# US 8,740,059 B2 · System and method for comparing drug product information > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,740,059 B2 - Document ID: US8740059B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 12/915,552 - Filed: 2010-10-29 - Published: 2011-02-17 - Granted: 2014-06-03 - Earliest claimed: 2006-09-29 - Assignees: Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC - Applicants: Robert P. Helmin; William R. Magruder - Inventors: Robert P. Helmin; William R. Magruder - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8740059B2 ## CPC - G06Q 30/06: Buying, selling or leasing transactions - G06Q 10/10: Office automation; Time management - G16H 20/10: relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients - G16H 70/40: relating to drugs, e.g. their side effects or intended usage - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA ## Abstract A system and method for analyzing vast amounts of drug product information at granular levels is provided. This analysis enables determining a relationship which is associated with at least one of a cost effectiveness of purchasing a drug product from different suppliers, a determination of a lowest cost per unit of the drug product, a manufacturer market share for the drug product, and a strategy for submitting a contract bid for the drug product. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system comprising: a network interface communicating with a non-transitory memory; the memory communicating with a processor for identifying relationships; the processor, when executing a computer program, performs operations comprising: receiving, by the processor, a first data feed front a first supplier and a second data feed from a second supplier, wherein the first supplier and the second supplier comprise at least one of a supply chain management company, a healthcare provider, a drug supplier and a drug manufacturer, and wherein the first supplier data feed and the second supplier data feed are not associated with individual patient data; transforming, by the processor, the first data feed into a first unique key comprising at least one of a package quantity identifier, a therapeutic class identifier, a clinical formulation identifier, an additional detail identifier, a package size equivalent identifier, and a unit dose identifier; transforming, by the processor, the second data feed into a second unique key comprising at least one of the package quantity identifier, the therapeutic class identifier, the clinical formulation identifier, the additional detail identifier, the package size equivalent identifier, and the unit dose identifier; analyzing, by the processor, the first unique key and the second unique key to determine a relationship between the first data feed and the second data feed; determining, by the processor and based upon the relationship, a recommendation, wherein the recommendation is associated with at least one of a cost effectiveness of purchasing a drug product from different suppliers, a determination of a lowest cost per unit of the drug product, a manufacturer market share for the drug product, and a strategy for submitting a contract bid for the drug product; and outputting, by the processor, data based at least partially on the relationship and the recommendation. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the first unique key is at least one of 25 characters, 22 characters and 18 characters in length. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the package quantity identifier is 3 characters in length. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the first data feed comprises national drug code data. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the analyzing the first unique key and the analyzing the second unique key comprises analyzing the package size equivalent identifier and at least one of the package quantity identifier, the therapeutic class identifier, the clinical formulation identifier, the additional detail identifier, and the unit dose identifier. ### Claim 6 A computer-based method comprising: receiving, by a computer for determining relationships, a first supplier data feed from a first supplier and a second supplier data feed from a second supplier, wherein the first supplier and the second supplier comprise at least one of a supply chain management company, a healthcare provider, a drug supplier and a drug manufacturer, and wherein the first supplier data feed and the second supplier data feed are not associated with individual patient data; transforming, by the computer, the first data feed into a first unique key comprising at least one of a package quantity identifier, a therapeutic class identifier, a clinical formulation identifier, an additional detail identifier, a package size equivalent identifier, and a unit dose identifier; transforming, by the computer, the second data feed into a second unique key comprising at least one of a package quantity identifier, a therapeutic class identifier, a clinical formulation identifier, an additional detail identifier, a package size equivalent identifier, and a unit dose identifier; analyzing, by the computer, the first unique key and the second unique key to determine a relationship between the first data feed and the second data feed; determining, by the computer and based upon the relationship, a recommendation, wherein the recommendation is associated with at least one of a cost effectiveness of purchasing a drug product from different suppliers, a determination of a lowest cost per unit of the drug product, a manufacturer market share for the drug product, and a strategy for submitting a contract bid for the drug product; and outputting, by the computer, output data based at least partially on the relationship and the recommendation. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein the package quantity identifier is 3 characters in length. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein the first unique key is at least one of 25 characters, 22 characters and 18 characters in length. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of the analyzing the first unique key and the analyzing the second unique key comprises analyzing a package size equivalent identifier and at least one of a package quantity identifier, a therapeutic class identifier, a clinical formulation identifier, an additional detail identifier, and a unit dose identifier. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of the analyzing the first unique key and the analyzing the second unique key comprises analyzing a package quantity identifier, a therapeutic identifier, a clinical formulation identifier, a unit dose identifier and at least one of an additional detail identifier and a package size equivalent identifier. ### Claim 11 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein the output data comprises national drug code data. ### Claim 12 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein the output data is grouped according to report criteria. ### Claim 13 The method of claim l2, wherein the output data is further grouped according to bid price. ### Claim 14 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein the first data feed and the second data feed are each received from at least one of a pharmaceutical supplier and a healthcare supplier. ### Claim 15 A non-transitory, computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a computer for determining relationships, cause the computer to perform operations comprising: receiving, by the computer, a first supplier data feed from a first supplier and a second supplier data feed from a second supplier, wherein the first supplier and the second supplier comprise at least one of a supply chain management company, a healthcare provider, a drug supplier and a drug manufacturer, and wherein the first supplier data feed and the second supplier data feed are not associated with individual patient data; transforming, by the computer, a first data feed into a first unique key comprising at least one of a package quantity identifier, a therapeutic class identifier, a clinical formulation identifier, an additional detail identifier, a package size equivalent identifier, and a unit dose identifier; transforming, by the computer, a second data feed into a second unique key comprising at least one of a package quantity identifier, a therapeutic class identifier, a clinical formulation identifier, an additional detail identifier, a package size equivalent identifier, and a unit dose identifier; analyzing, by the computer, the first unique key and the second unique key to determine a relationship between the first data feed and the second data feed; determining, by the computer and based upon the relationship, a recommendation, wherein the relationship is associated with at least one of a cost effectiveness of purchasing a drug product from different suppliers, a determination of a lowest cost per unit of the drug product, a manufacturer market share for the drug product, and a strategy for submitting a contract bid for the drug product; and outputting, by the computer, output data based at least partially on the relationship.