U.S. patent application number 11/840017 was filed with the patent office on 2008-03-20 for apparatus for & method of creating and transmitting a prescription to a drug dispensing location.
Invention is credited to Omar Ahmed.
Application Number | 20080071572 11/840017 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38374074 |
Filed Date | 2008-03-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080071572 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ahmed; Omar |
March 20, 2008 |
APPARATUS FOR & METHOD OF CREATING AND TRANSMITTING A
PRESCRIPTION TO A DRUG DISPENSING LOCATION
Abstract
A medical practitioner creates a prescription using a handheld
portable device. The device uses a plurality of interactive screens
that display information such as lists of drugs. The medical
practitioner enters patient information and selects from the list
the desired drug to be prescribed. The device gives the
practitioner access to a drug database that may be limited by the
drugs prescribable by the medical practitioner. Once a prescription
is created, the practitioner can select a drug dispensing location
and communicate the prescription to this location. The drug
database and the drug dispensing locations may be stored in a
removable memory.
Inventors: |
Ahmed; Omar; (Rancho
Cucamonga, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CONNORS ASSOCIATES
1600 DOVE ST
SUITE 220
NEWPORT BEACH
CA
92660
US
|
Family ID: |
38374074 |
Appl. No.: |
11/840017 |
Filed: |
August 16, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10448965 |
May 30, 2003 |
7260402 |
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11840017 |
Aug 16, 2007 |
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60384954 |
Jun 3, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G16H 20/13 20180101;
G16H 10/60 20180101; G16H 40/67 20180101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/002 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 50/00 20060101
G06Q050/00 |
Claims
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70. A system for creating a prescription by a medical practitioner
communicating said prescription to a remote drug dispensing
location, said system comprising a memory that stores a listing of
a plurality of prescription drugs, a data input mechanism that
enables the practitioner to enter information identifying a
patient, select a drug dispensing location to dispense prescription
drugs to a patient, access the listing and select from the listing
one or more of the listed prescription drugs to be dispensed, and
to enter a specific dose for said selected prescription drug, a
communication link that transmits said selected drug prescription
and patient information to a selected drug dispensing location, and
a data receiver at the remote drug dispensing location that
receives said selected drug and patient information.
71. The system of claim 70 further comprising a computer that
receives said selected drug prescription and patient information
and transmits, via a network, said drug prescription and patient
information to said selected drug dispensing location.
72. The system of claim 70 where the medical practitioner is
certified to practice in a specific medical field and said listing
of drugs is limited to said practitioner's specific medical
field.
73. The system of claim 72 where said listing of a plurality of
prescription drugs applicable to said specific medical field is
transmitted from a remote location.
74. The system of claim 70 where said listing of drugs is limited
to drugs available for prescription in a geographical region where
the medical practitioner practices medicine.
75. The system of claim 70 where said listing of drugs is limited
to drugs for treating symptoms of a patient.
76. The system of claim 70 where said listing of drugs is limited
to drugs for treating an aliment of a patient.
77. The system of claim 70 where said one or more drug dispensing
locations are selected based on a geographical region.
78. The system of claim 70 where said communication link comprises
a radio transmitter, an infrared transmitter, a wired transmitter,
or an ultrasonic transmitter.
80. A method of creating a prescription by a medical practitioner
and communicating said prescription to a remote drug dispensing
location, comprising the steps of inputting data relating to a
patient into a computer system, storing in a memory a listing of a
plurality of prescription drugs, selecting one or more of the
listed prescription drugs and identifying a remote drug dispensing
location at which the prescription drugs are to be dispensed to an
identified patient, transmitting said selected drug prescription
and information identifying a patient to a selected drug dispensing
location, and receiving a selected drug prescription and patient
information at the remote drug dispensing location.
81. The method of claim 80 where the medical practitioner is
certified to practice in a specific medical field and said listing
of a plurality of prescription drugs is limited to said
practitioner's specific medical field.
82. The method of claim 81 where said listing of drugs applicable
to said specific medical field is transmitted from a remote
location.
83. The method of claim 80 where said listing of one or more drug
dispensing locations is transmitted from a remote location.
84. The method of claim 80 where said listing of drugs is limited
to drugs available for prescription in a geographical region where
the medical practitioner practices medicine.
85. The method of claim 80 where said listing of drugs is limited
to drugs used to treat a specific symptom of a patient.
86. The method of claim 80 where said listing of drugs is limited
to drugs used to treat a specific aliment of a patient.
87. The method of claim 80 including the step of displaying (a)
said listing of a plurality of prescription drugs applicable, (b) a
listing of patient information, and (c) a listing of one or more
drug dispensing locations and selecting from said listings one or
more of the drugs listed prescription drugs and the identity of the
patient to receive the prescribed drugs, and the location of the
drug dispensing location.
88. A method of creating a prescription by a medical practitioner
and communicating said prescription and patient information to a
remote drug dispensing location, said method comprising: (a)
providing a computer system that enables said medical practitioner
to (i) acquire information identifying a patient, and (ii) select
drugs from a list of drugs; (b) creating a prescription from said
selected drugs; and (c) communicating said prescription and patient
information to said remote drug dispensing location.
89. The method of claim 88 where acquiring patient information
comprises the steps of querying whether said patient information is
available on an accessible database, and inputting the patient
information if the patient information is not available on said
accessible database.
90. The method of claim 88 where selecting drugs from a list of
drugs comprises the steps of electronically coupling a database of
said list of drugs to said system, communicating with said
database; and selecting at least one drug from said database.
91. The method of claim 88 where selecting drugs from a list of
drugs includes communicating with a computer that stores said list
and selecting drugs from said list.
92. The method of claim 88 where of selecting drugs from a list of
drugs comprises the steps of identifying patient symptoms,
inputting said patient symptoms in to said system, providing a list
drugs of drugs associated with treating said symptoms, and
selecting at least one drug from said list.
93. The method of claim 88 where selecting drugs from a list of
drugs defined by the medical practitioner's field of practice
comprises the steps of identifying a patient aliment, inputting
said patient aliment into said system, providing a list drugs of
drugs associated with treating said aliment; and selecting at least
one drug from said list.
94. The method of claim 88 where said step of communicating said
prescription and patient information to said drug dispensing
location comprises the steps of communicating with a computer that
stores a database of drug dispensing locations, selecting a drug
dispensing location from said database, and communicating said
prescription to said drug dispensing location.
95. The method of claim 88 where said drug dispensing location is
selected from a database of drug dispensing locations and where
said database is selected based on geographical region.
96. The method of claim 88 where the medical practitioner is
certified to practice in a specific medical field and said listing
of drugs is limited to said practitioner's specific medical
field.
97. The method of claim 88 where said listing of drugs is limited
to drugs available for prescription in a geographical region where
the medical practitioner practices medicine.
Description
RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS & INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
[0001] This application is a continuation application of U.S.
application Ser. No. 10/448,965, filed May 30, 2003, now U.S. Pat.
No. 7,260,402, which claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 60/384,954, entitled "Apparatus
For & Method Of Creating and Transmitting A Prescription To A
Drug Dispensing Location," filed Jun. 3, 2002. These related
applications are incorporated herein by reference and made a part
of this application. If any conflict arises between the disclosure
of the invention in this continuation application and that in the
related provisional application, the disclosure in this
continuation application shall govern. Moreover, the inventor
incorporates herein by reference any and all U.S. patents, U.S.
patent applications, and other documents cited or referred to in
this application or cited or referred to in the U.S. patents and
U.S. patent applications incorporated herein by reference.
DEFINITIONS
[0002] The words "comprising," "having," and "including," and other
forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open
ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is
not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or
meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0003] A point of care such as a doctor's office typically lies
some distance from a drug dispensing location such as a pharmacy. A
patient typically receives a prescription at the doctor's office
and then travels to the pharmacy where the prescription is filled.
Presently, a doctor creates a prescription by learning of the
patient's symptoms, diagnosing the aliment, and then choosing drugs
that will cure the aliment, or control its symptoms. Typically, a
doctor hand writes a prescription. Frequently a pharmacist
misinterprets the doctor's handwriting and the wrong drug is
dispensed to the patient. Consumption of an improper drug can lead
to patient illness and sometimes death. According to the 1999
Institute of Medicine Report, there were about one million serious
medication errors per year in the United States because of
illegible handwriting on prescriptions, misplaced decimal points,
and missed drug interactions and allergies. Thus, there is a need
to create prescriptions that are legible and accurate. There is
also a need to communicate the prescription directly to the
pharmacy.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0004] This invention has one or more features as discussed
subsequently herein. After reading the following section entitled
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THIS INVENTION," one
will understand how the features of this invention provide its
benefits. The benefits of this invention include, but are not
limited to: creating and transmitting accurately a prescription
from a prescriber (herein medical practitioner) to a remote drug
dispensing location, providing a portable and convenient to use
hand-held device for prescribing and transmitting prescriptions to
a remote drug dispensing location, improving the accuracy of
prescriptions by providing computerized means of creating and
validating drug choices and by providing communication of the
prescription directly from the medical practitioner to the drug
dispensing location, and avoiding or at least significantly
reducing human errors in connection with prescribing drugs.
[0005] Briefly, this invention includes a method of creating a
prescription using a portable device. The portable device employs a
graphical user interface enabling the medical practitioner to
select one or more drugs from a list of drugs and transmit the
selected drug or drugs as a prescription to a remote drug
dispensing location. The list may be a drug database defined by the
geographical location of the medical practitioner or the field of
practice of the medical practitioner, or both. A list of drugs may
be displayed on the portable device for viewing by the medical
practitioner. The device enables the medical practitioner to select
the desired prescribed drug from this list. Optionally, the list
may be based on specific aliments or symptoms of a patient that the
medical practitioner enters into the device that is programmed to
recommend one or more drugs to be used to treat these symptoms. A
medical practitioner creates a prescription by selecting drugs from
the list and providing at least sufficient information to identify
the patient. Other patient data that is considered confidential or
private and access only by authorized personnel. For example, this
patient data may be encrypted and only accessed by those having
decrypting software, or the data may be in a secured data bank that
can only be accessed using a password or other means for
identifying authorized users. The device transmits the prescription
to a computer, for example, and the computer transmits the
prescription to the drug dispensing location using a global
computer network, i.e., the Internet. Alternately, or in
conjunction with the Internet, a care giving facility may use an
intranet where private patient data is stored on the intranet's
server.
[0006] One or more of the following steps are conducted in
practicing the method of this invention: [0007] (1) acquiring
patient data, [0008] (2) acquiring patient aliment or symptoms,
[0009] (3) diagnosing patient aliment or symptoms, [0010] (4)
selecting drugs from a group of drugs defined by the aliments, or
symptoms, or medical practitioner's geographical location of
practice, or the medical practitioner's field of practice, [0011]
(5) deriving a prescription from the selection, [0012] (6)
communicating the prescription to the drug dispensing location,
[0013] (7) querying whether patient information is available on an
accessible database, [0014] (8) inputting patient information if
the patient information is not available on the accessible
database.
[0015] In one embodiment of the method of this invention, its steps
include identifying patient symptoms, inputting the patient
symptoms in to the device, providing a list of drugs associated
with treating said symptoms, and selecting at least one drug from
the list. In another embodiment of the method of this invention,
its steps include identifying a patient aliment, inputting the
patient aliment in to the device, providing a list of drugs
associated with treating said aliment, and selecting at least one
drug from the list.
[0016] Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed by
the claims that follow, some, but not necessarily all, of its
features are:
[0017] One, this invention includes a system for creating a
prescription by a medical practitioner and communicating this
prescription to a remote drug dispensing location. The system may
comprise a portable, hand held device, a communication link that
transmits the selected drug prescription and patient information to
a selected drug dispensing location, and a data receiver at the
remote drug dispensing location that receives the selected drug and
patient information. The medical practitioner may be certified to
practice in a specific medical field and the listing of drugs may
be limited to the practitioner's specific medical field. The system
may include a node element in communication with the portable, hand
held device that receives the selected drug prescription and
patient information and transmits the drug prescription and patient
information to the selected drug dispensing location. It may also
include a computer that receives the selected drug prescription and
patient information and transmits via a network the drug
prescription and patient information to the selected drug
dispensing location. The listing of a plurality of prescription
drugs applicable to the specific medical field may be transmitted
from a remote location to the device. One or more drug dispensing
locations may be transmitted from these remote locations to the
device. One or more drug dispensing locations may be selected based
on a geographical region. The communication link may be hard wired
or wireless, for example, a radio transmitter, an infrared
transmitter, a wired transmitter, or an ultrasonic transmitter.
[0018] Two, the portable, hand held device of this invention may
have (i) a display, (ii) a memory that may store (a) a listing of a
plurality of prescription drugs, and (b) one or more drug
dispensing locations, and (iii) a data input mechanism that enables
the practitioner to identify a patient, select a drug dispensing
location, select from the listing one or more of the listed
prescription drugs to be dispensed at the selected drug dispensing
location, and to enter specific dose for the selected prescription
drug, The patient's name and other data such as previous
prescriptions, aliments, symptoms, etc. may be stored in the memory
of the portable, hand held device or at a remote, accessible
location. The device may have a removable memory that stores the
listing of a plurality of prescription drugs, one or more drug
dispensing locations, or other useful information or data. The data
input mechanism may be a keyboard. The portable, hand held device
may have a plurality of interactive screens retained in the memory
for displayed by the display screen. It may also include a selector
device enabling the medical practitioner to move from one screen to
another.
[0019] These features are not listed in any rank order nor is this
list intended to be exhaustive.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING
[0020] Some embodiments of this invention, illustrating all its
features, will now be discussed in detail. These embodiments depict
the novel and non-obvious device, system and method of this
invention as shown in the accompanying drawing, which is for
illustrative purposes only. This drawing includes the following
figures (Figs.), with like numerals indicating like parts:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a medical
practitioner transmitting a prescription from the medical
practitioner's office to a pharmacy at a remote location using one
embodiment of the portable, hand held device of this invention for
creating a prescription.
[0022] FIG. 2a is front view of the portable, hand held device
shown in FIG. 1.
[0023] FIG. 2b is a back view of the device shown in FIG. 2a.
[0024] FIG. 3 is schematic diagram of the portable, hand held
device of this invention shown in FIG. 1.
[0025] FIG. 4 is front view of a second embodiment of the portable,
hand held device of this invention with an integrated keypad.
[0026] FIG. 5 is schematic view illustrating the device, a wireless
node, and a computer.
[0027] FIG. 6 is front view of a removable memory card for the
device shown in FIG. 1.
[0028] FIG. 7 is an initial display screen of the device shown in
FIG. 1.
[0029] FIG. 8 is a patient data input screen of the device shown in
FIG. 1.
[0030] FIG. 9 is a patient data summary screen of the device shown
in FIG. 1.
[0031] FIG. 10 is a symptoms/medicine input screen of the device
shown in FIG. 1.
[0032] FIG. 11 is a type of medicine search results screen of the
device shown in FIG. 1.
[0033] FIG. 12 is a symptoms results screen of the device shown in
FIG. 1.
[0034] FIG. 13 is a tablet dosing screen of the device shown in
FIG. 1.
[0035] FIG. 14 is a syrup/liquid dosing screen of the device shown
in FIG. 1.
[0036] FIG. 15 is a screen for adding additional information,
precautions, and medical practitioner's comments of the device
shown in FIG. 1.
[0037] FIG. 16 is a prescription summary screen of the device shown
in FIG. 1.
[0038] FIG. 17 is an authorization screen of the device shown in
FIG. 1.
[0039] FIG. 18 is pharmacy search screen of the device shown in
FIG. 1.
[0040] FIG. 19 is a pharmacy selection screen of the device shown
in FIG. 1.
[0041] FIG. 20 is an information sent screen of the device shown in
FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THIS INVENTION
[0042] Typically, a patient goes to a medical practitioner 10 at
his or her office to have an aliment diagnosed, and to receive a
prescription that is dispensed at a drug dispensing location, such
as a pharmacy 12. The medical practitioner's office is usually some
distance from the pharmacy 12. Referring to FIG. 1, in accordance
with this invention, a handheld, portable device 14 is used by the
medical practitioner 10 to create and communicate a prescription to
the pharmacy 12 in a manner that eliminates or reduces the
likelihood of errors. The pharmacy 12 has a data receiver 13 such
as a computer that receives the prescription from the device 14.
The medical practitioner 10 may take the device 14 along with him
as he attends to patients, and create the prescription once he has
determined what drugs he wishes to prescribe. Once a prescription
is created, it may be saved and stored in a patient data file
either in the device or a secure data bank.
[0043] In one preferred embodiment, such as the one shown in FIGS.
2a, 2b, and 3, a handheld, portable device 14 may be carried by a
medical practitioner as he or she attends patients. The device 14
has a case 15 carrying external components such as an on/off button
14a, an ac adapter 14b, a light emitting diode (LED) 18, and a
liquid crystal display 24 used as a touch screen type graphical
user interface (GUI). The light emitting diode (LED) 18, when
illuminated, is used to indicate that the device 14 is on. The case
15 has a slot 30 where a removable memory card 23 is inserted.
Referring to FIG. 3, the case 15 encloses internal elements such as
a processor (CPU) 22, input port 14c, a stationary memory 26, and
an output port 19 adapted to be linked to a communication system
for transmission of data to the pharmacy 12. The output port 19
allows the device 14 to connect via a communication link 20
connected to a phone jack or a personal computer (pc), for example,
to allow communication with the data receiver 13 at the pharmacy
12. The memory 26 is used to store data for use by the device's
processor 22. A bus 28 connects the components and elements of the
device 14.
[0044] In one preferred embodiment, the device 14 has an attachable
keyboard 17. The keyboard 17 attaches to the device 14 through the
input port 14c. Referring to FIG. 4, in another preferred
embodiment, a keypad 16 is integrated with case 15 of the device
14. In one embodiment, the device 14 connects to a wide area
network such as the internet (World Wide Web) using the
communication link 20 and transmits the prescription over a phone
line, for example. The device 14 establishes the communication link
20 with an internet service provider (ISP). The device 14 uses an
internet browser, such as, Internet Explorer.RTM. produced by
Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., to browse and to transfer
the prescription to the pharmacy 12. Once the communication link 20
is established, a transmission control protocol/internet protocol
(TCP/IP) is used to send information between the ISP and the device
14. The ISP allows access to the Internet and the prescription is
sent to the pharmacy 12 through e-mail or a file transfer protocol
(FTP). The methods described to connect to the Internet and
transfer files between locations are merely illustrative, and are
not meant to be an exhaustive description of all possible methods.
The prescription is uploaded to the personal computer (pc), for
example, where it is then transmitted to the pharmacy. Typically,
the personal computer (pc) transmits the prescription to the
pharmacy through the Internet.
[0045] Referring to FIG. 5, in another embodiment, the device 14
uses the communication link 20 to connect to a computer 34 through
the computer's universal serial bus (USB) port 34a, via wireless
communication with the computer. A node element, such as a wireless
transceiver 32, interfaces with the computer 34 through the USB
port 34a. In general, a node element is employed in a network and
is a connection point for data transmissions. An example of a
wireless transceiver is the AIRONET AIR-AP342E2R produced by Cisco
Technology Inc. of San Jose, Calif. The wireless transceiver 32
wirelessly receives transmissions from the device 14, such as, the
prescription for the patient, and transmits the prescription to the
computer 34. The transceiver 32 may also receive data such as, drug
dispensing locations and a drug database, from the computer 34 and
transmit such data to the device 14. The device 14 then stores the
locations and drug database in memory 26. Drug dispensing location
data and drug databases may be downloaded to the computer 34 from
the Internet. A service fee may be charged to a medical
practitioner to update the drug dispensing locations and drug
databases. Wireless transmission methods include infrared,
ultrasonic and radio frequency.
[0046] In one embodiment, the drug databases do not contain a
listing of all drugs produced, but rather, are limited to drugs
available in the geographical region of the medical practitioner.
For example, some drugs available in Europe are not available in
the United States, and vice versa. Thus, a drug database designed
for use in Europe may contain drugs that are not on a database for
the United States.
[0047] In another embodiment, a drug database is limited to drugs
available in a medical practitioner's field of practice. Typically,
medical practitioners cannot prescribe drugs that are not
associated with their practice. Limiting a drug database to those
prescribable by the medical practitioner would eliminate confusion
with other, non-prescribable drugs. Thus, drugs not prescribable by
an individual medical practitioner are not available in the drug
database.
[0048] In one embodiment, removable memory cards are used to store
drug databases. Removable memory cards may also be used to store
drug dispensing locations database. An example of the removable
memory card 23 is the Microdrive produced by International Business
Machines Corporation of Armonk, N.Y. There are specific memory
cards 23 available based upon the medical practitioner's field of
practice and his location of practice. Referring to FIG. 3, the
removable memory cards 23 are connected to the device 14 through a
memory card slot 30 that connects to the bus 28. In one embodiment
a single removable memory card 23 may store both the drug
dispensing locations database and the drug databases.
[0049] Referring to FIG. 6, in one preferred embodiment, a single
memory card 36 contains both the drug dispensing locations
database, and the drug database. Markings on the exterior surface
of the memory card 36 indicate the region 36a and the field of
practice 36b of the memory card. In another embodiment, the drug
dispensing locations database and the drug database are on
different memory cards. In this embodiment, the device has a memory
slot for each memory card.
[0050] In one embodiment, the device 14 displays a plurality of
screens. The medical practitioner uses these screens to input, and
select information that will be used to create a prescription.
Typically, anyone of the displays is an interactive display where
the medical practitioner uses, for example, a personal digital
assistant (PDA) stylus pen, such as, the stylus pen produced by
Palm, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif.
[0051] FIG. 7 is a first display screen 37 of the device 14. A
forward button 38 allows a medical practitioner to move forward
between screens. The medical practitioner is queried whether the
patient is a new patient 40, or a pre-existing patient 42. If the
patient is a new patient, a new patient screen 43, as shown in FIG.
8, is presented with empty fields 44, 46, 48, 50, and 52, so the
medical practitioner may enter patient data, such as, the patient's
name 44, address 46, phone number 48, social security number 50,
and age 52. Each display screen, except for the first, has a back
button 54 that allows the medical practitioner to view and edit a
previous screen.
[0052] Once the patient data has been acquired, either as a result
of a query from a database, or entered manually, the patient data
is displayed, as is shown in FIG. 9. The patient's name 56, address
58, phone number 60, social security number 62, age 64, medical
practitioner's name 66 and the patient's insurance carrier 68 are
displayed. Pressing the forward button 38 displays the
symptoms/medicine screen 70 shown in FIG. 10.
[0053] The symptoms/medicine screen 70 allows the medical
practitioner to enter in the field 72 information such as, the type
of medicine the medical practitioner wishes to prescribe, and to
enter in the field 74 the symptoms of the patient. The type of
medicine may be, for example, an analgesic. Such an entry into the
type of medicine field 72 is used to perform a search of the drug
database for drugs that are in this category of the type of
medicine entered. The symptoms field is used to search the drug
database for drugs that either cure or treat the symptoms entered.
The results of the drug search are then displayed, allowing the
medical practitioner to select which drug he or she wishes to
prescribe as depicted in FIG. 11.
[0054] Entering the symptoms and/or type of medicine, is the first
step in creating the prescription. Step indicators 76 shown in FIG.
10 let the medical practitioner know how he or she is progressing
towards the completion of the prescription. The first step of
creating the prescription is entering symptoms of the patient
and/or the type of medicine to be prescribed. In one example of
this embodiment, a medical practitioner enters "pain" into the type
of medicine field. A search in the drug database is performed for
drugs that are used to treat pain. FIG. 11 illustrates a results
screen 78 that lists results 80 of a pain drug search. A medical
practitioner selects a drug by selecting one of the radio buttons
82 next to of a listed drug. Similarly, FIG. 12 illustrates a
search results screen 84 for an entry of sore throat in the
symptoms field 72. The results may be categorized by the type of
medicine, such as, antibiotics 86, pain reliever 88 and expectorant
90.
[0055] The medical practitioner uses a dosing screen to enter
dosing information for the selected drug. Dosing information
provides the patient periodic instructions for taking the drug, and
the amount of the drug that should be taken. Referring to FIGS. 13
and 14, the dosing screens display the second step button 92 and
third step button 94 that are used in creating the prescription.
FIG. 13 illustrates a dosing screen 102 for tablets. The medical
practitioner indicates that he or she is prescribing tablets by
selecting the yes button 96. A medical practitioner then selects
the amount of tablets 98 that will be taken per day. It is
contemplated that there may be variations in the dosing screen,
such as, instructions to take two tablets as a first dose.
[0056] If the medical practitioner selects no button 100 in the
tablet dosing screen 102, a syrup/liquid dosing screen 104 is
displayed, as shown in FIG. 14. The medical practitioner first
selects a yes button 106 to indicate he or she has a syrup/liquid
drug to prescribe. The medical practitioner then selects the amount
of tablespoons per day 110 of the syrup/liquid the patient is to
take. It is contemplated that there may be variations in the
syrup/liquid dosing screen 102, such as, using teaspoons as a
liquid measure. If the medical practitioner does not wish to
prescribe a syrup/liquid she selects the no button 108.
[0057] Referring to FIG. 15, a supplementary screen 112 allows the
doctor to add supplemental information, such as, additional
information 120, precautions 116 and doctor's comments 118. The
supplemental screen 112 is called up by activating the fourth step
button 114. Additional information can comprise suggestions
regarding the dosing of the drug. For example, the additional
information could be a recommendation that the entire prescription
be finished. Precautions can comprise a statement that the drug
should not be taken with alcohol, or other drugs. Medical
practitioner's comments can comprise a statement that there are no
refills for the prescription or list allergies that the patient
has.
[0058] Referring to FIG. 16, after the prescription is completed, a
summary screen 122 is displayed summarizing information from the
previous screens. The summary screen 122 contains information, such
as, the patient's name and address 124, the drug or drugs
prescribed 126, the dosing 128, and any additional information,
precautions 130 or comments from the medical practitioner. The
medical practitioner is asked to confirm if the information is
correct by pressing the ok field button 132 of the display. If the
information is not correct, the doctor presses the go back field
button 134 of the display to edit the information on the other
screens. The summary screen 122 is the fifth step button 136
activated in creating the prescription.
[0059] In FIG. 17, after confirming that the information presented
on the summary screen 122 is correct, an authorization screen 138
is displayed. The medical practitioner is required to enter an
authorization code in an authorization code field 140. After
entering the code, the doctor presses the ok field 142 of the
display to move to pharmacy selection screen 144 (FIG. 18). Each
doctor will be given a separate authorization code in order to
avoid conflicts between doctors of the same name, thus avoiding
errors and enhance security. Instead of an access code, a
fingerprint, hand writing recognition, or key card may be used to
provide access.
[0060] Referring to FIG. 18, a first pharmacy selection screen 144
is used to select the pharmacy that will dispense the prescription.
The medical practitioner enters the pharmacy name into a data field
146. After entering the pharmacy name, the medical practitioner
presses the forward button 38 and the second pharmacy selection
screen 148 is displayed, as shown in FIG. 19. The drug dispensing
location database is queried and a listing 150 of pharmacies that
match the medical practitioner's entry is displayed.
[0061] The medical practitioner selects a pharmacy from the second
pharmacy location screen 148 by selecting the one ok field button
152 corresponding to the desired pharmacy. After selecting the
desired pharmacy, an information sent screen 154 is displayed, as
shown in FIG. 20. The information sent screen 154 displays in a
field 156 a confirmation message that the prescription has been
sent. The information sent screen 154 queries the medical
practitioner if he or she wishes to create a new prescription for a
patient already listed in a patient database. The medical
practitioner selects that option by activating the new prescription
for listed patient button 160. The medical practitioner may also
create a prescription for a new patient by activating the new
patient button 162.
Other Alternative Embodiments
[0062] It is contemplated that the device of this invention may
also employ a wireless graphical interface connected to a remote
computer. In this embodiment, the computer stores the drug and drug
dispensing location databases. The device queries the databases
stored on the computer to create a prescription and to select a
drug dispensing location. The device is then used to instruct the
computer to transmit the prescription to the drug dispensing
location. It is also contemplated that the device may be connected
to a printer that prints the prescription. A patient may then bring
the printed prescription to a pharmacy to be filled.
[0063] In one alternate embodiment, instead using the removable
memory card 23 to store private patient information, this private
information may be stored in a database on a central server, for
example on an intranet at a hospital. The private information may
be encrypted so that only someone, such as the attending medical
practitioner, having decrypting software may access this
information. Encrypted private information may also be stored on a
web server (internet) that the attending medical practitioner may
access using decrypting software. This type of storage that uses
file encryption maintains the security of this information. Such
security may be needed in order to meet the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and to make the
information more secure in case the portable device 14 is lost,
stolen, or misused. In this embodiment, the memory card 23 will
just store the drug databases and the drug dispensing
databases.
[0064] In another alternate embodiment, as an optional feature, the
portable device 14 may use a flexible, roll-away screen S (FIG. 2a)
that will fit on the side of the device. For example, such a
flexible screen S is produced by E Ink of Cambridge Mass. This
screen S normally be rolled up like a scroll, and unwound (the
screen is shown partially unwound in dotted lines) into a flat
surface. This surface has a larger surface area than the liquid
crystal display 24 on the device 14. Therefore, will give a larger
image for the attending doctor to view.
SCOPE OF THE INVENTION
[0065] The above presents a description of the best mode
contemplated of carrying out the present invention, and of the
manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear,
concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art
to which it pertains to make and use this invention. This invention
is, however, susceptible to modifications and alternate
constructions from that discussed above which are fully equivalent.
Consequently, it is not the intention to limit this invention to
the particular embodiments disclosed. On the contrary, the
intention is to cover all modifications and alternate constructions
coming within the spirit and scope of the invention as generally
expressed by the following claims, which particularly point out and
distinctly claim the subject matter of the invention:
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