U.S. patent application number 14/829191 was filed with the patent office on 2017-02-23 for order status.
The applicant listed for this patent is Himanshu Gupta, Vijay I. KUKREJA, Dianna Southiseng, Domenic Vecchiarelli. Invention is credited to Himanshu Gupta, Vijay I. KUKREJA, Dianna Southiseng, Domenic Vecchiarelli.
Application Number | 20170053066 14/829191 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56801833 |
Filed Date | 2017-02-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170053066 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KUKREJA; Vijay I. ; et
al. |
February 23, 2017 |
ORDER STATUS
Abstract
Given information identifying a user who is not logged into a
system, the user is provided a guest order status of one or more
pharmacy orders; the guest order status masks sensitive information
of the user.
Inventors: |
KUKREJA; Vijay I.;
(Cumberland, RI) ; Vecchiarelli; Domenic; (North
Attleboro, MA) ; Gupta; Himanshu; (Johnston, RI)
; Southiseng; Dianna; (Woonsocket, RI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
KUKREJA; Vijay I.
Vecchiarelli; Domenic
Gupta; Himanshu
Southiseng; Dianna |
Cumberland
North Attleboro
Johnston
Woonsocket |
RI
MA
RI
RI |
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
56801833 |
Appl. No.: |
14/829191 |
Filed: |
August 18, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/10 20130101;
G06Q 50/22 20130101; G16H 70/40 20180101; G16H 20/10 20180101; G06F
16/258 20190101; G16H 10/60 20180101; G06Q 10/087 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 19/00 20060101
G06F019/00; G06Q 10/08 20060101 G06Q010/08; G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30 |
Claims
1. A system for providing guest order statuses for pharmacy orders,
the system comprising: a non-volatile computer memory for storing
status information for a plurality of pharmacy orders made by a
plurality of users; a network interface configured for transmitting
and receiving data over a computer network; and a computer
processor for executing software instructions to: i. receive, from
a client device via the network interface, information identifying
a user; ii. retrieve, from the computer memory, using the received
identifying information, a status of an order placed by the user;
iii. mask sensitive information in the status; and iv. transmit the
masked information to the client device for presentation to the
user.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the user is not logged into the
system.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the information identifying the
user comprises a date of birth of the user and a prescription
number.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the information identifying the
user comprises one of a Social-Security number, a telephone number,
an email address, a street address, an order number, or a benefit
member number.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensitive information
comprises a prescription number, an order number, a medication
name, and a prescribing doctor name.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer processor is further
configured for executing software instructions to prompt the user
for consent for shipping the order.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the client device is a desktop
computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, smartphone, or
telephone.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer processor is further
configured for executing software instructions to prompt the user
for additional information if the received information identifying
the user is insufficient to identify the user.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the amount of information masked
depends on the amount or quality of information identifying the
user.
10. A method for providing guest order statuses for pharmacy
orders, the method comprising: receiving, from a client device via
a network interface, information identifying a user; retrieving,
from the computer memory, using the received identifying
information, a status of an order placed by the user; masking,
using a computer processor, sensitive information in the status;
and transmitting the masked information to the client device via
the network interface for presentation to the user.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user is not logged into the
system.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the information identifying the
user comprises a date of birth of the user and a prescription
number.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the information identifying the
user comprises one of a Social-Security number, a telephone number,
an email address, a street address, an order number, or a benefit
member number.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the sensitive information
comprises a prescription number, an order number, a medication
name, and a prescribing doctor name.
15. The method of claim 10, further comprising prompting the user
for consent for shipping the order.
16. The method of claim 10, wherein the client device is a desktop
computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, smartphone, or
telephone.
17. The method of claim 10, further comprising prompting the user
for additional information if the received information identifying
the user is insufficient to identify the user.
18. The method of claim 10, wherein the amount of information
masked depends on the amount or quality of information identifying
the user.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to
pharmaceutical sales and, more particularly, to providing status
information regarding the order status of pharmaceutical sales.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Customers of pharmacies may be prescribed medication by
their doctors or from other sources and may each have any number of
different prescriptions. These prescriptions may be newly
prescribed or may be refills of previously prescribed medication;
the refills may be automatic or may require a doctor's approval
before further refills are prescribed. Managing each prescription
may be difficult or time-consuming for a patient, and a patient may
miss one or more days or weeks of treatment if a prescription
expires before the patient can fill or refill it if the status of
the filling or refilling is not known.
[0003] Existing systems and methods may allow a patient to view his
or her prescription status by means of a user account accessible to
the patient via a client device, such as a computer, tablet, or
smartphone. The patient may log into his or her account using a
username and password, and the host server may access the patient's
account and cause the display of information such as prescription
status on the screen of the client device. This system may be
inconvenient for the patient, however, because it requires input of
the username and password, and the patient may not have access to,
remember, or have time to retrieve that access information.
Further, some patients may not have a user account previously
configured; for these patients, accessing their prescription status
requires the additional step of account creation. A need therefor
exists for a more convenient and simpler way for patients to access
their prescription status information.
SUMMARY
[0004] Embodiments of the present invention include systems and
methods for providing a limited or "guest" prescription order
status to patients. In various embodiments, a patient enters
identifying information into a client device and transmits that
information to a server; the server retrieves prescription status
information given the patient information, masks sensitive
information from the status information, and transmits the masked
status information back to the client for display thereon. In
various embodiments, the patients enters his or her date of birth
and a prescription ("Rx") number, but any identifying information
is within the scope of the present invention.
[0005] In one aspect, a system for providing guest order statuses
for pharmacy orders includes a non-volatile computer memory for
storing status information for a plurality of pharmacy orders made
by a plurality of users; a network interface configured for
transmitting and receiving data over a computer network; and a
computer processor for executing software instructions. The
instructions include receiving, from a client device via the
network interface, information identifying a user; retrieving, from
the computer memory, using the received identifying information, a
status of an order placed by the user; masking sensitive
information in the status; and transmitting the masked information
to the client device for presentation to the user.
[0006] In various embodiments, the user is not logged into the
system. The information identifying the user may include a date of
birth of the user and a prescription number, a Social-Security
number, a telephone number, an email address, a street address, an
order number, and/or a benefit member number. The sensitive
information may include a prescription number, an order number, a
medication name, and/or a prescribing doctor name. The user may be
prompted for consent for shipping the order. The client device may
be a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer,
smartphone, or telephone. The user may be prompted for additional
information if the received information identifying the user is
insufficient to identify the user. The amount of information masked
may depend on the amount or quality of information identifying the
user.
[0007] In another aspect, a method for providing guest order
statuses for pharmacy orders includes receiving, from a client
device via a network interface, information identifying a user;
retrieving, from the computer memory, using the received
identifying information, a status of an order placed by the user;
masking, using a computer processor, sensitive information in the
status; and transmitting the masked information to the client
device via the network interface for presentation to the user.
[0008] In various embodiments, the user is not logged into the
system. The information identifying the user may include a date of
birth of the user and a prescription number, a Social-Security
number, a telephone number, an email address, a street address, an
order number, and/or a benefit member number. The sensitive
information may include a prescription number, an order number, a
medication name, and/or a prescribing doctor name. The user may be
prompted for consent for shipping the order. The client device may
be a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer,
smartphone, or telephone. The user may be prompted for additional
information if the received information identifying the user is
insufficient to identify the user. The amount of information masked
may depend on the amount or quality of information identifying the
user.
[0009] These and other objects, along with advantages and features
of the present invention herein disclosed, will become more
apparent through reference to the following description, the
accompanying drawings, and the claims. Furthermore, it is to be
understood that the features of the various embodiments described
herein are not mutually exclusive and can exist in various
combinations and permutations.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer
to the same parts throughout the different views. In the following
description, various embodiments of the present invention are
described with reference to the following drawings, in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a method for providing a guest order
status in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0012] FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate exemplary patient-information input
interfaces in accordance with embodiments of the present
invention;
[0013] FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate exemplary guest order status output
interfaces in accordance with embodiments of the present
invention;
[0014] FIG. 4 illustrates a server system for providing a guest
order status in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention; and
[0015] FIG. 5 illustrates a client system for receiving patient
information and displaying a guest order status in accordance with
an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] Various embodiments of the present invention include systems
and methods for providing a guest order status of an ordered
medication to a patient of a pharmacy. A patient may access a
server via a client device; the patient inputs identifying
information into the client device and transmits it to the server.
The patient need not be logged into an account on the server or
even have an account configured. The server retrieves the status of
one or more orders associated with the patient and masks sensitive
information in the status before transmitting the masked status
back to the client for display thereon. The identifying information
may be, for example, the date of birth and prescription number of
the patient. The unmasked information may include the date of the
request, the patient's date of birth, the shipping address, the
shipping status, the quantity of the medication, and the price of
the order. The masked, sensitive information may include the
patient's name, prescription number, order number, and the name of
the medication.
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a method 100 for providing a guest order
status in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. A
server receives (102), from a client device, information
identifying a patient user. The client device may be a desktop
computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, smartphone, or any
other similar electronic device, and the patient may enter the
identification information using a keyboard, mouse, touchscreen,
voice input, or any other similar input device. The information may
be transmitted from the client to the server over any suitable
computer network, such as the Internet, by any means known in the
art (such as, for example, TCP/IP). The user may click or select a
user-interface element, such as a button, to transmit the
information, or the information may be transmitted automatically as
the user enters it.
[0018] The information input by the user may be used to uniquely
identify the user, some or all of the prescription orders placed by
the user, or both. In one embodiment, the information includes the
user's date of birth and a prescription number. The present
invention is not limited, however, to any particular type or amount
of information. In other embodiments, the information includes the
user's first, middle, and/or last name, address, email address,
telephone number, Social Security number, benefit member number,
order number, zip code, store number, or any other similar
information.
[0019] Once the information is received, the server retrieves (104)
the status of one or more orders placed by the user therewith. The
server may include, for example, a database or similar data-storage
system that contains order status information for any number of
users; this database may be searchable using any number of keys,
such as date of birth or prescription number. The server may query
the database using the information received from the user and
receive, in response, the status of some or all orders placed by
the user.
[0020] The server may then mask (106) sensitive information in the
status. In some embodiments, the server masks a predetermined
number and type of fields in the status, such as the user's name,
the name of the medication, the name of the user's doctor or
prescribing physician, or other similar information. In other
embodiments, the user has a user account on the server (though he
or she may not be logged into it at the time of the status request)
and may specify which fields and information he or she wants shown
or masked. In another embodiment, the server determines how much
information to mask based on a degree of confidence that (a) the
user has been correctly identified and (b) the status request is
being made by the user and not a third-party impostor.
[0021] Once the information is masked, the server transmits (108)
the masked information back to the client for display thereon. The
masking may be performed such that the information beneath the
masking is never transmitted to the client, thus preventing a
malicious client or other third party from uncovering the masked
information by (for example) examining any metadata transmitted
with the masked information. The masked information may be
displayed on any screen or touchscreen, and the user may be given
the option to save it or print it.
[0022] FIG. 2A illustrates an example of a user input interface 200
for display on a client device. A first entry box 202 is configured
to receive a user's date of birth, and a second entry box 204 is
configured to receive a prescription number. The entry boxes 202,
204 may be configured to accept information in different formats
(e.g., DD/MM/YY or DD-MM-YYYY for the date of birth) or may present
the user with format templates, selection menus, or similar
user-interface elements to aid the user in inputting the
information. A warning may appear if the information is entered
incorrectly or if, for example, the user enters a prescription
number that doesn't exist or is too short or too long. Once the
user has inputted the information, he or she may select a
"continue" interface element 206 to transmit the information to the
server. The user may alternatively select a "cancel" interface
element 208 to cancel the status request.
[0023] FIG. 2B illustrates another example of a user input
interface 220. In this example, only one item of information is
requested from a single entry box 222--the Social-Security number
or phone number of the user. Other possibilities for the single
item of information include prescription number, order number,
email address, or any other item of information that may uniquely
identify the user to the server. In various embodiments, as
explained in greater detail below, the server may mask additional
information when only one item of identifying information is
provided because, for example, there may be a greater risk that the
user is not uniquely identified and/or the requestor is not the
user. As in the previous example, the user may select user
interface elements to continue 224 or cancel 226.
[0024] FIG. 2C illustrates another example of a user input
interface 240. In this example, the user is presented with an
image-capture interface 242 for capturing an image using, for
example, a camera or scanner attached to or integrated into the
client device. The user may use the interface 240 to capture an
image of an object or objects that provide information identifying
the user, such as the label of a prescription bottle already in the
user's possession or a driver's license or other ID card belonging
to the user. In one embodiment, the user has previously uploaded an
image to the server using, for example, the user's account on the
server, and the new picture captured by the user is compared
against the previously uploaded image to identify the user. In one
embodiment, the image includes the face or fingerprint of the user.
Any other method of identifying the user via a previously uploaded
item of information is within the scope of the present invention;
in various embodiments, the previously uploaded information
includes a pattern, signature, or challenge-and-answer
questions.
[0025] In some embodiments, the server is unable to uniquely
identify the user given the provided information. In these cases,
the server may prompt the user for additional information by
transmitting another request for information to the client or may
simply transmit an error message stating that the user's status is
unavailable due to insufficient information provided.
[0026] In other embodiments, the client device is a telephone, and
the user interface provided to the user is an audio interface.
Given audio cues, the user may speak or input via a telephone
number pad the requested information, such as date of birth and
prescription number. The server may then provide the information
described above as unmasked (such as order status) via audio.
[0027] FIG. 3A illustrates an order status 300 that includes masked
information in accordance with embodiments of the present
invention. In this embodiment, a request date, date of birth,
shipping address, order status, dose amount, quantity, and price
appear unmasked, while a prescription number, order number,
medication name, and doctor name appear masked. Any selection of
masked and unmasked information is within the scope of the present
invention, however. The information is masked using asterisks; any
method of masking is within the scope of the present invention,
however, such as the black boxes shown in the order status 320 of
FIG. 3B.
[0028] In some embodiments, as shown in the order status 340 of
FIG. 3C, a consent dialog 342 is displayed to the user. Some
prescriptions may require the explicit consent of the user before
they may be shipped if, for example, the order for the prescription
originated from a third party. The consent dialog 342 present the
user with an input dialog to give this consent, such as by
selecting a "Yes" radio button.
[0029] FIG. 3D illustrates an order status 360 in which additional
information is masked (as compared to the order status 300 of FIG.
3A. In this embodiment, the order status shows only the request
date and shipping status; all other information is masked. The
order status 360 may be transmitted to the client and displayed
thereon if the identity of the user is uncertain, such as when the
user provides only one item of identifying information (with
reference to FIG. 2B) or when a facial or signature match of the
user is unreliable.
[0030] FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a suitably
programmed general-purpose server 400 implementing embodiments of
the present invention. The server 400 includes a processor 402
having one or more central processing units (CPUs) , volatile
and/or non-volatile main memory 204 (e.g., RAM, ROM, or flash
memory), one or more mass storage devices 206 (e.g., hard disks, or
removable media such as CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives, etc. and
associated media drivers), a display device 408 (e.g., a
liquid-crystal display (LCD) monitor), user-input devices such as a
keyboard 410 and a mouse 412, and one or more buses 414 (e.g., a
single system bus shared between all components, or separate memory
and peripheral buses) that facilitate communication between these
components. A network interface 416 (e.g., a Wi-Fi or ETHERNET
port) may be used to connect the computer 400 to the Internet or
other network.
[0031] The main memory 404 may be used to store instructions to be
executed by the processor 402, conceptually illustrated as a group
of modules. These modules generally include an operating system 418
(e.g., a Microsoft WINDOWS, Linux, or APPLE OS X operating system)
that directs the execution of low-level, basic system functions
(such as memory allocation, file management, and the operation of
mass storage devices), as well as higher-level software
applications, such as a user identifier 420 and an order status
retriever 422. The various modules may be programmed in any
suitable programming language, including, without limitation
high-level languages such as C, C++, Java, Perl, Python, or Ruby or
low-level assembly languages. The memory 404 may further store
input and/or output data associated with execution of the
instructions (including, e.g., user-account data 224) as well as
additional information used by the various software
applications.
[0032] FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of a suitably
programmed client device 500 for capturing information from a user
and displaying an order status thereto. Like the server 400, the
client device 500 includes a processor 502, a memory 504, a storage
device 506, a display 508, a keyboard 410, a mouse 412, buses 414,
and a network interface 416. The client 500 may further include a
camera/scanner 413 for capturing images. The client 500 and the
server 400 may communicate via a network such as the Internet using
the network interfaces 416, 516. The user input and output
interfaces described herein may be presented to the user via a web
browser 520 and/or a client-native application 522.
[0033] The server 400 and client 500 are described herein with
reference to particular blocks, but this description is not
intended to limit the invention to a particular physical
arrangement of distinct component parts. The computer 400 is an
illustrative example; variations and modifications are possible.
Computers may be implemented in a variety of form factors,
including server systems, desktop systems, laptop systems, tablets,
smartphones or personal digital assistants, and so on. A particular
implementation may include other functionality not described
herein, e.g., wired and/or wireless network interfaces, media
playing and/or recording capability, etc. In some embodiments, one
or more cameras may be built into the computer rather than being
supplied as separate components. Further, the computer processor
may be a general-purpose microprocessor, but depending on
implementation can alternatively be, e.g., a microcontroller,
peripheral integrated circuit element, a customer-specific
integrated circuit ("CSIC"), an application-specific integrated
circuit ("ASIC"), a logic circuit, a digital signal processor
("DSP"), a programmable logic device such as a field-programmable
gate array ("FPGA"), a programmable logic device ("PLD"), a
programmable logic array ("PLA"), smart chip, or other device or
arrangement of devices.
[0034] It should also be noted that embodiments of the present
invention may be provided as one or more computer-readable programs
embodied on or in one or more articles of manufacture. The article
of manufacture may be any suitable hardware apparatus, such as, for
example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a CD ROM, a CD-RW, a CD-R, a
DVD ROM, a DVD-RW, a DVD-R, a flash memory card, a PROM, a RAM, a
ROM, or a magnetic tape. In general, the computer-readable programs
may be implemented in any programming language. Some examples of
languages that may be used include C, C++, or JAVA. The software
programs may be further translated into machine language or virtual
machine instructions and stored in a program file in that form. The
program file may then be stored on or in one or more of the
articles of manufacture.
[0035] Certain embodiments of the present invention were described
above. It is, however, expressly noted that the present invention
is not limited to those embodiments, but rather the intention is
that additions and modifications to what was expressly described
herein are also included within the scope of the invention.
Moreover, it is to be understood that the features of the various
embodiments described herein were not mutually exclusive and can
exist in various combinations and permutations, even if such
combinations or permutations were not made express herein, without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In fact,
variations, modifications, and other implementations of what was
described herein will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art
without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.
As such, the invention is not to be defined only by the preceding
illustrative description.
* * * * *