Patient Updates: PC, Smartphone

This scenario shows how patients with access to a computer or smartphone get updates on the progress of their prescription.

Patient Visit

The patient visits the doctor to discuss their medical condition and treatment.

Doctor

The doctor initiates a prescription for biologic medication. The following are noted:

» Doctor

» Patient

» Medication name, dose, frequency, and duration

» Optional notes

Patient and HCP Staff

The patient gets the following details sent to their email address by the health care provider staff:

» A link to a website describing the prescription process, contact options and status

» Login details...

» Health care provider (HCP) number, and Prescription number*

» Password

[The concept could be developed to use prescription numbers or patient numbers. If the latter is chosen then the systems would prompt with a list of pending prescriptions and allow the user to select which one they require details about.]

HCP Insurance Check

The health care provider staff initiate a check with the insurer to see if prior authorisation (PA) will be given for this patient and prescription.

Notification: Insurance Check

At this point a notification is sent to the patient via email, which contains a link to the website. The patient clicks the link to get the status of their prescription.

Note that no personal details were released in the above example and so no login details were required. However, the URL of that page may be recorded by the history function of the web browser. So if the patient requires more privacy a login option can be provided, as follows.

Note: If patients were willing, the above prescription status could be included in the notification email. This means they would not have to login to the website - a faster option, but less privacy (if their email/device is shared). Each user could set their preference on the website.

Insurance: Prior Authorisation

The insurer grants prior authorisation for this patient and prescription.

Notification: Prior Authorisation Granted

At this point a notification is available for the patient. The patient receives this notification as shown before (by email / website).

Prescription Sent to Specialty Pharmacy

The prescription is sent to the specialty pharmacy.

A notification of this is available to the patient (as before). The notification email may include more details (if the user prefers), and the description of the process could leverage previously collected aggregrate anonymous data to make the details specific to the patient and the service providers they are using. [AI could be used to deliver these details, or conventional software.]

In the above example the estimated time to complete this step would be derived based on previous data for such transactions between the specific insurer and pharmacy [for an intelligent system], or derived from an average across all insurers and pharmacies on the system.

Benefits Investigation

The pharmacy checks with the insurer that the insurance covers the patient for this prescription.

A notification of this is available to the patient (as before).

Prescription Approved

The insurer approves the patient for this prescription.

A notification of this is available to the patient (as before).

Check Patient Availability

The patient is contacted (by phone or email) to determine when they are available to receive the medication:

» date and

» time range.

If contacted by email, the message includes a link to a web page which allows the user to login and then specify what date and time (slot) they are available to receive the delivery of their medication.

If by phone, the call to the patient can be made manually, or automatically. In the latter case, standard voice-computer technology could be used with a menu driven approach and the patient responding by pressing buttons on the phone. Alternatively, an artificial intelligence (natural language processing) system could be used. [Intelligent AI appointment booking has already been demonstrated.]

(A confirmatory check may be made on the delivery address - checking that the patient will be at this address.)

An email confirmation is sent. If the patient later contacts the service it will remind them of the agreed delivery details.

Dispense Dose

The pharmacy prepares the dose, and notifies the courier that the package is ready for delivery.

The courier has the following information:

» delivery date and time range

» delivery address

» patient name and phone number

Delivery

The courier handles the final stage of the fulfilment process to ensure the package arrives with the patient. Industry standard tracking information is available to the patient.

The system would be notified of the actual time of delivery.

Feedback

The patient has the opportunity to provide potentially valuable feedback on the entire process. This could be initiated by the patient (via website or by dialling the service), or an automated email/call asking for feedback. Aspects of the feedback might address the following:

» The service from the health care provider

» Insurance aspects

» The service from the specialty pharmacy

» The efficacy and side-effects of the medication

» Delivery aspects

» Suggestions for improvement

» Other points of interest to key stakeholders

Feedback can also be collected from others (HCP, SP, etc.) to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the entire process.

Repeat Doses

If the prescription allowed for repeat doses then the pharmacy would repeat the process as and when required (starting at Check Patient Availability).