Pharmacy printer system and method
View Patent ↗A computer network system and method is provided for printing accompanying information and prescription labels in pharmacies. The system includes a central computer system; a pharmacy management system; and a data transmission network through which the pharmacy management system and the central computer system can communicate. The pharmacy management system may include an I/O terminal, a scanner, and a first printer. The pharmacy management system may receive and store prescription information for a prescription, and associate a prescription identification with the corresponding prescription. The pharmacy management system may print a prescription label for the prescription and an accompanying information print file.
1. A system for determining sales information of prescription drugs filled at a plurality of pharmacies at different locations and information to be printed for provision with the filled prescription drugs, wherein an individual pharmacy uses a respective pharmacy management system, the system comprising:
a central computer comprising one or more processors configured to:
receive, from a first pharmacy management system remote from the central computer, a first transmission comprising first prescription information related to a first prescription, the first prescription information including an identification of a first prescription drug and a dispense quantity of the first prescription drug;
receive, from a second pharmacy management system remote from the central computer, a second transmission comprising second prescription information related to a second prescription, the second prescription information including an identification of a second prescription drug and a dispense quantity of the second prescription drug;
determine: (i) a first sales number for first prescription drug based on the first prescription information, (ii) a second sales number for the second prescription drug based on the second prescription information, and (iii) information to be printed with a prescription label for the first prescription; and
provide: (i) the first sales number to a first manufacturer of the first prescription drug, (ii) the second sales number to a second prescription manufacturer of the second prescription drug, and (iii) the information to be printed with the prescription label to the first pharmacy management system.
2. A method of determining sales information of prescription drugs filled at a plurality of pharmacies at different locations and associating content with the filled prescription drugs, wherein an individual pharmacy uses a respective pharmacy management system, the method being implemented on a central computer having one or more processors, the method comprising:
receiving, by the one or more processors from a first pharmacy management system of a first pharmacy remote from the central computer, a first transmission comprising first prescription information related to a first prescription, the first prescription information including an identification of a first prescription drug and a dispense quantity of the first prescription drug;
receiving, by the one or more processors from a second pharmacy management system of a second pharmacy remote from the central computer, a second transmission comprising second prescription information related to a second prescription, the second prescription information including an identification of a second prescription drug and a dispense quantity of the second prescription drug;
determining, by the one or more processors: (i) a first sales number for the first prescription drug based on the first prescription information, (ii) a second sales number for the second prescription drug based on the second prescription information, and (iii) information to be printed with a prescription label for the first prescription; and
providing, by the one or more processors: (i) the first sales number to a first manufacturer of the first prescription drug, (ii) the second sales number to a second prescription manufacturer of the second prescription drug, and (iii) the information to be printed with the prescription label to the first pharmacy management system.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the information to be printed comprises at least one of a drug brand name, a national drug code, a drug classification code, a MedGuide, a monograph, or prescribing information.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the information to be printed comprises sponsored material, the sponsored material comprising: at least one of advertising or incentive offers.
5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
determining, by the one or more processors, a first geographic region of the first pharmacy and a second geographic region of the second pharmacy different from the first geographic region; and
associating, by the one or more processors, the first sales number with the first geographic region and the second sales number with the second geographic region.
6. The method of claim 5 , the method further comprising:
receiving, by the one or more processors from a third pharmacy management system of a third pharmacy remote from the central computer, a third transmission comprising third prescription information related to a third prescription, the third prescription information including an identification of a third prescription drug and a dispense quantity of the third prescription drug;
receiving, by the one or more processors from a fourth pharmacy management system of a fourth pharmacy remote from the central computer, a fourth transmission comprising fourth prescription information related to a fourth prescription, the fourth prescription information including an identification of a fourth prescription drug and a dispense quantity of the fourth prescription drug;
determining, by the one or more processors, that the third pharmacy is within the first geographic region and the fourth pharmacy is within the second region; and
associating, by the one or more processors, the third sales number with the first geographic region and the fourth sales number with the second geographic region;
aggregating, by the one or more processors, the first sales number with the third sales number based on the first geographic region and the second sales number with the fourth sales number based on the second geographic region;
generating, by the one or more processors, regional sales number information based on the aggregated first sales number with the third sales number and the aggregated second sales number with the fourth sales number; and
providing, by the one or more processors, the regional sales number.
7. The method of claim 6 , the method further comprising:
determining, by the one or more processors, changes to prescription drug purchases over time based on the regional sales number.
8. The method of claim 5 , the method further comprising:
receiving, by the one or more processors, an identification of the first pharmacy management system, wherein determining the first geographic region comprises:
obtaining, by the one or more processors, the first geographic region from a memory that stores an association between the identification of the first pharmacy management system and the first geographic region.
9. The method of claim 5 , wherein determining the first geographic region comprises:
determining, by the one or more processors, the first geographic region based on the first transmission received from the first pharmacy management system.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining the first geographic region based on the first transmission comprises:
determining, by the one or more processors, a first network identification related to the first transmission; and
associating, by the one or more processors, the first network identification with the first geographic region.
11. The method of claim 2 , the method further comprising:
determining, by the one or more processors, an identification of a prescription drug going off patent;
obtaining, by the one or more processors, a drug class for a generic version of the prescription drug going off patent; and
providing, by the one or more processors, the identification of the prescription drug going off patent or the drug class.
12. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining information to be printed with the prescription label comprises:
obtaining, by the one or more processors, a content selection rule for determining the information to be printed; and
applying, by the one or more processors, the content selection rule.
13. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining information to be printed with the prescription label comprises:
obtaining, by the one or more processors, MedGuide information related to the first prescription drug, wherein the information to be printed includes the MedGuide information.
14. The method of claim 13 , the method further comprising:
obtaining, by the one or more processors, updated MedGuide information related to the first prescription drug; and
providing, by the one or more processors, revised MedGuide information based on the updated MedGuide information.