Pharmacy label system

• US 20060163869A1
• Filed: 01/25/2005
• Published: 07/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CVS Pharmacy Incorporated (CVS Health Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Inventors: Adler, Deborah B., Douglas, Patrick L., Grisik, Matthew S., Rosburg, Klaus
• Granted Patent: US 7,628,427 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 283/81
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/0288 Labels or tickets consisting of more than one part, e.g. with address of sender or other reference on separate section to main label; Multi-copy labels
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/0289 Pull- or fold-out labels
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 283/90 Medical record

Abstract

A label for a prescription pharmacy bottle comprises a first portion adapted for securing to a front portion of a bottle, a second portion adapted for securing to back portion of a bottle, and a printed information on the label relating to a medication. The printed information includes a first type of information, a second type of information, and a third type of information. The first type of information includes prescription-related information including, but not limited to, a drug identifier and a patient identifier. The second type of information includes at least one of a drug identifier and a patient identifier. The third type of information includes warning information. The first type of information is always positioned in the first portion of the label and the third type of information is always positioned on the second portion of the label, and the first type of information is printed at a 180 degree opposite orientation of the second type and third type of information.

Claims

1. A label for a prescription pharmacy bottle, the label comprising:

a first portion adapted for securing to a front portion of a bottle;

a second portion adapted for securing to back portion of a bottle; and

a printed information on the label relating to a medication, the printed information including;

a first type of information including prescription-related information including, but not limited to, a drug identifier and a patient identifier;

a second type of information including at least one of a drug identifier and a patient identifier; and

a third type of information including warning information,

wherein the first type of information is always positioned in the first portion of the label and the third type of information is always positioned on the second portion of the label, and wherein the first type of information is printed at a 180 degree opposite orientation of the second type and third type of information.

2. The label of claim 1 wherein the label comprises:

a third portion interposed between the first portion of the label and the second portion of the label, wherein the second type of information is always positioned on the third portion of the label.

3. The label of claim 2 wherein the first portion, second portion, and third portion of the label form a one-piece label that is configured to be secured onto the container via wrapping the label around a front portion, a back portion, and a spine portion of the bottle, respectively, wherein the spine portion of the bottle is generally perpendicular to each of a front portion of the bottle and a back portion of the bottle.

4. The label of claim 2 wherein label is printed in one-piece and the first portion of the label is separable from the second portion and the third portion of the label so that the first portion of the label is securable on the front portion of the bottle and the second portion of the label and the third portion of the label are securable on the back portion of the bottle.

5. The label of claim 1 wherein the label comprises an adhesively backed surface extending along the entire label except for a non-stick portion positioned along the second portion of the label, wherein the non-stick portion is generally rectangularly shaped and extends from an edge of the second portion of the label at least partially across an entire width of the second portion of the label.

6. The label of claim 5 wherein the non-stick portion of the label extends across an entire width of the back portion of the label.

7. The label of claim 5 wherein the non-stick portion of the label is sized, shaped, and oriented for placement to extend over a recess portion of a back portion of a bottle to enable formation of a slot between the non-stick portion of the label and the recess portion of the back portion of the bottle.

8. The label of claim 1 wherein the first type of information includes primary information and secondary information, wherein the secondary information includes at least one of a pharmacy identifier, a physician identifier, and the primary information is printed in a first font that is larger, and bolder than a second font of the secondary information, and wherein the primary information is spaced from the secondary information.

9. The label of claim 8 wherein the warning information of the third type of information comprises at least one warning relating to use of the medication associated with the label, and the at least one warning is oriented horizontally and each at least one warning includes at least one of a symbol, icon, or pictogram signaling a non-textual indication of a nature of the at least one warning.

10. A label system for a processing a pharmacy prescription, the label system comprising:

a label portion including at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label, a information privacy notice label, and a patient acknowledgement label; and

a non-label plain paper portion releasably anchored to the label portion, and including at least one of a patient receipt, a patient information card, and a drug monograph,

wherein the non-label plain paper portion is configured to be separated from the label portion to enable the patient information card to be removably secured to a prescription pharmacy bottle in cooperation with the at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label.

11. The label system of claim 10 wherein the at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label comprises a first-sized prescription pharmacy bottle label and a second-sized prescription pharmacy bottle label that is substantially identical to the first-sized prescription pharmacy bottle label, except being smaller in size than the first-sized prescription pharmacy bottle label.

12. The label system of claim 10 wherein the at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label comprises an adhesively backed surface extending along the entire at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label except for a non-stick portion positioned along the second portion of the at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label, wherein the non-stick portion is generally rectangularly shaped and extends from a side edge of the at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label at least partially across an entire width of the at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label.

13. The label system of claim 10 wherein the at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label comprises a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion, wherein the first portion has a first right-side-up reading orientation and the second portion has a second right-side-up reading orientation that has a 180 degree opposite orientation relative to the first right-side-up reading orientation.

14. The label system of claim 13 wherein the at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label is configured for application to a pharmacy bottle, the pharmacy bottle including a first information viewing surface, a second information viewing surface and a third information viewing surface, wherein the first information viewing surface is generally perpendicular to the second information viewing surface and the second information viewing surface is generally perpendicular to the third information viewing surface, with the second information viewing surface interposed between the first and third information viewing surfaces, and the first portion of the at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label is configured for application to the first information viewing surface of the bottle, the second portion of the at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label is configured for application to the second information viewing surface of the bottle, and the third portion of the at least one prescription pharmacy bottle label is configured for application to the third information viewing surface of the bottle.

15. A control monitor for processing a pharmacy prescription label, the control monitor comprising:

general module for generating a label system including at least one label portion and at least one plain paper portion;

a label module configured for controlling a number, type, and orientation of a plurality of components of the at least one label portion on the label system, including controlling printing of a prescription pharmacy bottle label;

a plain paper module configured for controlling a number, type, orientation of a plurality of components of the at least one plain paper portion on the label system; and

a data module for controlling entry, storage, retrieval, and printing of data relating to printed matter on the at least one label portion and the at least one plain paper portion of the label system,

wherein the control monitor is stored within a memory.

16. The control monitor of claim 15 wherein the general module controls a plurality of parameters affecting at least one of a single component of the label system or a group of components of the label system, the plurality of parameters including at least one of:

a size parameter;

a shape parameter;

a location parameter;

an orientation parameter;

a non-stick parameter;

a plain paper parameter;

a separation parameter;

a border parameter;

an anchor parameter; and

a side parameter.

17. The control monitor of claim 15 wherein the general module controls a plurality of parameters affecting at least one of a single component of the label system or a group of components of the label system, the plurality of parameters including at least one of:

a font color parameter;

a font size parameter;

a font type parameter;

a symbol parameter;

a font orientation parameter; and

a spacing-border parameter.

18. The control monitor of claim 15 wherein the plain paper module includes a plurality of parameters including at least one of:

a receipt parameter;

an information card parameter; and

a monograph parameter.

19. The control monitor of claim 15 wherein the label module includes a plurality of parameters including at least one of:

a large label parameter;

a small label parameter;

a label front portion parameter;

a label back portion parameter;

a label spine portion parameter;

a bottle type parameter;

an acknowledgement label parameter;

a notice label parameter;

a refill label parameter;

a unit-of-use parameter;

a prescription tag parameter; and

a retail bag label parameter.

20. The control monitor of claim 15 wherein the data module includes a plurality of parameter relating to the data and including at least one of:

a patient parameter;

a drug parameter;

a usage parameter;

a dosage parameter;

a warning parameter;

a physician parameter;

a retail vendor parameter; and

a regulation parameter.