None.
Many health benefit plan providers offer their plan members the option of obtaining their prescription drugs by mail. For members with chronic conditions or other conditions that require maintenance drugs, a mail order prescription program is an attractive benefit because it is more convenient for members and typically less expensive than obtaining prescription drugs at a neighborhood pharmacy. For many drugs, members have the option of purchasing a drug fill in a 60-day or even a 90-day supply at a lower cost than a 30-day supply.
Many health benefit plan providers offer their members a web-based “self-serve” option for enrolling in a mail order pharmacy program and refilling prescriptions through the mail order pharmacy program. Members access a web portal that provides functionality for submitting refill requests for prescriptions that are filled through the mail order pharmacy. The member's eligible prescriptions appear in a list and the member is provided with a refill option for each prescription. After selecting the prescriptions to be refilled, an ordering application at the server acknowledges the member's request or requests and provides confirmation that the refill request has been received. The member may receive periodic updates (e.g., a shipping notification, a tracking number, etc.) as the request is processed and the prescription is filled and shipped from the mail order pharmacy.
Although web-based prescription ordering is a convenient way for a member of a health plan to obtain refills, it typically requires access to a personal computer as well as an Internet connection. The ability to place an order is limited to those times when the member has access to a computer and Internet connection such as when at home or at work. Smart phones, tablets, and other portable devices can be used at almost any time and anywhere to access the mail order pharmacy portal through a browser but because the devices have small screens, navigating a web site can be cumbersome. To address this problem, many prescription retailers offer prescription ordering mobile applications that provide features and functionality for entering and viewing information about prescriptions and placing orders for prescriptions filled through a local retail pharmacy. As a result, the applications employ a “scan to pick up” function to facilitate processing of the prescription fill by a retail pharmacy that a user then visits to obtain the refill. The process of dispensing prescriptions by mail is different and therefore, there is a need for mobile application to facilitate “scan to mail” processing of prescription refills.
The present disclosure is directed to a mobile application for a mail order pharmacy program. After enrolling in a mail order pharmacy program and receiving one or more prescriptions through the mail, members may use the mobile application to order prescription refills. The disclosed mobile application allows a member to take advantage of the convenience and cost savings of a mail order pharmacy program. The disclosed mobile application further enhances the convenience of the mail order pharmacy program by increasing the convenience of ordering refills. Members can place orders at their convenience and receive confirmations, shipping and tracking information, and other information through the mobile application.
In an example embodiment, members request a prescription refill by scanning a barcode on a prescription bottle for a prior fill. In an example embodiment, the barcode comprises an order number and an inventory number from a prior fill. The barcode comprises data that is used in processing the prescription through an automated mail order pharmacy system and that further facilitates reordering using the mobile application. Once received at the mail order pharmacy, the order number and inventory number from the barcode are used to locate the previous order for the prescription and to issue another order for the prescription that is processed on the automated dispensing line of the mail order pharmacy system.
In an example embodiment, the mail order pharmacy uses automated systems and dispensing lines to process and ship a high volume of prescriptions on a daily basis. Each prescription medication is dispensed into a vial or other container or bottle labeled with barcoded data from an electronic order that comprises the order number, patient identifying and shipping data, and for each item in the order, a drug identifier (e.g., by NDC), a dosage, a quantity and an inventory number. Each inventory number identifies the specific drug and dosage. Each medication is dispensed in its own vial and in many instances, multiple vials are combined into a single package and shipped to a single address for a member with one or more chronic conditions requiring multiple medications. The automated dispensing system determines which vials should be combined into a single package for shipping to a single address and routes them accordingly.
In an example embodiment, electronic order data for a prescription comprises the following information.
Referring to
Each vial also receives a barcode label with order details encoded in the barcode. In an example embodiment, the barcode comprises an order number and an inventory number (e.g., product or SKU number) for a drug. The vial barcodes are scanned during packaging to ensure the vial is placed in a package with the correct shipping information. Order details are also barcoded on a shipping insert for the package. In an example embodiment, the shipping insert barcode is scanned by a packaging operator and the vial barcodes are scanned automatically as vials are routed on the automated dispensing line and automatically dropped into a mailer. The shipping insert and vial barcode data is compared to ensure the data on the barcodes matches the electronic order data. Once the match is confirmed, the shipping insert is added to the mailer with the vials, and the mailer is sealed and processed for shipping to the member.
After the member receives a first fill of the prescription, the mobile application may be used to order subsequent refills. Referring to
After selecting a prescription to refill, a “Scan to Refill” screen as shown in
If the scan is not successful, the member has the option of manually entering a prescription number on a “Manual Entry” screen as shown in
Once the refill order details are received by the mobile application and payment processing is completed, a refill request for each selected prescription is transmitted by the mobile application to the mail order pharmacy prescription ordering system. The order number from the refill order data is used to retrieve the member's previous order from the prescription ordering system database to determine the order details for processing of the order on the automated dispensing line using the line control application. The inventory, product, or SKU number from the refill order data identifies the specific prescription drug to be refilled. A vial for the prescription refill is added to a puck and routed using the puck RFID tag. The drug is dispensed from an ATC into the vial and the vial is routed by the line control application through dispensing and packaging for shipment to the member. Additional refill orders may be initiated through the mobile application for processing at the mail order pharmacy.
While certain embodiments of the disclosed mobile application for a mail order pharmacy are described in detail above, the scope of the invention is not to be considered limited by such disclosure, and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention as evidenced by the claims. For example, elements of the user interface and screen layouts may be varied and fall within the scope of the claimed invention. Various aspects of user interactions and presentation of data may be varied and fall within the scope of the claimed invention. One skilled in the art would recognize that such modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the claimed invention.