Identification of specialty drugs

Abstract

Methods for determining whether a drug is a specialty drug, methods for creating tools to be used in making the determination, and the tools themselves are disclosed. The overall value of a drug depends on the drug's attribute values with respect to each of a set of drug attributes (concerning, e.g., the drug's route of administration, targeted disease, possible adverse reactions, risk of toxicity, cost, need for patient compliance with the treatment regime, and handling, preparation, and/or storage requirements. If the overall value or its partial overall values meet certain criteria, the drug is deemed to be a specialty drug.

1 . A device for use in identifying a specialty drug, the device comprising:
 hardware to receive a plurality of drug attribute scores for a prescription drug, at least one of the plurality of drug attribute scores including a characteristic level of specialized clinical service score; and   a computer processor to determine a total value score for the prescription drug based on the plurality of drug attributes and to identify whether the prescription drug is a specialty drug.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of drug attribute scores include a score based on specialized requirements for intensive patient training specific to the administration of the prescription drug or specialized requirements for administration of the prescription drug. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of drug attribute scores include a score based on a characteristic level of an extent of specialized requirements for compliance assistance by a patient associated with the prescription drug to facilitate therapeutic goals. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of drug attribute scores include a score based on characteristic level of an extent of specialized requirements for handling of the prescription drug. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of drug attribute scores include a score based on characteristic level of an extent of specialized requirements for preparation of the prescription drug. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of drug attribute scores include a score based on characteristic level of an extent of specialized requirements for storage of the prescription drug. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of drug attribute scores include a score based on a characteristic level of a distribution channel of the prescription drug. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the characteristic level of specialized clinical service score is based, at least in part, on toxicity of the plurality of drug and therapeutic effect. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the characteristic level of specialized clinical service score is based, at least in part, on level of incidence of adverse reactions. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the characteristic level of specialized clinical service score is based, at least in part, on temperature range for delivery and storage of the prescription drug. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of drug attribute scores are based on at least one of the group consisting of physical attribute, route of drug administration, level of patient training required to understand and/or implement the route of drug administration, uniqueness of the route of drug administration, means of preparation of a drug for delivery to the patient, means of preparing a drug for administration to the patient, cost, a drug storage requirement, drug handling requirement, drug delivery requirement, manufacturer, drug availability, drug distribution channels, potential drug toxicity, level of incidence and/or severity of adverse reactions, extent to which compliance with a treatment regime regarding administration will affect treatment outcome, extent to which patient support is necessary to insure compliance with a treatment regime, a condition the drug treats, level of clinical expertise required to understand a condition the plurality of drug is used to treat, pervasiveness of conditions a drug treats, and therapy class of conditions the plurality of drug treats. 
     
     
         12 . A computing system comprising:
 a receiver to receive a plurality of drug attribute scores for a prescription drug, at least one of the plurality of drug attribute scores including a characteristic level of specialized clinical service score; and   a processor to determine a total value score for the prescription drug based on the plurality of drug attributes and to identify whether the prescription drug is a specialty drug.   
     
     
         13 . The computing system of  claim 12 , wherein plurality of drug attribute scores for the prescription drug includes an attribute score for a newly-approved drug. 
     
     
         14 . The computing system of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is to present a tool to receive rankings of the plurality of drug attribute scores.