the manufacturer of revenue to be had from the sale of its product, and interferes with the use of samples to collect valuable marketing and other information. One of the reasons for such abuse appears to be an inability to track the use of samples after the samples have been distributed by the sales representatives of the pharmaceutical manufacturers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of administering the dispensing of a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product to a patient by a dispensary. The method involves first receiving a dispensing request from a dispensary; the request includes data from a redeemed portable media representing a pharmaceutical product sample, wherein the portable media is redeemed by a patient at the dispensary. The method then involves adjudicating the request using the pharmaceutical product data from the portable media and reference pharmaceutical product data stored in a database of a pharmacy benefit manager. In the event that the request is approved, the method then instructs the dispensary to dispense to the patient a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product as specified in the dispensing request.

The database may be a computer database that is part of a pharmaceutical insurance claim adjudication system of the pharmacy benefits manager, and as such may be used to adjudicate a pharmaceutical insurance claim. By using a preexisting computer database in a preexisting system, the costs and complexity of providing and running a dedicated computer database are avoided.

The dispensary may dispense the sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product from the dispensary's general product inventory, thereby avoiding the need to provide individually packaged physical samples of the pharmaceutical product. This eliminates the cost and trouble of packaging, storing, and transporting individual physical samples.

The portable media may be provided by a pharmaceutical manufacturer of the dispensed product to one or more pharmaceutical prescribers. The media may have a unique identifier that is recorded by the manufacturer for tracking the use of the media. The prescriber may provide one of his or her patients with the media if the pharmaceutical product specified on the media is suitable for a treatment prescribed by the prescriber for the patient.

The method may further comprise compiling data relating to the redeemed media and the dispensed pharmaceutical products and transmitting the compiled data to the manufacturer in a marketing data report. Such report may be useful to the manufacturer for marketing purposes, or to determine whether any prescriber is abusing the use of the portable media by providing a patient with enough portable media to complete a prescribed treatment. The method may further comprise reimbursing the dispensary for the product dispensed, and transmitting an invoice to the manufacturer of the dispensed product for the value of the product dispensed.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of administering the dispensing of a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product to a patient by a dispensary, wherein the method comprises:

(a) a pharmaceutical manufacturer providing a portable media to a prescriber, the portable media representing a pharmaceutical product and having stored thereon product data and a unique media identifier;

(b) the prescriber prescribing a treatment to a patient, the prescription including the portable media; (c) the patient redeeming the portable media at a pharmaceutical product dispensary; (d) the dispensary communicating a dispensary request to a pharmacy benefits manager, the request including the data on the portable media; (e) the manager adjudicating the request, the adjudicating including checking the unique media identifier provided in the dispensary request against a reference media identifier in a computer database of the manager;

(f) in the event the manager has approved the request, the dispensary dispensing the specified quantity of pharmaceutical product from the dispensary's general inventory; and,

(g) the manager compiling data relating to the redeemed media and the dispensed pharmaceutical products and transmitting said compiled data to the manufacturer.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for administering the dispensing of a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product to a patient by a dispensary. The system comprises: (a) a portable media representing a pharmaceutical product sample and having stored thereon data related to a pharmaceutical product;

(b) a pharmacy benefit manager database of reference pharmaceutical product data including the product associated with the portable media; and

(c) a computer-readable medium encoded with a product sample administration program module programmed to

(i) receive a product sample dispensing request from a dispensary, the request including data from a redeemed portable media, the portable media being redeemed by a patient at the dispensary;

(ii) adjudicate the request using the pharmaceutical product data from the portable media and the reference pharmaceutical product data; and,

(iii) in the event that the request is approved, instruct the dispensary to dispense to the patient a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product as specified in the dispensing request.

The system may include a pharmacy benefit manager insurance claim adjudication program that is communicative with the database. In such case, the product sample administration program module may be part of the insurance claim adjudication program. The portable media may have stored thereon a unique media identifier, and the same media identifier may also be recorded in the database. If so, the insurance claim adjudication program may be programmed to perform an initial screen in response to a product sample dispensing request by comparing the media identifier in the request against reference media identifiers in the database.

Alternatively, the insurance claim adjudication program may programmed to perform an initial screen in response a claims request and to bypass the initial screen in response to a product sample dispensing request. Or, the insurance claim adjudication program may be programmed to perform an initial screen in response to a product sample dispensing request by comparing the media identifier in the request against reference media identifiers in the database, and where a match is not found, the program initiates a subroutine that adds the identifier in the dispensing request to the database as a new reference media identifier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for distributing pharmaceutical product samples in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and,

Figures 2(a) and 2(b) are illustrations of a front and back of a card containing data relating to a pharmaceutical product sample according to the system of Figure 1. Figure 2(c) is an illustration of another suitable card containing product sample data.

Figures 3(a) and 3(b) illustrate a flowchart of a method of distributing pharmaceutical product samples using a database communicative with a participating dispensary and a participating pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Figure 4 illustrates an adjudication subroutine executed by a central computer upon receipt of a dispensing request by a participating dispensary in the system of Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Referring to Figure 1 there is illustrated a system 10 for administering the dispensing of sample quantities of pharmaceutical product according to one embodiment of the invention. System 10 involves a pharmacy benefit manager ("PBM") 12, at least one participating pharmaceutical manufacturer 14, at least one prescriber 16, e.g. a physician, at least one patient 18, and at least one participating pharmaceutical product dispensary 20, e.g. a pharmacy. In a method of using the system 10, the PBM 12 adjudicates a dispensing request made by the dispensary 20 for a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product manufactured by the manufacturer 14 and identified on a portable media 30 (Figure 2) redeemed at the dispensary 20 by the patient 18. The portable media 30 replaces the use of physical sample packages that are typically distributed by the prescriber 16 to the patient 18.

The PBM 12 is an organization engaged by insurance companies to adjudicate pharmaceutical product claims from patients who hold insurance plans from the insurance companies ("insured patients"), and to administer payments by the insurance companies to the pharmacies that have dispensed pharmaceutical products to the insured patients. An example of such a PBM organization is the eHealth Solutions Group of BCE Emergis. PBMs like BCE Emergis have computerized systems that are electronically communicative with pharmacies and enable a PBM to receive an insurance claim request from a pharmacy, and within moments, adjudicate an insurance claim in "real time" and communicate its decision back to the pharmacy. The PBM system is also configured to pay pharmacies approved to dispense drugs covered by a patient's insurance plan, and to generate a claims log and invoice to the participating insurers, who are then obligated to reimburse the PBM for the payments made on the insurers' behalf.

The PBM 12 has a computer 22 with a database program 23 stored thereon. The database program 23 stores data relating to the participating insurers that use the PBM 12, the patients that are clients of each participating insurer ("clients"), and the drug plans offered by the insurers. In particular, the database program 23 associates, for each client of each insurer, the drug plan that each client is eligible. The database program 23 is programmed to process the claims request, to perform certain adjudication steps, and to return a decision to the requesting pharmacy. The database program per se, including the programming to perform the insurance claim adjudication service, are known and are not described here. However, as will be explained in detail, the system 10 according to this embodiment of the invention adapts a known PBM system (including its database program 23 and computer 22) to execute a drug sample administration program, i.e. to process a product sample dispensing request from the dispensary 20, to perform certain adjudication steps to determine whether a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product should be dispensed, and then return dispensing instructions to the requesting dispensary 20. The PBM system 10 is also adapted to communicate with the pharmaceutical manufacturer 14 to transmit useful data to the manufacturer 14 relating to the dispensed product.

In this connection, the PBM computer 22 is communicatively linked to at least one dispensary communications terminal 24 and at least one pharmaceutical manufacturer terminal 26. Both communications terminals 24, 26 are remotely located from the PBM 12; the dispensary communications terminal 24 is located at the participating dispensary 20, and the pharmaceutical manufacturer terminal 26 is located at the participating pharmaceutical manufacturer 14.

The system 10 also includes a portable media 30 that contains data relating to a particular pharmaceutical product manufactured by a particular participating pharmaceutical manufacturer 14. The portable media 30 is embodied as a magnetic strip-bearing card as illustrated in Figures 2a and 2b. A magnetic strip 34 is encoded with data relating to a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product, and in particular, is encoded with a unique card identifier, a drug information number (DIN) associated with the pharmaceutical product, and a sample quantity of the product to be dispensed upon redemption of the card 30 at the participating dispensary 20. Some or all of the same data may be inscribed on one or both of the surfaces of the card 30. The card 30 may also be encoded and inscribed with further information, such as the identity of the prescriber 16, and instructions on how to use the pharmaceutical product, etc.

In addition to magnetic strip bearing cards, other embodiments of the portable media 30 are contemplated, including paper coupons, CD-ROM and other types of conventional portable media that contain machine-readable data. Other ways of encoding information on the portable media 30 than by magnetic strip are also contemplated, including using bar-codes. In particular, and referring to Figure 2(c) a registration card 31 may be printed with particulars relevant to the drug sample administration method. The card 31 features the sample drug name, carrier ID, group ID, card identification number, and space to write a patient's and a prescribing physician's name.

The dispensary communications terminal 24 may suitably be a terminal for communicating insurance claim requests to the PBM for adjudication. Such a terminal 24 is often provided with a card reader that enables the terminal 24 to read the data encoded on a magnetic strip of the card 30 when the card is swiped through the reader. The terminal is also typically provided with a keypad and LCD display screen or other operator interface and display that allows an operator to input data manually into the terminal 24, e.g. data inscribed on card

31. The terminal 24 is also provided with ROM memory for storing terminal and dispensary identification particulars that are transmitted to the PBM 12 in a dispensing request. Such data includes the terminal identification number, dispensary name, and address, phone number and fax number, etc. The terminal 24 is also provided with RAM memory to temporarily store data read by the card reader or inputted by the operator, and to store any programs or instructions required by the terminal to operate and communicate with the PBM

12.

The terminal 24 as described is representative of a typical terminal used in dispensaries for communicating with the PBM 12 and is commercially available and well appreciated by those skilled in the art. Therefore, details of the construction and programming of the terminal 24 are not discussed here. Programming the terminal 24 for use in the system 10 and in particular to serve in the drug sample administration program can be readily performed by a person skilled in the art when given this description. Such programming may be contained in software that can be installed on the terminal by conventional means, e.g. by downloading from an Internet website, etc. The dispensary communications terminal 24 is communicatively linked with the computer 22 via conventional means, e.g. by modem over phone lines. The terminal 24 is programmed to read the data from the card 30 swiped into the terminal card reader, to store the read data in the RAM, store any data manually inputted by the operator into the RAM, to dial the PBM computer 22 at the PBM 12 and establish a connection, and then transmit the RAM-stored and ROM- stored data to the server 22.

The database program 23 stored on the PBM computer 22 is configured to store data relevant to the adjudication of insurance claim requests. The database program 23 is further configured to store data relevant to the adjudication of product sample dispensing requests. In particular, the database program 23 is configured to store data relating to each of the pharmaceutical products manufactured by each pharmaceutical manufacturer 14 that is registered with the system 10. The database program 32 assigns a product profile having a set of data fields for each registered product. One or more fields in each profile is designated to contain one or more unique card identifiers associated with one or more cards 30 that were issued by the manufacturer 14.

Each profile may also contain other data relevant to the product, including dispensing instructions, patient use instructions, drug care instructions etc.

The database program 23 is also configured to store data relating to each dispensary 20 registered with the system 10. The database program 23 assigns a dispensary profile having a set of data fields for each registered dispensary 20; at least one of these fields is designated for a reference dispensing communications terminal identifier that corresponds to the dispensing communications terminal 24 assigned to the registered dispensary 10. Data fields are also designated to record the quantities of pharmaceutical product dispensed by the dispensary 20 and particulars relating to the transactions in which the product was dispensed.

The database program 23 is further configured to store data relating to each registered pharmaceutical manufacturer 14. The database program 23 assigns a manufacturer profile with data fields for each registered pharmaceutical manufacturer 14. For each profile, at least one of the data fields is designated to store a unique manufacturer terminal identifier associated with the manufacturer communications terminal 26 assigned to the manufacturer 14. The profile may also contain data fields for storing data identifying the types of pharmaceutical products manufactured by the manufacturer 14 that are registered in the program.

As mentioned above, the database program 23 may be based on an existing PBM claims adjudication program. The claims adjudication program contains an initial screening function. Eligibility data, especially the plan number and the client identification number are present in a database of the adjudicator's program. In a conventional claim, a patient presents a prescription to a pharmacist and the pharmacist transmits the plan number and client's identification number to the adjudication program. The adjudication program performs an initial screen by verifying the plan number and checking the client identification number against a database of client identification numbers for that particular plan. If the client identification number is on the database, the check is successful, if not, the program will issue a rejection.

However, in the drug sampling administration program according to this embodiment of the invention, every patient presenting a drug sample card 30, 31 must pass the initial claims screen, whether or not the patient presenting the card is registered in the database as an insured patient. To accomplish this, the initial claims screening process of the adjudication program can be modified by one of the following ways: 1) disable the claims screening function altogether when a drug sample request is received; 2) when a drug sample request is received, trigger a subroutine whereby the unique identifier of the redeemed card is added to the database and then checked against itself; or 3) add all the card identifiers into the database prior to the patients redeeming the cards 30, 31, so that when a drug sample request is received, the redeemed card will be located by the initial screening .

The manufacturer communications terminal 26 is communicatively linked to the PBM computer 22 by conventional means, e.g. by modem over phone lines. The terminal 26 may be a computer having a database program that is programmed to store information transmitted from the computer 22 to the terminal 26. Such a terminal 26 is conventional and is thus not described in detail here.

The operation of the system 10 to carry out a drug sample administration program is described here with reference to Figures 1 and 3. The numbers beside each arrow in Figure 1 correspond to method steps in the flow chart in Figures 3a and 3b.

In step 1, the manufacturer 14 registers with the system 10 its pharmaceutical products that it has selected to participate in the drug sample administration program; information is transmitted to the computer 22 and profiles for each of the pharmaceutical products to be registered are created by the database program 23. The manufacturer 14 then produces a numbers of cards for each of its selected pharmaceutical products; the unique card identifier number, the DIN of the pharmaceutical product, and other useful information can be encoded on a machine readable magnetic strip like the card 30 shown in Figures 2(a) and (b), or printed like the card 31 shown in Figure 2(c). The card may also be encoded with a sample product quantity, or with instructions to the dispensary that the quantity dispensed correspond to the quantity specified by a prescription accompanying the card 30, 31.

The identity of each card 30, 31 is recorded by the manufacturer 14, and the cards 30 are then distributed to sales representatives of the manufacturer 14. The sales representatives then deliver the cards 30, 31 to target prescribers 16 who are asked to provide the cards to patients in substitution of physical sample packages. The sales representatives record the identity of each card 30, 31 distributed to each prescriber 16; these records are later returned to the manufacturer 14 to be used to track the use and distribution of pharmaceutical product samples dispensed under the program.

At this stage, the pharmaceutical manufacturer 14 may transmit its records relating to the distributed cards 30, 31 to the PBM computer server 22 for recording in the database program 23. In particular, the identity of the prescriber 16 and the identity of each card 30, 31 provided to the prescriber 16 are recorded in the manufacturer profile of the database 23.

The prescriber 16 when prescribing a medication for the patient 18 that corresponds to one of the manufacturer's registered products, can at his or her discretion also provide the patient 18 with one or more cards 30, 31 corresponding to the prescribed medication (step 2). As the patient 18 must present the card(s) 30, 31 to a participating dispensary 20 (step 3), and as a record is kept by the dispensary 20 of the cards 30, 31 redeemed, the prescriber 16 is dissuaded from abusing the system 10 by providing enough cards to the patient 18 to complete the prescribed treatment. Note the card 30, 31 is provided to the patient 18 in lieu of a physical sample of the prescribed pharmaceutical product.

In step 3, the patient 18 redeems his card(s) 30 to the dispensary 20. The patient may also be required to show the dispensary an accompanying prescription from the prescriber 16. In step 4 and upon receipt of the card 30, 31 , a person at the dispensary (e.g. a pharmacist) operates the communications terminal 24 to read the card 30, 31 and to establish a connection with the PBM computer 22. Once a connection is established, the operator operates the terminal 24 to transmit a dispensing request to the computer 22. The request includes, inter alia, the product DIN, product quantity, card identifier, and dispensing terminal identifier.

The prescriber 16 may at this stage record the identity of the patient and the identity of the sample cards 30, 31 given to the patient 18. Such step is useful to ensure that the person redeeming the card 30, 31 at a dispensary 20 is indeed the patient 18 to whom the card was prescribed. Therefore, as an optional aspect of this embodiment of the invention and subject to applicable patient privacy laws, a prescriber communications terminal (not shown) is provided at the prescriber site, that is communicatively linked to the computer 22, and wherein the prescriber can use the terminal to transmit to the computer 22 the identity and other relevant information relating to the patients that were prescribed cards 30, 31 , thereby enrolling the patient in the drug sample adminstration program. Accordingly, the database program 23 is configured with patient profiles having data fields to store such information. Such information can then be used during an adjudication process in which the computer 22 in response to a dispensing request by the dispensary 20, checks whether the patient attempting to redeem a card 30 at the dispensary 20 should be given a pharmaceutical sample product, e.g. checking whether the patient has been registered with the drug sample administration program.

Upon receiving the dispensing request, the computer 22 runs an adjudication sub-routine to determine whether or not the request should be granted. Referring to Figure 4, the computer 22 is programmed to check the card identifier and terminal identifier transmitted in the dispensing request against reference card identifiers and terminal identifiers stored in the database 23. If one or both identifiers cannot be matched with a reference identifier, the computer 22 is programmed to return a "request denied" message back to the requesting dispensary 20. If respective matches are found, the computer 22 is programmed to continue the sub-routine. A number of additional steps can be included in the adjudication subroutine depending on the level of security that the operator wants to impose on the dispensing of the pharmaceutical product. The subroutine can be used to check that the prescriber 16 who prescribed the sample is in good standing with the manufacturer of the requested pharmaceutical product. Further, the routine can include a standard Drug Utilization Review (DUR) typically carried out by adjudicators, which checks for drug interactions, late/early refills, duplicate checks, etc. Upon successful completion of all the adjudication steps, the computer server returns a "request approved" message back to the dispensary.

In step 5, and once the dispensary 20 has received authorization to dispense the pharmaceutical product, it obtains the specified sample quantity of product from its general inventory. Because the sample is taken from general inventory the need to provide individually packaged physical samples is avoided.

Such physical samples are costly as they the pharmaceutical product must be individually packaged, and care must be taken in transporting and storing each package.

In step 6, the product is dispensed to the patient 16. In step 7, the dispensary 20 transmits to the computer 22 a Confirmation that the product has been dispensed and a Request for Reimbursement for the dispensed product. Upon receipt of such a transmission, the computer 22 updates the records of the database 23 with information relating to the transaction. In particular, the data fields in the dispensary profile relating to quantity of products dispensed, and data fields in the manufacturer profile relating to the cards distributed are updated.

The information in the dispensing request is saved in the database program 23 and is later included in a marketing data report that is generated by the computer 22 and transmitted to each pharmaceutical manufacturer 14. Such report is useful to the manufacturers 14 for determining whether the distribution of samples meets business objectives (e.g. raising brand awareness, creating consumer confidence etc.), and for tracking the use of the cards 30, 31. For example, the report may contain a list of cards redeemed at the participating dispensaries 20. These redeemed cards can be cross-referenced against the manufacturer's records to determine which prescribers distributed the cards and to determine whether any of these prescribers were distributing an excessive number of cards to one patient. If yes, these prescribers can be investigated to determine whether they are abusing the use of product samples.

While the present invention has been described herein by the preferred embodiments, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and added to the invention. The changes and alternatives are considered within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of administering the dispensing of a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product to a patient by a dispensary, the method comprising:

(a) receiving a dispensing request from a dispensary, the request including data from a redeemed portable media representing a pharmaceutical product sample, the portable media being redeemed by a patient at the dispensary; (b) adjudicating the request using the pharmaceutical product data from the portable media and reference pharmaceutical product data stored in a database of a pharmacy benefit manager; and, (c) in the event that the request is approved, instructing the dispensary to dispense to the patient a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product as specified in the dispensing request.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the dispensary obtains the sample quantity of pharmaceutical product from the dispensary's general product inventory.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the database is part of a pharmaceutical insurance claim adjudication system of the pharmacy benefit manager.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the portable media includes a unique media identifier, the database includes reference media identifiers, and the step of adjudicating includes comparing the media identifier associated with the dispensing request to the reference media identifiers.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein data from the portable media specifies a sample quantity of the pharmaceutical product.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the portable media is provided by a pharmaceutical manufacturer to a pharmaceutical prescriber, and the unique media identifier is recorded by the manufacturer for tracking the use of the media.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising compiling data relating to the redeemed media and the dispensed pharmaceutical products and transmitting said compiled data to the manufacturer.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising reimbursing the dispensary for the product dispensed, and transmitting an invoice to the manufacturer of the dispensed product for the value of the product dispensed.

9. A method of administering the dispensing of a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product to a patient by a dispensary, the method comprising: (a) a pharmaceutical manufacturer providing a portable media to a prescriber, the portable media representing a pharmaceutical product sample and having stored thereon product data and a unique media identifier;

(b) the prescriber prescribing a treatment to a patient, the prescription including the portable media;

(c) the patient redeeming the portable media at a pharmaceutical product dispensary;

(d) the dispensary communicating a dispensary request to a pharmacy benefits manager, the request including the product data and media identifier on the portable media;

(e) the manager adjudicating the request, the adjudicating including checking the unique media identifier provided in the dispensary request against a reference media identifier in a computer database of the manager; (f) in the event the manager has approved the request, the dispensary dispensing a specified quantity of pharmaceutical product from the dispensary's general inventory; and, (g) the manager compiling data relating to the redeemed media and the dispensed pharmaceutical products and transmitting said compiled data to the manufacturer.

10. A system for administering the dispensing of a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product to a patient by a dispensary, comprising:

(a) a portable media representing a pharmaceutical product sample and having stored thereon data related to a pharmaceutical product; (b) a pharmacy benefit manager database of reference pharmaceutical product data including the product associated with the portable media; (c) a computer-readable medium encoded with a product sample administration program module programmed to (i) receive a product sample dispensing . request from a dispensary, the request including data from a redeemed portable media, the portable media being redeemed by a patient at the dispensary;

(ii) adjudicate the request using the pharmaceutical product data from the portable media and the reference pharmaceutical product data; and, (iii) in the event that the request is approved, instruct the dispensary to dispense to the patient a sample quantity of a pharmaceutical product as specified in the dispensing request.

11. The system of claim 10 further including a pharmacy benefit manager insurance claim adjudication program communicative with the database.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the product sample administration program module is part of the insurance claim adjudication program.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the portable media has further stored thereon a unique media identifier, and the same media identifier is also recorded in the database.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the insurance claim adjudication program is programmed to perform an initial screen in response to a product sample dispensing request by comparing the media identifier in the request against reference media identifiers in the database.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the insurance claim adjudication program is programmed to perform an initial screen in response a claims request and to bypass the initial screen in response to a product sample dispensing request.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein the insurance claim adjudication program is programmed to perform an initial screen in response to a product sample dispensing request by comparing the media identifier in the request against reference media identifiers in the database, and where a match is not found, the program initiates a subroutine that adds the identifier in the dispensing request to the database as a new reference media identifier.