Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for medical
communication or telemedicine. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate
to systems and methods for communication between doctors, patients, medical laboratories and
pharmacists, and to prescription ordering and reminder mechanism for drug replenishment.
Background of the Invention
[2] In the present digital age a person can get connected to another person from anywhere
and at any time, including a patient who is able to connect to a physician or a doctor from any
location without being physically present at the doctor’s clinic or in the hospital.
[3] Currently, there are systems that provide interaction between patients and doctors, there
are also systems that are capable of providing interactions between doctors and doctors. Such
systems are also capable of real-time collaboration between different doctors or between doctors
and research institutes and healthcare organizations.
[4] Online consultation with doctors is becoming popular wherein the doctor is able to
chat/video chat with the patient and provides him with prescription of medicines. Such a scenario
is particularly useful when the doctor and the patient are located in different geographical
location.
[5] The present systems for online medical communication and consultation do not have the
capability to communicate with the medical stores, laboratories or chemists. A patient generally
has to visit a medical store to buy his medicine which is sometimes inconvenient.
[6] Currently available systems are capable of issuing reminders to patient for taking the
medicines in a timely manner. For example, daily pill containers store pills for each day of the
week but still require diligence on the part of the user. However, these systems are not capable of
issuing a reminder when the stock of medicines with the patient depletes, which may result in the
patient missing some of the medicines due to non-availability of the medicines.
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[7] United States Patent no. US 8364504 B1 titled “Pharmacy network management system
and method for ordering prescriptions” discloses a system for accessing pharmacy data and
ordering prescriptions via a network which includes a network server; an application server
connected to the network server; a database connected to the application server, the database
containing information concerning drugs and personal information concerning one or more of the
customers, wherein the personal information includes a prescription drug history of each
respective one of the one or more customers; and an intranet server that is connected to the
application server, one or more member pharmacies and one or more shipping facilities; wherein
the application server is configured to: cause a browser to display to the customer the
information concerning drugs and personal information concerning that customer and display an
option for the drug associated with the prescription order to be picked up at one of the one or
more member pharmacies or shipped to a postal address.
[8] However, the patent fails to disclose an online collaboration between the doctors and the
chemists or medical stores. The above mentioned patent further does not disclose the online
communication between the doctors, patients and the medical stores or chemists.
[9] It is therefore desirable to provide a system and a method that enables online
communication between doctors, patients and medical stores, laboratories or chemists and
pharmaceutical companies. It is further desirable to provide for online prescription ordering so
that the stock of medicines is delivered to the patient within a minimum time. Additionally, it is
also desirable to provide a system capable of issuing a reminder for replenishment of medicine
stock with the patient when the stock is low.
Summary of the Invention
[10] The object of the invention is achieved by a system for prescription communication and
drug ordering according to claim 1.
[11] In the document, doctors are referred to as first category of user and computing devices
used by the doctors are referred to as first client device, patients are referred to as second
category of users and the devices used by the patients are referred to as second client devices,
chemists, diagnostic labs, pharmaceutical companies, etc. are referred to as third category of
users and computing devices used by them are referred to as third client devices.
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[12] According to an embodiment of the system, the system includes a first client device being
used by a first category of user, a server device, and a third client device being used by a third
user. The first client device receives a first user input from the first category of user in relation
to at least one of the medicine and medical tests for a second category of user, generates a
medical prescription based on the first input, and sends the medical prescription to the server
device. The server device receives the medical prescription from the first client device,
generates an order on behalf of the second category of user for at least one of the medicine or
medical tests based on the medical prescription, and sends the order to at least one third client
device. The third client device receives the order, displays the order, and receives a third user
input for acceptance or denial of the order.
[13] According to another embodiment of the system, if the third user input is with
respect to denial of the order, then the third client device sends the order to the server
device, and the server device sends the order to another user from the third category of
the user.
[14] According to yet another embodiment of the system, wherein the server device
sends the order to the third client device based on geographical distance between
addresses of the second category of the user and third category of user.
[15] According to one embodiment of the system, the system includes a second client
device which sends a GPS location to the server device, wherein the server device
receives the GPS location from at least one of the second client device and the third client
device, and thereon determines the geographical distance between the second category of
the user and the third category of the user.
[16] According to another embodiment of the system, wherein the medical prescription
further includes a time period for which each of the medicine is prescribed for, and
accordingly the server device generates the order which includes amount of medicine
based on the time period.
[17] According to yet another embodiment of the system, wherein the server device
generates an alert related to ending of the time period of medicine and sends the alert to
the second client device, the second client device receives the alert, displays the alert,
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receives a reorder input related to creating order for another part of prescription period
for one or more medicine in the medical prescription, and sends the reorder input to the
server device, the server device receives the reorder input, generates a new order based
on the reorder input, and sends the new order to the third client device, the third client
device receives the new order, displays the new order, and receives a third user input for
acceptance or denial of the order.
[18] According to one embodiment of the system, wherein the server device sends the
order to the second client device, the second client device receives the order and a second
input related to order acceptance, and sends the second input to the server device, the
server device receives the second input and sends the order to the third client device
based on the second user input.
[19] According to another embodiment of the system, wherein the server device sends
the order and a delivery related information to the second computing device, the delivery
related information includes one or more third computing devices for making the order,
the second client device receives the order and the delivery related information, further
receives a second input related to order acceptance and selection of the third client device
for making the order, and sends the second input to the server device, the server device
receives the second input and sends the order to the third client device based on the
second user input.
[20] According to yet another embodiment of the system, the system includes a
database which store atleast one of the prescription, the orders, the reorder input or the
combination thereof.
[21] According to one embodiment of the system, wherein the first client device sends
request to the server for the prescription, the server sends the prescription to the first
client device, the first client device edits and updates the prescription, and sends the
updated prescription to the server, the server stores the updated prescription as a separate
version of the prescription.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
[22] The advantages and features of the present invention will become better
understood with reference to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are identified with like symbols, and in
which:
[23] FIGs. 1- 7 are exemplary screenshots depicting user interfaces in accordance with
aspects of the present invention; and
[24] FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are a flow diagram depicting the exemplary method in
accordance with the aspects of the present invention.
Detailed Description
[25] Embodiments of the present invention are related to system and method for
medical communication and online prescription ordering. Furthermore embodiments of
the present invention also relate to medicine replenishment reminder.
[26] The description of the embodiments and applications of the present invention is
being done together with the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. The
embodiments are described herein for illustrative purposes and are subject to many
variations. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are
contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but are intended to
cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the
present invention. Further, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology
employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as
limiting. Any heading utilized within this description is for convenience only and has no
legal or limiting effect.
[27] The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather
denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.
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[28] In accordance with aspects of the present invention, a system for medical
communication is provided. The system may include plurality of computers in
communication with each other. The computers may be communicably connected to
each other over a network which may be a wired or a wireless network. The network may
be a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) or the Internet.
[29] In another embodiment, the system may be a client server architecture wherein a
plurality of client computers may be connected to a server computer.
[30] In one embodiment, a plurality of users which include doctors, patients, medical
consultants, laboratories, chemists, medical store owners and pharmaceutical companies
as non-limiting examples.
[31] In another embodiment the plurality of users may be connected to each other
through devices such as smartphones, laptops, notebooks, netbooks, tablets, desktop
computers or any other means.
[32] In accordance with aspects of the present technique, a patient computer and a
doctor computer are communicably connected. The doctor may interact with the patient
with text chat, or voice chat or through video chat. The system is capable of displaying
the one or more medical and/or pathological report on the user interface of the doctor’s
computer. The system is also adapted to provide for real-time prescription which is
displayed on the patient computer screen as prescribed by the doctor.
[33] Furthermore, the medical store or chemist may also be connected through the
computer, the chemist having valid credentials. The system is adapted to connect the one
or more chemists based on the location of the patient. A geographical positioning system
may be used to determine the location of the patient and also find out the nearby chemist
located from the patient’s location. The prescription written by the doctor is displayed on
the screen of the chemist computer or communication device.
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[34] Referring now to FIGs 1 -7, screenshots depicting the exemplary process in
accordance with the invention is presented. It may be noted that although in FIGs. 1 to 4,
the illustrative diagram shows a webpage with the application running thereon, the
application may be installed in any other device and could also be a standalone
application capable of installation on a mobile device such as a smartphone, tablet and so
forth or a desktop computer, a laptop, a notebook, a netbook and so forth. In FIG. 1, the
prescription window 100, as would be suggested by the doctor is displayed. The doctor
could write the name of the medicine and also the interval when the same has to be taken
by the patient. The prescription window also includes an option of choosing a chemist by
the doctor. The chemists are fetched by the system based on the location of the patient for
whom the prescription is being prepared for. The doctor may click on the text box which
may be a list box to choose a particular chemist.
[35] FIG. 2 shows an example scenario of the window 200 wherein the box for
choosing the chemist is populated by three chemists with additional details such as the
quantity of drug available and the distance from the patient’s location.
[36] FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary interface wherein a window 300 is displayed on the
patient’s computer confirming whether the patient would like to have the medicines
delivered to his location.
[37] FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary chemist window 400 depicting a message box
displayed on the chemist window 400 for acceptance of the order of the medicine that is
required for the patient. The chemist may choose to accept or decline the order.
[38] FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary window 500 on the patient’s mobile device where
the patient is informed of his order having being accepted and dispatched by the chemist
and also displays the approximate time of the delivery of the medicines to the patient. A
pop up message box may appear on the patient’s mobile device or a computer, as an alert
for the dispatch of the medicines by the chemist accepting the order. The message could
also be in the form of a Short messaging service (SMS).
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[39] FIG. 6 is a screenshot 600 depicting the status of the order on the mobile device
of a delivery person who is delivering the medicines to the patient. As depicted, the
mobile device displays the list of orders that have to be completed by the delivery person.
A column indicating whether the order has been delivered and another column indicating
the work in progress status of the order is also shown.
[40] Turning now to FIG. 7, a screenshot 700 depicting an alert message in the
patient’s mobile device is shown. The system is adapted to issue the alert on the mobile
device of the patient when the stock of the medicines, the patient is consuming is below a
predefined quantity. As illustrated in FIG. 7, a message appears on the display of the
patient’s mobile device “Your stock of medicines is left for 5 days only”. “Would you
like to reorder them?” On acceptance by the patient the chemist or medical store gets an
intimation of the order from the patient.
[41] FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B depict a flow chart 800 for the exemplary method for
medical communication and prescription ordering in accordance with aspects of the
present invention. The method starts at step 802, with the doctor writing a prescription.
As mentioned, the doctor, patient and chemist are connected to each other preferably
through a wireless network. At step 804, the doctor selects a chemist, alternatively as at
step 806, nearest chemist is selected based on availability of medicine by analyzing stock
and geographic location of chemist and the patient. At step 808, the prescription is sent to
the chemist through the web based application or software which is installed in the
computers or mobile devices of the doctor, patient and the chemist.
[42] Thereafter, as at step 810, the chemist sends an acknowledgement of his accepting
or rejecting the order. In the event of the chemist rejecting the order, a second chemist is
searched by the system based on the availability of the medicines and geographical
location of the second chemist and the patient, as depicted in step 812.
[43] On acceptance of the order by the chemist, the dispatch of the order is initiated as
at step 814. Thereafter the medicines are dispatched as at step 816.
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[44] In accordance with aspects of the present technique, the system is adapted to send
an SMS to the patient informing the patient that the order has been dispatched as at step
818. It may however be noted that SMS is an exemplary mechanism of communicating,
email, alert or voice based message may also be used to inform the patient about the
dispatch of the ordered medicines.
[45] Thereafter, as at step 820 the medicines are delivered to the patient by the
delivery person and payment collected from the patient. The payment may be made in
cash, or through credit or debit cards or any other monetary instrument.
[46] On delivering the medicines the delivery person marks the order as closed on his
mobile device with has the mobile application therein, as at step 822. The doctor and the
patient also get an alert message such as an SMS informing that the medicines have been
delivered and the order has been successfully completed, as at step 824.
[47] Subsequently, at step 826, the system also delivers the bill generated from the
billing software of the chemist to the patient and also the doctor through email.
Alternatively, the application installed in the computers or mobile devices of the doctor
and the patient has a section where the bills generated are displayed of all the orders
placed.
[48] At step 828, the system also provides for regulating the quantity of medicines
supplied by the chemist. This is carried out by keeping a track of the medicines and the
consumption by the patient. The system is adapted to issue a prompt to the patient to
reorder the medicines in case the stock is left for less than 5 days, as at step 830. In case
the patients does not place the order a notification is sent to both the patient and the
doctor that the course has been completed by the patient, as depicted in step 832.
[49] In the event of the patient reordering the medicine as at step 834, the process is
directed to step 808. Alternately, the method is completed if the patient does not reorder
the medicines, as depicted in step 836.
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[50] The above mentioned system and method for medical communication and
prescription ordering has several advantages such as a real time communication between
the doctors, the patients and the chemists. Further, the invention allows the patient to get
the delivery of medicines in very less time and at his door step without having to visit the
medical stores. This is especially helpful for patients suffering from chronic diseases or
patients who are senior citizens or patients who are not in a position to visit the medical
stores. The system and method also provides for medicine replenishment and issues
reminders as soon as the medicine stock is below a threshold limit.
[51] The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have
been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be
exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously
many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The
exemplary embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles
of the present invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in
the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
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We Claim:
1. A system for prescription communication and drug ordering comprising:
- a first client device being used by a first category of user, the first client device is adapted to
receive a first user input from the first category of user in relation to at least one of the medicine
and medical tests for a second category of user, to generate a medical prescription based on the
first input, and to send the medical prescription to a server device;
- the server device adapted to receive the medical prescription from the first client device, to
generate an order on behalf of the second category of user for at least one of the medicine or
medical tests based on the medical prescription, and to send the order to at least one third client
device being used by third category of users.
- the third client device adapted to receive the order, to display the order, to receive a third user
input for acceptance or denial of the order.
2. The system according to the claim 1, if the third user input is with respect to denial of the
order, the third client device is adapted to send the order to the server device, and the server
device is adapted to send the order to another user from the third category of the user.
3. The system according to any of the claims 1 or 2, wherein the server device is adapted to send
the order to the third client device based on geographical distance between addresses of the
second category of the user and third category of user.
4. The system according to the claim 3 comprising:
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- a second client device adapted to send a GPS location to the server device,
wherein the server device is adapted to receive the GPS location from at least one of the second
client device and the third client device, and thereon determining the geographical distance
between the second category of the user and the third category of the user.
5. The system according to any of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the medical prescription further
comprises a time period for which each of the medicine is prescribed for, and accordingly the
server device generates the order which includes amount of medicine based on the time period.
6. The system according to the claim 5, wherein the server device is adapted to generate an alert
related to ending of the time period of medicine and to send the alert to the second client device,
the second client device adapted to receive the alert, to display the alert, to receive a reorder
input related to creating order for another part of prescription period for one or more medicine in
the medical prescription, and to send the reorder input to the server device, the server device is
adapted to receive the reorder input, to generate a new order based on the reorder input, and to
send the new order to the third client device, the third client device adapted to receive the new
order, to display the new order, and to receive a third user input for acceptance or denial of the
order.
7. The system according to any of the claims 1 to 6, wherein the server device is adapted to send
the order to the second client device, the second client device is adapted to receive the order, to
receive a second input related to order acceptance, and to send the second input to the server
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device, the server device is adapted to receive the second input and adapted to send the order to
the third client device based on the second user input.
8. The system according to any of the claims 1 to 6, wherein the server device is adapted to send
the order and a delivery related information to the second computing device, the delivery related
information comprises one or more third computing devices for making the order, the second
client device is adapted to receive the order and the delivery related information, to receive a
second input related to order acceptance and selection of the third client device for making the
order, and to send the second input to the server device, the server device is adapted to receive
the second input and adapted to send the order to the third client device based on the second user
input.
9. The system according to any of the claims 1 to 8 comprising:
- a database adapted to store atleast one of the prescription, the orders, the reorder input or the
combination thereof.
10. The system according to any of the claims 1 to 8, wherein the first client device is adapted to
send request to the server for the prescription, the server is adapted to send the prescription to the
first client device, the first client device is adapted to edit and update the prescription, and send
the updated prescription to the server, the server is adapted to store the updated prescription as a
separate version of the prescription.