Automated System for Medical Item Dispensing, Billing and Inventory Management

Abstract

An inventory management system manages information regarding medical items dispensed to a patient in a medical facility. Inventory sensors sense removal of medical items from an inventory space to be dispensed to the patient. Software instructions associate item information with patient information that identifies the patient, determine billing codes associated with the dispensed items, generate billing information including the patient information and the billing codes, and generate an invoice directed to the patient's medical insurance provider. The instructions also verify that the billing codes are associated with medical items appropriate for treatment of the patient's condition indicated by diagnostic codes included in the billing information, and generate an alert message if the billing codes are associated with medical items that are not reimbursable or are inappropriate for treatment of the diagnosed condition. The alert message is sent to the physician who diagnosed the patient and provided the diagnostic code.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An inventory management system for managing information regarding medical items dispensed in conjunction with medical treatment of patients of a medical facility, wherein each medical item has an associated billing code, the inventory management system comprising:
 one or more inventory sensors for sensing removal of one or more medical items from an inventory space in the medical facility to be dispensed for treatment of a patient, and for generating item usage information indicative of an identity and quantity of the one or more medical items removed, wherein the one or more inventory sensors include one or more of:
 a weight sensor attached to a storage structure in the inventory space; 
 an RFID sensor for sensing the presence of an RFID tag attached to a medical item in the inventory space; 
 a bar code reader for scanning a barcode on a medical item; or 
 a digital camera for capturing an image of a medical item; 
   one or more computers in communication with the one or more inventory sensors, the one or more computers configured to store and process item usage information and billing information for medical items dispensed to patients, the billing information including billing codes for medical items; and   one or more software applications executed on the one or more computers, the one or more software applications including computer-executable instructions that are automatically executed based on the removal of the one or more medical items as sensed by the one or more inventory sensors, which instructions:
 associate the item usage information with patient information that identifies the patient to which the one or more medical items are dispensed; 
 determine one or more billing codes that are associated with the one or more medical items dispensed to the patient and associate one or more billing codes with the item usage information; 
 generate billing information that includes at least the item usage information, the patient information, and the one or more billing codes associated with the one or more medical items dispensed to the patient; and 
 generate an invoice to be sent to the patient's medical insurance provider based on the billing information. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the one or more software applications include computer-executable instructions that are automatically executed based on the removal of the one or more medical items as sensed by the one or more inventory sensors, which instructions generate the billing information to include at least one diagnostic code indicative of a diagnosis of the patient to which the medical items were dispensed. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the one or more software applications include computer-executable instructions that are automatically executed based on the removal of the one or more medical items sensed by the one or more inventory sensors, which instructions verify that the one or more billing codes included in the billing information are associated with one or more medical items that are appropriate for treatment of a diagnosed injury or condition indicated by the at least one diagnostic code included in the billing information. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3  wherein the one or more software applications include computer-executable instructions that automatically generate an alert message based on a determination that one or more billing codes included in the billing information are associated with one or more medical items that are not reimbursable or are inappropriate for treatment of a diagnosed injury or condition indicated by the at least one diagnostic code included in the billing information, and which instructions communicate the alert message to a computer associated with a physician who diagnosed the patient and provided the at least one diagnostic code. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the one or more software applications include computer-executable instructions that are automatically executed based on the removal of the one or more medical items as sensed by the one or more inventory sensors, which instructions generate the billing information to include user information that identifies a person responsible for removal of one or more medical items from the inventory space. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the one or more computers comprise a customer computer associated with the medical facility and a service provider computer associated with an inventory management service provider that is in communication with the customer computer through a communication network, and wherein the one or more software applications are executed on one or both of service provider computer and the customer computer. 
     
     
         7 . An inventory management system for managing information regarding medical items dispensed in conjunction with medical treatment of a patient, wherein the medical items are disposed in a plurality of storage containers in a storage structure, the inventory management system comprising:
 a physician interface device operable to communicate via a communication network;   a treatment protocol application in communication with the physician interface device, the treatment protocol application including computer-executable instructions which, when executed:
 access a listing of medical items from which the physician may select to be dispensed for treating a diagnosed medical condition of the patient; 
 generate item dispensing information based on a selection of one or more medical items from the listing of medical items, wherein the item dispensing information includes first patient information identifying the patient to whom the one or more selected medical items are to be dispensed; and 
 communicate the item dispensing information via the communication network; 
   a customer computer in communication with the physician interface device via the communication network;   one or more RFID sensors disposed in the storage structure and in communication with the customer computer, the one or more RFID sensors operable to sense second patent information encoded in a patient identifier RFID tag that enters the storage structure;   one or more display devices disposed in the storage structure and in communication with the customer computer;   one or more software applications in communication with the customer computer, the one or more software applications including computer-executable instructions which, when executed:
 receive the item dispensing information from the communication network; 
 process the item dispensing information to determine a number of medical items to be removed from one or more of the storage containers to be dispensed for treatment of the patient; 
 process the first patent identification information included in the item dispensing information to identify the patient to whom the medical items are to be dispensed; 
 process the second patient information encoded in the patient identifier RFID tag that enters the storage structure, and determine whether the second patient information identifies the same patient as the first patient information; and 
 if the second patient information identifies the same patient as the first patient information, activate the one or more display devices in the storage structure to visually indicate that one or more medical items are to be removed from the one or more storage containers to be dispensed to the patient identified by the first and second patient information. 
   
     
     
         8 . The inventory management system of  claim 7  wherein the one or more display devices comprise a plurality of lights disposed in the storage structure, each light associated with a corresponding one of the storage containers, wherein each light is operable to provide a visual indication that one or more medical items are Co be removed from the storage container associated with the light. 
     
     
         9 . The inventory management system of  claim 7  wherein the one or more display devices comprise a display screen operable to display information listing the one or more medical items that are to be removed from the storage containers to be dispensed to the patient identified by the first and second patient information. 
     
     
         10 . The inventory management system of  claim 7  further comprising:
 one or more inventory sensors for sensing removal of one or more medical items from one or more of the storage containers to be dispensed for treatment of the patient, and for generating item usage information indicative of an identity and quantity of the one or more medical items removed, wherein the one or more inventory sensors include one or more of:
 a weight sensor attached to a storage structure in the inventory space; 
 an MD sensor for sensing the presence of an RFID tag attached to a medical item in the inventory space; 
 a bar code reader for scanning a barcode on a medical item; or 
 a digital camera for capturing an image of a medical item; 
 
 the one or more software applications including computer-executable instructions that:
 associate the item usage information with the first or second patient information; 
 determine one or more bitting codes that have been assigned to the one or more medical items dispensed to the patient and associate the one or more billing codes with the item usage information; 
 generate billing information that includes at least the item usage information, the patient information, and the one or more billing codes associated with the one or more medical items dispensed to the patient; and 
 use the billing information to generate an invoice to be sent to the patient's medical insurance provider. 
 
 
     
     
         11 . The inventory management system of  claim 10  wherein the one or more software applications include computer-executable instructions that generate the bitting information to include at least one diagnostic code indicative of a diagnosis of the patient to which the medical items were dispensed. 
     
     
         12 . The inventory management system of  claim 11  wherein the one or more software applications include computer-executable instructions that verify that the one or more billing codes included in the billing information are associated with one or more medical items that are appropriate for treatment of a diagnosed injury or condition indicated by the at least one diagnostic code included in the billing information. 
     
     
         13 . The inventory management system of  claim 12  wherein the one or more software applications include computer-executable instructions that generate an alert message based on a determination that one or more billing codes included in the billing information are associated with one or more medical items that are not reimbursable or are inappropriate for treatment of a diagnosed injury or condition indicated by the at least one diagnostic code included in the billing information, and that communicate the alert message to the physician interface device. 
     
     
         14 . The inventory management system of  claim 7  wherein the one or more RFID sensors are operable to sense the second patent information encoded in the patient identifier RFID tag attached to a patient's chart or other documentation that enters the storage structure. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 7  wherein the storage structure comprises a room, a cabinet, or a box. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 7  wherein the storage containers comprise bins, shelves, or drawers within the storage structure. 
     
     
         17 . An inventory management system for managing information regarding medical items listed on a discharge order to be dispensed in conjunction with medical treatment of a patient, wherein the medical items are disposed in storage containers in a discharge closet, the inventory management system comprising:
 one or more RFID sensors disposed in the discharge closet, the one or more RFID sensors operable to sense patient identification information encoded in an RFID tag attached to the discharge order as or after the discharge order enters the discharge closet;   one or more display devices disposed in the discharge closet;   one or more computers in communication with the one or more MD sensors and the one or more display devices, the one or more computers configured to store and process billing information for medical items dispensed to patients, the billing information including:
 information that associates each patient with a medical insurance provide which medical expenses incurred by the patent are to be billed; and 
 information that associates medical items stored in the discharge closet with medical insurance providers that provide reimbursement for the associated medical items; and 
   one or more software applications executed on the one or more computers, the one or more software applications including computer-executable instructions that:
 process the patient identification information Co identify a patient associated with the discharge order; 
 process the billing information to identify a medical insurance provider to which medical expenses incurred by the patient associated with the discharge order are to be billed; 
 process the billing information to identify medical items stored in the discharge closet for which reimbursement is provided by the identified medical insurance provider; and 
 activate the one or more display devices in the discharge closet to visually indicate one or more storage containers in which the identified medical items are disposed. 
   
     
     
         18 . The inventory management system of  claim 17  wherein the one or more computers execute the computer-executable instructions automatically based on the one or more RFID sensors sensing patient identification information encoded in the RFID tag attached to the discharge order as or after the discharge order enters the discharge closet. 
     
     
         19 . The inventory management system of  claim 17  further comprising:
 one or more inventory sensors for sensing removal of a medical item from one of the storage containers, the one or more inventory sensors including one or more of:
 a weight sensor attached to the storage container from which the medical item was removed; 
 an RFID sensor for sensing the presence of an RFID tag attached to the removed medical item; 
 a bar code reader for scanning a barcode on the removed medical item; and 
 a digital camera for capturing an image of the removed medical item; and 
 
 the one or more software applications including computer-executable instructions that:
 identify the removed medical item based on a signal from a weight sensor attached to the storage container from which the medical item was removed, or based on information contained in an RFID tag attached to the removed medical item, or based on information contained in a barcode on the removed medical item, or based on an image of the removed medical item; 
 determine whether the removed medical item is a medical item for which reimbursement is provided by the identified medical insurance provider; and 
 generate an alarm if the removed medical item is not a medical item for which reimbursement is provided by the identified medical insurance provider. 
 
 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19  wherein the one or more software applications include computer-executable instructions that are automatically executed based on the removal of the medical item as sensed by the one or more inventory sensors, which instructions generate user information that identifies the personnel responsible for removal of the medical item from the discharge closet. 
     
     
         21 . The inventory management system of  claim 19  wherein the one or more software applications include computer-executable instructions that:
 process the billing information to determine whether a master DME supplier can bill the identified medical insurance provider directly for the removed medical item; and 
 generate a bill from the master DME directed to the identified medical insurance provider for reimbursement for the removed medical item, if it is determined that the master DME supplier can bill the identified medical insurance provider directly for the removed medical item. 
 
     
     
         22 . The inventory management system of  claim 21  wherein the one or more software applications including computer-executable instructions that:
 process the billing information to identify an alternative DME supplier that can bill the identified medical insurance provider directly for the removed medical item, if it is determined that the master DME supplier cannot bill the identified medical insurance provider directly for the removed medical item; 
 generate a bill from the master DME directed to the identified alternative DME supplier for reimbursement for the removed medical item; and 
 generate a bill from the identified alternative DME supplier directed to the identified medical insurance provider for reimbursement for the removed medical item. 
 
     
     
         23 . The inventory management system of  claim 17  wherein the one or more display devices comprise a plurality of lights disposed in the storage structure, each light associated with a corresponding one of the storage containers, wherein each light is operable to provide a visual indication that one or more medical items are to be removed from the storage container associated with the light. 
     
     
         24 . The inventory management system of  claim 17  wherein the one or more display devices comprise a display screen operable to display information listing the one or more medical items that are to be removed from the storage containers to be dispensed to the patient as indicated by the discharge order. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 17  wherein the storage containers comprise bins, shelves, or drawers within the storage structure.