Medicament inventory system and method

• US 20060058918A1
• Filed: 02/11/2005
• Published: 03/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Helene Laliberte, Michael Handfield
• Original Assignee: Helene Laliberte, Michael Handfield
• Inventors: Handfield, Michael, Laliberte, Helene
• Granted Patent: US 7,630,790 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/236
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/03 for pills or tablets containers for pills or tablets with special dispensing means therefor B65D83/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/30 Printed labels
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0076 Medicament distribution means with pill counting devices A61J7/02; with time indication A61J7/04; containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents B65D83/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0084 for multiple medicaments
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/66 Trinkets, e.g. shirt buttons or jewellery items recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/24 Rotary or oscillatory members
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/38 in which the magazines are horizontal
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/44 in which magazines the articles are stored in bulk
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/62 in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and system that utilizes one or more cassettes or trays, which hold one or more types of medicaments, the cassettes or trays being configured for intelligent dispensing of the medicaments. In one embodiment, a smart tray for dispensing medicaments includes: a housing; an information storage device that maintains inventory information regarding medicament units in the tray; and a communication device to transfer the inventory information between the information storage device and an external computing apparatus to facilitate inventory maintenance. In a further embodiment, the smart tray includes a mechanism to determine a quantity of medicament units dispensed from the tray to facilitate inventory tracking.

Claims

1. A medicaments dispensing container for containing a plurality of medicament units, comprising:

a housing configured to contain the plurality of medicament units;

an information storage device configured to maintain information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container, said information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units comprising inventory information for said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container; and

a communication device communicatively coupled to said information storage device and configured to allow communication of said inventory information between the information storage device and an external computing device to facilitate automated inventory tracking for at least one of a plurality of medicament units.

2. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, further comprising logic, communicatively coupled to said information storage device and configured to determine a quantity of medicament units dispensed from the medicaments dispensing container and to provide information to said information storage device indicating the quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container.

3. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 2, wherein said logic comprises a sensor unit, communicatively coupled to said information storage device and configured to sense a medicament unit being dispensed from the medicaments dispensing container.

4. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 3, wherein said sensor unit is an optical sensor.

5. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 2, wherein said logic comprises control logic configured to track a number of medicament units dispensed from the medicaments dispensing container.

6. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 2, wherein said logic comprises at least one of software, firmware and hardware.

7. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 2, wherein said logic comprises at least one of a programmable logic array, an ASIC, a processor and logic circuitry.

8. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 2, wherein said logic is further configured to update said inventory information to reflect the quantity of medicament units dispensed from the medicaments dispensing container, to thereby maintain an updated inventory of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container.

9. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 2, wherein said logic is further configured to determine whether to reorder additional medicament units based on said updated inventory information.

10. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 9, wherein said medicaments in the medicaments dispensing container are provided under a prescription, and the logic is further configured to determine a number of refills remaining under the prescription.

11. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 9, wherein said logic is further configured to send a signal to the external computing device to reorder additional medicament units.

12. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 9, wherein said logic is further configured to cause a communication to be sent to at least one of a patient and a caregiver if it is determined that the additional medicament units are to be reordered.

13. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 9, wherein said logic is further configured to process payment information is for the reorder.

14. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 9, wherein said logic is further configured to cause a communication to be sent to at least one of a patient and a caregiver if payment information is needed for the reorder.

15. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 9, wherein the information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container comprises patient information and the logic is further configured to remove the patient information from the information storage device when there are no more medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container.

16. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 2, wherein said logic is further configured to send a signal to the external computing device indicating a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container.

17. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 2, wherein said logic is further configured to send a signal to the external computing device indicating a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container when the updated inventory level reaches a predetermined amount.

18. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 2, wherein said logic is further configured to determine whether a patient for whom the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container were prescribed is authorized to receive a refill of the prescription.

19. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, wherein said information storage device is further configured to receive said information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container from medicament loading equipment.

20. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, wherein said external computing device comprises a computing device associated with loading equipment and said communication device is configured to allow communication of at least one of a quantity of medicament units, a type of medicament units, patient information, and transit information between the information storage device and the external computing device.

21. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, wherein said external computing device comprises at least one of a loading equipment computing device, a shipping equipment computing device, a computing device of a dispenser, and a server.

22. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, wherein, said information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container further comprises at least one of the group of patient information, caregiver information, and medicament information.

23. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, wherein said external computing device is a server, and further comprising logic configured to retrieve said information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container from the server.

24. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 23, wherein said logic comprises logic configured to determine whether said information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container is in the information storage device, and to provide an identification code of the medicaments dispensing container to the server.

25. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 22, wherein said medicament information comprises at least one of the group of:

an intended use for the medicament;

drug interaction precautions pertaining to the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

side effects of the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

an identification of the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

the dosage the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

the date the medicament units were packaged in the medicaments dispensing container;

a color image of the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

inventory data regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

an expiration date of the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

drug interaction information regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

supplement interaction information regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

manufacture information regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

a lot number for regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container; and

recall information regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container.

26. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 25, further comprising inventory update logic, communicatively coupled to said information storage device and configured to determine a quantity of medicament units dispensed from the medicaments dispensing container;

and to determine whether to reorder additional medicament units based on said medicament information when a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container reaches a predetermined level.

27. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 22, wherein said patient information comprises at least one of the group of:

an identification of a recipient of the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

a number of refills authorized for the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

an authorized caregiver for said patient;

patient insurance information;

payment information;

patient medical history;

patient vital signs;

patient reaction to the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

instructions for administering the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

patient contact information; and

patient biometric information.

28. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 27, further comprising inventory update logic, communicatively coupled to said information storage device and configured to determine a quantity of medicament units dispensed from the medicaments dispensing container;

and to determine whether to reorder medicament units based on said patient information when a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container reaches a predetermined level.

29. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, wherein said information storage device is further configured to accept updates from a dispensing machine by way of the communication device.

30. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 27, wherein said information storage device is further configured to accept said updates, wherein said updates are entered by a caregiver.

31. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, wherein said information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container is communicated to an insurance agency to facilitate claim processing.

32. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, further comprising an indicator communicatively coupled to the information storage device and configured to be activated when a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container reaches a predetermined amount.

33. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 32, wherein said indicator comprises at least one of a luminous indicator, an audible indicator and a radio frequency indicator.

34. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 2, further comprising an indicator communicatively coupled to the information storage device and configured to be activated upon a determination by the inventory control logic that the quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container has reached a predetermined amount.

35. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, wherein said communication device is at least one of a wired and a wireless communication device.

36. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, wherein said inventory information is sent to the external computing device, thereby allowing the external computing device to determine a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container.

37. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 36, wherein said inventory information comprises at least one of a quantity of medicament units dispensed from said medicaments dispensing container and a quantity of medicament units remaining in said medicaments dispensing container.

38. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 36, wherein said inventory information sent to the external computing device provides the external computing device information to thereby facilitate reorder of the additional medicament units by the external computing device.

39. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 1, wherein information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container comprises an accurate inventory of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container and the housing is hermetically sealed, thereby facilitating a return of the medicaments dispensing container for credit.

40. A medicaments dispensing container, comprising:

inventory update logic configured to determine a quantity of medicament units contained in the medicaments dispensing container; and

a communication device communicatively coupled to said inventory update logic and configured to allow communication of inventory information between an information storage device and an external computing device to facilitate automated inventory tracking for at least one of a plurality of medicament units.

41. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein said inventory update logic comprises a sensor unit configured to count a number of medicament units dispensed from the medicaments dispensing container.

42. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein said inventory update logic comprises at least one of software, firmware and hardware.

43. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein said inventory update logic comprises at least one of a programmable logic array, an ASIC, a processor and logic circuitry.

44. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein said inventory update logic is further configured to update said inventory information to reflect the quantity of medicament units dispensed from the medicaments dispensing container, to thereby maintain an updated inventory of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container.

45. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein said inventory update logic is further configured to determine whether to reorder additional medicament units based on said inventory information.

46. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein said inventory update logic is further configured to send a signal to the external computing device to reorder additional medicament units based on said inventory information.

47. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein said inventory update logic is further configured to send a signal to the external computing device indicating a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container.

48. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein said inventory update logic is further configured to send a signal to the external computing device indicating a quantity medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container when the updated inventory level reaches a predetermined threshold.

49. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein said information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container further comprises patient information, and said inventory update logic is further configured to determine whether a patient identified to receive the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container is authorized to receive a refill.

50. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein, said information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container further comprises at least one of the group of patient information, caregiver information, and medicament information.

51. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 50, wherein said medicament information comprises at least one of the group of:

an intended use for the medicament;

drug interaction precautions pertaining to the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

side effects of the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

an identification of the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

the dosage the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

the date the medicament units were packaged in the medicaments dispensing container;

a color image of the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

inventory data regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

an expiration date of the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

drug interaction information regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

supplement interaction information regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

manufacture information regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

a lot number for regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container; and

recall information regarding the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container.

52. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 50, wherein said patient information comprises at least one of the group of:

an identification of an patient recipient of the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

a number of refills authorized for the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

an authorized caregiver for said patient;

patient insurance information;

payment information;

patient medical history;

patient vital signs;

patient reaction to the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

instructions for administering the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container;

patient contact information; and

patient biometric information.

53. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein said information pertaining to said plurality of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container is of a type that can be communicated to facilitate claim insurance claim processing.

54. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, further comprising an indicator configured be activated upon a determination by the inventory control logic regarding the quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container.

55. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 54, wherein said indicator comprises at least one of a luminous indicator, an audible indicator and a radio frequency indicator.

56. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 54, wherein said indicator is configured to be activated upon a determination that the quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container has reached a predetermined amount.

57. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 40, wherein said communication device is at least one of a wired and a wireless communication device.

58. A medicaments dispensing container, comprising:

means for maintaining inventory information at the medicaments dispensing container, said inventory information indicating the quantity of medicament units contained in the medicaments dispensing container, said means for maintaining inventory information comprising means for determining a quantity of medicament units contained in the medicaments dispensing container; and

means for communicating said inventory information between said means for maintaining and an external computing device to facilitate automated inventory tracking for at least one of a plurality of medicament units.

59. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 58, wherein said inventory information comprises at least one of a quantity of medicaments units dispensed from the medicaments dispensing container and a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container.

60. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 58, wherein said inventory information is maintained current by the means for maintaining responsive to dispensation of a medicament unit from the medicaments dispensing container.

61. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 58, wherein said means for maintaining further comprises means for causing a reorder signal to be generated to reorder the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container.

62. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 61, wherein said reorder signal is communicated to the external computing device when the quantity of medicament units contained in the medicaments dispensing container reaches a predetermined level.

63. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 61, wherein said reorder signal is communicated to the external computing device if said means for maintaining determines that a refill of the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container is authorized for a patient being served by the medicaments dispensing container.

64. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 58, wherein said means for maintaining further comprises means for causing an inventory information signal to be communicated to the external computing device via the means for communicating, thereby facilitating a reorder of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container by the external computing device.

65. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 58, wherein said means for determining is configured to determine said inventory information based on information pertaining to a quantity of medicament units dispensed from the medicaments dispensing container.

66. The medicaments dispensing container of claim 58, further comprising indicator means for indicating when a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container reaches a predetermined amount.

67. A method of dispensing medicament units from a medicament units container, the method comprising the steps of:

dispensing at least one medicament unit from the medicament units container in response to a signal from a dispenser requesting dispensation;

determining, responsive to dispensation of the at least one medicament unit from the medicament units container, inventory information indicating the quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container; and

maintaining the inventory information in an electronic storage device of the medicament units container.

68. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of communicating said inventory information between said medicaments dispensing container and an external computing device to facilitate automated inventory tracking for at least one of a plurality of medicament units.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein the step of communicating the inventory information signal to external computing device thereby facilitates a reorder of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container by the external computing device.

70. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of providing said inventory information to an external computing device.

71. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of tracking a number of medicament units dispensed from the medicament units container.

72. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of determining whether to reorder additional medicament units based on said inventory information.

73. The method of claim 72, further comprising the step of sending a communication to at least one of a patient and a caregiver if it is determined that the additional medicament units are to be reordered.

74. The method of claim 72, further comprising the step of processing payment information for the reorder.

75. The method of claim 72, further comprising the step of requesting from at least one of a patient and a caregiver payment information for the reorder.

76. The method of claim 72, further comprising the step of removing patient information from the information storage device when there are no more medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container.

77. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of generating a reorder signal when the quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container reaches a predetermined amount, wherein said reorder signal causes an order to be placed for additional medicament units.

78. The method of claim 77, wherein said reorder signal is generated by the medicament units container.

79. The method of claim 78, further comprising the step of communicating the reorder signal to an external computing device, thereby indicating to the external computing device to reorder the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container.

80. The method of claim 77, further comprising the step of verifying that a refill of a prescription for the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container is authorized for a patient being served by the medicaments dispensing container.

81. The method of claim 67, further comprising a step of determining whether to reorder additional medicament units based on said inventory information.

82. The method of claim 81, wherein said medicaments in the medicaments dispensing container are provided to a recipient under a prescription, and further comprising a step of determining a number of refills remaining under the prescription.

83. The method of claim 81, further comprising a step of sending a signal to the electronic computing device to reorder additional medicament units.

84. The method of claim 67, further comprising a step of sending a signal to the electronic computing device indicating a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container.

85. The method of claim 67, further comprising a step of sending a signal to the electronic computing device indicating a quantity medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container when the inventory level reaches a predetermined amount.

86. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of determining whether a patient for whom the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container were prescribed is authorized to receive a refill of the prescription.

87. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of receiving information pertaining to the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container from medicament loading equipment.

88. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of communicating at least one of a quantity of medicament units, a type of medicament units, patient information, and transit information between the medicament units container and an external computing device.

89. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of retrieving information pertaining to the medicament units from an external computing device.

90. The method of claim 67, further comprising the steps of determining whether information pertaining to the medicament units is in the storage device, and providing an identification code of the medicaments dispensing container to an external computing device to facilitate information retrieval.

91. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of accepting updates of the information from a dispensing machine.

92. The method of claim 67, further comprising the step of activating an indicator when a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container reaches a predetermined amount.

93. A computer program product for use in a medicaments dispensing container, the computer program product comprising machine readable code configured to cause a computing device to perform the steps of:

tracking dispensation of at least one medicament unit from the medicament dispensing container; and

determining, responsive to dispensation of the at least one medicament unit from the medicament dispensing container, inventory information indicating the quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container.

94. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of communicating said inventory information between said medicaments dispensing container and an external computing device to facilitate automated inventory tracking for at least one of a plurality of medicament units.

95. The computer program product of claim 94, wherein communicating the inventory information signal to the external computing device thereby facilitates a reorder of medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container by the external computing device.

96. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of maintaining said inventory information in an electronic storage device.

97. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of maintaining the inventory information in an electronic storage device of the medicament units container.

98. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of providing said inventory information to an external computing device.

99. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of tracking a number of medicament units dispensed from the medicament units container.

100. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of determining whether to reorder additional medicament units based on said inventory information.

101. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of sending a communication to at least one of a patient and a caregiver if it is determined that the additional medicament units are to be reordered.

102. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of generating a reorder signal when the quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container reaches a predetermined amount, wherein said reorder signal causes an order to be placed for additional medicament units.

103. The computer program product of claim 102, wherein said reorder signal comprises at least one of a request to reorder a medicaments dispensing container with the specified medicaments, and information regarding the inventory of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container.

104. The computer program product of claim 102, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of communicating the reorder signal to an external computing device, thereby indicating to the external computing device to reorder the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container.

105. The computer program product of claim 102, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of verifying that a refill of a prescription for the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container is authorized for a patient being served by the medicaments dispensing container.

106. The computer program product of claim 102, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of processing payment information for the reorder.

107. The computer program product of claim 102, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of requesting from at least one of a patient and a caregiver payment information for the reorder.

108. The computer program product of claim 102, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of removing patient information from the information storage device when there are no more medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container.

109. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of determining whether to reorder additional medicament units based on said inventory information.

110. The computer program product of claim 109, wherein said medicaments in the medicaments dispensing container are provided under a prescription, and further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of determining a number of refills remaining under the prescription.

111. The computer program product of claim 109, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of sending a signal to the electronic computing device to reorder additional medicament units.

112. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of sending a signal to the electronic computing device indicating a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container.

113. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of sending a signal to the electronic computing device indicating a quantity medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container when the inventory level reaches a predetermined amount.

114. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of determining whether a patient for whom the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container were prescribed is authorized to receive a refill of the prescription.

115. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of receiving information pertaining to the medicament units in the medicaments dispensing container from medicament loading equipment.

116. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of communicating at least one of a quantity of medicament units, a type of medicament units, patient information, and transit information between the medicament units container and an external computing device.

117. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of retrieving information pertaining to the medicament units from an external computing device.

118. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of determining whether information pertaining to the medicament units is in the storage device, and providing an identification code of the medicaments dispensing container to an external computing device to facilitate information retrieval.

119. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of accepting updates of the information from a dispensing machine.

120. The computer program product of claim 93, further comprising machine readable code configured to cause the computing device to perform the step of activating an indicator when a quantity of medicament units remaining in the medicaments dispensing container reaches a predetermined amount.