Method and system for tracking and verifying medication

• US 20060054682A1
• Filed: 09/07/2005
• Published: 03/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Carlos De La Huerga
• Original Assignee: Carlos De La Huerga
• Inventors: de la Huerga, Carlos
• Application Number:
  US11/220,426
• Publication Number:
  US 20060054682A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/40 relating to drugs, e.g. their side effects or intended usage

Abstract

A method and system to track medication containers as they are shipped and as the medication in the containers is dispensed and to verify that medication in containers is properly identified by using a unique container code associated with each medication container, to enter information about the medication in a medication database, and to later retrieve the information stored in the medication database about the medication allowing a determination to be made that the medication has been distributed in error or fraudulently, for example that the medication has not been properly registered in the database.

Claims

1. A method to verify medication containers comprising:

providing a medication container with a machine readable code where at least a first portion of the contents of the code is stored as stored code contents in a database linked to a first computer;

providing a second computer with identification information and a reader to read the machine readable code;

using the reader to read the machine readable code to provide the machine readable code to the processor;

communicating the identification information and a second portion of the contents of the machine readable code using a communication channel linked to the first computer and the second computer;

comparing the stored code contents with the second portion of the machine readable code and when there is no match storing in the database the identification information as stored identification information associated with the stored code contents; and

when there is a match comparing the identification information with the stored identification information and when there is no match presenting an alert.