Inventory management and replenishment system
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- at a health care facility;
generating data representative of dispensed items;
transmitting said data to a central database;
automatically assembling a purchase order from said data;
transmitting the purchase order to a distributor; and
at a distributor location;
assembling the items, in each item'"'"'s manufacturer packaging, identified in said purchase order; and
shipping the assembled items to the healthcare facility.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method is comprised of various steps, some of which are performed at a healthcare facility and some of which are performed at a distributor'"'"'s facility. The steps performed at the healthcare facility may include: dispensing medical items from a decentralized storage location; automatically generating data representative of the dispensed items; transmitting the data to a central database; and automatically generating a purchase order from the data. At the distributor'"'"'s facility, a resupply package containing the items identified in the purchase order is assembled and shipped to the healthcare facility. The resupply package may include items in their original manufacturer packaging. The resupply packages may also be organized so that each package carries items for one or a group of shelves or other storage locations at the healthcare facility. The resupply package may be a tote carrying a bar code that serves as an identifier of the contents of the tote and the location(s) to be replenished. The totes may be used to resupply or replenish a centralized restocking location at the healthcare facility. A system is also disclosed.
225 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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at a health care facility;
generating data representative of dispensed items;
transmitting said data to a central database;
automatically assembling a purchase order from said data;
transmitting the purchase order to a distributor; and
at a distributor location;
assembling the items, in each item'"'"'s manufacturer packaging, identified in said purchase order; and
shipping the assembled items to the healthcare facility. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method, comprising:
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generating data representative of items dispensed in a healthcare facility;
transmitting said data to a central database;
automatically assembling one or more purchase orders from said data, wherein each said purchase order represents items from one or more locations within in a restocking location; and
transmitting the purchase order to a distributor. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method, comprising:
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at a health care facility;
dispensing medical items from a decentralized storage location;
automatically generating data representative of the dispensed items;
transmitting said data to a central database;
automatically generating a restocking order from said data;
generating a restocking package at a restocking location from said restocking order;
restocking said decentralized storage location with said restocking package;
automatically assembling a purchase order from said data;
transmitting the purchase order to a distributor; and
at a distributor location;
assembling the items, in each item'"'"'s manufacturer packaging, identified in said purchase order; and
shipping the assembled items to the healthcare facility; and
at said healthcare facility, replenishing said restocking location with said shipped items. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method, comprising:
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at a health care facility;
dispensing medical items from a decentralized storage location;
automatically generating data representative of the dispensed items;
transmitting said data to a central database;
automatically generating a restocking order from said data;
generating a restocking package at a restocking location from said restocking order;
restocking said decentralized storage location with said restocking package;
automatically assembling one or more purchase orders from said data, wherein each said purchase order represents items from one or more locations within a restocking location;
transmitting the purchase order to a distributor; and
at a distributor location;
assembling the items identified in said purchase order; and
shipping the assembled items to the healthcare facility; and
at said healthcare facility, replenishing said restocking location with said shipped items. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for dispensing, restocking and reordering medical items in a healthcare facility, comprising:
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a plurality of decentralized locations, each containing dispensing hardware for dispensing items and for generating data representative of the dispensed items;
a central database for receiving said data, said central database generating restocking orders for restocking each decentralized location and for generating purchase orders in response to said data;
restocking hardware, responsive to said restocking orders, said restocking hardware having a plurality of storage locations; and
an online data exchange system responsive to said purchase orders for communicating said purchase orders to a distributor, wherein each said purchase order is responsive to items needed to replenish one or more of said plurality of storage locations. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification