WO2014037850A2

WO2014037850A2 - Medication regimes

Info

Publication number: WO2014037850A2
Application number: PCT/IB2013/058044
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Vollmer
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.; Philips Deutschland Gmbh
Priority date: 2012-09-07
Filing date: 2013-08-28
Publication date: 2014-03-13
Also published as: WO2014037850A3

Abstract

A method of determining a medication regime for a patient is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: decoding machine readable information associated with medication supplied to a patient; processing the decoded information so as to generate patient medication information regarding the medication supplied to the patient; and determining a medication regime for the patient based on the generated patient medication information and a predetermined treatment regime for the patient.

Description

Medication regimes

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to medication regimes, and more particularly to determining a medication regime for a patient. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Remote-patient management systems (RPMSs) for chronically ill patients are known. Such RPMSs enable the monitoring of patient vital signs and patient compliance with one or more prescribed medication regimes. RPMSs also enable the modification of medication regimes (i.e. the changing of drug type, drug dosage and/or timing) according to the patient's actual health status, which is assessed by RPMS.

Typically, patients enrolled in RPMS programs are chronically ill or very elderly and thus often have difficulties in reading or are cognitively declined. Thus, when a RPMS dictates that a patient needs to change a medication regime according to the patient's actual health status, there is a risk that the patient will not understand and/or take the incorrect medication or dosage resulting in a medical error.

For example, medication or drugs are often offered with different dosages of therapeutics (e.g. 10 mg per pill or 20 mg per pill). If a RPMS was to request the patient to increase a daily dosage of a drug from 10 mg to 20 mg, the patient would be tasked with a safety critical task that may not be acceptable or appropriate. Further, if information about a medication regime provided to the patient is erroneous, consequences can include adverse drug effects or reactions (ADRs), undesirable drug-drug interactions, and worsening of the patient's health condition.

In some countries, the actual medication information such as manufacturer (various brands vs. generics etc.) and pill format (e.g. dosage per pill) provided to a patient is determined by a pharmacist, and will not be known to the prescribing physician and the

RPMS. The pharmacist will not typically have access to the RPMS where information about the medication actually provided to the patient can be entered. Accordingly, if a physician prescribes "beta blocker brand X, labeled YZ with dosage xyz / pill" to a patient, the pharmacist may actually provide "beta blocker brand A, labeled BC with dosage abc / pill" to the patient.

It is therefore understandable that a patient may get confused when a RPMS changes the patient's medication regime from 1 to 2 pills daily of "medication brand X, labeled YZ", when the patient in fact only has "medication brand A, labeled BC" (and thus not the medication shown on the patient interface of the RPMS). This can lead to the patient being non-compliant and not following the prescribed medication regime correctly.

It has been proposed to have the patient manually enter information about the actual dispensed medication into the RPMS. However, this process is error prone (especially for chronically ill with a polypharmacy medication regimen or very elderly patients) and therefore not a viable option.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is proposed to reliably capture information regarding medication (such as the brand, labeling, dosage per pill, etc.) provided to a patient. Using this captured information, a medication regime can be adapted so as to ensure the patient correctly adheres to prescribed treatment.

According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a method of determining a medication regime for a patient according to independent claim 1.

Embodiments may be able to automatically determine the actual medication issued to a patient and, based on this determination, a prescribed medication regime can be adapted so as to prevent patient medication errors, adverse drug effects/reactions and/or unwanted drug-to-drug interactions.

Machine readable information may be associated with medication supplied to the patient. Such machine readable information may comprise a barcode, a QR-code, an RFID tag, or a NFC tag, for example, and embodiments may decode the machine readable information so as to determine information about the medication supplied to the patient. The process of reliably capturing information (e.g. brand, labeling, dosage per pill, etc.) about supplied medication may therefore be automated and/or made independent of the patient's cognitive abilities. For example, the patient may simply scan each medication box with a code reader (i.e. a device for decoding a machine readable code) which then automatically determines information about the supplied medication using a medication database. A prescribed treatment regime for the patient may then be altered by taking account of the information about the medicine actually supplied to the patient. Also, embodiments may be adapted to raise an alert when the supplied medication provides for potential drug combinations that can cause adverse side-effects or other undesirable consequences, i.e. adverse drug-drug interactions.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a patient medication management system according to claim 6.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a flow diagram of a method of determining a medication regime for a patient according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of a patient medication management system according to an embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 3 illustrates a patient medication management system according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments provide a method of determining a medication regime for a patient which takes account of the actual medication provided to the patient. Based on information about the actual medication supplied to the patient, a prescribed medication regime can be adapted so as to prevent patient medication errors like drug

underdose/overdose or unwanted side-effects. Use of machine readable information associated with the supplied medication may enable information about the actual medication supplied to the patient to be gathered in a simple, automated and reliable manner.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a flow diagram of a method 10 of determining a medication regime for a patient according to an embodiment of the invention. The method begins with step 12 of decoding machine readable information associated with actual medication supplied to the patient.

The machine readable information may be provided on or with the supplied medication in the form of a barcode, matrix code image, an RFID tag, or a NFC tag, for example. The machine readable information comprises information about the medication such as brand, labeling, dosage(s), medication format (i.e. pill, liquid, capsule, powder, inhalant, etc.) in a machine readable format. By way of example, QR code is a widely known 2D matrix code. It has three squares in the edge of the coded image for a decoder to determine the area and angle of code matrix. This provides a high data capacity which can encode more than 4000 alpha-numeric characters, or more than 1800 Chinese characters. The code also contains data correction information generated by correction polynomial to make the code resistant to damage or dirt contamination.

In this exemplary embodiment, the patient scans the machine readable information provided with each package of supplied medication (using an appropriately adapted code reading device according to the invention). The scanned machine readable information is decoded so as to extract information about the medication.

Next, in step 14, the decoded information is processed using medication data stored in a medication database so as to generate patient medication information. In other words, the decoded information is interpreted in view of available information regarding medication. The medication database that stores the medication data for use in interpreting the decoded information may be stored locally (i.e. within the code reading device or within hardware located in the vicinity of the reading device) or may be stored remotely on a data storage device/system accessible via a network communication link. Storing the medication database locally has the advantage that a communication link is not required in order to interpret the decoded information. Conversely, storing the medication database in a remotely- located centralized database enables the medication database to be centrally updated or modified, thus ensuring that the medication data can be kept up-to-date and/or managed at a single, centralized location.

Based on the generated patient medication information and a prescribed treatment regime for the patient, a medication regime for the patient is then determined in step 16. For example, the generated patient medication information may be compared with a treatment regime that has been prescribed for the patient by a health professional (such as a doctor, consultant or surgeon, for example). Where the supplied medication does not match that which has been prescribed (for example, by being supplied in a different dosage size), the prescribed medication regime is adapted so as to ensure the patient is directed to take the correct amount of the supplied medication.

Finally, the determined medication regime is provided to the patient and/or health professional in step 18. The output format of the determined medication routine may be any suitable format that meets required needs. For example, the regime may be displayed to the patient via a display unit, printed as a document, and/or communicated to the patient using one or more communication methods (such as email, electronic diary/calendar entries, audible reminders, etc.).

Turning now to Figure 2, there is shown a patient medication management system 20 for use with medication 22 supplied to a patient. The system 20 comprises an input unit 24 adapted to obtain machine readable information 26 associated with the supplied medication 22. Here, the machine readable information 26 is in the form of a 2-Dimensional barcode that is provided on the packaging of the supplied medication 22. Thus, the input unit 24 comprises a barcode scanner which is adapted to scan the barcode 26.

Connected to the input unit 24 is a processing unit 26 which is adapted to decode machine readable information obtained via the input unit 24. The processing unit 26 is also adapted to process the decoded information based on medication data stored in a medication database 28 so as to generate patient medication information. Here, the medication database 28 comprises a data storage unit that is connected to the system 20 via a wireless communication link 30.

The processing unit 26 comprises a medication regime determining unit 32 which is adapted to determine a medication regime for the patient based on patient medication information generated by the processing unit 26 and a prescribed treatment regime for the patient.

The determined medication regime can be displayed to a user of the system (such as the patient) via a display unit 34 of the processing unit 26.

It will be appreciated that the system 20 may be provided as a hand-held portable unit or, in alternative embodiments, the input unit 24 may be a hand-held portable device that is connected to the processing unit 26 (which is a larger device like a set-top box or personal computer).

By way of example, Figure 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment, wherein the system 40 is contained with a single portable unit 42, and wherein the machine readable information 26 is in the form of a RFID tag 44 that is attached to the packaging of the supplied medication 22.

Here, the input unit 46 comprises a RFID tag reading device 46 that is contained within the portable unit 42. The RFID tag reading device is adapted to

automatically communicate with the RFID tag 44 so as to obtain machine readable information when the RFID tag 44 is positioned close enough (i.e. within a communication range of the input unit 46) to the portable unit 42. Also provided within the portable unit 42 of the system 40 is a processor (not shown) which is adapted to decode machine readable information obtained via the input unit 46.

The processing unit is also adapted to process the decoded information based on medication data stored in a medication database 48 that is integrated within the portable unit 42 of the system 40. The processor thus interprets the decoded information using information from the medication database 48 so as to generate patient medication

information.

The portable unit 42 of the system 40 also houses a medication regime determining unit (not shown) which is adapted to determine a medication regime for the patient based on patient medication information generated by the processing unit and a prescribed treatment regime for the patient.

The determined medication regime is displayed to a user of the system via a display unit 34 of the portable unit 42.

The portable unit 42 also comprises a user interface 50 which enables a user of the system to input information into the system. Such information may relate to the prescribed treatment regime, patient self-reported medication side-effects, or may indicate when a user wishes to be reminded about taking medication according to the determined medication regime, and/or may relate to new/updated/corrected medication data to be stored in the medication database 48. In this way, the system 40 provides for the

modification/addition/deletion of data stored or used by the system 40.

The system 40 is also adapted to communicate with a remotely located computer system 52 via an internet-based communication link 54. In this way, information about patient self-reported medication side-effects, the determined medication regime and/or supplied medication 22 can be communicated to the computer system which can then conduct (automatic or medical health profession controlled) medication reconciliation and raise automatic medication alerts, for example. In another embodiment, the automated medication reconciliation can also be conducted by a module integrated in the system 40. Information may also be communicated from the computer 52 to the system 40 via the communication link 54, so as to enable an alternative method for modifying/adding/deleting data stored or used by the system 40.

It will be understood that the embodiments enable the automation of reliably obtaining information about medication supplied to a patient. A patient may simply scan a supplied medication label or place the supplied medication near a device according to the invention. The information decoded from the scanned medication box is then automatically interpreted using a medication database. Based on the interpreted information, a prescribed medication regime for the patient can be adapted, modified or assessed so as to take account of the actual medication supplied to the patient. Additionally, embodiments can conduct (automatic or medical health profession controlled) medication assessment and raise automatic medication alerts in case the patient's actual medication regime contains drug combinations which cause adverse interactions and/or have undesirable side effects.

Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measured cannot be used to advantage. A computer program may be stored/distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method of determining a medication regime for a patient, the method comprising the steps of:

decoding machine readable information associated with medication supplied to a patient;

processing the decoded information so as to generate patient medication information regarding the medication supplied to the patient; and

determining a medication regime for the patient based on the generated patient medication information and a predetermined treatment regime for the patient.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of processing the decoded

information comprises:

processing the decoded information based on medication data stored in a medication database so as to generate the patient medication information.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the machine readable information comprises at least one of a: barcode; a QR-code; an RFID tag; and a NFC tag.

4. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising the step of:

receiving patient health status information,

and wherein the step of determining a medication regime for the patient is further based on the received patient health status information.

5. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising the step of:

communicating information regarding the determined medication regime or received patient health status information to at least one of: the patient; a medical

professional; a carer of the patient; a patient medication management system; and a remotely located computing system.

6. A patient medication management system comprising:

an input unit adapted to obtain machine readable information associated with medication supplied to a patient;

one or more processing units adapted to decode the obtained machine readable information, to process the decoded information so as to generate patient medication information regarding the medication supplied to the patient; and to determine a medication regime for the patient based on the generated patient medication information and a predetermined treatment regime for the patient.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more processing units are further adapted to process the decoded information based on medication data stored in a medication database so as to generate the patient medication information.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising a data storage unit adapted to store the medication database.

9. The system of any of claims 6 to 8, wherein the machine readable information comprises at least one of a: barcode; a QR-code; an RFID tag; and a NFC tag.

10. The system of any of claims 6 to 9, further comprising a user- interface adapted to receive patient health status information, and wherein the one or more processing units are adapted to determine a medication regime for the patient further based on received patient health status information.

11. The system of any of claims 6 to 10, further comprises a communication interface adapted to communicate information regarding the determined medication regime or received patient health status information to at least one of: the patient; a medical professional; a carer of the patient; a remote-patient management system; and a remotely located computing system.

12. A remote-patient management system comprising a patient medication management system according to any of claims 6 to 11.

13. A computer program comprising computer program codes means adapted to perform all of the steps of any of claims 1 to 5 when said program is run on a computer.

14. A computer program as claimed in claim 13 embodied on a computer readable medium.