Systems and methods for improving patient compliance with a prescription drug regimen
A system for improving patient compliance with a prescription drug regimen is described. The system includes a patient database for storing patient information, the information including contact information for a patient communication device (such as a telephone, cell phone, computer, or PDA) along with a method for communicating with that device. The system further includes an alert database for storing information about prescription reminder alerts to be sent to patients. A send program running on a computer retrieves information about prescription reminder alerts from the alert database and transmits the prescription reminder alerts to a patient communications device over a communications network using the contact information and contact method stored in the patient database.
1. A system for improving patient compliance with a prescription drug regimen, comprising:
a computer including a central processing unit;
a communications network for transmitting messages;
a patient database for storing information about a plurality of patients registered with a prescription reminder service, said information including contact information for a single portable communications device associated with each of the respective plurality of patients, said contact information including a method for sending messages to the communications device;
an alert database for storing a plurality of prescription reminder alerts, wherein each of said plurality of prescription reminder alerts is associated with a patient and wherein each of said prescription reminder alerts includes information to determine a specific time to transmit each of said prescription reminder alerts; and
a send program running on said computer, said send program configured to retrieve information about each of said prescription reminder alerts from the alert database and to transmit each of said prescription reminder alerts over the communications network directly to a single portable electronic communications device associated with each of the respective plurality of patients; and
an incentive definition database for storing a plurality of incentive definitions, wherein each of the plurality of incentive definitions includes an incentive event description and information about an incentive verification and wherein said incentive verification is to be sent upon receipt of an event notification matching said incentive event description; and
an incentive program running on said computer configured to receive an event notification, compare said event notification with the incentive event description in each of the plurality of incentive definitions in the incentive database, and to send the incentive verification from each incentive definition that contains an incentive event description that matches the event notification,
wherein at least one incentive definition in the incentive database contains an incentive event description that matches an event notification generated when the patient refills a prescription; and
wherein the single portable electronic communication device provides notice of the reminder alert directly to the patient.
2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
an opt-in database for storing opt-in information associated with the plurality of patients, wherein said opt-in information indicates that each of the plurality of patients has consented to receive prescription reminder alerts, wherein the send program will not transmit a prescription reminder to a communications device associated with one of the plurality of patients unless opt-in information associated with the one of the plurality of patients is present in the opt-in database.
3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a feedback definition database for storing a plurality of feedback message templates, wherein each of the plurality of feedback message template includes information sufficient to describe a feedback message and at least one action to be executed upon receipt of a matching feedback message; and
a feedback program running on said computer, said feedback program configured to receive a feedback message from a communications device, to compare said feedback message to the plurality of feedback message templates in the feedback definition database, and to execute the at least one action associated with each feedback template that matches the feedback message.
4. The system of claim 1 further comprising:
a performance database for storing information associated with a plurality of patients, including information about prescription reminder alerts sent to said plurality of patients and feedback messages received from said plurality of patients; and
a performance measurement program running on said computer, said performance measurement program configured to query the performance database, wherein the query returns data from the performance database, and performs a mathematical or statistical analysis on the data returned from the performance database.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one incentive definition in the incentive database contains an incentive event description that matches an event notification generated when a specified prescription reminder alert is added to the alert database.