WO2015135028A1

WO2015135028A1 - A computing device, system, method and data signal arranged to facilitate the dispensing of pharmaceutical products

Info

Publication number: WO2015135028A1
Application number: PCT/AU2015/000146
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alexander Stephen CORRY; Jasper LIU; Stephen Brown; Ian JEFFORD; John PUSE
Original assignee: Bovcor Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2014-03-14
Filing date: 2015-03-13
Publication date: 2015-09-17

Abstract

A computing device comprising: a processing module arranged to interact with a database via a communications network; and a database arranged to contain information relevant to the identification of the status of at least one product or container; wherein the module is arranged to provide the information via the communications network from the device to a user electronic device.

Description

A COMPUTING DEVICE, SYSTEM, METHOD AND DATA SIGNAL ARRANGED TO FACILITATE THE DISPENSING OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a computing device, system, method and data signal arranged to facilitate the dispensing of pharmaceutical products. Embodiments of the invention find particular, but not exclusive, use in the field of the operational and co-ordination requirements of the pharmaceutical industry, and more particularly, but not exclusively, embodiments of the invention find particular use in organisations that are colloquially referred to as "community pharmacies".

Background Art

[0002] Pharmacies in Australia distribute and/or dispense millions of medications every year. Some medications are highly controlled substances that can be abused or can cause life threatening complications if administered to the wrong patients.

[0003] While pharmacists are professionals and have stringent guidelines to guide the manner in which they dispense medications, there is always an element of human error in any manual dispensing process. In particular, accidental yet incorrect labelling of packets or bottles of medication, an inadvertent mix up between the medication to be dispensed to different patients, and many other minor errors may have serious consequences for the patient and for the pharmacist.

[0004] Accidental mislabelling of medications can occur for a number of reasons, but is more likely to occur in very busy pharmacies, where pharmacists are required to prepare and dispense hundreds, if not thousands, of prescribed medications in one day.

[0005] This is due to the fact that any one patient may collect multiple medications at once, different medications are packaged in very similar packaging, some brand names are quite similar, medications may be available in different strengths (and the strength of the medication may not be immediately obvious from a quick glance at the packaging) and in rare cases prescription scripts may be mixed up, resulting in the wrong medication being delivered to a patient. In situations where a pharmacy holds thousands of pharmaceutical substances in stock, it is not inconceivable that a pharmacist, despite 'double-checking', may inadvertently make a mistake. [0006] It is also common for patients to be on multiple medications where combining one or more of these medications with other medications can be dangerous for the patient. As it is also common for patients to obtain medications from multiple pharmacies it can be difficult for a particular pharmacy to identify potentially dangerous combinations.

[0007] There is a need to provide a cost-effective, understandable and efficient manner of tracking the dispensing of pharmaceutical products, and more importantly, of preventing, or at least identifying, human error in the handling and dispensing of medications and in identifying potentially dangerous combinations.

Summary of the Invention

[0008] In a first aspect, there is provided a computing device comprising a processing module arranged to interact with a database via a communications network wherein the database is arranged to contain information relevant to the identification of the status of at least one product or container, wherein the module is arranged to provide the information via the communications network from the device to a user electronic device.

[0009] In one embodiment the processing module interacts with at least one information capture device, wherein the information capture device collects prescription information related to at least one pharmaceutical product.

[0010] In one embodiment, the at least one information capture device is one of a barcode scanner and an image scanner.

[001 1] In one embodiment, the user electronic device is arranged to collect information product information located on at least one surface of the packaging of the at least one product or container.

[0012] In one embodiment, the processing module is arranged to compare the product information to prescription information, to determine whether there is a match condition.

[0013] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a system arranged to interact with one or more remote devices via a communications network comprising a server including a database arranged to contain information relevant to the identification of the status of at least one piece of equipment, wherein the database is arranged to receive the information via the communications network from the one or more remote devices.

[0014] In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method for facilitating the transfer of information relevant to the identification of the status of at least one piece of equipment between one or more remote devices and a database, comprising the steps of, the database receiving a request to provide the information relevant to the identification of the status of at least one piece of equipment to the one or more remote devices, and forwarding the information via a communications network to the one or more remote devices.

[0015] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer program, including at least one instruction capable of being executed by a computing system, which implements a method in the third aspect of the invention.

[0016] In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium including a computer program in accordance with the fourth aspect of the invention.

[0017] In a sixth aspect, there is provided a data signal including at least one instruction being capable of being received and interpreted by a computing system, wherein the one instruction, on being interpreted by the computing system, implements a method in accordance with the third aspect of the invention.

[0018] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a system arranged to verify that medication prescribed is dispensed as intended, wherein:

the system stores information from a prescription in a database and medication matching the prescription is labelled with information identifying the medications and an electronic chip encoded with information identifying the patient and medication is attached to the medication; and

wherein the system is arranged to facilitate the comparison of the medication, the medication's label, the encoded information and the information stored in the database to confirm that the medication is dispensed as prescribed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] Further features of the present invention are more fully described in the following description of several non-limiting embodiments thereof. This description is included solely for the purposes of exemplifying the present invention. It should not be understood as a restriction on the broad summary, disclosure or description of the invention as set out above. The description will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figures 1 A and 1 B are example computing systems which are capable of operating a device, system, method and/or computer program in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

Figures 2A through 2D are flowcharts illustrating processes in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of Embodiments

[0020] Referring to Figure 1A, there is shown an example computing system which is capable of facilitating transactions in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] In Figure 1 A there is shown a schematic diagram of a computing system, which in this embodiment is a server 100 suitable for use with an embodiment of the present invention. The server 100 may be used to execute application and/or system services such as a system and method for facilitating an electronic financial transaction in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] With reference to Figure 1A, the server 100 may comprise suitable components necessary to receive, store and execute appropriate computer instructions. The components may include a processor 102, read only memory (ROM) 104, random access memory (RAM) 106, an input/output devices such as disc drives 108, remote or connected input devices 1 10 (such as a mobile computing device, a smartphone or a 'desktop' personal computer), and one or more communications link(s) 114.

[0023] The server 100 includes instructions that may be installed in ROM 104, RAM 106 or disc drives 112 and may be executed by the processor 102. There may be provided a plurality of communication links 114 which may variously connect to one or more computing devices 1 10 such as servers, personal computers, terminals, wireless or handheld computing devices, or mobile communication devices such as a mobile (cell) telephone. At least one of a plurality of communications link 114 may be connected to an external computing network through a telecommunications network.

[0024] In one particular embodiment the device may include a database 116 which may reside on the storage device 112. It will be understood that the database may reside on any suitable storage device, which may encompass solid state drives, hard disc drives, optical drives or magnetic tape drives. The database 116 may reside on a single physical storage device or may be spread across multiple storage devices.

[0025] The server 100 includes a suitable operating system 118 which may also reside on a storage device or in the ROM of the server 100. The operating system is arranged to interact with the database and with one or more computer programs to cause the server to carry out the steps, functions and/or procedures in accordance with the embodiments of the invention described herein.

[0026] Broadly, the invention relates to a computing device and system arranged to interact with one or more remote devices via a communications network to enable additional checking of prescription appropriateness. The system, in one embodiment, comprises a server including a database arranged to contain information relevant to the status of at least one product or container. The database is arranged to receive the information via the communications network from the one or more remote devices.

[0027] Other aspects of the broad inventive concept relate to a corresponding method and data signal. The method facilitates the transfer of information relevant to the status of at least one product or container between one or more remote devices and a centralized database. The centralized database receives a request to provide the information relevant to the status of at least one product or container to the one or more remote devices, and forwards the information via a communications network to the one or more remote devices.

[0028] The database is arranged to contain various types of information. In more detail, the database is arranged to hold information relevant to the identification of the status of at least one product or container.

[0029] The system includes a receiving module such as the communications link 114, which in the embodiment described herein, includes at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) reader. The RFID reader communicate with the computing system 100 which in turn includes (or is connected to) the database 116. The computing system 100 includes the processing module 102 which includes an appropriate interface to allow direct interaction with the tracking software. The tracking software will be described in more detail below.

[0030] The skilled addressee will recognize that a Near Field Communication (NFC) reader, or other comparable devices could be used in place of the RFID reader and still be within the scope of the present invention.

[0031] Turning to Figure 1 B, there is shown an example computing network which incorporates a server 150, known as a "Bova" server, which is, in the embodiment described herein, equivalent to the server 100 described with reference to Figure 1A. The Bova server 150 is connected via a communications network 152, such as a local area network, to at least one computer 154, at least one reader 156, and a printer 158. The computer 154 linked to a reader 156 and printer 158 can capture information from medication or a patient and print details of the medication or patient or provide access to this information from a separate computer networked to the Bova server 150.

[0032] In some embodiments, the RFID devices are Wireless Identification and Sensing devices which include passive (i.e. battery less) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and a motion sensor, such as a tri axial accelerometer. RFID devices are sometimes colloquially referred to as "tags".

[0033] As an RFID device is light and small in size, it is easily and generally undetectably incorporated into a "sticker".

[0034] An embodiment of the system will now be described with reference to a number of screenshots and flowcharts.

[0035] Referring now to Figures 2A through 2D, there are generally shown a series of flowcharts which illustrate various data collecting processes and methods in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0036] At Figure 2A, there is shown a flowchart which depicts a process for loading information into the database. At step 202, information regarding one or more medication stocked by a pharmacy (or a chain of pharmacies) is collected. It will be understood that in the context of the embodiment described herein, such information would be inputted once (perhaps when the database is first set up), and then periodically updated, as the pharmacy adds or deletes medications from their range. The information may be manually inputted (as shown in optional step 203), or may be inputted in any other suitable way, such as via a download, or by scanning and moving containers of medication, bar/QR code reading. Many data interchange formats already exist to allow data to be easily interchanged between pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies, and a person skilled in the art would understand and be aware of known techniques to receive the data from known sources.

[0037] At step 204, once the data is inputted or received, the database is populated with relevant information. With the relevant data populated to the database, the data is able to be transferred to labels and RFID chips as required.

[0038] Once the information is available in the database, the system is useable in accordance with the process shown in the flowchart of Figure 2B. Where a pharmacist wishes to dispense one or more items of medication in response to receipt of a prescription by a patient, the pharmacist first inputs the details of the prescription into the system at step 206. The details of the prescription may include the patient's details (name, etc.), details regarding the one or more items of medication prescribed, and any special instructions for use (e.g. instructions provided by the doctor). The embodiment described herein utilizes a scanner to scan the prescription and uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to identify text in the scanned image and transpose such text into characters which can then be saved in the database. Variations such as manual entry of the prescription details are within the purview of a person skilled in the art.

[0039] At step 207 the pharmacist checks the details entered at step 206 to verify that they are correct. If they are correct the pharmacist enters a command into the system that allows the procedure to continue.

[0040] Once the information is captured and verified, at step 208 a self-adhesive prescription label (which includes an embedded RFID tag) is printed with the information relating to the details of the prescription stored in the database. The RFID tag is subsequently coded with the relevant information and the information is stored in the database and associated with the medical information in the database. It will be understood that the steps of printing and coding may occur in what appears to be (to the observer) a simultaneous process. That is, when the label is printed, the pharmacist does not need to manually perform the additional step of coding the RFID, as the step of coding the RFID occurs either while the printing is occurring, or shortly before or after the printing occurs. However, it will be understood that in the context of printing the label and encoding the embedded RFID, the term 'simultaneous' refers to the two steps occurring in a manner that requires no manual intervention from a user.

[0041] Consequently, once the label (and the embedded RFID) are prepared, the pharmacist applies the label (which includes the RFID tag) to the medication packaging at step 212, and subsequently, at step 214, the medication is 'delivered' to a delivery point, to a pharmacy worker (or a medical professional, such as a doctor or a nurse) for subsequent delivery to a patient, to a packaging stage so that the medication may be shipped to a patient, a medical professional or another pharmacy, etc.

[0042] To protect the details of a patient and their medication history the details of the patient are encrypted when they are embedded in the RFID. This minimises the risk that the details of a patient can be obtained by third parties not authorized for access to the details.

[0043] In one embodiment, once the encrypted information is decrypted and verified and the medication has been dispensed to a patient the encrypted embedded data is erased from the RFID chip.

[0044] Turning now to Figure 2C, at step 220, where the medication is ready to be dispensed, the packaging is scanned to capture package information. Generally, as all commercially produced medication includes a barcode, a barcode reader would be commonly used to capture the information regarding the medication. However, in instances where no barcode or similar code (e.g. a QR code) is available, the system may include a scanner which is capable of scanning an information panel on the medication and performing Optical Character Recognition to turn the scanned image into text that may then be identified and saved in the database.

[0045] At step 222, the RFID chip is scanned to also derive information regarding the medication. It will be understood that steps 220 and 222 may occur simultaneously, depending on the particular hardware and software setup of a system. [0046] If the medication labeling has been correctly applied to the medication packaging, then it follows that the information on the RFID chip should match the information on the packaging. Therefore, at step 224, the packaging information is compared to the RFID information.

[0047] If the information is identical, then at step 226 the pharmacist (or the dispenser) is informed and the medication may be dispensed. If the information is not identical, then at step 228 an alarm condition is sounded and the medication is not dispensed.

[0048] Where multiple prescriptions are being dispensed at one time, scanning the RFID chips reveals details of the medication and the patient to whom they have been prescribed. This allows the system and pharmacist or pharmacy worker to identify potentially incorrect medications being dispensed. This can be achieved through identifying if all medications being dispensed are prescribed to the same person (or to several people with a history of combined medication collection), that the medications being dispensed are not likely to combine badly together or though other rules appropriate for identifying the potential for incorrect medication dispensing.

[0049] As such, as the pharmacist (and system of the present invention) is checking the medication through the steps shown in Figure 2B and the professional dispensing the medication (and system of the present invention) is checking the medication through the steps shown in Figure 2C the system provides a means for 'double-checking' that the correct label has been applied to the correct medication and that it is being dispensed appropriately.

[0050] Referring to Figure 2D, details of a patient's medication supply history can be accessed through the Bova system by a third party with access privileges to the Bova system. This pharmacist may be a pharmacist who has not prescribed for the patient seeking a prescription before, or they may be a pharmacist with a long history of providing prescriptions to the patient. When a pharmacist who has used the Bova system has given the go-ahead in step 226 of Figure 2C the provision of the medication and the details of the medication are stored in the database at step 230. When the patient presents at the same pharmacy or a different pharmacy linked to the Bova system with a new prescription the processes of Figure 2B is undertaken to upload the details of the prescription. An identifying element, particular to the Bova system associated with the patient is extracted from the uploaded information at step 234. This identifying element provides access to the database holding the patients medication history at step 236. At step 238 the pharmacist can compare the new prescription against the patient's medication history to identify any potentially harmful combinations of medication, redundant prescribing or other notable consequences associated with their present prescription and medication history and advise the patient accordingly.

Advantages

[0051] Embodiments of the invention advantageously provide a pharmacist with the ability to 'double-check' the correctness of any medication dispensed to a patient. The system provides a safer system and method for dispensing medication by substantially reducing the possibility of medication being mislabeled.

Variations and Modifications

[0052] Although not required, the embodiments described with reference to the figures can be implemented via an application programming interface (API), an application development kit (ADK) or as a series of libraries, for use by a developer, for the creation of software applications which are to be used on any one or more computing platforms or devices, such as a terminal or personal computer operating system or a portable computing device, such as a smartphone or a tablet computing system operating system, or within a larger server structure, such as a 'data farm' or within a larger transaction processing system.

[0053] Generally, as program modules include routines, programs, objects, components and data files that perform or assist in the performance of particular functions, it will be understood that the functionality of the software application may be distributed across a number of routines, programs, objects or components to achieve the same functionality as the embodiment and the broader invention claimed herein. Such variations and modifications are within the purview of those skilled in the art.

[0054] It will also be appreciated that where methods and systems of the present invention and/or embodiments are implemented by computing systems or partly implemented by computing systems then any appropriate computing system architecture may be utilised. This includes standalone computers, network computers and dedicated computing devices (such as field-programmable gate arrays). [0055] Where the terms "computer", "computing system" and "computing device" are used in the specification, these terms are intended to cover any appropriate arrangement of computer hardware for implementing the inventive concept and/or embodiments described herein.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A computing device comprising:

a processing module arranged to interact with a database via a communications network; and

a database arranged to contain information relevant to the identification of the status of at least one product or container;

wherein the module is arranged to provide the information via the communications network from the device to a user electronic device.

2. A computing device in accordance with Claim 1 , wherein the processing module interacts with at least one information capture device, wherein the information capture device collects prescription information related to at least one pharmaceutical product.

3. A computing device in accordance with Claim 2, wherein the at least one information capture device is one of a barcode scanner and an image scanner.

4. A computing device in accordance with Claim 3, wherein the user electronic device is arranged to collect information product information located on at least one surface of the packaging of the at least one product or container.

5. A computing device in accordance with Claim 4, wherein the processing module is arranged to compare the product information to prescription information, to determine whether there is a match condition.

6. A method for facilitating the transfer of information relevant to the identification of the status of at least one piece of equipment, between one or more remote devices and a database, comprising the steps of:

the database receiving a request to provide the information relevant to the identification of the status of at least one product or container, to the one or more remote devices; and

forwarding the information via a communications network to the one or more remote devices.

7. A computer program, including at least one instruction capable of being executed by a computing system, which implements a method in accordance with Claim 7.

8. A computer readable medium including a computer program in accordance with Claim 8.

9. A data signal including at least one instruction being capable of being received and interpreted by a computing system, wherein the one instruction, on being interpreted by the computing system, implements a method in accordance with Claim 7.

10. A system arranged to verify that medication prescribed is dispensed as intended, wherein: