Method and apparatus for initiating a medicine control action

Abstract

A method and apparatus for initiating a medicine control action are disclosed. For example, the method implemented via a processor receives at least one picture, the at least one picture comprising an image of one or more pills and a respective prescription bottle of each one of the one or more pills, determines the medicine control action is required in response to the receiving the at least one picture, establishes a data connection with an endpoint device in response to the determining, and initiates the medicine control action over the data connection to the endpoint device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for initiating a medicine control action, the method comprising:
 transmitting, by a processor deployed in a communication network, a first control signal to cause an endpoint device to introduce an impediment to at least one functionality of the endpoint device, wherein the first control signal is transmitted in accordance with a pill consumption schedule of a user of the endpoint device;   receiving, by the processor from the endpoint device, at least one picture, the at least one picture comprising an image of one or more pills and an image of a respective prescription bottle of each one of the one or more pills;   receiving, by the processor from the endpoint device, food information of a food item;   determining, by the processor, the medicine control action is required in response to the receiving the at least one picture and the receiving the food information, wherein the determining comprises:
 identifying the one or more pills in the at least one picture via a medication database; and 
 comparing the food information to information in a food database to identify a negative interaction between the food item and the one or more pills; 
   establishing, by the processor, a data connection with the endpoint device in response to the determining;   initiating, by the processor, the medicine control action over the data connection to the endpoint device, wherein the medicine control action comprises a warning message sent to the endpoint device indicating that the food item has the negative interaction with the one or more pills; and   transmitting, by the processor, a second control signal to cause the endpoint device to remove the impediment to the at least one functionality of the endpoint device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining further comprises:
 comparing, by the processor, the one or more pills to a pharmaceutical database to identify whether a drug interaction problem exists.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the medicine control action further comprises a warning message to the endpoint device to notify the user of the drug interaction problem. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the medicine control action further comprises a prescription refill order based on a number of pills of the one or more pills falling below a refill threshold based on the at least one picture. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the medicine control action further comprises a warning message sent to the endpoint device indicating that there is a problem related to a wrong type of pill based on the at least one picture. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the medicine control action further comprises a warning message sent to the endpoint device indicating that there is a problem related to a wrong dosage based on the at least one picture. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the respective bottle includes a scan code used to identify the one or more pills based upon a comparison to a scan code database. 
     
     
         8 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage device storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by a processor deployed in a communication network, cause the processor to perform operations for initiating a medicine control action, the operations comprising:
 transmitting a first control signal to cause an endpoint device to introduce an impediment to at least one functionality of the endpoint device, wherein the first control signal is transmitted in accordance with a pill consumption schedule of a user of the endpoint device;   receiving, from the endpoint device, at least one picture, the at least one picture comprising an image of one or more pills and an image of a respective prescription bottle of each one of the one or more pills;   receiving, from the endpoint device, food information of a food item;   determining the medicine control action is required in response to the receiving the at least one picture and the receiving the food information, wherein the determining comprises:
 identifying the one or more pills in the at least one picture via a medication database; and 
 comparing the food information to information in a food database to identify a negative interaction between the food item and the one or more pills; 
   establishing a data connection with the endpoint device in response to the determining;   initiating the medicine control action over the data connection to the endpoint device, wherein the medicine control action comprises a warning message sent to the endpoint device indicating that the food item has the negative interaction with the one or more pills; and   transmitting a second control signal to cause the endpoint device to remove the impediment to the at least one functionality of the endpoint device.   
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of  claim 8 , wherein the determining further comprises:
 comparing the one or more pills to a pharmaceutical database to identify whether a drug interaction problem exists.   
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of  claim 9 , wherein the medicine control action further comprises a warning message to the endpoint device to notify the user of the drug interaction problem. 
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of  claim 8 , wherein the medicine control action further comprises a prescription refill order based on a number of pills of the one or more pills falling below a refill threshold based on the at least one picture. 
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of  claim 8 , wherein the medicine control action further comprises a warning message sent to the endpoint device indicating that there is a problem related to a wrong type of pill based on the at least one picture. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of  claim 8 , wherein the medicine control action further comprises a warning message sent to the endpoint device indicating that there is a problem related to a wrong dosage based on the at least one picture. 
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of  claim 8 , wherein the respective bottle includes a scan code used to identify the one or more pills based upon a comparison to a scan code database. 
     
     
         15 . An apparatus for initiating a medicine control action, the apparatus comprising:
 a processor deployed in a communication network; and   a computer-readable storage device storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 transmitting a first control signal to cause an endpoint device to introduce an impediment to at least one functionality of the endpoint device, wherein the first control signal is transmitted in accordance with a pill consumption schedule of a user of the endpoint device; 
 receiving, from the endpoint device, at least one picture, the at least one picture comprising an image of one or more pills and an image of a respective prescription bottle of each one of the one or more pills; 
 receiving, from the endpoint device, food information of a food item; 
 determining the medicine control action is required in response to the receiving the at least one picture and the receiving the food information, wherein the determining comprises:
 identifying the one or more pills in the at least one picture via a medication database; and 
 comparing the food information to information in a food database to identify a negative interaction between the food item and the one or more pills; 
 
 establishing a data connection with the endpoint device in response to the determining; 
 initiating the medicine control action over the data connection to the endpoint device, wherein the medicine control action comprises a warning message sent to the endpoint device indicating that the food item has the negative interaction with the one or more pills; and 
 transmitting a second control signal to cause the endpoint device to remove the impediment to the at least one functionality of the endpoint device. 
   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the determining further comprises:
 comparing the one or more pills to a pharmaceutical database to identify whether a drug interaction problem exists.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the medicine control action further comprises a warning message to the endpoint device to notify the user of the drug interaction problem. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the medicine control action further comprises a prescription refill order based on a number of pills of the one or more pills falling below a refill threshold based on the at least one picture. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the medicine control action further comprises a warning message sent to the endpoint device indicating that there is a problem related to a wrong type of pill or a wrong dosage based on the at least one picture. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the respective bottle includes a scan code used to identify the one or more pills based upon a comparison to a scan code database.